#she doesn’t even HAVE any chemistry with him. the shippers r just making the shit up as they go

[maxthesillyy]

haters unite caulscott for the bingo

HATERS UNITING‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️💪💯🔥

IF CAULSCTT HAS NO HATERS IM DEAD

[hipsterfrankcastle]

my thoughts and feelings about the scenes with karen and frank under the cut

right this is gonna be a garbled mess cause i really haven’t thought any of this through coherently but i thought that whole scene was total garbage. i am so t i r e d of the way these series (daredevil and the punisher) treat karen. it kind of reminds me of this essay i read about the simpsons (lol ok so not the most apt comparison) where it argued that lisa’s function throughout the show is just to suffer.

i am so tired of watching karen page suffer. of watching her reach out, over and over again, and make herself vulnerable for the men she loves just to be knocked back. and it’s absolutely about the (predominantly male) writers on this show (and don’t anyone come at me with some “but the punisher s2 ep was written by a woman!” bullshit - these stories are broken by a writers room and are ultimately decided by a M A L E showrunner) and the way they view women. not only do these writers treat women as tools to fuel man page, it seems with karen in particular that her entire role is to both be steeped in misery and to let these men just ping their own angst right off of her. honestly, what was her function in that punisher episode? yes she was helpful with the mortician (in a totally gross way, that whole shoe thing was so unfuckingnecessary and, like most of the mistoned things in this season, clearly designed to be funny and yet absolutely, not at all even faintly amusing) but beyond that she just..... stood there. and let frank monologue at her. and then told him she LOVED HIM only for him to tell her “I DON’T WANT THAT”.

and look. this isn’t a kastle shipper perspective. just as a ‘shipper’ that was a very satisfying scene to watch; incredible chemistry, acting, angsty goodness, an almost-kiss, all the usual. but there’s a reason i don’t ship matt and karen and it’s because matt doesn’t treat karen right (and also because deb and charlie have no chemistry but that’s a whole different matter lmao)! and whilst frank has also treated karen like shit, i always felt he had her best interests at heart. but fucking “i don’t want that” ?? fucking rebutting her again and again? if this were the first time we were seeing this, this bullshit storyline that frank feels he can’t let anyone into his life, if this were the first instance we were seeing it being exemplified via his relationship with karen, then fine. i enjoyed it in daredevil season 2, it provided great fucking writing.

but this is THE THIRD TIME! and i’m so fucking tired!! it’s exhausting watching karen page put through misery at the hands of these bullshit egotistical male characters because some lazy ass writers wanted to fit in this (quite frankly dreadful and incomprehensible) thesis about how frank was like “always a killer” and this is “who he’s meant to be” which is just um. crap.

that whole thesis shows that these writers know exaaactly who they’re writing for: dudebro comic-boy edgelords who wank over a cold, hardened frank castle who has zero complexity. everything about this season’s aesthetic and tone - the fucking country and western bar, the fling with beth, tying an UNDERAGE GIRL TO A BED and then fucking PLAYING IT FOR LAUGHS: i’m not sure any of these writers are even aware that women watch this show. it’s like the joke in age of ultron where the hulk falls face-first into natasha’s boobs. like “oh, okay, there’s that click moment where i have realised i am being totally disregarded as an audience member due to my gender. this writer does not care about me. this writer thinks my body and comfort is a joke”. 

it’s fucking bullshit and i’m tired of it. if karen page came to me and basically told me she loved me you think i’d tell her “nah im good, cheers bro”?? ABSOLUTELY NOT. GET FUCKED.

[negasonicimagines]

TEAM (Part One)

request: hey can you write an ntw x reader pleeeasssee? maybe angst w a fluff ending?? you're literally my entire resource for ntw fics and i lov you for it thanks so much sweetie. i'm sorry i don't really have like a plot line for you but i mean wade as a shipper is always good (also Colossus being Done With Him)

hey everybody! hurray for more consistent writing, yeah? next part will be the funner, fluffier part, but this is the angsty part!

tw for: abusive drug addict mom (because even I can’t escape that trope), addiction, lots of crying, your death (mentioned), starving yourself (not anorexia or bulimia, also just a mention), depressed!reader, and basically an overall tw for some dark themes. Let me know if I missed anything.

“Your mom said she’d call the cops on me if she caught you crashing here again.” Deadpool, despite being in his suit, wears a robe. He said what he did as he came out of his bedroom to discover you on his couch, obviously having just woken up. He doesn’t mind, though, he never does. Your best friend is a grown fucking man. And that’s the least weird thing about your life.

“She probably doesn’t even remember saying that, dude,” you remind him as he continues walking, to the kitchen. “She was tweaking out of her goddamn mind.”  

Wade sighs heavily. He despised your mother, despised any parent who would choose drugs over their own kids. “Why don’t you just stay at Xavier’s full-time instead of just going to school there? Then, she couldn’t call the cops,” he replies, turning on the stove. You finally follow him, sitting at the kitchen island.

“The resources are better spent on someone else. It’d be a waste if I lived there.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I don’t need to eat, or sleep. I don’t need a bed or food.”

Wade scoffs. “Just because you come back to life, doesn’t mean you should kill yourself for the sake of ‘saving resources.’ You need to be more responsible for yourself.”

“Seriously? Coming from you?”

“Hey, I eat and sleep all the time. If eating and sleeping paid the bills, it’s all I’d do. You should be more like me,” he proudly says, and a smile actually makes its way onto your face, surprisingly enough. “There she is!” he happily remarks, and you roll your eyes. “You seem especially down, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” you fib.

He doesn’t buy it.

“I always say that I had another superpower long before Weapon X: I can tell when someone is lying. What’s really going on?”

You scoff. “You never say that. But, uh, you’re right. She stole my fucking Xanax.”

It wasn’t common for Xanax to be prescribed to minors, but nothing else worked for your depression. Xanax was strong enough to break through your metabolism, at least for a little while… But after doing some research and finding that it was addictive, you stopped taking it. You never wanted to end up like your mom.

“You think she might get hooked on that, too?”

“Oh, no, I figured that was gonna happen eventually. I guess the bright side is that I know it’s not pressed fentanyl. But, uh… I’ve been selling it. For food and whatever else it’ll cover. So, not having it really sucks. Who knows how many customers I’ll lose, and I probably won’t be able to eat anything for a-”

Wade places a plate in front of you, silencing you.

“BLT. I know you hate breakfast food, but I wanted bacon and pancakes.”

“You shouldn’t have,” you tell him, meaning it. “Thank you.”

“I’m always going to,” he argues in a sing-song tone. “No problem. I buy in bulk, anyways. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something…”

“Yeah?” you wonder, interested to know what he’s going to say. People always bitch about him being a blabbermouth, but at least the things he says are interesting. He’s not boring, even if he’s loud and never shuts up.

“Have you ever considered looking for your father? I know you’ve said that he’s probably a POS like her, but maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s a cool guy who just doesn’t know you exist.” You have the vague impression that that’s not what he was planning to say, but you dismiss your intuition, as you have no idea what else he would’ve said.

“And he’s probably better off that way, man. Who wants an asocial, gay, mutant teenage daughter?”

“Ellie’s parents seem to like her, and you’re a lot nicer than she is, even if you’re both obsessed with self-imposed isolation. Hey, if you start living at Xavier’s, you’d see your mutual IRL!”

“I will strongly consider living at Xavier’s School for Gifted Losers if you never use the terms ‘mutual’ or ‘IRL’ ever again, you rotten old man.”

“No promises!” He tells you with a laugh.

Speaking of your mutual, Ellie messages you on Twitter. You take a bite of your sandwich, and respond.

ellienegasonic666:   Hey what r u up to today

[your twitter handle]:  Hanging w wade, why?

ellienegasonic666:   Why would you subject urself to that sksjksjdl

[your twitter handle]:  He’s like one of my best friends??? and mom was being a pain again

ellienegasonic666:  You should just live @ Xavier’s lol

[your twitter handle]:  That’s what wade said lol, I think he’s just trying to get rid of me

ellienegasonic666:  Really???

ellienegasonic666:  Maybe he’s MY best friend too

[your twitter handle]: You think it’s a good idea???

ellienegasonic666: DUH. You’re like the only person I can stand like at all

[your twitter handle]: Wow… thank you??? Kind of a big compliment coming from you jsadalksjdlak

ellienegasonic666 is typing…

One thing that made you both want and not want to live at Xavier’s was the possibility of seeing Ellie more. She was your only true friend that was your age, and even the same species as you. (You’d befriended many a stray animal in your wanderings about the city.)

And you had the biggest, most embarrassing crush on her. Developing feelings for any girl that shows you basic human kindness? Yeah, you were that person. So, on one hand, more opportunities to admire her. On the other, more opportunities for her to see what a fucking loser you are, at least, in your opinion.

You lock your phone, putting it down and continuing to eat your sandwich.

“Come on, kid. Dish. What were you two talking about just now?”

“How do you know I was talking to her?” You ask him.

“Your eyes light up every time your phone vibrates,” he explains. “No one else makes you that happy. Except for me, but I don’t make you happy in that way. That’d be gross.”

You scoff, rolling your eyes at his antics. “Listen, when I go to school tomorrow, I’ll discuss it with Logan… If you let me crash here tonight,” you negotiate.

“Fine, but I get to feed you breakfast in the morning,” he replies.

“Sounds good,” you tell him, giving him a thumbs-up.

The rest of the day goes smoothly, you and Wade playing Fortnite and watching Golden Girls together.

You rest your head on your best friend’s shoulder.

“I wish I never had to go back there,” you confess tiredly at around 10 PM, and he sighs.

“Me too,” he admits. “But it’s not safe here. This neighborhood is shitty, and-”

“I live in a shitty neighborhood already,” you cut him off with a reminder.

“And this is Deadpool’s house.”

“I can’t die forever,” you tell him, as if he could ever forget that. Like it wasn’t the only comforting thought when you were assigned to missions, even the safe ones.

“I know,” he replies with a deep sigh that unwinds the tension woven into every fiber of his being. “I know. I’ll consider it, if Xavier’s is at capacity”

The next morning, you wake up at 6 AM for school, silencing your alarm and enjoying the warmth. Before you know it, you’ve slipped back to sleep.

“Y/N. Y/N. Hey.” Each word is punctuated by a poke to your face by a gloved finger. “Listen, kid, I know you need the sleep, so I let you sleep in, but you’re gonna be late to school if you don’t get up and chow down quickly.”

You jolt straight up with a choking gasp, realizing you fell back asleep. You scarf down the toast with (favorite toast topper, be it butter or peach jam or whatever) and bacon, multi-tasking as you get ready.

“I’ll drive you, so don’t worry about makeup and all that junk. You can do it in the car. Just get your teeth brushed and get dressed and shit,” Wade informs you, starting Al’s old klunker so the shitty heater will warm up the car a little bit before the two of you are forced into it by time.

You dash out of the bathroom, small makeup bag in hand and shoes untied, and Wade follows you at a slower but still brisk pace.

“Why’d you let me sleep?” you ask him frustratedly, applying your lipstick(/gloss/balm/whatever) while you wait for his answer.

“I told you, you needed it.”

“I didn’t need it this badly,” you retort, working on your eyeliner next. The two of you hit a bump, so you get out your concealer and salvage what you can.

“You needed it. I’m sick of watching you die of neglect, why is that not enough of a reason for you?” He punctuates his words with a terrible groan, as if he’s pained by this bickering..

“I come back!” you argue, confused about why he’s pushing this taking-care-of-you thing more than usual.

“I know your mom doesn’t give a shit about whether you live or die, but I do! I’m not letting you die, ever again! Get over it!” Wade practically screams in frustration, effectively silencing you.

You sit there, in complete stillness, before getting back to work on your makeup. You put on foundation and blush, contouring before you set it all with translucent powder, sweeping the soft brush over your smooth skin.

“I’m sor-”

You shake your head, pressing your limps together firmly so that no sobs leak out, blinking hard.

Wade knows you hate yelling, not to mention what he said was over the line.

He pulls up to the school.

“I’ve got some business here, later. Do you want me to bring lunch and hang around to pick you up?”

You shake your head. “I’ll walk home, or something.”

“Have a good day?” he offers, and you just walk away, entering the school.

At least I’m on time, you think to yourself, stumbling to homeroom in a haze. Homeroom’s Chemistry, and you definitely didn’t do your homework last night.

“Mx. L/N, your homework?” the teacher says at your desk.

“No,” is your only response.

The teacher sighs, shaking his head in hopelessness before moving on to your lab partner, Ellie.

“Here it is,” she hands it to him. Once he’s moved, she hisses to you: “Why didn’t you just ask me if you could copy mine?”

You curl in on yourself a bit, putting your head on the desk and guarding it with your arms and hands. “Please don’t…” You whisper back, and you mentally chastise yourself for how pathetic you sound.

She places her hand on your back, unintentionally sending rather calming tingles through it.

“What happened? Your mom didn’t hurt you again, did she?”

“I mean, she did, night before last,” you mutter, moving your arms and letting one hand support the weight of your head boredly. “But that’s only a small part of why today is shitty. Don’t worry about it, El. It’s not your problem, okay?”

“Fine, if that’s how it’s gonna be,” she scoffs, but you know she’s not really that offended.

“I’m gonna talk to Logan during lunch about moving here. Crashing at Wade’s isn’t working out anymore.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Ellie asks.

“He just yelled at me this morning. He’s too invested, he was mad ‘cause I don’t eat or sleep enough and I keep-” You remember that Ellie doesn’t know. “I keep getting dizzy spells. But, uh, you know me. I’m a pansy, can’t stand yelling.”

“You’re not a pansy for having trauma,” Ellie grumbles. “Hey, let Logan know that if there’s not another room, I’m fine sharing one with you.”

“Really?” you wonder, taken aback by her kindness. Ellie was always nicer to you than she was to other people, but this was a bit out of character.

“Yeah, why not? You get me,” she says.

The teacher scolds you and other classmates for talking, and the few of you become quiet and try to focus on the lesson.

A couple class periods later, and it’s lunchtime.

“Hey, Logan?” you approach him.

“I didn’t know, or I would’ve told you.”

“About what?” you ask, and if you thought he was frowning before, he definitely wasn’t happy now.

“Forget I said that. What did you want?”

“I wanted to talk about, uh, living here…” you say quietly, and he looks confused.

“Really? I thought you wanted to live out in the city.”

“Yeah, uh, that’s not really working out for me,” you admit.

“You didn’t get attacked by any of those anti-mutant gangs, did you?”

“No, uh, my mom’s not a gang,” you drop the bomb. “Just a physically and verbally abusive bitch.”

“And you’ve been staying with Wade occasionally, haven’t you?” he guesses.

“Yeah, uh, how’d you-? Not the point. We had an argument this morning, and um… I don’t think he’s gonna want me around.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Why does everybody keep asking me that? No. The problem is that he’s too concerned. It’s not good. I don’t die forever and he still acts like it’s the worst thing in the world for it to happen every now and then.”

Logan sighs. “Right. Probably about the thing I didn’t know until recently that I know now and probably shouldn’t tell you.”

“And that is?”

“I should probably let him tell you,” Logan says, looking behind you. You turn around to see your best friend.

“Well, let’s hear it,” you say.

“I- I’m- I don’t want to be friends anymore,” he says. “It’s not appropriate for someone my age to be hanging around you like I do.”

“What? I thought you didn’t care about that shit,” you disagree. “You know you’re not a creep, I know you’re not a creep. Who else does it concern?”

“I don’t want to be friends with you anymore! Get over it, okay?! Don’t come to my house looking for a place to crash when your druggie mother beats your ungrateful ass! Don’t look for me when you’re in town! Don’t text me any boring, unfunny memes! Don’t Snapchat me stupid pictures of you and Ellie being losers! Don’t fucking speak to me! Ever! I don’t wanna see you ever again, got it?! I’m gonna be going now, Logan. Don’t expect me back anytime soon.”

He quickly leaves, and you turn back to Logan.

“What the fuck is going on?” you ask your mentor in a hoarse whisper, keeping your volume low to keep from crying. A tear slips down your face.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting that, I… You can stay here, but I don’t know where. We might have to squeeze you in with someone.”

“Ellie said that I could room with her if there wasn’t enough room,” you tell Logan, imagining wrapping a ribbon around your sadness, so tight, so that no one can see it. So that it won’t come out.

“Sounds good. I’ll let the Professor know. You, try to have a better rest of your day.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The rest of your day is not good. You skip your last two classes and just sit at the foot of Ellie’s bed, choking sobs throwing themselves from your lungs like you wish you could throw yourself off a bridge, sinking into the water and going down, down, down… Drowning every time you awaken from death, only to die again. Perfect Purgatory. No problems other than fighting the instinct to rise to the surface.

Every time you calm down, start breathing normally, splash your face with cold water and blow your nose, thinking you might actually piece yourself back together by the time Ellie gets back from Photography Club, you remember what he said, again. Think about his face, the fury in his eyes when he yelled at you this morning.

And the cycle continues.

“Y/N?!” Ellie. Crap, Ellie can see how fucking pathetic you are. “Y/N, what’s wrong?!”

“He- He hates me… I- I don’t know what I- What I did- I- I can’t fucking breathe,” you cry out. “Everything was fine, and then he was just so- Just so fucking mad today. What did I do, Ellie, do you know?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Wade’s just a fucking bastard.”

“Not to me,” you weep. “Never to me…It hurts so bad, in my chest, I- I- I-” you gasp, again and again, desperate for air. “He- He was my...b-b-best f-friend… Only f-family I had… And he- he hates- hates m- he h-hates me…”

“Shh, Shh…” Ellie says, unsure of what else to do. She’d never been the one to comfort a crying friend, usually leaving that to someone else. But you, you didn’t have anyone else. “He doesn’t hate you. Maybe he was having a bad day. Whatever he said to you, he probably wishes he didn’t. And if he doesn’t, well, I’ll make him fucking wish he didn’t.”

“No!” you scream, an animalistic howl. “Don’t- D-don’t hurt him…” you whimper.

“I won’t, I won’t, I’m sorry. Was just trying to help. Wade-” She sighs, not liking that she has to reveal her feelings, too. “As much as I wanna hate the guy, I can’t. Because he’s a good man. And he loves you, so much. I don’t know why he said what he did, but I get the feeling there’s more to the story.”

“B-but he s-said such awful things…” you whine.

“Here, come on the bed. It’s more comfortable.” Ellie helps you up from the floor, taking off her shoes and lifting her black duvet so that you can slip under. Surrounded by a darkness that includes not just your second best friend, but your crush, was soothing in a way you’d never felt before. You struggle to breathe ends, even if your tears don’t. “What’d he say?”

“Just… Stuff about my mom. He said he didn’t want to be friends anymore, that he didn’t want me staying at his place or even talking to him.”

“That’s really fucking shitty. Do you- Do you want me to hold you?”

“You don’t have to,” you tell her, and she realizes that if she’s going to help you she also has to be emotionally vulnerable. “Why are you being extra nice to me? You really don’t have to, you could just make me lock myself in a bathroom or something.”

“I want to,” she confesses, and you scooch closer to her. She moves you so that your head is on her chest, and her arms are securely around you. As the two of you fidget, your legs tangle together. “I’m sorry about what happened today. I know that he’s your best friend, more than me, and I’d consider us pretty close.”

You hum in acknowledgement, her body’s extra natural warmth lulling you into a haze of emotional numbness and half-sleep. She strokes your hair.

“I love you so much, too. Not like he does, though. I wish we could stay like this forever. I always wanna protect you, even when you’re not in danger. I- I wanna do more than cuddle. I wanna kiss you, and get you flowers, and watch chick-flicks and pretend that I don’t like them just as much as you do. Sing along with stupid, funny voices to Pitch Perfect because we’re both too embarrassed of our real singing voices. I- I want to do all that, forever, and I don’t want you to do that stuff with anyone else, at least not the same way you do it with me. You get what I mean?”

But you don’t answer, having fallen asleep at some point in her ramblings, probably before she confessed the romantic nature of her feelings.

“Damn it,” she mumbles to herself, but is kind of grateful. Now really isn’t the best time, she realizes. She strokes your hair, glad to see you getting some rest after all you’d been through today. She stays there for w while, eventually lifting her arm from on top of you and unlocking her phone. She blocks Wade on every platform.

Normally when Ellie’s on her phone, she’s talking to you. It’s part of the reason she’s so attached to the damn thing. She plays some of the games she has installed for about an hour, before finally admitting to herself that she’s bored out of her mind.

But, it’s dinner time, meaning she has an excuse to wake you up.

“Y/N…” She quietly says, brushing your hair out of your face. “It’s time for dinner…”

“Hmm?” your eyes flutter open, but your eyelids are still heavy. You can’t believe you’re really cuddling with Ellie. You’d thought you dreamed it.

“Dinner,” she repeats.

“Jeez, was I out that long?” you wonder.

“Just for an hour and a half,” she tells you. “Dinnertime is a bit early, to make sure that everyone gets to eat before bedtime.”

“Oh. Cool,” you say, and then you remember why you’re here. You’re all cried out, for now, but you start to shake again.

“Hey, hey, no more of that,” Ellie discourages you. “He doesn’t deserve your tears. You should think about blocking him, on social media and whatever numbers of his you have.”

“B-but what if he wants to be my friend again?” you ask meekly, and she looks down at your hopeful face, sighing.

“Then he can tell you in person, not that he deserves the opportunity.” Ellie tries to calm down, be sympathetic. It was easier at first, but now you’re wearing her down. She doesn’t get why you can’t just get over it, tell your thoughts of him to fuck off. Wade didn’t deserve this mourning, especially not after what he did to you. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, and then we can go to dinner. You can borrow one of my hoodies, if you want.”

You nod, and she gets up, going to her closet and pulling out one of her many dark-colored hoodies. This one is a dark purple, one she doesn’t wear often. She tosses it over her shoulder, popping into the bathroom to grab the pack of makeup wipes.

It’s cold, and the chemicals sting against your sensitive cheeks.

You twitch, and she takes in a sharp breath.

“Sorry,” she quietly says, taking an even more careful approach. She wipes your face, and you have to admit, you do feel refreshed. She takes the purple hoodie from where she threw it over her shoulder, and hands it to you. You pull it over your head, slipping your arms through the sleeves and letting the hood rest on your head. “It looks better on you than it does me.”

You huff out a small laugh at this. “I don’t look good in anything.”

“Calling me ugly?” Ellie asks, snickering. “It’s good to see you smiling.”

You smile a little wider at her compliment. She always makes you feel better.

“Let’s go to dinner,” you tell her, and she nods, taking your hand and leading the way.

[readingwebcomics]

Analyzing Questionable Content: Pages 1-50

And so it begins.

The very first comic of Questionable Content, posted way back in 2003 and what would eventually be Jeff Jacques’ claim to fame, the reason why everyone remembers his name and what has made him a wealthy man today.

…’s alright.

Of course, by modern standards it’s not very good. This was the early 2000s, the wild west of online artists who had nothing more than an art creation software and a dream. The Webcomic Review has a VERY good post about it right here, which explains what the landscape of webcomics were like around this time and why exactly Marten has a pet robot (tl;dr, EVERYONE had a pet robot in ye early days of webcomics because Megatokyo).

But aside from the… awkward art, this comic at least serves to set up the protagonist (as far as we’re aware right now, we’ll get into the roles of protagonists in QC later). He’s a lanky, assumedly average guy who hates where he is in life but doesn’t know what else to do or even where else to go…

…as he goes on to spell out two comics later. He’s unassuming, not really much you can say for or against him, miserable and stuck in a rut in his life that he’s too scared to escape. Sooo basically, freshly graduated college students – the exact kind of audience a RomCom like this would go after.

Oh, did I forget to mention?

Yeah, QC started off as a RomCom.

This young woman is Faye, and she immediately cuts through the bullshit with an aggressive but to-the-point introduction of herself and her intentions.

While aggressive and to-the-point, she’s also set up as someone who meshes with Marten and Steve’s interests well enough and quickly makes friends. This is probably best exemplified in the seventh page, which serves two purposes:

Purpose the First: Showcase Marten and Faye have a shared niche interest, immediately establishing chemistry between the two of them. Be it platonic or romantic, they’re quickly hitting it off and, being a RomCom, will serve as the first rope potential shippers can grasp onto.

Purpose the Second: Jeff is a MASSIVE indie music nerd and he wants the fucking world to know it.

Also Pintsize is there doing funny robot things because 2003 webcomic.

It’s not long before this initial relationship is set up that two issues serve to sew the seeds of initial conflict:

This, likewise, serves two purposes: To show where Faye works and create a believable life for her to exist in when she’s not in the story with Marten, and as previously stated to sew potential romantic conflicts in the future. Jeff employs this tactic many-a-time throughout the course of Questionable Content, beginning a conflict and letting the implications sit with the reader while life goes on in the regular comics. Is this good writing? I honestly can’t say. Is it always done well? Oh good God no, some plot beats are outright dropped or left to sit for so long the reader straight-up forgets it’s there with this method. But does Jeff make it work? It’s all on personal taste I’d say, but personally it sits well with me.

Also, for those of you wondering why it looks like the word “hump” is just pasted onto the text bubble in post… well it was. The original comic implied sexual assault much more overtly, using the R-word instead of “hump.”

*Away from mic* Wait, can-can I say [NOPE]? Better not to risk it? Alright, fair ‘nuff.

But yeah, this was pointed out by readers to be pretty fucked up and it was swiftly changed, for good reason.

Later that night, Faye asks Marten to dinner with her. Platonically, of course. And here I believe I should point out the dynamic of their relationship as it stands – Faye is the aggressor. Marten is basically a doormat. Whenever something happens, Faye is always the instigator, be it going out to dinner or tagging along with him when he’s getting shopping done. This will feed into their relationship dynamic and sets up a decent inter-personal conflict: Marten is far too passive to reach out to Faye and make the move to start something, but Faye, despite how openly and quickly she attaches herself to Marten’s life, never takes that step into making it romantic. The two clearly have the hots for each other, but their respective personalities make it so neither one crosses that threshold.

Yes I know this is basic character writing for a RomCom 101, but the fact that so much about these characters are said in 12 four-panel comics says a lot. It hooks the reader quickly and gets them on the page Jeff wants them to be, and I respect that.

And in the next page, Faye’s aggression takes on a new level, albeit extremely briefly.

This is an isolated incident of actual physical aggression rather than implications and threats in these first 50 pages, but it becomes a trend as we go along – one that feeds into Faye’s character, mind, so it’s not just physical abuse for humor’s sake – so just keep it in mind as we go along.

Also on a personal note the actual restaurant they go to is simultaneously the worst and best idea I’ve ever heard of:

This is horrible. I should not encourage this. And yet some dark part of me finds the concept utterly hilarious even though I know I’m a piece of shit for liking it.

Actually, now some part of me wants to do the exact opposite – advertise a place as a steakhouse only serve an all-vegan menu. It feels less mean but just as funny to me.

…oh right, the comic.

After sharing dinner, exchanging banter that establishes good chemistry and parting ways, we come to this comic that I’m only showing because I’m a slut for good puns and I will take any and all opportunities to share with people.

(Pintsize totally won that round with the John the Baptist zinger by the way, if I’m allowed to judge this.)

And one page later, we get the biggest shake-up in the comic thus far:

It’s established Faye herself ended up burning down the apartment because she burnt toast, but that’s not really important. I know, the fact Faye BURNT DOWN A BUILDING isn’t important sounds completely ridiculous, but follow me here – the important thing for this setup isn’t the how, but the why. “How did Faye’s apartment burn down?” isn’t the question Jeff, nor the audience, is intended to be asking, that’s merely a vessel into the situation we’re in – the answer of “Why did Faye’s apartment burn down?” which is, of course, so Marten and Faye can become roommates and facilitate future antics and further their relationship. Familiarity breeds into both affection and conflict, and the obvious case of “Well you two are already living together, aren’t you?” will serve to further the flames of their potential relationship with one another.

…granted, a better reason to create this setup would’ve been nice, and from a writing standpoint it’s ridiculous that Faye never suffers any consequences for burning an entire BUILDING down, one that had many more people than just her in it. If present-day Jeff wrote this plotline… actually. Now that I think about it, Jeff DOES re-do this plot point and make it make a lot more sense and have a lot more impact on everyone involved.

But we’ll get to that when we eventually talk about Brun…. Three thousand and something pages from now.

Either way, my point stands: This plot thread serves mostly to create the situation we’re facing now, one where Faye and Marten end up living together. This shake-up to the early comic settles us into the new status quo, one that we’ll be riding with comfortably for the foreseeable future.

Further evidence of Faye’s aggressive and troll-ish nature… one that may or may not play into future revelations about her, now that I think about it.

Remember what I said about sewing the seeds of drama? Well here we stand now – a misunderstanding, or the beginning of genuine conflict between these two?

The answer is… they talk it out like actual goddamn adults, avoiding a stupid, unnecessary fight.

Honestly? Kind of refreshing. But what makes it better is the following page:

Honestly? This moment never fails to make me laugh. The one-two punch of complete betrayal of the reader’s expectations as well as the utter dismantling and defusal of the romantic interest subplot between these two dorks – while denying some genuine romantic conflict that may force Faye into being more upfront with how she feels about the situation – is a fun denial of the kinds of RomCom clichés that one might expect to find in this story.

Sure, there are other stories that do this better, I’m not denying that. But isolated in a bubble, this stands by itself and, frankly, works well enough for the story Jeff’s telling.

Also say goodbye to Sara, once she walks out that door she goes to join the little sister from Family Matters and the big brother from Happy Days on the twisted Island of Irrelevancy, visiting the story only when she can spare the time to craft a raft out of banana leafs and... where was I going with this?

…okay, personal story time. The Walmart I’m doing contract work for this week has a CD display of new-ish albums, and honest-to-God I completely forgot music CDs were even a THING. MP3s have spoiled us, and I now feel old for some reason.

Right, getting back on track.

I wanted to show this comic to establish three things.

1) Marten is the kind of person who sits on things that bother him and lets them stew for awhile. As established in the previous image I showed with Marten and Steve at the music store, it’s been at least a day since what happened with Sara and Marten’s still thinking about it. This, for better or worse, becomes a core part of Marten’s character moving forward.

2) Faye, for all her faults, is a genuinely good friend who cares about Marten and knows when to channel her natural aggression into support rather than ribbing.

3) This is another comic that always makes me laugh whenever I read it. Yes I know that’s much less of a real reason than my other two points but let me have this dammit.

This particular page itself isn’t terribly important to the ongoing narrative but I wanted to include it because it introduces QC’s unquestionably best character, Jim. Hi Jim! I like Jim.

(He’s a minor character at best but he’s just so earnest and fun and every time Jeff brings him back he just gets better and better.)

Oh, and for those who were skeptical that the more-than-platonic interest was mutual between Marten and Faye, the next two issues serve to showcase that… yeah, both parties TOTALLY have the hots for each other.

The first of those two comics, by the way, gets called back to much later down the line. And the fact that Faye speaks in a southern accent is more than just a joke, it’s going to be touched on more later.

Jeff says in the description of this comic that this is based on personal experience, and it shows – this is the most backbone Marten displays to my memory.

And in the very next page, we’re introduced to a new character – although you wouldn’t guess it from her appearance.

That’s Raven. I like Raven. Her personality changes a ton once she’s properly introduced as a character and not a nameless employee, but for posterity’s sake: Here’s her very first appearance in the comic.

There’s only one more important comic to touch on in this batch of fifty, and it’s about both Marten and Faye’s families:

While this could be as simple as a “har-dee-har, my family drives me up the wall,” this comic serves to say a lot about both characters once we know more about their families. Both Marten and Faye actually have very good reasons why they don’t want to see their respective families or go back to their hometowns… Faye especially so. We’ll touch more on that when we get more into her backstory.

Before we wrap things up, I’d like to do a quick comparison between page 1 and 50 to see in what small, subtle ways Jeff’s artistry has improved:

There’s not a LOT of difference, but the small details really showcases just how different they look. Small changes from the placement of everything on Marten’s face, to the size of the eyes, the width of the eyebrows… It’s good shit.

Overall, what did I think of batch 1? Well… for an early 2000s webcomic, it’s engaging. The characters are likable, the plot is progressing at an enjoyable pace, and I’m already on-board to see if Marten and Faye will get together. I mean, I know the answer, but my point stands.

Also because I’m a freak or something and like data compilation I went ahead and kept track of who showed up in what comic and made some numbers for it:

Not counting the one guest comic and two non-canon pages, Marten showed up in 45/50 pages, being in 90% of the comic so far.

Faye was in 38/50 pages, taking up 76% of the comic so far.

Pintsize comes in third place being in 15/50 comics, taking up a paltry 30% of the comic thus far when compared to the screen time Marten and Faye have taken up.

Likewise, Steve has been in only 8/50 pages, making up 16% of the comic up to this point.

Sara was in 5/50 pages, making up 10% of these first 50. That percentile will grow smaller and smaller with each update, believe you me.

Jim was in 2/50 glorious pages, making up 4% of the comic up to this point. And that was the best 4% this comic had to offer, let me tell you.

Raven, although still unnamed, I’m counting – she’s in 1/50 of the first batch of pages, making up 2% of screen time.

Tune in next week as we continue onwards to pages 51-100 where we’ll be introduced to the next major character in the series, who’s mere existence will further the plot more than anyone we’ve previously met. See you then.

[battlestar-royco]

Yo I'm not really a star wars fan and I havent seem the recent ones, but I was wondering what makes Reylo a problematic ship since I have been seeing so many people hating it and so many other people loving it.

Disclaimer: I’m not really a SW fan either, I only watched the OT once like 2 years ago and found it okay. I despise the prequels to the point where I can’t even hate-watch them, except maybe ROTS. Indifferent to R1, not going to watch S0lo. But I enjoyed The F.orce Awakens (the 2015 one) and I’m neutral/critical to The L.ast J.edi (2017). I don’t really know much about SW lore, characters, and fandom. If you look in the anti R.ey.lo tag, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of detailed analysis on the ship and why people take issue with it. Also, spoilers for the ST movies.

The main reasons why people dislike R***o (censoring it so I don’t get attacked by their fans like yesterday) as far as I can tell, are 1. because of the abusive nature of the ship, 2. other ships, 3. R***os are super invasive across every fandom, and 4. there are literally hundreds of receipts of R***os being blatantly racist.

1. Kyle Ron is 29 (meanwhile R/ey is 19) and has murdered his father and other innocents, tried to maim the main characters, and committed/was complicit in genocide by blowing up an entire planet. He made those decisions by himself as an adult, and yet his fans try to act like it either wasn’t his fault or that he didn’t do any of it. In T/FA, Kyle knocked R/ey out and kidnapped her, cuffed her to a chair, and tried to use the Force to forcibly probe her mind to the point where she was crying. JJ Abrams has said that the scene was meant to be metaphorical for torture and rape. I think that’s the scene where R***o sparked for many shippers, because of the lighting and framing and subtle acting, and it’s the first scene we see Kyle’s face and hear his actual voice. The scene itself is very well done so I can see why people liked the chemistry in it, but the issue is that the vast majority of R***os act like it’s the epic romance of our time and it’s a completely healthy ship.

2. A lot of ST fans are really fond of F.innr.ey. There’s some great writing on this site and others about how R***os basically take F/inn’s characterization and project it onto Kyle to make him seem less evil, and the racist implications of that. F/inn is the first characterized stormtrooper and he’s the first black lead in a SW movie. His T/FA arc is about him rejecting the First Order teachings and choosing to leave them so he can join the Resistance and make the galaxy a better place. Some R***os find him “boring” and think he “obsesses” over R/ey, and yet they have their own headcanon about how Kyle is truly a tortured abused soul who has been trying to get out of the FO since before the story began. They are convinced that R***o is canon, when there is no confirmation of any ship besides F.innr.ose. There is no evidence in either movie of Kyle being abused, and he is literally a leading figure in the FO throughout T/FA and T/LJ.

3. R***os and R***o content seriously show up in dozens of other tags for characters and fandoms that have nothing to do with them. It’s fine for R***os to ship it in their own space but R/ey’s tag is basically only R***o. It’s really annoying to see random R***o shit in Beauty and the Beast, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Disney, Game of Thrones, every single tag for a SW character, I could go on. There are a bunch of essays on this site written by R***os explaining how anyone who doesn’t ship them is a dumbass who has no idea how to analyze film and media, and that R/ey is basically a baby machine for Kyle, and R***os viciously comment on posts where no one was even talking about them or their ship.

4. R***os (not all of them, but maybe a loud minority?) are infamous for sending antis and F.innr.ey shippers messages, comments, and anons saying that they’re stupid, their ship is not canon, calling F/inn the n word, comparing him to animals and slaves, calling P/oe and R/ose other horrible triggering slurs, saying that Kyle is more attractive than F/inn because he has light skin and a straight nose, stereotyping F/inn and P/oe as flirty and covetous, hoping that the POC die so Kyle and R/ey can take over, etc. Just look into the racism tags in diversehighfantasy and actualreyofsunshine and other antis, and you’ll see.

[rogers-senpai]

“Jonerys has no foreshadows, no parallels, nothing other than them being Targaryens”

Yes, that’s an actual thing Jonsa shipper said to me, talking about all their Oh sO CoNviNcing metas and “foreshadows”. So HERE WE GO, ALL THE ONES I AM AWARE OF AND I HAVE SOME NEW ONES THAT I HAVEN’T SEEN BROUGHT UP SO STAY WITH ME TILL THE END.

1. Both bring their sigil animals, believed to be extinct, back to the game. Jon is the one to convince Ned to save the pups, and he found Ghost himself. Dany literally brought dragons back.

2. Both start as secondary characters, underastimated and both gradually came to being leaders and one of the most iconic characters in both the show and TV as a whole.

3. Both are the underestimated sibling. Jon as a bastard, Dany as a female. Both looked down upon by their family members. 

4. Despite being the undestimated one, Jon is said to have more of North in him than any of his siblings. Tyrion was the one who said that to him, I believe. And Dany ends up being the dragon, so more of a Targaryen or a Valyrian in a way than Viserys.

5. Their first loves died in their arms.

6. What’s also interesting about that ^ is that Drogo dies because of the witch and Dany in books is sure that was the first betrayal she had the vision about, and Ygritte is killed by Olly, who later betrays Jon.  Ygritte in books isn’t killed by Olly, but still by men who end up betraying him. And again, both Ygritte and Drogo were savages, both killed by people who the savages have hurt

7. Both are believed to be The Prince Who Was Promised. They are the two main theories, for sure. And both kinda fit, but not entirely. But when you think about them as whole…They fit much more.

“I believe you have a role to play as does another. The King in The North - Jon Snow.“

-

8. Both taken hostage by savages, who they end up leading. Both are attached to those savages, and are accepted by them, despite being outsiders. 

“You were the first one to bring Dothraki to Westeros, he was the first to make allies of Wildlings and Northmen.”

9. Both start their journey in the first book, Dany with Dothraki, Jon with the Night’s Watch, which both have a bad reputation, as rapers and thiefs and such. And they both end up as their leaders, both trying to stop the flaws of their packs. Jon trying to help the Wildlings, Dany not allowing them to rape, or steal from in example Qarth, before the shit there goes down, that didn’t go down in the books if i remember correctly. 

“She protects people from monsters, just as you do.”

Both face many setbacks and become increasingly frustrated with their roles as leaders.

11. Both feel so lonely and sad at first. Jon after seeing what NW really was, and Dany does not need to be even explained I think.

10. Both, at some point are given the chance to literally make their dreams come true. Jon being proposed by Stannis to be legitimized as a Stark, and Dany being offered all the ships and money she needed to go to Westeros. And both decline because of morals. Jon keeps his vows, Dany stays to free the slaves.

11.  “One to bed, one to dread, one to love.” Jon is Dany’s third love interest, Daario was more of a bed partner (”to bed”) and Drogo was someone Dany was at first sooo scared of (”one to dread”).

12.  “ A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness… . mother of dragons, bride of fire … “ Blue flowers obvioulsy symbolizes Jon, that’s certain. And who is at the Wall???   

13. Ok so Dany being called “Moon of my live”, moon is strongly associated with her bc of that, "Dragons come from the moon" thing, like think about a moon in GoT and tell me you don’t think of Dany, and being the only female with silver hair, that being her most iconic trait. ( “ The old woman washed her long, silver-pale hair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed her back and her feet and told her how lucky she was.”)  and this:  “The light of the half-moon turned Vals honey-blond hair a pale silver and left her cheeks as white as snow. She took a deep breath. The air tastes sweet.”

MOON TURNED HER HAIR SILVER.

So three things that can be considered to be about  Dany in two sentences. And the thing about Jon not smelling the sweetness, which some antis point out, is obvious. He is the sweetness.

14.  “Sometimes she would close her eyes and dream of him, but it was never Jorah Mormont she dreamed of; her lover was always younger and more comely, though his face remained a shifting shadow.” - Dany, ASOS

Targaryens are prone to having prophetic dreams, Dany has them as well.

“For the rest of his life ���however long that might be– he would be condemned to be an outsider, the silent man standing in the shadows who dares not speak his true name.” - Jon, AGOT

“The flames crackled softly, and in their crackling she heard the whispered name Jon Snow. His long face floated before her, limned in tongues of red and orange, appearing and disappearing again, a shadow half-seen behind a fluttering curtain.” - Melisandre, ADWD

15. “Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold … “ - ADWD

“Off in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound made her feel sad and lonely, but no less hungry. As the moon rose above the grasslands, Dany slipped at last into a restless sleep.“  - ADWD

Are wolves in Essos a common sight???? 

16. “…  but the Usurper’s dogs had murdered her brother’s son when he was still a babe at the breast. If he had lived, I might have married him. “ - ADWD

“The best way to make alliances is with marriage.“

“If he does rule the North, he’d make a valuable ally.“

17. “He might as well wish for another thousand men, and maybe a dragon or three.” 

GRRM clearly making us think about Dany, like come on, possibly helping Jon.

18. Both were sneaked away in order to keep them save from those who would harm them - baby Targaryens (Jon from South to North and Dany West to East)

19. “ Even with Ygritte sleeping beside him, he felt alone. “         “Her captain slept beside her, yet she was alone. “

Find me another example of someone in GoT feeling alone while sleeping next to their lover, for reasons. Also both mentioned during times when they had to choose. Jon between duty and Ygritte, Dany between duty (marrying Hizdahr) and the man she wanted - Daario.

20.  Both have Mormonts as mentors, Jon has Jeor and Dany has Jorah. Also, Jon wields the Mormont family sword Longclaw which once belonged to Jorah. That’s less powerful, but the only Mormonts we really know until Lyanna are with them, helping them, showing them the way.

21. “A Targeryen alone in the world is a terrible thing” guess what two Targaryens met and made an alliance and found love oops

22. Both were seperated from their animal for a long time, until they came back and helped to kill some bitches.

23. Both are seen as somewhat godly, Jon coming back from the dead, Dany being the Unburnt which gave us this visual parallel:

24. Both share some moral rules, Dany being more a dragon ofc, but still like:

the last one didn’t go unnoticed by Jon either, like WORD TO WORD

25. These two iconic scenes, that even Kit mentioned being weirdly reflective of each other

26.  “Well, of course, the two outlying ones — the things going on north of the Wall, and then there is Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons — are of course the ice and fire of the title, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” ‘ - George RR Martin.

27. “If destiny has brought Daenerys Targaryen back to our shores, it has also made Jon Snow King in The North.”

28. “These are two people in love…” Kit Harington

29.  “She didn’t feel she was missing anything [in her love life]. It took someone coming and forcing her mind to be changed,” - Emilia Clarke

30.  “He walks into the room and doesn’t expect to see such a beautiful young woman of similar age to him,” - Kit again. It was important enough then to make that point.

32.  “[Martin] did sort of say things that made it clear that the meeting and the convergence of Jon and Dany were sort of the point of the series.” - Alex Taylor  in an interview with Deadline

33. “However, as she meets and becomes more familiar with Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Dany’s outfits appear lined with fur, a staple of Northern attire that feels symbolic of her growing affection for the King in the North. “There is obviously some chemistry at work!” Clapton said about the relationship between Dany and Jon” 

34. “I think when she sees him return on the back of Coldhand’s horse, that’s a big moment for her in terms of the way she feels about him.”

 “It’s kind of hard for her at this point for, I think, not to look at this guy and not realize that this is not like the other boys”

   - D.B Weiss,  Game of Thrones: Season 7 Episode 6: Inside the Episode

35. “I don’t think either one of them really knew exactly how powerful their feeling were towards each other until these moments. Just the notion of falling for someone, that involves weakness. That’s not something a queen does, but she feels that happening and he feels it happening for her. I think both of them are on kinda unfamiliar ground and especially because it’s with an equal,” 

- David Benioff,  Game of Thrones: Season 7 Episode 6: Inside the Episode

36. Wars of the Roses were an inspiration for ASOIAF, Aand that war ended with Henry VII and Elizabeth of York joining the roses. Henry was an heir in staright line, that had lived his entire life in exile, Yorks were inspiration for Starks. So yup Dany and Jon work p e r f e c t l y. The war they will end might be The Great War, or the War for the Iron Throne. 

Henry - the red rose Elizabeth - the white rose

37. And if the book version of HofU visions does not convince you how about the show version, where Dany almost touches the Iron Throne, but turns to go beyond the Wall instead, where she finds her lover and a child . SOUNDS FAMILIAR? Plus, just before she touches the Iron Throne , doesn’t she hear a dragon cry that makes her turn?

ADD ALL THE OTHER VISUAL PARALLELS THAT I DO NOT HAVE THE GIFS OF, SORRY AND HOW THE SHOW CREW NAMED THEIR SCENES “A DATE WITH DESTINY” AND “UNION OF ICE AND FIRE"

Yeah, why do we even ship that.

credits to @midqueenally for all the parallel gifs

[nyangibun]

I am maybe an ignorant person but ... I don't understand the Jonsa thing so ... I fou have time can you explain this to me .. ? And even if i'm a Jonerys shipper for years i would really like to know the Jonsa chemistery :)

Oh wow… 

The thing is I think shipping is kind of subjective to a degree. It doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not because there’ll always be a group who think it shouldn’t be canon and so on and so forth. I don’t know how to explain Jonsa to someone who doesn’t see it (not that I’m blaming you for not seeing it! Some people just don’t and that’s totally okay!) but I will try my best, Anonny. 

For me personally, it began in Season 6. I had no prior inclination for Jonsa or even an inkling of the possibility of them. Frankly, I was the most casual of Game of Thrones viewers. It took me nearly a year to actually finish watching Season 5 (but that’s mostly because my ex told me about the Sansa x Ramsay storyline and I hated it so much I refused to watch it). For me, GoT was and has always been a political fantasy drama with lots of boobs and blood. Shipping wasn’t on the cards for me at all (aside from my love for Gendrya). But then Season 6 happened and we finally, finally got a Stark reunion. Only this Stark reunion felt weird. 

First of all, Jon and Sansa had so very little interactions (ie. none) prior to this. They were the two most seemingly random Starks to meet. And yet when they hugged, Sansa nuzzled his face. At first, I thought ‘okay, well they lost everyone and this is the first person from their old life they’ve seen’ and even in retrospect I don’t see it as particularly a romantic action on their parts. But it is a weird thing to have the actors do. Even if they were always meant to be platonic, nuzzling is weird for anyone not involved romantically or sexually. I would never ever nuzzle any of my family members or my friends, but then I’m not the best comparison. I don’t like physical affection from anyone I’m not dating so lmao. Still, I was willing to overlook that because it’s Game of Thrones. Maybe they’re just trying to amp up the intensity of the scene. But then you get continued lingering looks from Jon, strange awestruck half-smiles and dim romantic atmosphere. The most bizarre shot for me though was the tent scene. Jon and Sansa had to stop in the middle of their arguing to stare at each other, chests heaving with candlelight in the background. This is Romantic Trope 101. If you had siblings arguing with each other, there’d be more angry yelling, insulting and storming off. You don’t pause to stare at each other as you struggle to catch your breath. 

This all contributed to my questioning over what I was seeing. I didn’t immediately think ‘oh yeah this is my ship’. I just thought ‘okay this is weird, right?’ and continued to think that for the rest of Season 6. Honestly, the idea of them as a ship didn’t really cement itself in my head until the very last episode where Jon kissed her forehead, lingered just a bit too long, stared at her lips, walked away and the immediate next shot is the reveal of R+L=J. It was like light bulbs flashing in my head, like ‘oh shit they’re cousins and cousins totally get together and is accepted as a viable marriage prospect!!’ I mean I suspected Jon wasn’t really Ned’s son, but the confirmation right after a Jonsa scene felt so so important. Not even through shipper goggles. It was what made me realise the strange tension between them wasn’t solely in my head and that this probably had a purpose for setting something up.

That’s the Jonsa thing for me. That’s literally how I began to ship them. I don’t know if this answers your question about their chemistry, but these were the moments that highlighted their chemistry to me personally. 

The reason why I’ve stayed with this ship for as long as I have, I can list you the reasons below: 

To paraphrase from a Tom Cruise film, they complete each other. I know, I know. How utterly cliched of me, but for lack of a better phrase, it’s true. I don’t even mean it in a their souls match and blahblahblah, but I mean that in personalities. Jon is the emotionally-driven, honourable, brave and intelligent military tactician, whose life has been consumed by war and physically fighting for survival. Sansa is the emotionally-guarded, brave, shrewd and pragmatic politician. Her life in contrast has been consumed by the political game and she’s had to mentally fight for survival. Jon knows the North and the dangers beyond; Sansa knows the South and the dangers there. They’re two sides of the same coin and they need each other to survive. Yes, I’d love it if it was romantically, but even taking that away, they still need each other. Together, they make a formidable team. They are Tyrion and Dani but better because there is no power imbalance. They’re equals. Yes, Jon doesn’t quite listen to Sansa sometimes, but him leaving her the North is a testament to his trust and respect for her. This is one of the reasons why I love and adore their interactions so much. You can still see how different they are as individuals but just as clearly, you can see how well they mesh together, and you sit there rooting for them both. 

They offer each other something no one else does. S7 Sansa is the most open and honest and confident I’ve ever seen her and that’s all because she trusts Jon. He might disagree, he might argue, but she feels so safe in his presence that she feels comfortable enough to finally speak her mind and demonstrate how intelligent she really is. And for the first time, she can let herself love and hope again. You see that in the soft and affectionate way she regards Jon in any matter, and that is true even in the scowls and exasperation because those emotions are still born out of her love and thus her concern for him. She wants only the best for him and for their home. Ultimately what it comes down to is Jon makes her happy, safe, hopeful and strong. His faith in her is slowly restoring her own faith in herself. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for Sansa. Even if Jonsa isn’t canon, if Sansa continues to get this, I’ll be okay. But I do feel Jonsa as a romantic pairing would be the perfect way to conclude Sansa’s story. She’s been basically sold into two loveless marriages and believes no one will ever marry her for love even though all she ever wanted was a fairy-tail romance. If her story concludes with the valiant knight (Jon) and her falling in love and marrying, it would be the perfect end, and one that isn’t too fairy-tale considering their angst and conflict over being half-siblings-turned-cousins. 

As for Jon, I personally believe Sansa’s return gave his second life meaning again. He had been so ready and determined to escape to the south and give up entirely. We don’t know whether he would’ve gone through with it and maybe he wouldn’t, but this was the lowest Jon’s ever been. He was so lost, so disillusioned, and insecure and broken, but then came Sansa and suddenly he had purpose again. Maybe it was simply family obligations, but you can’t say she didn’t inspire him to fight for his home. I don’t think Jon would’ve done it without Sansa. She also challenges him in a way no one else has since Ygritte and Jon needs that. He’s not the perfect hero; he doesn’t know everything. He’s been in the North too long to understand the political game the way Sansa does. She offers him insight into a world he had no prior knowledge in. She also offers him camaraderie, a partner with equal stakes in this war, and a friend who he can come to, someone who loves and respects him and believes in him so wholeheartedly. Yes, he has loyal knights and friends, but no one quite understands his insecurity as a Stark and a rule the way Sansa does. Their interaction in 7x01 showed us this relationship/friendship between them (the way Sansa immediately knew Jon was doubting himself and sought to reassure him earnestly even when he was being rather rude to her because the thing is she knew he needed it more than she needed his validation).

Another reason why I love this ship so much is Jon’s ferocity when it comes to Sansa. You could absolutely read this as platonic and I’m sure many do, but you can’t deny there’s definitely something visceral and primal in the way Jon strives to protect her. I’ve seen Jon kill and get aggressive, but I’ve never seen him lose control so violently than when he was beating the crap out of Ramsay. It was probably a combination of seeing Ramsay kill Rickon in front of him, but definitely also for Sansa. Then you have 7x02 where Jon chokes Littlefinger, who had been needling him and provoking him all throughout that scene, but it was the comment about loving Sansa in a sexual/romantic manner that really got him angry. The fact is there was no immediate thought to that action; it was absolutely a reactionary thing and again a primal one at that. Jon doesn’t even say anything for awhile and I think for a few seconds he really was considering killing Littlefinger. But then it’s like he comes to himself. Angry murderous kitten Jon is my favourite kind of Jon lol.

There are also a lot of Ned x Catelyn parallels that makes it hard to ignore, as well as 7x02′s parallel to Jaime x Brienne’s awkward wave goodbye. These are 2 of the most established ships in the fandom. Paralleling Jonsa with them feels intentional and important. 

But honestly, there really are so many reasons why I love this ship and why I believe in them so wholeheartedly. Maybe it is just Kit and Sophie having unbelievable chemistry, but I like to believe otherwise. I hope this sheds some light for you, Anonny.