#otp: power couple of the world

[skyland2703]

The VIBES

[set-wingedwarrior]

My most important sapphic ships post before Pride Month ends

What the title says, studying kept (and still keeps me) busy so we gotta go fast lol

Bumbleby (RWBY)

to the surprise of absolutely no one, they get first place (despite me not going in a particular order) because of reasons. They're perfect. Soulmates. Slowburn of all time. Yin and Yang. Eyes the color of each other's souls. Truest OTP to ever OTP in my book. ∞/10

Konosetsu (Negima!)

I already talked about them in their own post, this scene changed my life leading to my self-discovery and it still lives rent-free in my mind.

Kyosaya (Madoka Magica)

I'd also add MadoHomu but I'm trying to keep it to just one for each fandom. That said, they still make me mentally unwell. I love them, and I did for a long time now. I can't wait for the next movie to come out and suffer.

Ruby and Sapphire (Steven Universe)

These bitches had the first cartoon gay wedding and kiss DO I NEED TO SAY MORE???

Korrsami (Avatar)

Still down the queer cartoons making history path, these two made me insane back in the day because I still didn't understand I was queer and lots of sapphic couple were starting to appear in media, and I remember jokingly say how "lesbian ships were hauting me". All I can say now is "Thank you" lol. Anyway, they were incredibly important and all the people criticizing how little queerness there's in the show will never understand just how massive this scene was.

Catradora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Friends to Enemies to back to Friends to Lovers. Iconic. I still want a movie with their adventures bringing magic back to the universe.

Hollstein (Carmilla)

My third beloved blonde with a cat gf ship. I miss this web-series every day. Also, Natasha Negovanlis played an immense role in my gay awakening.

Ellie and Riley (The Last of Us: Left Behind)

Ellie and Dina are adorable and I love them, BUT I just will never get over these two. That dlc fucked me up. (also, they're in the same category with Korrasami as "gay ships that hauted me before I realized I was queer" lol)

Lumity (The Owl House)

I remember starting this show feeling it as the successor of Steven Universe, at least to me. We could say that at level of mistreatment from its parent company, it defenitely surpassed it, but at least I'm glad I was right and we got Luz and Amity becoming canon. I love these two and not a day passes without me yelling at Disney for what it did to them.

Bubbline (Adventure Time)

I actually watched Adventure Time fully only recently, but I always loved them even when I watched the show randomly when it appeared in tv back in the day. Getting to see the progression properly just made me love them even more.

Yasammy (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory)

Incredibly recent addition, but I am so glad that I checked out Camp Cretaceous and got into it. It's a nice show and these two are a really cute couple, their confession and especially Yaz's internal turmoil were just so on point. I was really happy to see them go still strong in Chaos Theory, and I can't wait for next season.

Pricefield (Life is Strange)

These two caused me pain in the best possible way. I felt literal heartbreak at the Bay Ending, and I was just as emotional at the Bae one (Bae > Bay Forever) I hope the new game will respect their relationship OR ELSE.

Wow, this is quite the list. I do have an amazing taste, if I do say so myself, ahah!

Well, I guess this is it for now, glad I could make it before Pride Month was over! Knowing myself I might have actually forgotten some though, so keep an eye out for possible updates (what makes me even think that you'd care? lol).

That would be all, be gay and do crimes! Bye!

[dangermousie]

A danmei lover's biased and incomplete het web novel rec list

@mercipourleslivres thanks for inspiring me!

When it comes to Chinese web novels, I mainly read danmei. I tend not to care too much for OP heroine with a hero who dotes on her for no reason as she fights with 14 year olds narratives, nor inner courtyard fights. BUT!!! There are some het web novels I like and so here is my biased and incomplete rec list. Most of these don't have OP heroines, and very little to none courtyard fights.

Before I start, my favorite het web novel authors are: Gong Xinwen, Mo Shu Bai, Peng Lai Ke, and Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. I have yet to read anything bad by them.

Anyway, rec list:

1000 Miles of Bright Moonlight - one of my ultimate favorites, this would make such an epic drama! A smart as hell heroine, a hero who is a monk and a warrior (but also terminally?) ill and such a vivid world and amazing secondary characters (heroine’s brother is possibly my favorite supporting character of all time) and so much angst and happy ending. This has an amazing romance but it’s not romance-centric if it makes sense - ML doesn’t appear for a while. But once he does, it’s worth it!

Accompanying the Phoenix - the one that just got adapted into The Legend of Shen Li, this is high adventure and cottage core and funny and tragic and powerful ML being putty in the hands of capable FL and just EVERYTHING.

Apocalypse Arrival - Gong Xinwen’s novels are made just for me. Her heroines are always powerful as fuck and rescue abused MLs. In this novel, our heroine who lives in the post-apocalyptic world, wakes up right before that apocalypse happens. She forms a survival crew and also rescues ML who has miraculous blood and has been drained of it and is now hunted after the rescue for it. SO GOOD!!!

Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script - so fucked up, so good, with monster hero who learns to love and be human and heroine who learns to love and be human (but from the other side, her tower of perfection.) Much better than the drama which I did enjoy.

The Blue Whisper - the drama was so-so, but the novel is a bona fide angst masterpiece, which really delves into what it feels like to be imprisoned or to love.

Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid - I remember starting this and loving the realistic feel and the heroine and wanting to stab the hero and @mercipourleslivres telling me to be patient. She was right, by the end I was on board with both the hero (who was abused and is rather autistic-coded) and the OTP. Anyway, heroine is a servant who was a concubine in the last life and got killed as part of a rich family’s harem intrigues. In this life, she just wants to keep her head down but her life gets derailed anyway. She gets sold away and eventually made a servant in the household of an exiled prince who takes a fancy to her and she endures it because what choice does she have? All she wanted was to serve out her term and become a small time merchant. This is quite realistic about lack of options for women, especially lower class women or upper class male attitudes (ML is never vicious or mean to FL but it does not initially occur to him to wonder if she fancies him or enjoys being his concubine or w/e.) It is a DELIGHTFUL slow burn tho as they grow to love each other and grow together and become one of the most wholesome cnovel couples out there.

Dandere General and His Lord - hi there, Gong Xinwen! God, I love this one. Heroine transmigrates from modern world into a brutal slave-holding world at war (think something like Warring States era.) Our heroine transmigrates into the body of a noblewoman who just hung herself. When she comes to, she discovers that woman’s twin brother was the ruler of a city poisoned by a rival claimant and the besieging army of said claimant is about to take the city and original occupant of the body and the rest of the family chose suicide as a way to avoid dishonor. Our heroine refuses, schemes with advisors to pass as the brother and rally the troops. Once the invaders are defeated, she keeps on the masquerade and rides off to one of the never-ending wars “she” is summoned to. Our hero couldn’t be farther from this. A slave and a son of a slave, he’s escaped a horrific, starving childhood during which he narrowly avoided being murdered or raped, and ended up in the army. When the story opens, he distinguished himself in battle and as a reward, he and a few of his fellow slave warriors are invited to a banquet, where they are given some alcohol and to be playthings of any nobles who want them. One of them does not survive this but ML is lucky - heroine feels terrible and so “claims” him for herself. Instead she just tends to his wounds and sends him back. She does not fancy him or anything, she is just a human being with a conscience. And the story goes from there.

Demon King's Repayment - another delicious Gong Xinwen tale with a powerful ML dedicated to capable FL. This one is a great fantasy plot (I keep imagining it as an animated series) and a sprawling cast of amazing secondaries (and secondary OTPs - there is, I swear, an OTP that is Dong Hua x Feng Jiu done thru GXW lens) to boot.

Doomed to Be Cannon Fodder - I hesitated to put this one on the list because by the end I was not keen on how misogynistic novel got to original female lead but it was one of my earliest novels and I loved it for 90% and it’s fucking hilarious at times. Heroine transmigrates as bit villainess into a novel, all she wants is not to die, but her new attitude of “pls stay away” catches the attention of her terrifying general husband. Honestly, imo still worth it.

Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir - my n1 novel on this list, smart and fierce and don’t really read this for romance because it does not start until really late, but ice cold heroine x ice cold hero both of equal brains and ruthlessness is everything. I went from loathing the ML to finding him fascinating to adoring him (and yet he softened around the edges only for FL, he never became “nice”) and loved FL throughout; secondaries are epic. If you read only one non-danmei web novel, make it this one.

The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl - my n2 novel on this list. Our heroine is the unlucky laundry maid A’Chou. She is a di daughter of an upperclass family but her family got destroyed in one of the political upheavals of the time and A’Chou, only a small child at the time, was the only survivor and was made an enslaved laundry maid. Due to various events, at the start of the novel she is a laundry maid in a minister’s household and the minister’s beloved daughter is having a fit because she’s supposed to marry the former Crown Prince which may have been great a few years back but Crown Prince had since been deposed, tortured, imprisoned and now is living in the middle of nowhere under conditions that are too meager to be called house arrest. And he’s seriously crippled too. Understandably, the young lady doesn’t want to marry him! She’d rather kill herself and so she does. And so, a desperate plan is hatched - why don’t we pretend the laundry maid is the di daughter of the minister’s household and send her off? And so A’Chu is sent as the bride. She arrives to discover a broke, seriously injured man on the verge of death…and we go from there. This is so gorgeous and tender and slow in just the right way and like AAAAAA! Secondary OTPs (one of which is MM) are also epic.

Futu Tower - the drama (Unchained Love) was a mess but the novel is such a lovely, dark exploration of coming back to life, for the ML from his dark revenge-strewn path and for heroine from not being allowed wishes of her own. She is a tribute bride, he’s a (fake) eunuch, they are both servants who use themselves to achieve goals and find peace and happiness together.

The Grand Princess - a tale where both members of the OTP reincarnate as their younger selves after killing each other in their 50s, and get a new start, this is smart and slow and so good in portraying old souls in young bodies. Their rediscovery of not just each other but themselves and their passion for living is just AAAAAA!

Heroine Saves Gentleman - Gong Xinwen novel so we have a tough martial artist lady saving a very upper class scholar and it goes from there. If elegant gorgeous ML being saved and protected (and lovingly dommed) by awesome FL is your bag, pls come right in.

Husband Be a Gentleman - schemer meet schemer. He’s an idle prince she’s perfect daughter, in reality both are wolves out for blood. Mmmm. Very OTP gets together early and is us against the world.

I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister in Law - one of my all time favorite novels. Heroine is made to marry a disabled nephew of the emperor. He used to be a victorious god of war but went mad and now is basically locked away and kept as a beast. GOD I LOVE THIS NOVEL SO MUCHHHHH! So much hurt/comfort and awesome OTP and after he eventually recovers, all he wants to do is to fight and murder things and dote on wifey. MMM. He’s honestly one of my fave MLs.

I Married a Disabled Tyrant After Transmigrating - if you have a Florence Nightingale complex, this is for you. Heroine wakes up as tribute bride to an almost dead dragon lord and slowly nurses him back to life as his rivals try to murder him. They are both utter adorable babies!

Let the Villain Go - another Gong Xinwen novel, this and Apocalypse Arrivals are AUs of each other. Heroine is surviving in the apocalypse, ML is the “bugbear” of the world but in reality just reacting to all abuse and torture and after she accidentally saves him, devotes himself. Fun fun fun!

Long Wind Crossing - Amazing ML and FL who grow together, clever plot, arranged marriage to love etc etc. Oh, and one point he feeds her his blood to keep her alive, what’s not to love? (Adapted into Chang Feng Du/Destined)

Lost You Forever - this is a short but delicately wistful tale of trauma and loss and love, wrapped in a high fantasy setting but so relatable despite it.

Love In Another Life: My Gentle Tyrant - so so fucked up in the best way! ML cannot live with OR without heroine. It opens on them banging in jail night before her execution (ordered by him) with corpses of men he killed for trying to defile her cooling nearby. If you want healthy relationships with respectful boundaries, gentle and considerate male leads who are modern men in period clothes, OP heroines who have everyone help them and are OP to the max, fluff and wholesomeness, that is about the worst book for you.If you want complexity, dysfunction, darkness, pain and an absolutely lyrical even if fucked up story, come right IN!!!!I am so fucking in love with the melancholy heroine, with ruthless psycho hero and the endless regret and devotion and paaaaain!

The Marquis Is Innocent - our heroine is a beautiful woman married to a warlord who hates her family. (Yes, this was gonna be The Prisoner of Beauty until SZE tax scandal.) Except she's a transmigrator from the future who knows how it ended last time around and has no interest to end up this tragically. This is in my top 5 - FL is smart but believably so (and doesn't have super battle powers) and ML is a believable period warlord. The way their relationship develops so gradually and the way his character changes so gradually as well (and the way they slowly fall in love, her slower than him) is just amazing. It is such a smart, nuanced, gorgeous slow burn. With some gonzo sex scenes :P

Mulberry Song - you like tragic endings? Come right IN! This is short and heartbreaking and wistful and very what-if.

Nightfall (Ever Night) - so long but also so smart and unusual and bloody and tho it’s not primarily a romance, you will never see another ML who loves his FL as much as Ning Que does his Sang Sang. 

Offering Salted Fish to Master - in some ways, this novel is a mess, but I am recommending it because this is a rare example of "nope he's 100% a villain and murderdude and odd, but he does love the heroine" that the author commits to.

Pihanjin - yet another awesome PLK novel, this is once again, like with Marquis, a ruthless man and a beautiful woman getting a second chance on a second go-around. FL is a lot more wounded this time around though. If you LOVE watching ML grovel and slowly, gradually win FL over, this one is for you.

Princess Agents - a dark tale with an incredibly competent and militarily powerful/ruthless heroine and two terrifying men who love her (but neither is as terrifying as she is.) There is an OTP switch halfway through that shockingly makes sense and it's just SO SO GOOOOOOOD

Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage - this is probably the one “typical” novel on this list, heroine is reborn as her youngest self and gets revenge on those who wronged her last time around. It is really really well-written and heroine is competent, hero is doting and powerful etc. It’s not a trope I tend to love but I do when it’s done THIS well.

Rebirth of the Tyrant’s Pet: Regent Prince is Too Fierce: Borgias cnovel style! Our heroine was empress in last life and put her husband on the throne tho he did not love her. However, he had her executed and had his half-brother carry out the orders and heroine died horrifically. She opens her eyes and she’s a little girl again. The OTP this time around is heroine and half-brother executioner. Why do I love it? Heroine is smart and tough but also this is a rare rebirth novel where heroine does NOT decide to seek revenge for past life wrongs because they haven’t happened yet! In fact, she sees ML abused and stands up for him because he’s a kid and no kid should be mistreated and this go around he hasn’t done anything wrong. She also gets and likes her former life husband. Anyway, this is fakecest galore because she’s supposed to be their half-sister and while she knows (from past life) she is not, they do not and fall for her anyway. ML is especially gonzo, at one point carving chunks of his flesh to save her. He’s feral and unhinged and she’s the one person he worships because she protected him and like - it’s all awesome. (I love secondary ML too.)

Reborn to Love Lord Qiansui - yes, this is a eunuch novel! If you like gender tropes reversals, this one is for you. Heroine is a tough martial artist, hero is a smart as hell and powerful eunuch. A real eunuch. Heroine finds out she owes him her life and decides to protect him. This is a total delight and an awesome love story between two really scarred people. And yes, there is sex - heroine literally reads manuals on pegging :P

Return of the Swallow - so freaking long! But really good. Heroine is neither transmigrator nor reincarnator, just a smart period woman. She is a lost family daughter taken back in. Her father is a minister in a dying empire (father-daughter relationship is one of the best things in this novel), her OTP is enemy general, and the smartness and the awesomeness of this all knows no bounds.

Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes - probably the wackiest JLFX novel I read, this is quite different from Love You Seven Times drama that was adapted from it. Our deity protagonists go through a bunch of lives figuring out they fancy each other. It's light like a souffle but just as delicious.

To Be a Virtuous Wife - some people prefer 8 treasures trousseau but I never warmed up to that one. This one is so good, with smart people (who actually enjoy sex, a ratity) and a perfect mix of plot and romance.

Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - my very first web novel. A lot lighter than a lot of the ones on this list but a total delight. Heroine transmigrates into a novel as the heroine; she has no interest in drama or chasing true love, she just wants to live a nice life with her nice husband. Too bad for her, her husband has reincarnated into his younger self and remembers how she betrayed him, so is not interested. This one is funny and light and romance doesn’t start till late on but a total delight!

Wishing You Eternal Happiness - this is tied with Dreamer as my favorite het web novel ever though it couldn’t be more different from Dreamer, with its hard-edged and hard-souled protagonists ruthlessly cleaving their way to the world and, eventually, each other, its smart cynical air. Except in one thing - the world of Wishing is just as bloody and dark. Its two protagonists are gentle, deeply wounded souls who may find salvation in each other but even something as basic as safety almost seems out of reach.

Jliafu, our heroine, is neither a modern-day transmigrator, nor some exotic princess or demoness. She is very much a period woman of her time, from a weathy merchant clan, whose beauty is her curse. You can tell the novel’s tone from that utterly bleak opening chapter where she, a favorite concubine of a capricious dying emperor, is ordered to be buried alive with him and is not even given the “grace” of white silk but slowly suffocates in the coffin, scrabbling at the lid. There is no grand threats of vengeance on her part, not dramatic opera events. Just despair and death. The whole introductory chapter is haunted by emotional ghosts - the empress’ unrequited love for the monster on the imperial bed (turning into desire for Jiafu’s suffering after he dies), the emperor slowly dying in his prime after waging too many wars, and his fear of being haunted by Pei Youan, a brilliant if sickly minister who died of illness long ago on one of imperial campaigns. There is no triumph for anyone, only loss.

When she wakes up as still a young woman, all she wants is to escape the same fate. There are no plans for power or revenge, only a desire for survival. And so she latches on asking for help from Pei Youan, the only man in her past go-around who showed any consideration and desire and ability to protect her, though he barely knew her. Pei Youan is probably my favorite het web novel ML. Despite his brains and ability, he drifts through life. In modern terms, he clearly has depression. One of the biggest, best joys of the novel is watching these two very good, very quiet, very wounded people discover happiness and love with each other. I sort of want to cry just thinking about it, tbh.

The Yandere Came During the Night - a bit of fluff that’s oddly delightful. Heroine is reborn as a (fake) sister of ML, she hurts her legs saving him and the “siblings” form a bond that ends up in fakecest delight. They are both smart and efficient and he becomes a sexy marquis etc.

[kdramaxoxo]

Hit me with your best loser boyfriends who support their gfs through and through like sunjae from lovely runner or ji hyuk from marry my husband

Himbos and Beta Males for the WIN!

K-dramas with super sweet, totally dedicated and maybe not the most intellectual of men.

When The Camellia Blooms (Honestly this drama was underrated! The couple is adorable but it's also a really really great drama!)

Dali And The Cocky Prince (I'm actually rewatching this one as we speak. The villains are super annoying but what else is new. Moo Hak LOVES Dali and basically would follow her to the ends of the earth trying to understand art and failing lol. )

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale (this short little drama is airing now and literally no one is watching it. It starts off a bit iffy but overall it's super fun. The lead is a literal unhinged idiot who is in love with the FL but cannot admit it. He'll do anything for her and is constantly trying to rescue her but also....So SO Very Cute And Dumb.)

Boys Be Brave! (this bl features maybe one of the cutest himbos ever. This poor sweet kid will do anything to get the attention of the boy he likes (including a tattoo) and he's not even sure he likes him? This drama was great at the beginning and just ok at the end but the couple was very cute.

Run On (we all know I LOVE this drama!!! The second ML is my bias wrecker for this role. He's a happy go lucky, super funny and cute softy who falls for a CEO and never lets up.)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (see a theme?? KANG TAE OH! He's not a himbo tho cause he's very smart. Whatever he belongs in this list!!)

Shopping King Louie (One of the favorite k-dramas, a spoiled rich kid with amnesia moves into a small apartment with the only person who can take care of him. SOOOOOO CUTE.)

The Happy Loner (this short little k-drama featuring a little puppy boy was actually really really great! It's only 2 episodes so I don't need to say the plot, you can just watch it! ;-)

Hogu's Love: (Another one of my favorites, Hogu is literally the cutest softest bean just trying to make it in the world and help his love take care of her baby.)

King The Land (I don't think Junho's character is dumb at work but he's really very dumb with love so it's excellent to see the chemistry. Also, people complained that there wasn't much plot but if you want a sweet and funny rom com with TONS of skinship, kisses and a man who wants to quit his job to help his girlfriend...this is it.)

He is Pyschometric (a poor babygirl who has psychic powers and falls for a cop. I really loved this drama even tho I'm mad about One Thing.)

Fight for My Way (This himbo isn't obsessed with the FL until he realizes his feelings but after that? GAME OVER)

Extraordinary You (We all know the leads are OTP for me. Haru is recognized by Eun Dan Oh and follows her everywhere. He's soft and quiet and is he smart??? Unclear :P)

Enjoy the SOFT!

[gavillain]

I was talking with @marciabrady the other night about ships and the aesthetics of our favorite couples, and it made me really want to do a break down of one of my obscure crossover OTPs:

Grimhilde/Cruella, a.k.a. EvilPuppies!

Because I feel like Grimhilde/Cruella, out of all my ships, looks the most like crack at first glance, but there is so much more to it than just sticking two random Disney Villains together.

So, first and foremost, I started shipping them because of Kingdom Keepers Book IV, Power Play:

Despite the fact that Frollo is on the cover of the book and was the heavily promoted new Overtaker before the release of the novel, the main villains of the novel are actually Grimhilde and Cruella. The premise is that after Maleficent and Chernabog were captured at the end of the previous book, the Disney Villains who are trying to take over the parks have had to take on new leadership to get Maleficent and Chernabog out of Imagineer-prison. Grimhilde is the next in the chain of command, so she's in charge and has Cruella De Vil as her companion who follows her everywhere. They are ALWAYS together in the book, and Cruella, naturally, has a very flirty and complimentary demeanor towards Grimhilde that the Queen naturally just adores. Their chemistry is great, and there is even one part where the main hero finds the two of them asleep together on an air mattress and a bundle of furs (it makes sense in context) and, well... yeah XD The novel really glued the two of them together in my head.

And that togetherness, as you can see above, blends over into the parks. Grimhilde and Cruella are the only two main Disney Villainesses who are out with some regularity as face characters in Disneyland. All of the villains in the Disney Parks have a familiarity with each other, and you can get similar gal pal dynamics with them and Maleficent (and Lady Tremaine) around Halloween time. However, because Grimhilde and Cruella are out together for so much of the year, they tend to carry the brunt of that sort of "evil besties" friendship, leading to cute photo op moments like this...

So Disney is already doing a lot of the leg work to make them come across as girlfriends and to give them chemistry and a ship dynamic. However, if that was all there was to it, I probably wouldn't love this ship as much as I do. I need that interesting and thought through layer of shipping, and thankfully, these two have it in spades.

So, despite being from different time periods and wildly different worlds, Grimhilde and Cruella are aristocrats through and through. Grimhilde is literally royalty, and Cruella an over-financed heiress to the remnants of England's aristocracy (and she's the head of a corporate fashion empire in the Glenn Close movies). The House of De Vil dates back to medieval times, and evidence of that extensive and wealthy history is littered all around Cruella's mansion.

Cruella is in essence, the remnants of an old world that no longer exists, one of royalty and station that Grimhilde herself was a part of, and though the times have changed, Cruella keeps that class and regality alive. In that way, I think it blends perfectly with her taking on a lover who is quite literally OF that time period, and it also helps tie Grimhilde in with the modern world, giving Grimhilde a sort of immortality and transcendence that I think she'd very much value with her desire to be eternally young and beautiful. And, along those same lines, they are both very strong examples of matriarchal authority and power with Cruella bemoaning the uselessness of men and the pitfalls of women losing themselves to marriage, whilst Grimhilde murdered her own husband in order to reign alone without a man over her. They fundamentally get the sort of twisted villainous feminism that they are peddling.

Next is the themes of beauty and glamor. These are two women who are fundamentally motivated by vanity - Cruella wants to design her original Dalmatian puppy coat and stun the art world with her ruthless originality whilst Grimhilde wants to kill her stepdaughter so that she can reign as the Fairest One of All. For them, beauty and aesthetics are absolute, and they share a willingness to buy their glamorous ambitions with the blood of the innocent. They would fundamentally GET each other in that regard. However, and this is important, they GET that same motivation for vanity, but they don't COMPETE with each other. Cruella is a pretty woman, but she's older and she's a chain smoker whose habits have caused her to become a bit emaciated. She's beautiful in her own way, but she's never going to rival Grimhilde as the Fairest One of All. Likewise, though Grimhilde has extravagant fashions and jewelry, she's not setting out to be at the forefront of clothing design and art. She would certainly WEAR outfits Cruella designed for her, but she wouldn't want to supplant Cruella either. They're going to make the world kneel before their beauty, but they're going to compliment each other rather than rival each other or have to set aside their vanities for each other.

Then one of the big important elements that makes this ship appeal to me so much is the motif of DUALITY. Cruella is noteworthy for her hair that is half-black and half-white. It's her signature style, she's well known for it, it ties in with the black and white dogs, and it ties in with how she has her likable and admirable public face but also her sinister and dark side that the rest of the world doesn't see. Grimhilde also has the duality motif. Hell, she has BLACK HAIR as the Queen and WHITE hair as the hag, and the whole black and white motif shows up in her potions ("Black of Night" and "To Whiten My Hair, a Scream of Fright"). Grimhilde literally has two faces and two forms. She is two villainesses in one, which is such a tasty match for the woman with infamously two-toned hair. And what I like about that too is that Cruella BLENDS with both the Queen and the Hag. With the queen, she has the aristocratic and blue blood regality and beauty that I mentioned before, but with the hag, she has the cackling maniacal bloodthirsty side that would have an absolute riot bringing death to innocents. It's so symbolic, and they're the only Disney villains who have that duality motif in that fashion.

And the fact that they have all of these interesting parallels and motifs while also being from two different worlds and two different time periods (medieval and modern) is a lot of fun purely from a crossover perspective but also as ANOTHER manifestation of their duality motif! And THAT is the type of tasty shipping fuel that I LIVE for!

So with Grimhilde and Cruella being of two different time periods, they also simultaneously coexist in one time period. Cruella in the original animated film may have been released in the 1960s, but her animator, Marc Davis, designed her to be a throwback to the old Hollywood glamor of the 1930s. Most specifically Tallulah Bankhead...

And Marlene Dietrich...

Cruella is pure Old Hollywood 1930s glamor trapped in a late 50s/early 60s modern domestic setting. And you know whose movie was made in the 1930s and has a very 1930s cultural aesthetic to it?

And Grimhilde herself is designed based on ANOTHER 1930s film villainess, She (Who Must Be Obeyed):

A movie that was famous for its Art Deco sets, and Art Deco is one of the main aesthetic motifs attributed to Cruella in the Glenn Close movies. So stylistically speaking, the two of them despite coming from different time periods and different worlds coexist in a way that is very old Hollywood. And with that combined link to the 30s, it helps the two of them to coexist peacefully and harmoniously in the same time period. They meet in this glamorous and mythologized liminal space. Heck, with Cruella's aesthetic links to the 1930s, I personally headcanon that she grew up absolutely obsessed with old Hollywood and making a concentrated effort to emulate that energy in her own style. Since Grimhilde is kind of an Old Hollywood character come to life, it's almost like Cruella can be a fangirl of something that she's admired for her whole life when she gets with Grimhilde, and you know Grimhilde is gonna LOVE that attention.

In addition, I personally like to be very cognizant about my ships with regards to what the individual character is going to look for in terms of a romantic partner and why the character that I've chosen for them suits that specific need. With Grimhilde, we know that she was married to Snow White's father and that she killed him, so we know that she didn't have any real love for that man, possibly any man. She rules over her kingdom alone and doesn't want anyone to rule beside her. In the Snow White comics and deleted scenes from the film, she showcases a sort of romantic rivalry for Prince Florian, but her affections for him are never about wanting an equal. She wants him because he is young and handsome and compliments her beauty and elevates her image in a way that helps give her more power through her beauty. So for Grimhilde, she needs a lover who can fill that niche - not someone to rival her or rule beside her, but someone who can be a perfect accessory to her beauty. Cruella being all about fashion and style is absolutely that person. She's very cognizant of appearances and what can accentuate or take away from beauty and aesthetics. That inherent utility to their relationship means that it would be something that Grimhilde would be open to indulging, and from there deeper feelings can develop under the right circumstances in a way that they wouldn't without having that utility first.

So that's Grimhilde's side of things. But what about Cruella? Well, we see Cruella's relation with love mostly revolving around this sort of one sided attraction that she has to Anita. And at first glance that seems contradictory to her getting with the queen, because Cruella is obviously going after a dainty and demure woman who she can kind of steamroll and collect as another fashion accessory. However, I think what makes this work so well is that it really showcases that Cruella has an attraction to traditional feminine beauty and women in general, and Grimhilde is of course is the fairest woman of all. The Glen Close movie adds an interesting dynamic to Cruella's attraction to Anita in that she enjoys the creative interaction that she has with Anita. Never really noticed Anita until the two of them started to collaborate creatively, and I feel like that's a big thing that Cruella needs and wants in a partner, someone who engages that creative side of her brain and understands her drive for aesthetics and beauty. And, as previously stated, who better to do that than the Queen of beauty herself? Grimhilde is a perfect model of unlimited dramatic creativity wrapped in a feminine and beautiful package that would set Cruella's heart ablaze.

Together the two of them fulfill that perfect niche for each other and foster a creative, beautiful, and bloodthirsty ruthless energy that would make them feel seen and supported. They effectively create their own little world of 1930s fantasy glamor when they come together, and that's just beautiful to me.

Those are the biggies, but some other really fun pieces of shipping fuel: *I love the aesthetic they have with them both being tall women with dramatic almost drag queen makeup and outfits that have tones of black, white, and red in their own signature styles. And Cruella has the flowing fur coat with the red liner and Grimhilde has the flowing cape with the red liner and so they can be very flouncy and twirly with their styles. *Grimhilde keeps a royal huntsman who can kill all of the animals for Cruella whenever she wants. *They both have similar structures to their stories - they start out on friendly or familial terms with the protagonists before they show their true colors, then they entrust men to kill the innocent creatures needed to enact their plan but those men fail them, forcing Grimhilde and Cruella to take matters into their own hands, and then the finales showcase them both transforming into frightening demented versions of themselves (old hag and crazy demon eyes Cruella during the car chase) madly pursuing their goals until they ultimate bring about their own defeats by the environment turning against them *Cruella has the green smoke of her cigarette which echoes the green and smoke of the Magic Mirror, and also Cruella's chain smoking being a sort of poison in and of itself links back nicely to Grimhilde's literal poisons. *OUAT gives Cruella magic powers and ties to the Author, and Grimhilde also has magic powers and is a literal storybook villain.

So, yes, at first glance, EvilPuppies may seem like just a crackship, but it's really not. There is SO much here in both their canon interactions and in their numerous parallels, and there are honestly probably even more that I'm forgetting. They are the crowning queens of femslash for me for good reason, and I adore them, darlings!

[ineffablebookgirl]

I thought this ask from @Kedreeva was about mouse blorbos at first glance, and so did my friend who I sent it to (who is into rodents, I sent it for rodent reasons), and so naturally we went down a rabbit hole of the Best Mouse Ships and now I'm making it into a poll. Pictures and explanations below.

Mickey & Minnie

Bernard & Bianca

Chip & Dale

I know they're not mice, but my friend and I agrees they are an iconic rodent queer couple / QPR and they had to be included.

Pinky & The Brain

Does this count as the cranky one is soft for the sunshine one, or moron4moron?

Jacques & Gus

Basil of Baker Street & Dr. David Q. Dawson

The Johnlock of the rodent world.

Father Sexton & Mother Mouse

Potential ace power-couple?

Roquefort the Mouse & his Cookie

Ratatouille & Linguini

[bringbacktentoo]

“Rose is actually happy in a parallel universe with a half-human Doctor.” - Russell T. Davies

Hello, Whovians — we’re excited to announce the #BringBackTentoo movement!

Sign the petition

In July 2008, millions of viewers tuned in to watch ‘Journey’s End’; where the Doctor and Rose were left hand-in-hand on Bad Wolf Bay.

While fandom has remained active, continuing to generate endless works inspired by this iconic pairing, there's sadly been little official content from the people who launched the ship!

Nonetheless, our devotion remains unwavering. We persist, loving the OTP; ceaselessly spreading love and fan-made content worldwide!

The purpose of this movement is to show there is still an audience that is very interested in revisiting these two. One that would love to see the Doctor and Rose together again, on-screen or off, living their best lives in Pete’s World. 

Regardless of whether it’s a spin-off, comics, audio adventures, or — and this, we believe, is crucial — anything at all, we would just love to have them back in some way. We’ve realized that perhaps there hasn’t been enough collective buzz to bring this into reality, which is why we’re looking to rally up as much support as we can.

Already with us? Sign the petition! Our petition will be emailed directly to the powers that be; including Russell T Davies, Big Finish, the BBC, and more.

Have questions? Doubts? Need a little more convincing? Then read on…

Why now?

Because there’s never been a more perfect time for it. 

Already, Russell’s return has been bringing former fans back in droves. Everyone’s waiting with bated breath for RTD2 and the sixtieth anniversary; plus Ncuti, David, and Catherine. With so many fans dipping back into the Doctor Who world, why not strike while the iron’s hot? 

At the fifteen-year mark, it might never be this “hot” again!

Plus… nostalgia is a massive market.

A return of Tentoo and Rose after all of these years would be the perfect cherry on top of all of it: closure for so many fans, as well as validation for the only happy ending a Doctor-and-companion pairing ever got in Doctor Who.

And don’t forget — fan campaigns work, especially in the social media age!

A spin-off — too much? 

As much as we’d love to see David and Billie back on-screen together as the proper Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose, we understand that we already have David coming back in a big way, as well as Ncuti Gatwa — our brand new Doctor. It’s a big, BIG ask, trying to get a spin-off out of this. We recognize that.

However, as famished fans who are living off of little more than canonical crumbs and dreams, we will greedily devour anything we can get.

Such as:

More Big Finish audio adventures

Big Finish has done incredible work for Doctor Who, including one of the only official ‘glimpses’ we’ve gotten into Pete’s World: A couple of short audios featuring Tentoo and Jackie.

Big Finish understands and respects these characters, their relationships, and the overall source material. They’ve shown time and time again that they’re more than capable of doing justice to Doctor Who! 

Audio adventures with a focus on the Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose Tyler would be fantastic. Anything from their adventures with Torchwood and/or UNIT, imaginings of their life with a TARDIS, etc — there are endless possibilities! 

Comic book adventures

In 2021, Titan Comics published ‘Empire of the Wolf’, a lovely comic book that gifted us with the best glimpse we’ve ever had into the lives of the Doctor and Rose in Pete’s World:

It was a beautiful, if brief imagining of these two (and includes their daughter), but even so, the vast majority of the story involves Rose being trapped with the Eighth and Eleventh Doctors. We only get a few pages of Tentoo. 

Comics would be an excellent way to dive into the parallel world again!

Novels

There are loads of Doctor Who novels with amazing stories about Rose and the Tenth Doctor (like 'The Stone Rose' by Jacqueline Rayner). But, here's the thing: there's just one official novel that dives into the whole Metacrisis and Rose relationship... And guess what? Fans are really craving content that stays true to RTD and Julie Gardner's original vision for this couple.

The good news is, there are tons of talented writers out there who would jump at the chance to create legit Meta-Crisis stories, and some would even do it for free!

An animated series

We recognize that this would be a tremendous undertaking, but imagine: You can do incredible things with animation that aren’t possible with film. It would appeal to fans of all ages, and Billie and David have more than proven themselves to be excellent voice actors. There are all sorts of stories that could be created in this medium.

But let’s say we went with the first choice…

A spin-off/miniseries

RTD has been very vocal about his plans for spin-offs. Billie and David are willing, and it hasn’t been so long that the pairing has lost relevance… Although, in Doctor Who, does anything ever really lose relevance? The show is known for bringing back old characters. Enemies, companions… Doctors:

It’s obvious that David seems to have no issue with playing the Doctor. Furthermore, even Billie Piper has recently expressed interest in a spin-off!

In 2019, she told Doctor Who magazine: 

“I would like to see a one-off dark comedy about Rose and the Doctor in the parallel universe”. 

Then, even more recently in December 2022, she told Buzzfeed [on returning to Doctor Who]:

“If it was like four episodes all shot in London, then yeah, I’d be like a rat-up-a-drainpipe for that.”

Four episodes of Tentoo and Rose in London? What could be more perfect than that?

Wouldn’t a spin-off overshadow Ncuti Gatwa?

It doesn’t have to! If a spin-off were to happen, it wouldn’t necessarily have to happen immediately — it can happen after Ncuti has been established as the Doctor, and after RTD has re-established himself as showrunner. We’d just like for it to be part of the conversation, and let those in charge know that people are interested.

So… What about the people who didn’t like the ending?

Yes, there are some naysayers out there. People who refuse to acknowledge Tentoo’s legitimacy as the Doctor; others who refuse to believe that Rose could ever be truly happy with him, and vice versa.

This, sadly, is willful ignorance. Not only has Russell T. Davies, the man who wrote Journey’s End — who created Tentoo and Rose — confirmed that they're happy; the Doctor himself, David Tennant, will be the first person to tell you that those two are blissfully shagging their lives away at all times. And god bless him for it.

We’ve come to find that a lot of people who aren’t on board with the ending just didn’t understand it, which is fine — what better way to understand this pairing than by seeing more of them? 

On that note…

How can I help? 

Sign the petition!

Petitions are old school, but they are proven to be effective at affecting change, even in today’s world. We can preach to the ends of the earth about how much we want to bring these two back, but without numbers to back it up, the prospect is null and void. 

Don’t just like this post — please reblog!

This is a grassroots effort that is counting on the power of fans to help spread the word. Unlike most social media platforms, there is no algorithm on Tumblr. Likes do nothing for visibility, so please reblog to make sure as many people see this as possible! 

Participate in Tentoo x Rose Month

This is a multi-medium fan event for creating content of the OTP throughout all of July! All works will be featured on the @tentoorosemonth2023 page, with certain works even shared on the BringBackTentoo Instagram.

Buy the already-existing content

If you haven’t already, buy the ‘Empire of the Wolf’ comic. Buy the Big Finish audios ‘The Siege of Big Ben’ and ‘Flight Into Hull!’. Show these fantastic creators that we will gladly consume any content about these two that we can get!

Spread the word

Know anyone who likes Doctor Who? Any former fandom friends who might’ve outgrown all of this, but would enjoy more Tentoo/Rose content? Or maybe even just a random IRL friend who supports your obsessions? Link them to the petition!

Join the movement by following this page and our Instagram (which is brand new, give it time to grow ♥️). Keep on creating content, using #BringBackTentoo to tag any of your fanart, well-wishes, or whatever you like across platforms — just please be sure to keep it positive!

Feel free to DM/ask if you have any other questions, concerns, or ideas that weren’t touched upon in this post. 

And please, for goodness' sake, be kind. This is a labor of love inspired by passionate fans and creators who just want to see our OTP again. ♥️

[silviakundera]

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact Ep 1-3

I love me some xanxia, so I'm jumping in. I've been PROMISED a happy ending so there had better be. Don't fuck with me cdrama!!!!

Anti-human fox spirit clan ruled by 3 terrifying women, I like them already

The scene of calculation of costs to raise a human child 😂😭

He's the descendant of a Dongfang clan who have extra special spiritual blood... as dangermousie has so eloquently argued: magical girl!! \o/

I don't really get what anyone's deal is in this drama, like why the different factions hate each other and the significance of the Grief Tree and why anyone other than the foxes care about it.... But that's standard for me with xanxia. I don't try too hard to work out the details & don't really worry about it. Xanxia is supposed to be pretty & have fantastical VIBES & I want the main couple to have a happy ending. Making plot coherent sense is a bonus, not a requirement.

Very much enjoying Gong Jun as the Extra Special™ orphan human raised among fox spirits, playing straight all the standard tropes regardless of gender. Makes everything fresh & fun.

His obvious crush on the 1,000 year old fox clan leader makes sense (anyone in his position would!). She's gorgeous, powerful, and is his benefactor. Distanced enough that she would have been perfect 'safe' crush material as a kid... But now he's all grow up

As an immortal fox, the 16 years this human child spent in their clan must have felt a blip in time. So it also makes sense she still doesn't quite understand him. It may have been the majority of his existence, but it's less than 2% of her lifespan so far. If we apply that timeframe to a human life, it's about 1 and a half days. 💁

FL sets up ML to be able to have a cathartic murder party with his parents' killers, even assigning some to stall them in a appropriately whimsical fairy manner. Crush worthy.

Him walking around all bloodsplattered later brought me back to Word of Honor.

I know he's supposed to take back over the Divine Flame Villa but I don't want him to! Stay with the foxes! (tho if this goes the traditional route, the magical girl will regain her powers & family legacy and the stern, ancient immortal love interest will soften & retire from their responsibilities to accompany their young sprite.)

All the awards to the makeup crew. Gong Jun looks the part PERFECTLY. He has this dewy look of fantasy maiden protagonist. The soft lipgloss, the bangs, the makeup softening his face! The flowing clothes. It's not too much, it feels just right. A++ 💯💯

The plaintive sad eyes ML keeps giving 👏

We already knew from Eternal Love that Yang Mi can capably play an immortal who feels distanced from mortal concerns. But this isn't a retread of Bai Qian, who was unrestrained and relished life's pleasures.

I expect that our standard love trial sidequest in the mortal world will be instead those 3 stories we saw on the trailer. If that means we can avoid amnesia & drama for the otp, sounds good to me

The white fox plotline is going to be incredibly annoying, I can tell

The big black cloud of evil lady who appears to be our Big Bad feels like another Miao Luo from Eternal Love of Dream

It's giving Belle !

[uhhhitsme]

002: Duke Keane?

002 | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: 

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

my OTP:

my cross over ship:

a headcanon fact:

one: i am so sorry for the extremely late response. i started writing this yesterday and finished the questions but then my page reloaded and it all got sent to shit and it was 12 am so i just. gave up. two: youre so cool btw thank you for all the lovely comments on my fics :DDDDD three: so hahahahahah i havent watched nmt2. and by extension have not seen killer track. ITS FINE.

HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS CHARACTER: i desperately need this guy to give me a hug none of you get it. it would actually fix me. like im being so serious right now maybe some of you gay fucks (/lh) want to dick him down i need him to give me the biggest hug in the entire world it would make my entire life so much better. i absolutely adore him with my entire heart---he treats hannah nicely!!!!!!! in the witch in the web!!!!!!!!!!!! he's so freaking sweet to her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! his dynamic with ms. holloway is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he desperately wants to do good for the world, to make a change in someones life, to help others, and that sparks so so so much joy i love him so much.

ALL THE PEOPLE I SHIP ROMANTICALLY WITH THIS CHARACTER: well obviously. ms. holloway. THE power couple of all time. wilbur because it would be funny. and. uh. ted. NOT BECAUSE ITS A BUDGET CURTWEN SHIP. WELL YES. A LITTLE. but also because i read two wonderful fics by amythestunarmed (?) (i think) on ao3 that dstroyed me and i desperately am in need for more content their dynamic is so cute.

MY NON ROMANTIC OTP FOR THIS CHARACTER: probably him and rose. i dont know anything about rose but idk i feel like theyd be a fun duo.

MY UNPOPULAR OPINION ABOUT THIS CHARACTER: okay so i dont really get why i see people all the time being like "everyone treats duke as a sidekick!! we need more love for duke!!" like idk man. he seems pretty popular to me. i see a billion trillion analysis posts for him all the time. maybe because im not really that into the hatchetfield fandom i like dont get it but 🤷 i do think he deserves the attention i love him so much the guy ever!!!!!

ONE THING I WISH I WOULD HAPPEN WITH THIS CHARACTER: guys im delusional i genuinely think he and ms. holloway could have a happy ending in miss holloween. i know they wont get it. BUT PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE THEY LOVE EACHOTHER. PLEASE ITS NOT FAIR. PLEASE. IT MAKES ME SO UPSET PLEASE I WILL DO ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. JUST LET THEM LOVE EACHOTHER. PLEASE.

MY CROSSOVER SHIP: uhhh i dont neccarily have one but someone should put him with keith swanson for the sillies

HEADCANON: i think ms holloway has a thing about pie??? he doesnt actually like it but he comes to the diner all the time to eat it anyway because homeslice is down BADDDDDD. this might contradict canon but it would be really funny to me if he's shit with animals. or on the flipside. he's TOO good with animals. they follow him around all the time and he doesnt know how to make them go away. modern snow white fr

[officalroyalsofpierreland]

The Sims is love. List 5 facts about a favorite sim couple of yours, and why you love them so much. Then pass this on to 5 others, whose sim couple(s) you also love. 💘💕

oh boy, so many couples to pick from for sure! But, let us go with the the OG OTP, David and Kat!

(Left: A Portrait from their wedding day. Right: A portrait on their 30th Wedding Anniversary in the future)

Though David is the actual monarch, Kat holds the real power in both Pierreland and in her marriage. David constantly turns to Kat for counsel on all matters since David knows Kat will tell him the cold hard truth, especially after recent events.

David and Kat are the first interracial marriage effecting the line of succession. This will make Louis the first Emperor of Pierreland with Oderian and Paradisian Heritage in Pierreland history.

Though they claim not to have favorites, their favorites are the children that they have the most contentious relationships with. David's favorite child is Louis, especially since Louis is his heir. David worries that Louis will not be ready and is already disappointed in some of Louis's careless mistakes. Kat's favorite child is Maria Aisha because Maria Aisha is an independent thinker and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Kat sees alot of herself in MA and worries how MA's access to resources and influence will shape her life.

There is a level of underlying tension in their relationship that they keep hidden from the world. Kat still feels that David handled the Prince Lenerd of the IU situation (@funkyllama) in one of the worst ways possible and thinks he's being a hypocrite. Meanwhile, David is thinking of the institution and is trying to ensure Louis will be ready to handle a kid which may lead to some historic tactics being used 👀

Despite the tension, the pair truly do love each other. They do recognize that they have fought to not just establish their relationship but maintain and grow it. They both wish to resolve the tension, they just have different approaches.

[pictures-i-like-of-fp]

Interview with Jessica DiCicco, voice of Flame Princess, from The Art of Ooo (circa season 6)

Transcript under the cut!

Jessica DiCicco, voice of Flame Princess, on Finn and Flame Princess's relationship: Finn and Flame Princess started off with a bang, that's for sure. There was an immediate attraction, and they've had some very profound moments. Even if their relationship seemed rocky at times, they have been getting to know each other's flaws and imperfections, and building the foundation for what could potentially be an epic love story—The Notebook-style! Through their ups and downs, I think their feelings for each other were true and undeniable. It's possible they just need to grow as individuals for a little bit before they can become a strong, solid couple. We saw glimpses of their potential, and it's safe to say the seeds for a strong love story have been planted. OTP. I also think there's a way they could be together without Finn having to foil-burritofy himself. In "The Red Throne," we saw that her handmaid had poisoned Flame Princess, resulting in Finn being able to touch her without getting burned. I think this was foreshadowing that there could be a way Flame Princess can learn to manage her power, and ultimately be able to interact with others without burning them. I don't think Flame Princess has found the place she can call home, or at least the place where she's happiest and most comfortable. We've only seen her ruling the Fire Kingdom once, where she was poisoned by her handmaid, had to fight her father, then lock him up, not to mention how incredibly bored she looked sitting on the throne all day, Zombie-eyed… so I'm not sure if the Fire Kingdom is her final destination. After all, she did spend her whole life locked up in a lantern; it's possible that she needs to get out, go on adventures, explore the world, and to get to know herself. As far as things with Finn, timing is everything; maybe after they each get a little more life experience they can explore their relationship again. I don't think it's over between them—perhaps it's just begun.

On Flame Princess's development as a character: Having been locked up in a lantern for her whole life until only recently, Flame Princess is playing catch-up. She has never had the chance to interact with others, experience love, explore her own emotions, and just be a regular teen. With the help of Princess Bubblegum, she is starting to learn about her power, she's starting to pay attention to her fiery emotions, and is now aware of exploring her power to its full potential. This is an exciting time in Flame Princess's life—she is a strong, independent young lady who tries her best to do what she thinks is right. Nobody's perfect, she definitely has her issues, but she's doing her best and working with what she's got.

On being part of the Adventure Time production: The excitement surrounding Adventure Time is palpable, and it's incredible to be part of a show that has struck a chord with so many people. I especially love the show's unpredictability and the dynamic characters that call the Land of Ooo home. Working on this show is awesome.

[khepiari]

I don't like it when it's in our world, I think there is a One Piece school manga where the ages are either the same or not as high, but when you apply the canonical ages, Law working and Luffy still in school, I don't let to think that I have to call the police or the psychologist and this is my problem, I know, but as pirates Law and Luffy are more equal than in our world (it still scares me sometimes, canonically it is not a problem but there is fanfics where even about pirates this is shady), but I always think that the problem is not always the ship, but rather those who write or draw

Well, when it comes to fandom, this is my personal rule: canon is reference material for me.

“Age-gap” trope is not new, it has existed since the beginning of the fiction genre to be fair. Because people have been marrying/living/romancing between large gaps for time memorial in real-life. Yes, in most cases, it’s young women and older men because of societal beliefs; young women are considered as limited shelf-life goods while men in possession of money are a catch. Age-gap relationships until the advent of modern society benefited off vulnerable young women who had no money or social security.

Historically, age-gap has been extremely common in queer relationships, we have had huge age-gaps too as well, one famous couple being Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy; 30 years. I know fellow queer people in happy relationships where age-gap is over 15 years, and I know fellow heterosexual couples with two years age-gap in miserable marriages. Who gets to be happy in their relationship is relative to contextual environment.

But I am digressing. Coming back to my OTP

As you said, Law and Luffy become a problematic romance if they are placed in a modern setting like High School romance and not the canon timeline. For example, they are put in the context of where one is still in school and the other is a functional adult. Your concerns are valid, but my concern here is; who is this age-gap romance about two 2D fictional characters written on a fan-run website in a tiny slash pairing fandom hurting? Because as far as I know no one is being made to read these stories as part of their school/university literature curriculum. A reader is choosing to read these stories on their own will. Someone might sent you the link, and you can click on it, but you still have to press the consent button to read it, right?

Law and Luffy to me have been equal, since day one both in “canon” and in my fics. Because I have never seen their age-gap as a power dynamic story. I am the person who wrote My Little Husband, I think that story has every trope, problem and issue that people who hate the age-gap associate with. Even in that story, Luffy is an equal, and the active agent in his story. So yeah coming back to what you ended the ask with.

You said about LawLu ship “problem is not always the ship, but rather who writes or draws.” I will simply disagree here. My main reason is that every fic author/fan artist has the right to write/draw/think about their ship how they want. Who are we as consumers of these stories to say “This is bad” and “that is good?”

Yes, your feelings of dislike/ick are valid. That’s why you have been provided with the options of tags, warnings and basic fic ratings.

In my fics, I add the tags and mark the sex scenes out, and if it’s explicit topics or scenes, there are reminders in the text that a reader can skip certain parts. What more can we do to protect the reader’s comfort?

Hence.

I refuse to endorse the idea that the problem lies with the creator of the ship. Just because someone writes something that makes other people uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s “bad or wrong”. And just because something makes you comfortable because it aligns with your personal beliefs isn’t necessarily “good or correct”.

Engaging with fiction is a personal experience, so you have to curate what you are looking for. Do you want to be comfortable or do you want to be stirred with feelings? The choices are yours to make and you can indulge in all or none at all. Yet, no one has any right to call a fan creator, “You are the problem for creating something because it makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Will you like it? Let’s say— you go to a pot-luck party with a delicious tumbler of potato stew, and someone willingly tastes a spoonful/eats the entire bowl and then tells you right after that, “You are a bad person and cook as your potato stew made their mouth tingle because of the variation of spices you used for that person’s favourite vegetable?”

No, you won’t.

So my advice is simple: don’t interact with something that makes you uncomfortable and unhappy. Fandom is not the place to measure our morality.

The end.

[jeremywhitley]

Julie Power, Queer Relationships and OTPs

Hey, two provisos before I jump into what I’m about to say:

1) My last name is not Marvel and I don’t own these characters. Before and after I write them, other people will write and/or have written them. Most of them. That’s what success in corporate comics looks like in this day and age - not that you get to write a character/group of characters forever but that other creators remember they exist and include them in new stories and they get to have a long happy life. That said, characters change and the valid interpretation is the one that leads to more stories. You, as a fan, are also interpreted to love whatever version of the character you like as long as you don’t hassle creators about it.

2) As always, I am not the perfect person to write this mini-essay, I’m just the one writing the comic and therefore the one that can explain the thoughts and feelings that went into making the decisions I did.

We good? Okay. Let’s continue!

Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual or wherever else a person falls in a spectrum does not make a person more or less than human. It does not make every relationship perfect. In fact, having a sexuality for which there isn’t quite as many years of literature and self-help books often leads to complications that you don’t know how to navigate. It is a rarely acknowledged but pretty obvious fact that this would go double or more for people who were also dealing with the complications of being a superhero in the modern era. A lot of those people have experiences with multiple apocalypse scenarios, a knowledge that there are parallel universes in which pareallel versions of them exist (like a version of me who types parallel the same way twice in a row, one can dream), mind control, reality manipulation, and time travel. Their life is complicated and relationships are difficult in a world where few of those things are commonplace.

In talking about Schitt’s Creek, Glen Weldon expressed a frustration and distaste for the central gay relationship in that show, not because it wasn’t cute and precocious but because it wasn’t realistic. You have a person who has been dating around and having several unresolved and unsatisfying queer relationships paired up with a freshly out, just admitted he’s gay, never dated another man love interest. It’s sweet. It also gives an unrealistic portrait of what life is like for a queer person. It’s hard to argue with people loving that relationship, but it’s impossible to argue with Glenn’s point. Dating is complicated and difficult. Adding queerness to that only makes it more complicated, not less. We often don’t know what we want or need and it’s more difficult to understand what you want and need with less context. Straight people have been struggling with telling their partners what they want and need even as their relationship has been a necessity of human species survival.

But we tend to push the idea of an OTP or “one true pairing” onto queer couples for a variety of reasons, but mainly two:

1) There are so few queer relationships in media that when one happens, queer audiences tend to hold onto it tightly in the worry that there will never be another one like it.

2) The idea that all or most queer relationships are the result of an undeniable love between two halves of the same whole reunited at last and it would be horrible to part them, makes queer relationships more palatable to straight audiences who are still growing in their understanding of the difference between same sex sexual attraction, same sex romance, and same sex fucking.

The end result is a pretty warped understanding of queer people and same sex relationships.

All of this is sort of preamble to say that in this week’s issue of Love Unlimited, I broke up a romantic pairing off panel that I created in Future Foundation a few years ago. In the last issue of Future Foundation, I had Rikki Barnes and Julie Power kiss. They had just been through an extremely dangerous prison break during which they had both almost died and saved one another’s lives. The moment was absolutely ripe for two Sapphic people to get swept up in the moment and intensely make out. It was a relationship I would like to have explored more, especially as they are two characters I care very deeply about. I think it would have been fun. I also do not think it would have worked out long term. Most relationships don’t and they are very different people.

I saw a post somebody made earlier today on tumblr about how Julie Power throws herself at every queer and available white girl in the Marvel Universe. There’s only one part of that I would prefer to not be true and that’s the white part. It is true about the comics as they have come out, but I don’t see Julie as the kind of person who wouldn’t fall in love with a person of color. In fact, to the point of that post, I see Julie as a person who is open to connection and cares a great deal about physical affection. She’s a hugger. She’s constantly taking people under her wing. She falls for people hard and loves hard. Not to get too intimate with it, but she’s probably a person who enjoys sex and physical contact and affection. Those things aren’t important to everyone or meaningful in the same way to everyone, but they are to some people.

But also, that doesn’t mean that every relationship those people enter into has to be THE ONE. We all enjoy our own OTPs and a lot of us have that same investment in people we know in real life. God knows, I have had that investment in queer friends that found love and there are people that have had that same investment in my wife and I because we’re a mixed race couple. Those facts about a relationship don’t make it work out without the same sort of effort, love, affection, and sheer luck as any other successful relationship. I think ascribing that same sort of mythological status to every same sex relationship is ultimately short sighted and harmful.

Julie’s way of finding love, like a lot of us, is to throw herself headfirst into relationships, love hard, experiences extraordinary moments, and get hurt when things don’t work out. She, literally, has a heroic impulse toward relationships. Is that healthy, maybe not. But hey, I kind of admire it.

So yeah, I broke up a relationship off panel that barely had a chance to exist on panel because that’s the way I see it going. On the bright side, she’s in another relationship now and we’ll see how that goes.

If there’s a thing I guess I want people to take away from this, it’s that it’s okay for your relationship not to work out and that you shouldn’t treat your queer friends like they’re characters in a Shakespeare play that have to love each other unconditionally and die together in a crypt if things don’t work out.

[leviiackrman]

OTPS/OCS AS TAROT PAIRS;

I was tagged by my angels @corvosattano @jackiesarch @marivenah + @simonxriley to use this uquiz for some otps, thank you sm my darlings ily all sm!🤍

Tagging: @sstewyhosseini @risingsh0t @florbelles @unholymilf @confidentandgood @chuckhansen @queennymeria @shadowglens @feypacts @roofgeese @arklay @jinfromyarikawa @jillvalentinesday @fenharel @morvaris @shellibisshe @faerune @mrdekarios @thedeadthree @heroofpenamstan @arthrmorgann @solasan @alexxmason @cybilbennettgf + @captastra

THE TWO OF CUPS + THE STAR;

your romance is a wish granted. finally, finally, they're here. finally, *it's* here! the time where you don't have to feel lonely anymore - you'll never feel that way ever again. laughter, joy, sweetness, kisses - be at ease. all of these are things you have found someone to share with. your love is a dreamy fantasy of love and devotion and miracles. at first, your chest gets too tight when they're around - until they become as natural as the air in your lungs. deck: ethereal visions tarot.

THE KNIGHT OF PENTACLES + THE MAGICIAN;

if there's something you want, you will GET IT. nothing escapes your fingertips. after all, you're the power couple. your pairing sparks pure cosmic energy. you're fiercely driven to your goals - whether that be status, fortune, or power. you're also fiercely protective of one another. with the knight's earthy energy, you both prefer to purposefully make your way towards your ambitions, rather than playing cards too early or acting too loosely. meanwhile, the magician's half makes gives you a little fire. if they get too close, onlookers and threats to your relationship may get burned. deck: modern witch tarot.

THE DEVIL + THE EMPEROR;

there's only one religion for the two of you, and that religion is the other. you two are very nearly unhealthily obsessed with one another, and that's just how you like it. when they touch you, they can feel the blood pumping under the surface of your skin. your hearts beat for one another. when the day comes that one stops, the other will soon after. until then, you both will live out your lives in perfect, gothy paradise. deck: the tarot of vampyres.

THE TOWER + THE LOVERS;

meeting this person shook your whole world. crumbling down is everything you thought you knew about life and love. their warmth, their generosity, their naivete, their knowing...! you don't know how anything made sense before them. all you know is that nothing will make sense afterwards. deck: the tarot of the divine by yoshi yoshitani.

THE TWO OF CUPS + THE STAR;

your romance is a wish granted. finally, finally, they're here. finally, *it's* here! the time where you don't have to feel lonely anymore - you'll never feel that way ever again. laughter, joy, sweetness, kisses - be at ease. all of these are things you have found someone to share with. your love is a dreamy fantasy of love and devotion and miracles. at first, your chest gets too tight when they're around - until they become as natural as the air in your lungs. deck: ethereal visions tarot.

ACE OF CUPS + TEN OF CUPS;

your romance is the love story that seems only possible in movies. it starts from a youthful first meeting, innocent. and from what may seem like a lifetime later, you both end up happily in union, perhaps even married! your coupling is the epitome of emotional fulfillment and devotion. neither of you thought you'd end up here, but damn if you aren't glad you did. deck: thelema tarot.

[aceghosts]

Romantic Tarot Card Pairing for OTPs

Hey everyone! I was tagged to do this uquiz by @inafieldofdaisies. Thanks for tagging me!

Since I'm early, I'm going to tag a bunch of people: @sstewyhosseini, @jinfromyarikawa, @marivenah, @jillvalentinesday, @alexxmason, @voidika , @anonymousmalkavian, @clicheantagonist, @commander-krios, @direwombat, @cassietrn, @eclecticwildflowers, @roofgeese, @killerspinal, @children-of-epiales, @strangefable, @theelderhazelnut, @captastra, @chazz-anova, and anyone else who would like to do this!

Blue Murphy & Grace Armstrong

the two of cups + the star

your romance is a wish granted. finally, finally, they're here. finally, *it's* here! the time where you don't have to feel lonely anymore - you'll never feel that way ever again. laughter, joy, sweetness, kisses - be at ease. all of these are things you have found someone to share with. your love is a dreamy fantasy of love and devotion and miracles. at first, your chest gets too tight when they're around - until they become as natural as the air in your lungs.

Hunter Delaney & Albert Wesker

the devil + the emperor

there's only one religion for the two of you, and that religion is the other. you two are very nearly unhealthily obsessed with one another, and that's just how you like it. when they touch you, they can feel the blood pumping under the surface of your skin. your hearts beat for one another. when the day comes that one stops, the other will soon after. until then, you both will live out your lives in perfect, gothy paradise.

Riley Callahan & Ingo

knight of pentacles + the magician

if there's something you want, you will GET IT. nothing escapes your fingertips. after all, you're the power couple. your pairing sparks pure cosmic energy. you're fiercely driven to your goals - whether that be status, fortune, or power. you're also fiercely protective of one another. with the knight's earthy energy, you both prefer to purposefully make your way towards your ambitions, rather than playing cards too early or acting too loosely. meanwhile, the magician's half makes gives you a little fire. if they get too close, onlookers and threats to your relationship may get burned.

Emerson Wright & Ricardo Ortega

the tower + the lovers

meeting this person shook your whole world. crumbling down is everything you thought you knew about life and love. their warmth, their generosity, their naivete, their knowing...! you don't know how anything made sense before them. all you know is that nothing will make sense afterwards.

[bardcore-jaskier]

♡ My thoughts on Yennskier + headcanons ♡

(Edited post)

- What makes this whole thing so funny and exciting to me is that Yennefer used to think that Jaskier was just some annoying sing songy twit before. While Jaskier's dramatic arse used to consider Yennefer an enemy until she saved him from Rience XD XD XD

- I adored the everliving FUCK out of their scenes together in season 2! Their dynamic is so fucking good! AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!

- Yennskier, the ship we didn't know we needed, but definitely deserved! Their chemistry is so fucking perfect and their dynamic works so well!

- Personally I think that this ship is actually, currently, THE healthiest and most wholesome one of all my Jaskier ships! At least as of season 2! (Even if Geraskier remains as my OTP)

- In Oxenfurt, when Jaskier and Yennefer got to know eachother better without Geralt's presence to distract them both, ever since they saw the real, raw and vulnerable sides of eachother and became friends, I couldn't help but notice how absolutely toothrottingly perfect they are together!

- Legit, and I kid you not! I can't picture Yennefer and Jaskier having anything other than that deep kind of connection where you know that you are loved, appreciated and adored, despite all your flaws. The kind of love where you know you're not alone, that this person is your family and will always have your back no matter what.

- Yennefer, despite being one of the most powerful sorceresses on the entire continent, treats Jaskier as an equal by the time Ciri gets possessed. (Bro, like even Geralt doesn't do that! Jaskier is his friend, sure, but I've never seen Geralt treating him as an equal.)

- Yennefer and Jaskier have a mutual respect for eachother, they trust eachother, they enjoy eachother's company. All of those things are A CRUCIAL part of having a solid foundation to build a honest, sturdy, long-lasting and happy relationship upon.

- From compatibility POV, they work together a lot better than Geralt and Yennefer did. With Jaskier, there are no djinn related consent issues, there wouldn't be any communication issues and he would probably be a positive influence on Yennefer's mental health.

- Whereas her relationship with Geralt was quite frankly chaotic, explosive, sometimes even toxic. It was built upon a shaky foundation of lust, djinn magic and exchanged favors. Like c'mon, their time together as an on-and-off couple mostly consisted of having kinky unicorn sex, trauma dumping, dealing with magical, gorey and insanely dangerous situations, then talking about said situations until they have a fight! Leaving eachother every time in the end because they can't seem to make it work long-term. They're incompatible because in canon, the only thing that finally made them stick together for good, was an orphaned girl in need of protection. It's not right, kind of like parents who are postponing their divorce until their daughter grows up :/

- Jaskier on the other hand, despite his magic-less ordinary humanity has a hilariously witty, optimistic, stupidly brave, highly empathetic, loyal and supportive personality. Yennefer would have an understanding partner who loves her, cherishes her, acceptc her for who she is without judgement nor pity. A partner who would make it his life's mission to help her see the good things this world has to offer, to make her happy because she deserves it!

- Damn it all, they both have been through enough, they both deserve a break. They actually GET eachother. I can already feel a drabble forming in my brain, set a week or so after the whole Voleth Mier shebang, Jaskier is struggling with PTSD and nightmares about Rience, Yennefer is struggling with guilt and shame because she put Ciri in danger. So while Geralt is too busy with Ciri's training to be there for Jaskier and he feels too betrayed to be in Yennefer's company, neither Yen nor Jask have anyone to turn to in Kaer Morhen, except eachother. Three months confined to a witcher keep together? Now that is a LOT of time to spend with someone you can be openly vulnerable around, bond with, heal and share joy with, unexpectedly falling in love....

- Yennefer too is an extremely good match for Jaskier, it's almost uncanny how much she completes him! Jaskier would finally have an understanding and loving partner who truly saw him when others didn't bother. And Yennefer liked what she saw, the familiar face of a simple human bard who offered kindness and compassion to strangers even if it could kill him. She saw courage, honesty, forgiveness and so much good, a collection of rare qualities she had never thought could exist within one single person all at once. After Voleth Mier, all that goodness was given to her so freely, it is still being given to her everyday, so she knows a treasure when it looks her right in the eyes with such easy warmth. She would make it her life's mission to cling onto him with everything she's got, to love and cherish him the way he deserves, to protect the only person she deems worthy of holding her heart!

- They have a lot in common too. From both having a knack for fashion, both being mischievous little shits at heart and both having high standards when it comes to personal hygiene. To also having similar tastes in both alcohol, humor, luxury and entertainment.....if Yennefer's kinky orgy party and Jaskier's reputation as the biggest slut on the continent is anything to go by.

- Speaking of sex, both of them having a high libido and exceptional skills in bed aside, they're fucking GORGEOUS people! Why wouldn't they find eachother attractive?

- Yennefer is basically a Goddess, beauty personified! She is elegant and breathtaking, everyone knows it.

- However, since a majority of the Witcher fandom usually dismisses Jaskier in favor of simping for Geralt, I can, I must and I WILL gush about how pretty Jaskier is! Cuz clearly some of them bitches be blind, Yennefer is one lucky witch!

- Jaskier is like only 1,5 inches shorter than his grouchy snowman friend. Meaning he is tall as all hell and he definitely isn't lacking in the muscle department either, that bard is jacked yo. His voice is soothing and his vocabulary is extensive enough to make the most experienced of whores blush from pillow talk. He has VERY soft looking hair and he has one of the most angelic fucking faces I've ever seen. His eyes are the clearest shade of blue and his expressions + mannerisms are absolutely adorable! Ok, I'm done gushing, onto the next point....

- Unlike Jaskier, I don't think I have a dummy thick enough of a vocabulary to express how much dopamine Yennskier fanfics give me, more specifically when their husband and wife act from Oxenfurt becomes an inside joke for them, leaving the rest of Kaer Morhen's inhabitants confused as fuck.

- Geralt getting a bit jealous? His brothers wondering when that could have happened? Ciri feeling bamboozled as well?

- It's all shits and giggles until somebody giggles and shits. It won't take long until their inside joke is no longer a joke. They already bicker like a married couple anyway XD

- I can not help but also headcanon Jaskier as not fully human. It would be sad if he up and died on his dear immortal wife. I don't necessarily picture him having chaos or other powers in this scenario, but when I do, I think that they would discover them together on accident.