#not everyone is into multishipping

[thissisatitle]

*post a Rufus/Elena piece where we see Rufus being clearly attracted by Elena in it*

rando in the tags: they have to talk about Tseng, anyway Rufus is dating all the tu-

me:

[allastoredeer]

Since you're a multishipper (love that) have you consider Adam, Lucifer and Alastor as a trio? (Poor, poor Alastor)

Any thoughts?

Do I want Alastor to be stuck in the middle of a petty angel sandwich?

Yes. Yes I do.

[citroncynique]

LOOK AT ALL THESE MEURSAULT SHIPS!!! I dont have a witty caption I just think Meursault should be kissed by everyone on this godforsaken bus

[dustykneed]

pictured below: highly uneven distribution of buttock volume amongst the captain, first officer and cmo of the uss enterprise. happy spones day!

sporse (spock horse)! obligatory warning for exposed midriff in the next pic (aos!) but nothing too racy. a version that is very very slightly more so is up on my ao3 :]

always and forever will be a true sponer... oh old married couple of my heart 🩵💙💛

[hualianisms]

Not father & son, not master & disciple, but a secret third thing

First of all, let me preface this by being clear that everyone is free to headcanon anything they want and like/dislike anything they like/dislike! That being said, sometimes I see international fans interpret FDB as LLH's son, or their dynamic as parent-child or otherwise familial, and as a native chinese speaker, I just wanted to share some reasons why I personally did not interpret them as familial.

Granted, at the start of the show, FDB is kept in the dark and also not up to LLH's level of skill in solving cases. However, FDB quickly catches up in crime-solving skills, intellect and maturity by the 2nd half of the show, after a well-written growth arc. I think the beauty of the characters and relationships in this show is that they grow & evolve, and are meant to do so. The dynamic that LLH & FDB had in episode 1 is quite different from their dynamic at the end of the show. By the later episodes, they are 2 adults who are very much equals.

Why I don't read them as father & son:

LLH & FDB act and speak in a manner that is far too informal & familiar with one another, which would be extremely inappropriate for any kind of parent & child, even a surrogate one. Several times, FDB calls LLH by just his first name "Lianhua", and sometimes even calls him "Damn Lianhua" when he is angry/upset at LLH. This would be extremely rude for a disciple to call a master, or a son to call a father. No son talks to his father the way FDB talks to LLH, and no disciple talks to their master like that. Unless the son/disciple hates the father/master, and is outright rejecting his father/master altogether. As we see in the show, not only does FDB not hate LLH at all, he instead cares deeply for LLH and would do anything to save him. Why, then would someone scold/curse someone they care about? Does the trope of the upset spouse/partner sound familiar?

For comparison, see FDB's interactions with He Xiaohui, who he is close to - he is informal & affectionate with her, but never calls her anything other than "娘 niang" ("mother"). I can't emphasize enough how taboo it is in Chinese culture to ever call your parent or parental figure by their name under any circumstance.

2. In ep 31, FDB himself explicitly rejects the idea of LLH as his shifu and himself as LLH's disciple, responding that he is too old to be LLH's disciple and it was merely a joke. He clearly sees LLH as an equal, and rejects the notion of their relationship being anything other than that of 2 adult equals. LLH also tells his shiniang that FDB is not his disciple, and a few episodes ago LLH told FDB that he has never understimated FDB.

Coding/hints as something other than platonic:

Zhiji/zhijiao - FDB calls LLH his 知交 zhijiao in ep 19, and 知己 zhiji in ep 34. "In this life, I, Fang Duobing, recognize you as my only zhiji." is practically a love declaration. And this bond is reciprocated by LLH, bc in a deleted line in ep 19, translated by forayuarchive on twitter, LLH is the one who first calls FDB his zhijiao.

To clarify, Zhiji is not specifically a romantic term, but it's what was used in both The Untamed and Word of Honor - both dramas based on danmei novels with canon gay main pairings - to bypass censorship, to code the bond between the main duo as deeper than your typical platonic male friendship. (See this post for a detailed explanation of the significance/history behind the term zhiji, and see this twitter thread for an explanation of the meaning of zhijiao in MLC - especially how zhijiao is specifically mutual, reciprocated).

2. Married bickering - forayuarchive on twitter has discussed in these twitter threads how the tone of many of LLH & FDB's interactions (especially FDB) is similar to how married couples or romantic partners speak to one another bc of the level of familiarity, tone and language. For my fav example, see this note (translation by forayuarchive) that FDB left LLH in ep 35, which reads pretty much like a note that a spouse/partner might write when leaving their shared house in a hurry.

3. "Xiaobao" - Personally as a native Chinese speaker, LLH calling FDB "xiaobao" in front of everyone is a level of intimacy that genuinely would make me feel embarrassed to hear as a third party. 小宝 xiao bao (literal meaning = "little treasure") is usually something you call actual babies/children AND is FDB's family nickname for him, so if you're calling a grown man that in front of everyone including his colleagues, family and even strangers, then one might assume he is likely either your biological family or your romantic partner. (For comparison, just imagine calling your s/o their parent's special childhood nickname for them at work.)

4. Deleted lines where FDB calls LLH "xiaohua'er". 小花儿 Xiaohua'er ("little flower") is very intimate and feels like something someone might call a lover. Or, at least, definitely not a platonic shifu, even less so a parental figure. (For meta on the names that LLH & FDB use for one another, see forayuarchive's twitter thread.)

5. More deleted scenes (translated by forayuarchive on twitter), perhaps cut due to censorship, which make apparent LLH's high regard and deep care for FDB. For e.g., a line of internal monologue by LLH in ep 40, translated here by forhenjun, shows that LLH thinks of FDB as the only person in his two lifetimes who has always treated him as a human being rather than putting him on an unfair pedestal.

6. Official MLC accounts act like as if they ship them.

As murderedbyhomework mentioned, there is a song in the official soundtrack of MLC called "Fanghua's Day-to-Day Life" (yes, the exact same words as their ship name). Sounds like a couple's daily domestic life, doesn't it?

The official iQiYi Romance youtube channel lists clips of LLH & FDB under the romance category.

The official MLC douyin account posts MVs with emotional captions (e.g. this one translated here by forayuarchive) that emphasize how much both LLH and FDB mean to one another. Another official MLC douyin calls LLH & FDB the person each other trusts the most.

The MLC clips posted by the official Guangdong TV weibo account also has captions such as these (translated by rice_jpg) that straight up describe FDB's feelings towards LLH as "when you like someone" (very similar CN phrasing as the phrasing used to describe romantic crushes).

7. They are subtly paralleled with a canon straight romantic couple (see fanqxiaobao's twitter thread on the parallels btwn LXY/QWM scenes and certain LLH/FDB scenes). MLC also made a distinct change from the novel by not having FDB get married to Princess Zhaoling, even though the drama could have easily given FDB a romance with her.

8. If you're familiar with chinese romantic tropes or the danmei genre, LLH & FDB fit many common romantic tropes e.g. sharing a drink on the rooftop under the moonlight, forgotten first meeting in childhood (and then meeting again properly as adults), power couple fighting side by side (they even held hands!), nianxia, protective younger ml, sickly older mc - just to name a few. Danmei even has many stories of shizun/shifu & disciple pairings who fall in love as adult equals.

There's honestly lots more but these are just some off the top of my head. Again everyone is free to interpret anything! This is just me explaining why as a native chinese speaker I personally did not read their dynamic as that of a father and son.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I'm sorry all my previous Wolverine ships but I'm full on my Logan X Bald Person phase rn.

[leothil]

Some of you need to chill a bit with the "people don't know how to multiship anymore." Never in the history of multishipping has everyone been on board with every ship, and that's fine.

[milimeters-morales]

Miles: can’t believe i’m reinforcing harmful stereotypes about gay people by wanting to be the “girl” in Ganke and I’s relationship 😢😭 i’m such an awful person!!!

Miles, 8 months later: 😲💡

[narutobookshelf]

Situations I Think have Extreme Comedy Potential

So this one needs a little context of the "my thoughts on how the Konoha 12 would grow up to be" variety

Naruto - AroAce of the "would happily marry and/or sleep with any of his friends if they asked, does not experience romantic or sexual attraction or really understand people who do but is absolutely down to have a good time with the people he loves, considers sex something fun you do with friends if they initiate it" flavor

Sasuke - AroAce of the "would stab anyone who ever tried to touch him all he wants in this life is to exist in Naruto's space. made a baby with Sakura because he felt obligated to continue the clan somehow, was severely uncomfortable about the entire thing but insisted on going through with it anyway. Has proceeded to live a completely separate life from his wife and that's what both of them want. They do check in on each other regularly and sometimes go out to dinner with Naruto because Naruto." flavor

Hinata - Caught onto Naruto before any of the other pining people did and got him to put a ring on it. Is perfectly comfortable with the knowledge that Naruto doesn't love her romantically the way she loves him. She knows he loves her in his own way and they have a family together. And a happy family is all either she or Naruto ever wanted so they are able to work together to fulfill their dreams.

Okay, so. the exact situation.

Sasuke shows up at the Uzumaki house fairly regularly just to...hover. Around Naruto.

Hinata tolerates this because a) she knows that Sasuke won't hurt the kids and b) it makes Naruto happy

Sasuke tolerates Hinata because she makes Naruto happy

Neither of them are comfortable with each other and the number of times they have sat down to meals together has not helped this.

Both Hinata and Sasuke come from noble clans.

This means they were raised with MannersTM and the more uncomfortable they are the more formal they are.

They are so formal with each other.

Naruto is oblivious and so very, very happy that two of his favorite people get along so well!

[shehungthemoon]

You know what? I might love bucktommy, but I am going to give myself a second to mourn buddie. It was a big chuck of my fandom experience, it's what got me into this show in the first place, and they've brought me so much joy over the years. So here's to buddie <3

[hellcifrogs]

I don't like SasuKarin as a pair, but in your style they look so adorable that I can't help but smile (and save the pic xD) ☺️

I feel so powerful when people say things like this >:)

[rocknrollbodhisattva]

Halloween AU: The Strange Girls

Some girls are mean, some girls are nice, and others go both ways.

The Serpent’s Knowledge (Part 1): Fi's search is locked on Riley when she conjured her doppelgänger. Chaos ensures and Farkle emails Fi, she gladly takes the distraction when college overwhelms her. Technomagick can't solve Fi's problems, neither can Riley's insecurities. What has he overlooked? How can Clu be of help? Sometimes softness is stronger than darkness. Even the serpent needs a friend. [Read More on FFN & Ao3]

Lilith Released (Part 2): Maya summoned Lilith but Lucas can't contain Maya, let alone a demon, and asks Annie for help. Annie has her own problems: an unexpected pregnancy during her tour. Her spirit panther becomes real, growing more protective of her. Music can't help Annie here and Maya must use her intelligence to banish Lilith. Who will survive when their worlds crossover? [Read More on FFN & Ao3]

I was inspired to do a gif set because of @ladyxboheme. Thanks to @soweirdondisney , @soweird-gifs , @fi-phillips , and @thats-so-weird for occasionally talking to me about what we thought of the show and characters.

[auuwmk]

kim dokja is so shippable with everyone, man...... Kdj x any adult member of kimcom (+ adults outside of kimcom) is peak as hell, even kdj x literally himself (see: side story).

His dynamic with everyone is saurrr good. He's not One Who is Loved by All for nothing!!!!!

[itslilacmoon]

will you guys still love me if i make the occasional lunter shitpost

[lilacthebooklover]

@charismabee and i have a sacred rule around shipping. it is simple, undeniable, unbreakable. it is that "rivals" is nothing more than secret code for "lovers". this has infected so many of my fandoms, turned everything on its head. my brain is infested with crackships that somehow make sense. it's reached a point where i can no longer read the word "rival" without viewing it under this lens. ah, yes, the rivals from my favourite book as a kid? they're GAY. the childhood best friend lawyers who became rivals out of circumstance? they're GAY. the cringefail anime fan and the jock he's declared his greatest rival? they're GAY. the embodiment of truth and purity and the evil, deceit-centred parallel to his soul? they're GAY. the list goes on.

[awesamforehead]

Is it weird to grieve over all the writers and artists we have lost over this?