#not written as romantic but perceive it how you want

[avatarcompanion]

That's how it will end when one side stays entitled about their side in an argument, even decades after the subject of discourse has been definitively concluded.

Overanalyzing the show and convincing themselves their case is more righteous is all they have left at this point.

If you ship a canon ship, you do not need to justify it or overanalyze for justifications, because canon is gonna deliver by itself. If you ship a fanon ship where you don't need to argue it should have been canon, you can just read fanfiction and otherwise not care.

These Zutara shippers aren't just shipping Zutara, they are still wanting to be upset about Zutara not being canon, and overall, convince themselves Zutara in some abstract sense 'is' canon because it belongs to a higher, more accurate version of the show that never materialized, but is still somehow the version that is the true version of the story.

That's why Kataang can be demolished and critically construed with concrete arguments, as it is a lower, flawed version, limited by the characterizations and dynamics of the show's actual writing, whereas Zutara can always be referenced from this higher abstract plane of existence, where the show was flawlessly executed "as it should have been" with only convenient basis in the actual material in the show - those being the carefully selected scenes that somehow do belong in the "real" version they idealize.

This makes it impossible actually critique Zutara on the same material basis that Kataang can be picked apart - if Aang did this or that thing they didn't like, or the writing for Kataang was done with this flaw or that flaw, then it can be use "against" Kataang, basically solidifying for them why it should not have happened, because any critique of Kataang, or maiko, in this case always means it's why it should not have happened - not why it should have been done differently or better.

Any perceived writing flaw is an offense that could never have been improved within the actual story, but a violation on the integrity of the character, that their ideal version liberates the characters from. Whereas that argument can never be turned around on something that only exist as an abstract, as though Zutara would not have any potential flaws if it had actually been written into the show.

That is why Katara choosing to kiss Aang in the end will be perceived as a violation of her character: it's something she inherently could not consent to or desire, whereas they will make memes about Aang's entitled somehow preventing the higher abstract trajectory of Zutara happening, with the implication that Katara in a true sense did inherently consent to that (or should have? Reverse entitlement...). When in the actual show, Katara has objectively shown consensual romantic interest in Aang on multiple instances, whereas she has shown zero interest in "consenting" to romantic interactions with Zuko, ever, yet somehow Kataang is inherently a violation on consent, whereas Zutara is a liberation from that.

What's the "best" case for them? That somehow it could be objectively defined that they are "right" (and that will never be objectively defined). That 'objectively' Aang was written as a nice-guy self insert and maiko is toxic because Mai is still pro-Ozai, and Zutara made more narrative sense and would have 'liberated' Katara's character into having an independent arc (as if she doesn't already) - that's what most arguments these days boil down to.

Well, even then? Even if we accept their premise than their imaginary version of their ship as envisioned it is somehow more woke than a 20 year old cartoon romance, then what?

Literally nothing will ever happen, because not only has the original cartoon been definitely concluded with the 'endgame romance' of the story, but countless comic books, sequel series, upcoming movies, etc have been released, confirming that Aang and Katara got married and had kids together, with Katara still mourning him decades after his death, while Mai and Zuko have a turbulent will-they-won't-they tension arc spanning several comics staying in love with each other even after breaking up, implying they end up together in the end.

The story is done. It has been told. Whether you think it is flawed, or wrong, it is still the story. They are not going to go back and rewrite it no matter how fans would want it.

Zutara will never happen, even if someone online were to agree that it "should" have.

All it would accomplish is a desire to whine over an entitlement complex even harder.

All they have is fanfiction anyway.

The same could be said about some Makorra shippers who still want to whine about Korrasami being "badly" written, while Makorra was a literary gift as an interesting dynamic relationship and therefore "should" have happened instead.

When you argue from this position, probably you are wrong, but even if you are right about it, it will not change a single thing anyway.

Basically, it's the inability to just say "I preferred another outcome, because it's what I personally wanted to happen for x reasons, but that didn't happen so now I can only explore my own version of the story in fanfiction etc" and then just roll with that.

One starkly revealing trait about the few remaining Zutara shippers is their complete inability to recognize how little their obsession translates. More often than not you see them assuming that everyone is as rabidly committed to a fictional relationship as them, especially when talking about “the opposition.”

So you get instances where they’re strawmanning the hell out of an argument with Kataang shippers because they assume that people who enjoy Kataang have spent countless hours trying to dissect every little detail and spin it into a self-affirming narrative. Most Kataang shippers, from my experience, fall into the “I just think they’re neat” or “I enjoy the show and thus enjoy them together” camps. Insinuating that you have some “gotcha” moments by over-analyzing and misinterpreting something speculatively on their behalf, then using your own shaky analysis and misinterpretations to “prove them wrong” doesn’t do anything. It just makes you look creepy, obsessive, and overly concerned with a cartoon that ultimately does not matter.

Sometimes I feel like the dedication is less now to actually enjoying a ship despite its lack of canon content, and more the enjoyment of wallowing in hatred for anyone or anything that promotes canon. The assumption that others are that emotionally attached to defending the honor of what they enjoy, especially in terms of a fictional character relationship, is hilariously off base.

[smoshmonker]

keep your eyes on me

prince ian & knight anthony tears of the kingdom au

words: 1360

based off of this

--

Screaming pain traveled up his arm, snaked in red and black like a grotesque tattoo. He could barely hear over the sound of crumbling rock, and with each moment that passed, the pain grew stronger. Falling to his knees, he gripped his bicep tightly, hoping for any kind of relief.

“Anthony! Are you -?”

The sound of crumbling rock grew louder. A startled yelp followed it, and Anthony turned over his shoulder just in time to see the prince begin falling into the large chasm that had just been created.

Anthony didn’t think. His legs sprung him forward into the chasm after him, his injured arm reaching out toward Ian’s outstretched hand. Just a little closer, and they’d be okay. Just a little closer. As long as they were together, they would be okay. They could do anything.

He missed.

A pained gasp escaped his lungs as Ian fell, further and further into the darkness before being engulfed in a bright, golden light. He disappeared.

That was the last thing he remembered before despair and darkness consumed him.

***

Anthony opened his eyes slowly, realizing he was floating.

Green and blue clouds circled around him like a warm embrace. Chancing a glance downward, he caught sight of a beautiful white dragon, shimmering blue scales adorning the gold spikes along its back. To anyone else, this was the sunlight dragon. To him, though, this was his best friend.

Before he could think about it again, his arm - Rauru’s arm - began glowing, shaking, begging him to move it. Bewildered, he complied, lifting it upward. Wisps of light began pouring downward, landing inconspicuously onto the dragon’s mane. Soon enough, the ghostly forms of Rauru and Sonia placed their hands gently over his own, and the golden wisps became a golden beam of light, engulfing the dragon completely. It soon got too bright for Anthony to look. He squeezed his eyes shut until the white behind them disappeared.

Rauru and Sonia’s hands left his own. He opened his eyes. In place of the dragon floated an unconscious Ian, haloed in a bright light. He wore a white tunic adorned with emerald and rust-colored Zonai runes, a gold stone around his neck. The long hair that usually covered his eyes moved gently with the breeze.

Anthony’s mind raced, but none of his thoughts were coherent - least of all about his arm returning to normal. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched the ghosts take each other’s hands, slowly dissipating into wisps together.

The breeze grew stronger around him as he felt gravity begin to take hold again. His eyes fell closed, feeling himself move backward, floating on air, his unasked questions and thoughts dissipating into wisps too.

His eyes shot open with a loud gasp. He was falling, wind whipping at his bare torso and hair. As he looked around at the sky, bathed in the light of the setting sun, his first and only thought was -

He gasped again. Below him, several feet below, Ian was falling. Anthony took in a shallow breath, not bothering to think again as he dove through the air to catch up. He couldn’t, wouldn’t make the same mistake again. As he reached toward Ian’s hand, an updraft took him upward, keeping them apart.

“Anthony…?!”

Just barely heard above the wind, there was Ian, conscious and absolutely terrified. He immediately slapped his hands over his eyes tightly. Anthony knew he had a fear of heights,  and this was not going to help.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, Anthony began diving again, closer and closer.

“Everything's gonna be okay!” he shouted, though he wasn’t sure if Ian could hear. If he did, he didn’t respond. It made Anthony want to move faster. He needed to close this gap. “Just give me your hand!”

Ian didn’t respond. His chest was heaving, his hands over his eyes so tight that Anthony noticed they were white with the pressure. He was panicking, and Anthony couldn’t blame him.

Now they were only a few feet apart. He tried again. “Ian. Look at me.” He didn’t have to shout to be heard anymore. He kept his voice gentle, and Ian pulled shaky hands away from his eyes after a moment. He looked up, the most scared Anthony had ever seen him, and he knew he had to be strong for the both of them right now. “Give me your hand, man! I got you. I promise.”

Watery blue eyes met determined brown, and Ian reached up after what seemed like barely any thought. Anthony reached down, further and further until they grasped each other’s wrists. Ian’s grip was like iron, but so was Anthony’s. Glancing down, he noticed they were fast approaching land, thankfully above a large body of water.

“Keep your eyes on me, Ian. Don’t look down.”

Ian nodded as Anthony pulled him closer, turning them both so that their heads faced the water.

They looked at each other, a sense of familiarity and comfort between them, taking each other in for the first time in what felt like years. They stared until they couldn’t anymore, interrupted by a loud splash and water traveling up their noses. Anthony didn’t dare let go of Ian’s wrist.

They swam up to the surface at the same time, filling their lungs with fresh air. Once Anthony could see Ian’s head above water, he let go of his wrist, and they both just stayed there, treading water for a moment, perhaps processing the fact that they were alive. 

“C’mon.”

Once they reached land, Ian crawled into the grass and flopped onto his back, his chest still heaving. Water clung to his hair and clothes, making his face shine in the waning sunlight. Anthony slowly walked over, laying down beside him. The breeze ruffled the grass and nearby flowers as Ian spoke.

“...Hey, um. Thanks. For that.”

“You’re welcome. Sorry it took so long.”

Blowing out a quiet breath, Ian looked anywhere other than his companion. “I really thought we were gonna die.”

An awkward silence fell between them. Anthony sighed softly. “I was scared, too. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it, man.”

Ian opened his mouth to respond, possibly to retort, but the words died in his mouth. It had been obvious how scared he was. Deciding to drop the subject, he picked up fistfuls of grass, opening his hand to let them flutter back to the ground. Suddenly, Ian sat up abruptly. “Wait!” There was a wild look in his eyes as he stared at Anthony, who slowly sat up. “You have the sword. So it worked! Then…why…” He glanced down at his hand, his brows furrowing.

“I don’t really get it, either,” he answered, slightly unsure. “But we can thank your ancestors for bringing you back.”

Ian looked up, and they locked eyes again. There were lots of things unanswered, but for now he nodded, laying back in the grass again. Anthony followed suit.

The silence that followed was a little less awkward. Anthony glanced over at him, at his best friend, the friend that he thought he had lost forever, and had to force himself to remember to breathe. Ian glanced over, too, a confused smile pulling at his lips.

“What, dude?”

There were a lot of things he could say. A lot of things he should say; about how much he cared about him, about how terrified and sad he had been knowing what Ian had done, what he’d sacrificed to get the sword restored, about how much Anthony had cried for him. 

Instead, he let himself smile mischievously. “I can’t believe you risked your life. For me. You must really love me.”

An embarrassed blush rose to the prince’s cheeks. “What?! It wasn’t for you, douchebag! It was to save Hyrule!”

“Since when have you cared about Hyrule that much?”

“Since I became the only one left of the royal family. Dick,” he insisted angrily, but his voice wavered slightly and his cheeks were still pink.

Anthony grinned, but decided to give him some grace. “Well, it was pretty cool of you. And dragons are badass. You should have seen what you looked like.”

Seemingly relieved, Ian smiled slightly. “I’ll have to take your word for it. But if you think I was badass, then I must have been. More badass than the Demon King, right?”

“Dude, way more badass.”

Pleased by that answer, Ian’s smile grew and he turned to look up at the sky. Anthony did, too, and for the first time in weeks, he felt at home.

[just-a-ghost00]

You through their eyes

This reading is written in first person / from the POV of the person you’re enquiring about. I tried to keep the text as neutral as possible so that anyone could relate to it. This can apply to any type of romantic connection, whether you are in contact with this person or not. It can be a past person or a future person.

Group 1 - Deer

Cards : 4 of wands, King of pentacles, 9 of pentacles, ace of wands, 2 of swords, 6 of swords

Right from the moment our eyes met, I knew. I knew that you had my heart wrapped around your finger. I knew that you were the one. As soon as I saw you, I felt the urge to ask for your hand. To claim you as my forever person. My ride or die. I knew that I wanted to have a home with you. That I wanted to build a legacy with you. I knew that you were the one. That you had it all. The good looks, the brains, the strength to keep up with me through thick and thin. I knew that I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to. That no matter how hard I’d try I could never forget you nor get you out of my system. You were just engraved in me like a tattoo on my skin meant to remind me of my truth : that I was meant to be yours just as much as you were meant to be mine. That true love is real and is in the shape of you. I knew that I had to have you right away. And by God did I want you. I craved you more than I could ever fathom and it scared me. I never wanted anyone so bad. The reactions you birthed in me my love, were so sweet and addictive I feared I couldn’t hold myself back if I were to cross the line. I didn’t want you to hate me. It’s just visceral. The way you get me. The way you come under my skin and tease me. The way you look at me with those innocent eyes of yours. Those beautiful orbs that I drowned myself in. How your lips tremble at the vulnerability of your unexpressed emotions. How your tongue slips through your lips when you get nervous. How soft your tone is whenever you are around me. God, you make me crazy. Right from the start I was stuck in a dilemma. Fighting with my head and my heart, trying to figure out which way to go, what the hell to do to get to you without hurting nor scaring you. How to live on knowing that I couldn’t have you. Knowing that I would have to stay away from you. The moment our gazes embraced each other, you had my fate in your hands and my heart held hostage. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I tried to move on and shield both of us from the hurt this could provoke. But being away from you is nearly impossible. You’re as essential to me as the air I breathe. Every minute I am reminded of you. When I met you, I knew I had to do right by you or you wouldn’t let me in. It was obvious that you were well educated and mature enough to cut me off if I ever tried anything you deemed as wrong. It was obvious that you didn’t need me and were doing very well on your own. That you could have anything and anyone you wanted at the snap of your fingers. But I just couldn’t ignore you. Something about you called to me and made me want to pursue you like no other, no matter how you could have perceived me, no matter if people thought I was a fool. I wanted to take the risk and chase you because a part of me was convinced I would never get the chance to see you again if I didn’t.

Confirmation signs : Taurus, Aries, Gemini, rainbows, important bodies of water such as rivers and seas, long distance connections, feeling like you’re the yin to the other’s yang, number 14, Sagittarius, Jupiter, travels, sunsets and sunrises ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Group 2 Tree

Cards : ace of pentacles, tower, 10 of cups, 6 of cups, knight of cups, king of swords

You came into my life at the perfect timing. Like a breath of fresh air in the middle of a storm I didn’t realise I was stuck in until you arrived. And boy did you make some noise. You were like thunder. I was immediately electrified. You uprooted everything and anything I thought I knew. You completely changed the course of my life and to this days I still believe that is for the better. Ever since I met you I have never felt so happy and fulfilled. My life feels like a dream. You were so beautiful and pure it was impossible not to love you. You took my hand ever so gently, offered your help and guidance without expecting anything in return. You kept giving and giving, surrounding me with your warm and loving embrace I just felt so good. You are an angel, a miracle that I still can’t believe I met. I feel so lucky to have you by my side love. So happy. My love for you was already strong and kept growing as I got to know you. I was in awe with your soft demeanour, your tender touch, your caring approach and empathy for others. You were like royalty. So radiant and calm that for a mere second I thought I was in Heaven. Such a wonderful being like you surely cannot be real, I thought. But you are as real as the coin in my pocket and I was the one lucky enough to have you in my life. Can you believe that? To me you were like a life line. I didn’t know I was drowning until you took my hand and pulled me out of the mess I was in. I don’t know how you did it nor how you saw so clearly what I couldn’t but I am so grateful you did. Never once did you judge me nor hurt me. Never once did you question me nor doubt my essence. You kept supporting me and loving me even at my worst. When I couldn’t give you what you wanted you looked for it out on your own and patiently waited for me to catch up. When my heart was guarded and in pain, you cautiously weaved your way through the cracks of my armour and helped me heal. You soothed my fears and mended my wounds with such grace and humbleness that I fell in love harder than before. Your tender heart got the best of my reserved nature. The more time goes by and the more I think God sent you to lift me up. You are Heavensent. You are my other half the one I’ve been missing for so long. With you by my side I feel at peace, finally. I fell in love with your romantic side and your pure good willed heart. With your little dances whenever you’re happy and how you hum to our favorite songs to make yourself comfortable. How you bake in the kitchen with that little smile on your face, thinking I don’t see you. How you so effortlessly get me every time, even though I try my best to shut you out. You never give up on me though I am hard on you sometimes.

Confirmation signs : water signs especially Scorpio, letter K, meeting by the river, love at first sight, believing in soulmates, late night conversations, spiritual ramblings, water lilies and butterflies

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Group 3 - Daisies

Cards : The World, 7 of swords, 7 of cups, page of wands, 4 of wands, Death

You were so different than me that at first I felt like we were miles away from each other and had nothing in common. You seemed like the world was laying at your feet yet you wanted none of it. You seemed dangerous and so bad for my health and peace of mind. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to you. You were so mysterious, so intense that I had to dig further, dive deeper. You were so intriguing and in your presence it felt like the world was opening before me and my options were suddenly much better. I felt braver, more optimistic, successful. It felt like with you by my side I could conquer the world. You were so smooth, so supportive. So sensual and strong I felt so little next to you. There was a depth to you I couldn’t explain. An air of someone that was wiser than what they let on. Someone that had been through hell and rose out of it without a scratch. You were so precious and powerful. I had to have you. I thought my minds were playing tricks on me when you told me “I love you”. I didn’t think someone like you would want someone like me. I felt like a scam. However you didn’t seem to care. You kept moving on expecting for me to follow you and I did. You never once looked back because you knew. You knew I wouldn’t let you down. It’s like you could predict my every move and saw right through me. I was mesmerised by you. Bewitched. I felt like a clown but I couldn’t help but to love the feeling. You made me want to be more and expand in ways I never thought possible. You triggered a passion I didn’t know I possessed. Suddenly I was getting jealous imagining that someone else could have you and that made me furious. I would have done anything for you. I still would. God you make me crazy with how much I want you. I desired you so strongly I thought I was possessed. At some point I even thought you were manipulating me. I felt trapped and like I had no other option but to be yours. And then I gave in and realised there was no point in fighting this feeling. The more I fought and tried to repress my desire the harder I fell. You were so beau and I felt like a frog trying to hang out with a Queen. I felt so ridiculous. But in my heart I knew that I would spend the rest of my life with you, until my last breath. Because at the end of the day, that’s what I wanted and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I would chase you around the Earth if I had to if that meant being by your side. You are my muse.

Confirmation signs : fixed signs especially Scorpio, number 7, letter S, song All of me, cultural differences, beauty and the beast trope, red roses, ennemies to lovers trope

[wisteria-lodge]

And now for a HP fandom question - do you have any thoughts on queercoding in the series and if JKR ever actually intended it, and then backtracked, or if it was always completely unintentional? I'm thinking specifically about Lupin and Tonks (as individuals, not as a ship) Inspired by your post about the intention vs how fans perceived Draco Malfoy. Thanks!

So the first thing I want to do is make a distinction between femme-coding and queer-coding. They're tropes with very similar histories, and a lot of works treat them as the same thing. But Harry Potter doesn’t, and I think we can chalk this one up to JK Rowling’s habit of grabbing aesthetics and visuals without really thinking through the history behind them. 

(Like - the goblins. She says she didn’t mean to write an antisemitic thing, and I actually do believe her. But did she use a lot of tropes and images with a long history of being tied to antisemitism? yes.)

So when I say “femme” I mean giving a male character traits stereotypically associated with femininity. Heightened sensitivity/emotionality, an interest in hair, clothes and being attractive, a love of lace/pink/frills, a dislike of violence and physical confrontation, and a preference for the soft power of manipulation, character assassination and poison - versus the hard power of direct confrontation and physical prowess. Are these things super stereotypical? Yes. But they’re ALSO traits you see all the time on male villains, especially ones that you don’t want to seem that threatening. Femme-coded villains show up a lot in children’s media, or as the Big Bad’s #2. They’re not meant to be heroic or sympathetic (since all these feminine traits are not desirable, especially for guys.) But they also aren’t scary, and you can pretty much always play them for comedy. 

For example: see almost every male Disney villain. And JKR was writing children’s literature in the 90s, so of course she’s pulling from the same zeitgeist as the Disney Renaissance. 

JKR loves herself a femme villain. The absolute gold standard is of course Lockhart - who wears pink, wants to start his own line of hair care products, is self-centered, vain, obsessed with popularity… but he sucks in a fight. His entire MO involves manipulating people into thinking he has these traditional masculine qualities when he just doesn’t. But there’s also fussy, prissy Percy wearing his prefect badge on his pajamas. Bitchy, emotional mean-girl poisoners Draco and Snape (especially early book Snape - which is Snape at his most villainous.) Draco, Percy and Snape are also unusual for being male characters who we see crying for reasons other than grief (apparently the only truly acceptable reason for masculine crying). 

Lucius Malfoy is an interesting case because he starts off quite masc. He’s threatening to curse people, the governors are scared of him, etc. But, as the books go on… and he gets less powerful… he also gets more femme. When we meet him in Book 5 he’s no longer threatening people, but bribing them, spreading rumors, and giving interviews to the Prophet casting Arthur Weasley in a negative light. He's also getting really into peacocks. In Book 2 he was a major threat, but as he gets recast as Voldemort’s #2 he becomes a more femme, soft-power villain. When he leads the attack on the Department of Mysteries, he absolutely bungles it, which defines his character (and relationship with Voldemort) for the rest of the series. And it makes sense that Lucius is given this kind of treatment! It’s a way of communicating that there's a new villain in town, a real villain. 

So, are any of these femme-coded villains additionally queer-coded? I’m actually going to say no. Queer-coding is (like it says on the tin) finding ways to imply that your character is specifically gay. Like maybe giving them a same-sex relationship that is written romantically, but not explicitly called out by the text. Or pairing up all of the characters except them. Maybe have other characters joke about them being gay, and use that as a way to talk about the subject with some plausible deniability. Or they could just play suggestively with a cigar, or a walking stick. There are different strategies.  

But Lockhart doesn't get any of that. Honestly, I think that if JKR actually thought of him as gay, she would have been a lot more wary about a scene where he keeps Harry alone with him in his office for way longer than he’s supposed to. And she might have skipped this joke: 

“Harry was hauled to the front of the class during their very next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, this time acting a werewolf (...) “Nice loud howl, Harry — exactly — and then, if you’ll believe it, I pounced — like this — slammed him to the floor — thus — with one hand, I managed to hold him down — with my other, I put my wand to his throat (...) he let out a piteous moan — go on, Harry — higher than that — good —” 

Like. At least she would have picked a different word than “moan,” right? Which unfortunately has slightly sexual connotations. Especially if she wanted to keep Lockhart a buffoon, to properly set up the twist at the end. 

Slughorn also gets femme-coded in a similar way: he loves his candy, his parties, his smoking jackets, his lilac silk pajamas, his web of connections he can use to get stuff (Lucius style.) We are introduced to him squatting in specifically a “fussy old lady’s” house. He’s also unusually emotional, getting weepy at Aragog‘s funeral. But I don’t think we’re meant to read him as actually gay, or else his relationship with Tom Riddle might’ve read a little too close to Tom seducing/trying to seduce him. Which is a beat JKR does subtly play out with Hepzibah Smith, but idk. by that point at least Tom is a legal adult.

(As a side note - the Harry Potter series got so lucky that all of its adult characters are played by absolutely top-shelf actors who are aware of the connotations and history behind various symbols, and do consider these things in their performances. Kenneth Brannagh and Jim Broadbent are good enough to make sure there’s not even a hint of iffy subtext when they play Lockhart and Slughorn. Also, Emma Thompson took the potentially very problematic character of Trelawney and made her cute and sympathetic… and not Romani in the slightest.) 

Draco, Snape, and Percy all have a case of the not-gays. Percy has a girlfriend (we don’t really see her or anything, but we’re told she’s there.) Snape of course gets his whole thing with Lily, and Draco… after one too many beats where it’s clear that Pansy is into him, but he’s not into Pansy…  gets a scene where he’s talking to his buddies with his head in her lap. (JKR uses “no one‘s good enough for me” beats with Blaise, Draco and Sirius, and the idea there seems to be more that they have undeservedly high opinions of themselves, and less that they don’t like girls.)

But, I do agree that a lot of JKR's characters do come across as a little more queer than intended. It boils down, I think, to the general lack of any kind of romance in the Harry Potter books and JKR being generally bad at/uncomfortable with writing male attraction directed at women, BUT being perfectly happy writing attraction directed at pretty guys. And because of that… yeah, it can sometimes feel like maybe Harry has a thing for Cedric. Especially when Dudley goes on to tease him about Cedric being his boyfriend, which I believe is the only actual mention of gay people in the entire series.  

So is there any intentional queer-coding in the book? It’s really subtle, but yes. I think Dumbledore is queer-coded. He is unusually emotional/cries unusually often for a Rowling guy. He is also given a scene which emphasizes his “flamboyantly” cut plum-velvet suit, and his relationship with Grindelwald is implied to be romantic for one book and two movies before being actually confirmed in Fantastic Beasts 3. (With the line of dialogue “I was in love with you.” Big step up from “We were closer than brothers.” which is an odd thing to say about someone you are interested in romantically.) 

But you brought up Tonks and Lupin, two characters very commonly interpreted as queer. So let’s get into that. JKR has said that she considers Lupin’s lycanthropy to be a metaphor for stigmatized diseases like AIDS. And… as incredible as it is to say… I actually do not think that she made the jump from there to thinking that maybe the character suffering from AIDS should be gay.

Because the narrative places so much weight on Lupin being bitten young and then on maybe not being allowed to attend school, I’m pretty sure that he’s not intended to be queer so much as he’s meant to be Ryan White, the literal poster child for AIDS activism who got infected via blood transfusion when he was two. Tragic, absolutely. But not gay. Honestly, I hope JKR was thinking of ‘lycanthropy’ as a metaphor for stigmatized illness in the abstract and not as a comment on gay people specifically. Because otherwise, Greyback’s thing about biting children becomes a mash-up of two of the biggest homophobic boogeymen from the 80s: gay men infecting people with AIDS on purpose because… idk, they hate the world or something. And the influence of gay men somehow “turning” children gay. Both absolutely real, if ridiculous, moral panics.

On top of that, Remus and Sirius do get a pretty clear case of the not-gays early on (“He embraced Black like a brother.”) Buuuut Alfonso Cuarón did think through those implications for Movie 3, absolutely saw Lupin as gay, and directed David Thewlis to play him accordingly. No reports confirming or denying whether Alfonso Cuarón ships Wolfstar, but I think that if I’m an actor trying to make sense of Lupin’s motivations… and I know he didn’t show Dumbledore the Marauders’ Map and didn’t tell anyone Sirius was an animagus… and then I’m told my character is gay… well. Anyway, I think there are absolutely hints of Wolfstar in that performance. 

And there's Tonks. Tonks is introduced during a very spooky segment in Book 5: Harry has been going through it, been left alone at the Dursleys while having what sounds like a depressive episode. It’s dark, he hears intruders. It's a really good piece of writing. But JKR knows that it’s the good guys who are coming and thinks, okay. Let’s make that as clear as possible from the word go. And so the first thing Harry sees is Tonks' pink hair. And what kind of person has pink hair? A young adult. A punky young adult. And what power would a teenager think was cool? Well, the ability to change the color of their hair at will. That, by itself, would have worked perfectly fine for this character.

But then (for reasons best known to herself) JKR goes further. Even though Tonk’s hair changing color is easily 90% of the transformations we see and there is no plot reason her appearance needs to change more than that, we see her drastically change her age and body type. When you think about this power for more than five seconds, it becomes kind of OP. For worldbuilding reasons alone, my instinct would’ve been to tone it down a bit. 

But no, we have this counterculture character who seems interested in her career and not in a relationship, who can easily change anything about her body, and (if her ability works anything like Polyjuice) that means she should definitely be able to change her gender. Cool.

Then, in everyone’s least favorite romance, Tonks and Lupin are paired up. I have heard the argument that this was meant to walk back queer-coding, or to punish people who thought they were queer... but I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think JKR expected these two to be fan favorites, and then was kind of surprised when everyone wanted to hear about their continuing adventures. 

(There are a handful of characters who JKR clearly really enjoys - and really enjoys writing - that fandom honestly could not care less about. Mundungus Fletcher and Ludo Bagman spring to mind. But the reverse is also true. She had one story for Lupin and people wanted to see more. Tonks is probably supposed to be her comment on immature young adults: she is loud, in your face, causes mild destruction and is “a little annoying at times.” But the fans fell in love with her.) 

So JKR has these two fan favorite characters and nothing for them to do. A romance is something for them to do. JKR also has a kind of weird pattern where good people need to either have kids or take care of kids. It’s not good to be a woman who isn’t involved with taking care of children in some fashion: see Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix Lestrange. This is also (I think) why Harry names his kids specifically after Severus, Sirius, and Albus. Since they’re good men, JKR had to find a way to give them kids after the fact. 

So yeah. I think we were meant to read Tonks and Lupin having a kid as kind of a reward, or at least as proof of their intrinsic goodness. There also just isn’t another guy in the right age range to ship Tonks with. The only other option is Sirius. 

(Harry in the books and Lupin on Pottermore both suspect that Tonks/Sirius is a thing. Completely forgetting, I guess, that they're cousins.)

[kanmom51]

https://twitter.com/parkjmwins/status/1782358915939774874

Idk whether you will even answer this ask or will block me but this is exactly why JK had similar concept pics like Jimin. Jikookers made it to be romantic while Fandom made it to a joke 'JK always copy Jimin' (ofcourse). I've seen you making multiple posts about Jikook concept pics being match is a proof of them being a couple when in reality Hybe don't even take permission of original artist before using their ideas for another. One hybe label just got into trouble for copying newjeans and according to CEO min heejin it was BANG SHIHYUK who wanted to copy newjeans to create a second version of them through illit. And guess what he made sure illit gets 10x more success than newjeans, a 2 day song was already charting in different charts including hot 100. The same bang shihyuk who ignored every bit of Jimin's success but shamelessly copied his ideas and visions of concept pics for another favorite member. He shamelessly asks staffs to copy original ideas of artists who created them and use them for a cheap version of the said artist, Newjeans and Jimin are just examples.

Was it JK's fault ? Not necessarily but unlike rookie Illit he had power and capability to make his own decisions and use his own visions instead of doing what he was asked to do by the staff (his words) but he didn't and sat comfortably while using another person's hardwork. If you still think those similarities were because they were couple then idk what to say because in that logic Newjeans girls and Illit girls are dating.

Talk about TikTok generation ask.

Linking me to a tweet that has zero actual information and/or proper discussion, just stating a fact that isn't necessarily even a fact. Ignoring the full picture (like y'all do when it comes to Jikook as well, btw).

And I also find it so so funny how you are basically hanging your all on something that a very problematic figure within the Kpop industry is claiming, all to try and deflect from despicable behaviour she's being accused of, including using and revealing private info of Hybe idols obtained in illegal and despicable manors, perhaps including having to do with certain private info leaking of certain BTS members (including the one person that you so vehemently claim to love and stand in defense of).

You think that by sending me this link you are proving something?

You say that you read through my posts. Well, obviously you've missed those many posts I've written explaining how JM and JK being a couple can be deducted not from one action or one behaviour alone, but the combination of many many actions or behaviours. A puzzle built of not 10 or 50 or 100 pieces, but one built of so many many more.

I find it funny how with everything that has been going on with JM and JK you guys are still at this.

We're back to JK copying JM.

Like seriously.

Like even if the whole NJ Illit thing was true there was some kind of a comparison to be made with these two men.

Like JK, who's album concept is 180 degrees different than JM's doesn't have stylists at his beck and call to create a concept that isn't a full on copy of JM's. Right down to the studs and colours and minutiae details of some of the outfits.

Like if he did copy JM, that same scorned poor JM (that's how you guys love to portray him, as a damsel in distress awaiting you to swoop in and save him) CHOSE to fly to NY to be with JK and spend Silver day there with him, travel with him multiple times and spend his entire 18 months in the army with that awful copy cat JK.

Your ask tells me that you have zero understanding in human interactions and relationships. JM saying time and time again, JOKING time and time again, about JK copying him, it's a tease but also something that he LOVES. How he inspires JK, how JK perceives him as his catalyst.

But this here, the photo concepts and the whole of JK's wardrobe while promoting, claiming it's all about copying JM is just bull crap. This was planned. And it was planned by the two of them. It's not a coincidence that JM happens to wear the bottom part of a two piece outfit months before JK wears the top part of the same exact outfit.

And if we are talking about copying, is it the concept he's copying or is he so far gone that he's literally copying down to the smallest of details?

Like seriously. You think that's about copying JM?

Or because it worked for JM so he thinks it will work for him? Literally same hairstyle rocking as JM had in Face? Cause why not use a concept that works? Seriously? JK's all "I should do this cause it worked for JM so it will work for me"?

Was that what he was thinking when he rocked a highlight of JM's hair colour over the years? That the colour works for JM so I should have a strand of that colour in my hair as well, copying his success? Is that the theory you're working with?

Or when JK wore the same jacket as JM on Valentines day, you know, in a clip that JM himself records and uploads, that JK also copying JM?

Babe, this isn't just about the concept pics either. And it's not just about Face and Seven or Golden. Wearing the actual same black leather or leather-like pants just because he couldn't find any other pants? That level of copying? Or perhaps it wasn't about copying and more about mirroring.

About "You are me I am you", which they have been screaming at the top of their lungs for years now!!!

It amazes me how you have zero issue in taking an over decade long complex super close relationship (no matter how you perceive it they are super close) and simplifying it into "JK copied JM's concept because JM's concept worked for him", or to even compare whatever went on with JK and JM and those similarities to a claim made (by a disgruntled and caught red handed employee of Hybe) about one new GG copying concepts and whatever from a GG that's been around for 2 years now. No connection between them. No long term relationships between the groups. One group supposedly copying from another. Yeah, definitely the comparison needed to be made between that and Jikook's behaviours or decision making.

How infantile of you.

Oh and that paragraph of yours at the end. Laughable really.

Like I already said, go compare 2 GGs in two different companies to 2 men that have been close for over 10 years now. And let's also disregard the long history of those two doing the similar and same outfit (during official shoots, performances etc, or during their free time) thing and look at this one single concept.

Probably styled (funny how the styling seems to be similar for years now on many occasions, and just with the two of them)

Not styled.

These are just examples of MANY MORE instances.

Oh, and I suggest you go read this post too. Not mine, but recently written and oh so relevant to the conversation.

I can't help but wonder how different your pov would have been if one of those two young men was a female. Just thought I would throw that in here too.

But I gotta give you an A for persistence. You guys, you never give up, do you? No matter what JK and JM will throw at you, you will find a way to twist it around to fit your narratives. I guess you also think that JM was forced into enlistment with JK, ah? And their trips together and the content that will drop, also forced on him? I guess him saying otherwise isn't enough to convince you guys either, right? I love the way how you guys are so intrenched in your belief of victimhood that you don't even listen to what JM himself tells you. You love him so much that basically call him a liar. Good for yous I guess.

So, to clarify my answer to you, just in case it wasn't as clear as day already...

You do you, cause nothing I tell you, or show you, or you know what? Nothing that even JM himself will tell you or show you will satisfy you. Because you are living in a self built fantasy of what and who JM is and what and who those that surround him are, all to fit that narrative of yours in which he needs you guys as his saviours and knights in shining armour to swoop in and save him from the big bad JK.

One more thing.

JM's Face was a masterpiece.

We all agree on that. JK included.

He adores JM, he's his no. 1 fan and he's been showing us this throughout 2023.

JK is not a person that would callously copy a concept used by a bandmate just because it succeeded for his bandmate and might work for him too.

Let alone from JM.

His person.

Not even if, as you put it, he was told to do so by the powers at be (which yeah, he'd tell to go shove it up their asses if they ever did 'tell' him to do that btw, and they wouldn't do it anyway seeing that they know that would be his exact reaction).

So, no.

That is my answer to you.

Just a whole big fat NOPE.

No to copying. And surprisingly no to blocking you.

Yet.

[gonzo-rella]

Together in the Shadows | Eloise Bridgerton

MASTERLIST | AO3 | KO-FI

NOTE: I prefer to write the reader as gender neutral, but as Bridgerton is set in a very gendered time, that poses a challenge. The reader in this is implied to be, societally, a woman; they are alone with Eloise without worrying about scandal, so this implies that the reader is perceived as a woman. However, I've deliberately been as vague as possible about the reader character to make them as close to gender neutral as possible and haven't explicitly referred to them as being a woman so that some nonbinary and trans folks like myself can feel comfortable reading this fic.

Relationship(s): Eloise Bridgerton x fem-coded/possibly gn!reader (romantic)

Summary: Your sister's last-minute ball is disastrous, but at least it allows you to spend some time alone with Eloise.

Warnings: Nothing beyond kissing. (Let me know if I need to add any)

Word count: 0.8k

(A/N: I'm so in love with Eloise Bridgerton. I want to be in a secret situationship with her, so here's my attempt at exploring that. Also, I haven't actually written a lot of fics that include kissing, so I'm glad I got some practise in writing something I normally don't write. A lot of my original projects are romcoms (including a Regency-inspired duology and a zombie apocalypse story) so it'd help me out a great deal if you let me know what you think of how I did writing the romance in this!)

“Is it not a bit chilly to be out here, Miss Bridgerton?” A grin tugged at Eloise’s lips. She stopped dead in her tracks and peered over her shoulder, not quite looking at you. For a moment, she listened to your footsteps as you paced towards her, though the rustling of grass under your shoes was barely audible over the piercing noise of the string quartet that carried itself through the windows and doors. She scrunched up her nose at the unfortunate sound.

“Perhaps. But, I am afraid I may spiral into a state of madness should I stand in that room for a second longer. I can, however, withstand this cold and my mama’s scolding of me for my absence.”

You wore a mocking frown as you finally reached her side. You were both illuminated by the golden light that shone through the windows and the pale glow of the moon. She turned her head to look at you. For a moment, you forgot to breathe. She was naturally beautiful, but seeing her in this lighting… she looked ethereal. It took you a moment to compose yourself enough to form coherent thought and speech. You weren’t sure that she had noticed the momentary falter.

“In my dear sister’s defence, she poured her whole soul into planning this spectacular event this afternoon.”

Eloise snorted.

“It certainly is a spectacle. I shudder to think what Lady Whistledown will write about it.”

You chuckled and linked arms with her. Briefly averting your gaze, you looked through the window at the attendees who were pretending to enjoy themselves or whispering to each other, presumably uttering some cruel things about this awful ball. Meanwhile, Eloise’s eyes flickered down to where the pair of you made contact, then back up to your face. The skin of your arm brushed against hers, and the gentle friction generated a light tingling sensation that flooded her whole body. She almost couldn’t keep herself upright, and she tightened her grip on your arm to steady herself. Despite the cold night air, her cheeks burned. With her free hand, she reached up to feel the warming flesh of her face. Heat seeped through the fabric of her gloves to her fingertips. The second you returned your attention to her, she quickly lowered her arm, embarrassed.

“However scathing it may be, I assure you that my sister will be delighted to have even been acknowledged,” you said. You paused before continuing. “Given how dreadful everything is in there, I shouldn’t think our absence will be noticed. Would you like to wander the grounds so we do not freeze to death?”

A breathy laugh escaped her lips. 

“Of course. Might we wander far enough that we can escape that cacophony? Somewhere that will afford us some… privacy, perhaps?”

You grinned back at her.

“Certainly, Miss Bridgerton. I know the perfect place for us to enjoy one another’s company.”

Stealing a final glance behind you, you led her to a secluded part of the vast garden, where you would both be hidden by grand hedges. You let go of her arm and turned to face her.

“Is this to your liking?”

A smirk tugged at her lips.

“Anywhere that you are is to my liking.”

“That is so very sweet, I can almost forgive how nauseatingly trite it is.”

She rested her hand on her chest in mock-offence.

“Oh, how you wound me.”

Of course, she can’t have been that wounded, given her grin.

“Would you feel better if I offered you a kiss?”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“And, that is not trite?”

You shrugged innocently, unable to suppress a smile.

“I could not think of a more creative way to ask if I could kiss you. I know how you value originality.”

Without hesitation, Eloise placed her hands on your cheeks, and brought your face close to hers. Her breath fanned your skin. Through half-lidded eyes, you watched her gaze flicker to your lips.

“Being direct would have done,” she muttered. “After all, I have been waiting all night for this.”

“Then, why wait a second longer?”

Eloise let out a low chuckle, then closed the gap between you entirely. The kiss was gentle at first, but within seconds her hunger for you became clear. One hand moved to the back of your head to bring you in closer. The other remained planted firmly on the side of your face, her gloved thumb grazing your cheekbone. The motion was so light that you gasped quietly into the kiss, to Eloise’s delight. Her lips moved against yours with fervour, as though she was determined to take in and savour as much of your taste as possible. You rested your palms on her shoulders, and as your hand drifted up her neck you could feel her racing pulse. Then, your fingers became entangled in her hair. You tugged on it softly, and a quiet hum escaped her lips.

Reluctantly, she pulled away, but she only managed to get her face an inch away from yours. She laughed quietly, while you couldn’t help but grin.

“Was that to your liking, Miss Bridgerton?”

“You are always to my liking.”

[grimalkinmessor]

The parallels between Tsubomi and Reigen drive me so fucking insane you have no idea like—that shit had to be at least SOMEWHAT intentional even if not in a specifically romantic way.

For one, Tsubomi and Reigen are two of the only few people that call Shigeo "Mob" consistently. (Yes Tome also calls him Mob eventually but she starts out calling him Kageyama-kun and likely picks up "Mob-kun" from Inukawa or Reigen later on). We don't know how Reigen started calling Shigeo "Mob", though we can assume that Tsubomi was likely part of the group of kids that originally misread Shigeo's name as Mobbu to begin with so she's less of a mystery on that front. Maybe Reigen saw it written on his backpack or his shirt tag and started calling him that too, or maybe Mob even just told him that that's what everyone else called him and was what he prefered to be called at the time. Either way, it's a little odd that Reigen's one of the only people who use that nickname when we don't really get a reason why beyond "it can also be read like this", especially since Reigen is a grown man with (presumably) full literacy of kanji and would know how to read it.

Then there's the other obvious parallel that's made in the show; how Tsubomi and Reigen treat Mob. How they see his powers. They're not special, they're just a part of him. Nothing to be scared of—even though they kind of,,,,are lmao. The fact that Tsubomi continues to sit in the park even though a literal hurricane is approaching because she thought Mob sounded upset on the phone happens at the same time Reigen goes sprinting full-tilt into said hurricane because Mob is in trouble always stands out to me. It's less obvious than Mob's own words: "She never treated me any differently because of my powers" "Master never treated me any differently..."—but it's still a pretty blatant parallel to me.

Not to mention that both Reigen and Tsubomi's personalities are actually very similar as well! They're both described as people that hide behind a mask, a facade, while still being brutally stubborn. If Tsubomi doesn't want to do something, she's not gonna do it. While Reigen is more laid back because he's used to getting his hands dirty for work (money), he's still very stubborn himself when he doesn't wanna do something. He'll find a way to wriggle out of it and talk circles around you if you let him. Dimple even says that Tsubomi is the type of person who can't be swayed by words or peer pressure. She and Reigen were actually, again, two of the only people brainwashed through airborne Vibes™ instead of through food like everyone else. The biggest difference between them on this is that while Reigen lies fairly blatantly, Tsubomi seems to only lie through omission. Tsubomi is more of an introvert too, compared to Reigen's extrovert (though you could argue that both of them are good with people, with the only difference being that Reigen enjoys being the center of attention while Tsubomi presumably does not).

Plus they're both pretty goofy too once you think about it lmao. They're both prideful and hate to be humiliated, but they also care a lot about their public image and how people perceive them. Every time the scene with Tsubomi and her friends outside cleaning up leaves comes up, her expressions and panic always remind me of Reigen. And then there's Mob, calm and unjudgemental, willing to help her with no questions asked. Mitigating her humiliation, just like he does for Reigen :)

Another thing that always strikes me is how Mezato says, "If you can accept her for who she really is..." followed by Reigen's echo during his confession: "This is who I really am". Mezato essentially tells Mob that Tsubomi isn't who she seems on the outside and that if he wants to be accepted by her, he needs to also be ready to accept her as well. Which, we don't get to see much of Tsubomi's life outside of Mob—wow just like Reigen—so we don't ever really know who she is beyond that outer mask, but we see her slowly opening up to Mob later, as a friend. But the fact that Reigen's own confession mirrors Mezato's words to Mob about him accepting Tsubomi always makes me vibrate in place a little like,,,Confession Arc my beloved 🙏

I don't know man, there's just so much there, it makes my head spin. I could go on and on about it but I better cut myself off because if I don't I'll start crawling on the walls going feral about it because what, what was the point of this if not to make it clear that the relationship between Mob and Reigen is supposed to parallel his relationship with Tsubomi like what do you MEAN—

[sugarcubetikki]

If you didn’t know, Christian Linke recently said that they weren’t intending to make Jayce and Viktor romantic but just to show a really close relationship between men which they believe is underrepresented in media.

Of course, as expected, antis have taken this as a way to shut down gay interpretations and bring up how “romanticising a relationship that is meant to be brotherly demeans it”. It is definitely important to have relationships that depict multiple forms of love and yes at its core we can all agree that Jayce and Viktor are two men who love each other.

I believe that despite what Christian Linke says, the way one chooses to interpret that love ultimately falls on the viewer, as their relationship/love can resonate with people in many different ways.

I personally view Jayvik to be partners, friends and lovers because it resonates with me as a queer fan. I personally see a lot of queercoding in the way they were written and that makes it hard for me to perceive them as not having a romantic love.

For example:

Viktor being shown to take Mel’s place in many scenes like Jayce hallucinating him with after Mel and he’s wearing her black eyeshadow.

Mel x Jayce sex scene overlaps with the scene of Viktor becoming entwined with the Hexcore in a way that it makes it difficult for you to even focus on Mel and Jayce.

Amanda mentioning that Viktor was projecting his relationship with Jayce onto Sky this season - the whole science-y bond.

Viktor making the “this is not the bedroom” joke when Mel catches him and Jayce trying to sneak into the lab.

This all resonates with me as queer comphet and their love for each other being superior to that of their romantic interests also feels very queer for me.

And I have the right to interpret them in that way. I respect the way Christian Link interprets them and has shown to depict them but I personally do not see their relationship in the same way and I believe characters are just as much as the audience’s as they are the creators so my interpretation is also valid.

(Also, creators genuinely don’t always agree with each other and they differ in opinions when it comes to interpretations of characters/relations whilst Christian Linke may not see their love as romantic. I believe there might be other creators who do which could explain some of the ambiguity in their scenes).

Also, to the antis, queer love is also a valid form of love, it can exist with/without physical intimacy and still be queer.

Perceiving Jayvik as queer does not demean their love for each other at all. Perceiving them as having a platonic or brotherly bond isn’t wrong either. All forms of love are pure. Queer or not. Jayce and Viktor’s love for each other is pure and can be seen no matter how you interpret it.

The beauty of a story or a piece of art is enabling the perceived to interpret it in a way it resonates with them and it may not be what the creator intended and it may not be what resonates with you but it is still a valid interpretation.

That is to say I also respect platonic readings of their relationship despite not personally seeing it because you have the right to interpret them in the way you want to. And I am asking you to do the same for me and give me the right to interpret them in the way I want to.

[candyk0rn]

Hey, can I request a break up with Nanami, Gojo, and Geto? I'm in a mood for angst :')

⚘Breakup⚘

Woah okay first time I’ve ever written smth like this so I’m excited! Thanks for the ask, have a good day/night!

Warnings: ummm breaking up with someone is sad y’all

Included: Nanami Kento, Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru

G.Satoru:

Fights or arguments don’t really happen with Gojo

Because he doesn’t let them happen

When things get even the slightest bit heated, he avoids them

He erases them with clinginess and jokes, always brushing it off when he should definitely be serious

And this is one of many things that drew your relationship to its inevitable end

Not only was it his lack of ability to read the room, but also his dangerous job

With the privilege of being considered the ‘strongest’, that means the strongest enemies are after him as well

You cannot begin to count the amount of times he said he’d leave for a three day mission, only to be gone for an entire week with no further communication

There’s a large risk at hand with being even so much as associated with Gojo

Let alone being his romantic partner

A certain bounty has been placed on your head too, you’re sure.

And that is just dusting against the surface of the cracks that eventually took control of your relationship

And to be honest, he doesn’t take the break up that serious either

Not until you stop returning your calls and haven’t come home for a few hours

Maybe it’ll make him realize, but who knows?

N.Kento:

Nanami is tricker than Gojo.

But in some regards, I believe he’s very similar

For Nanami is perceived, at least, to be a ‘simple’ man

For someone who hates work, who would much rather go on a long vacation,

He takes his occupation extremely seriously

Both his normal income job and his sorcerer work

And sometimes you truly felt he held his job before you, his partner

And sometimes, he would openly admit to taking priority elsewhere than with you

Which, in some cases understandable, still hurts

One time, later in your relationship, he has forgotten your anniversary

Well, he hadn’t forgotten it fully

But he didn’t celebrate in anyway, needing his hours at work

Nor did he intend to celebrate in anyway, even though much earlier to the date you told him you would like to

Unlike Gojo, the breakup is rather smooth

He simply and utterly refuses to leave on a bad note

And he will not only leave in good terms, but he wants to leave respectfully

But he will be in shock for a very long time afterwards

And he doubts the feeling of deep regret will leave anytime soon…

G.Suguru:

I don’t think people really recognize how others are affected when someone begins to spiral

Not only is the person who is going through the hard time hurting and being drained, the person helping is drained too

And unfortunately, this is what happened to yours and Geto’s relationship

Seeing someone you care for so deeply begin this downward trajectory is hard

And you swore to be by his side through it all..

Until he began to do some things you didn’t exactly approve of

Once the count of dead began rising by his hand, you found yourself losing sympathy bit by bit

It’s a hard pill to swallow, it’s a difficult thing to accept

And it’s an even worse thing to end

To hang on to the hope that the old Suguru is simply trapped behind a mask of pain would be futile

It’s either accept unfortunate route his travelled down, or follow in your own beliefs

And even though you once thought you could help him wash his hands clean of blood,

There will always be a spot left unattended

And spots only grow until you no longer see skin

Only red.

He doesn’t actually believe you at first when you bring up leaving him

In fact, he says to your face he doesn’t believe you

Like Gojo, he assumes that after you calm down you’ll be running back to him

But you don’t

And there’s very few times he’s felt regret.

He has done everything in his power to make sure the word isn’t even in his vocabulary

But there’s that sting in his heart and that dizziness in his head

That can only be described as loss.

Thanks for reading!

[anncanta]

Love, empathy, and Hollywood: no romance in ‘The Rings of Power’

It's amazing how The Rings of Power writers have a moral compass in place, and how, to make the story more ‘Hollywood’ than it already is, many viewers (mostly from the Tolkien fandom) see it as a love story between Sauron and Galadriel.

From the beginning, we are shown that there is no love between them. Neither the kind that arises from sympathy and common interests nor the kind that is born from a common occupation or from the fever connected with the circumstances in which the heroes find themselves – a battle, the need to save themselves, a pursuit – nor from hatred.

Galadriel and Sauron are not friends, not usual enemies, not comrades. Yes, there is a glimmer of friendship between them when they go to fight for the southern lands, but on Sauron's part it is nothing more than part of the image of Halbrand – either a trickster, or a criminal suffering from a difficult past, or a king.

Sauron uses all three of these images at once, because he does not understand elves and men, and does not know which of the images will work. Therefore, he alternates them and keeps everything ready. But none of them is a true reflection of his feelings – it is a mask, a garment that he wears to make it easier to gain trust, charm, and seduce.

Later it will become clear that Halbrand is his unloved image. He is too open, familiar, simple. Too romantic. In the finale of the second season, showing Galadriel Halbrand in armor, Sauron mocks this image.

Halbrand from his illusion is beautiful. Breathtaking. But on the other hand – too beautiful, too refined, too romantic.

Sauron seems to say to Galadriel: look, for your sake, I am even ready to portray this brat. Sauron himself is closer to the image of Annatar – grandiose and demonstratively merciful. But here's the thing.

Galadriel doesn't fully believe any of these images. If she did, she wouldn't seek information about the king of the southern lands. She suspects that he plays with her. When she and Halbrand sit alone in the forest, she feels for a moment how it could be, but not how it is. By the way, not only because deep down she doesn't trust Halbrand, but also because she knows something that Sauron cannot know – because he does not understand the elves and their feelings. Galadriel cannot fall in love now, because she is burned out from within. Her pursuit of Sauron is partly an attempt to sweep out all the ashes and cinders of old pain and past battles. But Sauron is a narcissist and a psychopath. Narcissists and psychopaths perceive any weakness as an opportunity, and any kind look as admiration and love. Therefore, he is probably sure that Galadriel will still be with him in the end.

That's why her refusal in the finale comes as such a shock to him. How so? He did everything right. He thought it all through. He gave her everything she wanted. He doesn't even take the ring away, he asks for it. What else does she need?

Charlie Vickers plays him amazingly. And you can tell he's playing what's written. A cold, inhumanly scary, alien demon.

The show's writers deliberately spent half of the first episode of the second season showing what he is. What he's become. What he's made of himself. I remember being so shocked by it that I even forgot the second half of the episode. I rewatched it as if it were brand new for me.

Sauron, ‘getting into’ the image of Halbrand, learns human facial expressions. For half of the episode, his face is completely motionless. And not ‘frozen’ motionless, like a person who has withdrawn into themselves or does not experience strong emotions, but like a dead one. I don't know how Charlie Vickers did it. Dead bodies not only have no facial expressions – they have no faces. The face of a dead person is a set of features, like separate pieces of paper folded together. Sauron looks exactly like this at first. And only later, after spending some time among people, he adopts their habits, gestures, and facial expressions. And among the elves, even this turns out to be unnecessary – it is enough to walk beautifully, smile and look condescendingly.

There is no feeling between Galadriel and Sauron because Sauron has nothing with which to feel. He has no emotional empathy, so he does not understand what Galadriel feels. That is why he shows her Finrod at the end of the first season. It is unthinkable, unbearable cruelty. He does not even understand it. And he cannot imagine that the woman to whom he offered the crown and the whole world to its knees would refuse him. Because he has no intellectual empathy either, and he does not understand that different creatures need different things.

What I like about the Galadriel and Sauron storyline is that the authors show it in different ways and from different points of view – it's impossible. It may look like falling in love, Sauron may act like a handsome prince, but it will never work. And Sauron knows it – that's why he hits her with the crown at the end.

And paradoxically, it finally sobers her up. Galadriel is completely different in the finale. With his hit, Sauron knocked out of her the last of her pain, anger, self-pity, and darkness. He didn't want to, but he knocked it out. And now she sees the light as never before.

Isn't this a victory of love?

[the-rocket-scientist]

HEADCANON: Yandere! Alt.Gabriel (Romantic)

My first headcanon requested by pseudomarionette on Wattpad, this chapter was written on my Wattpad and AO3 long ago

- Lucifer is NOT delusional when in love. At all. He knows what he is doing is harmful. If the person he likes doesn't love him, he knows. He is aware of everything he is doing. He's intelligent, so take out the possibility that the fact he could be delusional. Because he knows delusion could blind him and make his actions rash. That could ruin his plan, right? So he is extremely coordinated at everything he is doing, every tiny bit of action. Especially if it's directed towards his love interest.

- Sadistic bitch. Will do anything to manipulate his love interest, even if it means hurting them, or even killing other people they care about when they are directly watching. If he wants to see his love interest suffer, they will suffer. Either in mental pain, emotional pain, physical pain (most of the times all of the above, in preferred order from favorite torture method to the least fav) he will enjoy it. Not a nice guy :/

- Possessive. Will see his love interest as a beautiful puppet or doll. He will take good care of what is his and is beautiful just like him. But he will erase their memories to forget everyone and everything they knew except for himself. Now his love's attention is all focused on him, and only him. And so he will return the favor and direct his whole attention to them.

- Also a tsundere. He will never admit he loves his love interest. You could only figure out that he loves them by the nicknames he calls them.

- Nicknames for love interest: "My child." (most preferred) "My love." (Very rarely used, as it exploits his weakness of love towards his most favorite being in the cosmos.)

- But he is nice to his love interest for most of the times. It's only when even the smallest of rebellion against him will get them into manipulation and torture. 

- Portrays himself the most beautiful as possible in his false angel form when around his love interest. Long wavy blonde hair, fair skin, cold, slanted almond blue eyes that never shine. He is tall and magnificent, his love interest would only reach his chest in terms of height (no matter how canonly tall they are, for Lucifer adjusts his height to always be this way). His white robes trail down to cover his elegant bare feet and slender hands seem to always be clasped behind his back. Note that everything about him is all grayscale except for his blue eyes. He wants them to be impressed and mesmerized by his beauty, and then they'll never leave, memories erased. Even when torturing his love interest he will stay elegant and pretty so they could rely on him while they witness other horrifying things. 

- It is only when he is trying to keep his love interest as close as possible from a perceived threat, and his last resort to breaking them psychologically is when he reveals his true form.

- He is able to summon his wings. They look flawless at first, but on closer inspection you could see withered and burnt feathers between the pearly white ones. He uses these to give the illusion he is flying (he can already levitate without them) and to hug his love interest.

- He is cold, body temperature wise and personality wise. He isn't clingy most of the time, so if his love interest is a touch-starved person, he will push them away with his telekinesis powers or with one hand. He will hug them when he wants to. His demeanor can be cold and mean to most people, which is what Lucifer wants. It is a weakness to show affection and care to anyone on peering eyes. So even though this is his natural personality, he strengthens this even more on his love interest especially in public. He has to keep his reputation, after all.

- Because of the powerful reputation he has to hold, and because he doesn't want his love interest being seen or them seeing others, and the potential chance they could perish from existence, or get stolen, he will isolate his love interest in his confusing castle w/hallways that stretch for infinity. As much as possible, which is forever. 

- His words are very well said and sweet. Who wouldn't fall for his well-constructed sentences, with fancy lettering and elegant speech?

- (You shouldn't, by the way. This is almost exactly how Satan biblically deceives people :< so please be careful when around Lucifer) 

- Yes, he is the devil Satan himself. There, I said the Unspeakable name. Twice now in this chapter. Fun. Time to die. (Room literally explodes)

- It's unlikely he will fall for anyone. But it's not impossible, so if he does, his love interest is very unlucky and therefore have no escape. They are fated to fall into his hands unless they turn to God and gain His help. If He is unavailable for whatever reasons God has, the love interest is fucked. He will do whatever it takes to get them by his side. (Shown accurately in all endings of Yandere! Alt.Gabriel X Reader, and briefly in 6 X Reader.) One day, as long as he exists, his love interest will eventually end up in his hands and memories erased and manipulated. 

- Don't worry, he desires no children. His body is built asexual, so his body is neither feminine nor male. His love interest could get assaulted but not to the point of taking their virginity away (because he can't physically do that). 

- So to summarize this lengthy thing in a NUTSHELL: Haha, such wonderful relationship! :D Totally non-toxic, healthy, loving!! 

- You should run before he sees you.

- But wait.

- You have nowhere to run.

- Turn to God instead and pray for Him. If not, say goodbye to yourself.

(No reader insert because other people are included in this factor that could possibly be his love interest. Like OCs, you, or other people from any fandom. So you or the OCs or anyone else are referred to as "Love interest" w/ They/Them pronouns)

[luffyvace]

Saiki k x Reader headcanons

This is on my anime’s I write for list and I haven’t written for it yet so I wanted to show what I can do! 😉

Enjoy!! I Love Saiki, Aren and Aiura 💗💜💛

Okay let’s face it

your regular.

average.

literally. (probably) like you are irl

doesn’t it feel good to have reader be accurate to how you are for once?

and that your fav would genuinely be into that and you know it?!

like you don’t have to pretend or imagine to be this cool, physically strong person your not for once?? Just me?

idk but it sure is refreshing

especially since it’s canon with saiki after he practically stalked that one dude

anyway onto the headcanons

I wanna start off by saying Saiki’s love languages are gift giving and quality time

the best part about gift giving is he could just leave it on your desk or night stand and watch your reaction from afar

they’re always very thoughtful since he can read your mind :) which is a plus!

and as for quality time he finds it quite peaceful to be around someone who’s not such a weirdo for once

and even if you are one, for some reason he can tolerate your strange behavior way better than he can your friends 😂

it’s always fun to play that one video game he has together

and it’s practically a requirement that every saiki k hcs have—you two will eat coffee jelly together

he would at least want you to try it and if you don’t like it’s that’s fine more for him

He’ll just get you whatever sweet, savory or spicy food you like so you can both enjoy something (and someone 💋) you love together!~

his mother absolutely adores you and is always pestering Saiki about when you’ll be back again

his dad thinks your a “good kid” (🗿) (like every dad says 😭)

Saiki loves to go on walks together

What he doesn’t like is when something chaotic happens to ruin it

but that’s besides the point—he loves to walk to school together!

nothing like getting up every day and seeing your lover. Going on a romantic walk too?*chefs kiss* 💋👩‍🍳

will try to indulge in your interests and hobbies to keep you happy

you may or may not be a introvert like him

if you aren’t he’ll go out and hang out with friends even if that’s outside of his comfort zone for you

but do remember to cut him some slack if he doesn’t want to or wants to go home early <3

and if your an introvert? Wonderful!

99.99% of dates are spent at either of your rooms (not just houses cuz parents are annoying)

or at that one shop that sells the coffee jelly he likes

only if you agree of course

if you prefer something even more private that’s just fine with him!

he only ever wants some peace anyway

and you simply never disturb that, to which he very much appreciates

if your a touchy-feely typa peep, please keep it to a minimum? Especially in public??

he’s already not really a physical touch person the way a perceive it

not that he hates it or anything

he just is more comfy without it when unnecessary

at least in public

he already will probably want to keep your relationship a secret/private for as long as possible

(he knows it’ll get out eventually by some misfortune event 🤦‍♀️)

but since they find out anyway here’s they’re reactions!

Honestly Nendo probably won’t realize your dating until you explicitly say so

either that or he’ll be the first one to know and just be like ‘oh, i thought everyone knew that’

Aren really doesn’t mind and thinks your relationship is sweet

Hairo supports wholeheartedly- maybe a little too much 😅💗

Chiyo is lowkey jealous you both got into a relationship before her but she’s happy

Torisuka is MAD jealous of Saiki but deep inside he’s still happy for you two

Kaido is also a tad jealous because he knows he would practically never find a girl his mom would accept but otherwise he pretty much supports 😭💕

Mera just uses your dates to get some free food (JOKING) she thinks you guys are cute

Saiko (Teruhashi’s brother) would be happy Saiki finally stopped desperately chasing his sister and learned his place (it’s the other way around bro 😑)

Uryoku (the magician dude) would be like ‘oh you dating someone master? Great! Now I need help for my upcoming show-“

Aiura immediately tests to see if you two are compatible and how long you’ll be together

turns out you are!! And you two stay together ♡

she thinks that’s adorable and will do anything for your relationship

will tear anyone who tries to split you apart a new one (they were just trying to say hi)

Aiura is the most supportive of your relationship

btw here we’re going with Saiki is her platonic soulmate instead (she prob already is)

Kusuke (Saiki’s brother) is very much so interested in the person his brother has fallen in love with

he will observe you and ask you lots of questions once he meets you

which I’m telling you Saiki tried so hard to make sure you never would.

what happened?

his mom happened.

”Kusuo! He’s your brother! He should get to meet your partner!”

now Teruhashi I had to save for last..

her reaction depends

if she still loves Saiki she tries to befriend you while turning on the charm with Saiki

her plan is to befriend you and basically make you go ‘oh! You like Saiki? Well I guess I’ll back off then since were friends”

and finally have Saiki go ‘oh wow’ and fall in love with her

otherwise if she doesn’t love him, moves on or whatever the case may be..

she probably doesn’t care much for your relationship unless your friends

i mean she’s kinda like that to anyone she isn’t friends with right?

In other news

Your friends def mess up your dates unintentionally

poor Saiki- since he’s usually the one to plan them

nothing too extravagant- usually just out for food..BUT STILL!

They always tag along and become 3rd, 4th and sometimes 5th wheels or more! 😀

on the bright side-

at some point in the relationship you get to call him Kusuo and it’s a big step for you two! 💖

”well, I guess we’ve been dating long enough right? You can just call me Kusuo..”

I wanna write for the disastrous life of Saiki k (mob psycho 100 and black butler as well) more in the future! So send in requests!

Truly hope you enjoyed loves~

[kedreeva]

Went to see "Twisters" tonight and it was thoroughly enjoyable!

Some spoilers below the cut

Okay first of all, I'm extremely excited to say that they don't push a love triangle despite there being a girl MC and two main guys. One of them is an old friend who remains firmly an old friend, with no indication that he has romantic feelings. Like they get to be actual friends!!!!! And the other, while potentially a love interest, had just as much potential to be a friend instead, and in an extremely important (to me) way they do not kiss! I was shocked, actually. I expected them to pull out a "gotta have a kiss to appease the amatonormative folks" but nope! Not even in the little mid credit blurb. He stays the night at her childhood home with her and nothing happens. Like not even an awkward moment of tension, they don't even show them going to bed I don't think.

And I feel this to my bones, she was allowed to be the star. She changed her old friend's mind and gave him a chance to choose doing the right thing and he did it because he cared about her opinion of him and wanted to be who she thought he was. And the other guy found out she had dreams/goals of doing something and instead of taking them or doing it for her, he said what can I do to help you, and she chose to let him help her. It was so softly done!! And this guy, he was a full on attention hound with a YouTube channel and loves showing off and he's taking a press guy into the storms to do a story about how awesome he is at tornado wrangling. But when it comes down to it, he tells the reporter she's the real story AND SHE IS!! The article gets written about her instead!

The beginning was. A lot. You get introduced to the storm hunting group, and then immediately 3 of the 5 get killed and the MC almost does, all because she miscalculated. But you know what? She a) keeps her trauma and b) continues doing meteorology stuff, just from a safer distance. Like it's very clear that tornadoes are still this girl's passion, something she loves with every fiber of her being, but she's also been traumatized by losing her boyfriend and two of her closest friends (not to mention her dream project) and nearly her life, in one go. And even still it is something she literally can't stay away from, she still takes a job involved with them through data analysis, and you can practically feel it killing her at the start. The way she lights up at the mention of studying them more closely like she had wanted to, and that excitement immediately chased out by fear. It was nicely done.

They did a really nice thing with the music as well- PERFECTLY captured that kind of moment where the rest of the world drops away and all you can perceive for a moment or two is this thing you love so much it feels like time stops to let you love it more. Except she's looking at weather. At winds moving or clouds or tornadoes. Which is so cool of them to have done for her. This girl loves one thing and it's fuckin WEATHER.

The "villain" of the story is understated and they really don't waste time going into detail about it, which is great because the MC isn't really interested in finding out more about the real estate mogul capitalizing on the devastation. She just doesn't want her friend working for them anymore. She finds out he is, she draws a line in the sand and tells him he should be doing the right thing not the easy thing, and her friend takes her objection seriously and alters his behavior. And that's all the more they really get into that side of the story. Why waste time on it when there's more tornadoes to show? This movie did what Godzilla: King of Monsters failed to do- showed us the monster as much as possible and actually I do care about the people still because none of their problems were irrelevant, none of them were problems for the sake of having problems.

Anyway this movie was enjoyable to me. If you like weather phenomena, storm chasing, chaos, and actually interesting interpersonal relationships, go have a watch!

[just-a-ghost00]

How did they feel the last time they saw you? [group 2]

This is the reading for group 2. If you picked group 1 or group 3, go to the respective posts to get your messages. You picked group 2 if you chose ATEEZ Hongjoong.

Group 2

Note from reader : right before I started shuffling for your reading, which I did on 11/11 if I may point that out, I had NewJeans ' Bubblegum playing on loop on the back of my mind. This song is very dreamy and sweet, reflective of a crush kind of energy. So this gave me the impression that the person you are thinking of feels very excited and mellow whenever they're around you. I had this warm feeling in my belly that kinda made me feel giddy. So that could be representative of this person's energy towards you at the moment.

9 of cups, page of cups, Death, 7 of cups, 9 of pentacles, knight of wands, back of the deck King of cups

The spread further confirms the energy I was picking up on before pulling the cards. When you last met, which may have been quite recently, this person was in a very good mood. They felt like they were on cloud nine because the context of the meeting felt ideal. Like both of you were in the best position and disposition to interact. It felt like a dream to this person and they may have had a hard time leaving you afterwards. The context of this meeting feels very intimate. It is possible that there were only the two of you. But if you were with other people, this person definitely felt like only you mattered. The were kinda like in a bubble and you were all they could see and think about. With the energy of the King of cups, this person may have felt very lovey dovey and in a romantic disposition towards you. They wanted to pour their heart out and surround you with their love and affection. You really opened this person's heart space and filled it with emotions. They were definitely turned on but that was more of an emotional attraction than a physical one. The conversations you may have had at that time could have revolved around romance, dating, the possibilities that both of you had when it comes to this connection. You and this person may have been single at the time but both were open to getting to know each other on a deeper level. It kinda feels like a date setting but it doesn't have to be. This person had a huge crush on you and they couldn't stop staring at you, basking in the moment, taking in your features and scent. They may have felt like an important page of their life was being written at this moment. Here I feel like the Death card speaks more of a deep transformation of this person's feelings for you the moment they saw you. Maybe in that moment they realized that they wanted more than just being friends. As I wrote that I felt a shiver running through my spine, so that to me is a confirmation that this is what was happening. Ever since that moment, this person can't stop thinking of you and day dreaming about you, hoping for more, wishing that you were in their arms. When they last saw you, I can definitely say that they felt the urge to kiss you and hold you in their arms but for some reason, they couldn't. They may have felt scared of destroying whatever chemistry you had. "If I do it, we may never go back" kind of feeling. They were hesitant to show you the extent of their true feelings but oh boy was the temptation there. You may have felt it in the air. You may have perceived that this person was acting a bit different than usual. There were things in what they said or what they did that may have been tell tale signs something was going on. Like this person drinking your favorite coffee when they explicitely mentioned several times that they were not fond of it. Or them wearing a different brand of cologne that you just so happened to talk about the other day, because you spent minutes sniffing it in the store before you bought it. That kind of subtle details. Or maybe they were talking a bit differently than usual, or just something about their energy felt off. Anyways, this person was trying very hard not to lose their composure. They did their very best to remain calm, reassuring, respectful. But all they could think about were "unholy" thoughts. I won't dive any further on that matter because this wasn't supposed to be an 18+ reading, but you get my drift. They may have felt compelled to by you a gift or do something they usually wouldn't do just for you, so that you could feel special. I particularly pick up on a very specific thing that is a bit personal, but maybe this could resonate with you.

When I was in highschool, I had a classmate that was very popular among our peers. We got along well and would talk from time to time because we were partners in science class and had to work on common projects. His friends didn't like me, so he sometimes felt a bit shy being seen with me but he didn't want me to think that he didn't appreciate me. So what he would do to make sure I knew he wasn't ignoring me or forgetting about me, is that when he walked in the corridors to greet his friends, he would walk past me and discreetly wink at me as a hello. That was something he only used with me. And it made me feel included and special. So maybe the person you were thinking of does similar things. When you are in group settings and they don't want you to feel left out, they may have a discreet interaction with you, a little sign that only you can notice and understand. This also tells me that the person on your mind may have felt cornered or too shy because of external factors such as being in public or just being surrounded by people that know you personally like family and friends. But also, they feel like they have a special bond with you that no one else has. This reminds me a bit of group 3's energy. If you felt drawn to group 3 as well, you may want to check that group's reading too. I don't know why but I feel like this connection may be something that both of you hide from your peers.

[dutchdread]

Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

Watching Cleriths celebrate NPTK these past weeks, knowing they'll, as always, be proven incorrect has been an exercise in patience. Sometimes it's just clear that you won't be able to convince people of a complex truth when so often discourse is limited to 280 characters. The reason Clerith exists is that people are unable to see the big picture, it survives by people squinting and not seeing the "but" that's located right after every piece of evidence they put forward. This means that you'll often be perceived to be arguing against what is to them the blatantly obvious. It's futile, nuanced argument never wins from emotion, so often you just have to take solace in the idea that "well, it will be fun to see their surprise 4 years from now". So when you get an interview like this, mere weeks after the game releases, which confirms everything that Clotis had been saying about, and had been mocked for, NPTK, you can't help feel a sense of schadenfreude.

Man that's gotta hurt. This is the difference between Clotis and Cleriths. Cleriths don't really like Aerith, because they want to assassinate her character. Rather than a sad tragic tale of a lifetime of love and loss they want to reduce her character to a shallow cliche rom-com about a capricious girl whose fickle affections change by the hour. The fact that the first person Aerith starts developing feelings for after 5 years of pining after Zack is a man who is almost literally channeling Zack becomes a meaningless coincidence in the story. The fact that she knows Cloud for 2 weeks, most of which is also spent pining over Zack is viewed as confirmation of how special their love is. It doesn't matter that Aerith doesn't even know who Cloud is. It doesn't matter that Cloud is shown to very obviously be in love with another woman. It doesn't matter that Cloud is clearly losing his mind. It doesn't matter that Cloud is constantly show as being apathetic towards her advancements. Even them fighting is recontextualized as "good chemistry" just to avoid facing reality. Usually nonsensical romances are seen as bad-writing, but here the cope makes people excuse all the nonsense as "how brilliantly written is this story? They love each other despite it making no sense, now THAT is romance". Zack is called irrelevant, CC is a "ret-con" and can be ignored, ACC is about how romantic it is to want to die to be with someone. The reason Zack is so predominant in Rebirth is in no way connected to Aerith yearning for exactly the bond he's constantly showing to have with her. The contrast with Clouds apathy means nothing, he definitely isn't there to have some sort of pay-off with Aerith in part 3. Nah, he's just there to give Cloud and Aerith his blessing and to F-off. The reason Tifa is silent and heartbroken at the end has nothing to do with her best friend dying and the man she loves losing his mind. The distance between her and Cloud at that moment is totally not used to illustrate the severity of the situation, or to set-up Tifas importance in the events for part 3. Nah, she doesn't get lines because she's just a side character duh!. That is how they think, every single character and story is assassinated, everything happens only to service Cloud and Aeriths romance, even Cloud and Aerith themselves are pushed through the mud. Screw the death of Ifalna, screw the death of Zack, screw the complexity surrounding Clouds Zack shaped psychology, screw Aeriths childhood and desire for real bonds of friendship, screw even the story of Aerith dying and how maybe, JUST MAYBE, the scenes surrounding Aeriths death have SOMETHING to do with the strong emotions surrounding death rather than just being "a cute romance scene uwu". Never have I seen any story interpretation reveal such rampant hatred for a character as Cleriths reveal for Aerith. To them, Aerith is totally the kind of person who would bond with Tifa, hear the very personal and intimate story about the promise shared between her and Cloud, hear that Cloud thinks that Zack is dead, and not 5 minutes later write a story about how "she loves Cloud and they wouldn't need no promises like that other girl". But sure, I'm the one who hates Aerith, not the people who think this is who she is, but me, the person who assumed she'd be less vile than that and that any song she'd write would encompass more than that. I stand up for her character and get mocked, called an Aerith hater, and called "toxic"....and then you get an interview like this. God it feels good to always have all your positions validated by future content. One has to wonder if the people still arguing for Clerith ever sit back and think "wait, the last 100 times I dismissed these peoples arguments I was proven wrong almost immediately, I am constantly having to shift my goalposts while they're just happily sitting there laughing as they consume media about Cloud kissing Tifa, or proclaiming to become her special existence....maybe I am the delusional one...." God I can't wait for part 3, it will be hilarious.

[yonpote]

i guess the other thing is, in a defense of the phandom, i actually DO wanna defend those among us who ARE or were at some point teenage girls who are / were very intense about shipping dnp. like its true that the phandom as a community has changed since the more severe and inappropriate behavior, but i wanna defend the girlies who just wanted to escape from reality a bit by writing about dan and phil being angsty enemies-turned-lovers, is that so wrong? i talked a bit on my main blog about yaoi/slash being largely written by women having a very different intent behind it from the perceived "fetishizing gay men" thing, which is not to say that that doesnt happen! but FOR THE MOST PART that is not why women write about gay male romance!!

i think if youre a young girl (or at least for the time being) and youre going thru shit it makes sense that you would want to escape using romantic fiction that involves two men because then you don't have to imagine yourself as the woman in perhaps a darker situation, or it could be a form of gender exploration where you DO consider one of the men to be your surrogate (which is why dan was always depicted as the bottom bc he's seen as very relatable and easy to project onto and. well. im not saying ALL phannies are bottoms but. thats a different tangent lmao.)

anyway the point is even if we WERE a community entirely of teen girls who are obsessed with these gay men, is that really such a bad thing? was the phandom ACTUALLY as toxic back in (insert year) as it's often depicted? how much of the damage we have caused was actual harmful inappropriate behavior, and how much of that criticism was actually just vitriol towards young girls (for now) and anything that they are interested in?