#ship meta

[nualaofthefaerie]

I'm tired of explaining the same concept 170000 times.

Do you see how not a single line or diagonal threatens their queer identities?! Miss me with that Skyvik and Meljay make the boys OR the girls straight...where?! THESE BITCHES ALL GAY!! LET THEM SHARE A BED!!!

[kalolasfantasyworld]

My recent Zobra arts got very popular on twitter and I received many questions about them so I decided to make a thread explaining the appeal this ship has for me.

Since I already wrote it, I want to share it here as well.

Zora x Nebra - ship appeal

A thread about why I am personally a big fan of Zora x Nebra and how it's more than just a silly crack ship

@f-oighear with who I'm co writing a Zobra fanfiction helped with this

Let's start with the basics

Zora - a peasant who hates royalty

Nebra - a royal who hates peasant

This ship would go against class barriers, but even more as these two would have to overcome their own prejudice which they've had since they were little.

They have (kind of) a canon interaction!

During the elf attack Zora saved Solid and Nebra's lives. It's a point where both siblings were humbled and I'd say a point where their redemption can slowly start.

Enemies to lovers

I personally love this trope and Zobra have great potential for it. I don't think I need to expand here.

Their magic

Both of them have "vaporous" kind of magic and rely on tricks to overcome their opponent. It's a game of thought and preparation.

Ash and mist are also more subtle versions of primal elements (fire and water).

They could be really compatible if they worked together.

Aesthetic

Black & white, that's a classic

Edgy & princess

You can't say they don't look good

And now probably the most important (and long) part of the thread their characters and later surprisingly many similarities

Zora wouldn't be afraid to call Nebra out and she NEEDS it. Nebra doesn't see people as her equals, she's used to being looked up to which Zora wouldn't do.

He would do it right, point out her flaws, harshly. Nebra would hear how she really is.

Hopefully reflect

It would also annoy her and a chain of (sometimes hilarious) interactions would start.

They're both very smart so their comebacks would be intelligent and snarky. None of them would hold back and I think at some point they would start enjoying the game of trying to one up the other.

"The smirk"

Zora snickers, Nebra giggles. They can both be very mean.

See if you put them as enemies it's fun, but imagine having them both against one person. I'd feel sorry for them. (we have a scene like that in our fic and it's perfect)

Prejudice

Both of them are greatly prejudiced against the other’s class. And isn't it BC's thing to break those class differences?

It would require work, effort and time but just like other Royal/Peasant ships they could bring an example of the world Asta dreams of.

Now to issues

A dead parent who they used to idolise and passing of that parent messed them up in... many ways

We use that similarity to have them bond on a deeper level

After Zara's death Zora goes on a vendetta

While Nebra feels inadequate and takes it out on innocent Noelle

Neither of them copes well and it just pushes them to extremes.

Zora luckily gets better with his found family (the Bulls we love them), while Nebra... I won't defend her, it's a long way to go even after the last manga chapters.

However these two could help each other grow.

Noelle is Nebra's sister and Zora's squadmate

This topic would need to be brought up at some point. Zora cares about his squadmates.

Nebra was awful, toxic and simply terrible. I think that talking about it with someone who won't beat around the bush could help her redemption.

I think Nebra could start seeking out that honesty at some point.

Zora had crossed out all of the nobility, but seeing himself an actual example of someone as rotten (yes I said it) as Nebra changing could help him too.

It's about seeing a different perspective.

"They wouldn't interact if not made to"

True, thus in fics @f-oighear and I put them in situations where they have to interact such as a mission together, or in our Formula 1 AU they're both drivers on the grid, or we send them to the same resort for summer break.

Things we like to do in fics

- they call each other names, starting of offensive (Princess and peasant are classics)

- making them work together -> they hate it -> miraculously it works out

- hair and clothes comments

- personal development

Taking into account all of the above, they would need specific circumstances to work out, thus I understand why they don't have to be everyone's cup of tea (I need at least a 100k slowburn), but I hope I brought to you closer this ship and why I personally find it appealing.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Disclaimer: Since it should have been clear from the start that the two main ships would get most of the votes in the original poll, I want to spice things up a little! And no worries, I'll write meta about HomuMado and KyouSaya anyway!

[mswyrr]

"ready or not" - grace/daniel ship meta

It's a delightful Horror/dark comedy film about how rich people suck. Scary but not too scary (I am a 'fraidy cat about Horror movies) and just a romp really. It's paced well and has a great Final Girl and I'd recommend it.

But now I want to talk about my ship lol

SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

Hm, so, are they "in love" exactly? No. There's chemistry and ultimately they appreciate each other (as the only two people in that house "who [have] a soul" - Daniel is able to recognize and appreciate that Grace has one because he's still got one too, albeit tattered and buried deep). But the more important thing, for me, is the structural shift between the two brothers and how that strongly implies things would have turned out happier if Grace had fallen in love with Daniel.

Namely, Alex has a heel turn arc and Daniel has a face turn arc. And, the one who face turns acts on the promises the one who heel turns broke.

The film is a wedding night gone wrong, specifically a new spouse who proves untrue. Grace says her problem was "in-laws," but it's actually Alex breaking the vows he just made to her that comes closest to killing her. The in-laws themselves are not the most efficient threat ever. They're pretty bumbling. Alex keeps Grace in the dark and Alex turns on her, that is what brings her close to death. As well as a funny political satire, it's a satire of the tensions marriage brings into a family, over who your new spouse will be loyal to - you above all others, as they've promised, or the family that raised them, even if it's shitty.

Grace marries one man who promises to be good to her, care for and love and protect her. To be her family, when she is a foster kid who has no family. And then Alex proves false and the other brother, the "weak" one, poisons his family and puts himself between her and a bullet.

Daniel does what Alex promised to do.

Now, he largely thought he was doing this for Alex (not realizing Alex would have a heel turn), so it's not primarily about Grace - HOWEVER, Daniel independently recognizes and values Grace as a person as well as doing it for Alex. Loving his little brother and trying to protect him is how Daniel kept his soul; he's that kind of person at heart. And the structure lends itself to asking how well he and Grace would get along in other circumstances. If this is how he is when they barely know each other, what would he be like if he was the one who'd met and fallen in love with her? Or what if he survived?

The writing includes other elements that strength this as well: they both recognize each other. Early on, Daniel keeps saying "You don't belong in this family - I mean that as a compliment" and saying she "has a soul" so she'll never fit in. And Grace recognizes his soul too. She keeps reaching out to him and believed Daniel would help her before he knew it himself. ("I knew you'd help me." / "I didn't.")

A YouTube review was like talking about how Grace doesn't survive by her own wits because she trusts Alex and he turns on her, it's only "good luck" that saves her. That she has “plot armor.” And I was like wuuut lol Good luck is part of it, but not beyond belief - and Grace does keep herself alive with her grit and wits and then she reaches out to someone and that person poisons his family and takes a bullet for her.

Another point is that, despite it clearly not being a love match, Daniel warned his wife, Charity, about the family cult before their marriage and let her decide whether she wanted to take the risk. Alex hid the information from Grace because "If I told you, you would've left."

That's the key choice where Alex doesn't put Grace first. He puts what he wants (to keep her with him) first. And that foreshadows him putting what his family wants first. Subconsciously, Alex was always ready to betray Grace if she pulled the wrong card. He betrayed her by not warning her.

I think the final thing that makes it work for me is that Daniel and Alex were both children the last time someone pulled the Hide and Seek card. As much as the movie tries to make us not feel bad about the kids today, they're not to blame for the shitty way they've been raised, and Alex and Daniel weren’t to blame for what happened 30 years ago.They were kids.

It's *this* time that they're both adults and making decisions as full moral agents. It's this time that they both find out who they really are. And the decision Daniel makes is to put a stop to all the ritual murder bullshit.

It's also about the heroine's victory. What does Grace *want* from the very beginning of the story? A permanent family, people who will stick by her and love her.

In the canon movie ending, Grace survives, but she's still a foster kid with no family. Though she's legally filthy rich now, it's not the same. She doesn't actually get what she told us she wanted from the beginning of the movie. In fact, she loses the one person she was certain would be family to her, along with the hope her in-laws would be there for her. So there's that sadness to it, which makes the ship meaningful on her side. In this terrible circumstance, she found someone who has a good heart too and would prove true.

The story both provides us with a lack (Grace, the heroine, not getting her heart's desire) and someone who the story shows us could be that for her. Someone who has a soul, despite everything, and wants to do the right thing, to protect and love.

There's a reason why there's timeloop stories where Grace keeps playing the game until she can have a "complete victory" by saving Daniel and winning the family she wanted as well as getting away with her life and the money. The heroine's victory in the film itself is compromised.

The reason why there's a lovely bunch of gems of fanfic about Grace and Daniel on Ao3 is that the story itself provides that bitterness to the sweetness of Grace's survival, that she's still so alone, and a strong foundation for ways they could have been happier or worked out if they'd fallen in love instead of Grace and Alex or if Daniel had survived.

[the-bar-sinister]

Miles and Phoenix are so toxic (positive connotation) because they are both snarky, cynical, sarcastic, competitive and respectively emotionally distant vs confrontational-- and I can't imagine them doing anything but reinforcing those traits in one another (in absence of some drastic change).

Narumitsu to me is the equivalent of shipping those two old guys from the muppets 😂💖

And that's why it's so much fun. 😂😂😂

[franollie]

feeding your haterisms, what ships dyou hate??

only doing ships i actively have filtered out:

1. DICKBABS: nothing will fill me with more rage than seeing babs with two functional legs long hair and a batgirl suit being a sexy lamp for a batboy. a batboy that she was never that interested in for that matter. ALSO, dickbabs only became a thing to invalidate dickkory and more specifically the importance of kory in dick’s life. on an even broader level, it disregards the importance of the role that the titans played in dicks life in favor of pretending that the ��batfam” is more important to him. and because of that its a very “tell dont show” ship where all of a sudden they’re inseparable and the worlds cutest sweetest couple because theyre soulmates, but we never really get to see them fall in love so everything just falls flat. the ship doesn’t benefit either one of them and honestly if im in a bad enough mood it can turn me off an entire series

2. timber: i tried. i wanted to like it. its cute i guess it just feels so…fake??? idk it reads like a pr stunt and i hate the tim drake that’s dating bernard because it doesn’t feel like the tim drake i know and love so i just associate it with modern tim…all around just a big squick for me. also ive had some bad interactions with timber stans who were really rude to people who ship tim with other characters notably tam and steph

3. harlivy: ikik this one’s gonna get me. listen, i used to ship them BIG time, and to a certain extent i still do but modern harlivy is NOT the harlivy i fell in love with. unfortunately dc has watered them down and polished them to make them marketable. a fate worse than death…they’ve been defanged. i mean harley’s just a manic pixie dream girl with no real motivations for fucks sake. that being said, im more of an ivycat enjoyer because i think thematically they make more sense and can relate to each other in more significant ways than harlivy can.

[greenleaf4stuff]

I do wonder though where's silverscars coming from ? (That's the ship name for Adar / Celebrimbor right ? )

Hi @cestpasfaux24601 and thank you for the ask! :D I'd hardly consider myself an authority on Adar/Celebrimbor, but from what I have gathered it seems that yes, silverscars is the shipname that Adar x Celebrimbor goes by now, though the more widespread use of it has only occured in the last few weeks (since the beginning of December I think) as far as I am aware.

I wondered about where it came from too, so I went digging - the first mention on tumblr I could find is on this post by @thephoenixandthecrocodile; @acenby1999 commented with the shipname on that post. But I am almost certain that I read about it as a possible ship name back at the beginning of November, because I mentioned it to @plotdesigner back then when I was asking about a ship name for those two. A quick search didn't yield any further results, maybe some of the other silverscars fans know and want to add onto this post? (Please do!)

I know I am certainly very happy about this ship name - 'Adar x Celebrimbor' is a bit of a mouthful, and I at least have not been able to come up with a good mashup of their names ("Celebrimbadar", "Adabor"?) either.

As for the name itself, it's a mix of Celebrimbor's name (which roughly translates to 'Silver fist' or 'hand of silver'), and Adar's scars - silverscars.

It follows similar ship names and naming techniques for these two characters, like 'Silvergifting' (Celebrimbor/Annatar - 'Hand of Silver' + 'Lord of Gifts') and 'Silvanscars' (Arondir/Adar - Arondir the Silvan elf + Adar's scars).

This is the most comprehensive explanation about this ship name I can come up with by myself, but as I said - I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and what they know about the ship name and it's use. Are there alternative interpretations about what it could refer to/mean? Are there other ship names people have played around with? Feel free to add onto this post!

[charleslelurk]

between carlando and c2 which one is easy to write and why and your favorite between them also why (feeling like im interviewing you on sky oh well the mic is yours )

Wait I’m loving my little sky shipping interview 🎤

See they are totally different dynamics to me (or how I ideally write them) so it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Carlando is so embedded in sentiments of closeness and protection and wanting the best for one another. Charlos is all about the unknowns and inter-team rivalry turned something else, subtly (or not so subtly) toxic because they don’t understand their feelings or don’t understand one another. Charlos has also vastly changed over the last year because it used to be written I think much more toxically than a lot of wips being posted right now because at the end of this season there were so many interviews that shed light on their dynamic.

A lot of classic AUs or like ones inspired by movies etc fit into Carlando for me because they’re just a good, honest love story, rom com vibes. There are ideas I will have for an AU in general and I will look at the grid and truly think Carlando or Maxiel are the only ships that can fit it (to me) because they have such long and loving relationships with one another (qualifying this with the fact that I’m sure Piarles and Pierreesteban shippers would argue with me here but I just don’t dabble in those ships as much)(do love me some background Piarles in a fic though)

Charlos are inherently messy to me, so they don’t fit that same rom com mold as Carlando. Charlos had to be messy and someone gets hurt and things are unstated in a way that Carlando doesn’t really fit.

See the beauty of being a multi shipper is that I can pick and choose what ship fits into whatever I want to write and then write it lmao

[rriavian]

You mentioned in a recent ask how one of the things you loved about Corintheus is the balance of the ship. Could you tell me more about this? It's something I've never really associated with Corintheus and I'd love to know more.

Thank you for the ask! Sorry it took so long to answer—I ended up writing far too much and had to wrangle it into something shorter. Also (as a general disclaimer) this is based on the show rather than the comics. When engaging with Corintheus as a ship I can definitely see why the idea of balance might not be something you’ve come across before!

I suppose the personal answer is that (for me) balance is what makes a ship fun.

I don’t think either of the two would be satisfied by someone who doesn’t match them, and as a reader/writer I’m not satisfied by that either.

I’ve answered a couple of asks about power dynamics and how I like to balance them (original here, part two here), but there are also other ways in which balance can be found within relationship dynamics. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about physical strength/power. In many ways I write Corintheus as a negotiation of balance, (though of course the Corinthian is going for dominance most of the time). In canon we see him fighting for agency, fighting for freedom from Dream and all of his rules, and to me that’s an attempt to balance the scales.

There’s an obvious, and unavoidable, power difference that impacts the relationship but there's also a hierarchical difference, further complicated by the creator/creation dynamic. In many ways Dream is always going to hold all the cards. But that’s a character quality not a relationship one (most characters interacting with Dream also face it) and, again, it’s what the Corinthian spent all of season one seeking to counteract.

So I don’t think he would want to stay in a relationship where he had no power…not when a lack of agency was why he rebelled in the first place.

But I also don’t think Dream is really the sort to use brutal (clumsy) shows of power in a relationship context. As the Corinthian’s king and creator, sure, Dream will be absolutely merciless when he needs to remind his creation of the rules. There’s a line though (exceptions made for fun little roleplays perhaps, but even then Dream is going to be far more careful with the Corinthian than the Corinthian would be with him).

A common theme in my writing is the Corinthian trying to push past his own limitations to balance the field with Dream, and Dream, in turn, allows him to choose the game they play but he doesn’t necessarily makes himself ‘weaker’. He sees it more as ensuring an interesting game of chess ;)

Of course this could just be me wrangling these dynamics to make it personally satisfying, but I always draw my characterisation from canon.

Even when provoked Dream rarely attacks with the full limit of his power, remains incredibly well controlled, pitches the exact amount of force required. To use one of my favourite examples—and also one where traditional ‘power’ isn’t what makes the difference—Dream does this against Lucifer. One could add that this is especially intricate as he takes what I write as the Corinthian’s usual place in this scenario; except here the obviously stronger opponent also sets the game, Lucifer can't quite commit to leveling the playing field, and yet Dream proves he knows exactly how to play because he still wins. Which is one of the things that makes his relationship with Lucifer so interesting.

The scenario in hell is a nice example of how balance isn’t guaranteed by giving one character a power boost, nor is it lost if one character is ‘weaker’ than the other. Lucifer was objectively where the power scale tipped, and yet I don’t think anyone who watched that scene could really say that Lucifer came out the victor. It’s a perfect illustration of how Dream sees/uses power, how he can manipulate an external perception of it.

(Not just the characters around him, but us as viewers, which is again something I’ve brought up before).

Ok so there was a whole point here about the Corinthian and Lucifer but it’s not really relevant (and I’ve already gone a little off topic!!) so I’m moving on…

So. If ‘power’ doesn’t always matter…where is the balance?

The Corinthian is intelligent, a hunter, made to be patient and calculating, and he has the sheer gall to use that against Dream. Yeah season one was mostly running, but when he stands his ground the Corinthian stands and fights. He pushes back—looks so personally hurt by Dream as he does so—and extrapolating that development into other scenarios is what started my Corintheus journey haha. I think those attributes—the stubbornness, the perhaps overabundance of intensity that is quite inhuman—are shared.

They are both nightmares: that part of Dream finds someone who can take it (and vice versa). It can be played out in a way that is healthy for them both. 

I think that’s what so often goes wrong with Dream in his canon relationships—he’s too much for those who’ve tried. I think I briefly referred to this in another ask. But anyway! When the Corinthian wants something he goes all in to get it; his freedom in the waking world, his refusal to deny himself, ravenous to taste it all. Applied to Dream himself it’s balance because of how intense Dream also is. I think Dream is insanely attracted to that—the attempt of it, the eternal dance of it—he doesn’t want to be forced into a box, he wants someone to meet him where he is and still he knows that doing so will be a constant fight.

This idea is a theme in Baiting the Trap, though the Corinthian is only starting to become aware of it.

It’s the Corinthian’s nature as a ‘dark mirror’, because a reflection is a thing of balance. He brings out the dark urges, the selfish ones, speaks to the nightmare in Dream that isn’t evil but can be misunderstood to be so. Nightmares are a big part of Dream that I don’t think many characters within the narrative accept, or see as a good thing, but it’s not a part of him that should change. I think the Corinthian can draw that out and play with it.

They can do all sorts of fucked up/imaginative things with each other as outlets for a shared nightmarish nature, finding pleasure in what others might balk at.

The Corinthian objects to Dream’s rules, to a perceived lack of agency, but still thinks he’s doing what he’s made for. He has a differing philosophy in how he wants to be a nightmare in the waking world. This desire for freedom/agency is another balancing tool—it challenges Dream’s duty (and what that makes the Corinthian’s duty)—giving Dream a stage to reaffirm/explore that part of himself. While giving Dream a forum to challenge right back so that the Corinthian can reaffirm/explore the same thing.

In the weirdest of ways, Dream is complimented by a partner who is both a subject of his kingdom and a sceptic of it. The Corinthian understands, is just as inhuman as Dream is, but shows utter disdain right to his face—doesn’t put role and duty first—is selfish enough to want just him and fuck everything else. 

The scene at the Convention was what inspired me to write for Corintheus. Mostly because of how it was framed. As opposed to the meeting in ep one it’s a very different set up and that’s not really because of Rose. 

If anything the presence of a vortex should mean Dream zooms his way through this like ‘yeah that’s nice, but turn into sand now’ but instead he takes his time. He talks it out. They both have one half of the stage, opposite sides, opposite colour palettes, but there’s no game. They are both honest. It’s raw and real. And though it still ends in an unmaking it’s a very complex encounter. Yes it has the threat of duty hanging over it, but Dream is very clearly affected in a way he wasn’t when he punished Gault. 

Wow this is getting long. This is so complex for me that I’ve written over 100k about it. I hope this makes sense though! 

The Corinthian gets to push the boundaries with Dream, to do what he’d never thought he could, what he could never do to anyone else. In the waking he finds victims not equals, those he’s supposed to teach, to prey on but who he can never fully let loose on. No worthy opponent (no worthy lover). But Dream can be fought forever, is an incredibly powerful being that can be enjoyed past the limit, and oh does the predator in the Corinthian enjoy that. It’s the right kind of bittersweet because victory is impossible sure (balance in that too!) but there’s fun in it.

The sort that suits two immortal beings. It’s a meal that the Corinthian can never finish. It’s balance because he is never going to stop, and Dream is never going to move an inch.

It’s insatiable appetite vs an infinite feast.

[yellowbluemoonshine]

Toga Himiko; Crush vs Love

Sure, anon. Sorry for late answer. Here's the Izuocha version in here.

Signs Of Crushes and Infatuation

1- Feelings Come on Fast

Infatuation hits with an out of this world intensity. You saw them and you knew you had to have them. Love at first sight, so to speak. The feelings didn't grow and develop over time, which is what happens with love, they were almost instantaneous.

This doesnt fit Toga's feelings for Tomura since they had bad start and their relationship starts developing slowly after spending time together.

2- Short Lived

Crushes come and go pretty quickly, usually in a matter of months. Love stays, whether the relationship works or not, the feelings are always there to some degree.

Ever since they met, Toga's feelings for Shigaraki or league didnt suddenly go away, unlike her feelings for Izuku and Ochaco. It stayed because that was true love. Not short lived crush.

3- Sees Perfection

With crushes and infatuation it is more about the idea of the person, than the person themselves. Maybe you think you would look great together as a couple, or one or both of you have a certain status in the community or a high income. The mind creates and envisions the perfect life together, and the happily ever after with Prince Charming.

Toga doesnt see Shigaraki as prince charming. Actually, she constantly observes his behavours, his happiness, his flaws, everything.

4- Crazy Or Irrational Behavior

Crushes can lead to stalking, intense jealously, and obsessive behavior. Sometimes the intense feelings of crushes can also cause risky behavior, and irrational thinking.

Ironically, Toga's relationship with Shigaraki makes her more stable, healing her from her usual unstable condition.

5- Based On Attraction

Crushes are often based strictly on physical attributes since you really don't know the "real" person, and there is nothing else to go on except what you created in your head. The infatuation begins because you find them beautiful or hot, and strongly desire the person. Usually the crush is someone whom is out of reach for you.

Once again, what makes Dabi, Toga, Spinner get into Shigaraki is that he is there. Stain is ideal. Toga's interest for Izuku and Ochaco is ideal, far away but Shigaraki is real. And that how they get over their ideolism for Stain and start developing admiration for Shigaraki. Someone who actually knows them and someone whom they know.

Signs Of Love

1- Feelings Last

With love, feelings may not last forever, but they do last a while, whether you stay in a relationship or not. Love does not go away after a couple of months, or because you realize they are flawed or look a hot mess in the morning.

Once again, Toga's feelings for league always there.

2- Accepts Them, Flaws And All

When we truly love someone, we see their flaws, and we accept them. Maybe he's a little short, or she's a little chubby, but if you are in love you don't care.

Shigaraki is first person who accepts her and thats very important for Toga, she accepts his darkest sides too despite not really agreeing with.

3- Open and Honest

Love is willing to go deep. Love is open and honest. Love wants to share their hope, dreams, and fears, and hear about yours.

Most important part about love is you feel comfort by their side. I think its safe to say thats how Toga feels around legaue, but especially around Shigaraki.

4- Only Eyes For Them

Love only has eyes for you. If the eyes wander, then you are not in love. Love isn't blind to other's beauty, but love's eyes follow their heart

This doesnt really happen with them. Toga is in very unstable condition and she is not really loyal to anyone but if she is to someone, the person she is loyal towards the most is definitely Shigaraki.

5- Their Happiness Is Important

We are willing to sacrifice for those we love and put their wants and needs before our own. Love is willing to be inconvenienced, bored, and patient for the one who means the most.

God knows how many times Toga repeatedly focus on Shigaraki's happiness, it was the first for a girl like her who only lived for herself since running away from home but she is the first person she started to care about his feelings after everything.

6- Their Presence/Or Voice Brings You Comfort

Seeing their face, or hearing their voice can turn your whole day around, and instantly improve your mood. That’s a true telltale of being in love.

Shigaraki knows how to make Toga happy. We saw several panels of how much Shigaraki makes Toga happy, compared to other characters.

Basiclaly, Toga's feelings for Shigaraki isnt crush, its true love. (I only focus on her part because her feelings for Shigaraki is one sided for now at least so we dont know.) What Toga felt about Stain, Izuku and Ochaco and others is a feelings of crush. And of course, what Toga felt about league members is also true love. But i think its a little more there with Shigaraki. More details in this and other shigatoga/toga posts. Also, recently, Ochaco became her hero so well, we will see how it will change the story.

[ftl-faster-than-life]

You wrote another eobarry fic! It's so good, I love your writing, you really nail the one-side Eobard is obsessed in every way he can be messed up version of the ship that is the version I am most interested in (sorry Barry), it's excellent.

Yeah! I decided to start turning some of these ideas I have that aren't fully fleshed out (and probably don't need to be, really) into little drabbles. They're going to be collected on AO3--Tribute is the first. It's my first published Eobarry fic that's suitable for general audiences and the first published one that's set in the comics-verse instead of the CW-verse. The show's got a bit of a different dynamic going for it--it's easier to imagine that Barry, who knew Eobard as Harrison Wells, might have some lingering regard or even affection for Eobard. So that's a different kind of tension to handle.

I think one-sided, obsessed Eobarry is what we're given in comics canon. I wouldn't call it subtext, either, or say it's something that Barry himself is unaware of. Barry draws parallels between a woman's romantic stalker and his own situation with Eobard, so I think he's uncomfortably aware of what Eobard feels for him. I think he doesn't want to acknowledge it, so putting him in situations where he's forced to is interesting to me.

How Eobard acts on this changes from moment to moment--sometimes he wants to be Barry, sometimes he wants to destroy him, other times he wants to be the only person in Barry's world in one way or another. To be clear, this isn't inconsistent writing. This is just a symptom of how erratic and unstable Eobard is.

I really enjoy exploring the parasocial nature of Eobard's obsession, and how unhealthy it is, why it's turned into this monstrous all-consuming thing that dominates his narrative and taints Barry's. And how there's nothing either he or Barry can do that will satisfy his obsession or erase it.

Usually when I do write something fluffy or sweet with these two, the domesticity is just a veneer. The foundation of this pairing is dangerously rotten and that's what I try to convey.

Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for reading!

[cilil]

I'm genuinely curious about the Yavanna/Melkor pairing. What inspired you to put these two together? Are there going to be more fics centered around the two of them in the future?

Admittedly it wasn't my idea at all. @demonscantgothere suggested the ship on the server a while ago and shared this gorgeous artwork by @ylieke that gave us a lot of thoughts and feelings.

I've been thinking about the pairing since then and the first thing that came to mind was the spring/summer vs. fall/winter dynamic. Yavanna is the Queen of the Earth and created the kelvar and olvar, she's Mommy Mother Nature if you will, while Melkor is responsible for the existence of snow and frost. In general, Yavanna is all about life and growing things, whereas Melkor introduced death, decay and natural disasters which at first glance just destroy and kill her creations, but are actually an important part of nature if you look at the big picture, one example being volcanoes and how they provide fertile soil.

It's similar to the light vs. darkness dynamic between Melkor and Varda and you could even draw parallels to Melkor and Nienna (evil vs. good, cruelty vs. mercy, wrath vs. patience, etc.). With Varda and Yavanna more so than with Nienna there's some inherent enmity and dislike which can lead to either opposites attract or an odd fascination with one another or at least spicy hate sex. I think you can apply this idea to all sorts of Melkor ships actually, he's an excellent foil to pretty much every Ainu (even Mairon - order vs. chaos, fire vs. ice) and probably at least a few Incarnates too (for example Fëanor, though in his case Melkor would hone in on their similarities).

Another interesting observation in regards to Melkor and Yavanna are the similarities between Melkor and Aulë - as we see in "Of Aulë and Yavanna", their relationship also has a certain element of friction and opposition to it. You could go as far as to say that Aulë is the more "agreeable", "chill" and "domestic" version of Melkor, the one you can settle down and have a decent marriage with, while Melkor is the one for hot (literally) and spicy hate sex. You could easily take Yavanna's canon marriage as "evidence" that she has a thing for men she can argue with...

So yeah, there certainly are some interesting things to explore with this ship and I'm definitely down to write more about them in the future. At least I can say that (as is the case with pretty much every ship involving Ainur) y'all are always welcome to give me prompts for them for drabble challenges/prompts lists/other events🖤

[omagpies]

tweet reference under the cut, and the curlya pose is of course ref’s off none other but @joetastic2739 <3

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

It's been quite a while since I've conducted the last ship analysis and it's not been easy to get back on track mentally, but I'll try my best to make this a solid first meta post of 2025:

As the two main female characters of Digimon Adventure 02, Miyako and Hikari actually do not start off as very close initially. While they're, similarly to Sora and Mimi in Adventure, portrayed as contrasts to one another, they don't seem to naturally gravitate towards one another; Miyako represents the extroverted, opinionated tech enthusiasts of the new group who wears her heart on her sleeve, whereas 02!Hikari - now less ridden by sickness than she was before - is a mix of kind, well-behaved and "wise (and probably tormented/possessed) beyond her years" while still having a sense of cheekyness about herself.

And as time goes on, the observant viewer may also notice that both of them are ridden by certain insecurities - and once they clash due to their differences, we learn that they, deep down inside, actually envy the other for their abilities.

"You're a handful sometimes, Miyako-san", Hikari confesses after she slapped some sense into Miyako panicked and screamed at the top of her lungs as they're trapped in the world of darkness. "But that's what I admire about you as well."

Hikari wishes that she could be as outspoken and independent as Miyako; she may have strong opinions about injustice and having to defeat the power of darkness to ensure order, balance and happiness in all worlds... But she still struggles to admit when she feels overwhelmed, not wanting to cause any trouble to others, while tending to ask Taichi - or even Takeru - for help. And thus, she fears always getting sucked back into darkness due to her weakness...

Miyako, who's flabbergasted at that confession, may have felt a sense of inferiority towards Hikari before - as if she couldn't possibly catch up to Hikari's mature, sophisticated attitude, afraid that she may even look down on her for being so inexperienced.

It's that moment of sincerity between them that can be seen as a "spark" - one that will improve their relationship from now on, step by step. It's the metaphorical and literal slap Miyako returns towards Hikari, telling her that, whenever darkness is about to swallow her again, she'll be there to bring her back. It's the mutual admiration they feel for one another, the initial reluctance that just got shattered and turned into fondness and softness, that helps them to see each other in a different light - quite literally, as they are engulfed in a ray of light, triggering the Jogress evolution of their partners.

While it doesn't mean that things will be one hundred percent alright between them - you can tell that things are different from now on. They seem to be more comfortable being close with and to one another, there is more physical touch and more verbal joking and teasing - and it's not just because they need to be close to make their partners evolve. It's a bond that helps both of them grow - Hikari gives Miyako the strength to face the horrors in front of them and Miyako gives Hikari a hand and shoulder to lean on.

On a more personal note, I love to look for parallels and similarities in Digimon and I still feel that, in a way, Miyako and Hikari fulfill very similar roles towards one another as Koushirou and Taichi. On one hand, it's more all over the place - but also more on the nose if you think about it: Miyako fulfills the role of the extrovert (Taichi) who pulls Hikari out of her shell (Koushirou) - and at the same time, we do have a person who very well functions as the tech expert of their group and who's very easily drawn to (and admiring) a Yagami...

Long story short - there definitely is a foundation and it's a shame that ANIMATED iterations in the same universe didn't elaborate on whether or not their relationship changed, improved or if they drifted apart again. Hikari didn't single out Miyako's disappearance ONCE in Tri and they also didn't mention or refer to each other once in Kizuna. And even The Beginning itself didn't really have them be close, share glances or talk to one another a lot... However, there have been audio dramas that HEAVILY hinted towards them still having remained close as adults - rambling and singing over food, other countries and traveling overseas together. So once more, unfortunately, one has to take a look at outside material to get a good glimpse of them.

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

Miyakari, in my opinion, is a relationship that can be watched from all different angles thanks to HOW they are framed. Of course you will always have the platonic angle - which kinda gets reinforced if you only know about the animated Digimon Adventure content, as it feels like, while they complement and enable each other, they are possibly more drawn towards other characters romantically (such as Ken and Takeru, but not exclusively, even though all canon materials at this point HEAVILY push Miyako towards Ken in this regard).

On the other hand, you also have the romantic angle: The way these two are engulfed by pink/reddish (!) light, which also refers to their Jogress partner, Silphymon, a very much non-binary representation of their bond... As mentioned, these two didn't spend a lot of time prior to their Jogress episode, but you cannot help but feel like them slapping sense into each other may have functioned not only as a spark but also as a wake-up call - especially because the exact same thing can be said about Daiken. Miyako in particular is a person who canonically develops crushes super easily and while Mimi may have caused her to evaluate her preferences initially - is it really that unlikely to assume that the girl she admired for her abilities may also have been an awakening right in front of her? Calling her the literal "light that shines through the dark" as if she had just opened her eyes to a different truth??? Hikari on the other hand has been preeeeeetty much trying to avoid any kinds of romantic affliction by any means necessary up to this point (whether it's about Daisuke or the masses of boys that seem to crush on her in 02 - and even half or Taichi's football team in Tri as well). So... One might argue that boys/men simply aren't her thing, huh...? And this may become even more vivid when you take it as a symbol that she tells Takeru - OF ALL PEOPLE - that she won't fear returning to the world of darkness after fondling looking at Miyako... Whereas Takeru himself was barely able to rescue her from the Dark Ocean. Ouch. Again, it feels a little bit like an awakening for her as well...

Last but not least, there is the "queerplatonic life partners" angle that works as a bridge between the platonic and romantic angle in my book - because I can see them living together without having any sorts of clearly defined labels between them. Seeing how Hikari is pretty much set to live at one place as a Kindergarten teacher and how Miyako is a free-spirit who studied abroad - I believe they, once again, may need each other's vibes to get through their lives. Hikari grounds Miyako - and Miyako helps Hikari to live out her own adventurous spirit. Once it's confirmed that gate-hopping works again I believe in Koushirou and Miyako to figure something out there, I think they would do that a lot, through the real and the Digital World as well. Because... They already said they'd love to travel together, right? (Plus, the entirety of the 02 group gives heavy queer-platonic poly vibes anyway and while The Beginning only gave some hints towards Miyadaiken and Takari... If any group of friends could make it work, it's probably them - and Miyakari would also be very supportive of the other's relationships, while also HEAVILY teasing each other about it. Because let's face it - they can both be little devils when it comes to banter.)

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

They're actually one of the very few ships where all three options outlined above would make sense to me and I don't REALLY prefer one over the other. As of right now, I would probably go for the queerplatonic route thanks to how The Beginning felt like to heavily hinted towards other romantic options for them, but that is just the current vibe that they give me.

[the-bar-sinister]

Song: Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

Ship: Sabretooth (😼🔪) and Mystique

Essay outline

Time period– X-Factor era (90s)

Broad idea: during this time, Mystique and Sabretooth are technically broken up, and even marginally enemies, but neither is over the other one.

(headcanon) Sabretooth loves annoying Mystique with mushy, goofy music, and would sing it at her at karaoke

The song highlights a staple of their relationship; being very compatible together, but lacking the emotional maturity and communication skills to really connect

More literally, the song focuses on escape and freedom, which is something neither of them have during the X-Factor era, both of them implanted with bomb collars and forced to work for the group.

Sabretooth of course repeatedly tries to get Mystique to run away with him, but she fears what will happen if they do.

Though it takes a while, they both eventually come back to the spark that they had, and get back together, just like the couple in the song.

“And she said, oh its you”. Despite looking everywhere else for love, sometimes it’s in the person you least want it to be.