#rather than like. 'this is a platonic friend so i cannot kiss them'

[ghastbutlikegay]

claiming mythical sausage for the alloaros. why? because im alloaro and i like him

[thalfbloodloser]

i wish we had alloaro representation in media. a charming character who fucks - both literally AND aesthetically. one that makes other characters go "wow! they're so cool and good in bed, but ultimately un-datable, because as soon as they sense any romantic intention on you, they flee" (kinda like lucifer morningstar from "lucifer". he's aroallo in my heart)

a character who's funny and has a horrifyingly 80's sense of fashion (they have a curly combed-out mullet and mismatched earrings. you'll find them at pride wearing a corn costume because it "matches the aroallo flag" and they're "being subtle") or one who's the embodiment of a 60's greaser (their motorcycle helmet is themed after the aro flag and the back of their leather jacket says "LOVELESS / LOVE LOSES") or one who's a girly fanfiction writer that has more ships than a star wars movie (their fics are muntifandom-ly famous and most their stuff is covered in yaoi/yuri patches and stickers. everyone thinks they're a hopeless romantic because of it, but that's exactly why they're so big on the fiction ≠ reality discourse) or...

anyone else, really. just ultimately a HUMAN who's casually aromantic. one who doesn't make it a parade but isn't subtle about it, either. will they hold other character's hands? maybe. kiss their cheek? perhaps. hang out with them, on picnics and walks along the river? can't see why not! but platonically. or maybe have them be genuinely romance-repulsed & not so eager to participate in anything socially perceived as romantic. that would also be amazing.

let them express themselves sexually! let them fuck. give them a..."fuckbuddy", if you must. or a best friend who's sexually involved with them - classic romcom material, i know - but without it being "complicated"; because there's no romance involved to complicate it.

give them funny scenes. another character tries to kiss their lips or ask them on a date? they laugh nervously, the scene cuts and we get a hilarious shot of them escaping through the bathroom window. or audibly saying "ew" and then regretting it. another character is struggling to write a romcom/romance book without it being corny? we get a scene where our character casually describes the most romantical (and, to them, unappealing) plot ever - because, much like aces acing the smut department, they're far from misunderstanding what is or isn't heartstopping for alloromantics - only to have the other character stare at them like "?????????? HELLO????". give us a scene of them being confused as to why their hookup is yelling at them for acting "so casual" and responding with a quotable shitty line ("just because we had sex last night i can't call you "bro"? / "what? expected me to marry you or something? get off my bed, it's 9AM" / "would you rather have me mad? sad? what's happening here. give me a hint")

but give them complicated scenes too. scenes portraying the loneliness that comes with being aromantic but not asexual, the lack of community. them talking about how hard it is to maintain sexual relationships just sexual. the painful "breakups" because one of their friends declared their undying love for them but they cannot possibly match that energy, even if they wanted to. have them weep because somehow that keeps happening. the unfairness in being accused of heartlessness and selfishness by other queers. the shame on being told they're fetishistic and the reason why queer men/women/people are seen as sex-crazed or impure.

...anyways, i'm rambling- do y'all have any aroallo ocs? or ideas for alloaro characters? maybe aroallo headcanons? i'd love to know what you think! :)

(don't tag as #ace / #asexual / #asexuality)

[fanby-fckry]

You know what, I’m just gonna say it. I think that Alastor being aroace is part of the reason he’s so shippable to me.

Before you come at me, check the flag in my pfp; I’m aroace-spec.

Maybe it’s me projecting, maybe it’s because I love exploring relationships through an aroace lens, but goddamn. I ship him more than any other character and every time I do, his aroaceness is a major component in the ship.

Examples below the cut because it’s gonna get long:

📻🍎 || RadioApple:

There are so many versions of this dynamic and I am here for all of them.

We have the pre-canon kinky QPR that I show in UH3. I could talk about that all day, but to summarize:

Aroace x genuinely respectful allo is a dynamic that heals my soul.

Lucifer is less tied down by human constructs like amatonormativity, having never been human himself.

The Devil values consent.

Kinky cannibalism, kinky cannibalism, kinky cannibalism, kinky ca- *I am removed from the stage with a comically large hook*

Then we have the Evil and fucked up QPR dynamic:

And of course, trying to get along for Charlie’s sake and eventually bonding over their shared love of dad jokes and musical theatre, both being violinists (yup, Alastor plays violin too, check the wiki) with niche hobbies/interests (ducks, furby organ) and accidentally winding up in a loving, healthy QPR.

📻🕸️ || RadioDust:

There’s something about an aroace and a sex worker who very rarely falls in love.

Angel would know that Alastor isn’t with him for sex, would know that he values Angel beyond his body.

With greyro Alastor, Angel and Alastor would both be inexperienced with romance, but in wildly different ways. Angel has never had a healthy romantic relationship and therefor tries not to fall in love. Greyro Alastor has probably experienced romantic attraction like less than three times in his 100+ years of existence.

And if Alastor never gains romantic attraction for Angel, that’s a whole other level to the dynamic.

It’s got some great angst potential with Angel wondering if he’s not good enough to love romantically or Alastor feeling guilty or confused as to Why It Hasn’t Happened Yet when he cares for Angel so deeply, and eventually it gets resolved with the two of them accepting that their attractions don’t have to match up for them to love/appreciate/care for each other and they smash the amatonormative relationship hierarchy as queer platonic partners.

Or, Angel’s just totally cool with it from the start because he’s spent decades in the kink scene and has potentially been exposed to more relationship anarchy than Alastor.

Kink and queerness have a great deal of historical and cultural overlap, and that includes aroace queerness. Because Angel’s had way more canon exposure to both, it’s possible he knows more about Alastor’s orientation than Alastor does, and I love the idea of Angel introducing him to terms or just being super chill about not labeling things.

📻♥️ || RadioHusk:

Drawing like 90% from pilot dynamic and headcanon on this. They’re just two old men. They get drunk and cuddle. Alastor is one of the few people who knows Husk can purr and takes advantage of this fact. Alastor considers Husk a friend in a fucked up, possessive way. Husk considers Alastor a pain in the ass, but does care about him on some level.

It’s Fucked Up and Evil QPR: Remix Edition.

And the versions where the author puts them through fanfic couple’s therapy and actually gets them into a healthy point in their relationship? One where Alastor no longer owns Husk’s Soul? *chef’s kiss*

📻🌹 || RadioRose:

For me, personally, this is an exclusively nonsexual, non-romantic ship. They’re besties; they’re QPPs. They’re married for the tax benefits and so that they cannot be forced to testify against each other in court.

Rosie knew Alastor was aroace before he did and rather than sit down and explain it to him, she decided to make ace puns.

📻🖤 || RadioSiren: [edit, context here] RadioFemme

Ok, so this is entirely based on non-canon-compliant Lilith. Or, I guess, non-series-compliant Lilith. More of the old WOG stuff from the pilot era, with a healthy dose of headcanon for flavor.

I love the idea of Lilith and Lucifer having an open marriage; I love the UH3 style polycule dynamic.

Lilith being the original seductress and Alastor being aesthetically but not sexually or romantically attracted to her is very near and dear to my heart.

I’m an aroace with a voice kink who is aesthetically attracted to Lilith and I think Alastor is an aroace with a voice kink who would be aesthetically attracted to Lilith, ok?

📻📺 || RadioStatic:

I’m gonna be real with you, 90% of my interest in RadioStatic is in the one-sided version where Vox is a pathetic little incel simp and Alastor is either oblivious, mildly annoyed, or finds the whole thing hilarious.

Whenever there’s any reciprocation on Alastor’s part, I always imagine it being in a very aroace, very Alastor-esque way. He needs to be get something out of it completely unrelated to sex/romance. And he needs to be manipulative and sadistic in the process.

Whether that something is kink-related, a business transaction, or simply the quality entertainment provided by Vox being a cringefail TV-headed little bitch, I love to see it.

[agendabymooner]

kenergy unfolded || ms47 fic

mick schumacher x ofc

EXTENTION/WRITTEN VERSION of WHO IS KENOUGH

Summary: Barbie Blanco is dating her childhood crush, Mick Schumacher but nobody knew. Or at least, nobody knew until Arthur Leclerc, Barbie’s boy best friend who drove for the Ferrari Driving Academy, decided to take the matter into his own hands and roped Barbie into making the young Schumacher jealous. Needless to say, riling up the entire F1 community (and the boyfriend) would eventually make Mick snap.

Content warning: written version of Who Is Kenough, use of explicit language, platonic!scheming!Arthur Leclerc x OFC, established relationship, jealous!Mick Schumacher

Note: I am moving tomorrow so I decided to write this down for now bc I just want some menace Arthur. This is the written version of Who is Kenough so enjoy!!! xx

masterlist

Barbie Blanco had always considered herself decent. She acted as nicely as she could in public, respecting everyone and treating them with kindness. Because of her connection to the retired driver Sebastian Vettel and his wife Bel, she, too, had an image in public that she maintained. Everyone loved Barbie. Of all the people who could’ve made their images terrible, she had more chances of winning the public over should she do something heinous. Not that she’d ever do something as such. 

Mick Schumacher was the same. He was born to an iconic racing family, with him being Michael Schumacher’s carbon copy. He already had a public image by the time he was born— a set of expectations for him were ready to be fulfilled. He was the cutest baby to have existed too, with cameras taking photos of him left and right while he and his father were out and about. He had to maintain his image as a Schumacher legacy. 

Perhaps that was why he decided that keeping their relationship on the down low was ideal. It wasn’t as if he was embarrassed by the thought of it — he didn’t like the idea of sharing Barbie to the rest of the world just yet. They’ve seen her in the paddocks as Sebastian Vettel’s daughter and they rooted for her and Mick as years went on — but it didn’t mean that he’d share her to the world after yearning for almost a decade. It took him years to even admit he loved her— he didn’t want to share her just yet. 

But Barbie took Mick’s hesitation for humiliation. One of the things that she had learned from being in the foster system for too long was that she cannot ask. Just take what you’re given, and be grateful. It took Seb and Bel to tell her that she could ask anything and they’d be more than willing to hand it to her but a little part of herself, one that thought too much about Mick, doubted that he would even admit to anyone he’s dating her. Let alone she was his girlfriend. So she never asked, just shying away from the thought and continued to be a happy content girlfriend for him. 

But it seemed as if fate fucked around a lot. Or rather, Arthur Leclerc did. 

Their isolated vacation in Monaco was meant to be as secluded as it could be— the Vettels had a yacht that were maintained but not normally operated, and the younger couple had the boat for the two of them. They were quite happy with the quiet that came with the boat, with him sunbathing while she sat next to him with a book perched on her lap. 

Well, Mick was sunbathing until he cleared his throat to catch her attention, shooting the German a look as he smiled widely at Barbie, “Come cuddle?” 

“Under the sun?” Barbie chuckled, “I could do so much more than staying in one place.” 

“Oya? Name it,” Mick’s hand lifted his shades to stare at her dark eyes with his cheeky grin. “Maybe we can experiment and see what works?” 

“You are literally red in the face and your chest because of the sun,” Barbie scoffed, “what’s stopping me from slapping you to make them hurt?” 

“Your love for me?” Mick suggested, leaving Barbie to roll her eyes as he laughed and reached up to kiss her softly. Pulling an inch away from her lips, he murmured, “Ich liebe dich so sehr.” I love you so much.

“Took us long enough huh,” Barbie chuckled beneath her breath before pulling him for another kiss, “I love you.” 

Arthur: Oi, how long are you here in Monaco for???

Barbie: ??? How do you even know I’m in Monaco?

Arthur: Snapchat works wonders. 

Arthur: So??? Are you gonna be here for a while or are you just planning to ditch your best friend? 

Barbie: Ugh, fine. I’ll find my way around here. Where do you want to eat?

Arthur: I knew I love you for a reason ;) Remember that resto I took you to for pasta? Like the big cheese wheel pasta? 

Barbie: I honestly would rather eat at the back of your mother’s salon.

Arthur: Don’t be so boring. Send me your addy. You better be outside your place at 6PM sharp. If you’re not dressed as much as you do on a fashion week I’m gonna march you back to your place. I want to see fancy. FANCY!!!

Mick Schumacher might kill a Monegasque sometime soon. Preferably his grid mate’s brother. 

Barbie had been checking her D&G tulle dress for ten minutes straight while she stood in front of the mirror with her Medusa shoes on, her lips painted dark red while a black rose choker was wrapped around her neck. She had her hair in a wavy ponytail, not wanting to make her hair look more complicated. 

“It’s too formal,” Mick only told her before he walked up to their temporary shared closet and pulled out his oversized vintage Ferrari jacket. 

Barbie stared at the outerwear in his hand for a second before she chuckled, “That’s too casual.” 

“It evens out the whole vibe,” Mick shrugged before slipping her onto the jacket. “Voila. Besides, it’s a Leclerc. What does a Leclerc know about dressing nicely?”

“Oi, you might be friends with one but you don’t get to slander my own,” Barbie laughed regardless, pinching him on the cheek as he smiled lazily. “Don’t be an ass to everyone just because they have the same surname.” 

“I’m not— but I’m just saying; if Charles could barely dress, what makes you think Arthur cares about what he wears?” Mick proposed. He was only saying that to make himself feel better. That, and maybe he was convincing himself that their night out was just a best friend to best friend kind of hangout. Not a date. 

Nobody knew that they were dating with the exception of their families, as far as they knew. They decided to keep themselves silent about it to their peers, not wanting to see them slip up and compromise the relationship that Mick wanted to keep a secret. 

So Mick was trying to convince himself that no, Arthur Leclerc wasn’t taking Barbie on a date. And no, Arthur was just a boy best friend only— he wasn’t crushing on Barbie. 

“You’re such a fashion critique,” Barbie replied with a grin, “have you ever considered joining Bel on one of her fashion weeks? You’d do so much more talking than I would.” 

“I dress better than him.”

“Alright quit sizing him up, he isn’t here,” Barbie giggled, flattening out the crease on his shirt as she continued, “You— enjoy your night out with Estie and Charles, yes? And I will see you in about… few hours?” 

Mick sighed, slumping against her shorter figure as he said, “I really do not want to go out.”

“Same here, best friend,” Mick heard her murmur with his head resting against her neck. Then his lips began to press kisses against her perfumed neck as she pushed him off with a giggle, “Alright, stop feeling me up Mick— you’re not gonna get away from your night out—“

“Ugh,” he groaned, stomping his foot down petulantly before he pouted. “Stupid friends. I’m gonna see them in a week anyways— why do I have to see them over the break?” 

“Because they love you so much they’re more than willing to see your insufferable ass over the break?” She raised a brow before her mouth curled into a grin.

Mick let out a strangled and baffled noise as Barbie giggled and said, “I’m kidding. They’re still your friends, love.” 

“And? So are you? Why couldn’t they just invite you?” 

A ping on her phone echoed inside the bedroom as she sighed, picking up her phone to look at the notification before she looked back at her boyfriend. “Art’s here. Besides, you’ve your friends— I’ve mine. We might’ve been thick as thieves but you still had your friends. I didn’t have any— Arthur was kind enough to pity me no?” 

Before Mick could even protest, she already held his face and pressed a kiss on his lips. “See you later, mahal. Enjoy your time with the boys. Don’t drink and drive.” 

Then she was gone, leaving him alone as he pouted continuously. He muttered to himself, “I’ll see you, liebe.” 

But the truth was Barbie was right; throughout her life as Sebastian’s foster daughter she never had any friends who stayed. Mick and Gina Schumacher were her friends and those two only. Everyone rooted for Mick and Barbie because they were always together; they were the constant ones. Barbie never had any friends that weren’t Mick’s, so Arthur was a change in her life that she welcomed with open arms. 

So really, Mick shouldn’t be complaining about her hanging out with other people when he does it every time he’s away from her. He had more options, she didn’t. 

“I’m gonna stab you with a fork and you’re just gonna hope for the best if you say that aloud one more time. I swear to you, Leclerc.” 

“That what? That you and Mi—“

“Sh~ Art, shut up,” Barbie hissed louder than expected, earning the attention of the people around them as her face flushed red. When they turned back to mind their business, Barbie glowered at Arthur. “If you’re trying to get an answer then you better hush.” 

“Fine, I’ll be quiet,” Arthur Leclerc had been twirling the pasta in his plate for a minute straight now, eating it before he leaned over and quietly asked Barbie, “How long have you two been dating?” 

“…February.” 

“Fucking Feb— oh, mon cœur,” Arthur sighed dramatically, “and I was not even told? Did Charles know? Who else knows?”

“Seb and Gina… literally our families only,” Barbie slumped on her seat, “no, Charles doesn’t know. I intend to keep it that way. Or at least Mick wants to keep it that way.” 

What? Even Arthur knew how whipped Mick was for Barbie so why was he hiding Barbie away now? When Barbie saw this look on Arthur’s face all she could say was, “I dunno. I wasn’t told why either. You know I don’t like asking.”

“You should start asking, though, Barbie because how will you know?” Arthur asked. But the last part of his reply had him wondering. How would Mick prove himself to be happy with loving Barbie? 

Now this may seem silly or dumb but Arthur might have thought of something. Maybe it would work but who knows. 

All he wanted was for Mick to show that he loved Arthur’s best friend as the German driver portrayed back when people only saw him and Barbie as best friends. Forget about Barbie doing everything, maybe this is the time a Ken named Mick Schumacher could do something for once. 

Charles: I didn’t know your best friend is coming to Zandvoort?

Mick: She’s in Amsterdam right now, yeah. Why?

Charles: Nothing. I thought you made a move for once but it turns out I’m wrong. 

Mick: Wdym? 

Charles: Fast Lane Daily and other news sites are running a story about her and my brother right now in Amsterdam. Did you see his IG story too? 

Charles: I’m rooting for you two but like this is letting me down tbh

BARBIE AND MICK? No, Arthur Leclerc!

“Barbie Blanco Vettel is a catch indeed, so who’s the lucky Monegasque seeker?”

ARTHUR LECLERC and BARBIE BLANCO are seen hanging out days before the Zandvoort race. Could this be the beginning of an iconic couple in the grid? 

“With Sebastian Vettel’s daughter — your best friend Barbie Blanco attending the race week, will we see her in the Mercedes garage?” The reporter asked Mick as he stood there at the media pen. Mick’s smile fell flat when the reporter continued with, “Or will we see her at the Ferrari with what everyone thinks to be her boyfriend, Arthur Leclerc?” 

Ugh. 

But his smile showed as he answered as nicely as one could, “Oh, no. That’s the thing about Barbie— she doesn’t have favourite teams. She has favourite drivers and with her being my guest — I’m certain you’ll see her around our paddock area, the garage maybe— hell, I might just have the Mercedes social media account post a lot of videos of her.”

“So why haven’t you posted photos of her lately? Does it perhaps have anything to do with the youngest Leclerc being involved with her?”

In the next hour, the Mercedes media team had posted every single clip they had of Barbie, donning the number 47 in her Merc shirt, and Mick talking as they discussed the car and their day — but their conversations were muted and some stupid TikTok sounds were playing in the background. They even posted a video of the duo talking to Sebastian and his son Kimi over a FaceTime call. 

Then the Ferrari Driving Academy — per Arthur’s request — posted some videos of him and Barbie messing about at the garage with Ollie. He somehow managed to rope Ollie and their media team into making a TikTok with Barbie’s Merc hat being replaced by a FDA one — WITH ARTHUR’S NUMBER ON IT. 

Everyone in the grid had seen it before Arthur’s older brother even did. Even Charles was taking the piss from Arthur’s antics. He was rooting for Mick to finally win the girl over and his brother was out here trying to be as slick as one could be to Barbie.

Charles Leclerc knew that he was more than willing to strangle his own brother on behalf of Mick Schumacher. 

Mick was the bigger man on certain occasions (God hadn’t made him the smaller man in every part of his being either), so he couldn’t understand why he wanted to be petty about his relationship with Barbie to Arthur. He was what everyone called a golden retriever— always friendly and all that. But sometimes he wished he was like Roscoe. Intimidating, sure, but he’s a softie. He just wanted to scare any men off as they try to scamper towards Barbie.

The phrases Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss never sounded so good until this season. He wanted to follow the mantra with the exception of the first part. He wanted to gatekeep so bad, but being a Mercedes driver opened his world to the public even more. Now he couldn’t even keep Barbie to himself. 

He was certainly delighted to see her excited face when she arrived in the Mercedes area during the free practice day, though. It was safe to say that Arthur hadn’t done anything stupid just yet. 

Barbie became a familiar face in the paddock as she remained Mick’s guest. She was starting her final year of culinary school in September and all she wanted was to watch him race in person for the last time before heading back to Switzerland. She wasn’t due to see him race again until Abu Dhabi. 

Now, Mick saw her more often as they lived ten minutes apart in Switzerland. But there was just something about her attending the races that had him going. He wasn’t a people pleaser— he was a Barbie pleaser. He lived to make her proud just as he was proud of her multi-talented nature. So he wanted to make the Dutch GP something that she’d be proud about. As if he hadn’t been earning points with his Mercedes vehicle every race. 

Then Barbie opened her mouth about her trip with Arthur when they were in Amsterdam. Mick loved listening to her rambling about what she’d gotten Seb and Bel’s son Kimi, indeed, but when Arthur’s name slipped out of her mouth his smile faltered for a moment. It was an expression that Barbie missed while she continued to babble about what else she had gotten from Amsterdam. 

Mick didn’t have to feel extremely foul after coping from the story that Arthur posted days ago with her being in it. Arthur never posted as much as he did of her before, so there was something going on. Mick just couldn’t point his finger on it. It was annoying him to no end. 

It didn’t help that the younger Monegasque came stopping by at the Mercedes garage with a grin while he stood on his electric scooter. Arthur’s grin widened even more when he saw Mick before he looked back at his girl best friend and greeted her, “Not tired of me, yet?” 

Mick certainly was.

“Eh, kinda,” Barbie joked, still standing next to Mick’s car while the driver sat there with an annoyed expression. Barbie still couldn’t see it. 

“So not fully,” Arthur hummed as if he thought of it thoroughly before he suggested, “Y’wanna ride around the track before FP1?” 

Mick’s jaw slacked at the suggestion, baffled that Arthur — that ANYONE — had the audacity to even say that in front of him. To Barbie!

But then he remembered that she didn’t have a friend besides Arthur. THAT and nobody knew they were dating. So he couldn’t exactly protest. 

Arthur’s grin meant a lot more than a friendly gesture. It was a shit-eating grin and Mick was at the receiving end of it. He couldn’t even say anything that’ll aggravate anyone.

God, Charles’ offer to give Arthur some hell was starting to sound like a good deal. 

“I don’t have any scooter,” she told him, not even noticing the glare that Mick held while Arthur continued to smile like a piece of shit. 

The Monegasque hopped off the scooter and said, “I’ll just borrow Ollie’s. I’m sure the lad wouldn’t mind, would he?” But he was looking at Mick. 

Mick’s glare disappeared for a moment when Barbie turned to him and asked, “I’ll take a lap or two at the track, if that’s okay?” 

His annoyed expression dissipated quickly while Arthur grinned at the sudden shift in Mick’s emotion as he encouraged Barbie softly, “Yeah okay. Careful, alright?” 

“Thanks, Schums,” Barbie grinned before she ran towards the scooter that Arthur parked. She was too excited to ride the scooter that she didn’t notice Mick glaring at Arthur.

Arthur saw it though, and all he did was raise a thumb and winked. “Don’t worry, Mick, I’ll return her to you in one piece. She’ll have a fun time.” Then he ran after Barbie who already got a head start towards the Ferrari garage. 

Mick huffed and asked his manager about his phone. When he finally got his hands on it, he immediately texted Charles. 

Mick: Your brother is a prat.

Charles: I’m gonna pretend that that's news to me. What did the boy do now? 

Mick: He’s an asshole. I love him but he’s cooking up something Charles. 

Charles: Yeah, welcome to the club. I can still do something just lmk

Charles: Oi, where did you take Barbie again? And why are you being you?

Arthur: Wha? I’m just taking her on a quick trip around the track.

Charles: You do know that Mick likes her right? No like LOVE LOVES her

Arthur: Oh I know Shal :)

Arthur: Sure, Barbie can do anything— but maybe it’s time Ken does something too? 

Charles: Stop being so cryptic and get her back to the garage safely, idiot. FP1 is starting soon.

“I’m actually gonna rip my own eardrums off if I hear his name one more time, oh my god.” 

Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll exchanged looks as they just witnessed Mick Schumacher’s first breakdown of the season. It was not just any regular on the track related breakdown — seeing as he was slumped down on the table with his blue eyes hiding away from everyone, his head resting over his forearms while he continued to wear his race suit. He hadn’t taken off his race suit and unlike the others, and clearly whatever the hell was going on with him it wasn’t racing related. 

“Who?” 

“That other Leclerc guy,” Mick muttered while he kept his head down.

“Does this have something to do with what’s been going around about Barbie and Art—“

“Yes, Lance! Say his name one more time,” Mick exclaimed, rolling his eyes in the process. Lance scoffed at the attitude being given to him, making Mick quietly murmur, “Sorry. Yeah it’s about that.”

“What about it?” Esteban asked as he bit on his granola bar, “Barbie and Arthur are friends, no?” 

“And that’s the thing,” Mick said exasperatedly, “they are friends. Just friends— they’re not a thing.”

“Why are you so obsessed about that,” Lance asked genuinely, “it’s not like you two are a thing anyways. They can date if they feel like it. Arthur can woo her as much as he’d like as long as she permits him.” 

Mick looked defeated, pouting slightly as he kept his head down. Yeah. He had nothing to say anymore. He was done ranting.

But Esteban wouldn’t live that down. Mick’s reaction. It was as if the blond guy had something more to say but chose to keep his mouth shut. “Ah, so you fucked up, Mick?” 

Lance’s eyes widened at Esteban’s claim as Mick looked at the Frenchman with a questioning expression. Esteban continued to interrogate the man in question, “Mick, why haven’t you posted anything about Barbie since…  I dunno… since Imola?” 

“I- what?” 

Lance, seemingly amused by Esteban’s words, had also given his input, “And why isn’t she here with us…? Why are you way too far from her right now, Mick?” 

“It’s obvious you have a crush on her. That's why she was sticking with you most of the time and you’ve posted your photos and hers all the time. So,” Esteban leaned over and stared directly at Mick’s eyes. “Why is she with Arthur Leclerc?” 

“I’m keeping my mouth shut,” Mick leaned back, but Lance too had gotten into the interrogation as he offered an idea. 

“Have you two fallen off?” 

“No? What made you think that? She’s still my guest no?”

“Is she dating Arthur?”

“No,” Mick scoffed, “she would’ve told me otherwise.”

“Do you think she’s dating Arthur?”

“No,” Mick answered.

“Do you want her to date Arthur?” That was the final nail in the coffin. 

“What- no! Guys for fuck’s sake! She’s my girlfriend!” 

“AHA!” Mick’s claim might’ve been quiet enough for the two to hear but Lance and Esteban’s reactions were the opposite. Lance accidentally banged his knee against the table and Esteban stood and pointed at Mick, catching the attention of everyone inside the paddock area. 

Mick swore that he was being selfish and he was planning to do it until everything dies down. But even he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut because of some guy named Arthur Leclerc. He was spiraling.

Esteban sat back down and asked, “So why aren’t you posting her more than you should’ve now?”

“Does it matter? We both love each other and nobody needs to get into our business like that,” Mick muttered bitterly. “Our families are already after our asses about it before we even made things official.”

“Yeah but have you asked Barbie how she felt about that?” Lance counteracted before he pointed out, “Sure she agreed to keep it private. But you two— literally just before all of that, when Seb was still driving— she’d be trailing after you and you’d have your arms wrapped where friends shouldn’t be wrapping it around on. Now she’s not even getting all of that from you. The closest thing she’s gotten was a paddock pass.”

Their words sat with him throughout the weekend, but he never let it bother Barbie as he cuddled with her that night and the night before the race. 

He was outspoken when it came to Barbie. He absolutely loved her. But there was just something about keeping his relationship a secret that immediately became the norm. Everyone knew how in love he was with her, but to say it aloud all while they were in a relationship? It’s like he didn’t like the change when they finally became a couple. He was so used to being in love with her that he didn’t care about the labels. It was as if their relationship was already established from the beginning they didn’t need to say it aloud.

But the thing was that he needed to say it aloud. It was eating her alive regardless if Mick never saw it on her face. Everyone saw what he didn’t see. Maybe Arthur saw that too and was giving her the love she so deserved. 

Maybe it was time he showed it to the world as he normally did back before they even became a thing. He wanted normality right? Perhaps, this was it. He should go back to normal — with the exception of them being labelled as a couple rather than best friends. 

Mick was in P1 and he was sulking. He was fucking sulking because he just found another photo of Barbie arriving at the same club as he was in now with Arthur. 

This was what he didn’t like about being in a secret relationship while he kept getting podiums — and being a winner. You couldn’t even celebrate your win properly because you’ve decided to hide her away from everyone. 

Her black Oscar de la Renta dress didn’t do her beauty some justice. No matter how expensive it was, her face was exquisite enough to outdo her clothes. She held a single piece of rose on her hand and handed it to Mick with a sheepish smile. It was a way to congratulate him without having to be intimate in front of other people. 

But this past few weeks itself was insane. He didn’t even want a rose. He just wanted her and her genuine smile. It was his fault for wanting to keep their relationship a secret. 

An hour or two passed and Mick decided that it was time to head home. During his celebration he drank as much as Barbie did, happy to see her get wild. But the one that had him wishing he’d gone to celebrate in their hotel room was the way she danced wildly with Arthur as they had both gotten loose throughout the night. 

It was fairly quiet outside the club, signalling that the two of them had enough privacy to wait for their lift outside the venue. 

They were both too touchy feely to even be in public, but when Barbie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to express how proud she was of him and how happy she was to see him win — no matter how much she ached to hold him after he got out of the car but resorted to hiding away to his drivers room — he couldn’t help but press his lips against hers and devoured the love that she gave him. 

The next morning, Barbie had woken up witnessing him scroll through his gallery album full of their photos together. 

“Morning, liebe. Which ones do you think look good?” Mick asked her without missing a beat, turning his screen to her direction. 

“They all look nice. I can’t pick anything for wallpaper,” Barbie muttered as she wished to fall back asleep.

But it seemed like Mick had another plan, “It’s not for a wallpaper. I’m trying to post a dump photo of us on Instagram.”

Her eyes widened at the announcement as she turned to her side, giving him an incredulous expression. He smiled meekly, “Yeah… they were all blowing up my Twitter because they caught us making out—“

“What—“

“In public.”

“What? And you’re just posting photos of us to add more fuel to the fire?” Barbie shrieked, letting out a noise. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Esteban and Lance were right about being stupid for keeping you a secret,” Mick murmured guiltily. “I’ve shown some symptoms of being too in love with you before, so why can’t I do the same thing now that we’re actually together?”

“I hope it didn’t make you think that I was ashamed of you,” Mick continued, putting his phone down to turn to her direction, his hand reaching to spontaneously comfort her. “If anything I’m just trying to get them to mind their business.” 

“Don’t be sorry,” Barbie huffed out, “you weren’t wrong about keeping it private.”

“Yeah but it wasn’t right to just pretend you aren’t something more to me,” Mick pressed a kiss on her forehead. “So I’ll be as proud as I can be of you. I don’t care if it’s public or private — I’ll be yours as long as you’re mine. Yes?”

Arthur: Did Mick finally spill?

Arthur: Fucking finally. I was ready to expose him on your behalf tbh.

fin.

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

I wanted to talk about Extraordinary Things and the Geraskier and Radskier elements in the song.

Forgive me if this has been done or is rather obvious. This is just me musing over the lyrics.

Keep your words on ice

Your gaze lights the fire

How many campfires did this happen? Jaskier doing his best to drag even a few words from Geralt while the witcher glares at the fire as if his eyes are stoking the flame.

But eyes of fire really speak of Radovid, too. He may speak more than Geralt did when Jaskier first met him, but there's a lot he doesn't say in words that he says in his eyes.

They say, "Keep on playing nice"

But I have no desire

Jaskier cannot be contained. It's why I love him. He will not be forced into a box. He contains multitudes.

But these lines speak of struggle. Jaskier could be at court if he wanted to, he's a viscount, but he has no desire to be that person. He needs the freedom of the wild.

And the two people that represent this struggle are Radovid (a life at court) and Geralt (freedom/out in the wild). It's kinda obvious who Jaskier is going to choose even without considering what Joey said in interviews (that Jaskier will have a choice, but it isn't a choice for him, he will always choose his found family).

Jaskier has no desire to stay at court, even for love.

Why waste our words

When lips were made for extraordinary things

Jaskier can talk. He can express himself in his songs and with words. But there's some things that can only be truly communicated through a kiss.

And let's face it, Jaskier has waited so long to communicate his feelings for Geralt. He wouldn't waste words any longer, he'd want to show his feelings.

It also links to the later lyrics of unspoken words between them.

With Radovid, there isn't any need to talk because it becomes clear how he feels about Jaskier through singing his song.

But also there is so much they cannot discuss because Jaskier needs to protect his found family.

Kissing Radovid is safer. Jaskier can communicate his feelings that way and can feel Radovid's feelings for him in deeds, not words.

It's not a want, it's a need

It is paying no heed to what others say to sing

Jaskier has never paid any heed to what others said of his songs or singing. But that is also a mask to protect himself.

Geralt told him not to write any songs about him. Jaskier did it anyway.

There's probably others who have told Jaskier not to write songs about them or Geralt that I've forgotten.

But "it's not a want, it's a need" is just so evocative of his heart the love he gives freely, and of him letting his creativity flow through him.

That creativity is something Radovid greatly admires. And I think Radovid also wants to play no heed to what others want him to do; he just isn't as free as Jaskier (the pretty songbird).

Ultimately, what Jaskier really wants is for someone to see him, like he sees others, and for that person to still have a visceral want for him once seeing him.

People have wanted him, his body, his time, his usefulness. Loved ones have finally accepted him as a friend and family member. No one yet has wanted all of him, the magnitudes he contains, the bad parts and the good, the real him. Mainly because he's never had someone pierce his armour.

And if Radovid is using Jaskier I swear to the gods I will rain merry hell on him.

The greatest songs are made up of unspoken words of love

Of them I have had enough

All of Jaskier’s songs contain some element of his love for Geralt. He is his muse, after all.

We all know Her Sweet Kiss and Burn, Butcher, Burn contain it most obviously.

And it's interesting here that we get Jaskier saying he's had enough of writing his love for Geralt. There's only so much you can continue to pour out and not get anything back.

And so, Jaskier has decided that his love for Geralt is platonic as a way to protect himself. If he's not wanting, he can't be hurt.

But we all know when Jaskier said that his love for Geralt is platonic, that it is a lie he is telling himself. Vespula wasn't fooled.

But it's interesting that we clearly see Jaskier longing for the real love he craves in these lyrics. And I don't want to take away the amazing aromatic headcanon for Jaskier or Geraskier having a queen platonic relationship, but there is a longing that is unfulfilled, whatever way you interpret that to be.

That longing can be fulfilled with Radovid.

With you, I have enough

With you, I am enough

I am enough

Again, I see Jaskier saying he is enough with Geralt just to be his friend. After all his years struggling to be his friend and also wanting more, it's interesting to see this friendship now settled as soon as Jaskier stops seeking more.

And a big part of that change between them has to be down to Geralt becoming a father and learning to open his heart to caring about those around him.

But with Radovid, Jaskier gets to be vulnerable, properly vulnerable with his heart. He does feel enough in Radovid's eyes, and that is truly for the first time.

Vespula knows Jaskier, but he doesn't let himself be truly vulnerable with his heart there. He lies about his feelings for Geralt to her (and himself). He gives his body, but does he give his heart? I would say no. They are close in many ways, but not emotionally, not in vulnerability.

Drop the sweet disguise

Your heart's beating too loud

The fairy tales and little lies can't drown out all the sound

We all know about Geralt's disguise: that witchers don't need no one or that they don't have feelings. In S3, we see this façade lift. Geralt shows his true self to Ciri as her father, Jaskier as his friend, and Yennefer as a partner when he forgives her.

Radovid wears a disguise. He's the drunk fool to those who cannot see it. But Jaskier can, because Jaskier also wears a disguise, something Joey commented on in at least one interview.

And I feel like this disguise is definitely shown on screen when Jaskier is with Vespula. He has feelings for her, obviously strong ones, but they aren't the same as his feelings for Geralt or Radovid.

He definitely tells Vespula more than he tells his other lovers. But Vespula isn't looking for Jaskier to be "the only one" for her. She is still pretty switched on about Jaskier’s heart.

So take this heart

And break this heart

For extraordinary things

Geralt has broken Jaskier's heart already. And now Jaskier seems to be settled into the role of friend with his "platonic" love.

And Geralt is an extraordinary thing to Jaskier. Nothing will take that away, not even heartbreak.

But the thing is, Jaskier isn't ready to give his heart truly to Geralt completely. In pieces, yes. The clear barrier of "He's my friend, that's it" has been set (for now).

But with Radovid we see Jaskier let go of his mask, drop down his armour and allow Radovid in. It could very well break his heart, but that won't stop him from loving Radovid.

He has become an extraordinary thing to Jaskier.

For all the years we have watched Jaskier longing, to finally see him with someone is amazing. I don't want his heart broken, but I know we have to accept that it's going to happen.

And here, for the first time since The Mountain, we have Jaskier willing to have it broken again.

Because without taking a chance on being fulfilled and happy, what are we?

Thanks for reading.

[https-furina]

Hi! Could I please request prompt 38 (“they’re coming. kiss me!”) with Heizou? Thank you! Have a lovely day/night!

✎ i want you instead.

ft. heizou x gn!reader

prompt: “they’re coming. kiss me!”

w.c. 702 words

content: fluff (as always), reader has a fan club? picture them as the barbara of inazuma /j, best friends to lovers? a confession is included

notes: if you hear me screaming, sobbing, crying into my pillows - you really do i cannot lie it i love him

an idol to the inazuman society, there isn't a soul among the islands that doesn't know of your voice and talents. that is of course not even limited to your best friend, detective shikanoin heizou - the man who you can't even remember befriending. one day it was like you'd suddenly acquired his genius intuition and witty remarks at your side, you could say like a sidekick but if anything, you would have been his. heizou is put on a pedestal regarding his skills as a detective - despite just being a regular doushin otherwise. sometimes you wonder how you managed to bond so effortlessly with someone at the opposite end of the job spectrum to you.

and when you call it effortless, it really was. heizou and yourself fit like puzzle pieces that had been missing each other - key components to the other. one time heizou had jokingly grabbed your hand in his, grinning as he threw out "snug like a glove" into the air but it was true, your hands moulded together so perfectly it almost fed your delusions about the detective in his absence. you could go days without seeing him - just like his colleagues - and in those painstaking days, you'd find yourself curled up under a blanket in your home, sketching every miniscule feature you remember of heizou into your sketchbook. you'd rather defy the raiden shogun than ever let him near that sketchbook.

thankfully heizou's keen eye and ability to read between lines unwritten means he is more than used to being a scapegoat for you when your so-called fans are more than rowdy after a performance. he's not surprised when you catch up to him backstage, smiling awkwardly as you greet him. he quirks a brow, almost waiting for you to request some absurd action from him like usual.

"heizou - my favourite friend, the smartest detective in the tenryou commission-" heizou clucks his tongue, folding his arms across his chest as he cuts you off with a grin.

"the only detective in the tenryou commission," he corrects you promptly and you roll your eyes in response - time is running thin as you hurry a glance over your shoulder, "what do you need this time?"

you scowl at the insinuation behind 'this time' and you're about to retort in all of your dramatic ways but there's hushed voices of fans around the corner and your heart is racing thousands of beats a second, virtually in your throat as you stare at him in a daze. you've long had a crush on this man, you ponder if he's already aware.

"they're coming," you breathe as if you've ran a marathon but your lungs simply cannot keep up with you, "kiss me!"

the request falls out of your mouth between gritted teeth but verdant eyes notice your panic and the shaking of your hands when the voices get nearer. he bites his tongue, swallowing so hard his adam's apple bobs when he leans to press his lips onto yours. what the hell has gotten over the both of you? kissing your best friend? but the thoughts wash away when it feels as it always does - natural. you mould together once more but it's not a platonic feeling and perhaps it's mutual when heizou sends a sharp look in the direction of prying onlookers, watching as they retrace their steps backwards and leave.

even in their absence, the two of you don't seem to part. in fact, shaking hands reach up to tangle in burgundy hair when heizou's hands grab at your hips, gentle as ever as if you're porcelain beneath him.

"all the suitors in that fan club of yours and you choose to pull shit like that?" his hot breath fans across your face and you scoff, eyes refusing to look at him in embarrassment.

"i don't want them," you utter, catching your breath from the borderline makeout session that'd just erupted in the corridor, "i want you instead."

there's a smirk on heizou's face and it has smug written all over it. you want to smack it off that considerably handsome face of his but his lips find yours once more when he mumbles "about time" against your mouth.

© https-heizou 2023.

[19871997]

not gonna lie that message about leon and dylan following each other immediately gave me vibes/thoughts of cmd being unattainable for both of them romantically (connors not interested in leon/not interested in men, etc) but being able to find comfort in each other, whether platonically or romantically. like its giving friends out of circumstance and understanding

something something whenever the oilers play the yotes (rip) at home during the 16-17 season (connor's freshman captaincy season, connor and leon were on a line and tearing it up, the oilers' season is doing far far better than it was in 15-16, cannot personally remember if connor even played in the first home game against arizona in his rookie season #collarbonemcbroken) connor leon and dylan all go out for dinner together and dylan's sitting across from connor and leon in the booth and he can see leon watching connor for just a little too long and sees his eyes fall to his lips a little too often and watches leon shove against connor and painfully painfully recognises it as the same type of 'flirting' he used to do in erie, hoping that connor would pick up on it and the rest of the team wouldn't think anything of it . so when connor goes to the bathroom dylan leans over the table and tells leon, quiet, 'he's straight,' and when leon looks like he's going to question, or protest, dylan says, 'i tried,' because he kissed connor at the top of 2015 and connor clumsily let him down and dylan clumsily tried to pass it off as the friendly, platonic outcome of one too many vodka diet cokes. anywa y. leon says, 'okay,' and drags his eyes down dylan's face and down the hollow of his throat and down his chest where his shirt is just slightly unbuttoned, and dylan's grown a sixth sense type of ability to assess when he's about to do something a little bit stupid, but leon's hot, and interested, and it doesn't really matter that leon would rather be shoving connor's tshirt over his head in his bedroom, than unbuttoning dylan's shirt in his hotel room, because dylan finds himself imagining bronze hair under his hands anyway .

[potatopossums]

I liked boys as a teen because they gave the kind of attention a best friend would give me, and I really enjoyed messing around with them, having a rapport, making jokes, and generally receiving attention that felt positive (even if sometimes it wasn't exactly the kind of attention I'd want now, or even back then).

the thing that sucked was that most boys I had that kind of relationship with only participated in that behavior because they had a crush on me. so if they decided they liked someone else, they'd pay no attention to me anymore. or if they confessed they liked me and I didn't reciprocate, they'd lose interest. or, at worst, if they confessed, at the time, not really knowing the difference between romantic and platonic attraction (among others), I agreed to go out with them. and they still treated me differently even then. all of a sudden it was lovey dovey and not goofy how it was, not fun or interesting. it was all about cuddling and holding hands and kissing and being "together," which was ok I guess, but not the reason I even started talking to them?

and now, I even recognize and feel sad about the distance between myself and a lot of boys and men. due to my experiences, I have a trauma-informed fear that all men and boys will ever want from me is romance and sex, rather than genuine, close, emotional companionship. I know there are men and boys out there who won't treat me this way and will actually be great friends for me, and I seriously cannot wait until i meet them. I really want to meet those people. I want to have friends without my fear controlling me. and I want friends who actually want to be my friend and enjoy being my friend and aren't just being nice to me because they want to date me. I want relationships well outside of romance. those relationships feel good.

[neversetyoufree]

What are your thoughts about Vanijeanne and Dominoé? A lot of people think that they’re forced and have no chemistry whatsoever, especially with Vanijeanne. As a Vanoé shipper, I don’t really mind Vanijeanne but I see a lot of people who are annoyed at that ship. Could you give your perspective on this discourse?

Y'know anon, generally speaking my opinion on anything that can be labeled "shipping discourse" is "I am an adult woman with a job and thus physically incapable of caring about this." It takes a lot for me to find other people's shipping habits actively annoying, as I mostly just. ignore and/or block anything that I'm personally not into.

My personal thoughts on shipping are also colored by the fact that I have a somewhat uncommon relationship to the concept. My engagement with fandom has become extremely focused on analysis rather than transformation in the past few years. I am much more hung up on focusing on canon and canon only than I think a lot of other people are. My opinion on Vnc ships is mostly defined by "do I think they're attracted to each other in canon?" which I realize is not how everyone else picks their favorite romances.

I suppose my take on DomiNoé is that I don't ship them, but mostly that's just not really the context in which I think about their relationship. My read on canon is that Domi's crush on Noé is unrequited. I don't think he's shown evidence of being attracted to her, and I also think it would really undermine the amusement park arc's thematic beats if it turned out Domi's jealousy of Jeanne was "justified." I wrote way more about this previously.

I love Domi and Noé's relationship. I find it tragic and fascinating, and there's a lot of love between them. Given the physical/blood aspect of their whole thing, they're like, super close friends with benefits in which one of the friends is madly in love with the other. And also the one that's in love is deeply traumatized and mentally ill and obsessed with not being a burden to the other guy. And the one that's not in love is compulsively unable to recognize both the crush and the trauma. I could write about their weird-ass bullshit forever. How could you say they don't have chemistry?

However, I'm aware that "I think Noé's feelings are platonic and I love digging into their tragic dysfunction" isn't generally what a person means when they say they "ship" DomiNoé. So like, I dunno man. My relationship to their whole thing is kinda separate from the concept of shipping. I'm just here to watch the toxic drama.

And on the VaniJeanne end it's like. Their relationship is a whole complicated can of worms that I cannot begin to get into properly in this post. They're toxic they're in love they're doomed to fail they're each other's parallels. Whether I "ship" them depends heavily on your definition of ship.

Do I want the series to end declaring Vanitas and Jeanne as true love and Vnc's one true couple? No. Do I seek out fanworks about their relationship? Generally no. Do I think their canon relationship is healthy or all unambiguous romance? No. But do I find their whole thing really fascinating? Absolutely.

VaniJeanne is a relationship that starts with an extremely non-consensual kiss. That instance of assault is then followed by multiple scenes of Vanitas goading Jeanne into yet more physical intimacy/sexual contact that she very much claims on the surface not to want. And that, kids, is what we might call sexual harassment and coercion. That is not a foundation that you can build a healthy relationship on.

Furthermore, I will admit that I find it really unsettling when a certain small subset of VaniJeanne fans cannot admit that the non-consensual scenes between them are what they are. Back when the anime was first airing, I saw a lot of people new to the series start talking about how much they shipped them after episode three, when their only romantic interaction was the forced kiss. And I suppose that's my most discourse-y opinion about this whole thing, because I do not like people who cannot tell when something is meant to be a depiction of assault.

I realize that Mochijun abruptly changes tones to comedy during/right after the kiss, but still. I do think uncritically romanticizing that moment speaks to a pretty striking lack of media comprehension. The entire point of that scene (the hostage plan, the kiss, the dhams' commentary, etc) is the reveal that Vanitas is a freaky little asshole (affectionate).

However! Their relationship doesn't stay purely in this realm of exclusively non-consent. They evolve during the date and Gévaudan, and as of my writing this (hello post-57 hiatus), their whole thing has gotten more complex. I think Jeanne is getting a lot out of having Vanitas there for her at this point, and Vanitas is starting to treat her more like a person rather than a prop to bounce his trauma responses off of. I can't say much more about it because I frankly just haven't unpacked everything from more recent VaniJeanne yet. I haven't worked out what to make of it besides that it's compelling and bizarre.

Anyway, if you want my more specific thoughts on VaniJeanne stuff, you can read more about why I think Vanitas kissed her in the first place and why I think the violation of consent motif kinda works for Jeanne and her story. The lack of consent itself is absolutely serving a purpose in both their stories.

VaniJeanne are two deeply damaged people using one another to cope with their respective traumas and illnesses, and it's wild and fascinating and very often (though not always) unhealthy as hell. I don't think "forced" is at all the right word to describe their whole thing. But at the same time, I do find uncritical romanticization of their more questionable moments eyebrow-raising at best.

At the end of the day, like I said, I just don't know if "do you ship them?" is the best lens to ask this question through. I probably don't, by most people's definition, since I'm cheering for endgame Vanoé, but that doesn't mean their relationship isn't interesting as hell. And even I have to admit that I find some of VaniJeanne's later and fluffier moments genuinely sweet and fun.

VaniJeanne and DomiNoé aren't my preferred picks for endgame romances, and I don't personally tend to seek them out in fanworks. And at least in DomiNoé's case, I don't think canon supports a mutual romance. But that doesn't mean I find their relationships annoying or have anything inherently against people who have them as their preferred ships. I think talking about VaniJeanne responsibly takes a bit of care and nuance, given how much their relationship deals with the violation of autonomy and consent, but that doesn't mean I'm, like, against people shipping them.

They're the closest VnC currently has to an official couple, and I am, as established, obsessed with canon. By definition I cannot disregard them.

Also, like I said at the beginning, I tend to just block anyone that I see with a particularly bad take and then move on with my life. Aside from being a bit startled when I occasionally come across, like, some real weird pro-vanijeanne-assault youtube comments or whatever, I devote very little mental space to "shipping discourse"

[jewishregulus]

hold on because your thing with alecto carrow & the carrow twins……… you really did something there

listen okay i could go so crazy about them . i have so much lore trapped away in my brain . but i am going to summarize so fast and quick bc they drive me crazy….

general info abt both of them : they r born in japan bc the carrow family moves there post grindlewald and their mom dies and when she dies they move back to the england but they r poor af after everything so pureblood society looks down on them for being traitors. cue them fighting the entire wizaridng war to be given respect and seen as a genuine member of the sacred 28 and using intimidation and violence to do so… a if i cannot be better than them i will be so much worse moment . their dad is normal and loves them very much they just choose to be evil like that. their mom was a sweet angel also and everyday i cry over her even tho i invented her to be dead . whatever

alecto has a weird misandrist complex in which she hates men but is also performing for them all the time , a man hating lesbian who also can’t escape using the patriarchy to validate her skills and ambition. she loves spiders bc they are matriarchal . she bases her worth off of how well she appeals to others and has so her whole life to the point she barely has a sense of self . she wants to kiss lily evans on the mouth and she worships her like an absolute angel it’s serious and vicious . the few scraps of herself she has left are all about knowledge. she is obsessed w language and translation and tries to learn literally any language she can ever . despite this she still can’t give herself a voice . she wants barty crouch jr dead for the crime of being a man and a degenerate which like fair of her . evan n reg r chill tho bc game respects game . i think if she got the chance to explore Life she’d actually choose to become a teacher like voldemort Made her become , but she would be actually pretty good tbh. her and barty regularly brawl in the teachers lounge. alecto kicks his ass. in the modern college au in my head they are regrettably roommates and each conversation they have sets gay lesbian solidarity back 15 years . alecto is studying classics and women’s studies as a minor …. ik feminism is a big part of her character but chat do not reduce her to this u don’t get it … she has a deep connection to lady macbeth and the movie the handmaids tale . here is her vibe :

and amycus is his mothers son who does whatever alecto wants him to bc he just wants to be by her side. they are so aggressively co dependent . he is obsessed w magical plants and herbology and his favorite thing in the world is a magical venus flytrap he keeps in his dorm that evan keeps putting random drops of blood into the mouth of . his dream career would probably be using magical plants to make new medicines n poisons n such . hogwarts resident weed dealer . therefore he n barty r actually chill . he just misses his mom like so much 😭 he is consistently in morning over the life he could have had . he’s pretty good friends w everyone he’s not like a loner but he is lonely deep in his chest…… of course bc alecto is his sister #feministwomenloveamycuscarrow . every carrow is linked to an insect in my head and amycus is a praying mantis . …. he has the same capability for cruelty like he also is on the field w alecto during the war but like he’d rather be gardening :/. modern college au he’s probably studying biology and is the rlly menacing president of the gardening club. and u think this means he is secretly sweet but he’s literally evil. him n reg have a crazy friendship going in in which they do the craziest romantic shit but it is completely platonic. i’m talking like candle lit dinners . in my head he has a weird situationship w rabastan (who is another story….) but also i have a *whispers* oc….. who in the fic i have planned for them in my head (which i will never write) he ends up w and his name is maxx <3 but i will never talk abt ocs on here . i have some shame. amycus would follow alecto to hell if she asked (he just wishes she would stop going the- *car runs me over*)

here’s amycus vibes

i have so much more i could say abt them . there is so much in my head they have such a deep and complex story … i will take any excuse to yap abt them . anyways they are both gay and one day i will write the alectolily sugar mommy au in which lily is the sugar mommy bc she’s a super famous author n alecto works at an antique book store doing translation n repair <3333 and it’s completely accidental lily keeps paying to borrow these super old books and eventually she just pays for alecto to come over and help her research and then one thing leads to another . and alecto is guffawed when she realizes. amycus. thinks it his hilarious. i think her and lily would have an academic rivals to loves thing going on in canon and in like Any school setting but also just in general. they could be 5 years into their relationship and still competing to be the smartest . i think there is rosekiller alectolily double date hilarity potential. also have a lot of thoughts abt them paralleling to the rosier twins but what do i know … i will leave that to the masters ….

anyways that was my yapping . hope someone felt enthralled .

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 4x05 Rejoined thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!)

[28 June '23]

"It's a trick!" "Of course it's a trick!" Oh, Quark 😆

"Painfully shy, introverted, a slight lack of confidence, just the kind of person who might want to dazzle the world with his magical abilities." - Okay, new headcanon that Julian is speaking from experience from when he was younger - he decided magic tricks would be how he'd make friends at new schools.

Interesting camera angle from Sisko's window

"Am I that dispensable around here?" "We'll never notice you're gone." I love their easy friendship and joking <3

"I'll be fine." That waver in her voice though ~

I love that Kira is the one who extensively knows Jadzia's lives. And I love how it really feels like they are all - even Quark - really, actually friends now.

The way Kira breaks into laughter at Julian's trick, I love her smile!

Kira's little touch of his arm, I live for platonic displays of affection.

"The Trill feel very strongly that it's unnatural." "Unnatural?" I LOVE Kira! Her outrage is just SO cathartic

"I don't understand how two people who've fallen in love, and made a life together, can be forced to walk away from each other because of a taboo." I know DS9 could generally have hit harder on LGBT topics, but this is Actually Very Good

"Curzon was even late for his hundredth birthday party." "You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" Interesting that she switched from Ben's use of Curzon to "me" - highlighting how much she is the other hosts as well as herself.

"I'll be fine," she says, while pinning her badge on upside-down. 😅

"What do Klingons dream about?" I love Kira's gaiety and curiosity here

Hah! Had forgotten Worf's "Things that would send cold chills down your spine and wake you in the middle of the night. It is better you do not know. Excuse me." Okay I do like his deadpan humour.

"Quite an audience." "Seems a shame to disappoint them. Maybe we should do something." Their entire conversation at the party is electric

That purposeful look away they both do when the guy leaves them alone on the bridge.

"That's because you were a pilot and it made me nervous. Made her nervous. Torias being a pilot made Nilani nervous." The mixing up of pronouns - I love how complex the whole situation is allowed to be

"And whatever part of me is still Torias is very sorry and wishes he'd listened to you." - Lenara's nod of acknowledgment.. ohhh, I knew this episode was amazing but I'd forgotten just how compelling and emotional the threads all the way through were

"Would you be interested in dinner? I mean, I'm having dinner with some friends and I thought you might like to go along." I've never seen Jadzia this uncertain of herself!

Pffff Jadzia you made all that up about having dinner with friends?! You've got it baaad

"Something tells me I should say no, but you know I won't." Oh, Julian. And that kiss on the cheek!

Julian's so sulky, my goodness, what a child (affectionate)

Their chemistry is SO - JUST - Y'KNOW

No, I can't even, his little face is so scrunchy! I'm sorry ladies, let's go back and rewatch you rather than Julian being too ridiculous.

"Curzon would be horrified I'm a scientist." I thought Jadzia was a scientist before getting joined so didn't he know?

"The irony is, you and I have more in common than Torias and Nilani ever did." And that is what makes a tragedy 💔

Julian's complete startlement when he's hailed on comms 😂

"I think he enjoyed himself... Maybe not." You think? Especially if you were going through the highlights of your life he's already heard :p

Lenara just giving her the earrings!!! Like it's nothing!!! Like it's not deeply romantic!! I cannot be normal about these two!!!

"There is nothing going on, alright?" But you wish it were, don't you, Lenara?

Jadzia's so pretty in her gown and hair down (she's always pretty shhhh)

"I don't want to do anything to hurt you." Guyssss

Jadzia's brief touch to Lenara's face and forcing herself to take her hand away I cannn't

"I missed you." Oh boy the first time watching this thinking they were going to kiss? But no, and being disappointed but not wholly surprised, it's the 90s BUT NO WHAT'S THIS, they actually DO KISS and it's just so tender. This episode has my entire heart o swear.

I hate that this reasoning why Jadzia should stay away - that the consequence of exile would impact Dax the symbiont - makes sense (even if the taboo doesn't). And that Benjamin can sound so reasonable in trying to dissuade her.

"But I also know I love her, Benjamin." MY HEART

"If you're sure, if this is what you really want, I will back you all the way." After all the other arguments, thank you Ben, that means a lot. <3

Actually, no - it's weird that Dax is seen as a passive part of this decision - the poor symbiont who'll die if Jadzia gets herself exiled - but it's Dax who also, as far as I understand, very much has feelings for Kahn and Nilani, just as much as Jadzia does for Lenara et al. So Dax should also have a say through their link woth their host if they want to choose love over exile.

Jadzia's striding down the corridor to rescue Lenara (and others, ofc)

"I don't want to lose you, not again." "Not again. Never again. Never again. Never." MY HEART, DAMN YOU 90S, WORF WAS NO REPLACEMENT FOR THIS

Jadzia getting down eagerly onto her knees as she asks Lenara to stay. She's so sure she'll accept! And why shouldn't she be!

"Everyone is trying to look out for us. Protect us from ourselves." THIS IS STILL SO RELEVANT

"I can always come back later." I can't help thinking, what if she did change her mind a few years later... Maybe in that 3 month window between season 6 and 7? ... Why am I making myself sad like this? 😭😭😭

The way their eyes meet. Fuck this episode. (affectionate)

God, Jadzia was a wreck over that phasing-planet guy - what she's going to be like over Lenara who she's known for centuries? I just wanna hug her

This is just such a good story though, like even without the gay metaphor and actual gayness, aliens having dilemmas over their society's morality is fascinating, and the Trill very much so!

[lizhly-writes]

so. i have been contemplating my dumb little not-cnovel.

one common romance trope that we see all the time is the CPR trope, which makes sense! you get to force the saved to see the savior in a more positive light, not to mention establishing some kind of life debt, if you’re into that.

some cnovels would be into that. there is this idea of repaying “life-saving grace”. with your body or something. especially if you’re reading historical fantasy and someone’s virtue is ruined by the act of being embraced by someone of the opposite gender in public, AKA being hauled out of a river because you’re drowning. you know.

we ALSO get to force them to kiss! it’s one of the two methods of saving a life that i can think of that, of the top of my head, that require beyond platonic contact. this lets you to force your romantic leads into some form of intimacy, far before than they would naturally do so. sort of like a little shortcut. so you now have two things (maybe even three things!) for the price of one trope! what a deal! what a steal!

now, i will take a moment to say this is not necessarily TRUE, since i believe mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is NOT the recommended action for the casual bystander — chest compressions are preferred! — and even if you DO go for it, the process is RATHER LESS ENJOYABLE THAN A KISS. but narratively, it’s all very touching and romantic, especially if you don’t describe the rib breaking or sputtering or whatever other messy things are going on. especially if you put focus on The Sacred First Kiss, which may or may not be a factor, depending on your preference.

my POINT. is that you can do a lot of things with it for the development of a relationship. i’m not sure if i’m a fan EXACTLY, because i generally see this kind of thing coming and i can get a liiiittle exasperated, but it is a common trope and it is a common trope for a REASON.

which is why i’m going to figure out a way to shove it in my dumb little not-cnovel, because i am actively attempting to shove as many stereotypical tropes and character archetypes as i can possibly manage.

and I AM HERE because an image has popped into my mind and i need to talk about it with SOMEBODY.

fun fact: out of my main four guys, our mc guy is the only one who is first aid certified. he's the only one of them who knows how to properly do CPR. he has, after a long childhood of agreeably patching up his childhood best friend/fiancee/whatever you want to call her, Become The Medic.

meaning he is the one who gets to enact the kiss of life upon people.

the image i have is that they all nearly fucking drown on some rich person boat ride and my boy is the one who gasps, heaving from the wreckage, soggy and unhappy but also entirely conscious, which cannot be said about his three companions.

he takes one look at this scene. there is only one person who can do CPR and that person is him. the genre-savvy-ness kicks in, and he goes "no. no, are you fucking kidding me."

he knows he lives in a romance novel. he knows exactly what i'm making him do, and that is: pseudo-makeout with his fiancee (sure, okay, whatever), his best friend (aaaaaaahhhhhhhh), annnnd the person his fiancee is fated to have an affair with and that he refuses to admit that he hates with every fiber of his body (FUCKING NO).

i just. i just find this so funny. just that one moment where he goes "ARE YOU SERIOUS."

yes. yes, i am serious. now kiss all of these people that you have very strong feelings towards. it'll be fun! for me, specifically! only me! you're going to hate it!

[riacte]

Um hii so I may have something to add to the "duo name" discussion going on.

Fanmade duo names are generally established to separate them from shipping. Which is a good idea and we should continue to make an effort to tag shipping. But you know what else is a fanon concept? Not the idea of two CCs being good friends irl, but the fannish idea of shipping their characters. (Excluding CCs who are married / together). So instead of coming up with fanon names for platonic duos who are friends irl, I think we should come up with fanon names for the fannish concept of shipping (who are not together irl / whose characters are not together).

I'm not into QSMP so I cannot speak for that side and I know y'all have a different shipping culture, so this is more for hermitshipping / trafficshipping.

I can't verify this statement but in this post, OP mentions Joe and Cleo didn't want a duo name because they felt like a word + duo couldn't represent their years of friendship. And I can imagine this to be true for many duos especially in HC, which has been going on for so long. Instead of trying to “define” friendship with a word, we can shift the focus to making up a fan name for the fannish concept of shipping them.

Case study 1: Renchanting / Treebark

The ideal scenario: CCs make their own canon platonic name, shippers make their own fannish name for shipping. Treebark is a pun, it's vague, it doesn't overtly mention Ren or Martyn or their brands, and like the more niche duo names, you need to put in effort to understand what this means. Which makes it perfect for shipping in the sense we try to "hide" it. I know people have said it can be frustrating when you see a new duo and don’t know what it means, but I think it’s okay for ship names because they are by design meant to be obscure. You have to make an effort to look for it and understand what it means.

Case study 2: Convex / Cubscar (Ranchers / Solidaritek (?) also goes here)

I think it's called Cubscar based on Cubscar Week? Anyways, a slightly less ideal scenario than Treebark but still very very good. Canon name for platonic stuff, name mashup for romantic stuff. Less elegant that Treebark but it works so who cares. If it works, it works.

Case study 3: Flower Husbands

FH is different in the sense it’s a canon romantic ship and the CCs made the name themselves. I guess FH is still used for platonic but romantic FH would probably be best tagged with shipping to differentiate it.

Case study 4: Rendoc (aka. is this platonic or romantic or what) (Renskall also goes here)

Rendoc is like FH but?? It’s both a ship name and a duo name?? SHIPrendoc? They made it themselves hello?? Rendoc has been around long enough that we just use it for whatever. Like FH, romantic Rendoc should probably be tagged with shipping.

Case study 5: Fress / Stresskall

Long established ship names that sometimes gets used for platonic because it’s faster and we don’t have canon names (at least I think we don’t?). At least I use it for platonic too. It’s different from Rendoc / Renskall in the sense we don’t get a “haha yes ship us” from the CCs. And I think we have enough common sense to tell whether a post is meant to be shippy or not. Eg. “YESS FRESS CRUMBS IN NEW EPISODE!” (about canon platonic interaction), “omg fress in your au is so cute” (depends on context? What’s the AU?), “I think Fress should kiss” (overtly romantic).

These dynamics in particular have been around long enough that it feels weird trying to make a duo name for them (like Jleo). Like, I would rather call platonic Stress+Iskall with Stresskall than, fuckass allium duo or whatever. If it’s tagged with shipping, it’s meant to be seen as shipping. In the absence of canon names, sometimes using name mashups is faster and more efficient.

There are of course exceptions for everything: eg. Desert Duo is well established enough and it’s a good contrast to Scarian. But I think for more niche duos / ships, we can kind of get away with using name mashups? In the absence of canon names?

But I think name mashups are still seen as inherently shippy because that’s how other fandoms make their ship names. (Ironically one of my ships have the name “sniper duo” which is unrelated to mcyt duoification I promise, and is more used descriptively instead of as a tag) So we have to be careful with how we present name mashups especially in public spaces…?

I still think it’s better than making up duo names that few understand. And I think we should reserve our obscure names for the more obscure act of shipping instead. If it’s difficult to find out what it means, why not make it difficult by design? The name mashup tells you who they are, but the obscure ship name tells you explicitly it’s romantic. I know it’s hard trying to twist your thought process the other way because we’re so used to name mashups being for shipping (in other fandoms), but idk I just think it makes sense for fan names to be made for entirely fanmade concepts. And non fanmade concepts (friendships) can stay the way they are. Idk just some thoughts.

[atthebell]

I'm going to be honest, I had some problems with ships because of how much most of the content were most ships in other Fandom I've been in(I'm not really romance repulsed but sometimes is a bit overwhelming for me), so I tend prefer platonic/found families relationships

Honestly, I'm surprised by how I started to like the qsmp ships, but that's not the point of this. But honestly, I just wished some people stopped getting some things too literal, yeah, Cellbit and Baghera called Phil dad, so did Pac call Tubbo mom. Have you never called a friend, who might be the same age as you, things like mom or dad as a joke? It doesn't mean you see that person as a parental figure, they are just joking because they are friends and that doesn't mean they are less important to each other, but that's not the relationship they have. Yes, sometimes you see friends as siblings and such, but friends can be family even if you don't see them as siblings or parental figures, they still as important

Honestly, I miss the start of morning crew when the joke of Tubbo being fitpac's kid being simply that, a joke that was funny to see, but I never saw him as their son. The same goes to saying that about Cellbit and Baghera to Phil, just a joke of the moment, not a serious thing of how they interact or view each other

(Sorry for the rambling, it was not supposed to be that long, and sorry for bad English)

yes people cannot understand a joke and it's endlessly frustrating like cellbit and baghera have both explicitly said they do not view phil as their dad but people have fucking brainrot and can't let the idea go because they're so obsessed with a traditional family dynamic.

also i get that usually shipping is very prevalent in fandom, but here's my thing: in terms of the wider audience of a piece of media, most people are not actually engaging in fandom. they watch or read or play the thing, talk about it a little with friends, and that's it. fandom and shipping are a small percentage of how most people engage with things-- they just seem huge because, well, this is the fandom website, and to some extent that's what twitter is as well. and fandom has been becoming a more popular way to engage with media in the last couple decades.

but to my larger point, shipping is very common within fandom itself as a whole, that is true. but in mcyt fandom, it has been incredibly unpopular, due to concerns about rpf and various other issues that are to some extent fair and to other extents incredibly overblown. so as someone who's experienced mcyt fandom prior to qsmp, i am ECSTATIC to have shipping be this popular. i can't even explain to you how easy it was for people to get cancelled or called out or whatever for having two adult minecraft roleplay characters even just kiss prior to this fandom. people were fucking insane about this, and to some extent still are.

that's not me trying to tell you off for your preferences, it's totally fine to not be into shipping, but in terms of what it's been like for YEARS in this mega-fandom dealing with people attacking people for being interested in romantic pairings, qsmp is a breath of fresh air. so it feels really shitty to have twitter users (and some tumblr users) STILL have this mindset that shipping is inherently sexual or inherently evil, and that sexuality is gross and bad. like. to me it's very indicative of reactionary politics on the left, that a bunch of young queer people think its okay to shame people for being interested in queer relationships and sex and insist on traditional family dynamics. so i would much rather have a far more free fandom with more shipping and less prudishness than to have one where, for instance, a cc gets driven off the platform for saying she doesn't mind shipping (aka what happened to zombiecleo). again, i'm not saying you can't have your preferences, that's totally fine, nonnie, but in the larger context of how mcyt fandom has been for a bit, i think the focus on platonic and familial relationships is indicative of how toxic this fandom gets about shipping and sexuality.

and again, it's all bad interpretation. cellbit jokingly slipping up calling phil his dad is not an in-character freudian slip-- he's doing it to be funny, because phil gave him something he needed and phil is always doing that, and cellbit knows about the dadza jokes. baghera being pathetic and wanting to live in phil's house does not mean she wants to be his daughter; it means she wants to fuck around and be silly and pathetic and also wants to spend time with phil because she enjoys spending time with people. people are taking their incredibly biased interpretations of what's happening and then attempting to pass them off as the objective truth.

sorry for the ramble back this stuff irritates me so bad

[bittersqxtch]

Songs and Ships

thank you @athenswrites for the tag! i shall add @imslowlydisintegrating and @taeonysus8 (i really need more writer moots sob sob)

the rules of this tag game: write 2-5 songs that represent a ship between your characters (can be romantic or platonic or a secret third thing). then add a quote from your WIP beneath each song (if possible!).

i've decided that i'm gonna focus on Jae and Jun from TGCT for this since i'm currently working on that fic and this might help me get the vibes right for once (literally on my third rewrite already, someone send help ;^;)

HER - Chase Atlantic

"ꜱʜᴇ ꜱᴀʏꜱ 'ᴏᴏʜ, ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ʙᴏʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ…ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴛᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ, ᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪꜱ ᴏɴᴇ ᴅᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ'."

this song reminds me of them because, in a moment of vulnerability, Jae makes Jun promise that he will keep hating her until the end of time. her greatest secret is that she is terminally ill (suffering from a heart illness) and that's why she lives every day like it's her last - considering how she refuses bad medication most days, she could drop dead at any moment. anyway, she has no problem hanging out with Jun and getting into messy situations with him because she believes that he will keep hating her indefinitely. unlike her friends, he won't mourn her when she dies - or at least that's what she believes. even when things get a little heated and feelings start brewing, Jae pushes the longing aside and intends to cut him off when the time comes. having a relationship with him would only subject Jun to a great deal of heartache and Jae would much rather he stay as her enemy than have him become something more only to end up wasting his life on mourning her once she passes away.

"Please hate me," Jae whispered, pulling him out of his thoughts.  When he turned to look at her, he was caught off by the silent plea shining in her eyes. "Why?" Jun frowned, confused by her request. "Why do you want me to hate you?" "Because you hated me before," Jae responded quietly. "It should be easy for you to keep hating me even if we start hanging out and acting civil with one another like this." A sad smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she added, "Besides, you never liked me in the first place, did you? So don't change that now. Don't stop hating me."

"ɪꜰ ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɢᴜʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴡʜʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴋɪᴄᴋ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴀ ɴᴏᴛᴄʜ? ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ, ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ɪɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴇᴛ ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅꜱ ɢɪᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀ ꜱʜᴏᴛ"

Just Friends - JORDY

Jun is the first to breach the thin line between love and hate. being reluctant acquaintances with Jae seems impossible until he finds himself thinking constantly about her, wondering if she got home safely from school, becoming irritated when she's too close to other guys, and so on. he denies it time and time again, half because he cannot imagine that he could've caught feelings for his enemy and half because he subconsciously knows that nothing good will come out of him developing feelings for her. still, a part of him can't help but yearn to cross over that line. unfortunately, Jae is intent on staying enemies. no one said anything about that coming with a few benefits though...

Uh oh, he thought, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. This won't end well. "Hey," he uttered quietly, knowing that he should probably step away from her but not being able to move from the spot. Jae quirked her eyebrow at him. Equally quietly, she replied, "Hi...?" "About my wish..." "What about it?" Jun's eyes flickered down to her lips briefly. Influenced by a sudden burst of bravery, he blurted out, "I know what I want." "Oh yeah?" Jae tilted her head to the side curiously, a small smile playing on her lips. She found his awkwardness adorable, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Instead, voice quiet, she prompted, "What is it?" "...Kiss me."

"ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ, ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ꜰʀᴇᴇ, ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ ɪꜱ ᴍᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ. ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴄʀᴇᴀᴍɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴜᴛɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ɴᴏ ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅ. ɪ'ᴍ ʟᴏꜱᴛ, ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ, ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ"

Trapped In A Dream - RudyWade

when they figure out that they are living in the world of a manhwa and that all that they have been through was scripted by The Writer for the plot, Jae and Jun begin to question everything - their past, their hardships, their relationship, and where The Writer intends to take the story next. amidst the chaos, they start to remember bits and pieces of their previous lives and both start wondering whether their feelings for one another are real or if, perhaps, they are nothing more than a set-up forced upon them by their god.

(i have yet to write this section so no WIP writing for this i'm afraid)

[choicesmc]

hitting you with all the questions lol: 6, 12, 20, 40, and B for fiona

Haha, i deserve it for all the questions I toss into everyone else’s inboxes xD Thank you for stopping by!!

6. Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

Definitely on the flexible side. Fiona buys more into the spirit of the law more than its reality. He firmly believes the law exists to ensure justice rather than to be followed –that’s why it can be changed. That’s why it has human hands carry out its words. The law is meant to used to protect rather than to punish and so it has to be flexible in order to achieve that. If a law can’t be bent to protect someone outside its ever-expanding eyes, then is it a law worth upholding? 

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

If Gabe’s around, ask him to lol. If not, then try to reach it himself before getting up and getting something long to do it for him. If at work, ignore it till it goes away. There’s no way he’s going to let someone catch him scratching his back through the glass windows McGraw Byrne has for walls. He’d be mortified, slain, embarrassed, gone. It’d kill him 😖

20. If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Familial would be defined by protection for him. Either the way a parent protects their child or the way siblings stick up for each other. For Fiona, family protects each other and so does familial love. Or at least should. His family didn’t lol. 

Platonic and romantic would be so hard for him 😭 Like, yes, he understands logically that there is a line but that line is so blurred to him? Very much there is a different^(TM) but the difference is not determinable to him. You can kiss friends, you can comfort friends, you can be closer to your friends than you are your partner but what makes a partner a romantic partner rather than a platonic one is lost on him. His advice would be to figure out what you’d do with a partner that you wouldn’t with a friend and try to figure it out for yourself. Fiona cannot help you here ✌

40. How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

Very. Both real and perceived. His parents were critical of him. Out of love, of course. But Fiona hasn’t spent enough time to realize which are real flaws and which are things his parents just didn’t like so… he ignores anything he perceives as wrong with him until someone else he trusts points it out to him. Then it is a Problem and has to be fixed. But like they have to be clear about it. Dancing around the bush about a problem makes Fiona ignore it more. Like an icky bug that won’t go away and you’ve just learned to live with it. Reliable method ✅ No its not do not do this irl please the communication skills of your friends are not how you should evaluate yourself please

B) What inspired you to create them?

In the first chapter of Book 1 when Ryan says: “...self-deprecation isn’t going to win you any points. Or cases.” 

At that exact moment, Fiona just introduced himself and never left. He was sauve, clear about his intentions with Gabe, but played the field while Gabe was flip-flopping about. He was sharp, got most things right first try, had enough confidence to build a skyscraper.

Then I started to toss a little contradiction in the mix. I love a powerhouse, for sure, but Ryan’s line made me add a lil’ something to him and boom! Fiona Lightwood: bold, bright, beautiful, and unloving towards himself.