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lacryem · 9 months ago

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— A surprisingly long and in depth look about symbolism in the recent G-Fantasy cover by Yana Toboso ✦

Including references, flower language, how to decode the meaning of flowers, and a little too much brainrot. As well my personal interpretation drawn from all the sources I looked at. And of course what all of means (and maybe hints at?) for Sebastian and Ciel… and maybe even Sebaciel?

Originally posted as a twitter thread, but threads suck and I forgot a couple things. so here now.

Disclaimer :

I don’t know FOR SURE that all these things were directly referenced by Yana when creating this art. But being a fan of her work for over a decade I've become familiar with her use of symbolism and reference, and believe myself to have a good eye for it at this point! I'm also pretty familiar with the use of flower language, including different languages, due to having been involved in a project about it and having to read wayyy too much about this.

Some of it also includes my own personal interpretation, but the meanings and info I based myself off of ARE factual. I think I made it pretty clear when referencing my personal interpretation. You're welcome to reach your own interpretation based off of the stuff provided!

And lastly, I'm not a sebaciel shipper. I'm not an anti (the complete opposite, actually) and have nothing against the ship, I like the narrative around them and how they're written but I don’t actively ship them romantically or sexually. So I'd say this is actually a pretty unbiased interpretation. Personal taste is one thing, but I don’t deny the author's intention and whats written in front of me! That is what this post is about.

Kuroshitsuji takes place in the Victorian period (1837~1901) in 1889.

The following are both important Victorian books on the language of flowers that I will be basing myself off of.

Language of Flowers by Greenaway Kate (1884), and The Language of flowers: An Alphabet of Floral Emblems (1857).

(Also, I’m treating Ciel’s rose as a deep red rose. Which is a bit different than red roses. But I am adding some relevant information about roses in general, anyway.

Now, on what they say about these flowers.

Deep rose, meaning "bashful shame". White lily, meaning "Purity and sweetness."

— The White Lily

Most people assume that the lily refers to Ciel's purity, and that’s a fair assumption. But I disagree.

Firstly, the one holding the lily is Sebastian. Holding it on his right hand, tilted towards the right. However what's relevant here is the VIEWER. From the viewer's POV he's holding it to the left. Note he also holds the scissors on his left hand, where he bears HIS contract seal.

How you hold a flower, what position you give it to someone in, changes the meaning of the flower. These context clues are very important. It tells us that 'purity and sweetness' doesn’t refer to Ciel, but actually refers to Sebastian (…sorta).

This may be a little confusing. Purity and sweetness, Sebastian?! I know, I know. bear with me.

These books provide poems to help us understand how you may interpret the intended meaning. The lily poem is about enduring trials out of love because of the purity and sweetness he sees in his lover's eyes and soul. I believe Yana directly references the poems I will include in this post in her new artwork.

— My Interpretation

the meaning of Sebastian's lily is:

"I do all out of love for the sweetness and purity within you."

Him holding it to the contact seal and cutting the flower could stand for him destroying this sentiment (affection within himself) that has arisen in him as a result of their contract by destroying the sweetness and purity—the source of it—within Ciel (consuming his soul).

Note: This is debatable, as 'reversed' almost always means upside down. But if you consider the lily facing away from the viewer as reversed then it could mean "impurity and bitterness" which fits pretty well with Ciel, and it being held against the contract seal which is a physical representation of his impurity, brought on by his bitterness.

— The Deep Red Rose

There something I find very interesting. The rose is in a teacup, standing in for tea (I think there's even tea alongside it in the cup.) From Yana herself we know that Sebastian's eyes are a reference to the reddish brown colour of tea.

Like I said, I believe this rose to be a deep red rose, which is a bit more specific than the meaning given to red roses. However I think the poem included for roses in general very much applies here.

I was going to add my thoughts but I found this interpretation that sums it up pretty well if you replace the carpe diem theme with a more "running out of time" or "impending death" theme, which seems to be a more accurate reading for this artwork.

Looking at the rose itself, it has no thorns or leaves.

It is not a youthful rose as its already fully open and losing petals. "No hope, and no fear" fits with the poem, the rose is basically an hourglass referring to Ciel. His fate is unavoidable, but this isn't a deterrent. He's dancing on the ledge.

The deep red rose means 'bashful shame'.

When you compare it to the lily, which is a direct proclamation, the deep red rose is a quiet confession one cannot verbalize.

Debatable, to be fair but given the tie in to Sebastian's eye colour and the fact that he is always the one pouring tea for Ciel, I believe the Sebastian to be the speaker here too, but this time speaking on Ciel's feelings (Hence why he's the one holding it) rather than Sebastian's own.

— My Interpretation

The meaning of the deep red rose Ciel holds, speaking about Ciel's feelings of guardedness, and in response saying:

"Abandon your bashful shame, and let yourself be admired without expectations (hope) or fear"

Sebastian speaks about Ciel's feelings, the deep red rose acknowledges his feelings but they remain unspoken.

The Waller poem is a plead for his beloved to seize the day, for time is short, and allow herself to be loved completely.

Her beauty is one to be appreciated, she is not meant to be a rose unacknowledged (unloved) in the desert.

Regarding 'expectations', I think this is more about rigid ideas of how 'appreciation' or 'admiration, might be shown or received. Sebastian and Ciel's relationship defies normality or 'expectations'. So this, too, would defy expectations a young boy like Ciel, or a traumatised boy like Ciel, may have.

From Yana herself, we know Sebastian's dedication and how highly he holds 'beauty', specifically Ciel's beauty.

The author of the poem proclaims that beauty not appreciated is not beautiful indeeed, and so he calls his beloved to come to him and be appreciated wholly during the invaluable, limited time they have.

We see the deep red rose's petals fall away, in my opinion not only symbolising the withering away of time, but also the crumbling away of this "bashful shame" that Sebastian ascribes to Ciel.

How Sebastian wishes to "appreciate" this beauty is debatable. How he wants to "admire" and "desire" (per the poem) Ciel is rather open ended. Wether it be in a romantic way, a sexual way or by consuming his soul.

However, I don’t think these are mutually exclusive. And consuming Ciel can easily be a metaphor for the former two.

— The Lily and The Rose

The Greeneaway book has this poem which im sure was directly referenced. This poem speaks about the lily and the rose in a direct power struggle and fight for dominance, until they eventually unite and reign as one.

Now when speaking about this "union", you could say it refers to their contract, but I don’t think so.

The contract ties them to each other, but it doesn’t necessarily unite them. So I believe 'unity' to be about the appreciation Sebastian speaks of Ciel opening up to.

"The Lily" and "The Rose" might be interpreted as directly representing Sebastian and Ciel, and the unity that would come from them joining and becoming a truly complimentary pair. I think a power struggle and fight for being the one in control is very accurate way to describe their current dynamic in canon.

It may also be interpreted as "The Lily" and "The Rose" as being representations of their feelings and ideals previously. And then it would represent these two conflicting expressions—a loud unrelenting and destructive devotion, and a guarded, bashful, unspoken reluctance— coming together and turning from conflicting to complimentary.

Or as it tends to be with these things, both!

Either way all of this is expressed under the sense of impending doom created by their circumstances and the contract. So there's a sense of urgency permeating all of it.

Also clear to me is a sense of internal conflictedness coming from Sebastian's message that is usually only hinted at like this, and some people end up overlooking.

Sebastian desires Ciel deeply, but having him would also mean not being able to have him anymore.

Sebastian is torn and that’s why he attempts to cut the root of his wavering feelings represented by the lily.

All of this makes me wonder about what's next, and if we will see these things said more blatantly. Foreshadowing with flower language and references like this, isn't exactly rare for Yana. I wonder if we will see this 'unity' come to be, and what necessary development Sebastian and Ciel will need to undergo to make it possible. As well as what shape it will take.

I also wonder very much about Ciel's perspective in all of this, as this was almost entirely from Sebastian's POV, but I think that's intentional. Ciel has his own goals and a lot on his mind. Sebastian's goal IS Ciel. So I assume he spends a lot more time thinking about Ciel and this kind of thing.

Thank you if you read the whole way through. Like I said before, even though the sources defending it are, my interpretation is not law and you're welcome to reach your own with the things presented.

Links for sources, including free public domain PDFs of the books mentioned are found at the end of my twitter thread.

— Thanks for reading! —

#sebaciel shipper friendly post #kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #sebastian black butler #ciel black butler #sebaciel #please refrain from ship discourse on my post. I don't care if fictional characters upset you. I'm looking at the source material here.

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calamaroo · 3 months ago

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OctoDads my beloved (I will make more drawings of them in future, school is just keeping me busy)

To start, I'd like to say that this drawing WAS intended as ship art, as I do like the idea of all three of them (Calico Jack, Natquik, and Marsh) as silly old man yaoi

BUT, I also like the idea of them as just pals, so take it however you want :))

HOWEVER, DO NOT GIVE HATE TO ANYONE WHO DOES OR DOES NOT THINK OF THEM AS A SHIP OR OTHERWISE, people can have opinions and heacanons, regardless of whether that hurts your feelings or not 🙄

Excuse my rant lol, I've just seen this ship/not ship start a lot of arguments, and if one is started on my blog/over my art, I will not tolerate it.

Headcanon dump now ~~~~~~

Natquik :

1.) I imagine his time in the Antarctic messed him up a good deal, so he's very on the fence about being alone for extended periods of time (sure he had the penguins, but I imagine they weren't shifters/humanoid in interpretation of my human-styled art)

So, he's very clingy when it comes to people he likes. Having had not to share a living space with anyone for YEARS, he has ZERO sense of personal space, and along with being naturally quiet/sneaky when moving around fot biological reasons, he seems to just appear out of nowhere all up in anyone's grill (Barnacles secretly loves it)

--- Arctic foxes (and foxes in general) are very cuddly crestures, and it is a form of affection, so I imagine Natquik is just as cuddly, even if he doesn't mean to be

2.) It is a VERY rare occasion that Natquik leaves the Antarctic and/or Arctic, as any not 0° is uncomfortable to him (he doesn't like hot places). However, he will make an exception when he is feeling particularly lonely (mostly to hang out with his the other OctoDads + Barnacles, Bianca, and Tracker)

Marsh :

1.) Uuuuhhhhhhh... Florida man

Jk, jk, 🤭

2.) Marsh is a lonely man, but in a different sense than Natquik or Calico Jack. He has all his animal friends in the Everglades (which he is very close to and sees as family) but they aren't the same as other people. So, when anyone offers to help out or just visit, he is OVERJOYED, and does NOT hide it very well

--- in short, he loves having company

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

That's all for now, but don't be surprised when my love for the old man goobers surges and suddenly they're all I think about

#octonauts #octonauts fanart #Octonauts Ranger Marsh #ranger marsh #octonauts Professor Natquik #Natquik #ship or not ship see it how you want :)#octodads

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sunny-superstar · 2 months ago

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it’s not that spirk just “Went Canon” (although it’s fun to say) it’s that Unification gave fans a chance to see a conclusion to their story together… in a way that suits their relationship as it has Always been portrayed—Those guys are literally famous for being Together. it’s just nice to see it.

Spirk itself is schrodinger’s ship. it was designed to be ambiguous! since 1979 their relationship to each other has canonically been T’hy’la—friend, brother, lover—it is intended to be interpreted as any of those three definitions. as a trekkie, you have the choice to view it however you want!!!

also, Star Trek, as an IP, has had nearly 6 decades to be modified and molded by numerous writers and producers. there are countless events and characters that are “canon,” but what does that even mean? Like, for example, Paramount can wheel out an entire new series 50 years after the original material was released, and retroactively establish that Spock “canonically” had an adopted sister all along. Just because a soulless corporation wants to milk the property for all it’s worth, doesn’t mean You have to change Your understanding of the story. It’s fiction. It’s art. Its value and meaning as a whole is entirely subjective. That is, if I chose to Only consume original series content, then that is all that is canon to me! Retroactive changes cannot fundamentally alter what was put forth in the original material! Maybe that means putting blinders on (“that’s not canon TO ME”) but you do in fact have the ability to pick and choose what you want to accept in the narrative!

All that to say, spirk has been roddenberry-canon for 45 years already… for those with eyes to see. Maybe this is a radical/purist stance, but Unification doesn’t need to be accepted as canon, nor does the Generations film, or even any of the AOS films. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all fanfiction of the source material. So, if the roddenberry archives want to drop a deepfake short film where these old guys hold hands and stare lovingly into each other’s eyes, uh, cheers to that bro. i’ll add it to my personal canon it as i see fit lol

#sometimes things happen and i realize just how opinionated I am about star trek #anyway idc if im delusional #look my mom was an og trekkie in 1966 like SHE is the one who taught me u can just completely disregard all trek content past tos #maybe it’s silly as hell but MAN… star trek is so important to me idgaf #also theres much to be said about the ethics behind the production of unification but im not even gonna go there #star trek #tos #spirk

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dailycharacteroption · 1 month ago

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Class Feature Friday: Dimension of Time Anchor (Precog Anchor)

(art by ryky on DeviantArt)

We’re back with another precog anchor, and while last time we covered those that learned from beings that manipulate time and fate itself, now we’re looking at those that are empowered by time itself.

The Dimension of Time is an enigma. Very few beings even understand that it is a plane at all, and fewer still have ever come close to visiting. Non-natives that have actually visited, let alone actually use the power of the plane to affect the timestream at best number in the double digits, and that’s highballing it.

Heck, the Dimension of Time probably predates The Great Beyond, given that a time before the cosmology formed exists, making it a multiversal constant, like a law of physics that transcends even the borders between realities where fundamental laws may vary. Such planes may interpret time in different ways, but never do they fully get rid of it.

In any case, today, we are looking at precogs that draw their power directly from it. They might have had a chance encounter with a siktempora, hound of Tindalos or even a/the time dimensional, or due to some fated circumstance they might have been among the lucky few to even glimpse the dimension itself.

Either way, they were changed by the experience, able to see the threads of fate and possibility and tug them as other precogs do. However, these mystics are more capable of altering their personal flow of time as well as that of nearby objects than others, as we will see below.

Like all anchors, the Dimension of Time grants an additional way to use their power of paradox, in this case on perceiving incoming threats and dodging them, bolstering their reflexes.

With a touch, these mystics can arrest the temporal forces around small objects, putting them into stasis. Food does not spoil, metal does not rust, and so on, preventing the effects of time from being an issue for important items.

Finally, their power allows them to travel unfettered, briefly entering a state where they can move freely along perfect moments in time. Effectively, they become immune to difficult terrain, can move much further, and are incredibly resistant to effects which would hinder them. I imagine this visually looks like they are teleporting about as they accelerate themselves to their intended destinations.

While not exactly flashy, being able to preserve items is a bit niche but surprisingly useful in the right situation. Their later ability to boost their speed and avoid hinderance more than makes up for the narrow focus of their lesser ability, however, letting them control the shape of the battle with their mobility. I personally recommend building for battlefield control, able to maneuver around as they please in short bursts while foes are left struggling.

A lot of precogs have their origins in witnessing beautiful and terrible things, but few can match these individuals in scope. After all, they witnessed, either directly or through powerful beings as proxy, the entirety of all events ever. Such a thing can’t help but change a person. It’s up to you as the player to decide how.

A survivor of a world consumed by a black hole, Fijina the ferran has long studied time itself in some vain hope of being able to reverse the events that consumed her home. When her efforts caused her to be exposed to raw chronal energies, she looks much older, but acts as one half her age, her determination all the more implacable now that she has glimpsed the power of time itself.

Always something of an eccentric, the planetary governor has made an effort to popularize the rodent-like symbiotes known as zernivians as pets, to the point some wonder if it is interfering with his duties… that is until a year later, an entire ship of new colonists are suddenly attacked by the pets all at once, revealing them to all be infested by the mind-controlling parasitic dycepskian fungus. It was almost as if he knew this would happen all along.

Many test subjects died in the fateful Mobius Chamber Incident, but those who survived don’t talk much about it. However, they have all developed a keen magical awareness of time, as well as a shared vision of the “Empty Space” in the time stream’s future.

#starfinder #archetype #precog #anchor #dimension of time #ferran #zernivian #Galactic Magic

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saint-vagrant · 1 year ago

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wooooof. i don't keep up with "anti/pro" "shipping" business so when i see it broadcasted or there's an uptick in people finding my work who have some variant on suicide-baiting in their bios, i just gotta say, for my part, it's totally alienating. fandom terms for a fandom lens and i'm not in that scene or writing/reading/curating my interests with that framework in mind at all. i don't want it explained to me. particularly not as (for example) libraries and schools are gutted by budget cuts and under fire from fascist "think of the children" TERFs. the big companies would be doing it regardless, but i don't want to lend credence to reactionary behaviour during the ongoing, full-scale crackdown on sex work that's jointly helped destroy the livelihoods of performers, artists, in turn public transness and queerness. i certainly don't care about this when exploitative opportunist publishers big and small can't say one word about Palestine, and actively punish anyone who does, while signing deals with zionists. among other things.

do you think that when i call myself a "transsexual leather faggot and pervert" that i'm joking? this is hard-won and i'm reasonably proud of it. why would i joke about that? or is following me a guilty secret that only you and i know about? i can accept that someone else's attachment to Concepts and Ideas, sexuality, symbols, reality, might still be developing (i think it develops forever!) or even comfortably shallow or anxiously tenuous, but i actually want to be treated with the consideration, seriousness, and respect that i deserve. i don't think anyone ought to automatically trust my art and stories are designed for them and therefor "safe" solely because they like the presentation (though they should still try 🖤) BUT, IF the presentation is all that matters, then the content, context, experiences and ideas within or which motivate them, should be of no major concern. right?

i began SUPERPOSE in my 20s and now i'm in my 30s. my art is a safe place for me, but i'll always invite people in— and it's not like i can stop anyone from seeing it, really— because it's a means of communication. i am moved to express something that only art, comics, in their multifaceted format, can accomplish. i'm driven to share it. this is an act of trust. i know in my narratives i don't do a tonne of hand-holding, and unless prompted (which is welcome) i usually don't explain in a footnote how a given moment or action should be taken, because it's a story, driven by the characters. interpret "mature" however you'd like but i do intend my stories be for "mature readers" and i'd like my art to be treated that same way. thank you!

#anyway read SUPERPOSE

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grievedifferent · 3 months ago

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CHRIS 4 JOSH? let's talk about it ... and let's be honest.

read more for length only, it's all pretty sfw and non-triggering content.

speaking with otter first and foremost, here are her thoughts on the matter:

for context, she has a degree in video game art & design, so she knows the entire pipeline for how video games were and are made currently. she actually graduated like right around when UD came out, so this is perfect because she also helped me understand some of the modeling and why the original game is just honestly more fluid in mechanics versus the remake, so i've been giving the remake a pass in a lot of big ways and just sort of accepting everything else as is in conjunction with the original game (and in our case, the 2013 prototype).

basically, she said it originally looked like this is what likely happened: a texture artist was given permission to do a heart, someone else or that same artist put in CHRIS + JOSH and basically whoever was in charge of them (i have no names for this) likely said "you absolutely cannot confirm a fan ship, it's not happening" which is why it became CHRIS 4 JOSH. otter was explaining how the 4 looks a little off like it wasn't there originally but more of something to replace what was underneath. like a 4 covering a +.

still likely meant to be a joke, maybe it could go so far as to that texture artist shipping it, but either way, it was never going to make it into the official game as a way to be interpreted as josh and chris are canon. i know the app contradicts one major thing for chris and ash because the game itself literally confirms they both like each other in various scenes and context clues and all of that content we get in-game for them.

based on my own time being in school for video games, this makes a lot of sense. i might not have finished, but i did learn this lol. so, what she's saying is pretty on point. that's how companies are, even if it's "supermassive" ... they are working under sony.

so, does it mean anything? not really. i know this was probably huge for the other side of the UD fandom (i see it being two sides: rpc and non-rpc, which can be similar but are generally very different ... in-between those spaces are typically the fanfic writers and then the sub-genre of reader insert fanfic writers if that makes sense? anyways). but it really means nothing.

it's just a little easter egg. if we want to look into it at all? it was likely done by chris (otherwise it would say josh 4 chris if it was from josh), and also ... i know this sounds probably so lame, but that's just how guys are. they act like that, especially if you're super comfortable with a long-term friend. people have probably wondered about it based on how close and jokey they can act, they don't seem like the type to "shy away" from any sort of intimacy, especially for a joke, and idk, they're just like that? that's pretty normal.

HOWEVER ... where this gets even more interesting for me is this part: bringing in the 2011-2013 prototype, the game that was being pumped out for demos and such before supermassive did an entire rehaul of the original 2010 game (so, this is not london studio's project anymore, it hasn't been for a while, and their original iteration actually had hannah and josh as a couple named hannah and clayton).

why is this interesting? i've mentioned before several things about that prototype specifically: a) mike and chris never changed from design to actor, they were always solid (so it's weird to not even consider using their old voice banks for new content for the 2024 remake but okay??), b) this had originally intended (all the way back to london studio) to really be a "couples game" that "couples play together", giving the controller back and forth, and c) the fact that sam clearly liked josh in the original iteration, josh did not feel the same, but he had basically the same relationship with chris, who seemed to still like ash and vice versa, but josh also had a pretty high energy by comparison both in general to rami's josh and also to specifically chris in comparison to (that verison of) sam.

let's dig into 'c' a bit more. the sam and josh problem. it's not really a "problem" but i think there's somewhat of a general misunderstanding as to what their relationship is realistically like based on their connections and affiliations over what is sort of "expected of them".

here's what we know for facts:

sam and josh know each other, we can maybe assume from childhood or middle school era, but long enough for sam to be considered hannah's best friend.

which brings me to my next point: sam is hannah's best friend, not josh's. not even "hannah and beth's best friend". she is hannah's best friend. this is josh's little sister's best friend. i have to reiterate this because i see this huge sort of blackhole when it comes to this fact about sam and hannah. this is literally sam's entire tagline! even the game sort of forgets that sometimes? sam actually somewhat harshly criticizes hannah in her bedroom, something that is only open to sam and no one else. i'm not sure where this idea that sam is there for josh when she should be there for hannah. you can also tell sam and josh weren't that close over that year because she needs chris to confirm that a) this entire getting back together is a good idea and b) if josh is doing okay. if they were close, wouldn't she know? also, josh wasn't that close to anyone besides seemingly chris? which sort of makes sense but even he only lets chris see certain sides of himself. so, they aren't as close as people i think mistake them to be.

they were supposed to have something one-sided in the prototype before the finalized release. in the protoype, sam likes josh, but josh seems to not reciprocate. it's heavily hinted at when she flirts with him in the scene at the lodge door, which is very different but also somewhat the same as the version we get.

the finalized verison of sam (ie "hayden-sam") doesn't seem to have a crush on josh ("rami-josh") ... at least, from what i can tell. i think she actually feels somewhat uncomfortable around him, if we're being honest. maybe not before the prank, we can see they are comfortable together briefly in the new snapshots on the camera, but after? definitely so. this makes sense. they are somewhat avoiding each other. why would she go back there? both hannah and beth are dead, leaving josh.

finally: josh is hannah's older brother, thus acts as an older brother to the group ... sam included. this is literally in josh's characterization.

so, delving into probably headcanon territory here, and i'm not even going into my own sam headcanons ... basically, i think sam sees josh as an older brother and josh sees sam as a little sister figure. ik ik it's boring.

hear me out here: i think this was done simply because there are so many couples in the game already, which is so funny because it was supposed to be a couple's game but then got changed to a sort of "play alone or pass the controller".

now? UD is meant to be played either on your own or between multiple people, you can assign one person to each person you're playing with or just split the cast up the way otter and i do. it's more liberal and intentional to be that way versus its original intention. think about it: when you really start actually playing, there are two for sure couples, one maybe "will they won't they", and then two that aren't dating. that does feel more realistic just in general in a friend group, doesn't it? people date each other, break up, bring new members in, etc, but not everyone always dates everyone all the time.

also, i think just blanketed, supermassive wasn't even considering that likely at least one of those characters is probably gay or bisexual. until dawn is only so deep because it can only go so deep, and if they were going to go deep? it was going down the mental illness rabbit hole along with the background story they were trying to flesh together coupled with the mo-cap technology they were working with.

also, not to be that person, but life is strange came out in 2013 and kind of nailed it, right? they had their own set of issues they tackled incredibly well, whereas it doesn't really fit into UD. UD is about being a true "classic horror" story with the heavy use of intentional character tropes. so, give UD some grace here, i'd say.

cause let's get real for a second: there were so many last-minute changes while holding onto the threads of what they wanted. some stuff from the prototype for example is pretty shot-for-shot or word-for-word and some is super different. like ... im sorry, but the wolves aren't in the prototype (just as an example), so you can see how fast they decided to put those in because those wolves are literally broken animals.

back to sam and josh: taking my own headcanons aside, i don't think it's impossible to headcanon sam having a crush on josh at any point in her life that she knew him pre-UD. it's not uncommon, of course. he's classic older brother, he's fun, he's cute, he's friendly, and he's always around. again, while i think at least narratively they took that aspect of sam's character out when they cast hayden (she gives a much different, honestly better vibe for sam from the original actress, whereas ashley is like the same ngl), there is something to be said about not saying anything, i suppose. i just don't see it as something that was meant to be noticed, if that makes sense. not that it's not fitting? i guess?

but it's how josh feels, more the position he's in, that i sort of get caught up in why i'm sometimes hesitant with outright sam/josh with no plotting beforehand (as if it's canon). josh is the older brother. for him, there's sort of some lines he feels he isn't supposed to cross, trust he isn't supposed to break, and just sort of general boundaries? like, age isn't necessarily his factor here, it's literally how they met and how they know each other. it would be likely hurtful to hannah, probably awkward? i imagine?

so, is josh willing to cross his sister's comfort like that? yes, he lies to her ... about his mental health. it's never implied anywhere else that josh lies to hannah or beth about anything else. also, we can argue it's the parents hiding it from his sister's, wanting them to have a certain view of their brother.

then, post-death, we know there's a huge change in their relationship. josh and sam become distant, as i've discussed above.

with a lot of plotting and specifics, i could do it. just blanketed? or like ... how i see these characters without anyone else's interpretations in consideration? like just playing the game as is without even considering rpc? i don't see it.

so, what about josh and chris then? i'm not going to lie, i've only even recently come around to the idea, and even that comes off to me as still one-sided if it were ever even considered. likely? it would have been chris like ash, ash like chris, josh maybe likes chris? but that's so pushing it to assume supermassive would imply, though it's actually more sound for inferences in the prototype.

the chemistry josh and chris have is very natural. we can give that partially to the actors, of course, and partially to the writing. they have known each other a long time, and i've talked about it above how that's just how these types of guys are sometimes. they're just comfortable with each other.

so, even i'm just writing general headcanons without taking anyone else's specific interpretation in mind? i see it like this:

josh and chris? best friends from childhood.

chris and ash? the intended "will they / won't they" of the game.

josh and sam? older brother figure to younger sister figure (ie the friendship that can form with this type of bond, but likely nothing else).

but josh flirts with sam, remember? he infers he'd help her with the bath. he also calls mike and jess pornstars, says he wants to get friendly with ashley in the snow (and calls her a sleeper hit), etc. he's pretty mouthy about that sort of thing. it's just how he is. i guarantee if that were jessica in the bath, he'd say the same thing, and might even be more persistent about it (given that jessica is more playful than sam in that regard). however, were that emily in the bath? not a chance, he probably wouldn't have said anything tbh. i also write sam as a lesbian.

okay, so this is all "canon and great" and everything ... but what about me? what are my personal ships?

i can see so many with josh. i think that he's probably more gay than straight. he sees himself as open-minded.

does he lean more towards men or women? privately: sexually and romantically speaking, men. socially: women.

i have it that he chooses the "women make me uncomfortable" option when i play. i think this makes sense for josh.

why do women make him uncomfortable, but he socially pursues them? is he actually attracted to women? what is his sexuality for real? so, why women: it's socially understandable and acceptable. it's what he's relied on since puberty / actively encouraged to pursue since dating was on the table. he's with such a "bro" crowd — and so bro-coded both in being written that way narratively speaking while also just self-imposing that sort of role to himself ... while also naturally filling that role. his sexuality with labels: bisexual with a heavier male leaning preference, would be considered more demisexual when it comes to women. he is attracted to men romantically and sexually, and he is attracted to women, but there has to be a relationship fostered for it to be more romantic than sexual. i think he's fooled around with girls, but never had penetrative sex with them. he's likely never been with a guy, as he's very closeted, despite this being his active preference. women intimidate josh and make him uncomfortable.

further on him being more closeted despite being in the industry: josh has his family's reputation to consider. the world doesn't always agree that being bisexual is natural and non-offensive. he would be outright just called and labeled gay (which isn't entirely inaccurate but is not accurate). it could hurt his family. this isn't 2024, this is the 2010s, and yes it was getting "big" in the way we see acceptance now, but it wasn't so seen. people were (and still are) hiding. think of it like this: if josh has to hide his mental illness the way he does, he's likely having to hide his sexuality.

i think that's why the traits we do see in josh are so exacerbated because he has to stifle so much of himself down that the parts he's allowed to express become the loudest to hear.

all of that to get us here: my ships for josh.

personally? again, no other interpretations are considered necessarily, just ships i like based on various things from simply aesthetics to actual connections i can see them having.

what about chris/josh? honestly? i never even considered it until recently, and now that i have, it seems more obviously (if anything) one-sided by josh (the giver) to chris (the receiver). i don't think chris has ever consciously thought about it. josh (probably) has. as a default, however, i write them as bros. i do genuinely love their friendship. that being said, i do like it as a ship. i don't write my main plotlines with that in mind, though.

quickly: if anything, i think chris is the most compatible for josh (and vice versa). there is a lot of game evidence to support this, but that's for its own post.

josh/ashley -> this had always been my previous top ship for josh, but as more context becomes available via the remake and data mining the game, my opinions have swayed a bit, but i will always love joshley. it's a demi thing with them, i think. i also think josh is kind of jealous of ashley's relationship with chris (chapter 2 is called jealousy, and yes, that refers to the matt-mike-em-jess stuff but could be inferred to the trio), yet actively supports his bro, so doesn't really "get in the way". in fact, he encourages it.

josh/ashley/chris -> i see this as mostly ashley dating both chris and josh, maybe josh having some feelings for chris? from there, it's open-ended, but it's mostly "ashley has two boyfriends", and i am here for that. i love her.

additionally, i do ship chris/ashley. i like that josh is actively trying to get them together, and i think while it's for "nefarious reasons" or whatever you want to say when we see it in-game, josh is acting as a direct reflection to how he always has been ... so we can assume he's always been trying to get chris to make the move on ash.

josh/jess -> this is primarily aesthetically speaking, i think they just would look good together? opposites attract? pre-prank of hannah, it's definitely that ... opposites attract. he's not really her type, lbr, but she's probably his type in the way she's pretty ... but she is also intimidating to him. it's funny because, ultimately, that sort of confession to mike that jess gives about her insecurities would be very understood by josh (and actually matt, who i see as insecure), and i like all three of those boys with jess. yes, i hold jess accountable for the prank, but just character traits and such? i can see some vibes here. also! a lot of my fondness for this ship probably comes from post!verse stuff, like retribution, etc. honestly, i just like these two together not even romantically? i just want to see more of them interacting idk josh and jess are very contrasting characters that could go really well or horribly wrong together. also, i just have to say that i feel like there was some genuine interest when jess suggested that josh might be flirting with her and mike (jokingly) asked to basically have a threesome together, like she was kind of into it ngl.

why none of the other UD boys with josh? like mike and matt? we don't really see too much matt and josh unfortunately. i'm also a huge matt/jess shipper idk but i just don't see matt and josh being compatible, and i also write matt ... and i also write matt as straight, so. there's that aspect. but generally? i don't see it.

so, no em and josh? i literally do not have enough canonically to go by to even say what their default dynamic is like! they never talk!! like ever. so ... once i can establish with an emily writer what that is, i'd be more down to clown.

i can't with mike, either. i love mike btw, literally no shade to him, i don't think josh is the right fit for mike either by any means. mike is great at "handling" josh at his worst in a crisis (kind of? idk it depends sort of on the choices you make, but i get his vibe, i do get it) to get him from points a to b, but that's about it. mike also just comes off as very straight (to me).

all of that to say this: i generally write things as they are from the game unless there's a pretty good clue, inference, or some sort of thread i can unravel to make something make sense. it has to make sense for me, i'm just that type of person.

but ... with the right chemistry, plotting, and a bit of time? anything can happen. just because i default see something one way doesn't mean that i cannot be convinced otherwise ... or still hold that belief for the game itself but write enough development that i love something else in an rp sense. i'm a very "this is game, this is rp" and then from there, i take from the game to make the rp experience more game-like. does that make sense? did any of this make sense?

#josh tbt #matthew tbt #sam tbt #headcanon tbt #i tagged matt bc i mention him but this post is about josh specifically

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idolkilling · 5 months ago

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THIS BLOG IS 21+ ONLY FOR SEX, VIOLENCE, & “DEAD DOVE” THEMES. All depictions of crime or taboo are for fictional character exploration and not endorsed in real life. More info on carrd. Last updated 11/2024. twitter｜ao3｜toyhou.se｜bsky @killshopdeluxe — yapping/reblogs

Hi I’m Kill ! Fibromyalgia having broke ass OC drawer and writer… welcome to my twisted mind (gay shitposts and ikemen). I love hearing about other people’s characters and tossing my own at them, so if you have OC socials of your own, feel free to drop me a line!🕺🏻✨

I follow and send asks from @idolkilling-alt. If you make anything featuring one of my OCs, please tag #idolkilling and @ me! (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

⚠️ MY WORKS: TERMS OF USE

DO NOT repost my original work to any site, inclusive of using my art as an icon, banner, or background without express permission.

DO NOT use my works as reference material, inclusive of tracing my art, studying my style, or taking heavy inspiration from the designs or stories of my OCs. I am a small hobby creator, not a big IP, so people piggybacking off my works to make their own—especially with the intent to publish or monetise—is hurtful (and has already happened several times). TT

DO NOT tag my OCs as your own characters or use them as references/RP claims.

Any media IP fanworks I make can be reposted ¹ or used without permission, as long as I am credited with a link back to one of my socials. That said, if I have already posted the art or writing to the intended site (eg. Twitter, Tumblr), please just boost my original post.

¹ caveat: Please do not post my art onto TikTok 🙁

🤼 SENSITIVE CONTENT

My works occasionally feature “dead dove” or “landmine” themes, such as rape/abuse, necrophilia, incest, or teenage characters in suggestive situations (for fictional exploration only—not condoned IRL). I will NOT usually tag specific warnings for such content, so the pieces can be interpreted however the viewer likes. However, I will use the blanket tag #dead dove, so people can mute as needed.

Beyond that, my works frequently contain sexual, violent, or horrific imagery, and I often forego the use of Tumblr’s built-in censor/blur.

While I post SFW pieces as well, please keep the full breadth of my works in mind when deciding whether to follow, unfollow, mute, or block me! 🙇

💫 INTERACTING

Fanworks of any kind featuring my OCs are welcome—and feel free to have them interacting with your own characters! If you make anything, please @ me and tag #idolkilling! This part is optional, but feel free to also tag the full names of the OC/s depicted (written below in the “TAGLIST” section) ^^ If I miss your post, please PM!

ㅤ

🪐 TAGLIST

Personal

#🌻kill.txt ｜ #🌻kill.abt — personal posts and info

#🪻blog.new ｜ #🪻blog.abt — blog updates and info

Content Archival

#📧OC Q&A — general trivia on my OCs, as well as ask responses

#📁MY OUS/AUS ｜ #📁OTHERS’ OUS/AUS ｜ #📁MEDIA IPS

#📁MISC SOLO ｜ #📁MISC RP — works that do not have any specific fleshed out setting

#📁MY OCS ｜ #📁OTHERS’ OCS ｜ #📁MEDIA CHARACTERS

#💘SHIPPING — specific ship tags in “OC-Related” subsection

#🎨ILLUST ｜ #📝WRITING — my own works, sorted into the subtags #scrawls, #rough, #clean, and #coloured as well as #drabbles, #oneshots, and #ongoing respectively; #WIPs and #showcase are used for both

#💞TREASURE BOX — works featuring my OCs by other people

#💛OTHERS’ WORKS — works by my OC collaborators! :D

OC-Related

I use an OC’s full name for art, writing, and any information on them (in response to asks or in general musings) I find important/vital. I may sometimes include works by other people in their main tags if I feel they represent the character’s vibes well to people who are not yet familiar with my OCs! I’ll usually tag other people’s OCs by their full names as well, unless the mun has their own tagging conventions (in which case I’ll follow suit).

Most characters’ full names are present on their Toyhou.se profiles, but I’ll list relevant ones here as well (especially since Xero and Velo’s are busted LMAO):

Xero Ouroboros Flamel Nocturne Jabberwock Lacrimosa etc … if you don’t want to remember all that Xero | Ouroboros is fine!

Dimitri Andreyevich Noskov

Reis Cordis ｜ The Lord of the Flies ｜ Navid Veisi

Umetarou Sano Lecce

Velo Velocity

Dr. Evening Threnody

Beyond that, I’ll use their shortened name + a descriptor to organise posts, as follows:

#[OC] by others — works featuring the character by other people

#[OC] info — self-explanatory; includes responses to asks

#[OC] answers — asks or replies where I draw/write the character responding directly

#[OC] core — random things that remind me of the character

Rounding back to shipping, each pairing or polycule has a main generic tag, but may feature subtags indicating top/bottom or D/s order (for sexual, suggestive, or otherwise ‘charged’ works). The Eastern fandom practise of ordered tags is important to me, as oftentimes AB and BA are their own separate dynamics completely!

#Arizona — ANTE × Zion (Ram’s)

#Atomic Zero — Xero × Zeta (Ram’s)

#Knife Life — Xero × Killer Girl (Kumkrum’s)

#TBA — Dimitri × Minkyu (mihlen’s)

#TBA｜dimieros, xerodima — Dimitri × Xero

#TBA｜navitarou, tarounavi — Navid × Tarou

#TBA｜taroureis, reistarou — Tarou × Reis

#TBA — Xero × Minkyu (mihlen’s)

#TBA — Zeta (Ram’s) × Dimitri

They’re all just listed in alphabetical order since I wasn’t sure how else to sort them ahaha. (Also this section is currently WIP as I upload more art/try to think of generic ship names… Bear with me 💀)

🍳 BLOGROLL

People I OC with a lot 🤼 !!! Check out their socials 🥰

@mihlen｜twitter｜ao3｜toyhou.se

@ramsauced｜twitter｜toyhou.se

@enigma-sanctity｜twitter

🌻 ABOUT ME

I’m Filipino and live in the Eastern US. Immigrant parents and an unconventional background have made me pretty passionate about diaspora Asians in the West—as well as continental Asian culture as it’s warped by globalisation—so I tend to create OCs with that representivity in mind. Even if it’s very subtle and not at all profound—focusing on Eastern tropes, values, and themes rather than Western ones, mostly—I just think it’s neat!

Beyond that, I’m a disabled¹ survivor² with weird idiosyncrasies regarding gender,³ sex, and romance,⁴ and suffer the paradoxical curse of being both a high-maintenance extravert who never shuts up and extremely, painfully shy…

¹ fibromyalgia; ² OCD/C-PTSD; ³ femme [not a woman] + transmasc; ⁴ aroace-spec

Creative works are just my hobby at the moment, but one day I’d like to publish things. My taste in media runs somewhat niche, but feel free to talk to me about musical theatre, seinen (and shounen that feels seinen), pre-2010s sci-fi films, or fucked up K-media. Beyond fiction I have old person interests, like buying seasonal produce, household appliances, and tailoring.

I pretty much exclusively blog from PC—check out my theme on browser if you have a chance!

Dividers by strangergraphics. If you’ve taken the time to read all this, thank you—feel free to drop a like so I know who you are! :D <3

#🪻blog.abt #🌻kill.abt

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smakonca · 5 months ago

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Hey-a, folks! Smakonca's here!

I think it's about time to make a pinned post.

This blog is mainly about me drawing different fandom stuff. Sometimes I try to animate. But only sometimes.

I am a multifandom person, but most of my drawings are about Undertale Multiverse. However, I might drop a thing or two on other topics.

I ship Au sanses. A lot. And I have my own interpretation of them as characters for the most part. I rarely stick to their canon versions. So if it isn't what you looking for, I suggest you to leave.

Keep in mind though that I sometimes can post some sensitive things, so this blog is not intended for audience who is below 16.

My other social networks:

Twitter

YouTube

Bluesky

Tags I may use:

ask smakonca — for my asks

smakonca art — for drawings

smakonca rambles — for my silly thoughts (in case I decide to suddenly talk something out)

I also enjoy talking to people so feel free to ask something if you want to. But please be nice and respectful both to me and my audience. If I see any harassment or insults, you will be blocked permanently.

By the way, I am not a native English speaker, so I would like to apologize in advance for any grammatical or lexical mistakes.

And here's drawings of my oc Sylvia cause I didn't want to leave this post without any pictures. And I love to mess around with blending modes in Photoshop.

#pinned post #pinned info

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420thewritersroom · 9 months ago

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Got That Cursed Dawg in Him

Whoo-ie, this took slightly longer than intended. I wanted to gift this piece to @averageludwig simply because I LOVE LOVE LOVE their art and their pieces of the Demoman & Soldier makes my heart do backflips AND front flips. This is also highly inspired by @waterwindow art on Twitter that I think about daily, on top of that I love their art and their pieces on Demo & Soldier too.

This is also my first time writing anything involving the TF2 peeps, and I feel like it shows a lot when writing dialogue for the Soldier and Demoman (I didn't bother with doing written accents because...no, not skilled or patient enough to bother with that lol).

Before we continue, just wanted to do a bit of housekeeping, BLU Soldier is named John Doe (full name Johnathan Dodger) and is essentially a BLU Team OC. Same with the BLU Demoman, their name is Harvey (full name Harvey MacLennan). So for those who are confused on why the Soldier is named John instead of Jane, that's why. I also like to interpret the BLU Soldier to be a tad bit smarter (still a massive himbo). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the read!

Characters: RED Demoman (Tavish Finnegan DeGroot), BLU Soldier (John Doe), BLU Demoman (Harvey Maclennan)

Word Count: 2,058

Ships: RED Demoman/BLU Soldier (Boots n Bombs) if you squint

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (it's not too gratuitous, but it's there), Unresolved Tension, mentions of murder, BLU Soldier is too dumb to not escalate situations to worse heights

John strains to keep himself upright, wobbly staying on his feet as he looks at the RED Demoman across from him under his helmet. Pained breaths escape him as he readjusts the grip on his shovel, having lost his rocket launcher in the fight long ago.

"Tavish," it hurts to talk as John forces himself to try to reach his former friend again, "Tavish, you need to snap out of it!"

He has tried, time and time again, since this fight reignited, to get Tavish to stop this bloodshed he was subjecting both teams to. John said he could talk him out of this blood-frenzied stupor that the RED Demoman was under, that there was no need to trap Tavish in the Respawn system. Or worse, cut him off from it completely. He can be reasoned with. He's one of the most reasonable men with both teams combined.

"You have to let go of that sword, Tavish. You can't let whatever commie trickery that thing is plaguing you with take over. For your sake, listen to me!"

The RED Demoman was slumped forward, arms dangling in front of him while holding on tightly to the Eyelander that dripped fresh blood from its blade. Tavish's remaining eye shone with a cursed green, the outcome of constantly feeding the sword the heads of not only the BLU team but RED as well. The usual rogueish charm that the Demolition Man possessed was gone. In its place, a blood-hungry beast that saw neither friend nor foe, but lambs fit for the slaughter. Despite being wholly empowered by the claymore, the body is still flesh and bone. Tavish, or whomever was possessing him, struggled to keep themselves aloft. They have lost too much blood, and Tavish's body protested any further exertion unless treated.

John, however, looked worse for wear. His uniform was ripped and in tatters, revealing the white tanktop below, which was also showing signs of damage. He lost FAR more blood than Tavish ever did, with multiple cuts that ran deep and oozed his essence all over his attire and on the dirt below. Breathing was haggard and painful for the BLU Soldier to do. Hell, existing was riding him up a wall as hours of fighting and dodging were catching up with him. The only reason he was still kicking was thanks to the few health kits and bottles that were littered about, the dispenser that his team Engineer set up for him (that was now destroyed at this point), and their resident nurse giving him a buff before the confrontation. But his resources were running thin. He practically ran this entire battlefield dry of its health kits and ammo, his rocket launcher and shotgun now only having a single shell and maybe two rockets for him to utilize.

"Heads," a ghostly snarl escapes not from the claymore but from Tavish's mouth, dripping like poison in John's weary ears. "Heads…Heads," the body continued to utter as it tried to inch closer to John. Tavish's body, exhausted from the fight, struggled to place one foot after the other, stumbling here and there as every nerve was demanding that this being stop and let it rest.

John can barely think. He tried talking to Tavish, but nothing was getting through to him. Every plea, insult, and statement was greeted with unbridled violence and horrific screams. Any strategy the war veteran could think of was leaking from his ears (or maybe that's just blood now that he's thinking about it). As Tavish's body lumbered closer, John scrambled mentally on what to do. Shooting Tavish will send him to respawn and will provoke the RED team to damn Tavish to whatever fate they opted to do. But he can't fight him either. Should whatever's controlling the Scotsman gain a second wind, John will be sent through the ringer instead, failing in his mission and pushing both teams to definitely kill Tavish.

Tavish was now within arm's length of the Soldier, scrapping the Eyelander beside him on the dirt ground and ready to swing the weapon at John's head. John isn't sure what compelled him to do this. Perhaps he was hinging on the possibility that their past friendship still lingered somewhere in Tavish's mind. Maybe it was a final distraction tactic he opted to pull out from under the possessed Demoman's feet. Regardless of what the reasons were, John pushed himself to get dangerously close to the deranged Demoman.

And he kissed him.

The kiss might as well be two kids on the playground pressing lips together, thinking this is "how adults kiss" or woeful virgins awkwardly "kissing" each other. The sensuality was lost between the two of them; their lips connected, but the desire that usually comes with it was in the other room.

Yet, John couldn't help but feel his heart flutter a bit. He tells himself that it's just the adrenaline and fatigue that caused his heart to skip a beat, kicking away the dawning fear that he might still harbor the same feelings that he felt all those years ago; before their fallout, before the Demoman betrayed his trust. But despite these affirmations he tried to hammer into his head, his lips still lingered far too long than they should have. But it must be doing something; Tavish has yet to raise his Eyelander at him.

John mentally had to rip himself away from the Demoman, quickly stepping back should the RED fiend decide to take a swipe at him. What he saw before him took him aback as the RED Demoman stared at the BLU Soldier with a wide eye. The color of Tavish's remaining eye no longer glowed a misty green, but it wasn't back to the usual brown that it was before. Instead, his eye was a startingly alluring emerald green.

"…Tavish?" John says carefully.

There's a brief moment of silence between the two, and John decides to take further initiative in this temporary standstill. "Tavish, you have to give me the sword. You're out of control, out of line, even for someone of your expertise."

The Demoman remained still, his face filled with foggy confusion as he seemingly was slowly coming to his senses. John took this moment of uncertainty to his advantage as he leisurely reached for the sword.

"If you don't let go of this communist contraption you found, they'll kill you. You hear me? They. Will. Kill. You, Maggot," despite the insult, it held none of the searing bite that it usually conveys. John silently thanks his helmet for shadowing his eyes as he used the concealment to prevent the RED Demoman from seeing him eyeing his sword.

"You may not be a red, white, and blue-blooded American, but I know you can fight whatever has plagued your English-muddled brain." John was so close to the sword that he could taste it. Just a millimeter longer, and he'll end this nightmare once and for all-

Tavish's eye suddenly flares in anger, shoving John away from him and placing extra distance from the BLU Soldier. "Then let them kill me. Maybe Heaven or Hell will have more use for me than this wasteland of a state!"

John stares at Tavish dumbfounded, his helmet slightly ajar to glimpse his blue eyes. "Tavish, you don't know what you're saying-"

"I know EXACTLY what I'm saying. Haven't had a drop of scrumpy since I've started this rampage."

So he was aware? All this time?

"What? You think I'm that ill-willed to just LET a dead son of a bitch take me over without an inch of a fight, eh? I fought the goddamn loche, read a cursed book, and lost me eye for it."

Not a single word was slurred or interrupted by an untimely burp. John was lost for words, unsure of how to respond.

"But, why? You're terrorizing both teams consorting with that weapon, letting it whisper Russian nonsense into your ears!"

"Firstly, this sword isn't from fucking Russia; let's put that through your tin-canned skull first. Secondly, I let it take over because I allowed it."

"But WHY?" Soldier couldn't restrain his growing impatience, his tone resorting back to his usual drill sergeant demeanor.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Don't back sass me, you one-eyed Scot son of a bitch. Your whiskey-drinking life is on the goddamn line."

"See, that right there," the Demoman points at the Soldier accusingly, "Maybe if you'd stop with those demeaning jokes, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Jokes? It's what you are, Tavish! You have one eye, and you drink! What else am I supposed to call-" John stops himself, his mind finally clicking back into gear and understanding where Tavish was coming from. "Ah, so drinking wasn't enough, was it? Gotta bully everyone else, all because of your own damn insecurities, is that it?"

"You shut your bucket-wearing trap," Tavish growled, his remaining eye threatening John with a ghostly mist.

"Maybe if you actually faced your own demons instead of trying to drown them out with whiskey and blood, you'd be half the man you wished you were."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Tavish's eye becomes fully enveloped in the same cursed green color as his fury rises to new heights. "YOU HAVE LITTLE ROOM TO TALK FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS PLACED IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL FOR DECIMATING THEIR WHORE OF A GIRLFRIEND!"

Though this should've struck a cord in John, it instead made his spine and skin run cold as a shiver coursed through him. Nevermind that Tavish screamed to the heavens a secret he wished was left buried in its grave, but John completely lost the plot of what he was supposed to be doing. If anything, he reignited and made worse the Demoman's conviction to fucking kill him.

"T-Tavish, wait," John tried to backpedal, kicking himself mentally for letting his emotions run his mouth. But it was too late. The familiar sounds of Tavish's ungodly screams came rushing at him, and he had little time to run. Hell, he even tripped on himself attempting to run away from the bull that was the RED Demoman.

Thank his stars and garters that the Eyelander clanged against steel instead of his flesh and bone.

John is unsure when the BLU Demoman appeared or where they came from, but he was slightly grateful that the demolitionist stood between him and the willfully possessed Tavish.

"We gave you ten minutes, you took an hour, and we waited, John," Harvey's soft voice pierced through John like a hot knife to butter.

John panics as the possibility of Tavish meeting a fate worse than death becomes a painful inevitability in his mind. He scrambles through his words, thoughts not connecting to his lips, "Harv, please, just give me more time-"

"I gave you all the time in the world, Soldier. But something has to be done," Harvey grunts, and his words felt cold to the touch, but he does not raise his voice. Keeping a steady tone that, to an untrained ear, he might as well be as serene as a monk.

The BLU Demoman ends the standstill between him and his RED counterpart, building distance by kicking Tavish away with amazing strength. A prowess even the BLU Soldier didn't know his BLU companion possessed.

The RED Demoman's back slams against the outer walls of one of the buildings. With that previous stalemate, Tavish's body felt a renewed vigor as it slumped forward, and from his mouth, a familiar, venomous hiss escaped his lips, "Heads."

"If there's anything good that came out of your distraction, most of BLU have convened with RED, and they're plotting what to do with this beast once it's down." Harvey tilts his head to look at John, "Either you join them, or you help me keep this monster down."

John, from under his helmet, lingers between the two Demomen, searching through his mind how he can still salvage this situation. Ultimately, he settles on helping Harvey in the moment, and hopes to contain Tavish should they weaken him again. The BLU Soldier gets back on his feet, shovel in hand and stands with his BLU companion.

"I know you both have history, but that can not hold you back from doing what must be done, Johnathan," the BLU Demoman softly says.

"I know," John answers.

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Hey, you made it to the end of the story, congrats :D

My main inspiration for making this piece, aside from Waterwindow's art piece, was because I have yet to see anyone put Demoman in the "unwillingly or willingly becomes possessed by an entity that takes over their body completely and they're so deep in the possession sauce that they require the power of friendship to save them or have to be put down like a dog for the sake of the world" trope, and I decided to clumsily make this a reality.

I can just imagine, especially when he gains the Eyelander and his friendship with the BLU Soldier is broken, that Tavish goes through a spiral of emotions as he questions his self-worth and feels guilty for betraying his friend all for a cursed sword. And his guilt and self-hatred eats up at him and he becomes vulnerable to the influence of the Eyelander and lets the sword put him on auto pilot, allowing the spirit within to go on a mindless rampage against both RED and BLU team.

#Team Fortress 2 #TF2 #TF2 Demoman #TF2 Soldier #Boots n Bombs

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ivyial · 1 year ago

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Canonicity in the Context of Ships (and Ship Wars)

Essentially, what makes a ship canon? Does it even matter that a ship becomes canon?

So, disclaimer before we start:

1. This is my interpretation of the meaning of "canon" and what it means for a ship to be canon. As always, I'm open to disagreements and constructive criticism, especially if it can tame the constant aggression in some fandom spaces

2. I like ships, but I don't support ship wars because they're all fucking pointless and if you're a grown adult or close to being one and you're still harassing people over ships on the internet, you're a fucking loser

That being said

As we all know, online fandom spaces have developed their own vernacular over the years: canon, fanon, headcanon, OC, AU, OTP, the infamous 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat', etc. Fandom slang has also evolved since it was first coined. A prime example of that would be the use of the term "lemon" to refer to erotic fanfiction, which while still used, has suffered a sharp decline in favour of the word "smut" (although smut has its own use and meaning outside of fandoms).

The word "canon" is arguably one of the most important words in fandom, since it refers to the official source material from a game, book, TV show, movie, whatever form of media said fandom is about. In essence, it's the official story: what actually happens and what was intended by the creators. Some universes are easily accessible and the canon isn't really subject to much debate. Most TV shows have very straightforward canon: assuming that everything is contained within, let's say, 5 seasons of 22 episodes each, with no spin-offs, movies, or exclusive bonus episodes, the canon of the show will be laid out in these episodes. That's it. Some other fandoms will be much more obscure: think of game franchises such as Resident Evil, where many games have been released over the years, remade, and some have been largely forgotten and can even contradict the current version of events. In this case, it can be much harder to define what canon is, which events are official and still applicable to the story and which should be discarded completely. (And I have to say, as a law student, canon is weirdly reminiscent of the hierarchy of norms, but that's for another day.)

I could discuss the importance of canon in fandoms, but that's irrelevant to the point of this post. Let's talk ships. I don't need to explain to everyone what a ship is. There's no point of contention there. In most media where romance is either dealt with or hinted at, fandoms, and therefore, shippers, will jump at the opportunity to write about or make art of their favourite ship. However, there's always something rearing its ugly head and contributing to the toxic atmosphere in fandoms: ship wars.

Ship wars are in essence extremely simple, and I'm sure we've all been in a fandom that participated in a ship war, whether we were involved in it ourselves or not. Long story short, shippers argue over which ship will become canon. Writers are toying with the idea of two or more major ships and teasing that both have their chances. So, in the end, it's all about who comes out on top and who becomes official.

The canonicity of a ship is a lot more complicated than the canonicity of media itself. I'd argue that even if the canonicity of the story is simple, it's likely that the canonicity of ships will necessarily be harder to draw conclusions about. So you can imagine how complicated canon is when it comes to ships from franchises that barely know their own canon.

Since I've seen a lot of arguments over canon ships in the Resident Evil fandom as of late, and this is what inspired this post, I will be using this example primarily - and since ideally I'd like this post to reach fandoms outside of RE, I'll be explaining and illustrating my examples. Other fandoms and ships might also be referred to.

1. Canon, semi-canon and non-canon

When it comes to ships, there are 3 main ways to describe them:

- Non-canon: quite straightforward. The ship has not officially expressed any desire (even implicit) to get together whatsoever. They may or may not interact in canon, and if they do, there's just no romantic interest there. Non-canon does not necessarily refer to a ship being into each other but not doing anything about it, as this is characterised as:

- Semi-canon: there's something there. Maybe both characters like each other romantically, maybe it's one-sided, maybe there is potential but it could either sail or be ruined completely by Character A's reaction to Character B's feelings. But overall, the general consensus seems to be that semi-canon ships have not acted on their feelings. This definition is not set in stone - we'll come back to it later.

- Canon: yay, your ship has sailed!! The pairing has officially been confirmed. The characters have acted on their feelings and you have won the ship war.

These are the general definitions of canon ships. And if you think they're clear and satisfactory, in what world are you living?

2. Past canon vs current canon

You finally got around to watching the season finale and there it is: Character A and B confessed and kissed. Finally, it's canon, and you can gloat on social media about how you were right all along.

But then it turns out that by the final season, your ship breaks up, and Character A gets with Character C. Even worse, Character A stays with Character C and the show ends with them being officially together. What the fuck.

So, what does that make your ship? It's officially a sunk ship, sure, but what about its canonicity? Should it be considered canon? I mean, they dated for 2 seasons. So technically, there was a period of time when your ship was canon. It just isn't anymore.

This is the first hurdle we meet when trying to define a ship as canon. It all hinges on the when aspect of it. This is also where ship canonicity differs from story canonicity. Storywise, the ship is rooted in canon since they were together at some point. Shipwise, however, they are not canon anymore, since they have broken up. It's canon that they happened, but they themselves aren't canon anymore.

At this point, I would argue that most people consider that a ship that is together by the end of the show/game/movie/book etc., by the end of canon essentially, is canon. Don't worry, we're still far from having solved this.

3. What does it take for a ship to be canon?

You will have noticed by now that, so far, I have instinctively referred to a canon ship as a ship that is together. I'd argue that this is what most people think of when they think of a canon ship.

But what does it mean for a ship to be together? Do we mean that they have to be a couple? Is it marriage, is it a relationship, is it friends with benefits? Or is it a simple kiss and confession? Do they even have to make out, or have sex, or put a label on their relationship?

This is when we venture into the territory of canon vs semi-canon. Earlier, I defined semi-canon as a ship that has feelings for each other, or is one-sided, but no one has acted on their feelings. Mind you, this is the definition provided by the Internet.

Let's say Character A confesses to Character B. Character B feels the same way, but they don't want to get into a relationship right now. The show ends there. I mean, technically, they like each other, right? That much was confirmed. They acted on their feelings by confessing. Technically, that gets them out of semi-canon territory. But does it get them into canon territory? Nothing came out of the confession, really.

We can't in good faith argue that two characters confessing is enough to make them canon, since the term semi-canon also exists, and could very well apply depending on your own definition of it.

The problem lies in defining what it takes for a ship to be canon. If we go back to the very roots of canon, it's confirmation that a ship has an official romantic nature.

Is liking each other enough? Doubtful: if a main character flirts with a minor side character, who reciprocates, does that make them canon? They're into each other. But it would be ridiculous by fandom standards to deem them canon when the side character might never be seen again and has no real bearing on the story.

Truth is, what makes a ship canon fluctuates depending on the standards set by the media itself. If a piece of media is heavily romance-based, canon will most likely be defined by the ship that makes it out in the end, the one that has proclaimed to be a couple. If the piece of media is not keen on romance, and never creates romantic relationships between characters, it might be enough for the fandom to consider canon a pairing that has simply alluded to being into each other.

Whether the last example is good enough reason to hail a ship as canon depends on the fandom and the shippers. Some might think it's a stretch, some might think it's more than enough.

One possibility would be to look at the writers' intention for the pairing, read interviews if they're available, etc. However, most of the time, franchises have changes in writers over the seasons/games/movies, and it gets even worse when you take into account franchises that are adapted from another source material - say, Game of Thrones vs ASOIAF: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' intentions for the characters certainly differ from George R. R. Martin's intentions.

I'm going to start using actual examples now, to better illustrate my point. I'll be using Resident Evil ships, like I said. RE, despite having constant ship wars, is not famous for making ships canon or focusing on romance at all. The most you'll get is indicators that two characters are into each other or you'll get established relationships that are not subject to ship wars since they have no other love interest (see Mia and Ethan Winters: married couple, established as part of canon and the validity of their relationship with regards to other characters is never questioned). As a matter of fact, you could probably argue that the Winters are the only canon couple in the REverse.

Most RE ship wars happen as a result of Leon ships, the main ones being Aeon (Ada/Leon) vs Cleon (Claire/Leon). There are other Leon ships out there, mainly Chreon (Chris/Leon), Serennedy (Luis/Leon), Leshley/Eagleone (Ashley/Leon), and many more, but they don't engage in ship wars because they have the common sense to be normal human beings about their ships. (Seriously everyone, chill the fuck out.)

Aeon shippers are known for one thing: banging on and on about how their ship is canon - which, in their eyes, automatically discredits all other Leon ships (what's the point of shipping if it isn't to win, right? I'm obviously being sarcastic). Which, knowing the canon nature of Aeon, makes it the perfect test subject for this discussion and post.

Are Ada and Leon into each other? Sure. Ada confessed to falling in love with Leon in OG RE2, they flirted in OG RE4, Resident Evil: Damnation suggests that they have shared at least one night together, and in RE6, Helena guesses that Leon has feelings for Ada. These events, however, have changed in the remakes: Ada no longer confesses to being in love with Leon in RE2R, though she does kiss him to manipulate him, and they don't exactly flirt much in RE4R. But then, by discussing this, we'd end up discussing what is canon in a game franchise plagued by obscure secondary sources of canon, and that's not what I plan on doing here (I also severely lack the extensive knowledge to do that).

Despite all of this, Ada and Leon never actually get together. It's a constant game of cat and mouse, will-they-won't-they, whatever you wanna call it. Since they are on opposite sides of the same fight, it's practically impossible for them to get into a normal, healthy relationship. Going back to what I said about the canonicity of a ship being defined by the standards set by the piece of media itself, you could argue that Aeon is canon by those standards: since they can't get together, it only matters that they have shown reciprocated feelings towards one another.

However, that's not entirely true, is it? RE hasn't set those standards for romance. It doesn't act on ships, but it hasn't deterred romance as a whole: look at Mia and Ethan Winters. It is possible to get into a relationship in RE - now whether it is possible to get a happy ending is entirely less likely.

But I mean, there are other love interests for Leon that aren't on the side of who he's fighting. Look at Claire, or Ashley, or hell even Jill. We can't, as a fandom, reasonably ignore the flirting that went down between Claire and Leon in RE2R (and Infinite Darkness at times) and Leon and Ashley in both OG RE4 (though he does reject her at the end of the OG) and RE4R. And he was probably trying to flirt with Jill a little in Death Island, too - he's a bit of a whore (affectionate).

How do you even define the canonicity of a ship in a universe like RE, in which most characters can't form normal, healthy romantic relationships? Is it enough to kiss/sleep together (Aeon)? Is it enough to unabashedly flirt and to practically be parents to a practically adopted daughter (Cleon)? Is it enough to share all sorts of romantic tropes and overtly flirt with each other (Leshley/Eagleone)? What happens when you start removing all of the events that used to be canon, but might not be anymore/be part of a different canon than the current one?

4. Conclusion (kind of)

I really want to offer a definition of a canon ship that suits everyone, but every time i come up with one, I bump into yet another wall. Tentatively, we could define a canon ship as a ship that has, by the standards of the piece of media they belong to, acted on their desire to be together in a lasting manner that disproves all other potential ships for the characters. I'm sure that can be perfected, and there might be elements of this definition that can be refuted, but this is how I would characterise a ship as canon. Which would, you guessed it, make pretty much every Leon ship non-canon in the context of the REverse as a whole.

The one true conclusion of this post, however, is that shipping amounts to playing with Barbies and should not be taken so seriously. There are a lot of shippers who know that their ships have no chances of becoming canon, yet still choose to have fun with it, make content for it in their own space, and some of you guys are dicks enough to go and bully them over it. Go outside, take a breath, and understand that canonicity is not the be-all and end-all of shipping.

I went a bit overboard with this and I'm sorry (not really). I'd love to know everyone's opinions on what makes a ship canon, if there's scenarios I haven't considered, etc! Constructive criticism is more than welcome and as always, my ask box is always open <3

#fandom #ship #ships #shipping #meta analysis #fandom discourse #resident evil #leon kennedy #aeon #cleon #leshley #eagleone #otp

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rockitmans · 1 year ago

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fic writer 20 questions - ask game

I was tagged by @bitbybitwrites, @special-bc-ur-part-of-it and @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion . Thank you my darlings 💖

tagging... probably a bunch of people that have already answered. @cerriddwenluna @heartsmadeofbooks @kurtsascot @backslashdelta

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

2. whats your ao3 word count?

134,215

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Only Glee/Klaine at the moment but I teeter enternally on the edge of writing for Red, White and Royal Blue

4. top 5 fics by kudos

Spinning Out (306) Blaine Anderson vs. Valentine's Day (221) Smart With Math, Stupid With Love (215) No Take Backs (166) Witch Wanted (161)

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Yes, although if I get distracted for even a second it will inevitably not happen. If things are out of sight they are out of mind 😅

I do like to reply because comments absolutely make my day so I wanna acknowledge that. Even if I'm just like "fanks 🤓", inside I'm screaming.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Witch Wanted has an ambiguous ending which can be read as angsty depending on how the reader interprets it. Personally I take the happy ending but either way the purpose of it is more about choosing to love each other through any challenge, however it ends up.

7. whats the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All the rest haha. I think Blaine Anderson vs Valentine's Day is the most straightforwardly light hearted fic. Smart With Math has the best progression. And No Take Backs is the most cathartic and hopeful.

8. do you get hate on fics?

No. I've had people disagree with some stuff like writing Kurt Hummel as a Slut in Spinning Out (he deserved a slut phase ok). Personally I always think the point of fiction is exploring other avenues for the characters but I don't mind if people disagree with that.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes and as to what kind... The kind where sex happens?? Not sure haha. I guess I tend to write bottom Blaine with slightly subby undertones but y'know I've also written possessive top!Blaine and wall sex and soft sex with a lot of ~feelings~ so I'll try anything really as long as it doesn't squick me.

I also tend towards writing sex in a way that I think fits the fanfic mold rather than how I feel it strictly exists in reality. I don't think there's anything wrong with that though. The mold is good.

10. do you write crossovers? whats the craziest one youve ever written?

Nah. I'm writing a Red, White, Royal Blue AU currently but it's not a crossover in the sense that characters from the book will appear. I don't currently have any plans to write one but maybe.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No. I'm open to it but terrible at writing to a schedule so it would have to be a patient soul to put up with me. I've written to prompts and for art though which is a different kind of collaboration that I really enjoy.

14. fave all time ship?

Klaine but I had a pretty hefty Merthur era in my youth and they still have a special place in my heart.

15. wip you want to finish but doubt you will?

I kind of intend to finish all of them even if that's entirely unrealistic. Nothing is formally abandoned that I've written more than a few thousand words for because... sunk cost fallacy.

It's possible the fic I was writing for Back to School may fall by the way side. It was competing choir directors with a lot of dumb rivalry and banter which I do really enjoy but I'm struggling to structure the story.

16. what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, humour and smut. At least comfort in writing those things - it's hard to judge the quality of your own work objectively.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Exposition, capturing any emotion other than pure stupidity, and getting the guy from one place to another.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

Wouldn't do it personally, I would probably indicate a character was speaking another language within the prose rather than writing it out. But to be fair the only other language I speak is BSL which does not translate well to text 😝

I don't mind reading it as long as there's translation somewhere because your boy is lazy and doesn't wanna look stuff up

19. first fandom you wrote for?

If we're talking unpublished, it was a Jack/Ianto Torchwood fic. I think Jack was the first canonical queer man I encountered in media but I could be forgetting someone.

20. fave fic youve written?

Spinning Out is my baby and I the urge to write a sequel grows daily. I love the boys' dynamic in that fic.

But from a pure reread perspective it's probably Blaine Anderson Vs Valentine's Day. It's just light hearted silly fun and still makes me smile.

#ask games #sully posts

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