#otp: that's how i show affection

[ljf613]

"Come on, dance with me?" Dancing? This was nothing like the rigid, practiced movements he associated with the idea of dancing. Toph's movements weren't stiff or formal or even especially graceful-- if she were anyone else, he'd say she just looked silly. This is ridiculous. For a moment, Zuko was tempted to let go of her hands and storm off. He hadn't even wanted to go out tonight, and now Toph was clearly trying to make a fool out of him. But there was a smile on her face, and the light of the lanterns revealed a shine in her eyes he couldn't remember seeing before. "Fine," he groaned, allowing himself to be pulled along into one of these… dances.

- with these things there's no telling

Commission from the wonderful @aurantia-ignis for part twenty of we all want love/we all want honor to commemorate @atlararepairmonth's Week 5: Arranged Marriage prompt.

(Commission for part three of the same series can be found here.)

[ljf613]

Yes, it exists. I have seen it referred to as Toko, Zutoph, Zoph, Zukoph, Tophko, Tuko, Zuto, and Zuph (among others).

I usually stick with Toko, although some of the other shippers around here prefer Zutoph! (Hi @leantailean and @nztsume!)

At one point, it was actually fairly popular-- @toko-week ran for seven years in a row (2008-2014). Most of the OG shippers seem to have disappeared along with the rest of the first wave of the ATLA fandom.

The Renaissance brought back/awoke a few of us (@pahimakas-ng-isang-nilalang, @aurantia-ignis, and @this-acuteneurosis, just to name a few).

Here's why the ship works, and here's a list of fic recs!

Purely out of curiosity, does the zuko x toph ship exist? What would you even call that? zoph? toko? zukoph? beilord? firefong? lordlord?

[jrueships]

the mayor of turkey trying to get people to vote alpey for Allstar 😭😭

[sidsinning]

Do you ever think the flaw of Lukanette is that the couple is too good to be true?

Because it's interesting that the only thing keeping them from being together and break them apart in canon had been Marinette's secret instead of her crush.

Which, for a show that hinges on the main duo's romance shenanigans, isn't a good way to sell their main couple if the side couple is too compatible 😂

Think the writers kinda didn't gaf about Lukanette or Luka in general on god

Always felt like he was an after thought

We didn't even get a fundamental reason why they wouldn't work out like we did with Adrigami

So her getting with Adrien feels like a retcon of their whole break up episode, something else I really disliked about season 5

I think it's factually correct to say Kagami got wayyyy more character development and screentime with the main characters than Luka did

Man they were so cute he was so compatible with Mari bc his chill personality totally balanced Mari's chaotic energy. He's very clearly a source of comfort for her before, during, and after their relationship.

But Marinette's affect on Luka too,,,, Luka deciding to give up on convincing Bob Roth to credit their stolen art, only for Marinette to shock him by turning right back around to give him even more hell for his misdeeds??? Feels like both got something out of their relationship,,, or at least could've,,,,if they'd been explored a lil more,,,,

Am I saying they were perfect? Fuck no the writers made sure their OTP always got hammered into their relationship to stop it dead in its tracks somehow no matter how unnatural it was

But their foundation was so natural and strong and beautiful,,,the way they were both implied to be crushing but their big episode together wasn't even surrounding that,,,,just them hanging out,,,then getting angry their friend was being ripped off,,,,,friends before anything else,,,,,ugh,,,,

idk i think the "he's too perfect for her" reason for not choosing one love interest over another is nonsense...idk if that was what they were trying to say but if so I disagree like why wouldn't you choose someone you literally acknowledge as the better option (Not saying this about Adrien, just about this trope in general)?

I have a lot of feelings

[ace-race-ace]

Lance and his old men ✨

-How I see each relationship-

1. Felipe Massa

His first old man - back when he was still an innocent little rookie. I don’t see him being actually physically attracted to him, but the attention and mentorship does something for him. He also gets introduced to many older men through him with shared parties/events. It lights a little spark but overall it stayed professional. (Though the body language in the picture…insane. So he was already quite affectionate.)

2. Checo Perez (aka. Chelance)

His first true seduction. Lance learned a lot about Checo from Esteban before he replaced him. So he comes in guns loaded, acting coy and flirty to get a rise out of him. Checo indulged him, flirting back, giving some subtle physical touch. Lance tries his best to make his attraction obvious but Checo always finds a way to change the subject. Still, his own attraction to the younger driver slips through the cracks. His eyes wander to his soft curves more than a married man’s should. He can’t help but reach out and touch sometimes, a hand to his waist, his shoulder, or a hug that lasts a little too long…but he holds himself back.

Until he gets just a bit too drunk one night, and Lance looks too pretty. Lance pouts at him, pleading him to give in. It doesn’t take much more than that and they fuck hard and nasty. Sergio feels extremely guilty for sub coming. He tries to put some distance between them and spend more time with his family. Then Covid hits and he finds himself yearning for Lance, unable to wipe the memories. The first time they see each other again, Lance has grown out his hair, and Checo can’t help but pull him aside to yank on that beautiful mane as Lance sucks him off. They keep casually sleeping together throughout the rest of the season.

3. Sebastian Vettel (Seblance??)

Complete hero worship. Lance is down soooo bad for Seb. Who wouldn’t be? He tries to be casual about it but Seb clocks him immediately. He’s been on the other side of this dynamic himself so he sees right through Lance’s teasing and nonchalance. Seb isn’t as confident in his looks anymore, feeling his youth slip away but Lance seems to only cherish that further which easily leads to mutual affection. Lance makes the first move, sneaking into his hotel room to ‘talk’ but Seb just laughs and brings him to bed. Worth noting though, Seb doesn’t fuck - he makes love. He’s no longer that excited world champion contender and instead spends hours teasing and taking Lance apart beneath him. Lance sometimes wishes he’d just fuck him fast, but that’s not his style. Still, it’s not too bad as his affection also comes in the form of kisses, which Lance loves. He pouts dramatically until Seb can find a moment to pull him aside and kiss him tender~~

4. Nico Hulkenberg

A short fling but damn they were nastyyy. Nico finds out Lance absolutely adores sucking dick and he take full advantage of that opportunity. That man shoves Lance down on his knees any chance he gets. Loves grabbing Lance’s dark hair as he fucks into his mouth. Lance looks up at his with the most glass-eyed, doe-eyed expression as saliva dribbles down his chin. He doesn’t even care that Nico leaves him high and dry most of the time, he just loves having cock in his mouth.

5. Fernando Alonso (Strollonso)

Lance’s one true love - my OTP….

There is so much to say about them, it would take hours to write it all. But essentially, Fernando is everything Lance needs. He’s a great mentor, pushing and encouraging him to do better. Loves to fuck, pounding into him until his legs are jelly. But he also has his more tender moments where he just cares for Lance and wants to see him happy. Lance realizes it’s always been him. He remembers even back at Williams that time Fernando squeezed his hip to congratulate him~~~ Lance just love the physical affection Fernando shows him. The neck squeezes, the kisses, holding his waist…and when the opportunity arises, a playful slap to his ass.

Fernando is the perfect balance between absolute sex degeneracy and kindness and understanding. He’ll take Lance anywhere but then spend hours taking care of him, praising him. Their dates are frequent and special - nice dinners, traveling…Fernando just loves to spoil his princess. Speaking of which, PET NAMESSS they absolutely call each other by pet names in their languages. So cute and sweet…

There’s so much more but I think everyone already knows 😌

[ljf613]

[L]ooking at her now reminded him of the sunrise after a polar night, or that light he'd seen at the south pole, or the first flame he could ever remember bending-- things that were important not because of how they looked, but because of how they felt: as though a hole inside of him he hadn't noticed until then was about to be filled.

- with these things there's no telling 

Thank you so much, I love it!

“Come on, dance with me?”

More fanart for @ljf613 !! Randomly decided to reread the fanfic ‘we all want love/we all want honor’, and that scene of Toph reaching out to Zuko really stuck with me.

This is how I imagine Zuko sees her when she says this bahaha. I love how freaking soft Zuko is for Toph in this fic!!

[ljf613]

toko

They!!!

Toph's the werewolf and Zuko’s the hunter

Toph’s the mermaid and Zuko’s the fisherman

Zuko’s the witch and Toph’s the familiar

Zuko’s the barista and Toph’s the coffee addict

Zuko’s the professor and Toph’s the TA

Zuko’s the knight and Toph’s the princess

Zuko’s the teacher and Toph’s the single parent

Toph’s the writer and Zuko’s the editor

Ask me about my ships!

[l-ii-zz]

— ¿How the heck did Red and Zim start having their first feelings for each other? I'm intrigued.

I didn't want to answer your question earlier 'cause I was determined to write a whole bible about how RaZR works in my AU, but I was also hesitating because I always get embarrased whenever I talk about my otps in general.

I was also still discussing with myself if I should put this ship in the story or not, because I know about certain people not being confortable with ships in this AU and because I don't want my AU to be involved with people who just follows the story only 'cause their fav ship is there. I already had a bad experience with those kind of people with another fandom.

But at the same time; RaZR might not be a rare ship, but a quite underrated one that doesn't have a lot of content to dig in comparing it with other big ships that we already know. Also, when I said that I don't want shipping involved in my AU, I was specifically referring to ZaDR. Despite I like it, it is STUPIDLY overrated, to the point that it gets a little exhausting to see it everywhere in the fandom... So idk, RaZR wouldn't be much of a big trouble in my AU, and it's not like it's gonna be the main thing in the story.

BUT YEAH, About your question:

In my AU, Zim already had a crush on Red since they saw each other again by iniciating Elite training together. However, his feelings were mostly involved by this idealized image of Red being this "infallible", "exemplary", "perfect" soldier. You know: things that Zim wished to be. Thus becoming the reason why Zim always have seeked his approval.

On the other hand, Red was aware of this weird fixation Zim had on him, which was obviously very annoying. Despite this, Red never truly hated him; In fact, he always felt a little pity for the defective lil bug. Red also learned to deal with Zim's destructive shenanigans by taking advantage of that weakness he had over Red. However, this kind of manipulative dynamic made Red accidentally more tolerant and permissive with Zim, behavior that followed Red even after becoming a Tallest.

Then, AU shit happens. Zim has his own development arc with Dib on their adventures in space, but Red also has his own development arc with a number of situations; such as the coming of his adulthood, his responsibilities as a leader, memories of his abusive past becoming relevant in his life again, etc. Both Zim and Red don't see each other again until the events of Arc 4.

At this point, many years have passed and both have changed a lot. And the fact that Red and Purple have no power over Zim makes their dynamics change drastically.

The role reversal made it so that they could see each other as equals. Neither Zim nor Red are trying to like each other, so they both interact as how they truly are. Sure there is tension and hostility between them sometimes, but as they can act as themselves, they start to feel strangely comfortable with each other. And as suddenly as it starts, the curiosity to see how far one can go with the other causes the bickering and teasing to accidentally turn into a very strange and very Irken form of.... flirting??! The funny thing is that neither of them are aware of this until there is no turning back.

But there's something else that's even more relevant about Zim and Red's dynamic: There's a point in the plot where both of them are forced to show their most vulnerable side. With Zim, there's the whole trauma thing that he still carries around and that reaches a limit where he can no longer hide; on Red's part, due to a slip of his own, he was forced to tell Zim about the abusive past he had with Miyuki and how it has affected him in several aspects of his life, including his relationship with Purple. By uncovering their most vulnerable side, both of them maintain a silent truce that turns into mutual respect. Slowly and gradually, both of them start to feel comfortable to vent and share things that they haven't told to anyone, not even their loved ones (Purple and Dib respectively).

It's all a veeeery long process of understanding and trust that is slowly forming and needs some pushes to become stronger. It's very similar to what Zim and Dib had to do to form their friendship, except that Red and Zim feelings are growing beyond to just friendship.

However; even though it's clear that something is changing between these two, they both feel conflicted by these new feelings.

As for Red, he has never experienced romantic feelings before and doesn't know how to act in certain circumstances. This is all new to him and therefore he can't discern whether he is truly falling in love or if he is misinterpreting his feelings. Not to mention that these types of relationships are completely punished by the Irken Empire.

With Zim, he believed that he no longer had feelings for Red and that it would stay that way now that he discovered his true colors. Instead, Zim went from a childhood crush to being genuinely and hopelessly in love with him. However, he can't trust Red's intentions. In fact, he hates that despite all the awful things Red had done to him, he is still madly in love. Zim knows that Red had and will always have control over him, because deep down he has always wanted for Red to want him, and it seems like it will always be that way.

But, despite still being conflicted about his feelings, Red knows that he has stopped seeing Zim in the same way and that he even feels guilty about the things he has done, and he admits that he shouldn't reciprocate Zim's feelings, not because he doesn't want to, but because he knows he doesn't deserve it.

They go through a lot of tense moments and trust issues, but they will eventually talk it out and correspond each other. Not in a conventional way, though. They are still not sure about what they are or should be (although they are already doing what lovers do). Neither of them dares to make it completely official; because deep down they know that sooner or later the day will come when they will both have to go on separate ways, perhaps never to see each other again.

[kimkhimhant]

for the character ask game, Kim Theerapanyakul 💕

WEEEE thank youuu

How I feel about this character

i am absolutely insane feral over him and everyone knows it. i do not have the capacity to be remotely embarrassed about this. he is SO GOOD because despite being a side character, he contains so many layers!! there's so much to explore with him and so many different directions fans can take him. he's pathetic and isolated and so desperate for connection but so... avoidant. he seems to think of himself as this dangerous villain, but then the extent of his manipulations with the kid he tells himself he's manipulating is like. asking him about his brother and whether he's ever been in love. he's so tender with chay and can't stay away or remain stoic in front of him but he still pushes chay (and everyone else) away. he *hates* his father and his own father seems wary of him, but he's also out here being a celebrity and making music and music videos that feature cats. he touches chay's hair and kisses his cheek like these are the first acts of affection he's ever initiated. he reacts to chay's flirtations and hugs like they're the first displays of affection he's ever received. he looks like he's having a panic attack when chay sings a love song to him in the studio. he kills six men and then sends chay a video of his own love song. he's so !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character

so like, *romantically* – truly romantically, really only chay and occasionally porsche. if we aren't talking strictly romantic love, then uh. pretty much everyone. i need to put this boy into so many toxic sexual & codependent relationships. this is my favorite pastime. the best options here are chan and big, but i'll go all out with the dead dove incestry that i uh. am not brave enough to share those thoughts here.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

the sibling relationships are so important to me. especially kim and kinn. they're so !!!!!! agh. also porschekim golden retriever and stray cat bestfriendism

My unpopular opinion about this character

if he were really innately so "dark" he wouldn't have left the family. him separating himself from the mafia and that identity are proof to me that even though he is capable of viciousness, violence and manipulation, that is not the life he wants for himself. he may be "the most dangerous theerapanyakun" but that means fairly little when what he actually seems to be spending his time on is being an idol/singer-songwriter and investigating his own father

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

that he would have gotten some – any – kind of resolution. i know they were originally gearing up for season 2 where that likely would have happened, i mean even for the main characters the ending of the show didn't feel like a proper ending. but his ending makes me especially sad. the investigation he spent the whole show pursuing just kinda fizzled out into nothing, and his attempts to reconcile with chay were not reciprocated on screen. Kim ends the show still isolated from his family, isolated from chay, and with nothing to show for any of it. it's devastating. it makes me feel like destroying something (hence all the fics)

thank you again for this ask i was feeling very very sad today and talking about kim is like a magic cure

[bengiyo]

Ben! For the ask game, whaddya think about Kakeru from I Cannot Reach You?

Wow, you would ask me about one of the best characters from last year.

How I feel about this character

He's really a great character. One of the things that worked well for me with this show was how well both protagonists handled being the focus. Kakeru is one of my favorite teens in a long time because he wasn't stupid about his own best friend. He recognized what was up with Yamato very early, and did the earnest work to reconcile what Yamato liking him meant, and whether he could reciprocate. He was not a passive character in his own story, and I love that so much. Yamato wasn't going to do much with his feelings, but he was giving his friend a hard time. Kakeru is so excellent because he's so present that it forces Yamato to actually be with him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Just Yamato! They did not go through all that effort to figure out their friendship and eventual romance for me to stray from the path! The best thing about Kakeru is how seriously he took Yamato's feelings, and also how he didn't let Yamato get away with being selfish about them.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

We spent less time on his other friendships than we did with Yamato, but I actually liked his dynamic with Fujino. It felt like he could trust Fujino, and Fujino was always trying to keep Kakeru involved in their group stuff.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't know that I have anything unsaid about this character, but I think the biggest thing I was to reiterate is that the best thing about him, and why he's a favorite, is that he responded with active behaviors to Yamato's feelings. He considered them. He planned things for them. He started to care more about himself and his future because it might involve someone else more seriously. He was even allowed to express some desire. He's not just a maiden type of character. Their dynamic genuinely felt like two male friends going through a big change together.

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

I wish we had seen Kakeru initiate affection after they got together. This final kiss was really solid because Kakeru is clearly responding to it, but damn do I like when the one who fell last falls harder. I would love to see a pining gay boy deal with their crush being more into them after the fact. That would be nice.

For the Character Breakdown Ask Game

[devilsnakeart]

Of all the mk ships you could have chosen why Raiden and Cassie?

Hi, thank u for this question!

I also love CageBlade, but they’re canon, and Raicass are not, so I doing content with my OTP. I’m the only one now 😁

Who, if not me?

I must say: sorry if u find mistakes, I’m not good enough in english

ϟWhy Raiden and Cassie?ϟ

I can’t shipping characters who don’t talk or interact during the storyline. I also shipping only those characters, who have a healthy love and it doesn’t matter if it’s friendship or relationship. Addiction and passion, which many people pass off as «love» is not for me. As well as characters, who hate each other or dislike each other according to the canon.

So…

♡Well, I love Raicass interaction, dynamic and chemistry in mk11 — they’re spent a lot of time together and talk a lot during the whole storyline.

What Dark Raiden doing here? It’s so strange, that creators put him here…

Did he realize that he was wrong about Cassie’s mother and came to apologize to Cassie? I like to think about it :D

They always spend time together in the frame.

I like how Raiden looks at Cassie, and how she at him. Yeah, it’s just 3d models, but I really love how they interact.

I love the way she worries about him:

And how he about her:

And also I love this gesture:

And I love this, Cassie looks so damn good in her lord’s costume 😏

♡So, I thought about Raiden and Cassie after I played in MK11: Raiden was my favourite character and Cassie in MK11 too, cause her design and character has become really better, she grew from MKX and she became serious young woman.

♡And I've always liked a complicated, forbidden love, when something prevents characters from being together. Raiden is immortal god, Cassie is mortal young woman…

Well, it’s really good obstacle!

Raiden is seriously and strict, he not like Fujin: yeah, Raiden feels affection for mortals, but he lost so many people, his warriors are dead so many times — it was his fault, and he just tired of losing someone he’s cares about… That why Raiden distanced and cold, maybe. His task defend earthrealm — and thunder god does his duty.

And Cassandra… She is young mortal woman, she is full of life. Cassie sees her duty to follow in the footsteps of her parents and defend earthrealm. It’s hard, but she tries. She kicks shinnok’s ass and she really strong young warrior.

♡I think Cassandra be a light for Raiden, she will show the tired god how mortal life is beautiful. She can breathe new life into him, new bright colors in his gray days.

I have a headcanon, that Raiden could leave his immortality for Cassie and live with her an ordinary mortal life. Well, why not, he became a mortal in mk11, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

♡Raiden can give Cassandra a safe relationship, because he is a serious and adult man — god, after all! And Cassie will definitely be looking for a man similar to her daddy — a man, who can will love her as much as her father loved her mother.

After all, father is always very important in the life of a daughter.

♡Well, of course, problems will be in the relationship between Raiden and Cassandra, because Raiden is a complex, proud character and he is not the one, who will allow himself to fall in love and accept it so easily — he will rather deny feelings and reject them in order to eventually accept them.

I’m also a little upset, that this pairing is really rare, but I’m more sad that this ship misunderstood by stupid people — sorry, but it’s true.

I didn't look for certain screenshots, but some people, who will read this — will understand that it's about them.

Well, u know, when ship compared to ped0 file, when Cassie is in mkx — 20, and in mk11 — 22 🚬🗿

Cassie appears before us, players, an adult in MKX. SHE’S 20 YEARS OLD, damn it, she’s an adult mare!

U may NOT like Raicass pairing — especially given the current agenda... so... it’s absolutely normal not to like or even hate someone’s ships, but to blame the ship for being somehow connected with ped0 file, when it’s not… Well, u know, it’s very stupid.

It’s quite funny that people writing about OC x Raiden (or any other character) never indicate the age of OC))))) After all, everyone can imagine a woman 50 years old or an 18 years old girl. Although, judging by the behavior of the oc, there’re all inexperienced 18 year olds, no more. SO... No one judging authors, who write such texts in the vastness of the tumblr or somewhere else... Double standards, don’t u think?

Okay, u’re say that Cassie is only 20-22, and Raiden is too old for her.

It’s funny, cause all young girls-fans of Raiden fetishize on him like an old man, lol.

And I’ll tell u, that any woman next to Raiden will be MUCH younger than him, cause he’s a fucking immortal god of thunder! And I’ll tell u, that the age difference is NOT A PROBLEM.

It’s not about sex or passion, or desire to own someone…

♡ Forbidden love, a huge age difference, the difference in cultures and characters, but at the same time a common goal, duty, etc.

That’s the whole point.

I think everyone decides for himself what attracts him in this pairing.

And I just ship Raicass until I get bored or die :D

Thank u for reading! I hope u’re enjoyed it.

[cherrytimemachine]

Can I have a breakdown of Prima? :3

Finally, I have an excuse to talk about the Thirteen. Thank you, anon. >:)

How I feel about this character: Strict and unyielding, Prima was the ever vigilant leader of the Thirteen. Raised from a young age to be the guiding force behind her team (yes my Prima is a girl, though she does use she/they), she developed a rigid standard for rules and was quite stubborn in the face of criticism against her. She was committed to fulfilling her destiny as given to her by Primus, who she considers a father to her, and she would do anything to make him proud. After the downfall of the Guiding Hand, she became colder and distrustful of others. She took over as the leader of Crystal City (Cybertron's original capital until it was changed to Iacon by Nova Prime) and claimed it as her territory. She'd always been more independent from the others, but her judgements of them could at times be quite harsh, especially towards Megatronus, who she deemed a reckless liability. She wouldn't realize how much of a role she played in the Schism (the downfall of the Thirteen) until it was too late.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don't think she'd touch romance with a 10 foot pole. She preferred being alone more than anything, as she felt security in being able to have total control over her own decisions. She'd be pretty difficult to have a relationship with anyway. She's a control freak and refuses to do anything that isn't by her standards. You might as well try migrating to a new planet, because Prima ain't budging.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Despite the popular belief among the Thirteen, Prima does in fact care about them, in her own way. Her criticism is justified in her mind, because she thinks she's trying to show them the right way. Really, only Vector, Alpha Trion, and the Thirteenth understand her point of view. She doesn't explain her thought process unless it's about strategy or debating, so her personal motives are a mystery to most people.

She gets along most with Vector and Alpha Trion. They take their positions seriously and don't engage in much tomfoolery, so they're a more mature and favorable company in her book.

Out of all of them, she's the most protective of Thirteen. Thirteen is shy and hates it when their friends argue, and Prima's impression of them is a naive optimist. They're more knowledgeable and aware than Prima gives them credit for. The two still have a nice relationship though. Prima is a guiding force for Thirteen, and Thirteen has been known to convince Prima to soften her position on more than one occasion.

The last person she's really affiliated with is Onyx. They both share an appreciation for spiritually and the nature of treating sparks, both born and dead, with utmost care. Their tribes made an alliance a long time ago, and the mutual respect persists to the present day among their descendants.

My unpopular opinion about this character: The Thirteen needs to be in more stuff. Not just in books or in flashbacks or vague murals, I want them in a story with actual interactions. I want to see them battle Unicron, that would be lit. I want to see her flaws showcased to a wider audience. Megatronus gets the most negative attention out of all of them, followed closely by Liege Maximo, and Megatronus hadn't done anything to initially give Prima a reason to dislike him. She considered him the most like Unicron, and it shows how judgemental she is and how her biases affect the way she treats her team.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: If she was even present in canon aside from being a legend. I wouldn't bank on it, but since there seems to be more focus on Quintus with the Earthspark series, it's possible that we will be able to see all of the Thirteen in all their demi god glory one day.

Also: let there be more gender variety in the Thirteen, for the love of god. I love Solus, don't get me wrong, but I feel like they did her dirty by making her the only girl for the sake of the angsty love triangle thing with Megatronus, Liege, and also Nexus for some reason. You cannot tell me that wasn't the reason for her being female. Just- let there be more women. Gender expression and its fluidity is a vital part of the Transformers species, and it should show in the early creation period.

I have many thoughts on the Thirteen and the Guiding Hand, so please feel free to ask about them!

[ljf613]

I love it!!!

For the sketch requests-- Toko in this pose?

____________________

See more of my art here: leantailean_art

Follow me on Twitter:   @Alesha_Dima  

[impala124]

I feel like I gotta let you talk about why you like Vegas now bc I had so little to say!

Vegas belongs to the list of fictional men I would never introduce to someone new. Like, if they get him, it's well and good, and if they don't, that too is fine. So Shan, I get having very little to say about Vegas.

I also understand not being that into Kinnporsche. Other than the fact that it was beautifully shot, my only reasons for sticking around (initially) were my beloved Tankhun and the rivalry between Kinn and Vegas. Kinnporsche, for all its faults as a series, not having a coherent plot being one of them 🤷, gave us very interesting characters and inter-personal dynamics.

How I feel about this character

I love him. Don't get me wrong, he is not a good person, nor does he pretend to be one. He is not a reformed person who will only do good deeds post-canon.

My (not so healthy) reasons for liking Vegas boil down to

His self-loathing tendencies

His filial piety towards his father, however undeserved it might be

His competence at being the head of a mafia family

Thinking about post-canon Vegas is so interesting because everything he thought he wanted out of his life is gone—his father is dead, Porsche is now the head of the minor family, and he has Pete, a romantic partner in ways he never imagined he could/would.

So, his character arc isn't complete; he has to figure out who he is as a person outside of his rivalry with Kinn.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Only Pete!! I couldn't subject anyone else to be on the receiving end of my little manipulator's romantic affections, lol.

And people say that romance is dead!!! One of my reasons for shipping them together is the evitability of their relationship. It didn't happen because someone was pulling the strings behind a curtain or because one person had an agenda while pursuing the other. It's about seeing yourself in the other person and understanding them. In short, they match each other's freaks.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Let's be honest, all of us wondered where Vegas and Porsche would go after the bike ride scene.

Love Vegas and Macau's relationship. There is a lot of love there and an instinct to protect him from their father's abuse. Love me a good protective older sibling ❤️

My unpopular opinion about this character

I wasn't active on this site when the show was airing, so I don't know if these are unpopular opinions. But, I do see a lot of fics depicting Kinn and Vegas as being almost friendly towards each other post-canon, and I'm like, how? I don't know; I just can't see that happening in a million years. Also, Vegas as a father? I know that this happens in the books, which I haven't read and never plan on reading. He has a long way to go before even thinking about fatherhood, and I don't believe he is someone who aspires to be one. So, yeah, I can't reconcile the image of Vegas as a father with the Vegas in my head.

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

I wish we got to see him wearing more red, because he is a fucking vision.

I also wish we got more of Tankhun and Vegas. I could see them fighting over Pete a lot. Also, hours of footage of him just cooking, for my indulgence.

Give me a character ask game

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Your blog is my guilty pleasure lol, it's so validating to read your very matter of fact rebuttals after years of being talked over & down to in the fandom. Being in the fan space & hearing the way people talked about how much more "female gaze coded" Z/tara was made me feel like I was betraying other women by not liking Zuko or Zutara the way "real mature" women did.

Funniest thing is, when i watched the show as a kid as an older sister, someone with talent/skills that nobody else understood, a girl who felt she had to be mature all the time, Kataang instantly became my otp. Katara was living my dream of a fun, cute boy sweeping me off my feet, telling me I was special and going on a magical journey with me-- I had the HUGEST crush on Aang as a little girl. It was so lame growing older and hearing near constantly from the fandom how stupid and unbelievable the idea that Katara actually had feelings for Aang was, and how it's a "male" (aka: bad) fantasy, when honestly Zuko's angsty ass was far from dream boyfriend material in my opinion it made me feel gaslit fjhdidjskj.

Genuine Z/tara fans are fine, I totally get the appeal of the red/blue enemies to lovers sparks fly ship, but the meanest and loudest of your crewmates and the way they act like their tastes are the Correct ones has been just. ridiculous for many years. And why do those types always feel the need to start the conversation by bashing Kataang every single time?? I started with a positive opinion of their ship when I entered the fandom as a teen, even liked a few arts and whatnot as a "what-if," but all the nonsense has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

So yeah, thanks for this space to complain about the experiences we've had lol. I've had one too many conversations about ATLA & how good it is interrupted with the other person going "well except for the Main Romance, that was shit and Z/tara should have been endgame" not to be Worn Out. Like if in their opinion the show is *perfect* except that One thing.... maybe the problem lies elsewhere?

Yup, that's definitely a pattern I noticed: zutarians are SO many and SO loud, that even though a pretty large part of the fandom disagrees with their takes (regardless of enjoying the canon ships or not) most of them just... didn't talk about it because they didn't want to be harrassed or talked down to or be hit with the "well, we are the majority therefore we're right" argument.

It's part of why I was innitially shocked at how much support this blog got. I thought I just gonna be in my own little bubble of the fandom, but nope, I got sooooo many messages of "FINALLY! Somebody said it!"

And looking back, I should've noticed something was off. There's a reason ATLA's ending was not one of these disasters that basically nukes and kills 90% of the fandom and live in infamy as one of the worst falls from grace ever, How I Met Your Mother style, even though both shows had the fan favorite ship not end together.

It wasn't just that one was well-written and the other wasn't (though that clearly affected the audience and critical reception of these endings, both at the time and through the decades).

HIMYM was a case of "The actual endgame ship was loathed by nearly everyone while the rival pairings were almost universally beloved."

ATLA was a case of "70% of the fandom likes this ship - of these fans, 25% are multishipers that also like the canon ships, 25% only like the ship in fanfic but don't actually want it to be a thing, 25% loves it but can accept it not being canon at point because they acknowledge it'd be rushed, and the 25% are the ones that would burn down Bryke's house if they could, so in reality only a fraction of the fandom didn't accept the Kataang/Maiko endgame, while the overwhelming majority was either happy about it or indifferent to it"

And that's without taking into account that Avatar got new popularity boosts through the years that lead to plenty of people that had Zutara being hyped up for years being disappointed when they realized "Oh, it was popular because of fanon shit, not because it actually would have made sense story-wise" or people who reached that same conclusion after rewatching the show.

I think that's why Zutarians have such a victim complex and want to pretend Bryke and Kataang/Maiko fans are "oppressing" them - they've been dominating the conversation for years, and not only got no results out of it, they're now losing that "leverage" too. They're no longer in an echo-chamber, they need to use actual arguments that make sense if they want their opinion to be almost universal and they just can't do it because their ship was never that good to begin with.

[salix-triandra]

for the ask - Sam Butler from mismag! (this is ivy btw just on my extremely old technically-main blog 💀)

Thank youuuu I would love to talk about the wondrous and incandescent Sam Butler:

I feel like Sam is getting her flowers in Season 2 and flew under the radar a bit in Season 1, but Season 1 established that Sam's strength lies in seeing the emotional connections between people and that she has a very strong emotional intelligence. She sees how people matter to each other, but her insecurities break my heart as they don't let her internalize how those connections often spread from HER. S2 shows us that she has spent so much time convinced that people don't actually like her but are liking a spell she is casting on them, even though the reality is that people genuinely like her. She is charming, but she isn't just charming; she has a strong desire to know things about others.

I've only ever shipped Sam with Evan, I'll be honest-- in season 1, she was the first person to say hi to him and attempt to include him the moment she met him. Sam literally talked demons out of possessing him. It blindsided me when Evan and K were the pairing in S1 (though by the time S2 began, they'd broken up) because I saw Sam's genuine care and affection for the person Evan was and I saw K's more surface-level fascination with Evan's situation and sad-boy deal over his person-ness. No K hate, it's literally their arc. And in season 2, that care and affection has continued to grow between Sam and Evan from the start, as early as episode 2 when Sam sees Evan giving into a violent urge and stops him bc she's worried about him, when she notices Evan is being really violent with his shadow, and when Evan carries Sam across a sea of lava and they have an emotional talk about wanting to be in each other's lives. And the whole time K and Sam are talking about what Sam wants in a partner it keeps cutting to Evan doing something off to the side... and then epsidoe 3 happens where Evan fucking dies and Sam is the only person who can look at the shadow version of him? And how she's the one to ask all the right questions to determine how to get Evan back to life? And from that point onward, we see them both prioritizing each other first in everything: in combat, in emotional scenes; they gravitate towards each other before others. I could talk about this part forever but won't bc this is about SAM and not the two of them as a couple. She is so attentive, caring, and loving; it shows in the way she sees Evan as a normal person, and he validates that for her by showing that he consistently sees to the core of her.

Non-romantic OTP, K Tanaka and Sam are Pink Pals forever, childhood friends that were super close, grew apart in adolescence, and then re-connected as 17 year-olds. They care for each other a lot and are able to have tough conversations together even if it means getting a little tense because it matters to them.

I know this doesn't count as an unpopular opinion about Sam the character, but seeing as how I don't have any, I would love to see more art of Sam with her natural hair or, at the very least, with some of the protective styles she would wear under her wigs! I'll contribue myself sometime soon, but I'd love to see it from other people, too!

I would have loved to see Sam get to have more time with Fergus Pontz, a character who she dated in S1 and then saw very briefly in episode 3 after Evan got killed-- we find out he followed the Pilot Program's pathing from island to island and then ended up somewhere with bomb in his chest?? and he died??? so she never got to meet back up with him and find out how he survived things; clearly something in their old dynamic was haunting her and it would have been nice for her to get that closure with him.

Thank you again for asking!!!! I loooove this series very much and Sam most of all :)