#platonically or romantically who’s to say

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Okay 3 things

1. I was thinking about an aroace Sonic who says things that can be taken as wildly flirty/romantic but he just means them genuinely. “You have beautiful eyes, I keep getting distracted while looking at them,” not cause he’s interested romantically in them but because eyes can be really cool and pretty man I dunno what to tell you he likes looking at cool things and he thinks his friends are neat. “You’re the most beautiful person here,” because he really thinks that, he loves his friends

2. Sonic randomly dropping heartfelt genuine comments on his friends out of the blue completely blindsiding them and then moves on like nothing happened while they’re left going ?????? Bonus points if he does something immensely stupid or jerkish just before or immediately afterwards and they can’t tell if he was serious or not with the compliment (yes he was)

3. Sonic usually being so allergic to truly vulnerable moments that when he expresses something heartfelt randomly Tails thinks he’s been stabbed or something and does not believe him when he reassures him that he’s fine he’s fine he’s not dying yeesh

[crheativity]

SUMMARY: Something goes wrong, and you’re in tears. How do the Overblot boys help you?

WARNINGS: Tried to keep things vague but sorry if it’s a lil too specific sometimes. Reader is Prefect. Written under a romantic presumption but could possibly be read platonic. The Hell Word pops up in Leona’s and Idia’s. Book 3, Book 4 and Book 6 spoilers in Leona’s, Jamil’s and Idia’s respectively. I wrote all of these late at night also, so fair warning

NOTES: sorry it’s been a while, life go brr. This is heavily self indulgent, and sorry if it’s OOC. Might do the others (First, Second & Third years) if enough people want it. 

Also, if you like this, please feel free to check out my Valentine’s Day Event!

He hesitates for a moment, hands hovering beside you as he thinks carefully about what to say. As he speaks, his voice begins to shake. 

“Thank you for trusting me of all people with your feelings and circumstances. I… I am so, so sorry, Prefect. I’m-- I wish I was good at this - there are no rules for comforting someone you care about - but I’ll do my best. I— I can’t imagine what it’s like, going through what you’re going through. What you’re about to be going through. But— of course, all of Heartslabyul and I are at your disposal. Anything, anything at all that would bring you a moment’s comfort or peace, please come to us. I— all of us care about you deeply. Please tell us what to do to assist.”

If you want it (and are willing to excuse a slightly flustered Riddle), he’ll give you a tight hug, trying to convey how much he cares about you. He hates that he struggles to talk about things like this. For you, he’ll do anything. Anything to bring your rosy smile back. And if anyone dares oppose him? Heads will roll. 

He’s been strangely quiet during your explanation, venting, tears - all of it. He waits until you’re finished - and then a moment longer, to consider his words. He reaches up to dry your tears. With his spare hand, he takes yours and pulls you a little closer, speaking in a low, gentle voice. 

“Oi, Herbivore, c’mere. It’ll be alright, you hear? You’re strong, shameless and crafty. Hell, you give that Octotwerp a run for his money. If you gotta fight tooth and claw to get through this, then I’ll fight with you, okay? Just— no more waterworks for now. Yeah, it sucks. But you’ve cried about things, so now you should have the strength to get up and stick through them. If that’s all you can manage, I’ll get Ruggie to take care of the rest. Just don’t push yourself right now, ‘kay? Good, now rest. You’ll need it after a sob-fest like that.“

He pulls you into a surprisingly gentle hug, rubbing circles on your arms. After a while, he’ll ask if you want to nap with him. Once you fall asleep, he’s calling Ruggie and making plans. No way in hell are you dealing with more than you have to. He’ll fight for you himself if he has to. 

Hearing the pain, the anguish and the tears in your voice, he has to fight back tears himself. He hesitantly reaches out for you. Pausing for a moment, he begins to speak, voice filled with emotion. 

“This is— I’m very, very sorry, Prefect. You do not deserve to go through this— any of this. Should you request anything at all, the Mostro Lounge will provide, free of charge, of course. If there is anything we— I— can do to ease your burdens, please do not hesitate to ask. The world can sometimes be a deeply flawed, unfair place. I wish that I had the power to better shield you from this side. I’m truly, very sorry, Prefect. Please know that I— we care about you. This world is a far better place for your presence in it. Please, let us return the favour for you.”

He (with permission) gently pulls you into a hug, holding you as though you were glass. He was going to find who- or whatever caused you to hurt like this and make their pitiful existence miserable. Those poor, unfortunate souls. 

As you confide in him, Jamil seems to turn strangely quieter than usual. His solution oriented mind begins to whir, thinking about what he can do to help, the logistics of it, etc. Your sniffling snaps him back into reality. Putting solutions aside for now, he reaches for your hands and squeezes them gently, offering you a small, sad smile.

“Hey, everything will work out. It sucks right now, obviously, but in a while, it’ll all be okay. That’s just the way life goes, for some reason. World shattering events can happen, but time marches on anyway. It’ll always drag you with it, too. What I mean is that because you’ll be okay eventually, it can help you be okay now. I guess. And we at Scarabia are always here for you, okay? Kalim’s… Kalim, and I’m always here for you if you need to vent or complain or if you need help. I’m never too busy if it’s you, alright? Just don’t bottle it up… that works out well.”

He smiles a little ruefully at that last comment, then takes off his hoodie and drapes it over you. He tells you to keep it - that way he’s always there with you if you need it. He squeezes your hands and rests his forehead against yours, comfortingly. Jamil wasn’t used to being quite so… hopeful. But you had helped him become better, and he wanted to return the favour.

Vil may be a good actor, but his thoughts were shockingly readable as you vented to him. He seemed to react correctly in all the right places, asking questions but never pressing for answers. When you finish, he gently reaches out and starts stroking your hair. He pulls you a little closer for comfort. He pauses for a moment, then begins to speak.

“I’m so sorry, Prefect. You do not deserve this - any of this. Pomefiore’s students and I are always here for you, no matter the need. Anything you need, it would be our honour and privilege to provide. In times such as these, I find taking care of oneself is extremely important. Not to the extent of perfectionism necessarily, but enough to bring you joy. So please, if it’s not too much trouble, please find one indulgent thing each day. Not something so unhealthy it’d ruin you, but something gentle and sweet. Like a bubble bath, or watching that movie you’ve mentioned wanting to see. It’s important to keep yourself as happy as you can, when life is attempting to do the opposite. And if you can’t think of anything, then please, come to me. Let me take care of you.”

He then, with permission, sweeps you into the biggest, comfiest, warmest hug you’ve ever experienced (Ghibli-style), and stays that way until you move. He wants to do so much more for you. He knows where you’re at, and, being the kind of person you are, he trusts you’ll know what’s best for yourself. He only hopes you let him take care of you, too.

Bro was low key in panic mode. What the hell is he supposed to say/do??? He really, really can’t afford to screw this up. He’s pretty sure he’d get a -1000 debuff to his Charisma stats if he doesn’t say the right thing. Usually, he wouldn’t particularly care if it was just some NPC he had to comfort - but this is the protagonist we’re talking about! And Ortho’s not here, just his luck! He sighs and his mind races back through every Otome/VN game he’s played and every shoujo romcom to figure out what in Twisted Wonderland he’s supposed to say.

“Uhh, that’s not very… plus ultra? Shoot, I mean-... That sounds really tough. I’m sorry, Prefect… Stuff like that is rough… I’m, uh, not the best person to go to for advice. Not particularly known for my ability to… handle stuff. mentally. But uh, I’m always here for a distraction if you need. That’s what I typically do. Distract until you don’t feel anymore haha… but uh, that’s probably not a good thing. Still, though. I’m always happy to play games or watch anime with you.. Or something. Those are my favourite things, not necessarily yours. We don’t have to. It’s honestly enough just to hang out with you… ugh, that was cringe, wasn’t it?”

Once you assure him that it was very much not cringe, he sighs in relief and gives you a small, soft smile - not an expression you’ve seen often on him. He reaches over and pulls out two controllers, throwing one to you. He boots up a game, commenting how he’s not gonna go easy on you just because you’re sad. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

You cautiously ignore the thunderstorm brewing outside as you vent to Malleus about your problems. You carefully construct your words and phrases, to protect Sage Island from month-long hurricanes. After you finish, Malleus asks if you are comfortable with physical affection. With consent, he pulls you into a hug. 

“Apologies, Child of Man, I am not familiar with methods of comfort. I will do my best - I only ask for your leniency if I say something wrong, and for you to understand that all I say is with the best intentions. I want you to know that I care about you. I believe it is important for those going through difficult periods of time to know where they have true friends. No matter what, Child of Man, I wish to be counted among those. If I am, and with your permission, I will enact all I can to assist you through and out of these situations. I only ask your patience. I promise, I will do whatever you require during this time. Only speak my name, and I will be there.”

Malleus continues to hold you gently, unsure about what to do or say from here, other than gently repeating he’s here for you. He stays there with you until you are ready to move on, then takes you for a walk around campus. And this time, he’ll only go on two tangents about gargoyles you pass.

♥Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!!♥

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

quick question- I was a bit confused in some dialogue during book 1 lol 😭😭 It’s during the later chapters when riddle has collared both ace and deuce after they’ve challenged him for his seat. More specifically, the part where yuu calls riddle out for his behavior (rightfully so) and he responds by insulting them and their parents I believe?

The confusion stems from aceyuu shippers (just wanted to clarify I’m not self shipping lmao) where they say ace ends up punching riddle because he’s explicitly defending yuu’s honor or whatever but i also see other people (non-shippers) who say ace punched riddle because he insulted ace and/or deuce’s parents? Im not quite sure which one it is and went back in the actual game to check but i feel like the wording of riddle’s insults is a bit vague? Idk, maybe im just being a bit of a dum dum and can’t properly comprehend the scene even though it’s quite simple. I feel like it’s also just because i see a lot of people saying different stuff and just wanted to hear your thoughts on it if that’s okay?

I just feel like you really understand both the story and characters in that regard haha

P.S. your posts r genuinely very informative and helpful especially for people like me who kinda have no media literacy (not in a negative way!!) pls keep up the good work you’re rlly great at it <333

Hmmm, I see 🤔

Before I get to responding to this question, I want to preface this with a few disclaimers! Firstly, I do not mean to invalidate or detract from Ace x Yuu shippers or anyone who may interpret their relationship as romantic. You should ship what you like and have fun doing it. My reply aims to be more objective, but that should NOT impede on your enjoyment or whatever it is you choose to ship. Secondly, for those who don’t ship Ace x Yuu, I will be discussing the pairing later on in this post, so please keep this in mind.

Let's first look at how the game and how it depicts the scene. This occurs in 1-22, shortly after Riddle collars Ace and Deuce in their duel for the dorm leader seat. With his victory secured, Riddle begins to gloat about how this is proof that he is "the most correct". At this point, Yuu/the player character is granted two dialogue options:

If you choose "But that's not right!", Riddle replies with, "I am the one who decides what is wrong and right! What sort of pitiful education have you received, that you cannot follow such simple rules?"

If you choose "You can't just use rules to do whatever you please!", then Riddle replies with, "If there were no penalties, no one would follow the rules. I have to wonder what sort of pitiful education left you unable to comprehend so simple a concept."

However, no matter which dialogue option you choose, Riddle continues on to say, "Clearly, you were born to parents with no great magical capability. And as a result... You lack even the basic education necessary to attend a school such as this. It's quite sad."

Deuce becomes upset after hearing this--but before he is able to act, Ace is already on his feet and manages to deck his dorm leader in the face.

Based on the fact that Riddle seems to react to something that Yuu says, the framing here implies that the "you" Riddle is using refers to them specifically. As you can see above, both Ace and Deuce take offense to what Riddle says, but it is Ace that acts preemptively and attacks Riddle for his rudeness. This is what Ace x Yuu shippers will point to as a defining moment in their relationship (though, to be clear, this scene can definitely also be interpreted as platonic!!).

… Buuut it’s not completely clear that Riddle is explicitly directing any and all insults towards Yuu and Yuu alone, even if Yuu was the one to prompt his tirade. Due to the visual novel style format of the game, we have limited assets to base our interpretations off of, so going by the game alone may not be entirely accurate to what is happening in this scene. For example, we don't know how the characters are oriented relative to one another. It's possible that Riddle responds to Yuu's dialogue and then turns away to berate Yuu, Ace, and Deuce for their stupidity, since all three of them are, in his eyes, rule-breakers. We simply cannot tell due to the constraints of a visual novel. Let’s consult the manga adaptation and see how that presents 1-22.

In the Episode of Heartslabyul, the framing of the panels centers Riddle and Adeuce; Yuuken is not involved whatsoever. (On a prior page, all Yuuken remarks on is how fast Riddle is able to cast his spell; Yuuken has no lines similar to game!Yuu’s earlierdialogue options.) Riddle stands imposing over his opponents and rants at Ace and Deuce about their lack of an education. You can see that it really strikes a nerve with Deuce (whom we learned used to be a delinquent prior to NRC). This still results in Yuu punching Riddle.

The manga seems to imply that Riddle is not insulting Yuu, but rather Adeuce. This makes sense to me, given that though all of them are rebels to Heartslabyul’s strict rules, Adeuce are the two who most directly challenge his authority.

You can see in a close-up panel that Deuce is gritting his teeth and trying to hold himself back from going at Riddle. The text in that panel involves the mention of parents who cannot use magic—which just so happens to be true of Deuce’s mother. The same mother that he worked so hard to make proud of, the mother he turned over a new leaf for. But again, it’s Ace that gets the hit in. Why is that?

Let’s check out our final source, the first volume of the light novel. On pages 319 and 320:

Riddle very clearly states “And as for you two.” This clearly refers to the fallen Ace and Deuce. He then unleashes his barrage of insults at them. Again, not at Yuu, but at Ace and Deuce. The text even goes on to remind us that Deuce would be especially rattled by Riddle’s words because of how he had come to NRC for the sake of his mom. In this version, we see our Yuu (Yuuya) being more involved by trying to keep Deuce from lashing out. Like in the game, however, Ace still gets in that punch on his dorm leader.

Okay, so… The game, manga, and light novels are different iterations of the same base story. Based on which you consume, you could walk away with an entirely different understanding of the scene in question. The game, being the most interactive medium with a self-insert main character, a gacha game which makes $$$ from endearing the characters to us, has the set-up which is most conducive for yumeshipping and thus making the player feel beloved and important in 1-22. This is obvious if you also consider that many fanservicey lines from other parts of the game (such as Ace wanting to sleep in Yuu’s room) being left out of the manga. It's also entirely possible that Riddle first reacts to what Yuu says, and THEN shifts his attention to address the group rather than just Yuu. The manga, with a more standoffish and level-headed Yuu, doesn’t speak up like game!Yuu does, so Riddle instead directly insults Ace and Deuce. The light novel, which features a timid and non-confrontational Yuu, is focused on deescalating the situation. And, like the manga, the light novel is NOT interactive and so it doesn’t need to concern itself with making the player feel special. Riddle isn’t mandated to acknowledge Yuu; he can instead be mad at Ace and Deuce all he likes.

If we were to combine information from across the game, manga, and light novel to decipher what is “truly” happening, here’s how I see it!

The light novel contains a scene exclusive to it on pages 176 and 177. As Ace is making himself comfortable at Ramshackle, he formally apologizes to Yuuya for being mean to him in the prologue. Ace explains that his meanness was because he thought that Yuuya had bullied his way to be admitted to NRC under special circumstances. “[…] the rest of us had to work our butts off to get in, and you just sorta walked in.” He proclaims that this was unfair, so it annoyed him.

This makes a lot of sense for Ace’s character. In book 7 of the main story, he expresses that he is insecure about being an ordinary mage and that he hadn’t even developed his UM yet. He calls himself lame and pathetic, someone who is always looking for an excuse to take the easy way out. This is in spite of the bravado he puts on and how he often brags about being better or smarter than Deuce (most notably in book 5). If we believe the light novel dialogue, Ace worked hard to get invited to NRC. He has pride in earning this, and he has something to prove while he is there. Recall that his older brother is an alumnus of the school, and that his own father is a magicless human. Ace canonically has a good relationship with both of these family members and often bonds with them through little things like card trick competitions. When Riddle insults Ace's background... he is also insulting Ace's brother and father. He is also insulting all the effort Ace put forth to get into NRC in the first place. Ace would of course lose it--especially when he has been the primary victim of Riddle's rage for most of book 1. He's the first to be collared, the one who had to apologize and attempted to make an apology tart (which got rejected). Bro's fed UP having to bend the knee to a tyrant and sick of watching everyone else do the same. The punch that comes out of it seems to me like the result of all Ace's pent-up frustrations, as well as his own fury at Riddle speaking ill of him and his family.

While Ace is unquestionably willing to ride or die for Yuu in books 4 (he takes a long public transit route from the Queendom to Sage's Island after receiving a SOS text from them) and 6 (he tries to protect his friends from Ferrymen)... I think book 1's a bit too early for him to be SO loyal to Yuu that he'd get this angry on their behalf and sock Riddle. (Book 1 takes place during the first week of school; Ace seems to have only known Yuu for a few days at this point + hasn't really hung out with them besides sleeping over at Ramshackle since he's not allowed back at Heartslabyul.) His punch definitely feels fueled by a bunch of other things rather than being extremely motivated to defend Yuu's honor. I think maybe a case could be made for the game specifically, since that's the only version where Yuu is potentially addressed rather than Ace and Deuce being addressed. However, this does take some extrapolation. You'd have to assume that Ace is actually very attached to Yuu this early on or pair it with the idea that Ace is sensitive about magicless humans in general being discriminated against because of his own father being magicless (ie Ace was insulted by proxy, even if Riddle might have aimed the comments at Yuu). Not sure if the latter argument holds up very well though, considering that Ace himself did discriminate against Yuu in the prologue because they lacked magic. Likewise, he doesn't get mad for Fellow and Gidel in Playful Land when they share about being looked down on for not being magically inclined. But hey, maybe that was just Ace being in denial and acting contrary in order to cope with his own complicated feelings on the topic. He’s been known to behave like this anyway, acting cocky despite having no UM and denying that Yuu would go home (even though we later find out he deeply does not wish for this to happen).

I definitely think that many of the game-exclusive lines and content are there as fanservice for the players, who are encouraged to project or to self-insert as Yuu. Ace in particular is one of the characters who gets a ton of this kind of yumejoshi bait-y stuff. Everyone has it to some extent, but Ace is one of the rare few who has several pretty overt instances in the main story (whereas most other characters have their fanservice content relegated to voice lines and maybe some events). On top of this scene (which could potentially read as "Ace defending Yuu's honor"), we have: multiple instances of Ace offering to share a room/bed with Yuu (once in book 1, again in book 3), he has shared his number with Yuu and invites them to call him if they "miss him", Ace's entire book 7 dream revolving around a reality in which Yuu is able to freely traverse between Twisted Wonderland and their original world (furthermore, he is the ONLY dreamer we have seen in which Yuu is involved in the dream), etc. Ace is also known to frequently tease Yuu, and, on top of having several voice lines inviting them to hang out, is actually shown hanging out with them and caring about them in various vignettes and events. For example, he has movie nights with Yuu (Idia's Labwear vignettes), asks for their opinion on whether or not he looks the part to woo the Ghost Bride, rides roller coasters with them in Playful Land while previously complaining that his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t, and worries for where Yuu might be (Endless Halloween Night). With this abundance of Ace and Yuu content, I can see why people that have the shipping goggles on--and even those who don't--might interpret early scenes as Ace acting out for Yuu's sake, be it romantically or platonically. More objectively speaking and when considering the manga + light novel though, I don't think I personally read 1-22 that way. I enjoy Ace as a character and I support Ace x Yuu shippers, but the evidence and context suggests that he's venting other frustrations to me.

Again though, this is just my interpretation. Feel free to use this information however you’d like and come to your own conclusion.

[fatcatlittlebox]

Something has been needling me since I first read that quote from Morfydd and it later caught fire on the webs:

What I had taken immediately for granted was that she meant that the relationship between Halbrand and Galadriel was intended to be platonic and it was Charlie who decided to add the extra heat and the hint of a romantic aspect. But in retrospect upon reading and watching his interviews I think it is the opposite -- were Halbrand and Galadriel originally meant to have been shown as more overtly falling in love? Was it written more explicitly as a love story rather than implied, as we eventually see?

First, we can recall that the very first promotions for the show had press descriptions of Halbrand as Galadriel’s “love interest”. Even the concept art showed more intimacy.

And I think this is the reason why I find it so interesting when I revisit some of the Haladriel scenes from season 1. Particularly the ones that Charlie and Morfydd had said they came up with the blocking for. And that clearly the director agreed with. I can appreciate that if the blocking were chosen differently, it would have changed the whole tenor of the scene and hence, the dynamics of their relationship. Take for instance, the log scene. Imagine if Galadriel and Halbrand had been simply standing and saying those words, looking upon each other. It would obviously be a conversation between lovers. A tone of romantic declaration. Imagine if Galadriel had been looking directly into Halbrand's eyes, bodies facing, when she said, "I felt it too."

But that's not what Charlie, Morfydd and the director went with and I like it even better. It was Charlie and Morfydd who collaborated and agreed that they would sit parallel and not looking at each other. The scene takes on a "confession". Which...Catholic. The symbolism here is great because as I have said before in previous metas, their original "sin" was when they chose each other over their gods. And here, in this "confessional" scene, as it is composed, they are performing the sacrament of reconciliation. With Galadriel and Sauron interchanging roles of penitent and priest. Galadriel is pledging allegiance, unbeknownst to her, to a fallen demigod and Sauron is seeking absolution from her, an exiled elf. A sinner asking for salvation from his accomplice. It is worshipful and sacrilegious.

As Charlie, and frequently supported by Morfydd, have said, their connection "transcends" romantic love. It is not a human, mortal emotion. It is cosmic. It disrupts the celestial hierarchy but is ultimately restorative to the universal harmony. It is their beginning and ending eternally. Where Sauron isn't just the biblical snake. He is the snake eating his own tail.

Love and hate. Light and dark. Life in defiance of death. And I would much rather have that. Galadriel and Sauron as emissaries of this cosmic balance, permanent fixtures in a primordial architecture. Destined to always be chasing the other. Gravitating, circling. Vigilant and yearning.

[artinventor]

So after watching 8x17 I was informed that originally Dean was supposed to say “I love you” in the crypt instead of “I need you” but tbh the change makes more sense to me and might even be even worse than if he said “love”. Dean shows his love in everything he does, shows it plenty with everything he was doing in purgatory, but for him to not only NEED you but to admit it,,,

“I need you” was was more powerful and more in character for both of them cuz:

1. I don’t think at this point cas understands human emotion fully or human love for that matter, he’s certainly learning it more as the seasons go on, but it’s not something he’s familiar with right now. So unless dean elaborated more, which he wouldn’t, would he really know what that meant. even though he wouldn’t admit it, dean is actually so caring towards everyone, cas could easily think he could mean any type of love that isn’t special to him. Honestly considering his absent father and the fact that he’s a soldier with no army, which used to be his only purpose, he wants to be needed. Just looking at hippie cas, he turned into that cuz he lost his powers and felt useless.

2. dean is not one that tells people that, he just shows it, and he was already showing it. He never told Lisa he loved her even when he was with her as a stand in husband/father to her son for a whole year, he barely even tells Sam that he loves him and that’s his brother. Also considering who he is and how stubborn he is it’s really rare and means a lot for HIM of all people to say he “needs” you. Dean’s abandonment issues kinda rejects the idea of needing someone, and growing up the way he did, he doesn’t trust easily. Love is a risk, but needing someone is just full on vulnerability. Also it’s just insane cuz it’s like why do you need him dean? surely you’re not doing all that just cuz his angel powers are useful

Though this IS the second time dean said he needs cas, he said it in purgatory earlier in the season as well. Both times he’s pleading with cas, the first time to try and get him to go with him and escape purgatory together and the second time he’s trying to get through to him past the mind control. The second time being in a much more romantic context. He does say that they’re family before saying it, but then he says “we need you” and changes it to “I need you” which is the main thing that really does it. THEN after he breaks through it, dean asks what broke the connection and they’re both clueless, if it was purely platonic wouldn’t cas, being as blunt and factual as he is, just say that it’s because of their friend/family bond?

[miamc]

it’s funny how when will says that el has a bunch of letters from mike he says “that’s because she’s my girlfriend will” not, “that’s because i care about her will” or “that’s because i miss her”. because we know mike misses and cares about will too so that couldn’t be why he didn’t write to him or call. the way he says it almost feels like he’s treating it as some kind of obligation. it’s like his mind categorizes el as “the girlfriend” first rather than just “el”. like there are certain things he must do because she is his girlfriend and he is her boyfriend and that’s the way it is. it all feels very mechanical.

then the “we’re friends, we’re friends!” it’s just?? nobody said you weren’t? it’s like he’s equating keeping in touch with romance. if he kept in touch with will like he did with el who is his girlfriend, will would be like his boyfriend. and we know he wanted to call but couldn’t because of joyce’s telemarketer job. so why didn’t mike just explain this then? it would’ve been really simple. “i wanted to call but i couldn’t because the line was always busy” maybe will would’ve thought it was an excuse but you would still think mike would have said it?? why did he create a situation where it would have been romantic if he tried to keep in touch instead?

i can only imagine how this was for will who is already so scared of what mike’s reacted to him being gay will be like. it must be so confusing. every time he confronts mike about a failing in their friendship, mike gives the conversation a gay undertone when there wasn’t even one in the first place 😭 will probably thinks he’s being too obvious or doing something wrong when in reality mike is the one making it weird.

while will didn’t call either, the entire situation is framed as mike ignoring will and acting weird, when will is the one supposed to be acting weird because he likes mike! mike doesn’t suspect that will likes him so why would he distance himself from will? literally all of this comes from mikes side not wills. if mike was really straight i think they would have written the scene differently. i mean there has to be some reason he got defensive rather than explaining himself.

they wanted us to know about joyce’s telemarketer job as they revealed it later on. they wanted us to connect the dots and realize that’s why mike couldn’t call. but why wouldn’t mike say this to will?? what about calling your best friend that’s moved away could be misconstrued at romantic?? i think too many people focus on will in this scene and the “what about us” that they comely forget to focus on mikes reaction. the way he says “what” is about a hundred times more incriminating than “what about us”. will meant that platonically. he wants to know what happened to their friendship. but mikes distraught face and vulnerable “what” immediately followed up by defensiveness? no sorry. that’s not how you would react to your best friend asking about your friendship.

something about being asked to examine his friendship with will scared him. if it was all really platonic he could have at least said what is an exasperated annoyed tone. no, instead he said it in such genuinely vulnerable tone like it’s impossible not to notice it on a rewatch. he was dreading that question for a long time.

[sainteclectic]

+ since it's aro awareness week, I'll finally unleash that rant on why the state of shipping discourse in this fandom bothers me

disclaimer that i am not saying you can't be uncomfortable with jashshipping!! I don't really like romantic shipping in this fandom either. this is just a commentary on the culture surrounding this discourse and fandom shipping in general. OK LET'S GO.

I've noticed this weird distinction people make between platonic and romantic art in regards to what gets the "jashshipping" tag added. it's also incredibly arbitrary what kinds of posts are considered "jashshipping" - is a qpr jashshipping? why not? they're in a relationship. why does it matter if it's romantic or not? why is romance the only kind of shipping seen as valid, either positively or negatively?

on a personal level, I feel this pressure to always clarify that I'm not talking about romantic pairings. qprs, close friendships and relationship anarchy in general aren't seen as jashshipping, and it feels like I need to preemptively devalue my queerplatonic ships by saying they "don't really count." I need to be careful about my work not being "too romantic" or people assume I'm "jashshipping." i just find it demeaning as a partnering aromantic person.

and this culture is why people who enjoy non-romantic pairings don't want them to be tagged as ship - because there's this implication that a ship HAS to mean romance. it shouldn't, but it still does. it would be great if we lived in a world where shipping meant any kind of relationship between two characters instead of just referring to romance, but we don't.

this is why I tag ship names without tagging it as jashshipping. because the nature of "shipping" in this fandom is always implied to be romantic in nature, which is what makes it the most taboo to discuss. so I don't tag it as jashship because that's only used for romance {or for what the fandom perceives as inherently romantic actions, which is another can of worms entirely}. but elevating a romantic ship to a higher negative standard is still placing romance above any other form of relationship. there's still a hierarchy in place.

I don't think ships as a whole {hah} need to be defined by romantic attraction. it's short for relationship, after all. to designate ships as ONLY romantic implies that romance is the only valid type of relationship. and to designate romantic ships as uniquely bad still implies romance is a unique type of bond.

{I also have an issue with the implication that dating what is essentially your headmate is selfcest by default, but that's another discussion}

TL;DR - I think the culture around what designates something as "jashshipping" should be viewed with more scrutiny. it's very amatonormative to assume pairings with any level of closeness is "jashshipping," and it implies a hierarchy of relationships even if that hierarchy is negative. jashship works as a content tag for anyone uncomfortable with romantic pairings, but to imply it's an objective judgment on what's considered romance is reductive.

[honeycaksy]

Hi, I like your style. I wonder if you can draw Mary and Remus (romantic or platonic as you wish) pls?

They're my favourite rare ship

BOOM SHAKALAKA LETS GOOOOO

I never heard of that ship before?? But yknow what I SAY YES 😤😤😤

Also I don’t think Mary is a short girlie; it’s just Remus who is ridiculously tall

Enjoyyyyy

[olderthannetfic]

Need people to understand that when they say "Hot take they are strictly platonic friends" all smug and superior about shounen bros they are not giving out a hot take.

Maybe on tumblr it is hot take but the outside of this little circle of people who are into shipping that is coldest take ever. Even more so outside this circle the romantic reading is the piping hot take.

You're not being a contrarian my dude. Not at all.

--

[thatbirdrestaurant]

A deeply unnecessary analysis of NaLu and Natsu's feelings

I'm as much of a sucker for insta-love NaLu as the next guy, but I do genuinely believe it took these two a while to fall in love. I can't deny that there was an immediate attraction, especially on Lucy's end, and I do think romantic feelings have been stewing between the two of them since as early as season one, but the realization took a really long time to hit.

We'll start off talking about Lucy, because I have the least to say about her. I've said before that I think Lucy didn't realize she had feelings for Natsu until she realized she was in love with him, which was after the events of the Eclipse Gate. I can pinpoint the exact moment she realized; the moment right after, when her and Natsu are standing in the rubble, and she just starts crying before running to hug him. I think that's the moment she realized that she loves him, and she has for a while.

I believe it took so long for Lucy to realize because she grew up in a very sheltered environment. Her only exposure to typical teenage experiences that didn't involve arranged marriages was teen magazines; she knew what it felt like to be superficially attracted to someone, when someone was objectively attractive, and she's had crushes before, but never really been in love.

We're moving onto Natsu now, because I have the most to say about him by a landslide. For immediate starters, I don't really recognize 100 Year Quest; even though I love all the GruVia development within it, I find it to be a very unnecessary spin-off that doesn't respect its characters, especially Natsu. It's done horrible things for his maturity as a whole, including all the development with Lucy.

Natsu loves Lucy, that's something I've believed for a very long time, and he shows it in his actions more than anything. He's protective of her, he loves spending time with her and he's upset when she isn't around, and he wants to move Heaven and Earth for her. He has since pretty much day one.

But he doesn't realize he has feelings for her until their fight with Kain, and he doesn't even realize he's in love with her until he watches her (future self) die.

That doesn't sound right, though, does it? How can someone watch a scene like Natsu putting the rainbow sakura on a boat, just so Lucy can see it bloom, and think he doesn't realize he likes her until much, much later?

Natsu was raised in an environment where you would cut off both arms and a leg for your friends and family. Fairy Tail is a guild that values familial relationships and friendships more than anything. I truly believe that, to Natsu, most of the things he did for Lucy before the fight with Kain, he did with what he thought were platonic intentions.

On top of that, I do headcanon Natsu to be on the aromantic spectrum. He doesn't feel romantic attraction as "easily" as other people do, and he very seldom actually recognizes it as such. He knows what it is - how could he not, when surrounded by it so often - but he's never really felt it himself. Maybe he had a bit of a childhood crush on Lisanna, but that's stretching it thin. She was his best friend, that's for certain.

Natsu thinks he and Lucy are as normal as friends as anyone else in the guild, until she has the chance to leave him behind for her own safety, and she absolutely refuses. I cannot watch that scene without feeling like I'm watching Natsu fall in love, realize his feelings at the very least.

Another NaLu trope I'm an absolute sucker for is that Natsu thinks, and has thought, him and Lucy have been dating for quite some time. Do I realistically believe so? No, I don't.

I think, to some capacity, Natsu knows that Lucy loves him, too, the same way that he loves her, and I think he believes that's a mutual understanding. To Natsu, they both know how they feel, that they're in love, but they're not in a rush to discuss it, to put a label on it.

He knows they act like a couple, that people who pass them on the street see a boyfriend with his girlfriend, and that's enough for him at the moment.

Natsu and Lucy's final conversation before the end of the series was a confession. Hiro Mashima can pry this belief from my cold dead hands. That was Natsu's way of confessing his love for Lucy, his way of expressing that he wants them to be together forever, but he's still Natsu, and he still thinks Lucy knows he loves her.

Lucy is a very shy person; she gets flustered just from Natsu standing too close, and Natsu is already content with the two of them just existing near one another. Would he like to hug and kiss Lucy? Of course he would, but he doesn't need it.

Where him and Lucy are is already more than enough for him, he just, unfortunately, doesn't realize that Lucy isn't on the same page. She would like to be, though she doesn't even realize it, but she doesn't quite have the courage for it.

While I do think Lucy is pining for Natsu, I don't think she's doing so painfully. She gets flustered when people insinuate her and Natsu are a couple, as anyone would, but she doesn't seem very torn up about correcting people. She loves him, yes, but she's completely fine with just being his friend. She's grateful enough to have him in her life.

They're in this weird limbo of 'not a couple, but not just friends' because while they're not oblivious to their own feelings, they're oblivious to the impression the other has about their relationship. Natsu thinks they're dating, but are taking things slow; Lucy thinks they're just friends, but would love to be more.

[lordfancy]

My quick take on ShadowVanilla

(not a negative post/ask me anything)

This is kind of random, but I can’t stop thinking about the dynamic between Shadow Milk Cookie and Pure Vanilla because I do honestly really enjoy it. Also, this is mostly just my opinion, so please bear with me.

Overall, I don’t ship them. No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t see them in a romantic relationship.

However, I really love the idea of them having a strong, loving friendship instead. There’s still care and compassion between them, but in a way that feels more natural rather than romantic.

I think another reason I’m not the biggest fan of the romantic ship is that I’ve seen their pairing and dialogue reduced to nothing but "really gay yaoi," which is kind of upsetting. It feels like their dynamic gets dumbed down to that; but I’m not saying all shippers are like that, of course.

Most importantly though, I don’t have anything against anyone who does ship them I’ve just had trouble finding more content that focuses on their platonic bond.

Honestly, I’d love for anyone to ask me questions or just talk to me about this because, overall, I think ship wars are childish, unless someone’s shipping something borderline illegal, you know? I like understanding different perspectives, even if we don’t see eye to eye. Just because someone likes cheeseburgers doesn’t mean you have to hate them cause you don’t like cheeseburgers.

But yeah, that’s all my rambling. Feel free to drop your opinion I’d love to hear other people’s takes on this from both perspectives 🙇‍♂️🙏

[shrilleth]

YESSSS EXACTLY I ALMOST BROUGHT THAT UP.

Every ship in this fandom gets hit with the twinkinator / feminization beam and Bulkjack is one of those ships where you really can't do that. (And if you're gonna try and make one of them more feminine it has to be Bulkhead but they won't do that on account of him, again, being fat and black!!!!!)

But yeah, I think part of the reason masc4masc ships like Bulkjack are finally starting to catch on is that the demographics of people in fandom are seeing a slow increase of the percentage of gay men as opposed to women. Don't get me wrong, the fujoshis have been and always will be the lifeblood of any fandom, but without actual gay men around there is gonna be a major lack of authenticity in terms of how gay relationships are portrayed and what characters get shipped.

And I think that's really the missing piece as to both why this ship didn't take off and why it feels so insane now that it didn't. The reason we like the ship so much now is because it feels so authentic, almost to the point where it doesn't need to call attention to itself by fitting into a "typical gay dynamic", but 2010s fandom wasn't really equipped to detect that authenticity in the way that we are now.

And it's not even to say that the platonic reading of them is bad, reading it that way it's still really powerful and meaningful and important to show two best friends who are this close without the fear of it being gay, because yeah, men should be able to say I love you to eachother without it being some big deal, and the fact that they were able to show that on kids tv in 2011 is really cool.

But I think the fact that it can so easily be read as platonic is part of what makes it feel so real in a romantic context, the fact that the dynamic can be so easily read both ways, like, the way they act around eachother would not change that much depending on whether you read it as romantic or platonic.

I think part of the reason so many people missed out on them is because they "act like straight men" but I feel like that's because Bulkhead and Wheeljack have a dynamic that could only exist in a binormative society where homophobia never existed, in that masculine men being into men would be expected and there wouldn't be this level of insecurity surrounding it.

It's the kinda thing where I feel like this is what most gay cybertronian relationships would look like, in a way. It's like by virtue of being unable to be hit with the fembeam Bulkjack forces you to look at the relationship for what it actually is, and see what it tells you about cybertronian relationships as a whole.

idk maybe I'm overthinking it but auuuuu these two own my soul.

I still don’t and will never understand how bulkjack is considered a rarepair when both are canonically best friends, arcee’s "who’s the boyfriend?" Joke happening in their first interaction on screen and not being denied, that "it’s because I love ya" n shit like. ? What’s going on?

[velvet-rp]

Hey! So l've been really into Batman again more specifically Batfam and I really want to use my oc for the rp

a bit about my oc, she Damian twin sister, she's very close off/introverted, she nerdy, queer, and she has her own version of the Robin costume and goes by night Robin

for the rp I really don't have and idea for a plot so we can talk and discuss and come up with a rp for it together!

This can either be 1x1 or a 2x2 rp. I’m mostly looking to do a mainly platonic roleplay, but if you want to do romantic as well than I’m willing to do that since I do ship her with Jon Kent! ^^

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈﹒ׂׂૢ་༘࿐ೢ

things to note/rules

-I would feel comfortable rping with someone who 18+

-I'm still I school so I won't be able to reply 24/7 So I would say (unless I say I let you know im busy) then after like 3 weeks you can message me

-my time zone is also est

-I'm a semi-literate to literate roleplayer. I usually write up to 3-5 at a minimum. I'm find if you're not really a literate or semi-literate rolepayer, but at least give me two or three lines and not just one line, since it makes it hard for me to reply back to you. Also if you going to rp with me, please rp in the third person since it makes it easier for me to see who is and who isn't talking when it comes to rps when people are playing multiple characters

-Please either use //, )) , Il, etc. When you are talking outside of the rp it makes it easier for me to easily tell what's apart of the rp or not

-I'm fine with the cursing in the rp, I'm also find with rps mentioning serious topics like abuse, drugs, etc.

-I will not really be rp with anyone who's homophobic, transphobic, racist, or sexist

Trigger/Limits

-Don't glorify/ romanticize serious thing as it's really weird and makes me uncomfortable same goes with making jokes about it

-Please don't go into detail about SA, you can have it mentioned and talked about for your oc but you don't need to have the event described in so much detail

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

[havocandcchaos]

It's really important to me that y'all understand that Fiyeros last words are, "Glinda, I'm so sorry."

Thats it. "Glinda, I'm so sorry." and then the end, lights out, shows over for Fiyero.

Those are the last words he speaks alive. Those are his last words, not as a scarecrow. It is the last thing he ever says. he looks at his ex-fiancee, the only person he's been able to trust, to rely on, to love, for the last 5 years. The person he just abandoned not 24 hours earlier. The person he was abandoning again but this time so much worse.

And she's forgiving him. She's looking at him and saying you abandoned me for my best friend, and you held me at gunpoint, and I'm pretty sure you'd hate me if you could, but it's ok because I love you, and I'll always love you, and you love her, and so do I and its ok, because as long as someone loves her, then it's ok.

"He was never going to hurt me, he just loves her."

And he's about to be dragged off to his death. They both know it, even if Glinda is still pretending like she can change it. She would if she could. She'd give her life to save his. To save theirs. but she can't. And that's a rant for another day.

And instead of begging for his life, instead of screaming and pleading against the brutal death he's surely going to receive, he looks up at the only person he's had for 5 years. The woman he's loved for 5 years. The woman he so deeply betrayed. And he apologizes. Because he can't have his last act hurt her. She has to know he loves her and will always love her.

His last act hurts her anyway because his last act is being beaten to death in front of her, but there's nothing either of them can do about that but scream.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry."

For the gun, for leaving, for staying, for being mad, for being happy, for lying, for not loving you enough, for loving her too much, for all of it.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry."

And then he's dragged away. And Glinda screams and cries, and begs them to let him go. And Fiyero does none of those things. Because it's pointless and they both know it. But he's not the one who has to live with his death. She is.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry."

and then he's dead.

Anyway, I am sick and tired of people saying they never loved each other because they absolutely did. I don't care if you think it was romantic or platonic or familial or what. They loved each other.

And it was Fiyero's death, it was watching Fiyero's fate be exactly what she was terrified hers would be, that motivated her to finally say fuck it and go find Elphie. It was Fiyeros death that caused her to go against everything that motivated her the entire show because she already lost one of the people she cares most about, there's no way in Oz she'll lose both of them.

And then she does anyway. And Glinda Upland is alone.

So stop saying they never loved each other cause they did. It was complicated at the best of times, but they did.

They Did.

[danithy]

Davesport codependency

Speaking my truth because it's my tumblr and I've yet to be stopped!!1! Davesport - to me at least - is a codependent relationship, regardless of whether you see them as platonic or romantic. 

Although not the cause of their codependency, it is also important to note that there is a connection through the way they are united in their situation. Whereas other springlock victims had their heads replaced with phones and their memories erased, Jack and Dave survived as living corpses with their memories intact. Both regularly received comments on their physicality; Dave most often on his purple skin, and Jack most notably on how he looks soulless in Peter’s speech towards him in the legacy route of dsaf 2. While this isn’t verbally addressed, I do imagine it gives them a sense of companionship which already ties them together. 

Now, for their actual codependency: for Jack, the absence of his soul plays a major role. As Henry said in the found cassette tape: strong emotions manifest in the soul, and these determine the magnitude of a soul. With this I don’t mean to say Jack is emotionless; he still exhibits emotions in several scenes such as regret when redeeming himself as Legacy towards Blackjack, but I do imagine it messed up his already repressed emotional palate because Blackjack is a strong soul considering he was able to drag Henry towards the void. We also never see Jack (seriously) cry, outside of joke endings like soapy ending, but even in the dsaf 3 route he doesn’t cry: the little emotions he does experience are repressed. Dave, in contrast, functions merely on the remnant of his soul which repossesses his corpse and therefore harbours primarily strong emotions. Because Jack’s lack of a soul limits his feelings and emotions, I imagine he experiences them through Dave since the intensity of his soul more easily conveys onto Jack. He depends on Dave to feel alive and human; he is the soul to his heart. 

Now, as for Dave; he depends on his devotion to Henry and his legacy to be able to repossess his corpse, as also speculated by Henry in the joy_2 tape: “My current theory is that he repossessed his own body out of desperation.” To an extent, Dave tries to fill the hole where Henry once was in his life with Jack, exemplified in little ways such as Jack wearing the Fredbear suit and Dave even mentioning that it was Henry’s at some point. Now, there’s a noticeable shift between dsaf 1 & 2: in dsaf 1 Dave doesn’t view Jack as much of an equal, their conversations being impersonal and transactional, along with Dave calling Jack condescending nicknames such as kid. In dsaf 2 this changes; Jack is now exclusively called old sport, Dave follows him on several occasions, and from his diary entries we can see that he’s pretty crazy about Jack. I think this is because, somewhere in Vegas, Dave realised he made a friend who he could sympathise with, instead of a replacement for Henry. This, in my eyes, is what caused part of Dave’s devotion to shift towards Jack. Again, there’s a lot of things that show Dave’s attachment towards Jack is unhealthy; from his diary entries to Davetrap persistently staring through his window. Additionally, Davetrap doesn’t repossess his corpse when Jack decapitates him in dsaf 3’s bad ending, despite technically being able to. This shows that Jack turning on him is enough to finally make him abandon his vessel, and his soul’s devotion relies at least partially on Jack. 

Generally, Dave is more dependent than Jack; he needs Jack to be alive, whereas Jack only needs Dave to feel alive. I think this is also what allowed the 30-year gap between dsaf 2 & 3 where they didn’t see each other to happen. Dave had to be sealed in the saferoom to be kept from Jack, while Jack could manage on his own, although it likely made even more miserable. Doomed apart and doomed together. Basically; I hate them !!1!

[our-arospec-experience]

Look, I love friend-coded relationships in fiction and all but not every platonic dynamic, especially those who are teens or young people need to be friends e.g. best friends or close friends, intimate friends etc.

Sometimes they can be stuff like companions, mentor and mentee, ride-or-die allies, forced to work together, roommates etc.

It can be even a couple who loves each other without any sex or romance included without being necessarily aroace. They live without love but they care for each other feeling a sense of ease. They don’t see each other’s everything, they don’t prioritize their relationship constantly but have a sense of respect. Platonic lovers are a thing. or it can even be just companions who share a soulful connection.

Perceiving that every platonic or non-romantic relationship is basically a familial relationship or a friend relationship or even a qpr honestly pushes me on the edge driving forward the idea that any relationship that is romantic or non platonic can only be spouses or partners which is not true and somehow and reeks of amatonormativity.

Tl;dr platonic dynamics can be pretty interesting and nuanced without being friend-coded in some way. Romance dynamics can be pretty intriguing without being conjugal-coded.

Disclaimer: I'm NOT saying that you can't enjoy familial or friend relation or classic romance. The problem lies in believing every platonic relationship has to be friendship in some way with no other alternative, which is the focal point I’m talking about.

And this is coming from a non aro who wants to see more non-romantic dynamics in media that aren't just boiled down to 'family-coded' ones. I love romance in fiction and anything about love but not every amorous dynamic has to be related to couples.

however that’s just my opinion. wish you a good day to anyone ❤️

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