#note: i'm not saying actually DO that. those people and their complicated ship are fine i'm saying how about leave all of us alone

[burinazar]

((mildly discoursey. also old/repeated thought)) insane to me belavue is the one that like three ppl have tried to start fights with me over the presumed problematic-ness of when it'd be easier to bullet-point reasons wabe is cancellable and i openly enjoy that one quite a bit too lol

just incomprehensible to me that this is the one single ship people have ever started shit with me for

it's basically a Freyang tier of sweetie pie 4 sweetie pie

[meraki-yao]

Now I'm curious to know all the "candies" between Nick and Tay 👀 lol I don't ship them but I also find it interesting that some fans really ship real people together and gather evidence or proof of it. If its fine with you to share it pls do 🙏 but if not its also fine :)

Huh...

Actually, sure! I kinda wanted to share some of these at times but again I understand that rps is a complicated subject.

A couple of quick prefaces though:

1, If you’re uncomfortable with the subject, again, please don’t read under the post

2, I don’t have all the candies because I really just view them in passing, so I’m just gonna write/translate the ones I’ve seen, remember and find at least a logical speculation

3, I need to reiterate this in case my position in this gets misunderstood: Me writing about “candies” isn’t because these are MY opinion or things *I* found or *I* believe in them being evidence. I am just a translator and messenger.

4, (this one is gonna sound a little academic lol) Two things I realized when thinking about this “candy eating” culture is that Chinese people have a very difference understanding of platonic/romantic affection/relationships with the Western world, and that they look at the candies with rose-tinted glass. Chinese/Asian people are generally a lot less affectionate with their personal relationships, for example friends wouldn’t say “love you” to each other if they’re just friends, nor would they expand their friend group to the others easily or other stuff. And these people who look for candy go into their “investigation” already with the belief that “they are together”, everything remotely resembling a close relationship will automatically be interpreted as romantic. I thought about it a lot, and honestly among the “candies” I’ve seen, most of them are a matter of interpretation: yes those are things couples will do, but it wouldn’t be weird if friends did it too. So they’re not that seriously or up for further speculation. There is I think only one “candy” that I can’t quite say the same, which I will explain and elaborate on in this post. 

5, Please remember that the people who do this do it in good nature: something I didn’t make clear in my post yesterday, which is on me, is that the fans do want them to be together, but they’re not like… yandere level or something. If they’re just friends the fans won’t be upset or betrayed or anything, they just prefer to see them as romantic. They don’t mean any harm, and they don’t cause any harm because China is physically and digitally too far away for them to actually fuck shit up, and they understand the lines of parasocial relationships: those who met with Taylor during his China trip in December know to, and didn’t bring up this in front of him. They know where to draw the line, and whoever doesn’t and starts becoming a problem gets kicked out of the community. This is meant for fun.

6, Ok Future Meraki here, turns out, there’s a lot to translate, a lot more than I anticipated Jesus Christ and I do want to get this post how within today and make it a reasonable length, so I’m just gonna do two events and the one that I mentioned in 4. If yall want a part 2 let me know.

Ok with that being said, the main event under the cut:

In December they made a whole article about “candies” from December, and to quickly summarise (again noted that all of this is speculation, I didn’t and can’t fact check them, and I’m just a translator) (also this ended up way longer than I anticipated so for photo reference if you can please go to the link of the original article):

Academy Gala:

Nick and Taylor both attended the gala: Since the strike ended up to that point, the two times Nick attends a public event, Taylor’s there too (GQ men of the year and Academy Gala), and for both times he’s wearing Cartier’s Tank Must Watch (remember this watch, I’m gonna elaborate on it later because it is the only candy that even I can’t say it’s a matter of interpretation)

In various pictures of the night’s party that other people took, the boys can be seen together in the background

How the photography worked that night was magazine photographers wandered around the venue and randomly found people to take some relatively candid photos: so people who were walking/sitting/in any way sticking together would be photographed together. So best friends and married couples would be photographed together, which is what happened to Meryl Streep, Greta Gerwig, Saoirse Ronan, and Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy and their wives. With that logic, Taylor and Nick were caught by the photographer together TWICE, in clearly different places. Later Korean fans (with the same “candy-searching” mindset) read the time on Taylor’s watch in the photos: one was 8:30, one was 9:50. The implication is that they were together for at least that period of time (nearly 1.5 hours)

In both photos of the boys together, Nick’s elbow is…straight up leaning into Taylor's chest. In a photo with Kaia, Nick’s friend and co-star from Bottoms (Brittany), there’s visible space between Nick and Kaia but none between Nick and Taylor (… okay I’m gonna pop in with my own opinion on the latter one real quick: I really think that one is just Nick being a gentleman)  

During that night, Taylor re-posted an Instagram post from July onto Little Red Book: but the things is in the comment section of the original Instagram post, Taylor teasingly pretends to not know Nick; and according to the posting time and the time calculated in 3, Nick would have been watching him post that to Little Red Book.

Nick got a photo with Taylor’s friend Jay Ellis (Jay and Taylor follow each other on Instagram, and Taylor comments under Jay’s post), even though Nick and Jay don’t seem to have any direct connections. Kaia and Taylor started following each other on Instagram after the event.

While other people who got photos with Taylor posted them, in Taylor’s Instagram Post for the night: He only included his photo with Nick, the rest are all solo portraits of himself. Not only that: he edited the background of the photo so it’s just them, and proceeded to put the photo in the middle of the post.

a bunch of Taylor's good friends, including Taylor’s cousin went to like Nick’s post for the academy gala night. Taylor’s sister Ash shared Taylor’s post to her stories: 2 photos of Taylor himself, and the one photo of Taylor and Nick. Taylor mentioned in a past interview if he had any emotional or relationship (I don’t know which one is the right translation, the original wording is 感情) issues, he would talk to Ash. (please note that I didn’t not and don’t know how to fact-check any of the things mentioned above except for Ash’s Instagram)

Conclusion/ Speculation (okay the academy gala part alone took me 40 minutes what the fuck): I cannot reiterate this enough: THIS IS JUST SPECULATION DO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY but under the assumption that Taylor and Nick are a thing, the serious of shenanigans that happened that night, especially with the family and friends stuff in 6,7,8, was interpreted as they announcing it to their personal social circle. AGAIN THIS IS SPECUALTION DON’T TAKE THIS SERIOSULY 

Taylor’s China Trip

On 7th December, Taylor had a photo shoot at the GQ gala venue, but spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos and signing things for fans. Among those, one was the photo of him and Nick from the academy gala just three days ago. He was visibly extra happy and showed off the photo to the crowd, unlike the other photos which he simply gets it, signs it, and then gives it back.

This day was also the start of “Taylor giving Nick/Henry a moustache”: throughout the trip, he drew on four photos of the two of them

(This one is a … really big stretch) among the four, one of them was the GQ magazine shoot, and he first drew the moustache on Nick’s face, giggling “I’ll sign on Nick’s face”, signed his own signature, then just when he was about to give the magazine back he suddenly changed his mind and said “wait wait I wanna do something on my face”, and then drew a crown on his head while muttering “crown prince”. And the thing is… historically, George Villers had a moustache. And then he drew a moustache on Nick and a crown on himself. Also, one of the most popular Chinese RWRB fic on AO3 is called “The King’s Palace”, and the premise is putting Henry in George place as the social climber and the Duke of Buckingham (it is literally George’s character with blonde hair and a different name), and Alex as the crown prince who ascended to the throne and is also utterly infatuated with Henry. So… yeah.

When he drew the fourth photo, which was the piano scene, the fan who asked said “Oh you’re so nice to Nick!” and according to their description (there’s no video), Taylor blushed a little and said “yeaahhhhh” with a big grin

While Taylor was in China people were stirring shit up on Twitter about him, and during the Twitter drama, Nick liked Taylor’s Academy Gala post.

The boys liked the same video on Instagram but from different accounts (a video about a pony in the snow)

During the trip, Taylor was seen wearing a white button-up with blue stripes. Nick has been seen wearing a shirt that looks identical before.

Cartier Watch (aka the one that makes me do a double take)

Taylor used to wear a lot of Cartier watches until he started wearing Tagheuer last July due to a commercial partnership

Nick likes wearing Omega watches. In fact, Henry’s watch in the movie is Nick’s own omega watch. He also has a commercial partnership with Omega.

But then starting last year, both of them were seen wearing matching Cartier’s Tank Must Watches (the silver on with a black surface and a sapphire crown): Taylor can be seen wearing it in the 5th photos of his September post, while Nick can be seen wearing it during the GQ gala, the Academy Gala, in Milan during fan interactions, and last weekend in his TIOY co-star’s Instagram story.

And the thing about this watch is (and here is where I need to reiterate that I’m just translating, I didn’t fact check this) 1, watch is a typical thing to give a lover, and you must be familiar with their wrist size 2, Cartier is a pretty romantic brand 3, the price of this watch is closer to what Taylor’s used to wearing but much cheaper than Omega 4, This specific watch is a popular watch to give a partner/lover, 5, David and Victoria Beckham’s relationship was discovered because paparazzi saw the Cartier watch he gave her and connected dots together

Jesus Christ at this point I should consider getting a part time job in translation

This was fun but this took me so much time, it’s ~2000 words long

Again, all of this was found and speculate for fun, and mean no ill will, and haven’t, and won’t harm the boys, please understand that and don’t take this took seriously. If you find this interesting and want a part two, let me know.

[roguetelepaths]

byron + 1, 2, 5, 24,

Oh fuck yeah I was hoping someone would do this. This is going to be a massive wall of text and I'm sorry but also I'm really not. You have unleashed the infodump dragon and it's not leaving until it's run off some of its zoomies.

Why do you like or dislike this character?

You know a fun fact about me is that I was on Team Byron Disliker when I first started Season 5 just due to what I'd heard through pop culture osmosis. I even made a post to that effect after watching a couple of his episodes (deleted now because I was sick of seeing it in my notes) that got some circulation in the fandom. But the further I got into that arc and the more I thought about him, the less I saw what I expected to see when I started. Instead I saw someone who, though flawed, spent most of the time he was on screen trying to be gentle and compassionate and trying to protect his people in a situation that was hell bent on making it as hard as possible for him to do those things.

I do think he has a manipulative streak, and I do think he's the type to occasionally do very hurtful things because he believes he's doing so for the right reasons (see for example that fucking "doesn't it feel nice to be asked" scene between him and Lyta in The Paragon of Animals, even as a Lyta/Byron shipper that makes me SO ANGRY because that point could be made in LITERALLY any other way that didn't involve demeaning her and shouting at her, I get that you're pissed off at the people who did that to her but taking it out on her isn't gonna help anyone so stop) but those flaws when combined with his genuine good intentions and abundance of care are fascinating.

A big part of why I think people dislike him as a character is because those flaws are presented as an immutable Fact Of Who He Is, which, yeah, I can see why someone would find that insufferable, but I like writing character growth and he deserves some.

Tl;dr, I like him because he's complicated. I dislike the way canon never seemed to want to grapple with those complications.

Favorite canon thing about this character?

That scene with the one guy in Downbelow. You know the one. Letting someone punch you repeatedly because you want to teach them a lesson about how finding a target to beat up on isn't actually going to solve their problems is... genuinely fucking baller and I wish we'd gotten to see more of that side of him.

Also that thing with Lyta in Strange Relations that's basically a mutual "I'm not overextending myself YOU'RE overextending yourself! Please slow down and rest 🥺" is probably what made me ship them as hard as I do. Dipping out of canon and into my fic for a second, but that interaction is so different from their first interaction that I kind of have to wonder if someone talked to him about the way he treated her. (I may have written a missing scene about that but it needs some fine tuning before I feel good about posting it.)

What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

oh my god!!! so many. SO MANY. But uhhhh I can narrow it down to like four?

Runaway by The National as a general theme song

I, Carrion (Icarian) by Hozier as a soft and sad song for him and Lyta

The Deserter's Song by Radical Face as a backstory reveal song

New World Coming (any version but I like the one by Nina Simone best because. Come on. It's Nina fucking Simone how can you top that) because I'm almost certain it was one of the songs JMS pulled from when he was writing That Song For That Scene.

What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

I've been saying this from the very beginning— The Signless from Homestuck. (Yes, I'm a Homestuck enjoyer. Sorry.) I just love my pacifist resistance leaders with feral partners and tragic endings okay.

[commsroom]

i need to relisten to wolf359 bc it was YEARS ago so i don't remember much, but i have this specific idea about hera post-canon

i don't remember if they get her onto the escape vessel (im pretty sure they have to? she has the power of navigation being a literal slave station?) but when they get back to earth, in the chaos that ensues, jacobi makes sure to somehow... store hera? only her personality matrix, if that's possible. he could break into the high performance computing cluster of some university and store her in a little known spot, then "break her out" later.

i don't remember how much in character this is (he seemed a bit more chummy with the haephestus crew by this point), but i imagined him building either (1) a robot body (who knows how common that is on earth at this point) or (2) an eyepiece and earpiece for here's personality to exist in, so she can in SOME way go out, see the world and talk to them still once they're off the escape vessel.

i want her to still be with them even when they're not on a ship anymore.

first: you should absolutely relisten! and you should let me know your thoughts, when you relisten. especially if it's been years, i'd be really curious to know if and how your opinions have changed!

thankfully, you remember right - hera does go back with them, and the final scene and sentiment of the show definitely implies that eiffel, hera, and minkowski intend to stick together. they would fight for her to stay with them. which does get potentially complicated, from both a legal and practical standpoint.

(and i won't get into my thoughts about post-canon jacobi here, but i will say... he went to MIT and was friends with maxwell; he's more likely than eiffel or minkowski or lovelace to know people who know people who could maybe help hera. and wolf 359 loves to put characters in situations where they have to rely on people they don't particularly like. they've even done that with jacobi and hera specifically - ep 57. "sure. fine. as long as it's not jacobi doing it, it's fine." cut to jacobi doing it. of course.)

i don't think AI is actually that common in the world of wolf 359; hera is the first AI eiffel and minkowski have met, and even maxwell, working for the "best AI research lab in the country" was unaware of the existence of "full-minded" AI (however that's defined) until she was recruited by goddard in 2013. my impression is that it's, like, something people are aware of, but it's still very detached from the average person's life, and AI personhood is not even a consideration yet. having an android body would definitely make hera... visible, in some ways that she might not like.

maybe worth noting that goddard is also very into biotech, and there's some interesting... overlap with that and the dear listeners' duplicates in terms of what it asks about 'artificiality', in my opinion. wolf 359 is very much a show about humanity, and i think any post-canon extension of those themes would have to be about... learning to be a person on earth, with all that entails, and the way that applies to hera's situation is meaningful to me. all of which is just kind of a rambling way to say, yes, i'm also totally in favor of hera having a body. like, on one hand, because i think there's something to it as a discussion about disability and bodies in general, with the way it would re-contextualize her experiences on the hephaestus and the pain she's been living with - and that a lot of things she experienced without a body and felt were unique to her, she would still experience with one. but i also think it's the best option for her; i really think anything else would by design deny her autonomy and freedom of movement on earth. from a more sentimental standpoint, i just want her to be able to go to a real beach and put her hands in the ocean.

[metamercury]

I was tagged by @darksidekelz

Thank you!

Rules: look back on your works, both past and present, finished and unfinished. What are five to ten narrative elements or tropes that continuously pop up in your work? Give a list of these things!

---

Hmm, this is hard for me because how are we defining narrative elements? But I've been thinking it over. Idk if these all classify as elements, but they're themes I guess?

It's about the Yearning I've noticed for sure that I don't write a lot about tropes or physicality. I can probably count on one hand the number I've times I've written kissing or anything like that. It's not about the kissing here, it's not about if things are requited or unrequited, complicated or simple, absolute and engulfing in the case of dcrampage -- it could be any one of those things. There is always the yearning, and that tends to be what I focus on in one way or another. But it does leave me feeling quite often that I've written yet another fic where nothing really happens hahaha

Two guys fighting Nothing much to say about this. Probably 50% of what I write can be boiled down to two guys fighting. I just like to write people who want to fight each other. I like to write fights. Even when I write Ironwasp they're usually competing (or it's post-stockades angst and they're still fighting. I really write fighting a lot). Sometimes it gets out of hand and I can't get the characters to stop fighting long enough to actually do anything else (see: anything maxwil i've ever written)

Jokes that other people hate hearing One of my favourite things to do when writing fic is to make references to things in the series (or a related series) that the character Doesn't Know, but the reader does. I especially like to do this when it foreshadows bad things that are definitely going to happen. When Alia would read these jokes she'd shout at me, but when I read them back in my own fic I think I'm hilarious. I do it all the time in a lot of fics, but I do it the most with Wasp. Obviously.

The Character Study Not sure if this counts as a narrative element? But I really like to write fic that are essentially just character studies maybe with a ship wrapped up in it for engagement lol. I do have some that are just straight character studies. It can also feel like I'm writing a fic about nothing when I do these, because the focus is on the person, not the plot (generally, for oneshots at least). But I really enjoy reading them back, so it's probably fine. I just love getting in there with a character.

If I'm gonna write smut it better be fucked up I don't think I've ever written smut that wasn't dub/noncon or at least had something shady and weird going on underneath the surface. Now, you'll say "well of course, you only ever wrote shockblurr porn" but i'd like to remind you of Fit Like A Glove and then also direct you to my wip folder where I've been sitting on a dino2/megs fic (d2 pov so you know it's fucked), a tfa swindle/starscream where the feature is necro, and a snuff film fic for a fandom that will not be named at this time, for about 6-8 years. One day I'll get around to these I hope.

If it's not about the Yearning, then it's about Denial Unreliable narrators are fun, as are characters whose thoughts don't match their actions. I mean a lot of the time this writes out as anger, which leads to two guys fighting, but Not Always (and here's where I'd link that shitty two-part vampire au if I had the want to do that). (Mnemonic is a much more angsty example). Also, for wips, I have a dcrampage wip that is just about this element from start to finish, because it's dc pov. Here's the handwritten note I have for myself about the concept of this one, basically word for word: What's it about? Obsession, always. Instincts. DC is a protector, it's in his coding. And Rampage is unlucky and tortured -- that's the truth no matter how much he'd love to forget it. Anger? Disgust? Dead dedication to the vengeance he's owed? Always. Until that slagger is offline for good. But for as much as DC has thrown away his humanity, it's not as easy to throw away his nature (plus gay) I really want to pick that one back up. Anyways, if the Denial let's you play with a bunch of fun emotions in a way that works with the character. Pride, Jealousy, Insecurity, Depression, and of course Being a Shell of the Mech You Once Were. It's fun!

Five Senses This one I think I do to my own detriment sometimes. But at some point while I was learning to write better over the last 10/15 years I started to really try to lock scenes within the senses. To have the narrative focus on not just sights, but smells, texture, ambient sounds to really try to ground the characters within their environments, put us within the head of the pov character. I think, doing so can really help to make things more graphic, which is good. But i also think sometimes it slogs down the narrative and actually takes us out of the pov to more of like a 3rd camera perspective so to speak? I dunno, i like the way things read back in the end but during writing it can really feel like it stalls the flow of the narrative. I was talking to alia about this not to long ago, her narratives are always so fluid, and i think I get in my own way trying to ground things sometimes. Sometimes. I'm not sure if this one counts as a narrative element either. But its something that's definitely a thing about the way I write that I notice.

Anyways! That's all I can think of that's worth pointing out. I want to write more, and remembering to appreciate my writing as a craft I think is part of that.

I tag @neuropraxia. Do this.

[skalidra]

Boy, that's a lot.

So first off, I'll cop to the notification being a misfire. Honestly I'd hundred-percent forgotten I even clicked into this post from your reblog, so no, the reply wasn't aimed specifically at you. (I blocked, gosh, six or seven people off this post?) It does include you, though, absolutely!

(And while we're on this, aimed at your tags: No, it's not weird to block someone you've never interacted with? I see someone being judgy, or someone being an asshole, and I block them. It's not complicated. You are totally welcome to block me, too! That'll get rid of that notification for you!)

Okay, now the rest of... this.

I'll start, I guess, with how Tumblr works. First off, you're not 'voicing to the void' anything; you've put your opinion and your comments into the notes of the post you put them on. Anyone that looks at that post is now going to see this in the notes, if they look at reblogs (and many people do!), so it's not voicing them just on 'your post', either. It's not your post. Also, at a quick look on your blog, I can see that you've done the same thing to a couple Slade/Jason things you reblogged recently, and those comments go directly to the person who posted it, so great job telling 'the void' (the OPs, directly) about how you definitely don't ship the things you reblogged. Sure they loved seeing that.

Moving on to the actual content of your reblogs.

"I didn’t even say that it was wrong to ship them." and "This is so weird and wronnggggg" are not statements that coexist. And it's cool, honestly, that you're less aggressively anti than most that would say something like that and you read some of the 'wrong' ships sometimes, but let's neither of us pretend that your first reblog was judgment-free. A quick list of things pulled out of that:

I believe that there probably shouldn't be shipping between adults/minors or incestuous ships

I hate that the top 4 biggest ships

I JUST HOPE TO FUCKIN GOD

NO OKAY WHAT THE FUCK

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE SEEM OBSESSED WITH SHIPPING ADULTS WITH CHILDRENNNNNN

These ^ are not statements that imply no moral judgment. Saying 'Ship whatever you want (but I believe you shouldn't and why are you obsessed with this reprehensible thing?)' doesn't actually mean you didn't say the second part. I don't care if you dislike my ships; I couldn't give less of a fuck. I care (and I blocked you, originally) because I'm not interested in seeing anything from someone that feels the need to judge other people based on what they ship. You can 'publicly voice' your dislikes and judgment, yeah, and I can call you and others like you out on doing it in rude ways shortly before I block you, too. Such is the way of things.

Virtue signaling, by the way, isn't saying you dislike a ship. Virtue signaling is seeing a ship you think is wrong and feeling the 'need' to tell everyone else around that "I Would Never Do That, Who Would Do That?" in case someone gets the wrong idea about you, when it costs zero to just not say that on someone's post, instead. Does 'voicing it to the void' sound familiar, now? (And as a reminder, that reply was aimed at a lot of people; some did this more blatantly than you, definitely.)

My reading comprehension is fine, thanks. If you don't want to be judged on what you say 'in public', you can in fact just say it privately instead (like on actually your own post). Otherwise, you're going to have to deal with how people react.

TOP 10 Jason Todd "Red Hood"

1.-Jason Todd/Dick Grayson (8699) 2.-Jason Todd/Tim Drake (7011) 3.-Jason Todd/Roy Harper (3179) 4.-Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne (2147) 5.-Jason Todd/Slade Wilson (1114) 6.-Jason Todd/Damian Wayne (861) 7.-Jason Todd/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (837) 8.-Jason Todd/Stephanie Brown (565) 9.-Jason Todd/Kyle Rayner (440) 10.-Jason Todd/Roman Sionis (407)

This list doesn't include fanfics tagged with Jason Todd/Reader.

Please don't comment hate messages, this post is purely informative. I don't want my notifications to be filled with ship wars/hate or mean in general :/

[glowingbadger]

SFW and nsfw HCs modern day for KH boys? I saw that you were looking for KH requests and I’m happy to provide. (As this is a lot of men, I would specifically like: Riku, Sora, Roxas, Axel, and whomever else you like as well).

HOKAY so. This is a bit of a tangent, but I wanted to throw it out there for everyone since it's in my rules now and it's a bit weird.

The KH characters' ages have put me a in a pretty weird spot lmao. It doesn't come up much if ever in-game, but Sora and the gang do have canonical ages- and by the best current estimate, they're 16, maaaybe 17 as of the end of KH3 (where we're at now)- while Riku is a year older than Sora and Kairi, putting him at 17-18. By my typical standards, this would mean that the OG trio, plus every character that is a version of that trio and/or implied to be the same age as they are, would be underaged and thus not characters I'd write for.

Axel and Saix are actually about 10 years older than the main trio, given the age we see them at in Birth By Sleep (which I feel like a looot of people forget, given some popular ships) but that's why those two, plus all of the "adult character model" types (Aqua, Terra, pretty much all current and former Org members) are fair game.

I haven't decided whether I'm comfortable with "aged up" content just yet. I know some writers have been harshly attacked for it, so I have to imagine it's a loaded issue in fandom.

And as a final note, I simply cannot find it in me to sexualize Sora. He activates a deeply maternal impulse in me. I've caught myself verbally apologizing to him when I let him get hurt as I play lmao. And then on the other hand, Riku is designed and written to seem so much more mature, and very well may be 18- so he's a super weird gray area for me.

SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS This is so fucking complicated and I just don't wanna make anyone (or myself) uncomfy lmao so we're gonna keep it SFW for the OG trio and all characters originating from them for now, whereas anyone of Axel and Saix's age or older is fine for NSFW. Anyway, I'm just laying out my own comfort level.

And with that, let's talk headcanons-

Modern AU Headcanons

SFW Riku, Sora, Roxas

NSFW Axel, Saix

Riku:

- He's in his first year of college, at a good school though maybe not ivy league (he's skeptical about that title anyway). He's double majoring in a couple challenging fields- perhaps political science and environmental biology, or pre-law, or some such. Something challenging, but that he feels will empower him to have a career where he can make an impact- though he'll have to be ready to tackle the corruption inherent in political systems some day.

- He's an excellent student, and held in a place of awe and respect by his classmates. He seems so put-together and confident, despite his challenging class load. Internally though, Riku feels like he's constantly on the verge of an absolute crisis. He's the type who's on top of his studies and absolutely not on top of his mental health, and on the fast track to some serious burnout.

- As your boyfriend, he's an absolute sweetheart, but always wishes he could do more for you. He genuinely cherishes you, but he feels like he stumbles over his words when he tries to tell you, and like he never has as much time to dedicate to you as he'd like. He knows he'll screw up sometimes, or have periods when he can't be as available or responsive as he'd like when his workload becomes overwhelming, but he'll always make it up to you with a painstakingly well thought out date night as soon as he has the time.

Sora:

- He's taking a gap year between highschool and college to travel and do service work in as many different places as he can manage. He's got weird and fascinating friends across multiple countries, and is frankly having a great time being able to do work for various underserved communities while visiting old friends and making new ones. He's grown a modest internet following through short vlogs and instagram- and while Sora's not necessarily good at social media (or anything tech related at all), and certainly never set out to become popular online or anything -his natural charm and enthusiasm is infectious, and his followers flood his comments with support.

- He barely graduated highschool by the by; he could have gotten okay grades, but he constantly forgot his assignments, when tests would be, etc. School was really more of a chance to spend time with his friends than anything else, so the boring stuff tended to slip his mind. Definitely the type to be in a thousand extracurriculars and know everyone's name.

- Sora is the sweetest and most openly affectionate boyfriend- you'll frequently catch him staring dreamily at you like he can't believe how lucky he is, and he has no qualms about bragging to his friends about you. He can be scatterbrained about some things, special occasions and specific wording and such, but he's very emotionally intuitive, so even if he doesn't quite know what to say to make things better, he'll always know when you're upset and do anything he can to help.

Roxas:

- He's starting at a small but relatively prestigious college, somewhere quiet and home-y. He hasn't decided on his major yet, but he's keeping an open mind and staying fairly on top of his studies, while enjoying a small but very cozy and intimate friend group. His favorite way to spend a slow afternoon or evening is just lazing around the dorms with a friend nearby studying on a bed, another playing a game on a small tv, and him scrolling through his phone while they casually chat about any and everything. It's low pressure, but comfortably intimate.

- idk if any of you guys knew someone like this at your work/school, but Roxas strikes me as the type who, because he's a bit quiet, everyone perceives him as super confident and on top of his shit. So while his true friend group is very small and cozy, plenty of people around campus recognize him and call out to him when they see him around, or hype him up to their friends as this incredibly cool, chill guy, despite really not knowing him at all.

- Roxas is fairly oblivious but very sincere as a partner. He doesn't have much serious relationship experience, and he's very aware of this fact, but he desperately wants to be as good to you as you deserve. He'll try his best to express himself with compliments and dates, but really, his love language is best shown through cuddling and physical closeness. He finds holding you to be incredibly reassuring, even while studying, playing a game, or anything else that he's supposed to be focusing on.

Axel:

- He's a musician for sure- the front man for an alt rock band with some electronic influence. They're extremely popular within a niche audience, and their shows are always high energy and with plenty of lights and pyrotechnics (of course lol). Axel himself focuses on vocals and sometimes guitar, though he dabbles in just about any instrument he can get his hands on, constantly experimenting with new sounds and absorbing as much creative influence as he can. While his usual wild personality would make him seem flippant, he takes his music seriously, and it's just about the only thing that can hold his unwavering focus for very long.

- Axel is not an emotionally reserved type, and isn't worried about taking things "too fast," and as such, he'll be more than happy to offer to have you along on tour with him if you like, or even invite you to be part of the music or performance. Still, it is important to him that you get along with his friends, so things won't go well if you're not all having a good time together. Oh and given how shameless he can be, he has no problem with fucking you on the tour bus, not caring for even a second whether the others can hear you struggling to stifle your moans.

- He doesn't have much of a mind for special occasions or elaborate date nights, and sometimes, it can be hard to find time to be alone with him away from friends and bandmates. It's not that he doesn't prioritize you, he just gets caught up in his social life and forgets that time alone together is precious and important too. That said, he's vocal about how attracted he is to you and how much he appreciates you, so you'll never have reason to doubt his affections, and if you speak up and tell him you want time with him, he'll do anything in his power to clear his schedule for you (and then fuck you so nice and deep that you forget you'd ever been frustrated with him).

- If you can't join him on tour, or he's too busy to see you much at home for a while, Axel is the king of sexy voice messages and videos. He needs you to know that he's still thinking of you no matter what (especially since some view his confidence and openness as flirtation, even though he's fully devoted to you), and he wants to help tide you over until he can finally have you again. It's even better when you reciprocate in full; nothing drives him absolutely wild quite like a lewd selfie that just barely covers what he desperately wants to see, or a short voice message just to hear you moaning and panting as you pleasure yourself to thoughts of what he'll do to you when he's home.

Saix:

- Saix works best within a hierarchy and when he has clear goals to work toward, and as such, he does well as the personal assistant and de-facto second in command to a fortune 500 company CEO (not to mention, Lordy, Saix in a suit with his hair tied back? Goddamn). He's ruthlessly efficient, and some among his coworkers find him even more intimidating than the boss- but he does his best not to think too hard about the specific ethics of big-business like this. He's had to sacrifice and repress a lot to make it to where he is.

- Most of his impressive salary that he cares to actually spend goes toward affording a place to stay in the city that's large and isolated enough to give him the peace of mind that only solitude and quiet can lend. That said, he does have a small number of close friends, and while no one knows when this started, it's just assumed that hangouts and get-togethers will happen at his place, since it's the most spacious and comfortable. Saix adamantly denies that he ever offered to host, but he also never turns them away.

- He doesn't have the highest sex drive overall, and frankly, he works so hard and for such long hours that it's hard to find the time and energy for intimacy. That said, when the mood strikes, it's positively fierce; he'll text you to be waiting for him at home in as little clothing as possible, and you'll know he's looking to spend a full night ravishing you. Admittedly, part of his intensity in bed is a way to relieve work stress, but it doesn't hurt that, though he's miserable at expressing it, he's absolutely obsessed with your body. When Saix decides he wants you, he'll bury his face between your legs, milk multiple orgasms from you with his hands, and mark you with bites from your jaw, down your stomach and along your thighs.

- Saix is the biggest sucker for small, sweet and genuine signs of affection. He's not great at it himself, but just seeing a message from you to say you miss him while he's working late yet again turns his face bright red, and he'll spend the next half hour trying to come up with the right reply, only to just end up sending "I feel the same. I won't be much longer." But when he does see you that night, he holds you extra tight, nuzzling his face against your hair. He hates being called out on it, but it's incredibly easy to turn him into a melting, blushing puddle- and heaven help you if you do it to him with friends around. He'll "punish" you quite thoroughly, so you'll only have yourself to blame when you get no sleep and can't stand the next day.

[mimiri22-6]

Ok, I didn't do one of these for the last ep, but I should have so now I'm doing this episode because, YES!

Webby in her Webby destroyer gear, off to a nice start

PENNY!! BIG EXCITEMENT!

Ah so she's making a ship to go back to the moon...aw. Penny don't leave 🥺

Loving that caterpillar fact, very morbid

Oh no, Glomgold.

Oh geeze, it's all gone to his head. I'm not shocked, just disappointed.

I do not like Glomgold.

Oh, that's a disaster waiting to happen

Thanks, Dewey, for the confirmation

Also not surprised by Dewey's thing, but not disappointed. That's peak pettyness

In case anyone was wondering, the intro still bops. No one will tell me different.

O.O DELLA CALLED PENNY, HONEY! MY DELLNUMBRA HEART! AH!

Aw, poor Launchpad

Aw no, she's constantly on guard. Like waiting for the other shoe to drop 🥺...

'Small Della'

GIBBOUS AND ZENITH! THE BEST MOONLANDERS! (I feel so bad, I had to look up Zenith's name☹️)

And I am loving how they are stuck in 90's asthetic because of Della's stories

THEY GOT SNAP BRACELETS AND A DOG! IM SO HAPPY FOR THEM!

No, Gibbous, Glomgold doesn't deserve you. You could have such a better employer

Oof, even the moonlanders are alienating Penumbra...

HOW DARE GLOM THROW OWLSON UNDER THE BUS LIKE THAT! HE DIDN'T DESERVE HER EITHER!

Her helmet is her safety blanket

Ooh, bad timing on the fly's part

Oh geeze Launchpad is so crushed 🥺

A BIRD!? TF?

No, Launchpad, Dewey is 11. Do not have the kids drive!

NO WAIT STAY IN THE CAR!

(I'm making this too long by pausing every 5 seconds aren't I)

LAUNCHPAD, NO!

YES, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST KEPT DRIVING THE LIMO!

Penny, no. Now I'm just tired...

Yes, thank you Gibbous, you called the safety inspector, good

Ooh, human statue! Those people are amazing

Ooh, human statue got yeeted...

... he's probably fine...

Hehehe, penny arcade 😊

Ooh, Launchpad's back!

...smart move Launchpad, I would've backed away too

...mood.

Ok, first I was confused by Penny's confusion, but then I realized what she was confused about. Needless to say, I laughed an abnormal amount. This is the most this topic is going to be brought up and, Penny, we're confused too

... she's upset about home...

Oh my god, Launchpad. I love you, you deserve the world.

She can't protect her people and is having an identity crisis.

The Eyes! You can't say no to those Eyes!

*gasp!* Parallels!!!

(also I just realized, when was the last time we saw Beakley??)

HAMBURGER; AN AMERICAN AND GERMAN DELIGHT!!

Wait, what has Penumbra been eating if-aaand she hasn't eaten anything since she got here...that...that's not healthy, honey, please take care of yourself more after this...

Yes! She likes ice cream!

Oh no, she's going to go haywire if she gets a brain free-there it is....

Thank you, safety inspector, finally someone with a brain...

I love how Launchpad just fukin Froze

Ah betrayal is a strong feeling.

Ah great, the kids are on a death trap

😑ooooff course it's a canon to destroy the manor. I don't know what I was expecting.

She came, she did her job, and she left. I respect that.

'Tinny Dellas' Penny, I love you. (Also doesn't Storkules do the same thing, but with Don?)

Gibbous, no. You don't have to if you don't want to.

Oh no, Soft Look! Penny gave Launchpad a Soft Look and it was nice! My dellnumbra and launchwing(I forget if that's their actual name, I'll edit it later then(DRAKEPAD, THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!)) heart: OH NO THEIR CUTE!!!

Oh, I love Gibbous, he just wants to have and help other moonlanders have earth fun

Same, Launchpad, same. (Once again, Soft Look! Oh no! It's adorable!)

Oh. Gymnastics Stronk...girls hot...stronk girls hot...

Ah, her voice, she's so happy and she's found herself and loves what's happening right now!

Dewey is great this episode

Gibbous is too sweet

Who Could stay mad at Gibbous?! He's to nice!

Shy Launchpad is a cute Launchpad

*visible shock and amazement* Penny confirm gay!? Gay penny rights!? *With tears in my eyes* Yes!

AND, see how Launchpad respectfully said, 'oh ok' and dropped his crush

And just like Launchpad, I dropped that ship like a sack of potatoes. My dellnumbra and launchwing heart: oh thank Frank...

AND so a great friendship is born! Two dumb jocks with hearts of gold

*gasp!* Jenkins is to be Dewey's rival...what a twist!

Della gets very worried about her kids, take notes Della haters, she's new (also when Della starts stroking Dewey's hair? *Chef's kiss with tears in my eyes because damn if I don't want that level of casual love in my life*(I might be just a little touch starved))

'which is probably never, so-' TRU

I'm already loving this friendship of strong loving dumbos. I love them platonically.

AND PENNY HAS HER HELMET OFF! SHE'S NO LONGER CONSTANTLY ON GUARD! SHE FEELS SAFE WITH HER NEW FAMILY AND MAN THIS FAMILY JUST KEEPS GETTING BIGGER AND MORE COMPLICATED I LOVE IT!

Just casually carries her future GF and son...not hot buch energy at all...

I FORGOT TO MENTION!!! THE MUSIC!! WHEN SHE'S BEING HOT ON THE WHEEL! AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS IT SOUNDS A LITTLE LIKE THE MOON THEME WHICH HAS BEEN ASTABLISHED AS DELLA'S THEME?!

You can see Lunarus' ship in the last shot of the moon and I don't like that feeling of foreboding, DuckTales Team!

[sqbr]

Haa, I find it frustrating from the other direction: I'm trans and afab but do not and have never identified as a lesbian, and so people using 'lesbian' as a synonym for 'queer' makes me feel dysphoric and gross. Like me being a somewhat masculine person who isn't a conventional straight man means I am effectively a woman, and the only way a non-man can be 'properly queer' is to be a lesbian. Especially since I have seen people who legit seem to think afab queer people do divide into 'lesbian adjacent and thus valid', 'lying straight women' and 'even worse than cishet men because it's a choice'.

...and then I started rambling, and ranting at Fandom At Large, so let's put this under a cut, which will hopefully work.

So yeah, I have no problem with actual lesbians or people who like imagining their faves as actual lesbians etc. Those are cool and valid things to be and do, part of the huge variety of equally good and valid ways of being. And it's worth noting that many Actual Lesbians do not ship f/f much or at all, and make no pretenses otherwise (but some do ship f/f as an expression of their sexuality, and that's also cool).

Hell a lot of the people doing this stuff aren't lesbians they just seem to... idk, have put lesbianism (or, relatedly, yuri/femslash) on some weird pedestal as Pure Perfect Aspirational Queerness We Should Celebrate At All Times. But since the things they want to focus on (at least some of the time) involve men/non-women, instead of unpacking that and celebrating what they're actually into as a valid form of a DIFFERENT KIND of queerness/gender conformity/a thing they just like even though it's not queer etc, all of which are FINE, they just slap on a 'lesbian' label, which does a disservice to lesbians and non-lesbians alike.

I mean... sometimes these kinds of things do amuse me, like putting a "this too is yuri" caption on inanimate objects. But yuri is a fictional genre rather than a real life sexuality, and even then it does feel weird when people only talk about 'yuri' that doesn't involve actual girls.

Some of this is an attempt to articulate complicated gender feelings. But as a trans person who is not a lesbian: 'lesbian' should definitely not be used as a synonym of 'queer', 'trans', or 'gender non-conforming'! Those are overlapping but very distinct things!!

I do think some of this is a result of some femslashers acting like femslash is the Only Progressive Form Of Shipping. Instead of pushing back on that, people who ship things other than femslash (including some people who mostly ship femslash but have a few slash/het ships etc) just went "if good=femslash=lesbian, then everything I like is femslash about lesbians". And then the people who have zero interest in actual femslash started treating it as like.. a purely theoretical form of goodness rather than something that actually literally exists.

Which is pretty much lose-lose for everyone: people who like actual femslash have even more trouble finding it than before, and people who don't feel like their actual shipping preferences are unacceptable and must be obscured.

Now some people would say "then the non-femslashers should just learn to ship femslash" but imo, while it can do people good to thoughtfully consider their unexamined assumptions about gender etc, the reasons people in this part of fandom mostly aren't into femslash are complex, and while homophobia and internalised sexism are part of it that's far from the whole picture (for a start, not all of us are women ;P). People trying to force themselves to like femslash will at best be annoyingly unpleasant and at worse be an active repression of their sexuality/gender expression. And either way, any femslash they produce will be joyless and bad, which is also lose-lose for everyone.

IMO the only solution is for everyone to just stop acting like shipping and faves etc are always a direct expression of people's politics, gender, or sexuality. Then we could all celebrate what we actually like, whatever that is (and for most people in this end of fandom, that's mostly not lesbians or femslash, and never will be). But I don't see that happening any time soon.

Plus. You know. Bi and non-binary people exist. "Not purely about men or straight people" does not necessarily mean 'lesbian' or even femslash/yuri. If you think being a femslasher is hard, try being someone who prefers non-binary ships :P

But also, for all that it is worth poking broader fandom trends etc, you can enthuse over Actual Straight Dudes etc without either losing your progressive/queer cred or pretending they're something they're not. And people into Actual Lesbians can enthuse about them too, and we can all be enthusiastic together, hooray.

Can't lie, there's something deeply refreshing about seeing a post that goes on about how a character or scene is sooo lesbian, and realizing the OP is genuinely talking about how they see the character as attracted to a woman or women, or how shippy they find the f/f dynamic in a scene, and not ... like, vibes or aesthetics.

[thatpinkbetch]

I'm going to answer it this way, because I'm actually not a fan of some of those, and I've heard this is the way to do it if you don't want it ending up in the tag or the search I think? If i censor any of the ship names it's not out of malice! I simply don't want any of this to end up in front of eyes that just want to enjoy their ships 💖💖💖 if there is anyone who doesn't want to see opinions against t*d*d*ku, k*r*b*ku, or even iz**ch*ka, please don't read any further! Oh my goodness i hope this is all legible...

Anyways, hello!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I love talking about my opinion avkvmsocnaocjsoxks it also makes me really happy you like my blog 🥺🥺🥺 (I hope this answer doesn't ruin that avskvneognsocjs)

I'll start out by confirming that I'm not a multishipper. It makes me excited to see how the act of shipping itself can make others happy, but it's just not that way for me. I actually never read fanfic until I got into bnha (bkdk is just that powerful 😁😁) I'm actually...a little serious when i ship, or when i enjoy media, i analyze pretty heavily, so also, if that doesn't sound like anyone's cup of tea, i would once again recommend to stop reading and enjoy your day please!

I love analyzing characters and storylines and dynamics, but i will admit, I'm not a fan of most of the ships - not romantically. I think all the characters have interesting relationships to each other, all of the kids are great friends, and I love bonds and friendships so much 🥺🥺🥺

Those first two are perhaps the biggest, at least they definitely were the biggest when I first entered. Once i caught up, I didn't really understand the enthusiasm, but people have fun shipping, so that's nice! I think of those two as easy ships, if that makes sense? They're pretty simple, and easy to digest.

I personally am not a fan of romantic t*d*d*ku for a very specific reason; it feels weird to me for Todo to immediately fall in love with the first person who's ever shown him kindness (since his mother of course). Todo had never had any friends, nor any want for friends, obviously because of the abuse he faced as a child. Mido was his first exploration at a life outside of his father, a life he got to make for himself, it just doesn't feel right to me that he should immediately think "oh, is this romantic love? Is this the one and only for me?" Well, perhaps a teenager might think that way, but i don't think that's actually how he feels deep down, and I'm sure that's something a lot of us have to learn as we grow (I've definitely struggled with my own understanding of romance for the past 8 years). I think he still is trying to learn how to socialize and to make friends and to be a friend (and he's doing SUCH a good job!) But to immediately plunge into romance, which can be complicated, i don't think that would be right for him. I hope that makes sense! I know they're a very cute ship, which makes for fun! But again, I can be a little serious when i ship...

K*r*b*ku kind of falls into similar territory for me? Baku definitely had friends growing up, but he's seemed to always have trouble understanding his feelings and where he stands with others, causing trust issues. Kiri is really the first person he knew where he stood with, a person for him to be comfortable with and feel on equal ground, which i think is such a huge and positive role in his life, and i don't necessarily think that it needs to be romantic - for both of these, i think these relationships are incredibly important, to everyone involved, and making them romantic doesn't make them any more important!! In fact, i feel like them as friends actually can offer a more complex, interesting, and human dynamic between these characters, as sometimes people simply default to romance and then end up pushing for the same old tropes and ignore all the intricacies Horikoshi includes in his writing.

Again, I love Mido's friendship with Todo, and I love Baku's friendship with Kiri. I think these relationships are incredibly important, and friends are incredibly important. People who ship them are having fun, which is so lovely, and i hope they continue to have fun! I hope you personally find more fics about them that make you smile and brighten your day 💖💖💖

Iz**ch*ka is a little difficult, because they certainly are cute, separately and together. I thought they were cutest before Ura was told about her potential crush on Mido, when she was simply a source of bubbly energy and positivity that helped Mido open up and feel comfortable around other people. I feel though that, romantically, it's extraordinarily one-sided, and at this point, i have to wonder if they really are "end goal." End goal for shounen, of course, is hardly ever explicit ahzovndlfjsoxo but i feel like a better storyline for Horikoshi to take would be for Ura to realize that she's been confused, and these feelings haven't really been a positive experience for her. I've definitely gone through things like that as a teenager. Now, the ship can be very cute! They're basically the same person, and they're cute and bubbly! But again, it simply isn't for me.

I think Momjirou is very cute!! Of course, as a lesbian, i sense strong lesbian vibes from Momo, and strong bi vibes from Jirou, and I also saw the ship potential ever since the USJ attack - which i think, so did everyone else ahaovndofjsojfsk they're best friends without a doubt, though i have to say, i really like Kamijirou. She just makes him so soft, and he's so in awe of her, and she thinks he's so funny, I love how supportive he is of her, especially since she can be really insecure 🥺🥺🥺

I also think Ura and Tsu are very cute but another easy ship, and i kind of really like Ochamina 🥺 they're both pink and space themed, they're bubbly and energetic and kick ass, and i think they'd be super cute...

I saved todobaku for last, because, you know what they say, best for last! 😇😇😇

I've said it before, but if there was no Mido (impossible obviously, and i would never want that) then todobaku is where my heart would lie. Baku has never really been shown chasing after anyone except for Mido...and Todo, which really gets at my heart. There's a grudging respect there - very, very grudging ahakckdkfjskdk which i find very appealing! Todo is very important to Baku and he has also been able to show Baku some things about himself that he needed to question and reevaluate. Meanwhile, Todo puts up with exactly 0% of Baku's shit, which i find absolutely hilarious. It's funny to me how Baku wishes to intimidate Todo as he does everyone else, and Todo simply does not care. And Baku wants to be mad, and ends up mad that he can't be mad since Todo is a strong and worthy opponent. They just have such an interesting chemistry, there's so much friction, so much tension, and I enjoy it, particularly since they clearly should be friends, would be great friends, want to be friends, but Baku simply won't get over it 😂😂 I do prefer them as friends, but friends that are incredibly close, two people that understand each other on almost a telepathic level, two people that give each other shit while also refusing to take the other's shit.

I do agree that many people in this fandom seem to think their ship stands on some moral high ground? It could be a disconnect from the previous generations of fandom, or it could also be the growing mentality on this site that everything needs to be a battle of moral superiority, and also that what you like is part of your personality, and if someone doesn't like what you like, then they don't like you or that they think you're factually incorrect. I personally have stopped going into the bn/ha tag simply because I don't enjoy, well, many things i find there, and I'm happy with those that i follow. I've definitely seen hatred and invalidation for both LGBT ships and m|w ships, neither of which I'm comfortable with. I definitely don't go off tumblr for fandom stuff because there's practically no acceptance for any same gender ships, or any queer headcanoning, which, I'll be honest, makes me scared, as i am a very anxious person avdkvndkfje i do think it should be noted that we should be as accepting of cishet ships as we are of queer ships - no debate on this one - but again, you are right when you say that many cishet headcanons have been used to invalidate LGBT voices, and any and all allies must always be aware of this! It is much more often that queer voices are silenced, that queer ships are ridiculed, that queer shippers aren't allowed to enjoy or see themselves. And to anybody that doesn't want to be an ally... Whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you doing here ajxkvmdogjdicjsicjsodj I'm gay

I haven't really read much of anything recently, let alone other ships, platonic or otherwise, because energy has been low for me for a long time. I wish i could participate more and support all my friends and other fans, but it's been a bit of a struggle 😣😣😣 I'm so sorry! Something that I can do is make posts and analyses and metas, as those are quick and make me excited, so I'm always happy to respond to asks like these! (I say as i take two hours to write this response...)

I hope people have been taking care of themselves and remember that tumblr is really good at letting you cater to your own interests! I hope if you've made it to the end of this response that you enjoyed it, and you're not mad at me ahsovjekgjsocjwodkso if you are, that's fine, I'm sorry, I probably am really bad at social/internet etiquette and such that help you filter 😣😣

To any who are curious, you cannot change my mind ahdogmdocjdidk thank you to whoever sent this ask!!! A lot of this is a bunch of rambling I've always wanted to talk about but was frankly too scared to post! I hope I made sense and answered everything you were asking!! Please have a good day/night/life!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

[hotandcoldaf]

My Heart on Your Sleeve, Chapter 2

Rating: PG

Characters/Pairings: Shiro/Ulaz, Adam/Shiro

Summary: For most people, having a soulmate simplifies things. For Shiro, it makes things much, much more complicated. In this chapter, Shiro is introduced to the Blade of Marmora.

Notes: The way soulmarks work in this AU was inspired by this post.

EDIT: I forgot that HTML doesn’t work on tumblr; this has been corrected. MY BAD.

AO3 Link

<- Previous Chapter | Beginning | Next Chapter ->

---

A warm, hearty scent greeted Shiro as he entered the apartment he shared with Adam. He knew that smell. That was the stew Adam always made when he was mad about something. He'd explained it once, the specifics of how it helped calm him down, but Shiro hadn't really gotten it. Cooking was always so stressful for him that it was hard to understand what made it relaxing for Adam. But somehow it was, and it was rare that Adam stayed mad once he'd made his stew. Which was good, because Adam had definitely been very angry with him when they last spoke earlier that day.

With a smile, Shiro made his way into the kitchen, and sure enough, there was Adam, stirring a large pot, with his uniform jacket off and his sleeves pushed up. Shiro used to love seeing Adam's soulmark, seeing the symbols on his arm and being able to immediately place how they related to him and his accomplishments, such a contrast to the inscrutable mysteries that made up his own markings. His diagnosis had changed that. Noticing new additions to Adam's soulmark had always been exciting before then, but finding a ring of what looked like necrotic tissue around Adam's arm that night had been almost as devastating as the diagnosis itself.

Shiro didn't know how Adam could stand to even look at it, even if he knew it was only cosmetic and not actually hurting him in any way. Personally, he hated the sight of it. It and everything it represented. Sudden, life-changing events were often represented in soulmarks by rings like that, cutting off everything that came before from everything that came after, and the ring on Adam's arm was a particularly ugly reminder that his life was over.

Shiro's smile faltered at the sight of it, but he approached Adam anyway, slipping his arms around his waist and placing his chin on Adam's shoulder.

"It smells great," he said.

Adam shrugged him off and Shiro pulled away.

"You're still mad?" he asked. If the stew hadn't worked, then this was worse than he'd realized.

"Yes, I'm still mad," Adam answered with a huff, keeping his gaze fixed on the pot instead of Shiro.

Shiro huffed back. "Why can't you understand how important this is to me?"

"I understand just fine. You're the one who doesn't get it." Adam used his spoon to push some vegetables down into the broth with what Shiro was sure was far more force than necessary. "Not that I expect you to, at this point. You're going to go no matter what I say. Your soulmark is proof of that."

Shiro wasn't sure how to respond to that at first. Was that what this was all about? It was true that the Kerberos mission would be his last, best chance to find his soulmate, and Shiro would be lying if he said that fact hadn't occurred to him, but that wasn't why he was so determined to stay on the mission despite his diagnosis, and he'd thought Adam understood that. Apparently, though, he needed to be reminded.

"Adam. Look at me."

With a sigh, Adam set his spoon down and finally turned to face Shiro. He had such a dour look on his face, Shiro hated it. Adam always used to smile so much and so brightly, but those smiles had gotten rarer and rarer since Shiro's diagnosis. Shiro missed them. He placed his hands firmly on Adam's shoulders and hoped his face made it clear how sincerely he meant what he was about to say.

"When I get back from Kerberos, marry me." Adam's eyes went wide with shock, but Shiro pressed on. "I was going to wait until after the mission to ask, but you need to hear this now. I'm not doing this to find my soulmate. It doesn't matter who I meet out there, I swear, I'm not going to throw away what we have for him."

Adam's shocked expression twisted into something affronted and furious, a face Shiro had never seen him make before, and he felt his stomach drop before Adam even spoke.

"Is that what you think this is about? You think I don't trust you?" He shoved Shiro's hands off of his shoulders and took a step backward.

"You brought it up first!" Shiro insisted, stepping forward to close the gap.

"Because it proves you're going to leave," Adam said, his voice low and strained. "If you weren't going to meet your soulmate out there, he wouldn't be your soulmate. That doesn't mean I'm worried about you falling in love with him."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is you're going to leave, Takashi! You're going to leave and you're not going to come back and I'm not going to wait for you." Adam took another step backwards and turned away from Shiro. "I can't do it."

Seeing Adam turn his back on him made Shiro's chest ache, and he put his hand on Adam's shoulder, gently pulling to try and direct him back towards him. "Adam, it's going to be okay. I'll come back to you. I promise."

Adam didn't budge, and after a moment, he let out a long sigh. "I wish I could believe you."

"Adam--" Shiro started, but Adam interrupted him by pushing his hand off his shoulder.

"Just--go away, okay? I want to be alone for a while. I'll come tell you when dinner's ready."

Defeated, Shiro backed out of the kitchen in silence, and when he turned around, suddenly the apartment was dark, illuminated only faintly by distant purple lights. He quickly turned back towards the kitchen, but it was gone, and Adam was nowhere to be seen.

"Adam!" he called out, desperate for an answer.

"Shiro," answered a calm and even voice right behind him, but it wasn't Adam's.

Shiro awoke with a start and quickly pushed himself up into a seated position, nearly colliding with the alien crouched over him along the way. Ulaz. Right. His soulmate. After all these years, finally, in the flesh. Shiro couldn't say what, exactly, he'd been expecting, but it didn't feel like this was it. This tall, pale alien, all sharp angles and long limbs, with his blank yellow eyes and short fur, he was.... He wasn't unattractive, Shiro supposed, but he couldn't help but feel vaguely disappointed. He'd been expecting some kind of spark, he guessed, some sort of immediate attraction, something comparable to how he felt about Adam, but as grateful as he felt towards Ulaz for freeing him, as excited as he was to finally have some answers about his soulmark, it didn't feel anything like love, and it didn't do anything to stop that vague unfulfilled feeling that had always haunted him.

What he definitely hadn't been expecting was having to explain how soulmates worked to his soulmate. The possibility that it wouldn't be mutual, sure, he knew very well that that could happen, but for his soulmate to not have any soulmark, not even any concept of one, that just seemed absurd, like some kind of cosmic joke at his expense. A deserved one, after everything he'd put Adam through, he supposed. It looked like Adam had been right and he wouldn't be going back to Earth, after all. He could only hope Adam would understand if he knew the reason why.

"How long was I out?" he asked Ulaz.

"Not very long. I would have woken you sooner if I had noticed."

"Are we almost there?"

Ulaz nodded and stood up before moving towards the front of the ship. "We have arrived."

Shiro followed closely in his wake, and when he got close enough to make out the image on the viewscreen, his breath caught in his throat. Pictured there was a massive blue star, flanked by a pair of twin black holes. They pulled on the star in opposing directions, creating a swirling vortex of blue light. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, a sight beyond his wildest imagination.

"It's beautiful," he whispered in awe. Ulaz glanced at him, and then glanced at the screen as he sat in the pilot's seat.

"I suppose it is," he said absently as he began to type on the keypad. Shiro leaned over his shoulder to take a closer look, but he couldn't make any sense of the alien text, so his interest soon shifted back to the star ahead. He was the first and only human to ever see anything like this in person, it occurred to him, and a thought that would once have brought him great joy now made his chest feel tight. Sam and Matt should be seeing this, too. He didn't know where they were right now. Ulaz had told him that he hadn't seen them. He didn't even know if they were still alive. He hoped they were, as hard as he possibly could, but he had no way of knowing. It was a terrible feeling.

"We are in luck," Ulaz announced. "The way will be open in a few doboshes."

Shiro wasn't sure what a dobosh was, but that wasn't the part of the announcement that most caught his attention. "We're going in there? That's a blue supergiant. It doesn't get much hotter than that. Can this ship stand up to that kind of heat?"

"It should," Ulaz answered.

"Should?"

"That is why we have to wait. It is only safe to approach the base between solar flares."

It was a hell of a security system, he had to admit. "Okay. How long is a dobosh?"

"50 ticks."

"Aaaaand how long is a tick?"

With a few key presses, Ulaz brought up a new window in the view screen. Even though Shiro couldn't read the alien numbers, it was clearly a countdown of some sort. "This is how long we have left until the way opens," Ulaz explained. He pointed at the numbers on the far right. "These are ticks."

Shiro intently watched the steadily changing numbers. It looked like a tick was slightly longer than a second, and, from the pattern of when the numbers changed, it looked like Galra also counted in base-10, which was a relief. He studied the countdown carefully, trying to commit the shape of the digits to memory. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

"It's time," Ulaz said when the countdown completed, and he pushed the ship forward. Shiro didn't dare speak a word on the trip in, but despite his concerns, their ship endured the heat and they reached their destination without issue. The base was built into an asteroid tucked in close to the star, and Ulaz guided their ship carefully into a hangar that closed swiftly behind them. Shiro followed him out of the ship and took in the view of the base before he climbed down. It seemed architecturally similar to the Galra ships he'd been on before, what little he'd seen of them, but the lighting here was a cooler, bluer shade than the harsh, redder purple that lit the Galra ships.

More interesting than the architecture, though, was the people. At least, Shiro assumed they were people and not like the robots he'd encountered on the Galra ship. They didn't have any obvious joints like the robots, but they were all wearing eerie faceless masks and none of them spoke or moved as he and Ulaz left the ship. Ulaz didn't pay them much mind as he strode confidently through the hangar, and Shiro made sure to stay close on his heels. The last thing he wanted was to get lost alone in an unfamiliar place, and Ulaz clearly knew exactly where he was going. He took them through winding hallways and down an elevator, where they reached an austere, open room. In the air above them hovered a holographic symbol that matched the one on Ulaz's blade, and at the end of the room was a raised dais.

There were two people in the room already. One, standing off to the side, was easily twice as large as any other alien Shiro had seen yet. The other, standing at military ease on the dais, was probably the Blade of Marmora's leader, given his position and the sash that decorated his uniform. Shiro wondered if he should bow or salute or something, but Ulaz made no such movements, so he didn't. He kind of wished he was wearing something more presentable than the tattered slave uniform he'd been forced into, though.

"Kolivan," Ulaz said in greeting.

"Ulaz," the leader replied. "You abandoned your mission and brought a stranger to our headquarters. Explain yourself."

"I had no choice. My cover was irreparably compromised. This is Shiro. His species has a unique trait that causes them to manifest markings that describe a specific person. In his case, they describe me."

"Show me," Kolivan ordered.

"Excuse me?" Shiro blurted out. Ulaz turned to stare at him, and Shiro quickly realized he would have to actually explain his offense. "Soulmarks are usually kept secret. I can't show it to just anyone. It's considered a violation of your privacy." It wasn't unheard of for couples to agree to stop covering their soulmarks once they'd found each order, but that option had never been on the table for Shiro. If he'd been mutual with Adam, maybe, but that wasn't the case, so he'd never really considered it. He'd never had the luxury.

"I am far less concerned about Kolivan seeing it than I am about all the people who have seen it already," Ulaz said flatly.

It was a fair point, honestly. If Ulaz trusted these people, then he didn't really have a reason to refuse to show his soulmark. Even if it did go against his most heavily ingrained habits. "Fine," Shiro grumbled, and reached for his sleeve, but Ulaz interrupted him.

"The back will be a more effective demonstration," he said. Right. The sword. Of course. Well, at least that freed Shiro from the burden of fighting off the impulse to avoid eye contact. He pulled off the ratty shirt he'd be given, if it could even be called that, and turned around so Ulaz could handle however it was that the undersuit fastened.

The time that passed while the Blades looked at his soulmark felt like an eternity to Shiro, as he stared at the wall and willed himself not to shiver under the combined force of having his skin exposed to the cold air and the eerie feeling of unseen gazes on his back. In truth, it couldn't have been more than a few seconds before the suit was closed again and Shiro was free to turn around again and pull his shirt back on.

"His other markings provide enough information to connect him to me even from just the information the Empire possesses. I was already under suspicion when I took Shiro and fled," Ulaz explained. Shiro couldn't see any of Kolivan's face through his mask, but he didn't have to to know the Blade's leader wasn't happy about the situation.

"You have compromised the security of our base by bringing him here," the massive Blade in the corner growled, and Shiro nearly jumped out of his skin. Despite the Galra's considerable size, he'd almost forgotten he was there.

"It would have been no safer to leave him with the Empire," Ulaz retorted.

"Be that as it may, you should not have brought him here," Kolivan said. "He needs to go back where he came from."

"I'm not going home," Shiro interjected without hesitation. All three of the Galra in the room turned to look at him, but he refused to back down. "My crew is still in captivity. I can't go back without them. Even if they weren't, I can't turn my back on the rest of the Empire's victims. Let me help you. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"Unfortunately for you, we do not need you for anything," Kolivan answered.

"We need him to stay out of the Empire's grasp," Ulaz said. "The most effective way to ensure that is to keep him here where we can monitor him."

The massive Galra suddenly spoke up again. "The most effective way would be to kill him."

"We will not be doing that," Kolivan answered before Shiro could even fully register what was just suggested, though that still only did so much to quell the unease he felt once it sunk in. It wasn't the sort of comment that inspired feelings of safety, to say the least. Kolivan continued without much pause, "Antok, find a room for him to stay in for now. I have more to discuss with Ulaz."

"Hold on, you can't cut me out of this conversation," Shiro protested.

"It does not concern you," Kolivan said, and before Shiro could protest further, the massive Blade--Antok, apparently--grabbed him by the arm and hauled him off. Shiro couldn't say he was thrilled to be placed in the care of someone who had only just suggested murdering him, but he didn't really have a choice but to trust that Antok would follow his leader's orders. At least he let go of his arm once they were in the elevator. Shiro rubbed his shoulder and eyed the Galra up. He didn't feel good about his chances if Antok decided it'd be best to kill him after all. It made him wish he hadn't left that gun on the ship, but he seriously doubted that Antok would make a detour for it if he asked.

Antok didn't seem likely to make any sort of detour at all. After leaving the elevator, he went straight to a terminal, and once he was done with it, he continued walking down the hallway, all without so much as a word or glance in Shiro's direction. He walked quickly, and Shiro had to hustle just to keep pace with him. Which was still preferable to being dragged or carried, but Shiro was getting pretty tired of being even metaphorically dragged around without much explanation. Eventually, Antok stopped at a door and opened it.

"Here," he announced, as he stepped away from the doorway. Cautiously, Shiro entered the room.

The door shut behind him.

Immediately, he spun around and hit the button to reopen it. It slid back open, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Poking his head out into the hallway confirmed that Antok was walking back in the direction they'd come from, and Shiro decided to let him go. He'd paid close attention to the path they were taking on the way here, and he was confident that he could find his way back to where they'd spoken to Kolivan or the hangar on his own. For now, he wanted to take stock of his new quarters.

It was a small room, scarcely large enough for the single bed it contained. At first, Shiro was a little surprised that such a utilitarian room had such a large bed in it, until he realized that while two humans could comfortably fit on it, two Galra definitely wouldn't. A Galra and a human might both fit, but Shiro quickly pushed that thought from his mind. That wasn't going to happen.

There was a closet, as well, but it was empty. Which was a shame, because Shiro could have really used a change of clothes, but he supposed that even if there were any clothes, they probably wouldn't fit him. He didn't see anything else to check, so he sat down on the edge of the bed and began stretching his hand. The Galra had taken his electro-stimulator bracelet when they captured him, and his medicine was still back in the ship on Kerberos. These stretches couldn't do much to offset the progression of his disease, but right now, they were all he had. He needed to hide his disease from the Blade as long as possible. They were already so resistant to the idea of him being useful to them, if they found out he was sick, too.... He couldn't afford that. He couldn't let them keep him out of the fight. He had to prove himself.

He couldn't do that staying here. No one had told him to stay put, so he decided to go do something productive instead. A base like this was sure to have a shooting range he could practice at, he just needed to go recover his gun and then find someone he could ask for directions. He didn't cross paths with anyone on the way to the elevator, but on the way up, the elevator stopped, and Ulaz boarded it. He seemed as surprised to see Shiro as Shiro was to see him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and when Shiro explained, he nodded. "I will show you the way."

"Thank you," Shiro said. "How was your talk with Kolivan?"

Ulaz considered this question for a moment before answering. "It was interesting. I have much to think about."

Shiro wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Maybe it was neither? But before he could ask, the elevator arrived at the hangar, and Ulaz exited it without hesitation. Once Shiro recovered his gun from the ship, they returned to the elevator and got off on a different floor than the one that held Shiro's new quarters. Ulaz kept a brisk pace, leaving Shiro to work to keep up once again, and he made no attempts at starting a conversation. It made Shiro wonder a bit, if he was being actively shunned or if Galra on the whole simply weren't much for conversation. Either way, it was tiring, and Shiro wanted to talk, especially with Ulaz. There was so much he wanted to ask Ulaz, but he couldn't, not yet, not without freaking him out. But he could at least get him used to the idea of conversations with him.

"How long have you been working for the Blade of Marmora?" he asked.

Ulaz looked back at him with what might have been confusion? His expression was hard to read. But he did give Shiro an answer. "From the beginning. I am one of the Blade's founding members."

"How long have you been operating?"

"We have been working against Zarkon's rule for 7,000 years."

Ulaz had told him that he was around 11,000 years old, so that meant he'd been working for the Blade for most of his life. He'd known from the size of the sword on his soulmark that it represented something of great importance--it took up more space than most people's entire soulmarks, after all--but this new context managed to make it seem undersized. 7,000 years. He couldn't even imagine. That was longer than the whole of known human history, he was pretty sure. It definitely meant that Ulaz had been fighting this war since before Shiro's ancestors had even set foot on Japan's shores, much less on America's. Shiro was confident in his choice to join the cause, but he was suddenly keenly aware of all the context he was missing.

"Can you tell me more about the Empire's history and the rebellion?"

"It is a long story. I would not finish before we reached the shooting range."

Ulaz said more after that, but it didn't fully register with Shiro, who was suddenly distracted by the distinct feeling of his hand cramping up and the loud clatter of his gun hitting the floor. Oh no. Not an attack. Not right now. Not in front of Ulaz. He quickly bent down to scoop the gun back up with his left hand and hoped it was quick enough to avoid suspicion. At best, he knew this would make him seem clumsy, but clumsy was better than sick. Clumsy made him flawed, not a liability. He could deal with clumsy.

"Sorry," he said as he straightened back up. He hoped desperately that any pain that made it through to his face despite his efforts to suppress it would be mistaken for distress over his clumsiness, because Ulaz had stopped to look back at him. "I think I'd benefit more from the history lesson than the shooting range right now. I already know how to fire a gun." And he wouldn't be able to fire a gun until this cleared up, but, of course, he wasn't about to mention that part.

Ulaz was frowning at him, but that alone didn't tell Shiro whether or not he bought it. "Come with me," he instructed as he walked past Shiro, back the way they'd came, and Shiro decided to take the lack of questions as a good sign. At least, until Ulaz led him into what was clearly a sick bay. That--that didn't necessarily mean anything. Ulaz was a doctor, he knew that, so it made sense that he'd pick a sick bay as a comfortable place for an extended conversation. At least, until Ulaz pulled a handheld device from a cabinet and scanned Shiro with it, before Shiro even had a chance to protest.

He could run for it. He knew how to get back to the hangar from here, and he knew how to fly the ship they'd arrived in. But he dismissed those thoughts almost as soon as he had them. Even if he could get all the way to the hangar without Ulaz or anyone else catching him--unlikely--he didn't know if the way out of the base was safe right now. He was stuck.

"What was that?" he asked, trying to keep his nervousness out of his voice.

"A medical scanner," Ulaz answered, keeping his gaze fixed on the device's display. He clearly didn't like what he saw, as his usual frown grew deeper. "This is worse than I'd thought."

"Please don't tell Kolivan," Shiro immediately blurted out. "I can still be useful, I swear. I need to--"

"You need treatment," Ulaz interrupted. "Do you understand what will happen if you don't receive any?"

"Of course I do," Shiro answered. Without any treatment, he'd be dead in just a few years. But he'd rather spend those few years fighting as hard as he could than have an eternity without his freedom. "There's more at stake here than just my life. Kolivan already wants to get rid of me. I can't give him another reason."

"This is not something you could hide for long, and Kolivan would never trust you again once he learned. It is best to tell him now. I do not have everything I need for your treatment here, and we will need his permission to acquire the necessary supplies."

"What if he says no?"

"He won't. There is no denying that allowing this disease to progress unchecked will simply make you a greater liability, even if he doesn't yet see that you can be useful."

Oh.

It had been subtle, but it hadn't escaped Shiro's notice that Ulaz just admitted he believed Shiro could be useful, even knowing about his disease. Shiro couldn't help but feel a slight warmth spread over him at the realization. If nothing else, he had Ulaz in his corner. If nothing else, he had his soulmate's support. That alone made the whole situation feel that much more surmountable. That was enough.

---

<- Previous Chapter | Beginning | Next Chapter ->

[vivithefolle]

Can you rec some Ronarry fics? (Preferably long ones?) Sorry if I'm annoying you.

You’re not annoying me at all, Anon! :D Thought I’m super frustrated because I’ve read one very long fic that has Ron searching for Harry, who has amnesia and ran away to America (and is gay but nobody knew that) and Ron realizes he’s in love with Harry and the fic has about 30 chapters and it’s on FFN but I can’t find it!! x_x

Sooo… I didn’t find that many long fics but I can give you a long list of them if you want?

Beautiful FriendIt took six years for Harry to learn something in History of Magic.This one. Oh my lord this one… it’s short, but it’s amazing. It’s full of lovely lively details and Harry’s description of Ron is… aaaww.

Life DrawingDean watches, and sees something unexpected.Again, the descriptions! My lord the descriptions, and also you will relate very much to Dean if you’ve ever worked with pencils.

Something They Can Barely SeeHarry has no idea how to tell his best friend he wants more that friendship. He’s pretty sure this would be hell of a lot easier if he knew for sure how Ron felt about him.This one is plenty cute. Ron is adorable and Harry… Harry’s trying his best. :’D

Our Inner BeastsLater, Madam Pomfrey would tell them that both Bill and Ron were going to survive. But she had no idea what the effects of a werewolf bite, when the werewolf was still in human form, could do to their behavior.Okay, who’s up for writing more Creature!Ron fics? Seriously. Someone do some more of those. Here we have Ron as a werewolf, aggressive, feral, self-loathing… doesn’t matter, Harry loves him.

Running with the Wolf, Loving the Mansnapshots of Harry Potter’s life with a werewolf boyfriendFollow-up of Our Inner Beasts. Someone heard our prayers and gave us more Werewolf!Ron, and it’s as wonderful as it sounds.

What HappenedThat’s just the thing, though. He doesn’t know what happened. He can’t pinpoint a single event where everything suddenly made sense. There was no epiphany or choir of angels or aligning of stars, or any of the other rubbish Parvarti goes on about in the Great Hall. There’s no one moment when he realized, “Oh.”Ron and Harry’s friendship, only it’s not just friendship. The last line will make you want to put on some epic music.

Follow The Butterflies“Why did it have to be spiders?” Ron moaned. “Why couldn’t we follow the butterflies?” Harry privately agreed with his best friend, but if there was anything Hogwarts had taught him, then that if he didn’t do something, no one would. “I promise the next time we have to follow anything, it will be butterflies.”Harry and Ron’s friendship again, with more butterflies thrown in the mix. It’s just as perfect as it sounds. If you don’t ship Harry/Ron, this fanfic might just change your mind.

Sonnets of Magical InterferenceHarry receives some strange notes about his love life, or lack thereof.By the end of that fic, you might just cheer for a very controversial character.

HeavenHarry’s heaven includes Ron.Features Ron being emotional over a movie, Chinese takeout, and Harry being a sap. What more could you ask for?

Harry Potter And The World That Went Bloody Insane“I know something you don’t know” is, apparently, the essence of Harry Potter’s love life. Harry’s certain that the world has been reading one too many romance novels, but then, Harry’s always been a bit oblivious.Featuring Protective!Attentive!Caring!Ron and Oblivious!Harry in their stinky flat and everyone shipping Harry/Ron. It’s awesome.

Check MateHarry questions his dreams, Ron has a scary one of his own, Hermione and Cho plot, and Seamus and Dean obsess.Harry’s subconscious has lots of funny ideas. Ron is ridiculously cute. Might be a bit difficult to read because of FFN’s shitty formating for line breaks.

On The OutsideHarry doesn’t think there’s much point to his being gay. He can’t have regular sex, he can’t have children, and he can’t tell his best friend he’s in love with him.Ron is utterly adorable, do I really have to say it? Why, yes, yes I do.

Newton’s LawFor every action, there is an equal and opposite reactionCheck out this author’s other Harry/Ron fics. I especially like Brass Ring; in the meantime, have a rather in-character reaction of Hermione and Ginny finding out about their ex-boyfriends dating. Hey, not my fault if JKR doesn’t know how to write strong female characters without making them abusive.

Sleeping BeautyThe most gen ever retelling of Sleeping Beauty.Who cares if it’s gen, it’s amazing. Harry sleeps, Ron is wonderful, and ants get colorful.

The Complexities Of Muggle MachineryHarry bought a refrigerator. Then it was a microwave. Then a blender. Thursday was the coffee brewer. Ron really liked that last one.Ron is absolutely, heart-stoppingly, adorably cute and pretty much just like I imagine him to be around Muggle things. Harry’s lucky.

After the cupcakesThey never really talked about it but they are each other’s world. And perhaps a lazy Sunday morning is as good a time as any to finally say something.Utterly sappy and fluffy and you know me, I was mostly there for Harry’s description of Ron. It didn’t disappoint.

Sing Your LoveThroughout the years they’ve lived together, Harry has always enjoyed Ron’s singing but lately he’s been picking up hidden messages in his flatmate’s song choices.Do you like Ron singing? Do you like Ron dancing? Do you like Ron crying his heart out over an emotionally oblivious Harry? Well in that case you’ve found the perfect fic!

Snakes & LaddersAfter the final battle with Voldemort, Harry intends to get on with his life. There’s just one problem; he was supposed to have died when he confronted Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and now the Other Side is trying to collect him. But in the space between his ‘death’ and the victory celebrations, Harry’s fallen in love… and he’s not going to give up his second chance without a fight.A complicated premise, a complicated tale, a very worried Ron, a very determined Harry, an entirely unwelcome Severus Snape coming from beyond the Veil, all leading up to an epic confrontation in the Other Side. Who knew the afterlife had a court?

Now, it’s time for… TEH SMUT! D:Every story below this text will have MATURE CONTENT. Shoo, children, shoo!

Partners (last chapter gets NSFW)What if the girls hadn’t come in just then?  What course of action would Harry, in his desperate frame of mind, have latched onto instead?This fanfic made one of my most desperate wishes come true. For those who don’t know me, I’ll just tell you that Cinderella isn’t a matter of gender.

Scars (warning: mentions of self-harm)Ron is embarrassed of his scars, and Harry might be able to help.Ron is his terribly self-loathing self, but at least Harry is there to remind him of what we Ron-lovers know: that he’s loved and beautiful.

The Matchmaker (contains sexual mention)Sir Nicholas has never had a couple like these two…Nearly-Headless Nick ships Harry and Ron. So does the entire Gryffindor House. All in all, just what we need.

Exploring The Spectrum (NSFW at the end)Ron wakes up to find he can only see in a single colour.Very interesting mystery and clever use of a forgotten plot point. The resolution is basically “sex solves everything” but otherwise it’s a great story.

Hug! Hug! Kiss! (second-to-last drabble is NSFW)Ron loses Harry in a foreign land. In other words, Harry accidentally joins a Japanese boy band.This story is ridiculous, confusing, crazy, and absolutely hilarious. No existing celebrities were harmed.

Just Another Teenage Epoch - Ron Weasley, 1999 (NSFW at the end)Ron wants to be an Auror, and he wants to not grow up, and he really wants other people to stop kissing Harry.The classic mistletoe tale! Ron is not amused at all. It’s okay, we’re rooting for him (and Harry is, too).

Trapped in Winter (NSFW at the end)Harry and Ron have an argument. When Ron goes to storm out of the room, he’s frozen in time, and when Harry touches him to see what’s the matter, they’re both transported to a snowy winter wonderland.A surprising premise that leads to a confused, hurt Ron and a tight-lipped Harry, and of course, to Harry/Ron. Pretty nice!

That We Might Be Exactly Like We Were (warning: graphic self-harm, realistic depression, themes of suicide)'Everything just takes me back, to when you were there…’This author pretty much nails what depression is like. She also has several other Harry/Ron fanfics that are written just as expertly as this one, but be forewarned, they tend to deal with very upsetting topics as well. Sadly, I could see her version of Ron existing in the canon we know.

Slow Slide (get out) to a Better Place (warning: abuse and r*pe)Harry told himself that everything was fine in his relationship with Ginny, at least until he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. And by then, he thought it might be too late.  Fortunately, he has two very good friends who will always be there for him, one of whom might eventually be something more.Downside: Ginny fans should NOT read this story. Upside: contains Vivi’s most beloved ship, Romione + Ronarry.

Prelude and Fugue (NSFW in the middle)It took over an hour, from the time Harry arrived at work, for him to realise just how different today actually was.The “Groundhog Day” loop is wonderfully done, you can actually feel the weariness building as Harry wakes up and notices it’s still Monday, bloody Monday.And Ron is absolutely adorable - yes, I’ll say it every time!

Princes of Maine (NSFW at the end)Harry wakes one morning to find an abandoned baby on his doorstep. Little does he know that this is only the beginning of his most challenging adventure yet: parenthood.You want Harry as a single parent and not knowing anything about babies? You have it. You want Ron as a competent Healer who’s sick of Harry’s shit and determined to get answers as to why his best mate is a wreck? You have it. You want Harry/Ron? What are you waiting for, dive in!

Still looking for more? Take a look at this post!

[ohmytheon]

I hope that your latest Aidan drabble would be continued! 😭 It's soooo good! Damn, I'm already shipping him and Ally! And I'm loving all the Roy/Riza references in Roy's POV! Thanks for sharing that with us 💞

Well hey! Since you liked that, then how about some more? I’ve been wanting to write this for ages, but talking to Elle the other day and her fic got me inspired. These kids are everything to me. There will probably be a second part to this, but don’t expect it too soon. (Our boy’s got his first date. They grow up so fast!)

Glancing at the clock, Riza noted that there was only five more minutes before they had to leave. Something must have been wrong for her son to be running late. He had been timely since she’d started instilling a routine in him when he was a baby, proving once more that he had more of her temperament than his father’s. However, he’d been lagging the entire day when they were on a specific timeline.

Yes, something was definitely wrong.

Walking to his bedroom, she knocked on the door. “Aidan, is everything alright?”

“Yes,” her son’s muffled voice called back, “perfectly fine.”

To anyone else, he would sound completely believable. Nothing sounded amiss in his voice or the speed of his response. His voice was even and content. To his mother, she knew that he was bothered about something. He was only this calm with her when he was trying to hide something. Around her, he was more open and usually allowed something to slip.

But she also knew not to push him. Roy would push. He couldn’t help it; pushing for more was in his nature. She knew that Aidan would tell her with little to no prompting in time. Ever since he’d punched that boy for talking bad about her and gotten into an argument with Roy, he’d been on good behavior.

A moment later, the door opened and Aidan stepped out. Riza wouldn’t have been able to stop the smile from spreading across her face if she’d wanted to. “You look so handsome,” she told him, stopping the urge to pull him into a hug. She could tell that he was holding back, so she gave him space.

Aidan smiled sheepishly at her, his cheeks turning pink. Indeed he did look handsome. All of a sudden, Riza knew in her heart that her little boy was growing up and it both made her heart swell in pride and hurt with nostalgia. He was wearing a black suit that looked almost exactly like one of Roy’s old suits. It was black and fit him perfectly, tailored by the woman that had been working on Roy’s suits for years, with a white button up shirt and scarf. She bet he had a pair of white gloves tucked away in his pocket too.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” Aidan asked.

Riza brushed down a few errant strands of his hair, which could never be fully tamed. God, he looked so much like his father right now. She had to fight the urge to tear up. Before long, he’d been an adult and right now he almost looked the part. “No, you look great.”

“Dad knows what he’s doing, I guess,” Aidan replied with a chuckle.

“You can thank Madam Christmas for that,” Roy pointed out as he walked up behind Riza and placed a hand on the small of her back. He let out a low whistle. “You almost look as good as me in a suit.”

Aidan rolled his eyes to connect with Riza’s and she gave him a faint, knowing smile.

Roy kept up a breezy chat as they made their way to the front door, but Riza noticed that Aidan was completely silent and had a distant look in his eyes. Normally, he was very attentive, but his mind was elsewhere. He blinked a few times, his face passive as he looked at his father. At the door, he kept raising his hand as if to brush his fingers through his hair, but then would consciously stop and put it back down, until he finally shoved them both into his pockets.

Finally, Aidan let out a sigh and admitted, “I wish Bran and Ally could ride with me.”

“That’s not how dates work, buddy,” Roy pointed out before casting a wink at Riza. Now she was the one that had to roll her eyes.

“Uncle Havoc rides with you all when you go out for date nights,” Aidan grumbled under his breath.

Roy smirked. “Well, that’s only because I’m the Fuhrer and your mother won’t agree to sneaking out.”

“Besides,” Aidan added, “it’s not a date.”

His voice, tinged with the sort of panic that could only belong to a teenage boy about to go on his first actual date, said otherwise of course and both Riza and Roy knew it. This was definitely Roy’s area of expertise. He was a lot more nuanced when it came to interpersonal relationships and also dating. He also knew how to walk through Aidan’s evasiveness as well.

“You asked her to the dance, didn’t you?” Roy asked.

“Yes, but–”

“Did you ask her to go with you as friends?”

Aidan snapped his mouth shut and didn’t respond. No, he hadn’t.

The day he’d asked one of his classmates to the dance, he’d come home like it was nothing. She was almost certain they wouldn’t have even known Aidan had asked someone until the last minute if Bran had not said something. Roy had actually cheered the moment after Bran bemoaned, “Of course you’d have a date before me,” before apologizing and offering to give Bran some tips.

He had acted like it was no big deal up until today and been even more vague when he’d owned up to it. Bran had been the one to tell them the story while Aidan finished his alchemy studies. Her name was Samantha and she was in their math class. They’d become friends after he’d helped her earlier in the schoolyear. She was very pretty and popular apparently as well. When Roy had nudged him teasingly about landing a pretty girl, all Aidan had said was, “She’s very kind,” without even looking up from his studies.

Turning to the side, Roy held out a hand almost thoughtfully. “If you’d wanted to go with someone to the dance as friends, you should’ve just asked Ally.”

Aidan’s face turned red so quickly that Riza had to bite her lip to keep herself from smiling. It had become even more apparent throughout the past year that her son’s feelings for Havoc’s daughter were beginning to morph, but either he was too stubborn to admit it to himself, in denial, or unaware. It was made only more complicated by the fact that she was his best friend’s younger sister and they’d all grown up together.

He’d been in an up and down mood when Ally had had her first boyfriend. She thought he had become more aware that things were different, but after the relationship had ended, he went back to his old self. It was a shame, really. She didn’t want him pining after Ally until it was too late. It wouldn’t be healthy for either of them. But then she had to remind herself that they were still kids. Just because she and Roy had had an absurd romance did not mean they would.

Now the tables had been turned and not everyone was happy about it.

Aidan had brought up the idea of all of them going together as a group after the fact. The idea had been shot down by Roy and Rebecca for “tactical reasons” as Aidan was the Furher’s son, which made no sense and Aidan knew it. He also knew better than to question Rebecca. The truth was, as Riza found out later from Rebecca, that Ally had not wanted to ride with them. She didn’t have a date unlike the two boys and was upset about it, but also did not want to admit it. Riza didn’t know why Ally didn’t have a date, especially when Bran had said that she was the first one to be asked out to the dance, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her son being dateless at the time.

Except Aidan had asked someone else and left Ally dateless. She hadn’t wanted to go, but after some curious and dejected questioning from Aidan, she’d admitted that she didn’t want to miss it.

Oh, those kids were such a mess, but it was cute. Riza just didn’t like Ally getting her heart broken, especially when the cause was her own boy, who didn’t seem to have a clue.

Still red-faced, Aidan tugged on his scarf and looked away. “I couldn’t have asked Ally. That would be weird.”

It felt like she was looking at a sixteen year-old Edward being confronted about his love for Winry.

Roy clapped Aidan on the shoulder. “Listen; don’t think about it too hard. Just have fun! I guarantee this girl isn’t expecting a dozen roses, a song and dance dedicated to her, or chocolate.”

“Was I supposed to get her something?” Aidan asked. “I should have got her something. You always get Mom stuff.”

That Roy did. The moment he could buy her gifts just because he couldn’t stop himself.

Roy grinned. “I’m pretty sure being picked up in the Furher’s vehicle with bodyguards is cool enough.”

Aidan groaned. “Ugh, do they have to stay the whole night?” As someone that has always kept to himself and liked his privacy, having guards around bothered him, even if they were people he’d known for his entire life. She knew he didn’t like it, but it had to be done, especially since tensions with Creta had gotten higher recently.

The door opened and Breda peeked his head inside. “I promise we won’t spy on you the entire time. You’ll have to have some time alone with your lady.”

“She’s not my lady!” Aidan exclaimed.

Breda winked. “Whatever you say, boss. Your ride is here.”

Sighing, Aidan turned to both his parents. He let Riza hug him and she was pleased when he returned it strongly. She couldn’t help but know that soon he wouldn’t need her, but it was her and him against the world for those first few years that they’d formed such a close bond. She was always secretly happy when he came to her for comfort still.

“Have fun,” she said. “Bran and Ally will meet you there and you’ll forget all your worries.”

“What if I make an idiot out of myself?”

Roy clapped Aidan on the shoulders. “I’m pretty sure that you’re the only boy your age that knows how to waltz, so she’ll be plenty impressed. If that doesn’t do it, just quote some poetry about her beauty.”

Aidan scoffed. “Then she’ll really think that I’m an idiot.”

“Just be yourself, okay?” Roy told him. “She said yes to you for a reason.” He smiled and stood up straight. “You’re charming as it is. Girls like you the way you are.”

At least one girl did, except when he wasn’t noticing her.

Aidan took whatever comfort he could from them and left, waving goodbye to them. Breda promised to take care of him and walked him to the car where another guard was in the driver’s seat. Roy and Riza watched them leave from the doorway, shutting the door only when the car was through the gate.

Once the door was shut, Roy sighed. “Poor kid. Can’t even see a girl is nuts about him when it’s right in front of him the whole time.” He pulled Riza closer to him, that lop-sided grin of his back on his face. “Reminds me of a certain girl back when she was younger.”

“Oh, I knew you liked me,” Riza replied, pulling out of his grip. “I just thought you were goofy.”

“Hey!”

The wait had definitely been worth it and she was incredibly happy with the family she had now, but she certainly hoped that Aidan would realize things much sooner than they had.

[peerless-soshi]

for the salty ask meme: 1, 2, 4, 9, 13, 16, 20, and 27, all for Danganronpa. I'm really sorry it's so many, I'm just really curious and like hearing people's salt.

Never apologize for sending me many questions. I am a talkative person, I love those rare occasions when I can let the words flow. I put it under read more because it’s long and, you know, contains unpopular opinions. Let the hater killing game begin. 

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

I was thinking about it and Komaeda/Mikan is probably my most “what?” pair on this list. It doesn’t mean that I completely don’t understand it, I can imagine why some people like them together: he is sick and dying, she is a nurse who loves people depending on her, she was taking care of him and Souda was even ashamed when he realized that Mikan had to undress Komaeda to put him in his hospital gown. Ok, I get it. And cracks are pretty normal for any fandom. But honestly? The disproportion between time they spent together and how popular this ship became turns out to be really huge. Another pair that comes to my mind is Komaeda/Nanami. The reasons are pretty much the same as above. I noticed that DR fandom likes shipping together victims and murders but aside of their final trail, Komaeda and Nanami have no scenes. They hardly ever interact and again, I know that some people simply like cracks, and it is fine. I’m just surprised that both pairings are much more popular than I could expect. 

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Komaru/Fukawa. I don’t have any problem with them as a pair but I don’t ship them romantically. Romances are cool and shipping is fun, yet sometimes I get sad when I see how people ignore friendships. I believe in power of platonic love and hardly ever touch two characters who state many times that they are friends. Even Kodaka wrote that he wished to show growing friendship between two girls. For Fukawa this relationship is extremely important because she was in love before but she had never a friend. I feel that romance takes something away from them?On the side note, I’m kinda angry at how fans keep calling them lesbians. Seriously, you can ship them and say that Fukawa is bi. It doesn’t kill anybody.  

4.Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

Do I have a real, hated and cursed NOTP? I don’t think so. Sure, there are some pairs I dislike but I don’t hate anything with burning passion. Besides, my nope-ships aren’t particularly popular. Like, I hardly ever see romantic Junko/Mukuro or stuff like that so I have no reasons to be salty. I’m too good for this meme.  

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? // 13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

I decided to answer both questions together because my opinion about a disliked character is also rather unpopular. Imagine me cleaning my throat, hahaha - Tsumiki Mikan. I’ve never hid that I’m not her biggest fan and I have a bunch of problems with her. Maybe I wouldn’t be so strict and call Mikan my most hated character - Hanamura and Hiyoko’s free time events were testing my patience too - but my other disliked characters are less popular and Mikan usually takes high spots in popularity polls so choosing her seems to be the most controversial for salty asks  Whenever I see Mikan I also see wasted opportunities. I didn’t like her attitude; Mikan had an annoying seiyuu, high-pitched and crying voice (you can laugh but after the third trail I had a headache because I was so done with her screaming. I’m not lying. This is something I’ll never forget), I also disliked her tendency to panicking and crying. Later we learn that her behavior comes from difficult past and this is really interesting, and I like it. But I also think that Mikan is an extremely passive character. When I first started Danganronpa, I disliked Fukawa, I was annoyed by Kuzuryuu. And now they both are among my most loved characters. I like them because they have changed a lot and I was missing it with Mikan. It’s a shame since I enjoyed watching her during investigations, when Mikan was more confident and helpful. I hoped to see her like that in the main gameplay. However, at the beginning of new chapters she was a crybaby again. As if writers didn’t want her to be more comfortable around people. My other problem with Mikan is how she became so oversexualized. I admit, it happened especially in anime but the game also used her as a fanservice character and this was something I hated. I know that many people didn’t mind it as much but showing a character who was most likely a victim of sexual violence as a fanservice character was a little off for me. And I was so disappointed by her murder case… Tsumiki would make a perfect killer - she was shy and looked innocent yet her fascination with injuries and free time events were giving that dark vibe. Her motives could be great. And, for me, they weren’t. Now again, I know that many people enjoyed her trail and didn’t mind the fever but personally I found it to be lazy. Why couldn’t she have as complicated and interesting reasoning as Peko, or Tanaka, or Komaeda? Why couldn’t she make decision on her own, have doubts, whatever? It was some deus ex machina, Mikan magically became crazy for the plot twist. It’s a little long but I’m generally salty about Mikan because she could be one of my favourite characters yet there are too many points in her writing that disappointed me.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

I would delete the second season. The end. And more seriously, the thing I disliked the most was probably the whole brainwashing part. If I could change it, I would show Junko being that charismatic mastermind that she was supposed to be and manipulating the students, using their love and insecurities, waking up something dark in them. 

Another thing I would love to the see is DR2 cast being main antagonists of the Future Arc. Instead of Naegi fighting in a totally pointless battle, I would change that part with Despair coming to the Future Foundation on their own and made Naegi search for them.(I actually still want to write it as a fanfic ;) )

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Hinata/Nanami. I… just love their free time events. I love watching them together and being awkward, playing game, supporting each other. Hinata and Nanami were so innocent, sweet and good that I will never stop mourning this pair. 

27. Least shippable character?

Hifumi and Hanamura. But to be fair, it was probably the writers’ intention; they are blunt, keep saying inappropriate comments about girls, have dirty minds and as if to mark that they’re supposed to be gross, are also designed as less attractive than the rest. Honorable mention goes to Togami because seriously? Togami? In love? Taking someone as his equal? Promising love? It’s too hard to imagine, hahaha