#new favorite ship-dynamic: girl who doesn't know how to ask for help/girl who will always ask to help her

[danawinter]

Minx + the evolution of 'How can I help?'

[bronanlynch]

ship ask meme: IBO ship or five of your choice

hi sorry I know you literally asked this long enough ago that we've started and finished another whole entire gundam show since then but

mika/orga

What made you ship it? I mean I was always compelled by their dynamic from the beginning bc mika is shooting people without hesitation for orga right away but. the moment when I realized how much I shipped it was when mika snaps orga out of his grief from biscuit's death by. picking him up by the collar with one hand and saying that orga needs to pull himself together and tell mika who else to kill. that's romance, to me,

What are your favorite things about the ship? the extremely intense level of mutual trust and devotion and also shared ideology is incredibly compelling to me, is the thing. a gay communist ship for gay communists. constantly thinking abt the bit where mcgillis tries to manipulate mika by implying that he's just going along with what orga is doing instead of doing what he actually wants and mika just completely shuts him down because they Are actually on the same page and they Do want the same things even if mika doesn't usually put his ideology into words the same way. also extremely tasty that for most of the show they're doing an extended gift of the magi thing where mika is turning himself into a weapon for the sake of the new world that orga is trying to build, and orga is trying to build a new world so that mika doesn't have to keep turning himself into a weapon

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? ok. listen. I know that the show did not handle mika's disability particularly well but listen. as a fandom we can and should do better. disabled people can and do have sex, I promise you mika can fuck without being connected to the robot

kudelia/atra

What made you ship it? well you see. sometimes I see a girl blushing and complimenting another girl and I simply think they should kiss (also I went in knowing that they were endgame so. I was primed to read into their interactions)

What are your favorite things about the ship? I like how often they're both like "so we're both in love with mika and also each other" and how they make it clear that they are all in love with each other and want to support and help each other. also I love the stuff (especially in season 1) that was like. kudelia being able to put words to things that she didn't necessarily have firsthand experience with but atra does like. theory gf x praxis gf. kudelia understands the relationship between imperialism and capitalism and atra understands that the first step to getting anything done is to feed people when they are hungry. also their ending is that one poem abt like. the long distance relationship between a city lesbian and a country lesbian (want by joan larkin) and I love that for them. I wish season 2/the fanfiction on ao3 had more abt them leading a revolution together bc I do think both of their perspectives are so important and I want to see them talking abt rhetorical strategies and supply lines while also kissing and making each other soup

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I mean it's femslash I'm sure there's plenty of bad takes out there for me to disagree with. like I have beef with whoever edited the wiki so that atra is listed as kudelia's wife in the family section but not as a love interest. every time either of them express their love for mika they also reaffirm that they love each other in explicitly the same way, it's really not ambiguous

gaelio/mcgillis

What made you ship it? well the vibes were there from the start, even when I was just like "who are these evil bureaucrats" so I always thought they were hooking up. and then we got to the bit where gaelio gets choked out by mika and mcgillis like. strokes his back comfortingly?? and I was like. ah. I see. they are Dating.

What are your favorite things about the ship? I love betrayal <3 I love it when a guy's grand plan involves killing the one person he cares abt and both of them are super normal abt it <3 also I love that gaelio isn't dead and wants revenge and also that ein is involved bc I love mess <3 (edit: I wrote before we finished the show and looking back on this. oof. rip to past me for trying to maintain some sense of detachment and just having fun at the tragic mess. current me is genuinely sad like. I do love the betrayal and that's def in the top 5 things I like abt this ship but the top spot might have to go to that final confrontation they have and specifically the bit where gaelio won't let mcgillis say that he loves him because otherwise gaelio will forgive him because he is still So in love with him and would have done anything for him if mcgillis wasn't um. specifically designed to be a foil for characters whose whole thing is solidarity and reaching out to others, so the point of his character is that he was marginalized and abused in ways that specifically isolated him so that he can't bring himself to trust anyone else and that's his downfall. communism could have saved him and also his relationship with gaelio (somehow. despite gaelio being fundamentally a spoiled rich kid. it's fine they would've worked it out. anyway)

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? who could say what the unpopular opinions are. maybe that gaelio is also definitely dating ein but then again this is a show with canon polyamory so maybe the fandom is also more chill abt that

and for uh. equality I guess. one I don't ship. merribit/orga

Why don’t you ship it? not compelled by the dynamic where most of a woman's screentime is her trying to tell a man that he's doing everything wrong and needs to be more careful. they both deserve better than that and I'm glad the show stopped hinting at the possibility of them getting together

What would have made you like it? see above. what if orga could ever give a speech to try to raise morale so that everyone didn't die without merribit interrupting to tell him how fucked up it is that these kids are fighting. I assure you he knows that it's fucked up, it's his life, he's also a child soldier, does he literally ever look like he's happy abt going into battle. what if actually their relationship were abt her teaching him the value of spreadsheets. that would be romantic to me

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? if I were still a straight girl I would have been obsessed with them in a very projecting way. I would be conceptually So into guy character I love x admin woman

extra bonus now that we're so extremely tieriapilled: lockon/tieria

What made you ship it? the bit where lockon puts his hand on tieria's shoulder and tieria Immediately calms down and smiles at him softly and everyone else on the bridge is like. what the fuck happened while you two were down on earth together. and then every single other time they interact after that

What are your favorite things about the ship? lockon constantly reaffirming tieria's personhood. the "you let that man too deep into your heart" line. the incredible potential of the mirrored character arcs they could've had if lockon hadn't fucking died, because god forbid a gundam show from the 2000s allow a disabled main character to actually live their life as a disabled person, where tieria is learning how to be a person and exploring what she wants her gender to be and coming to terms with no longer being able to do the thing that made her special/effective/valuable and also feeling guilty bc she thinks she cost lockon his eye and that saving her wasn't worth it, and lockon is figuring out how to live his life now that he's gotten his revenge and also coming to terms with no longer being able to do the thing that made him special/effective/valuable, and both of them learning that their worth isn't just in being a good gundam pilot in the specific way that they had previous been good gundam pilots

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? you already know my ten thousand word essay on the various ways tieria is (mis)treated and (mis)characterized but. y'know. fandom stop being shitty abt transfem-coded characters challenge

[thebreakfastgenie]

🍈🫐🍍 for the fruit writer ask game !! Love your works btw :-)

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

My current active blorbo is Hawkeye Pierce and this is one of those questions that is such a good question and as soon as someone asks my mind just goes blank!! I suppose..... you could say dying and being dead, but that's only one published fic so far, the other two are WIPs (and he survives one of them in the end; it's a time loop). I can't say for sure all of these come up in my published fics, but they are always informing my writing and may be used in WIPs you haven't seen yet. Being born in 1922 and going to Bowdoin are canon to me, to those are always going to turn up. I have a lot of ideas about his background in Maine and I reference a lot of local Maine details because I know and love Maine. He had the childhood diseases early, because his dad brought them home from work. He was a precocious kid who read his dad's medical textbooks. I think he read a lot of novels and poetry his mom had, too. He was kind of an odd kid, but still popular--a class clown. After his mom died, he started helping out more at home because it was just him and dad, so he learned how to take care of himself younger than most boys did at the time. His family was financially secure, so during the Depression they weren't at risk of starving or losing their home, but things were still lean. He was a tiny kid until he was twelve or thirteen when he stayed skinny but got tall overnight. Once puberty hit he started attracting and enjoying attention from girls. I do feel very strongly about who he is but it's surprisingly hard to articulate. I think he kind of walks a cliff-edge with his mental health, even before we meet him (that comes up in the Hamlet fic). I think he just says stuff a lot of the time but he's being honest, just not entirely literal. He doesn't sleep well or enough--that one is a bit of projection, too.

My other blorbo, who I'm not actively writing right now but will again in the future, is Josh Lyman. I draw on his secular Jewish background a lot, because I share it, and New England too because I have strong ties to this region. His loyalty to his friends is my favorite character trait and I like digging into that with regards to his various relationships. I write a lot about his stubbornness and determination, too. His sister Joanie was significantly older--seven or eight years--which may be because his parents had trouble having children in between them. He's always affected by being shot, though he gets better at dealing with it. This comes up a lot in my fics because so many of them are about that trauma. I think Josh is misunderstood in-universe and I like exploring the dissonance between who he really is and his public image (that he helps to cultivate).

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

The first thing that comes to mind is just gen fic. Case fic, too. Missing episode type stuff!! Just... more of the show. I also want more sick fic but not like cute somebody takes care of someone with a cold sick fic... a little angstier than that, I guess. Plotty fic, please!!! MASH gives so many interesting story opportunities and I want them all! Definitely more of the original cast, too. More character development for Henry and Trapper, since they didn't get a ton of it on the show. I wish there was more Hawkeye/Margaret too because I have kind of particular taste in that.

In West Wing fandom I am always desperate for fic about Josh and CJ, Josh and Toby, or Josh and Leo. Those dynamics compel me more than anything. Also, 1998 Bartlet for America era!!!

🍍 What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?

I love canon divergence so much. AUs that stay pretty close to the source, but change one significant thing are sooo interesting. I love me some major character death AUs. Full on AUs can be fun, but I usually like them more as posts or conversations with friends. It depends on the fandom a lot too, but MASH and The West Wing are both such specific and delicious premises that I don't usually want an AU. It's also hard to imagine those characters in an AU, because their jobs are so integral to who they are. It's hard to imagine a Josh Lyman who doesn't work in politics, or a Hawkeye Pierce who isn't a doctor. That being said, a well-written AU can be really fun! I hate superhero AUs. I've just never encountered one I actually liked. Maybe my mind could be changed. I hate soulmate AUs because I have beef with the entire concept. I'm not a big fan of magic/fantasy AUs, especially if they involve extensive worldbuilding.

[mysterylover123]

Some More Talk About Parallels: BKDK and the Narrative Frame

Warning: I've tagged all the ships I talk about in this post, but no one (aside from the obvious) is in focus.

So I've been thinking a lot about Character Parallels in My Hero Academia lately. This started when I made these really popular posts:

Bakugou + Uraraka Parallels: https://mysterylover123.tumblr.com/post/645294173928505344/bakugou-uraraka-parallels

and

MHA + Boys Admiring Girls

https://mysterylover123.tumblr.com/post/645370264217075712/mha-boys-admiring-girls

This started with me noticing first that Bakugou and Ochako seemed like parallel characters (not my original observation, lots have noticed). Then that each of the boys seemed to have a girl who acted like a female counterpart -

Deku=Tsuyu, Ochako=Bakugou, Momo=Todoroki, Mina=Kirishima, Jirou=Kaminari. And subsequently, TsuChako=BKDK; Minachako=Kiribaku, MinaJirou=KiriKami, etc.

All so good so far, but then I noticed that while Momo has a few moments with Ochako and Tsuyu, their dynamic doesn't really resemble Todoroki's relationship with the WonderDuo. Rather, the duo that Momo relates to who resemble Deku and Kacchan is actually Jirou and Kaminari, as I posted about yesterday:

Between Momo and Todoroki, I think the resemblance between MomoJirou and TodoBaku is actually striking too; the basic dynamic, the occasionally snippy friendship started at USJ, the way that the two duos Owned the second half of Season 4 (and the movie); more so than Momo/Ochako, MomoJirou parallels TodoBaku.

But the entire basis of the comparison I made was Bakugou and Ochako as counterparts. So I started pulling back and rethinking this. Maybe instead, the similarity is not just the Gender Counterpart, but that most of the supporting characters form into pairs (And occasionally trios) that resemble Deku/Kacchan.

aka:

Kaminari/Jirou - Kaminari plays Deku's role, Jirou Bakugou's.

Tsuyu/Ochako - Tsuyu plays Deku's role, Ochako Bakugou's.

Ochako/Iida - Between these two, Ochako becomes Deku's role, Iida Bakugou's.

Todoroki/Momo: AS I pointed out in another post, Todoroki plays Deku's role, Momo Bakugou's.

Kirishima/Mina: Kirishima as Deku, Mina as Bakugou; this one is pretty obvious.

Mirio/Tamaki; All Might/Endeavor, Erasermic, The First and Second OFA users, even Shindo/Tatami, and Bakugou's Parents Masaru and Mitsuki; multiple character duos throughout the series that parallel the mains. Obviously, the point of these parallels is to draw upon the large, overarching character duo that forms the heart of the show.

I am a little more fond of this setup for following the characters, since it's less gender based and more about the characters' personalities and overarching themes; I've already explained three of these (KMJR, TDMM and TSCHK) in detail, and the others are fairly self-evident.

However, that does present me with a final question, that I think many fans have been asking. Up until the Joint Training Arc, you could probably have made the argument that the basic parallel duos outlined here all follows a similar track to Deku and Kacchan's story.

Meeting and becoming foils/rivals (Deku and Kacchan's childhood, Todoroki and Momo in the entrance exam, Jirou and Kaminari at USJ, Kirishima and Mina in the backstory, and Uraraka and her foil being either Iida or Tsu in season 1)

The Deku analogue starts surpassing the Bakugou analogue (Todoroki to Momo in Season 2, Kaminari beats Jirou in the Sports Festival, Kirishima does better than Mina in the same arc)

The two become great teammates, though maybe grudgingly, for an arc (BKDK & TDMM=Final Exams, IICHK & KMJR=USJ, KRMN=Sports Fest, TSCHK=Training camp)

The Bakugou analogue confesses their insecurities to the Deku analogue (DVK2, Yaoyorozu Rising, Culture Fest arc, TSCHK=internship arc, IICHKO=Sports Fest prep room)

The Deku analogue helps reaffirm the Bakugou Analogue by confessing how much they admire them (same arcs for all but Ochako)

The duo cheer each other on more healthily in the Joint Training Arc (all of them except TSCHK)

During that time, of course, both duos interact pretty randomly with other characters. But earlier on, and starting in Chapter 217, BKDK themselves change their dynamic. As you all probably know, at the point we're at in Season 5, they pretty much added a third party member. Todoroki.

Ever since the Internship arc (in some ways, ever since the Sports Festival), Todoroki has been more than just Deku's friend and other rival. Todoroki has an equal relationship with both Deku and Kacchan, and you could make the case that Todoroki is just as much a part of the Wonder Duo dynamic as Deku or Kacchan.

They form something of a trinity. While Shoto isn't completely integrated into the OFA thing yet, he is so close to it that he might as well be.

And thus you get the conflict. Is MHA a story about duos - BKDK=esuqe character pairings that combine equal aspects, opposite traits, and complete each other to become great teams? Or is it actually about trios, TDBKDK=esque trinities that combine a third quality needed to succeed All Might?

This is where the question gets important to me. WE've always believed, I think ,in the simple narrative line presented by Deku and Kacchan. Win by saving, save to win. Two halves of All Might. Bring them together (and by extension, their analogue pairings) and you get your perfect hero team.

But what if Hori has actually shifted the narrative? What if Todoroki has actually been integrated into the Wonder duo narrative? Is there a third aspect of being the World's Greatest Hero that we're missing with just Deku and Kacchan as a hero duo? Since Hori is no longer using the Heroes Rising ending, what is the new one?

During the Winter Intern arc, Endeavor gave the Origin Trio three assignments: Rescue, Fighting, Evacuation. "Evacuation" is a strange title to symbolize the third category, but what if it does indicate a third aspect to heroism Shoto represents? And that integrating the three main All Might fanboys into his successors?

Shoto, who was raised to succeed him from birth and inspired by a video with his mom; Katsuki, who based his life around succeeding All Might and always winning; and Izuku, who did the same, based on his favorite video as well. And in that case, does the Momo/Kami/Jirou trinity parallel them, as I suggested?

Mind you, the "everyone is duos" concept is still just fine to me as an option. But I'm open to the idea that the story is all about trinities now. Tell me what you think.

[notsolong-pause]

ship request

“Would I be able to get a male ship for stranger things and marvel? I’m female, a virgo and I have a few piercings and tattoos (full sleeves). I have long split color hair (black and neon yellow). I’m very confident. I love to joke around and make my friends laugh. I like to be around people who can make me laugh too. I’m very social around my friends but I’m pretty quiet around people I don’t know very well. I do fire eating as a hobby and I play the drums. I kind of low key like attention even when I act like I don’t. And I really love cheesy pick up lines especially if they’re funny. I also like to draw, go ice skating, go to concerts, watch horror movies, binge watch trash TV or just lay around listening to music. I have a pet parrot whom I love very much”

a/n: okay, first of all, you literally sound like this cartoon character we all aspired as children… fire eating  - that’s so sick! Also, I hope you enjoy this, and would agree with my choise, but I think you match perfectly.

If YOU want to submit a request, click here.

Stranger things:

I ship you with Steve Harrington

You like cheesy pick up lines? He delivers! First of all, he’s not the best at flirting, altough he acts all cool, and he was very popular... But let’s be honest, his main weapon are those pick up lines specifically. And you would come to Scoop Ahoy, where he would think you’re the coolest person INSTANTLY and be like “Know what's on the menu? Me-N-U”

Going to rescue or save someone, and understading eachother really well by making references to the horror movies. “Remember this movie we watched at your place?” “The one about the living puppet-serial killer” “Yeah! That one. We can do the same thing that the blonde girl did”.  “Absolutely!” And everyone else is like... whaaaaat

Driving to concerts to the other towns together. You would sing along to the songs in the car, and he would just sit with the heart eyes.

Him wanting to get a tattoo as well, because he loves yours tattoos sa badly. And you would tell him all about getting tattoos and treating them.

Him always bragging about you to everyone, because he genuinely believes that you’re the coolest person he knows. Telling Dustin all about how good you’re in music, how well you draw. And Dustin becoming your No1 fan after you perform fire eating once.

“Hey, loser!” You entered Scoop Ahoy, greeting Steve. “Hi, Robin!” The girl waved you and nudged Steve slightly. “Emm.. Ah, Hi!” He blinked and stopped staring at you so intensely. “You good, Harrington?” You asked smirking. “Peachy” He answered and tried to fix his hair immediately. “Alright, I’m gonna go change”. You eyed Steve suspiciously and headed to the back of the cafe to change into your sailor uniform. Honestly, it didn’t match you looks much, but the tattoos and the hair color definitely made it spicy.

“You’re drooling, Harrington”. Robin smirked at Steve. “That’s not true!” Steve protested. “Just ask her out already”. Robin groaned. “You’re getting annoying”. The boy turned back to the cashier and spoke again “I will. When you’re out of the cafe”. Robin thought for a second, and then tugged her hat down, and leaned on the same cashier. “Okay, I’m outta here! Ciao”. She slides under this cashier and headed towards the exit. “Wait, Robin! Where’re you going? Your shift isn’t over”. “Don’t care! Bye”

With that you appeared dressed in the blue shorts and a blouse. “Where did Robin go?” You questioned. “I wish I knew”. Steve sighed. “So...” He looked at you with hope. “What?” He looked almost as if you were supposed to know all the feelings and emotions behind the simple stupid “so”. He licked his lips at least 10 times in the past two minutes, and his eyes were going back pans forth to your face. At this point you were almost concerned about him. Steve always seemed so confident, that was the part of him that you admired. Now, in contrast, he was so nervous. “Are you sure that you are fine?” Steve gulped and inhaled sharply. “Positive. Look, I heard there was a new horrible movie in the theater, doyoumaybewannacomewithme?” You laughed. “Sure! Why not? Is it a date?” “Ah, erm, yeah, i guess... if you want, i mean i don’t...”

“Relax Harrington”, you said. “I would love to go out with you. Especially if the movie is as bad as you said it was”

Marvel:

I ship you with Peter Parker

He’s smitten by you and your confidence! And for some reason I can see the best friends to lovers dynamics. He would be all.. “Ahem... Look... I like you?”

Always arguing about who’s picking a movie for the movie night, and ending up watching what you wanted, because he can’t argue in the end.

He would help you to dye your hair, even though he wouldn’t know how. But you would tell him what to do, and he would be very nervous, but make it really pretty in the end.

Hanging out with him and Aunt May and slightly mocking him together with her. “Hey, Peter Tinkle!” “Saints! How did I earn this?”

You find out about him being Spider-man, when you go ice-skating together, and you trip, and he moves practically from another part of the lake (let’s imagine this is countryside) to catch you within a second. You’re very close. Awkward eye-to-eye contact. You smirk. “So that’s what you were hiding, huh?”

You were sitting on the fire escape of you apartment with Peter. It was almost night. One of those short and warm May nights in the city, when you can't even notice that it was here. It doesn't really get dark or quite - everyone is out, and the lights never turn off. Today you and Peter passed your last exam, and decided to celebrate, drinking coke on the fire escape while your parents were out of the city. "Do you think I would make a decent super hero?" You were swinging you legs, looking at the city.

"I bet you would be so much better of a super hero than I am", Peter sighed and chuckled lightly.

"Don't say that", you turned to him, "You're the best spider-man. Honestly, I think, you're my favorite hero", you layed your had on your hands.

"Like in the world?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, maybe second favorite after Black Widow", you laughed.

"Ouch! What's so special about black widow?" Peter leaned on the window behind him, taking a sip of his drink.

"First of all, she's badass. Then, she's a hero, even though she doesn't have any serums running through her veins. And finally, she's Russian, as far as I know. Isn't that epic?" You gestured actively, weighing up all the pros Natasha Romanoff. Peter smiled lighly at the sight of that.

"Okay", he said. "You win".

"That easily?" You eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah, I like badass women, who can do some crazy dangerous stuff", he answered, tilting his head.

"Like what?"

"Like fire eating", he said simply, and you felt your face heat up a little.

"Are you hinting at certain someone?" You asked with a smirk.

He took a deep breath and sat up straightly. "I like you. A lot", he closed his eyes, apparantly, affraid of your reaction.

"Well, I guess, that makes you my favourite super hero after all".

I'm so sorry for the delay of doing your requests, guys. School has been crazy lately. I'm going to handle it all soon. Have a great day!

[gisachi]

No, I also like Haibara, don't get me wrong. But she's not the same mysterious girl anymore, but more just a tsundere for me for now (and I don't really like tsundere characters). I think, people like her because of her previous huge development, character and looks. This is the same reason why people hate Ran. She doesn't really have any development for almost 30 years, her character is more simple than Haibara's and many hate her hairstyle. I still hope that Gosho will finally make her character development's arc, because it seems people started to hate her even more recently, and movies don't help her at all 🙁 Let's be real, not many people read the manga, but watch anime fillers and movies, and because of that, they only see Ran as a damsel in distress (but in the manga she also doesn't have a big role for the last 5-10 years...). And many others also talk about how her love story is already old for new viewers, and it will be better if Shinichi breaks up with her and CoAi becomes canon (and I'm very worried that Gosho might change his mind about ShinRan, we don't know what this man thinks of), because CoAi has much more supporters. Unfortunately, because of all this, she isn't in a good position. But none of this will change my mind, she will always be my favorite female character in DC🙃 I still wait for her time to shine, even if this doesn't happen 😭😶

Ah I was mainly referring to Shuichi and Amuro for the mysterious thing in the previous ask. As for Haibara, I like both her originally mysterious and later on tsundere side and she has one of the greatest character developments in the show. I also like the hella great dynamic of Conan and Ai.

As for Ran, I grew up with her so I always have this soft spot for her and it's impossible for me to hate her. You make valid points especially about the new DC viewers and anime-only followers so I get it and I get your frustration. I do trust that Ran will have her defining moment soon especially now that we're almost approaching the end. How she'll deal with Shinichi's secret. Also the Vermouth arc.

I express my love for Haibara and Ran individually and I don't wanna go "she has amazing character devt but the other's bland and boring so she's meh". I am long past caring about what others think of my faves or who they think is a "better" ship and I'm glad external influence won't change your mind about yours too. The DC anime team has tendencies to grant fan favorites but I'm positive Gosho will never change his mind about ShinRan.

[charlieweasleyy]

THE ONE WHERE WE ARE COMFORTABLE

WTN WEEK 2021 → day seven (episode seven) Hiiii friends so I decided to talk about things that bring me comfort and for me the thing that brings me the biggest comfort is the friends I've made on this board. I spend my time talking to these four basically allllll day long. If you can guess by the graphic above on who is who, but they have become some of my best friends so *drum roll* please and let me tell you about the people i consider to be my f.r.i.e.n.d.s.

MY LOBSTER Apparently, I am someone who when they find someone they mate for life. When I latched onto Elle I latched on and didn't (lol won't) let go. Like when I say she is my person I mean it with every fiber of my being. She is the soulmate. My wife. My lobster. She is like that perfect pair of sweatpants that you know are dependable and can count on and you don't want to let go of. She's like the television show that you need to put on because you've had a bad day. She's the first person I call when disaster happens. When I am having a bad day she is the first person I want to talk to and 10/10 she can say something to make it better.

We laugh until we cry and she likes to yell at me... but 9/10 I do deserve it. So, it is valid. If you see me flirting with her on the server (no you didn't) it's mostly because I can't help myself. So... just divert your eyes. It's very cliche to say that your life has changed after meeting someone, but that's what it has done. I am a better person for her, I'm more mindful, more open, and I don't think there isn't a person on this board who wouldn't say that Elle hasn't changed them for the better. It is who she is. She leaves you with something to think about, she challenges you. She pushes you. She has a heart for those who are misrepresented and misunderstood. I swear if Elle had her own talk show I'd listen to it every day. The girl is *passionate* and that is one thing I can't help but love about her. She is passionate about diversity, about the people on this board, I have watched her struggle with some hard decisions this year and how it has affected her mentally, but she also rises from the ashes because she has to. I have watched her countless times put this site above her own needs. I have watched her struggle. I have watched her doubt (herself and her future) and I have watched her wonder if she is doing the right thing. I have watched her feel remorse and pain and I'm telling you if you do not think Elle cares about WTN and everyone on this board then you've not seen her struggle the way that I've seen her struggle. It's probably why I'm so damn protective of her, but I don't regret a single second of it.

Okay, I've spent this whole time talking about how great Elle is but I've not spoken about the writing. I've run out of room... her writing is amazing, she is the one person I can respond to no matter what day I'm having and no matter what ship it is. I love all of our threads and I'm always so happy and excited to see an elle reply in my alerts waiting to be read and responded to! I find it hard to wrap them because they are just so good! If I have a day where I don't feel like doing replies good chance I'll still pull up an Elle reply because it normally makes my day better 99.99999% of the time. The .1% doesn't exist, but it's including the slight possibility of error and the fact Elle will have something to refute that claim with.

THE GIRL I'D MOVE FURNITURE WITH I don't think there is anyone else I want around my side to do some of the heavy lifting and I don't mean that in the physical sense, but in the writing sense and the mental sense too (tho I don't need to see Kae in real life to know that she's strong). You know that saying about people who struggle in silence. I think that describes Kae because sometimes it's like using a crowbar in getting her to open up and to TALK. It is one of the most frustrating things. It's kind of like a treasure box when you have the box sitting right in front of you and it is impossible to open. Okay, half the battle was finding it. You have the map in front of you and when you finally find it, it is STILL locked. That's Kae. It was quite the struggle in getting her to be open to more plots like I knew where to find and how to find her, but actually getting to Kae felt impossible even though I had all of the directions in front of me. But once you put in the time and effort to get to know her.... like *really* know her, it's like discovering treasure. Not only is she one of the most dependable writers (like I said she will carry the heavyweight in all of her threads), but she is one of the best writers! I love reading her threads even if I'm not in them, they always leave me on the edge of my seat and that characterization *chef's kiss*. MAKES JOKES WITH BC HUMOR IS BAE Oh you know the one who tells the jokes when they are uncomfortable. It is a friends reference and the only one I could think of when I thought of Aria. She makes me laugh. She probably makes me laugh more than anyone especially during WTNWeek because of these videos. When I say read something in an Aria voice I mean it! She isn't really that awkward!! But I'm sure she'll say differently so YOLO. Aria doesn't know a stranger, she pops into your DMs and suddenly it's like you have known her all of your life. We have not known one another as long as I have known Kae and Elle, but she fits in so well. Her writing is beautiful and I love how she is in my DMs daily with inspiration for our ships. I started out with zero Aria ship and Aria made two new characters just to have ships with me and I love her for that. I can gush about how amazing she is because she is one of those people who will provide you comfort. If she knows you are having a bad day, she will send you something to make you smile and she'll remind you that she loves you. And I can't even tell you how having those videos during WTNWeek has made my days a little bit better! If I'm feeling frustrated or sad I just turn one on and it has made my day ten times better. It's funny how she is young, but she is kind of my teacher. She sends me videos to help me when I don't understand something and I am SORRY Aria because you've had to send a lot of videos lately, but I don't think the staff could have made a better decision in asking Aria to hop on board. She is always so helpful and the thing is -- she *wants* to help. She wants to pitch in. She always puts her best foot forward and I love that. And cand we talk about those posting and organization skills #swoooon MY SMELLY CAT In reality I am probably singing this song to Jasmine, but I feel like you'd join in sooo here we go. I wanna preface and say I am not calling Bela a smelly cat! But she speaks in references I don't understand sometimes and sometimes she talks about these weird noises she makes so I think this description is perfect for her. Bela came into WTN and I normally have trust issues BUT I trusted my gut and Prudy is one of my favorite characters on the board. We have been trying to get her cousin on board for as long as I can remember. Prudy deserves all of the good things so I really wanted Bela to stay on board. I threw her practically everything I could think of and I am so glad I did because it has allowed us to get close over the years.

Bela and I have created some fun dynamics over the years between readie being the superior of them all, but we also created dynamics that I never expected to create like Manny, Sieun, and Dylya. They have come to be some of my FAVORITE pairings. It's kinda funny we often joke about how we only have one ship on the board, but it feel like we have a billion. Bela always enjoys sending me music, it's like when she knows I need some writing music, and that's part of the ways she fits into my comfort. Bela is a listener. She listens and she is one of those people who are easy to talk to. I enjoy sharing headcanons and future headcanons and character ideas that we won't create but would like to! I like that she is open and she is honest with me - if she is having a bad day then she'll let me know. But I also think we've talked so much that I can just tell.We are comfortable with one another and I absolutely LOVE it.

I know confetti has been going on for a while, but there are not many people you write with and write WELL with but I have found multiple people I LOVE writing with and I absolutely LOVE talking to. I have found my person (lol more like loml), my partner-in-crime (like if I'm going to go to jail I need her in my corner), my cheerleader (and child), and my ship in the night (lol, we gotta be on at the right time and at the right time to talk).

[contrabbandiera-di-elia]

You're colors are really showing honestly. Sana openly talks about how she doesn't want Elia, about how he is not what he likes, she shows where her love lies, where her feelings are and what she wants for here future. But here you all are, trying to keep pushing the narrative of Elia and Sana getting together, writting fix-it fics that put them together because "that would make Elia happy" "that's what Elia wants". New flash, women don't have to choose to do what make males happy. Bye

Hello Anon.

Although I do understand where this comes from, I feel like I need to clarify a few things. Especially since I'm afraid there may be more people who think this way and I wouldn't want that.

Concerning the part about "Sana knows what she wants and who she wants." I feel like it's the other way of saying, "don't erase Malik from the narrative." First of all, I never said a bad word about Malik nor Sana/Malik as a ship. Quite contrary, you'll find me saying, "Malik is such a sweetheart," even in my latest ask. He is my favorite Yusef character, and I think he's a good match for Sana. Nevertheless, I also believe I have the freedom of shipping whoever I want to. I am a multishipper, I ship multiple ships at the same time. It means I can ship Elia/Sana, but I can ship Elia/Filippo or Sana/Malik as well with the same or similar intensity. It is natural for me, putting many different characters together because I simply think they'd be interesting to see them as a couple. I know who Sana canonically wants, but it doesn't stop me from shipping her with other characters just for fun. It's like Filippo, Dario, and Elia in season 3. I did recognize they're together and happy, I had nothing against Dario, but it didn't stop me from shipping Elippo. Because I don't view shipping as "these two characters HAVE TO be together and I'll die if they won't." I see it as "I like these characters and I think they'd be interesting together." I ship for fun. You'll see me shipping different characters. I ship Elia/Sana AND Elia/Filippo, Sana/Malik. I ship Gio/Eva AND Gio/Sofia. I ship Silvia/Luca, but honestly, I think Elia/Silvia would be interesting too. That's what I do. Multishipping for fun.

(Plus, I won't hide it, Elia is my favorite character. Hence, I'm shipping him with many characters. Elia nad Filippo? OTP. Elia and Sana? Adorable and interesting. Elia and Silvia? It'd be kinda cute. Elia and Eva? Hot and interesting. Elia and Federica? Unexpected yet intriguing. Elia and Federico? Damn, why not? I just think Elia would be interesting with so many characters. Basically, I think I don't ship Elia only with Contrabbandieri and Emma.)

About "fix-it fics." I've never written any. All I did was writing one Sana/Elia fic, which was set BEFORE the season 4, and it was ONE-SIDED. Another one I planned, and it was a fic which was supposed to give Elia and Sana a closure, I wanted to have this "Elia confesses to Sana the one last time, she sees that he's serious and rejects him once again, they have a serious talk and come to terms." That's it. I haven't planned any "Sana dumps Malik and gets together with Elia" fics. I didn't even know there are any! The only two Sana/Elia fics I've seen were both pre-canon, not fix-it. And one of them was mine!

Now about "shipping Sana/Elia just to make Elia happy." That is definitely not what I wanted to convey. I always highlight that I find their dynamics interesting. That's exactly what I said in one of my recent asks. That I find the contrast of their characters interesting, and I think they'd help each other develop in many different directions. I don't ship them just because "that's what Elia wants." I ship them because I think they have a lot of potential together. I ship them because (as I mentioned before, I believe) I love this kind of ships. Smart, witty girl and laid-back, sarcastic guy. I love sassy couples. I never shipped them just because that was what Elia wanted. I ship them because I like both of these characters separately and I think they'd develop interestingly together.

I hope it's all clear now. And please, don't think I hate Malik or something. I love him with my whole heart. I had a whole lot of problems with OG Yusef, but Malik? I adore him! I always rant to my sister irl about how perfect he is. Besse basically fixed everything I disliked in Yusef and made Malik such a perfect guy I truly adore. And I think he's perfect for Sana. They're, like, filling all these little gaps in each other. They are insanely cute. I actually belong to the minority which believes their first date was perfect. But I also believe that shipping is something to do for fun, and me being fascinated with the concept of Sana/Elia doesn't mean I don't ship Malik/Sana nor that I'm anti-Malik.

I hope it'll change your mind. If not, I'm open to further discussions. I can elaborate on some things that are still unclear.

Have a nice day!

[stoopsbookstore]

Stress Relief -M-

Synopsis - Doyoung is rethinking his decision to give Jaehyun's cousin an internship. He's constantly messing up the shipping orders, he spills coffee everywhere, he takes too many breaks, but Jaemin is his best friend's cousin, so Doyoung deals with it. One day, Doyoung has been stressed out so much because of Jaemin's bullshit, he freaks out. His maid offers a source of relief.

Warnings - Office sex, Window sex, Phone masturbation (it's on speaker while they're doing it), mentions of a pregnancy/breeding kink, Power dynamic (CEO/Maid), Soft Dom!Doyoung (probably could've written him more dommy, but I was feeling a bit soft)

"I know he's your cousin, but holy hell, Jay, Jaemin can't do shit right," Doyoung held his head in his hand as he talked to Jaehyun about his cousin's daily antics, "he fucking ordered 500 tons of printer paper, we only needed 50."

"It's a simple mistake, I promise. He's just a ki-"

"He's 19 and he's a dumbass. This isn't the fuckup he's done," Y/N came over to Doyoung, handing him a peppermint tea and a croissant to Jaehyun, "Thank you, Y/N. I know you're related and I'm doing this as favor, but shit, dude, you couldn't given him an internship? If his parents wanted Jaemin to get experience, why not just do it with family?"

Jaehyun wiped his mouth as he took a bite of his pastry, "Blatant favoritism. Since we are related, the company would see it as a conflict of interests. It was either ask you or have him clean vomit up at the carnival with Yuta's younger brother, Yuto."

"Baking soda or corn starch," Y/N started wiping down the trophy case, full of Doyoung's medals and awards from years past and present, "Dries it out, that way you can easily vaccum or sweep it up. No smell as well."

Doyoung nodded towards Jaehyun, a smug smirk on his face, "See? No smell."

"Ok, asshole," Jaehyun threw a napkin at the older male, "I'll talk to him, tell him to shape up or clean up. Y/N, always a pleasure. I wish you could come clean for me, but what from I've heard, sounds like Doyoung gives you a hell of a paycheck."

"3 year contact, full benefits, an pet-friendly apartment with half-priced rent as well as Holidays off? I sure hope that's a hell of a paycheck," Doyoung stood up, shaking Jaehyun's hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jaeh-" Doyoung was standing in his office, pants soaked in various caffeinated beverages, his phone on speaker.

"I know! I know! He accidentally spilt coffee on your pants in front of Mr. Park and his son, Jinyoung! Just send him ho-"

"We were so close to a possible merger! A small startup was in my grasp! He even flirted with Y/N as she was cleaning up his mess!"

"Listen, I'll knock some sense into him, just one last chance, please?"

Doyoung ran his fingers through his hair, Y/N taking Doyoung's jacket as she attempted to clean, "Fine. One last chance, but if he fucks up again, he's out."

Before Jaehyun could say his thanks, Doyoung hung out, slamming the speaker, a piece flying onto the floor. His head pressed against the desk in annoyed anger as Y/N stopped cleaning his jacket to grab the disjointed speaker piece. Doyoung noticed as Y/N bent down, her skirt rode up, a sliver of her black cheeky panties showing. He quickly diverted his attention when she straightened up, placing the small object on his desk. Doyoung fiddled with his tie as he continued to watch Y/N cleaning his office, poorly hiding the thoughts in his mind.

"Y/N, you're always so hard working. Don't you have a social life? Any friends or boyfriends or girlfriends," Doyoung tried to talk in his smoothest voice, concealing his speech of any suspicious tones.

"Nope, I'm single and I don't really go out. Honestly, Mr. Dongyoung," a strain in his pants emerged as Y/N's voice became more sensual to Doyoung, maybe a sip of water would help, "I just kinda stay home, watch some Netflix or Hulu and play with my cat."

Doyoung choked on the water a bit, his mind dirtying up Y/N's sentence, "your cat?"

Y/N grabbed the feather dust out of the office closet, her movements much more fluid than Doyoung has ever realized, "Yeah. She's a little puffball, only about 2 years, her name is Mimi."

"Oh," Doyoung let out a relieved sigh, a hand reaching under his desk while his free hand continued scrolling mindlessly through a document, hovering the mouse over his two screens, "I bet she's really cute."

Y/N chuckled, "She's an asshole, but a great cuddler. So basically it's like having a boyfriend, except the cat knows how to take care of itself."

Doyoung palmed himself through his pants, continuing to watch Y/N as he pretended to be interested in the annoying numbers that appeared on his screens. Y/N smirked, feigning innocence as if she hadn't noticed Doyoung craning his neck when she bent over again to fluff the couch cushions.

"Is there anything else you need help with, Mr. Dongyoung? I know you're stressed, so I can stay if you'd like," Y/N subtly bit her lip at the growing tension, walking over to fill his mug up with more tea, "maybe help with some stress? I know peppermint tea can help."

Doyoung chuckled at the question, "we have very different ideas of stress relief, Y/N."

"What's your idea of relief?"

"Call me forward, but bending you ov-"

The phone rang, Jaehyun's number appearing on the caller ID. Doyoung breaking out of his melodic way of speaking and answering it with anger and annoyance, Y/N hiding her surprise at Doyoung's bluntness.

"What, Jaehyun?" Doyoung almost growled, a shot of hotness going to Y/N's core, "I'm sort of busy."

"So I talked to Jaemin," a groan out of Doyoung's mouth as Y/N placed his tea on the desk, rubbing his shoulders, "Don't groan. He says he's sorry for messing up the order, he said Ten's handwriting was atrocious and he misread it. He also said he wasn't flirting with Y/N, he was just trying to be nice."

"I think he was being more than just nice. Talking to Taeyong about how he would love to make out with her in the 15th story hallway closet?" Doyoung heard a little giggle from Y/N, a sense of annoyance coming over him. Doyoung pointed to the couch, Y/N thinking he meant to clean it, but as she went to grab the lint roller, he signaled her to just sit on it. He scooted his seat from out under the desk, turning it to face Y/N, the bulge in his pants noticeable, "that's not being nice, Jung."

"He said that? The little shit told me Taeyong said that!," the air started to grow hotter between the two, Doyoung pointing to the door and making a locking motion with his hands, Y/N making her way, locking it as Jaehyun continued to defend his cousin, "anyway, he just became an adult this year, we did stupider shit when we were his age."

"Name one time I fucked up by ordering 10 times the amount of product needed or I tried hitting on my boss's employee," Doyoung motioned Y/N to take off her panties, Y/N sliding them down her legs as she walked back to the couch, throwing them at Doyoung, the fabric landing on his black suit pants, "Seriously dude, one time."

Jaehyun stammered as he failed to register one time that Doyoung had fucked up as badly as Jaemin, "there was that one time at Cube Cafe where you spilt coffee o-"

"On Y/N. Who, if I remember correctly, said it was her fault, we exchanged numbers and three years later, in a cruel twist of fate, became my employee," Doyoung unzipped his pants, his free hand going in his pants, the sight entrancing Y/N to start teasing herself, "The defense being one situtation was two college students being dumbasses on campus while the other is a college intern being a dumbass towards a CEO."

"Fuck, I hate when you're right. But you know you did that on purpose so you could 'talk to the pretty girl with the caramel frappuccino', don't even lie" Jaehyun sighed over the phone, Y/N unzipping the back of her uniform, exposing a matching black bra, Doyoung finally pulling out his cock as he started pumping, "I'll talk to Yuta, see if he can give a job to Jaemin that doesn't involve vomit. I'll call you in a bit, bye dude."

"Alright bye," the line went dead as Doyoung let out a growlish moan, his eyes watching Y/N push in one finger, "God, I needed this release."

"So you were saying?" Y/N pulled out one of her breasts from her bra, rolling the nipple with her free hand as she added another finger, "how do you relieve your stress?"

"Where was I before I was interrupted?" Doyoung kicked off his pants, pulling his boxers up as he walked over to Y/N, pulling her fingers out of herself as he helped her up to her feet, "I think I was talking about bending you over my desk, in your maid outfit or even naked. But I like the outfit better, it just reeks of desperation, so hot and passionate, I couldn't wait to strip your clothes, so I just said fuck it and started fucking you."

The two walked over to Doyoung's desk, him grabbing at the papers and files, moving them out of the way, Y/N playfully swaying her hips. Doyoung pulled down his boxers again, this time taking them off as he leaned Y/N over his desk. He flipped her skirt up and pulled her bra all the way down as he reached in his desk junk drawer to pull out a condom. Rolling it on, he rubbed his cock over Y/N's core, gathering some of the wetness that had occured.

"Of course, a condom for safety. As much as I'd love seeing you with a swollen belly and covered in my cum, we can't do that right now. You'd look so beautiful carrying my kids, then I'd get to spoil them as they grow up," Doyoung pushed into Y/N, a moan escaping her lips as her breasts pressed against the glass table, the coldness bringing a new sensation against her warmimed body, "we can talk about that later, if you'd like. To be honest, I've thought about you and I doing this ever since I spilt that drink on you."

"Was it in purpose like Jaehyun said?" Y/n questioned as Doyoung kept thrusting, the glass desk moving in rhythm with the pair, "needed a reason to talk to me? It seems like you got a bunch of more confidence."

"Could you tell? Becoming a partial CEO with your brother of a multi-million clothing company can do wonders," Doyoung admittedly regretfully pulled out, bringing Y/N to his chest as he became nibbling on her neck.

"Why did you pull out?" Y/N arched her back and started rubbing her thighs together, "do you have a meeting?"

"No, hell no, not until later. I would cancel it if I did," Doyoung walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk, opening the curtains as he looked over the 6th story pane of glass, "come here."

Y/N walked over to Doyoung, his hands finding their way to her hips as he turned her around, unzipping her top the rest of the way and throwing it aside, leaving Y/N in just her bra, skirt and stockings, Doyoung slipping off her kitten heels as he kissed up her legs.

"So gorgeous, so beautiful," Doyoung kissed Y/N's back, shivers spreading throughout her body as Doyoung reached her neck, light bites accessorizing her skin, his long fingers tangling in her hair, pushing into Y/N, "I don't think you've seen my house in the few years we've known each other, we should change that, show you some of my toys I have, maybe get you some."

The sharp, calculated thrusts and smug taunts from Doyoung made Y/N hum in ecstasy, Doyoung's free hand reaching down Y/N's skirt to play with her clit. Y/N grabbed at Doyoung's forearm as he started at a fast pace, his fingers rolling the small bundle as he kept up fucking Y/N into the window. Doyoung pulled out for a second time, spinning Y/N so the duo is now face to face, Y/N biting Doyoung's lips. Slipping in one more time, Doyoung lifted Y/N's leg to rest on his hip.

"I want to take you on a date, I want to make you mine, years of seeing you in those skirts and shirts that my brother has designed," Doyoung leaned down to kiss Y/N's breasts, his thrusts starting to be more sloppy, "your tits peeking out of them, your skirt raising up everytime you reach up to clean the higher shelves."

Y/N leaned down to bite down on Doyoung's neck, her moans muffled and vibrating against his sweaty skin. Doyoung felt his high coming on, his thrusts slowing down, milking every drop into the condom. He pulles out, tying the condon and throwing it away. Noticing Y/N didn't get off, he dropped to his knees, spreading her legs apart, kissing her thighs.

"Doyoung, you don't have to do that, I'll be fine, I should get back to work, the 4th floor needs to be done and I have a vibr-"

"It's the gentlemen thing to do," Doyoung kiss her clit as Y/N leaned her head back on, the pleasure spreading through her body, "I'll have Hongjoong do it, don't worry."

Doyoung sucked and lightly nibbled on Y/N's clit, pushing 3 fingers into Y/N as he thrusted them in and out, working to Y/N's high, he would feel bad if he got off and she didn't, even though he's her boss and this started because he need some sort of release. Y/N's thighs started to shake as Doyoung continued licking at anything he could find, his fingers going at a merciless pace once he found the spot that made Y/N go high-pitch in her moans. Y/N didn't even notice her high had came until Doyoung stood up and brought her in for an intense kiss, her essence on his lips as she could taste herself on him. Doyoung helped Y/N over to the couch, taking off his jacket and giving it to Y/N as he gathered her clothes.

"I can't believe I just screwed my bo-"

"The next word out of your mouth better be boyfriend," Doyoung kissed her forehead as he walked over to his desk, looking for a specific piece of paper and calling the front desk, "Hey Ms. Sana, can you cancel the rest of my appointments for the rest of the day, Ms. Y/n isn't feeling well, so I think I'm going to give her a ride home and make sure that she's okay. Also, ask Hongjoong to clean the fourth floor, I'll give an extra 1,000 dollar bonus this month."

"Ok, Mr. Kim, I'll do that right away."

The phone hung up with a click as Doyoung texted the valet to bring the car around to the back, Y/N putting on her shirt and Doyoung's jacket. Doyoung helped Y/N up as he slid her shoes on.

"Where's my underwear, those are kinda my favorite pair."

Doyoung took them out of his pocket with a smirk, "they're mine too and I think I'm going to keep them with me. I'll get you more pairs, one in every single shade, hue and color."

The pair walked out of the office, Sana looking concerned and shouting an admittedly adorable "Y/N fighting!" as Doyoung and Y/N made their way down the hall to the back elevator. They waited for the elevator to come to the 6th floor, Doyoung's hand gazing over Y/N's.

"So, I assume we're going to your house."

"Like I told you, I've known you for a few years and I want to show you my house."

Y/N sleepily groaned, "I kinda want a shower and a nap first."

"Fine, a shower and a nap first," Doyoung put his arm around Y/N's waist as they stepped in the back elevator, her head resting on his chest as she curled up into him. Then with one last devious smirk on his face.

"But then, I'll give you a tour. Maybe show you some of my playthings."

[sprinkledonion-blog]

Another real long “I don’t like Bumbleby” post (Part 2)

Part 1 is here. 

The Adam fiasco

We’ve reached the most controversial point in the essay: Adam.

Adam was… a symbol. He didn’t have much to offer in personality and screentime, but he represented. Until he stopped representing and became a mere tool for Bumbleby to develop.

I know, I know, another Adam fan who coincidentally dislikes Bumbleby. What can I say?

Adam was the sacrificial goat for Bumbleby. His existence became so tied to them that his whole faunus vs SDC plot became just an afterthought. He became a puppet to do Evil Things; if you pay close attention, especially in daylight scenes, you can actually see the strings on his back.

Adam had lost his way in every sense of the word. And he became a monster: Bumbleby’s heart.

Bees are gonna beat me up for this one.

Yes, Adam became such a vital piece for Bumbleby to develop, their whole relationship revolved around him. Yes, he traumatized both girls, but V1-V2 gave us nothing else to chew on. No bonding, no cute smiles, no development. Adam triggered the rise of Bumbleby like kaboom. Bam, now there’s Bumbleby. And what cemented their relationship? Killing him.

I need to ask: why does a wlw relationship revolve around a man? Why does everything in RWBY come back to a man? Jaune speaks over Ruby. Pyrrha dies so Jaune can have development. Qrow steals screentime along with Oscar like a madman. Adam is a matchmaker. Can the “RWBY is a feminist show” take die already? It ran away when Pyrrha was fridged.

Worse is? Bumbleby is good because Bumbleby is BETTER than Tauradonna.

Or so it seems. Ahem.

Now. Of course it’ll be better than Tauradonna, as it isn’t an abusive relationship. But what I mean is, this is the ONLY thing going for it. Oh, you should ship it because it’s better than Tauradonna. No, it’s not its own thing. It’s just better than Tauradonna. And no, we can’t stop comparing to it.

I know abuse leaves you a wound it’s difficult to heal, and you’ll inevitably make a comparison. I’ve been in an abusive relationship too. But Bumbleby should be its own thing, developed separately from Tauradonna, and then compared. I didn’t get enough screentime and reasons to ship them, and now you want me to compare it to an abusive relationship? Of course I choose Bumbleby! The other option is horrendous and… hey, this is more manipulative than I thought!

And the killing… oh, there’s nothing more romantic than killing a guy together. Maybe I’ll try this next time I wanna date a dude. Forget Netflix and chill, this is the real thing!

The show handled it… shakingly okay. Blake cried, Yang comforted her. Alright. Fine.

But now Adam’s not here, what’s gonna happen? Let me guess: we’ll get all the Bumbleby screentime we didn’t get early enough. Some say “Great, now it’s gonna be RW-BY instead of RWBY”. Maybe. I don’t really care. Ruby seemed to be more comfortable alongside JNR, and Weiss does what she can. Maybe she could get incorporated to the team too? Or form a new one with Qrow and Oscar (and Ozpin)? Hey, it’s not a bad idea. Either way, the dynamics will change, but as long as they don’t take too much time off other characters, it’ll be fine. I gave up.

DC comics development

I’m not 100% sure of how to feel with this one.

I couldn’t read the DC comic, but some… definitely interesting screenshots were posted. I could see that they don’t care very much about canon (I can’t take Raven seriously anymore). But they also patched some things up, meaning: Bumbleby.

Remember when I complained about not seeing enough Bumbleby bonding to actually buy the ship? Well, DC comics gifted us one, two, eight panels of Bumbleby bonding: borrowing books, offering food, braiding hair. Sounds very nice… and very late. And very fake.

Why didn’t we see this on the show? This feels like those eight panels are supposed to show peak Bumbleby bonding and we must be satisfied with it. Peak LGBT+ representation right there. Why didn’t we cut off Arkos, Renora, Iceberg and Blacksun and spent time with Bumbleby instead? Why should I feel satisfied with a mere eight panels?

Not genuine at all.

Bonus: the newest take goes like “DC comics was CRWBY trying to build more Bumbleby with moments at Beacon we didn’t get to see in the show because the episodes were ONLY 6 MINUTES LONG”. So CRWBY had time to build Arkos, Renora, Iceberg, Blacksun and not the main ship? Those 6 minutes were enough to build straight relationships but not the main wlw one? What an unfortunate coincidence.

What would have you done differently?

Team BSCE.

Bonding: why is Yang interested in Blake? Why is Blake interested in Yang? What does make Yang feel like she can be vulnerable around Blake instead of, let’s say, Weiss? What do they talk about, that isn’t Adam, or Ozpin? Do they have private jokes? Do they look forward to spend time together? Does Blake know what Yang’s favorite food is? Do they train together more time than they should? Why do they love each other? How do they support each other? Does Yang read books about faunus?

Showing: how does Yang feel when Sun flirts with Blake? How does Blake feel when Yang flirts with guys? What makes them blush? What is their body language? Do they notice things about each other no one else notices? Do they think about closeness? Do they think about each other at night? Do they think about kissing each other? How does their attitude change? Do the rest realize something’s going on?

Conflicting: besides Adam, what problems do they have? Blake has been shown to feel like a burden and isolate herself, but what about Yang? Do they have things about each other they barely stand? Do they share the exact same mindset? Do they have arguments and about what? How do they handle disagreements and arguments? How do they approach problems? How do they fix them? Do the same problems come up over and over again? What things they don’t tell each other? What do they hide from each other? Do they expect each other to defend them on arguments with others?

Exploring: what’s their endgame like? What are their dreams and goals, and do they collide with each other? Do they think about the future? Do they have a theme? Did they develop separately, as individual people, before developing their relationships? Are they dependent? If one of them died, would the other (take revenge and) move forward, or fall into deep depression? Can they live apart from each other and things don’t change? And what if things do change? What things change? How do they face change?

Yes, I love asking questions. One brings another, and another, and before you realize, you thought a lot about the couple and their core. You don’t need to answer every single one of these questions, but it can help you develop a clearer and deeper relationship, better than… I don’t know, sudden love?

Show bonus (what I posted on twitter):

·         Yang interested in faunus. It is sudden, and Ruby realizes (Yang taking lots of notes during history class but only on faunus lessons, finding her in the library reading about faunus [allows for cute funny moment! Yang never reads!], talking to Velvet)

·         After being informed, Yang asking Blake about her experiences (Adam topic could be brought up and thus foreshadowed), making them closer. This also has an impact on Yang, which drives her to defend Velvet from Cardin, making friends with Sun, etc

·         Yang would also be more careful about the jokes she makes, trying not to make any racist ones and letting Blake explain her which ones are

·         Just talking in general. Deciding to spend time together when they're free (that does NOT mean they're never with the group)

·         Free time together allows for more talking and deeper topics brought up more naturally (ex: more about Yang's mother, maybe some other insecurities, further deepening her character)

·         Blake realizing Yang is allowing herself to be "weaker" around her, so she supports her a lot

·         They would defend each other in an argument against Weiss for example, and if that isn't the case, whoever wasn't defended would feel hurt and they would have to talk about it (fixing problems and talking out disagreements)

·         LISTENING AND TALKING TO EACH OTHER

·         Knowing small things about each other, for example Yang's secret place when she wants to think, Blake's favourite tea, etc

·         Yang trying to show off her strength, making flirtatious comments that Blake doesn't get and getting embarrassed

·         Yang feeling hurt when Blake spends more time with Sun and seems to be falling in love with her, but not acting on it because she doesn't wanna to get in their way and wants Blake to be happy

·         Blake missing Yang

·         Yang trying to flirt with other girls and Blake feeling strange

·         When talking with Sun, the Yang topic is brought up frequently and Sun realizes and tells Blake she seems special, Blake starts to realize something

·         Blake running away breaks Yang as she had put a lot of trust on her, even allowing herself to be "weak", and she knew about Yang's abandonment issues. Yes it's the same in canon, but it had more buildup and thus is more heartbreaking

·         During Menagerie arc, Yang is brought up often and Blake finally realizes her feelings, while Sun accepts his place as just a friend and supports her all the way (also Yang is his friend too, remember!)

·         From this point on you can drop canon on it just fine

·         BUT ADD THE TALK™! They need to talk about Blake running away. PLEASE.

Conclusion

This is not me saying “Do NOT ship Bumbleby”. Ship whatever the hell you want. I ship things that don’t even make sense. This is me saying “Your ship isn’t as good as you think it is, please stop attacking other shippers for pointing it out, and no, your argument ‘you’re just homophobic’ isn’t always valid”.

I don’t want to talk about bees anymore. Never again. But I probably will, when volume 7 drops. Until then…

Beehaw, I guess.

[shybre22]

Okay so I wanted to do a few posts in defense of my favorite pairings Sasusaku, Ichihime, and Todomomo, because I've seen them get bashed quite a lot. Today I'm starting with Sasusaku.

Sasusaku common hate: Sasuke treated Sakura like garbage,why does she love him,Sasuke never cared about Sakura, sasusaku is sooo toxic.

" Sasuke treated Sakura like garbage" Ok Sasuke never treated Sakura like garbage where are they even getting this from?!... are they referring to when he called her annoying? Because he was right..he wasnt being a jerk, she was basically bashing naruto for have no family and remember Sasuke also had no family either so she was also indirectly making fun of him too.. as much as I love Sakura everyone could agree she was being a brat, she didn't know better sure..so that where Sasuke comes in. Sasuke just told her that her making fun of someone for being all alone in the world made her annoying..and it did! No one can argue that. He wasn't trying to insult her.. Hell if that was an insult it was super weak and he could've called her something worse if that's what he was going for..like a snobby privilege brat.. for example..but he didn't..he was just trying to explain loneliness to her and when she didn't get it her called her annoying.

Maybe their referring to when he said she needed to stop flirting with him and hone her ninjutsu..and told her she was worse than Naruto in that respect. Again not treating her like garbage he was telling her the truth! She needed to focus on her skills to improve their team dynamic not her crush on Sasuke! He was just being truthful, bluntly yes, but it was needed. Because after both of those instances..it made Sakura rethink her actions..ie inciting character development. After he called her annoying she thought about how Naruto felt and wanted to be nicer to him after that. And after he said she was worse than naruto she reflected on it. Also he made up for it later on during the chunin exams when he cheered her up

Sasuke Uchiha, the aloof guy who doesn't play nice with others and the guy who "supposedly" treats Sakura like garbage..not only noticed her being upset, where even Naruto (the guy who likes her) didnt, but Sasuke went out of his way to pay her a compliment to make her smile and bring up her confidence! I mean look at his smirk in the bottom panel...oh yeah he so doesn't care.

Oh yeah let's not forget the Forrest of Death..when Sasuke wakes up and sees Sakura hurt.. I mean he must dislike this girl strongly right..its not like he almost killed the people responsible for her beating her..

Yeah because when you treat a person like garbage and dislike them..you care if they get hurt and beat the dog snot out of the ones who did it to them..right?

Did the antis maybe mean when he knocked the apples out of her hands?? Firstly you have to think of the frame of mind he was in..he had just had an encounter with Itachi, you know the man who responsible for his suffering in the first place, and pounded him into a pulp and taunted him about not being good enough and not having enough hate. Remember what he was thinking about as Sakura cut the apples??

He was thinking about how he couldn't do anything to stop Itachi from trying to take Naruto and how he couldn't save Sakura from Gaara but Naruto did..he was feeling powerless and frustrated. Besides if he really didn't want Sakura there or to cut apples for him..he would've told her to get lost and that he didn't want her there but...

He let her hug him and stay in the room with him while she peeled apples for him. Sasuke wasnt being an ass to Sakura. He was frustrated and angry in general at that moment he felt so far away from his goal it hurt, he had trained so hard for years and for what? To be no closer to his goal..his reason for living..letting all that hate and feelingings of uselessness fester and fester until it boiled over and Sakura, at that exact moment, happened to push an apple in his face like he was a baby who couldn't do it on his own.. and the result..

The bottom image even parallels his expression with Orochimaru, showing he wasnt in his right frame of mind at the moment and he was being overcome with vengeance and Orochimaru's influence, the curse mark. I feel this also is seen from Sakura's point of view not just the readers..its foreshadowing his descent into darkness.

Getting back to my point.. He wasnt treating her like garbage! He frustrated at his own lack of power and just so happened to take his frustrations out on the nearest person...Sakura.. and dont forget Naruto, he fought him to appease his inferiority complex at the time. Let's not forget he was a pre teen boy who was dealing with so much for a someone his age and to have your lack of power rubbed in your face by the very person who took everything from you would have made anybody lash out...and let's be real here..how many times has any person lashed out at even people they love because of anger? Not saying it's right, but it happens.🤷‍♀️

Plus after Naruto and Sasuke's fight Kakashi comes in and lectures Sasuke about having new precious people..and guess who he thinks of along with Naruto..

SAKURA! Imagine that the girl he supposedly doesn't care about and treats like garbage is on his list of precious people..

I wonder if Antis mean when Sasuke thanked her and knocked her out so she wouldn't follow him or scream for help to stop him?🤔

Okay so I always say this..if Sasuke treated her like garbage or didn't care why would he stand and listen to her confession..not only that but he actually spoke back to her..explaining his reasons for leaving.

Sakura is pouring her heart out to him and it does affect him..make no mistake, at the bottom it shows Sasuke with a blacked out pannel..which shows the impact that Sakuras words had on him. In fact he cares about her enough to say he doesnt remember calling her annoying..because at this point in time she is no longer that loud, bratty girl she was when they first made genin..she was a precious friend and comrade to Sasuke. Then we find out he does remember because what does he call her after she asks to help him with his vengeance and abandoning the village and her family and friends with him and confessing her undying love to him.. he says "you're still annoying" showing her he does remember.. so why did he call her that after saying he didn't remember calling her that only minutes earlier? Maybe because..it was the only way to deter the current conversation so he didn't have to answer her..or maybe because she had gotten to his heart through her words so much..that it almost made him falter.. and that annoyed him..maybe both.

Then the fateful Thank you..

Honestly if Sasuke didn't care he wouldn't of had this little heartfelt goodbye with Sakura..he would've knocked her out the second she tried to talk him out of it and left her there...but no he let her say her piece and he said his..even kishimoto mentioned this felt like a conversation between lovers.. Sakura confessed her love and while Sasuke didnt confess back he also didn't say he didn't feel the same either..I feel at this point not only was he still too young but he was still too goal oriented and scarred and hurt to except her love or even explore if he felt the same way about her, which is why he probably didnt deny or comfirm. Sasuke knocks her unconscious gently and then carries her to a bench..if he didn't care or treated her like trash he wouldn't left her on the ground and knocked her out long ago.

Now shippuden is a crazy roller coaster for Sasusaku fans..but even so I still dont feel he treated her like trash..

The first reunion is rough..Sasuke has been isolated for two years letting his hatred burn with no distractions so he's obviously colder. Now I hear antis all the time swear that Sasusaku is an abusive relationship.. Now my favorite rebuttal is " How can their relationship be abusive when their not even in a relationship"! At this point in time Sasuke and Sakura are technically enemies..now Sakura and Naruto may still see him as a friend but..they still know to be cautious around him as if he were an enemy..they even know they might have to fight him and drag him back by force.

Antis also love to use the "Murder" attempts to trash the ship. I use quotations because like I said earlier they are technically enemies at this point and it was Sakura who initiated combat each time and Sasuke literally just defended himself..Sakura and Naruto..as far as Sasuke was concerned were just in his way of vengeance and trying to get involved in his business and stop his goal..so of course he tried to stop them by any means necessary. At that point he didn't see them as friends anyway

Now during the land of iron Sasuke had fallen so victim in the curse of hatred ( yes it's a real canon thing so dont try to write it off) but even at his lowest he still didnt hurt Sakura at first sight..he attacked when he knew Sakura was there to take him out when she hesitated to kill Karin. We know this because if Sasuke really just wanted to kill everyone in his path he would've tried to kill Sakura on sight..I mean after all he did hate the village and everyone in it at the time right? He did express his desire later to kill Kakashi right? Didnt he boast about how he'll turn everyone's laughs into screams of anguish?

Yet he didn't try to hurt Sakura until he learned of her motive.. he saw her hesitate.. then he tried to kill her..because there would be no reason to come up behind her in a sneak attack..to trick her so he could kill her while her back was turned as some antis say..no Sasuke was way stronger than her at the point..stronger than most jonin and even took on all five kage and didn't die..there is no reason he would need to trick Sakura to kill her.. so he did want her to join him at first then he saw her true motive and struck before she could.

Again he wasnt treating her like trash she was just in the way of his goal and tried to stop him with deadly force...plus he was so twisted by hatred and Obito that nothing really mattered to him at that point not even himself really. Like I said these are the best times for the ship but we have to think of everything Sasuke endured. Especially mentally.

On a side note..

I think i need to point out that Sasuke treated Naruto far worse than he treated anyone else in the series,calling him names, expressing the wish to kill him a few times, and actually attempting to kill him more than a few times ..and he called him his best friend so if you wanna get on a ship for being toxic or treating the other like trash..look at that ship before you point fingers at Sasusaku..

Also for the antis who complain about Sasuke or Sakura being terrible characters and hating them..remember Gaara is a very beloved character and great kage and he use to kill people to make himself feel alive so much in fact his sand reeked of blood but the fandom let it go..Neji almost killed Hinata over something that wasnt even her fault and talked down on others telling them they were born losers and they cant change that.. but he changed and all is forgotten..the fandom forgives.. Obito is literally responsible for Naruto being an orphan and ostracized by the village but he changed and helps out a bit in the war..Naruto forgives him..the fandoms applauds it.

Sakura..said something rude once when she was twelve, and had a super crush on a boy when she was twelve that turned to genuine love that she never gave up on, was kinda annoying because she was twelve.. wasnt that strong because she comes from civilian parents and had no one to teach her anything at a young age like her peers..she changes all of those (minor) flaws..fandom never forgives..wont forget hates her.

Sasuke..one of the most tortured souls of the series..was made to watch his family get murdered by his own brother over and over was now alone and wanted vengeance..achieves it find out his brother was ordered to do it by his own village everything he knows is a lie..a higher up stole all his clansmen eyes and ordered the slaughter on his family.. kills him and attacks everyone out of pure rage because basically his own birthplace and the whole government system screwed him over.. he seeks vengeance for said screw over..finally comes to his senses..again..no one forgives..fandom: he needs to suffer more.. 🙄

Anyways back on track in the war arc antis love to say Sasuke didn't care about anyone but Naruto.. first off..there's a literal war going on so he's kinda busy trying to keep the world from ending and not dying so.. yeah. But we find out later he does still care on some level.

When Naruto calls him out when he said he only saved Sakura and Kakashi because they were next to Naruto.. then Naruto counters and reminds him of the bridge when they were fighting Haku..when his body moved on it's own.

Then Sasuke got real quiet and his eyes are blocked by his hair so we cant see his expression..telling us..Naruto was right!

I also knew it was BS because if he only wanted to save Naruto he would've and knocked everyone else out of the way.

Another thing antis spout is he was mean to Sakura when she asked what was going outside the susanoo to which he replied " why do u wanna know you cant do anything".

Again I'll admit it was very blunt..Sasuke needs to work on his tone yes..but again..he wasnt wrong.. he wasnt treating her like garbage..he was bluntly telling her the truth in a very dire situation. They literally, at the time, were the last four people on earth..so his bluntness was understandable.

There is another scene before the infinite tsykoyomi that shatters the illusion Sasuke doesnt care once again.. when he first told Sakura to be on guard when she was healing Kakashi's eye..then later when Naruto pops back up and Sakura is asking Maruto a qu6about how he restored Kakshi's eye he yells " I told you to be on gaurd....Naruto" obviously he didnt tell Naruto..which he himself points out he didn't tell him..so it lead you to believe he was talking to Sakura again..since she was the one distracted again.😉

Now when the second confession happens you can see Sasuke obviously was impacted again by Sakura's words..so much his foot was shaking and we get a full panel of it shaking. Then the infamous " You're Annoying" again with a different face..almost a pained fake smile. Then he puts her in a genjutsu.

Now most Antis say he denied her when he said he didn't know why she loved him and didn't have a reason to love her..but Kakashi jumps in and says the line " you only need a reason to hate someone"..which is true. Sasuke even says he knocked her out so she would follow and get in the way like last time..last time they almost killed her remember.. and he admitted that her feelings are chains from a failed past..and even thought of his family while talking about Sakura..

So Sasuke again listened to Sakura confession..acknowledged her feelings..even thinking about his family as he did acknowledge her love..and he admitted he knocked her out so she wouldn't get between him and naruto..knowing last time she almost died...hmm weird for Sasuke considering he was still under the curse of hatred and he apparently doesn't care about Sakura..

Then lastly Sasuke's apology.. every anti said it was too simple and Sakura gave in to easy. Firstly even though Sasuke probably only indirectly hurt Sakura by going down the wrong path and leaving her and the village he actually never hurt her intentionally like he did Naruto..Kakashi..The Five Kage..Hell even almost killing Karin,then giving her a half assed apology,imo she definitely deserved more than a sorry js.. but he felt the need to sincerely apologize to Sakura..and Sakura even egged him on saying "sorry for what" and he replied with everything I've done until now..

Out of everyone he apologized to Sakura..he hurt her yes..but even Naruto..his best friend, the one who got his arm blown off by him, didn't get an apology. Or Kakashi the man who was his teacher and mentor who he tried to avidly kill, and helped get him outta jail and wonder free didn't get an apology...but Sakura did..and idc who says otherwise..that means something

Sasuke even shared a forehead poke a special gesture shared between him and his once beloved older btother.. just with her.

Everyone can say what they want about this ship but I know Sasuke always cared to some extent and he never treated Sakura like she was garbage. Sasuke had problems yes..anyone would in his situation..he made bad choices..turned his back on his home and friends but he never really stopped caring and so many scenes in the manga obviously show that. After all no one valued love more than the Uchiha right. Sakura's unwavering love, I feel is also something to be admired not mocked.. she went from a young girl with a shallow crush to a woman who never gave up on the one she loved and it played off in the end and that's powerful..honestly the world needs more love like that...this world is so full of pettiness and hate that unconditional love is refreshing.

[ficsinhistory]

Sharly - An Analysis

Hello! As I said, this is a post analyzing my favorite couple from The Good Doctor, Sharly! Believe it or not, I've seen them as a couple since 'Mont Rushmore' and the end of the second season made me thrive! I wanted to make this post because besides talking about my babies, I want to show that although surprising, the writers already showed that it would be possible to happen. Making it clear that my intention here is to speak my point of view, if you are not ship is ok, we can all have different opinions. Second, I am a neurotypical person, so I will explore more Carly for reasons of knowledge, not leaving Shaun aside, of course.

I, at least, since the first time I saw Carly, I've been shipping she with Shaun. I like her personality as we saw in the incredible episode between her and Claire, for example when Carly said that guilt shouldn't always fall on the lab every time some sample was lost, but also not insisting on it after the search (besides the fact that a duo between these two is iconic by itself) and how Shaun feels comfortable around her, which is very important in any relationship.

When they met, their interaction already showed how reasonable Carly is. Shaun is wanting to accomplish the tasks in the best possible way, including wanting the exam as quickly as possible as Melendez asked. But of course he has to wait and Carly makes this very clear, besides explaining that he can't tabulate the samples in degree of importance as he wanted. That's when he says he's gonna throw a rock in her window. However, I love how her reaction wasn't to get angry or offended, on the contrary, Carly, although initially surprised, followed Shaun's line of thought saying that she really wouldn't like it and in the end said that the test would come out in 15 minutes, making it easier for him to wait.

Despite being firm, she is also a balanced girl who knew, in the short period she had with him in the first season, to understand and understand Shaun, so much so that in the same episode, even if visibly confused, she heard Shaun ask for a series of tests, even if in the series they seemed unnecessary at the time, still trying to alert him that he could stay in trouble, or in "trampoline", where he had scenes that I will comment on after they made me melt.

Carly has always been a kind and worried person, "Intangibles" also shows how much she knows how to work in a team and gets along with other people, including Claire, with whom Carly showed a very great affinity, and now that her character has been promoted to the main cast, I really want to see more of the friendship of these two! She, like Shaun, heard Claire vent while she was still looking for the sample. Besides having an A+ sense of humor!

After that, unfortunately, there are no more appearances of her in the first season, however, Carly comes back at the end of the second and in ways that made me ship Sharly even more. As soon as Shaun gets to pathology, I just absolutely love how excited Carly is about the fact that he works there! She gets him excited and says she doesn't need to be called Dr. Lever, showing that she wants him to feel comfortable and seeing him as someone accessible, besides understanding that it must be all too new for Shaun, it's 'like going to Disneyland for the first time'.

I also like very much how it pays attention when Shaun sees a biomass printer and uses the term "we", not only to say that it also works in pathology, but to show that it is including in this world and that it is part of a team, which makes him happy. She also asks him if he wants to test the machine and comfort him by saying how important and vital their work is. This reveals that Carly imagines how much Shaun loved being a surgeon and does everything in her power to make him more comfortable on the spot.

Much of their interaction in this episode is Carly trying to help Shaun move on, which due to the short time they had and because she is not part of a more immediate circle of Shaun's coexistence, she can't cope with the fact that he insists so much on going back to surgery. Even so, he doesn't get angry at her, thinking she doesn't understand, on the contrary, Shaun has a positive view of her, so much so that in "Breakdown", while talking to Lea, he remembers her after a comment and speaks of several quality of her, saying that Carly is intelligent, nice and aggressive, also casually commenting that she wants him to stay in the department because Carly thinks that they are a good team.

I love it, very much, because Shaun doesn't like the pathology, he doesn't want and doesn't like the idea of being there, but, he likes the presence of Carly, he feels good in her presence and, when he talks to Lea, he visibly already shows that he is slowly falling in love with her and that's very cute! Shaun has difficulty with some parts of the social interaction and, he's working on it including, so I think it's sweet and touching how quickly he came to the conclusion that Carly likes him, and how she makes a point of showing that too, revealing a great dynamic of friendship, which later evolved into a romance, where both express affection and are open about it.

"Trampoline" for then, was the peak of their two this season and showed how much they both care. When Claire is helping Shaun practice flirting (the scene was iconic with Claire advising him, she is a roll of cinnamon too pure for this world), it is clear how scared he is of being rejected, due to previous experiences and shows how much he really wants to try a relationship, showing that not a bit one-sided this romance, at least when it comes to Shaun.

They'll talk to Carly later, who makes it clear she misses Shaun in pathology. He, on the other hand, don't miss the pathology, which she responds with a smile, however, showing that she understands it. Later, Shaun begins to get a more serious picture due to the injuries and tries to get an exam, he goes straight to Carly, and it is in this scene that I may have had a fangirl outbreak.

Carly says Shaun can't order more tests, saying that he doesn't work in the hospital anymore and can't have a patient, already suspicious of the situation. Shaun says said it's from a Claire's patient, but once again, she doesn't buy the idea and says the sample has no name. Shaun realizes that Carly already knows the truth and assumes that she won't be able to do anything, and that's when she does it:

She pulls the sample, and that's when you know she really cares. Carly is attached to the rules to some extent and what he's about to do can get her into trouble, however, she will not only take the test but also ask more to know what Shaun has, referring to him as "the patient", respecting the fact that Shaun wants to do everything with discretion. When he says he's coughing up blood, her face says it all:

She's worried. This is a serious symptom and this fact stirs her up, which then claims it will do the tests. Later, with the results ready, she finds him in the cafeteria and tells him what it could be, when Shaun said he was induced by Trauma. And that's when, for the first time on the show, she interrupts him. Again, Carly shows that she cares about Shaun. She sits next to him and, still referring to him as "the patient", says that the symptoms will get worse and that he needs to take a medicine, which she writes a prescription, to improve. And what follows is a series of cute Screenshots. My favorites are how Shaun looks at Carly and how she watches him leave.

After Shaun passes out, he recovers, Claire manages to save the patient, he gets his job back. The end of the episode without a shadow of a doubt and the most incredible and kind part regarding these two.

Shaun's gonna ask Carly out, who's pretty surprised and stunned. He asks if she would like to go out to dinner and she asks if this is a romantic date, which she agrees to go on. With this, Shaun goes away cheerful and the scene gets even softer with the fact that Carly was watching him go away with a smile.

And that's it. I really wanted them to be the endgame, they have a great dynamic and complementary personality, but that's for the writers to decide. For all intents and purposes, this was my analysis to show that Sharly was always possible and that I can't wait for the third season. Until the next pals, I'm out!

[rudderless-in-an-ocean-of-stars]

So a lot of the premise of S2E19 was the idea that Kara did a lot with her fists- and didn't consider talking. I was just wondering what you thought of that- Kara literally talked a robber down with just her words, and all of the sudden she doesn't know how to do it at all. Seriously, what is up with this backwards character development?

I’ve been thinking about your question for quite some time- which is why I’ve taken so long to respond, sorry, and it’s a very good one.

Yes, we did see Kara learn that fists aren’t always the answer to every solution in season one, and it was a beautiful episode.

So it does leave the question- why take that away from her character now?

The writers probably needed to further the problem of the episode, to show a direct source of conflict between the pair, so they took Kara’s reasoning skills down a couple notches to reduce her to being the ‘brawn’ so that Maggie could be the ‘brains’.

Let me explain the logic behind this. (Brace yourself, it’s a doozy.)

Maggie’s place in Team Supergirl is still undefined. Everyone else has already carved out a place for themselves within the group dynamics- for example, Winn with his technical skills, Alex with her general badassery. Given that the occupations of Alex and Maggie are so similar, it served as a catalyst for their meeting and subsequent encounters that led to their relationship. However, the similarities between them have made it so that Maggie cannot simply take the role of ‘badass with a gun’ within the group, because Alex already has it. This means that she must prove her worth to the team by providing a skill or talent that isn’t already there.

Kara, we know, is a very empathetic, kind character. While it makes sense for her to rush into danger heedlessly, due to her invulnerability to most forms of harm, it does not make sense for her to have broken a man’s arm or given another a concussion without feeling guilty about it. She’s lived on Earth for nearly half of her life, and we know for a fact that she’s learned how to regulate her strength very well. Besides that, she has always been reluctant to physically harm her opponents in debilitating ways. She normally incapacitates them as best as she can without injury. Whether this is due to her high level of empathy or her heroic sense of self- like Batman and his NO killing rule- is irrelevant. What matters is the fact that time and time again, we have seen her go to great lengths to resolve situations peacefully- attempting to sway Astra, for example- before resorting to violence.

So to have Kara so casually dismiss their injuries at the dinner table was completely out of character for her. While she uses the ‘greater good’ reasoning to justify her actions- by claiming that she saved the lives of the hostages- Kara has never been the type to risk others in the name of the ‘greater good.’ She would risk herself, as we saw at the end of season one, but she would never willingly compromise the safety of another individual- and if she did, she would feel extremely guilty about it. After she dropped Cat off of the balcony under the effects of Red K, despite the fact that Cat was not physically harmed, the guilt that wracked her was extreme. For Kara to break one man’s arm and leave another with a concussion is one thing, having her care so little about it is another, and a very out-of-character move for Kara. But then again, a lot of her actions were out of sync with the hero she has spent the past season developing into. However, it was done to have Maggie assert herself as someone capable of contributing ‘new’ skills to the team.

And having Maggie bring up the ‘Supergirl defense’ is another thing. Had Supergirl really used excessive force repeatedly, we would have seen mentions of this in the media when they criticized her previously. A superhero hurting people doesn’t make for much good publicity, does it? The vigilante defense is one thing, and they did have a point about debris-contaminated evidence, but Kara would never injure so many people and feel nothing about it.

Yet this is what they had her do.

Why?

Simple.

It all comes back to cementing Maggie’s role in the team.

She needed a place, a position, as I said earlier, and in order to get that, she had to play a critical role in helping and mentoring Supergirl herself. So by making Kara take a few steps back in terms of character development, they allowed Maggie to be seen in a new light by the members of Team Supergirl. Through this, she was also able to finally gain the respect of our favorite hero, and forge a working, if not friendly, relationship with Kara.

This, however, cost Kara’s character something, but it was remedied at the end of the episode, where Kara is shown to have learned her lesson and talks the villain’s father into cooperating. A nice touch, but not as nice as having Maggie succumb to the demands of Alex’s classmate. It was a brilliant role reversal in which Maggie was forced to do exactly what she had accused Kara of doing earlier- taking the fast, brutal solution rather than negotiating and reasoning. Both characters learned a lesson in this episode, and it was very well-written.

Obviously, it wasn’t perfect- making Kara’s character backtrack wasn’t the smartest move, but it was efficient, and it got the job done at the end of the day.

However, we also can’t ignore the way that a lot of the character development from last season has been shunted off to the side or disappeared altogether- and not just for Kara. This, I DON’T blame on Maggie.

No, for this, I blame Mon-El.

To push him forward as one of the major players in what is shaping up to be the central conflict of the season- Rhea’s evil plans- the Supergirl writers had to quickly make him a 'hero’ of sorts, in the audience’s eyes. Unfortunately, they did this by reducing the storylines of pretty much every other character, regularly giving him the spotlight of many episodes, and turning Kara into a rash, lovesick puppy too blinded by the shoddy writing and supposed charms of an alien frat boy to remember that her character- the character we came to love in season one- would never, ever be with a slave owner, or a man who can’t do the simple task of remaining faithful, or a man who tries to guilt her into a relationship by making her feel bad for not returning his feelings.

Mon-El is the ultimate representation of the self-proclaimed 'nice guy’ that we all love to hate.

Y'know, the guy who feels like he deserves everything, even if he does little or nothing to earn it, up to AND including a girl’s affections. The sleazy guy who offers to buy you a drink and gets mad when you turn it down. The guy with a chip on his shoulder who feels like the world owes him something simply because he’s a man. The guy who will sit down and talk with you like a rational human being, and say he’s not like other guys- until you turn him down for a date, and that’s exactly what he becomes. Entitled. Arrogant. Spoiled.

And Kara’s own behavior towards his guilt trip is another prime example of how poorly written her character has been the past season. Look at how gracefully she handled Winn’s unrequited affection for her- the pair came out stronger and better for it, and Winn grew into his own because of it. But now she immediately decides to jump into a relationship because his feelings for her- which were initially unreturned- caused her to have a magical change of heart?

Sorry, no.

There were so many other ways to develop Karamel as a legitimate, healthy relationship that I would respectfully acknowledge in spite of my support for SuperCorp.

Unfortunately, the writers made him too important, too quickly, which dashed any hope of a slow, realistic evolution into a redeemable, lovable character. Thanks, guys. He had serious potential, and if his story hadn’t been rushed so quickly that it became one the wildest face-heel turns to ever grace a television screen, he could’ve been a great character.

Could’ve been, but now he isn’t.

Sorry, Karamel shippers- if any of you are reading this. I hate hating a ship, but one as badly executed as this one doesn’t deserve even the dignity of my respect. I respect you, and your right to support it, but don’t ask me to do the same for your toxic ship.

Sorry if this response went on a bit of a tangent, anon, but I hope it all makes sense! :)

Remember, my ask is always open- for prompts, questions, advice, anything at all. :D