#so embarrassed posting about this ship tbh cause i used to like it when i was rlly young

[transmasctwilight]

some assorted twilight + twilight/sombra sketches

[pikahlua]

I have a question

But I really want to ask just from a writing standpoint, no ships or anything

Do you like Izuku and Ochaco's development as possible (or probable? idk where Hori wanna go with that) romance?

Cause I appreciated it (even tho it felt like the usual shonen romance) till the return of Izuku to UA, which made me see them more as platonic (and made me appreciate their bond way more tbh)

So from a writing standpoint, I'm not exactly a romance aficionado. It can really only come down to my preferences in what I like in a romance, but there are just some cheesy romance tropes I'm not into. I do think it's perfectly viable to analyze any relationship in any property, MHA included, for whatever dynamic you want. If you ask me to take a look at the potential romance in Izuku and Ochako's relationship, I can do that.

That said, this is a warning to hard-line IzuOcha shippers: I can't guarantee you'll enjoy everything I write about in this post.

To me, there are five major "sagas" in their relationship. Some of these I like, some of these I don't.

Saga 1: Beginning through the Internships Saga 2: Final Exams through Kamino Saga 3: Provisional License Exam through School Cultural Festival Saga 4: Joint Training Arc through Paranormal Liberation War Saga 5: Deku Retrieval Arc through to the present

Saga 1 was my favorite. This was when they were still getting to know each other and becoming friends. I like this part best because Ochako has the most characterization in the show. Her personality shines through and she's very entertaining. I also thought the stuff that happened between them in the Sports Festival was some of the most refreshing writing of opposite-sex characters I've seen in a while, platonic or romantic. Ochako has personal motivations that can be in conflict or in harmony with her relationship with Izuku, and the manner in which they interacted showed a special type of relationship for Izuku that he didn't have with any other character. It was nice variety in the context of everything else the show was giving us at the time. I wasn't necessarily dying for romance, because I do love a good platonic opposite-sex friendship too. But if it did take a romantic direction, I was excited to see how it went at the time.

Saga 2 just felt like it shoehorned the crush thing in there. It didn't really come from anything that came before it. I thought it was gonna be a good opportunity for some romantic humor, but it just turned out to be a bunch of embarrassed blushing and not much else. Wasn't really my thing.

Saga 3 tried to add something interesting to the mix with Ochako's jealousy which she tries to deny and squash, but...it doesn't come across as particularly deep or well-developed. Horikoshi kinda just throws it out there and then immediately ditches it. I wouldn't have been so annoyed if it didn't encompass all of Ochako's character for this saga. She didn't really do much of anything else at all. Even in the Overhaul arc, she didn't get any meaningful spotlight, and I mean this from an action perspective. After the awesome action she got in the Sports Festival, Horikoshi really pulled back on her and it felt like he was too afraid to make her get dirty and fight again, save for a brief moment when she pinned Toga in the woods at summer camp. I liked it better when Izuku was pining a bit after Ochako than the other way around.

Saga 4 was a bit better. There was finally some meaningful development between them with Ochako getting inspired to update her costume, saving Izuku as a development of her new character question of "who saves the heroes?", and--my favorite part--when she decides to trust Izuku when he says he can take Shinso on alone and she goes to take care of business elsewhere. But I notice these developments I like also happen to have non-romantic elements to them. It's really just when things are one-dimensionally romantic that I'm super disinterested. I like the complexity of other feelings even in their easy friendship. Platonic friendship that leads into budding romance brings at least a bit more flavor in the writing. That said, it's not a whole ton of flavor. I can see why other people would like it, but it's not the MOST exciting for me personally.

Saga 5 is again more exciting to me because of the non-romantic elements, kind of like you say. It's not that it's necessarily platonic, but it's just more interesting that Ochako's feelings seem more complicated now, and Toga has been added to the mix too. What we get in this saga especially puts me in a weird position where I'm rooting for Izuku and Ochako NOT to get together in the end, not because I don't like them or have a problem with the ship, but because it makes the overall story about their relationship since the beginning..."make sense" isn't the right phrase. It's just an interesting take on the trope in this genre. I really like the message it could potentially deliver on. I'm just not a big romance person in the first place, so the whole "there are even deeper things happening between people than just high school crushes" angle that doesn't necessarily mean romance speaks more to me. I don't really know what we get out of them getting together if that happens. But, as I said, I'm not big on romance to begin with, so I'm not the best judge of this. It could be we get a great message out of it and I'm just really bad at being able to see that at this stage. I will still be forced to lament what was lost in that case, though--because we would lose the far more interesting take on the trope if they were not to get together.

And that's why I say I'm not anti-IzuOcha, just anti-IzuOcha in canon. I think they're cute together and I really love their earlier dynamic. I think the fanart of them is cute. I love when they get along doing things. I love when people create excellent fan content for their favorite pairings. I just most like the idea of an ending where they don't end up together for the purposes of my own intrigue.

[teaveetamer]

I know recency bias is a thing and there are worst fandom dramas from Steven Universe and Voltron but this has to be the worst drama I've seen from the Fire Emblem fandom (barring ship wars). If a fandom is at a point where they're spewing out death threats and lynching threats to irl people over a fictional female white character, then that is a point of no return and it puts a black mark on both the character and the game associated with them cause yeah, actions have consequences and toxic fandom behavior can taint a work (look at Steven Universe and Voltron) in the perception of the general public. I'm embarrassed and ashamed for anyone who thinks this shit is okay. Please stay safe and take care of yourself btw.

I get that it can be cathartic to point at someone you disagree with and go "haha look at how stupid they are" but christ. I can't imagine that being my entire fandom presence at this point, four years out from release. And not just like, vaguely talking about an opposing stance you've seen, but literally stalking and harassing specific people you don't like. It's not even restricted to FE at this point. Raxis has quite literally taken Nilsh posts about completely unrelated topics and posted them elsewhere so he can try and bait people completely unrelated to fire emblem into shit talking him. That's not even mentioning the fact that Nilsh was largely inactive for over a year and Raxis still would not leave the guy alone. He openly brags about "kicking the shit" out of him, "bitch slapping" him, fucking with Nilsh's mental health so bad he had to leave Tumblr entirely for a while just to get away from the guy, etc.

I think Nilsh acted rashly in response in the past few weeks, but at a certain point can I even blame him? He's literally been getting fucking stalked and harassed for two years. And he deleted the posts in question when we told him he might be going too far. They were literally deleted within hours of being made. He's been actively working with us to try and calm things down and what does Raxis do? What Raxis always does. Because he's not actually interested in deescalating the situation. He just wants a punching bag.

And fucking inb4 they come in with the "b-but Nilsh was mean to CaptainFlash!!!!!!!!" because that's always the excuse they use for mercilessly stalking and harassing people: if the only thing you actually wanted was for Nilsh to stop talking about CaptainFlash, then you would have stopped harassing him over a year ago when he stopped posting entirely. You would have never bothered harassing the multitude of people you've gone after who never said a peep about CaptainFlash. Quit hiding behind that shit excuse because we all see through it.

And the irony of loudly disavowing someone who does not speak English as a first language for making an innocent wording mistake while they're literally, actively arguing that talking about lynching people isn't toxic at all. I just. Some people really have The Audacity and not much else.

And don't worry, I'm fine. I'm not even angry. I'm just disappointed and sad. I think your well wishes are better spent on the people who have gotten it worse than me tbh.

[urpaperboy]

Ramble all your rambles about Charlie and Haydin if you have em I beg of you *gets on my knees and prays for you to bring your light down to me*/lh

omg u just unleashed a monster cause I HAVE A LOT!!

OKAY OKAY i have like a lot of stuff !! So imma make them like points

I made a Comic today of Little Haydin and Little Charlie and came up with an idea of a Nickname Charlie would’ve given Haydin, its Hayds!!

Sitting at the top of apartment complex just to examine the city and stars feels like something they would do together (Haydin has a thing for Stars :])

LITERALLY FOR THE DAMN FUN OF IT I THOUGHT OF THIS,,, THEY BOTH GO TO CHUCK E. CHEESE AND PLAY GAMES AND EAT OVER THERE

You know that yellow clock ride they have over at Chuck E. Cheese?? The one that goes up and then back down, Yeah I had this thought that Charlie would get on it just to prove something to Haydin, poor dude gets stuck and Haydin is just standing there laughing. But dw he helps him out after

They’d probably also just keep some of the tokens from there to themselves

The moment Chuck comes out for that mini dance party for the little kids, Haydin looks at Charlie with a smirk and say “AWHH CHARLIE.. DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD A CLONE” with Charlie telling him to shut up and just covering up his mouth quickly just out of sheer embarrassment.

Funny thing I talked to somebody about: Charlie does the whole “would you still love me if I was worm?” to Haydin and he’d just respond with leaving for a moment only to come back with some worm costume and say “Put this on and then we’ll see” (Spoiler Alert: He loves it)

If it wasn’t obvious, Haydin is taller than Charlie, So imagine the amount of times Haydin would pick on him for being short (tho I think Charlie would enjoy that–/j../hj?)

Haydin used to live with a Horrible family so, he either lied about going to some other friends house or snuck out to Charlie’s House just to hang out with him (Haydin’s Family have like a DEEP HATE for him)

Depending on what activity Haydin’s parents had him doing, if there was some sort of presentation, Charlie would go and just support his best friend and probably give a gift after the presentation in secret

STILL CHARLIE FINDING SOMETHING TO COMPARE HAYDIN’S EYES TO AND THEY COME OUT DUMB BUT CUTE, Haydin is just thinking “He’s stupid but so goddamn adorable.”

The whole writing notes to each other in a classroom they are in together AND STILL DOING IT WHEN THEIR ADULTS,, sighhhhh yeah <33

Okay also stupid of me to do but i had like some ship name for them…… Caydin/Harlie-.

If Charlie is a stinky boy, Haydin throws him into a bathtub with a bunch of bubbles and just says “You’re not coming out of there until I see a beam of light reflect off of you.”

Charlie have any ripped piece of Clothing? Haydin comes in with a sewing kit and sews it up quickly.

When Haydin had long hair, it felt like Charlie could lay his head on his and just take a tiny nap, they were nice

Okay uh lemme put an affectionate type one, they both just kiss each others scars, big or small. No matter what happened they’re both just happy to have one another. <33

Haydin has a new redesign (will post eventually) and he has shorter hair now. I like to think that in the hopes that if he ever ran into Charlie again once he went back to the city, he’d look like a super badass best friend.

Charlie’s pet name for the lis is Casper/Cas, i like to think that when Haydin heard it the first time, he sorta just stood there like “should I think this is cute and just say I wanna make out or think this is just him being him??”

Haydin’s form of flirting would be either “your looking submissive and breedable ” or literally any flirty like in Spanish since that is his second language but when he’s serious about something, he just compliments Charlie and ramble about everything he loves about him.

You and I by d4vd is a them song tbh

Uh,,, yeah if it isn’t noticeable i love them so much,,, i love haydin SO SO MUCH…. and im happy to see people like him as well <33

[ultimablades]

For the character ask game: Sanson, the one and only, obviously! Or if you've already answered for him, how about Alphinaud? :D

I’ll do both because I love both of these characters!!!

Sanson

[vibrates at a frequency b that could shatter glass] I love him a normal amount.

1: sexuality headcanon: gay gay homosexual gay

2: otp: Guydelot is the love of his life — i always imagine that he wasn’t trying to find a relationship or didn’t have a lot of interest in them because he was so focused on his duty and his goal of creating a bard unit that it was very “that’s something that will happen later in life,” so his feelings for Guydelot are unexpected and also hit him like a train

3: brotp: the WoL once again lol but I also love his relationship with moogles??? They are his little friends???

4: notp: the WoL lol. I make jokes about Nourval having a crush on Sanson post SB just cause Sanson was nice to him but he knows it won’t go anywhere and I think it’s funny to imagine him being frustrated by a silly lil crush. But I don’t actually ship them.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: I think Sanson is an okay singer. Not great like Guydelot, probably not good enough to be a bard. But he’s better than he gives himself credit for and will sing with Guydelot when they’re alone

6: favorite line from this character: it’s hard to choose one but the first ones that came to mind were him saying that he’s nervous but knows things will be okay with Guydelot by his side, him telling us to tell Nourval Guydelot is in a drunken stupor, and him saying he needs to write the view from the churning mists down so he can share it with Guydelot 🥲🥲🥲

7: one way in which I relate to this character: I related to him a lot tbh which is probably why I always headcanon him as a September virgo…sometimes I’m like there’s definitely a lil projection going on here but—

But I think a big one is getting so focused on small details, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, which I think he does a lot in the HW quests

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: him walking right into Nourval’s very obvious trap…baby girl please

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? He’s Mon petiti Chou, he has never done anything wrong in his life

Alphinaud:

My baby boy, my son who I birthed and raised myself

1: sexuality headcanon: gay but he hasn’t realized it yet

2: otp: he’s only 16/17 so I don’t ship him romantically with anyone, he’s too young…but I think his big ole puppy love/idol worship crush on estinien is cute, and I think he has a lil crush on Arenvald too (again, very much in a baby’s first crush on someone who’s older than them kinda way)

3: brotp: I do really love his friendship with Arenvald and I wish we got to see them hanging out more! And his friendship with Kai-shirr is sweet too

4: notp: basically anyone who is an adult LOL but especially an adult who is twice his age

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: I’ve always thought he was a trans boy

6: favorite line from this character: hmmmmm i really like when he tells Vauthry he needs a mirror cause it will capture the horror he sees before him better than a painting could. Imagine getting burned by ALPHINAUD

7: one way in which I relate to this character: when we first meet him, he was very much a know it all who thought he knew best lol. I was really bad about being a know it all when I was younger and I try to be mindful about those tendencies in myself now that I’m older

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: the entire buying a sword incident…baby boy please

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? If you look up a picture of a cinnamon roll, it would just be a picture of Alphinaud

[mydetheturk]

Okay, you have a very intense queue, so I'm not sure what you've answered or not, BUT, here goes for the Fanfic asks!

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh? (I've got a few of those!<--my edit)

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

I actually don't put ask game answers in the queue! so congrats, you are the only person to have sent me any emojis! This is just the first time I've had all day to answer any asks >.>

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

-glances at entire fanfiction dot net catalogue- let us not talk about the old days, shall we? Have some deep lore: i have been writing and posting fanfic since... -glances at ffn history- well, if i could get the site to work. (i spent longer than i want to admit trying to let it load oopssss) We'll say 2006. Ish. I was in jr high in 2006. I'm sure you can imagine what my ff.n backlog looked like back in the day.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh? (I've got a few of those!<--my edit)

I flipped through some fics of mine cause i like to have sillies in my fics, even in the ones that hurt and this scene from this fic made me giggle upon rereading it <3

“This is a hostile takeover!” Law yelled. He motioned with his hand and blue flickered above before enveloping the hold with his devil fruit. “Shambles!” Drake was disoriented for a moment as he was swapped with a chair that was beside Law. “Let’s fuckin’ go,” Penguin said, grabbing Drake above the elbow. “What did you do.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand for an answer. “Rammed the marine ship with the Tang,” Shachi chirped. “It worked!” Bepo added. “They were distracted!”

"this is a hostile takeover!" is one of my favorite lines to use when having people board ships or cars or raid banks. for my fics, it is nearly always going to proceed something silly.

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

I prefer to write first kiss between two people? I'm not a fan of true first kiss fics? They tend to linger awkwardly? idk, maybe im just not hitting the right ones.

idk, i don't hate them but I also don't super like them? fairly neutral tbh

Ask more questions from here!

[thefabulousfab-3]

I hate when we keep having this conversation about whether Ben or Paxton is better for Devi that we have to vilify one. Like just STOP. It’s so toxic and just sparks pointless arguments. Both Ben and Paxton have flaws and have both said and done shitty things. It’s called being a teenager. They also have both apologized and done really good redeemable things. Both of their reactions to Devi cheating on them were totally valid.

First Paxton, he was finally committed to someone and started to put in work in this relationship only to have her betray him. He was hurt, embarrassed, and sad because he really genuinely liked her and thought what they had was special. Him calling her “Crazy Devi” to his friends came not only out of hurt but also embarrassment. Not because she was a “dork” but because he had finally let himself be vulnerable with someone and it backfired. I personally believe he was never truly embarrassed of her. Embarrassed of what she did sure but not of her.

Now Ben, this boy has been constantly abandoned by everyone in his life and the one person he thought he could trust, cheated on him. He told her he was all in, that he was willing to fly to India to see her and make their relationship work. Only to find out she was cheating on him. Then after she didn’t even try to talk to him but she went after the other guy and he was left again. I’m going to emphasize this because I’ve seen some daxtons trivialize this, THIS BOY WAS ABANDONED ONCE AGAIN BY SOMEONE HE THOUGHT WAS ALL IN. His hurt and anger was totally valid. Him dating Aneesa, totally fine. Sure he was jumping into a relationship when he hadn’t really gotten over Devi but tbh who hasn’t done that. Rebounding while probably not the most healthy thing is totally understandable.

So let’s just stop participating in toxic fandom nonsense. Also let’s stop taking everything so freaking personal. Not every Meta or ship discussion is an attack on your fav. Let’s normalize blocking toxic people and ignoring posts that while they might bug us don’t cause any real harm.

Bonus: Paxton is not toxic and Ben is not abusive. If you think these things please go outside or read a dictionary.

I hope this made sense, love you guys.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

Hi, first off I ship Zutara and I come in peace. I was pointed your way by a friend when I asked for people who ship kataang who are nevertheless willing to hear different views. I have lurked on blog a week and finally got up my nerve to ask how you or any other Kataang can deny that the last part of book 3 was completely Zutara but then stopped abruptly with no buildup? You can finesse tone on text so I'm not being sarcastic or bitchy, it is a serious question (1/5)

In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko. In Ember Island Players, she realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was, and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from “Aang’s gone!” to “Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.” (2/5)

Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic. I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed. (4/5)

And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend. And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders. I get that Kataang “won” and I’ve made peace with that, but ... I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story. I swear on my gmom [sic] if they’d done this for [Zvtara], I’d be mad as hell. So I don’t understand, I really don’t. (5/5)

As always, I shall begin with a disclaimer: anon, you do not have to agree with this post. No one has to agree with this post, as it is strictly my own thoughts on the subject matter raised here! As per usual, I will not be putting this in the main tags - much less the Zvtara tag! - because I have basic fandom decency, lmao. If you (the general you, not anon specifically) do disagree with this post, that is totally fine, I simply ask that you are polite in expressing your disagreement (if you choose to do so at all! no one is expected to, lmao. i promise).

Alright. Formalities are out of the way!

I’ll admit I giggled a little bit when you say you lurked on my blog for a week, because I’ve actually talked about this subject numerous times in the past! I just found it funny you hadn’t stumbled across any posts about it yet, lol. So, as a heads up, know that I will be providing several links in this post since - again - this subject and related subjects have been analyzed a multitude of times before. I highly recommend reading them all! Mostly because I don’t intend to spend forever restating what’s been said over and over and over lmaooo. I will provide the resources, but it is up to each individual to take advantage of them.

To begin: your ask actually contains a few logical fallacies, anon! I do not mean this as shade or to belittle you - I fall victim to this issue all the time myself. Anyone who writes analyses or participates in debates does! Humans are imperfect and often like to cut corners to reach a conclusion. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about because - as the existence of your ask in inbox indicates - you are willing to learn more. So kudos to you, my friend!

Alright. So what logical fallacies am I talking about here? (For the record: specific definitions of logical fallacies were taken from here.)

1. Hasty Generalization.

“A hasty generalization is a general statement without sufficient evidence to support it.” Numerous claims are made in this ask that I have absolutely no doubt you believe to be true, anon, but there really isn’t any concrete evidence to support it! I will go into more detail later, of course, but let’s quickly look at one example:

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

For the time being, I will ask but one question: from the show itself, not fanon, how do you know this?

2. Causal Fallacy

Ah, this guy. My own worst enemy, tbh! “A causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a cause,” of which there are several types. “One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa (‘not the-cause for a cause’) fallacy, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do so.” In your ask, you claim:

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

Again, for the time being, I will ask only one question: from the show itself, not fanon, what led you to believe this statement?

“Another kind of causal fallacy is the correlational fallacy also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Lat., ‘with this therefore because of this’). This fallacy happens when you mistakenly interpret two things found together as being causally related.” In your ask, you claim:

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I will ask one question: from the show itself, not fanon, why would you believe these are indicative of romance? (Consider the context the show is situated in, too - e.g. the war, Katara being Azula’s only available match in skill, etc.)

The reason I bring up the issue of logical fallacies is again not at all to make you feel bad, anon!! You were simply trying to express your point to me and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so. See, your ask actually presents a larger fandom trend:

Misconstruing fanon as canon.

What you have offered to me, anon, are fanon conclusions. To clarify: there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanon. I adore fanon interpretations (an example I have used in the past is Kuzaang - like, I don’t care that there’s no canon basis! I do what I want lmao!), but a line has to be drawn between exploring fanon interpretations and expecting everyone to take that fanon as canon. Again, anon, this is not your fault! It is not any one person’s fault, lmao. It is an issue of fandom as a whole, and all of us fall victim to it.

With that in mind, I will break down the different components of your ask. I will also do my best to be brief - as aforementioned, I and others have analyzed this issue numerous times before, lmao. To avoid confusion, it would be best to read through each or at least most links as they are provided!

Firstly, there are two posts I have made in the past that almost directly answer your overarching question here in this ask. Please read them prior to continuing, as I will occasionally reference them:

This post explains how Zvtara was not built up from TSR/EIP-onwards, and how their supposed “canon enemies to lovers arc” is a completely fanon construction.

This post explains the issue of the “canon Zvtara” rhetoric from rabid zkers (and you, anon, are absolutely NOT one, in case you were worried).

Alrighty. With that out the way, let’s get into it!

“In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko.”

Gotta start by saying that TSR is not about Zuko. TSR is, first and foremost, about Katara. Katara does not realize she was wrong about Zuko, because here’s the truth - she wasn’t wrong about him. Zuko did horrible things to the Gaang. Katara was not wrong to hold him accountable for that. What Katara does realize is that holding such rage so close to her chest is bad for her. This rage was not solely anger against Zuko, either; it was of course about Yon Rha, too, but it was also anger towards Kya and Katara herself. Essentially, TSR is where Katara realizes she has to forgive herself. Zuko is only one part of her journey (similar to Aang’s role in the episode, if a different end of the spectrum).

This post explains how TSR was fundamentally about Katara.

Additional resources about TSR:

This post explains Aang’s comments to Katara in TSR and how Katara herself recognized their validity.

This post explains why both Aang and Zuko were important to Katara in TSR.

This post is an extensive breakdown of Aang and Katara’s relationship within TSR.

“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”

You provide no context for this claim, so I’m going to work with the assumption this is about their reactions to the play itself and the infamous kiss!

There is something important we must keep in mind when discussing EIP: the play they watch is literally imperialist propaganda. It is meant to demean the entire Gaang, and indeed it does exactly that. You mention Katara and Aang specifically, so I will recap what I have explained before about their depictions in EIP: Katara, an indigenous woman, is hypersexualized and portrayed as overly emotional (and thus “irrational”). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that women of the Water Tribes are less intelligent and less suited for “responsibility” than Fire Nation women. Aang, a pacifist and the sole survivor of genocide who is also canonly the male character most comfortable with femininity and spirituality, is portrayed as a flighty, airheaded woman (this is a well-known imperialist tactic meant to emasculate the target, seeing as masculinity was often equated with power in fascist regimes; thus, they effectively belittled Aang before the FN audience). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that the Air Nomads were foolish, weak people who deserved to die.

In other words, of course Aang and Katara were upset about how they portrayed in the play. It is understandable that tensions would be running high and consequently that mistakes (we all know the one) would be made.

This post explains how EIP belittles each member of the Gaang (and why the play is not indicative of Zvtara).

This post talks specifically about EIP and their portrayal of Aang and Katara.

Now onto the kiss. As everyone knows and no one has ever disagreed with, Aang was wrong to kiss Katara. Point blank!

But what people do misunderstand is Katara and Aang’s feelings regarding the kiss. Given your above quote, I assume you believe Aang kissing Katara supposedly made her realize that Aang wasn’t as mature as she once thought. On the surface, this seems like a logical conclusion! But digging deeper reveals… well, there’s nothing that indicates this conclusion at all. Even jumping ahead to the finale, when Zuko has doubts over Aang’s return, Katara demonstrates her faith in Aang (although of course she’s nervous - I won’t deny the obvious, lmao) as she says, “Aang won’t lose. He’s gonna come back. He has to.”

In other words, nothing in canon suggests that Katara believes Aang is immature because of what happened in EIP. She still trusts in his return, as she did even before she knew him (and arguably is more confident in him now, given the 60~ episodes of them growing closer). Furthermore, when Aang does disappear, Katara doesn’t have an outburst about how “immature” it was for him to “run away again.” The viewers know Aang didn’t run away, of course (fans who insist he did are not worth arguing with, anon - they don’t understand the show, rip), but that is a luxury the rest of the Gaang is not afforded. And yet even though Aang has vanished off the face of the planet, Katara still believes he will save the world. If anything, that signifies the utmost confidence in his skill and maturity!

To go back to the kiss itself, this post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (hint: she says it herself in the episode! you know, the whole war going on) and why the EIP kiss did not sink Kataang’s relationship.

Additional sources about EIP:

This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels.

This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.

“… and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from ‘Aang’s gone!’ to ‘Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.’”

As I already touched upon, Katara didn’t need a soliloquy to emphasize her connection to Aang once he disappeared. She trusts that he will return. She says so herself. I guess I just don’t understand how you got from Point A, Katara has consistent faith in Aang, to Point B, Katara and the rest of the Gaang didn’t care about Aang’s disappearance. It’s honestly a bit more like Point A to Point Z, lmao! If you would like to expand on your logic here, I would love to hear more!!

There are a few specific aspects I want to note about your rationale, though. You argue the Gaang moves from ‘Aang disappeared’ to ‘let’s find Iroh,’ but the Gaang actually went from:

1. Aang disappeared!

2. They search the entire island for him.

3. Okay, they couldn’t find him, so they track down June and have her try to find Aang.

4. June says to them, “No, I mean he’s gone gone. He doesn’t exist.” (And she clarifies to Sokka that she doesn’t mean dead, either - she means Aang has totally blinked out of their world.)

5. Only after all of this do they decide to track down Iroh.

The Gaang cares immensely about the fact that Aang is gone, and you could actually argue they waste time by trying to track him down. They don’t give up until June essentially tells them that some Spirit World shenanigans were involved. Even if you don’t think they reached that specific conclusion, I have to ask: What else were they supposed to do? They were told Aang didn’t exist! How are they supposed to fix that?

Well, they can’t. So they do the next best thing: they find Iroh, the man who knows Ozai better than anyone and is also one of the most talented firebenders in the world. In my opinion, that’s a very logical step to take.

“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

I’ll be blunt here, lol: in my opinion, nothing of what you listed in your ask is inherently romantic.

Okay. I am going to assume you’ve read the first two posts I linked earlier (“Zvtara did not have an E-L arc” and “the ‘canon’ Zvtara of rabid zkers has issues”), because I do not intend to rehash everything they contain, lol. Consequently, I presume you realize by now that there was no canon romantic interest between Zuko and Katara.

And as I always say, just because there wasn’t a canon romance doesn’t mean people can’t take fanon routes! Of course they can! That’s the entire point of fanon! But fanon is not canon, and I am strictly referring to canon in my discussions.

You claim Katara was all over Zuko, which in itself I don’t think is an accurate assessment, because she doesn’t really do anything with Zuko outside the three points you bring up (other than the June gag, which I addressed in one of the aforementioned linked posts). So I’ll go ahead and break down each instance you provide!

1. “[Katara] was giving [Zuko] a pep talk about Iroh”

Katara asked Zuko if he was okay. She asked him if he was genuinely sorry. She reassures him that Iroh will forgive him. That’s… all. Not to diminish the significance of this conversation, but it’s not exactly an intimate, romantically-charged discussion (unless fanon-ized). But on that note, let’s tackle the canon significance of this moment!

Katara knows firsthand the challenge of forgiving Zuko. And she knows that Zuko understands how hard it was for her to forgive him (note: Katara’s anger was totally justified, and anyone who disagrees is probably a rabid Zuko stan lmao). She also recognizes that Zuko is terrified it will take Iroh the same struggle to forgive him that Katara went through. This scene is not related to romance at all. It’s about compassion. It’s about Katara and Zuko’s friendship having progressed, slowly but surely, to the point where she’s not afraid to extend empathy to him anymore (seeing as the first time, beneath Ba Sing Se, did not go so well; you know - Aang died and all). It’s about Zuko recognizing his own fallibility (and the audience recognizing how much he’s grown). He questions how he can even face his uncle after all he’s done to the man, which is a far cry from his entitled attitude in TSR, where he demanded to know why Katara didn’t trust him when everyone else had forgiven him.

To make this moment, this moment about Zuko’s relationship with his uncle who is all but a literal father to him, this moment of vulnerability, of guilt, of remorse, of growth, to claim this powerful moment is about a nonexistent romantic relationship? In my opinion, that is incredibly reductive to what this scene is supposed to signify. And again, there is nothing wrong with people exploring such a possibility in fanon, but in canon? Nah. It doesn’t track.

2. “[Katara] was going with [Zuko] to Azula”

Don’t forget that at first, Zuko planned to take on Azula alone. He doesn’t request Katara to accompany him until Iroh tells him that he’ll need help. As such, Zuko’s immediate agreement with Iroh is reflective of his personal growth (Book 1 and 2 Zuko would have argued and insisted he didn’t need any help). It also demonstrates, however, that Katara was not obsessively on Zuko’s mind. He doesn’t choose Katara until Iroh points out that Zuko will need assistance in taking Azula down. This means that Zuko’s choice of Katara to join him is a tactical decision, not an emotional one. And by all accounts, it’s a damn good decision! Zuko witnessed firsthand beneath Ba Sing Se a) how powerful Katara was (e.g. that wave after Aang died) and b) how Katara was the only one who could take on Azula*.

Of course, besides the fact that Katara was the only match for Azula, who else was Zuko going to choose? Sokka and Suki, while talented in their own right, were no competition for Azula. Toph, while the greatest earthbender in the world, was needed to metalbend the airships. Katara was the only (and the best!) option.

Also, on their trip to face Azula, the only thing they talk about within their three lines of canon conversation are Azula and Aang. Not exactly a romantic flight, lmao.

*Zuko never saw Aang fight Azula on the drill.

3. “[Katara] was healing [Zuko] and saying he saved her not the other way around”

Actually, this is what the transcript says:

Zuko: Thank you, Katara.

Katara: I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.

You’re right about how their lines refer to them saving each other, but you posit it as a romantic moment, when the lines are actually pretty straightforward. Zuko thanks Katara as she heals him from the partially-redirected lightning strike, and Katara thanks him for trying to redirect the lightning away from her and in doing so saving her life. In terms of canon, there’s nothing romantic about this, lol! (Which I talked about extensively in the E-L post, if you need to reference it again.) The reason being is that you have to take the show itself into context when you do analysis. If there was no canon romantic buildup between Zuko and Katara, why would these lines in canon (not fanon! fanon is free rein, lmao) be interpreted through a romantic lens?

Well, they wouldn’t be interpreted as such. Plain and simple.

“I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”

Because looking through a canon lens, they aren’t romantic. That’s all. You are of course welcome to view them as such through a fanon lens!! It’s just about recognizing the line between canon and fanon.

“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”

I asked earlier what content in the show itself led you to believe. I have wracked my own mind, and I cannot think of anything that would point to this conclusion. Zuko was in Katara’s good graces for 5 episodes. That’s 8% of the show. Not exactly a lot of time for Zuko to start believing his life would be pointless if Katara was killed, is it?

This post explains the improbability of Zuko having a crush on Katara within canon.

This post explains how Zuko’s racism towards the Air Nomads in TSR and the finale is, well, exactly that - racism (and not a sign of a crush on Katara).

And, of course, as has been said a million times, Zuko taking the lightning for Katara out of romantic interest would completely undermine his redemption arc. Since it has been said over and over and over, I will be brief: Zuko taking the lightning is significant because it is a selfless act (one of his only in the series), and it directly parallels his selfish act of choosing not to intervene when Azula killed Aang with lightning beneath Ba Sing Se. This moment demonstrates Zuko’s growth, how he has learned to accept unconditional love from Iroh and the Gaang and Mai and even Ty Lee and sure, even from Appa and Momo, too. To make this moment of pure selflessness about a nonexistent romance? To force a fanon romance in replacement of canon redemption and canon platonic significance?

Such a decision speaks wonders about a person’s priorities, in my opinion, as well as how amatonormativity impacts them.

Furthermore, Zuko’s choice cements Katara’s position as his surrogate sibling, as she is Azula’s primary foil. Zuko chooses the sister who heals over the sister who harms. I won’t go too much into it here, because it has already been talked about extensively before! Thus, I offer you this post that explains how Zuko and Katara - in canon - are positioned as surrogate siblings as well as Azula’s role in this matter. I also offer this post that lays out through screencaps how Zuko and Katara - in canon - treat each other like family.

Additional sources about the final Agni Kai:

This post in part discusses fanon misinterpretation of the final Agni Kai and why such a lens is not true to canon relationships.

This post explains why the final Agni Kai is not intended to be romantic.

This post explains how the final Agni Kai is primarily about Azula and how reducing it to be a big Zvtara moment is detrimental to both her and to Zuko and Katara themselves.

“And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend.”

This point could probably get a post of its own, lol, but fortunately I and others have already written a few! I will link them below - first, however, I question your choice of “declares.” Technically, yes, Mai does say outright that it doesn’t hurt how the new Fire Lord is her boyfriend, but your phrasing implies Zuko resisted her proclamation. When… he doesn’t. In fact, he embraces it, asking if that means she doesn’t hate him anymore (read: he asks if they’re back on good terms again). Zuko clearly doesn’t have a problem with the girl he loves wanting to be with him again - so why do some parts of fandom so adamantly insist he does? (Not you, anon - I am referring to the rabid fanoners, lol.)

Also, regarding how Zuko hasn’t talked about Mai for six episodes, we’ve gotta be realistic with this assessment in terms of canon:

1. It was the crux of the war. They were either going to live or die. There was no time for romance at this point! Sokka and Suki weren’t professing their love on the battlefield, lmao, so it’s not exactly strange that Zuko didn’t bust into a monologue about how he missed Mai. I think they were just a little bit distracted by the possible end of the world, lol, and all that jazz.

2. Zuko probably thought Mai was dead. He knows what Azula is like. He knows his sister doesn’t have time for people who get in her way (Aang can testify to this, lmao). So can you blame him for not wanting to think about how the girl he loved had died (to his knowledge) to save him?

You gotta cut the kid some slack, lol. Anyways! Additional sources about Maiko:

This post breaks down the notion of Maiko and “deserve.”

This post rationalizes through a canon lens why Mai’s arrival at the palace surprised Zuko.

This post is the mother of Maiko metas, explaining in tremendous detail why their relationships works, is relevant to canon, and was well-implemented for what its role was.

“And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders.”

What in canon has led you to the conclusion that Katara was annoyed with Aang? What specific moments from TSR to the finale made you think Katara was annoyed with Aang and remained annoyed with Aang? Are there any, or are you thinking about fanon interpretation? (Canon vs fanon strikes again!)

In TSR, Katara explicitly thanks Aang for understanding her perspective. Nothing there is indicative of annoyance (and as in the links provided earlier, she was not angry at Aang/Zuko/etc. so much as she was at herself. well, she was a little bit angry with Zuko, lmao). In EIP, Katara is understandably angry at Aang’s decision to kiss her, but Aang completely backs off, and we see in the part 1 of the finale that there are no hard feelings or weird tension between them. Katara in fact actively expresses concern for Aang after Zuko sporadically attacked him when she demands of the firebender, “What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!” Even when Aang and Katara do butt heads later in the episode as Aang tries to think of a way to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara doesn’t stay frustrated. Like I said - when she and Zuko are flying to Azula, she demonstrates her unwavering faith in Aang through her belief that he will return. So… where is the annoyance that you feel was present?

With all this mind, i.e. looking strictly at canon, Katara wasn’t annoyed with Aang during this time. Thus, Katara kisses Aang because she loved him. Because he backed off and gave her the space she needed to make a decision about if she wanted to be with him (hence Katara being the one to initiate the kiss). Because the issue was never about if she reciprocated his feelings (they both knew they loved each other) but rather it had to do with the war. At the end of the finale, the war is over, and there is nothing that prevents them from being together. Simple.

This post explains how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series (and were not neglected, as rabid zkers like to claim, for some reason? again - you are not one of them, anon).

This post also covers Katara’s interest in Aang throughout the series.

“I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story.”

I mean, you definitely don’t have to ship Kataang. It may not be your cup of tea, and that’s totally okay! But as the above links demonstrate, Kataang was a fantastic story. It was well-implemented into the narrative from Day 1. The soulmateism is unparalleled!

Also, it’s worth noting that A:TLA itself was essentially pre-written. The writers knew how the story would end from the get-go, including that the show would end with Kataang. A few Zvtara gags were thrown in to add a sense of “who will Katara choose?” drama as the show aired, but Zuko and Katara were never planned to end up together. One reason so many newer fans are fine with Kataang from the start is that there’s no tension of waiting a week for a new episode when you can watch all 61 episodes straight through on Netflix, lmao. It’s even more obvious now than when A:TLA was airing that Aang and Katara will end up together, if that makes sense. (Although I talked about this in the E-L post linked earlier, so you probably understand this point already, as it was explained in detail there!)

All of this is to say that Kataang is not a “crap story” in terms of writing (again, personal taste is a different matter) because it was woven in from the beginning and had powerful narrative significance! (Kataang represented numerous complementary components of the series, such as yin and yang, push and pull, air and water, Oma and Shu, etc.)

Now. If you really and truly want to understand why Kataang shippers like Kataang, anon, consider reading some Kataang fanfics or exploring some Kataang headcanons. I read fics involving Zvtara more regularly than you might think, lol, because… well, it’s just a ship. I understand the appeal of romantic Zvtara and I can actually appreciate it when it’s well-written! I’m sure if you’re willing to put in just a little legwork (you don’t need to go the whole mile, lmao - ‘tis just fandom), you’ll realize why people like Kataang, even if it isn’t exactly your thing. You have the range, anon!! You got this!

I hope I managed to answer your questions, my friend! As always, you do not have to agree with anything I have said here. It is totally fine if you and anyone else disagrees! Everything above is simply my own perspective on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read my response and all the different links I provided! I hope it has expanded your understanding of the subject at hand!

[lesbianmulcahy]

Father Mulcahy for the character meme!

Thank you so much!! And thanks also to @klingersgender and to the anon for also asking Mulcahy! Sorry this took a moment

Favorite thing about them: augh to choose... I think what makes him stand out so much in my head (and sorry that i'm gonna sound sooo pretentious. but this is THE blorbo from my shows for me) is the way he cares SO MUCH and how much he just wants to be worthy and useful and liked, and how that manifests in that kind of quiet kindness he has. Maybe I just like insecure characters. Also I love that he can be so funny, his humor makes me think of Spock (blorbo from TOS (the original shows), except he tries a little more. But there is that similar kind of deadpan, especially during the later seasons, I think

Least favorite thing about them: I mean the fact that he's out there like voluntarily is :/ yeah. I'm sorry that's such a boring answer but like. he definitely has his faults but I think they are funny so I like them actually

Favorite line: I love "Well, I'm very good at keeping secrets. There are some things I won't even tell myself". Also I am still obsessed with "My parents wished that I had been a girl, hence my name Francis". Fucked up that he said that actually, I haven't known peace since

BROTP: Oh... I do love his relationship with Klinger, I think they have such a fun dynamic,and it goes pretty much all through the series too. Like espevially during the early season they just vibe so hard. ALSO Sarah from Aftermash. They are SUCH a fun couple I'm sorry to talk about Aftermash so much but Sarah my BELOVED and she and Mulcahy are just. fucking insane

OTP: I'm going to refer you all to this post. I simply think he and Sidney had a wild relationship spanning from 1943 through the war and then when they meet again in 1954. It happens I know it cause they told me <3 But also you can talk me into thinking any ship is good and fun. I do like him and Hawkeye too

NOTP: I don't think I have any grounds to like.. actively judge anyone's ships, looking at mine. I guess I'm not a fan if pairing him with women

Random headcanon: I think he and Klinger share the brown cardigan since we see both of them wear it! Oh also maybe more inch resting, I think he started trying to learn the names of some of the surgical instruments after Carry On Hawkeye! I want him to go into nursing school actually

Unpopular opinion: I don't think that I've seen enough popular opinions about him to have any unpopular ones. Is it unpopular that I think that he doesn't have any kind of inner turmoil about queerness. His guilt and inferiority complex come from different things

Song I associate with them: Accidentally started associating him with Syksyn Sävel by Juice Leskinen, especially the part that goes like "Take me into your dreams, even if I board other trains / it's october and you can see it on me / When I get close to you, even the gods believe in me / Although I always don't myself". A less embarrassing answer would probably be Laughing With by Regina Spektor

Favorite picture of them:

Here are some!! Tbh I could pic any images and like. Those would be my favorite. I simply like his shape :)

Thank you one more time for asking!!!

[unknownwriting]

Strawberry Kisses

Summary: The reader has new Chapstick and Sanji can’t figure out the new flavor. 

Character(s): Vinsmoke Sanji

Song Inspiration: Strawberry Kisses by Olivia Herdt

Word count: 2.6k

Notes: tbh I’m not sure how I feel about this but imma post it anyways. When I was writing it I was reading Host Club sooo Sanji might act a bit like Tamaki because I can’t help see them as the same person 😭

━━☆⌒*.

It’s the same routine for every morning. Sanji would wake up early to cook breakfast for the crew while he leaves his lover asleep. He would love to wake her up to have someone to talk to this early in the morning but he knows well enough not to wake Y/n this early in the morning. The blonde cook lingers in bed for a moment longer looking down at his sleeping lover. They didn’t have a big bed but that didn’t seem to matter, they were all upon each other. Y/n was curled up into his chest while one of his arms draped over her hip. It was a good thing the 2 of them don’t move much when they sleep. Sanji pulled her closer and watched her steady breathing. Her h/c hair was an absolute mess and her mouth hung open, leaving a small trail of drool onto the pillow. Saying she looked like a mess would be an understatement but that what he loves about her.

Sanji felt so bad leaving. He didn’t want to leave her alone but someone’s gotta cook the food for their rowdy crew. With one last squeeze, which caused a small groan to escape from Y/n’s lips, Sanji softly kissed her exposed forehead and finally began to his day. An hour without Y/n is never that bad. And soon enough an hour came and gone like it was nothing. One by one his crew mates began to fill the kitchen. Sanji finished up the last of the food preparation, making sure to leave a small port soon to the side for Y/n. She’s always the last one to wake up in the morning, and because the food never last longer than 5 minutes, he always make sure Y/n has food before anyone else. Y/n finally made it to the lively kitchen, upon seeing her still half asleep mood his face lit up. She just as beautiful as ever, even if her hair looks like it hasn’t been brushed in days. Sleep still clouded her actions as she stumbled her way to the hip of her lover. It took her a while for her eyes to adjust but once they did and landed on Sanji, her face lit up.

“Mornin’!” Y/n giggled, pressing herself up against the male wanting to feel his body warmth again. Sanji scoffed at the action as her took on of his arms and snaked it around her waist.

“Did you sleep well, princess?” Sanji questioned as he leaded down and gave her a small peck on her lips. Y/n scrunched up her nose for the early morning touch before she smiled and returned the peck.

“Amazing, as always.” She sighed, wiggling out of his grasp so she can finally eat breakfast. The 2 of them has been dating for a while. And of course, that doesn’t mean didn’t have a rocky start. With Sanji’s obsession with girls it was bound the be a struggle. Luckily, the love Y/n felt for him was strong enough to look past it. They had worked though it and seeing how Sanji‘s obsession with girls isn’t gonna stop anytime soon, Y/n trust Sanji not to do anything (thankfully Y/n doesn’t get jealous easily either). Surprisingly, it’s been smooth sailing so far, give or take. 

With Sanji being a passionate lover and all, it was also no surprise that he knew almost everything about Y/n. From her favorite foods (duh) to her secrets to and even when it was her time of the month. It was creepy but in a nice way. And so it’s safe to say that he also knows what her kisses taste like. In the morning her kisses always taste like mint because of the chapstick she puts on after brushing her teeth. It was probably the best thing in the world to the lovesick cook, he had easily got use to it when they started dating. However this morning was different, she didn’t taste like the normal mint, she tasted fruity. His blue eyes trailed over to his lover who now sat at the table with the others, talking about todays plans. With the flavor still lingering on his lips, he continued to try and figure out what the flavor could be. His eyes watched as her glossed lips curled into a smile, as if she was teasing him. Taking a moment to try and figure out what the flavor is himself, he let out a soft hum as he joined Y/n at the table. At first she didn’t bother to look over seeing how she was enjoying her conversation with Usopp and Nami, but once Sanji’s large hand rested on her thigh, she glanced over at him. Sanji did not waste a minute, once Y/n looked over at Sanji, he attcked her lips once again. She let out a small yelp from the sudden action and placed her hand on his chest to try and push him back. 

Nami and Usopp, who were both having a conversation with Y/n simply rolled their eyes at the couple before continuing their conversation without her. It common to find Sanji doing those type of things. Random kisses and hugs, random burst of ‘I love you’, cheesy date nights. It doesn’t take a genius to learn he’s a hopeless romantic. Of course that doesn’t stop the crew from reacting themselves. Zoro would complain about it, Nami and Usopp would yell at him for when he gets to cheesy, or when he makes Y/n embarrass, or does it at an inapporapte time, and Robin, Franky and Brook would always comment on how flustered Y/n ends up getting. Even if it does annoy the others and makes Y/n embarrassed sometimes, they all know he means well. Finally Y/n efforts of pushing against him payed off. Sanji finally back off of Y/n giving her space and her mouth back so she can eat. Catching her breath, Y/n looked at Sanji with her eyebrow raised, “What’s this about?”

“Your chapstick...It’s different.” Sanji muttered, trying to focus on the flavor. He was a cook for god’s sake and he can’t even figured out a the flavor of Y/n chapstick even if it is artificially flavored. Adrianna saw the look of confusion on his face as he was deep in thought. It was rare to see Sanji like this, normally he would swoon over it and make those weird faces but this time was different. His swirled eyebrows furrowed together and his blue eyes staring at her lips, hoping to get an answer. It was one of the very rare moments when Sanji’s actually cute.

“Yeah, I ran out of the other one. You like it?” Y/n giggled, as she turned back to her food.

“I’m not sure. What flavor is it?” 

“Hmm.” Y/n hummed wondering if she should tell him or not. There were pros and cons of telling him and not telling him. If she doesn’t tell him then she can see this rare cute side of Sanji that she doesn’t get the see often but if she doesn’t tell him then she has no idea what is gonna happen if she doesn’t. The last time Y/n tried, keyword tried, to tease Sanji they end in the bedroom for the rest of the night. It safe to say it was a long night that night. But on the other hand, Y/n doesn’t get to see Sanji cute like this often, so even if they end up in the bedroom, it would be worth. A small smirk played on her lips as she looked back up and Sanji, “I’m not telling..”

ミ☆

Y/n was surprised she was able to last this long.  Ever since Y/n brought up the challenge, it was like every chance Sanji got the 2 of them were kissing.  When they pass each on the ship, when Y/n asks for a glass of water, even when she was in the middle of training he found some way and excuse to kiss her. What really got to her the most was she never knows what type of kiss it was gonna be: small and quick or deep and passionate. If she knew he was gonna be the egar to figure it out she would’ve just told him. Luckily lunch was right around the corner so Sanji had to spend time preparing food for the others, leaving Y/n alone for a while, even if it’s only 30 minutes. The h/c colored girl was more than happy to take this time to relax with Nami and Robin. Nami was sunbathing and Robin was reading, Y/n also wanted to join Robin in reading however the book she picked laid in her lap, untouched. Instead all she ended up doing it staring off into the distance running a finger along her lips.

“...I think they’re swollen.” Y/n muttered to herself as she dropped her hand to her side and laid down. She clearly bit off more than she can chew. Y/n meant to keep the comment to herself seeing how she got herself into this mess yet Robin clearly heard her. 

“Are you feeling ok, Y/n?” She glanced over at her younger friend and questioned. Noticing that Y/n seemed to be lost and thought, Robin didn’t want to bother her so she went back to reading her book until Y/n let out a heavy sign.

“My lips are swollen and it’s only noon. This is not how I’d imagine it.” Y/n explained as she looked over to the other girls.

“You’re dating Sanji, how did you think it was gonna go?” Nami scoffed as she lifted up her sunglasses and looked over at Y/n. Nami was right, she should’ve expected this from the ero-cook but she couldn’t help herself; Sanji looked to cute. 

“I know, I know. But Sanji just looked so cute. I mean, when was the last time he looked cute and didn’t make those stupid faces. and plus he knows everything about me, so you can’t blame me for wanting to keep at least one thing a secret from him.” Y/n defeaned then pointed to her lips and exclaimed, “But I never wanted this!!”

“Someone as naïve as you should not be dating someone like Sanji.” Nami shook her head. Her brown eyes had quickly fallen on the certain blonde cook as he made his way over to the 3 of them. Before he approached them he put out his cig and shoved his hand back into his pocket, fiddling with something. Y/n who was leaning back into her chair with her eyes closed didn’t even hear him approach them. Only when Sanji had pushed a few piece of hair out of her face did she jolt awake. Seeing his blue eyes, Y/n took a defensive state waiting to see if he was gonna kiss her again. A soft chuckle left his lips before he looked over at the girls and fell right back into character. 

“Nami-sawnn~~ Robin-chwann~~ Lunch is ready~!!” Sanji swooned as he spun in front of the 2. They glanced over at Y/n for a moment but then back at Sanji. Thanking him, they left the 2 alone on the main deck. It was probably the best thing to do for now. Seeing the smirk on his lips when he looked over at Y/n and the way he played with something in his pocket, Nami and Robin had figured that Sanji had finally found the answer to his question. Robin let out a soft giggle while Nami sighed heavily as they made their way to the kitchen. Once the 2 had left the couple alone, Sanji took a seat next to Y/n. She watched him with a close eye, making sure he doesn’t pull a fast one. He let out a chuckle as he finally pulled out what he was playing with in his pocket. Y/n raised an eyebrow as she eyed the object but it didn’t take long before her fact lit up with relief.

“Underneath our pillows is not the best hiding spot.” Sanji stated, placing the tube of chapstick onto the table next to them. “Oh thank god! I was scared you were never gonna find it and this game was gonna go on all day.” Y/n let out a heavy sigh as she adjusted herself in her seat, “Just for the record we are never doing that again.”

“You were the one who started it?” 

“Yeah I know, and I was stupid. If you kissed me anymore my lips were gonna fall off.” Y/n pointed to her red swollen lips, “Look. They’re all swollen. Now imma have to put Chopper’s nasty medicine on them.”

“Ohh~ but I couldn’t help myself, Y/n-chwann~~!! Your lips are just so soft and cute~~!!” Sanji swooned as he engulfed Y/n into a hug. She let out a shreak from the sudden hug. As much as Y/n loves Sanji, she is so over him today. From all the kisses Y/n wanted more than to be left alone for a day or 2, however Y/n knows she just can’t get rid of Sanji that easily. Maybe that’s what she loves him so much because no matter what Sanji’s always there, whether she wants him to be or not. From kisses, to laying in bed together, to just enjoying each others company, he’s always with her. Even though Y/n was annoyed with him, she couldn’t help but smile as she squirmed against him. 

“S-sanji let go. I wanna eat my food before Luffy does.” Y/n laughed, trying to break free from his grip. However, he wasn’t gonna let go anytime soon. 

“You know I always save you a plate.” Sanji loosed his grip on Y/n as his hands fell down to her waist. She decided to stop squirming against him and just enjoy his warmth. They sat in silence for a moment, simply just enjoying each other company and listening to the waves crash against the ship. Moment like these were always the best to Y/n. Doing nothing and just enjoying each other presences, however, seeing how it’s lunch time, Y/n just wants to eat. She squirmed against him once again finally telling him to let go. Y/n had wasted no time making her way to the kitchen either, with Sanji following close behind her. 

“So..” Y/n started, grabbing Sanji’s attention. The hum from him had told Y/n she could continue, “Which flavor did you like better?”

“Hmm...” Sanji trailed off, trying to remember the flavor of mint. He was used to the minty flavor but the new fruity flavor wasn’t bad either. Y/n looked up at Sanji trying to read is facial expression to get a hint or something to see what flavor to get next time. Before she could even process the look on his face, Sanji dipped down again and capture Y/n’s glossed lips once again. She gasped once again, surprised that Sanji kissed her again even after she told him her lips were swollen. Luckily the kiss didn’t last long, Sanji pulled back and licked his lips, tasting the flavor of artificial strawberry. Y/n puffed out her cheeks in frustration from the kiss while Sanji finally gave his answer. 

“The strawberry flavor isn’t bad. I like that one.” Sanji answered as the 2 of them stopped right in front of the kitchen door.

“M’kay.” Y/n nodded, noting the information, “Good then because after today I'm only gonna switch between these 2.”

“Huh? Your not gonna change it again?” Sanji asked, sounded disappointed.

“Of course not.” Y/n stated as if was common sense. He let out a disappointed sigh at the fact that he wont be able to kiss Y/n that much again but now that he thinks about it, he probably did take it a bit over board. He had good intentions though. Y/n spun around on her heel and faced the door but right before opening it, she glnaced back at Sanji and added on, “Oh and to let my lips heal, not kissing for 2 days. At least!”

“Whaa-! 2 days!? But Y/n-chwan I can’t do that. I gotta kiss you.”

“Well you should’ve thought about before you kissed me every 5 minutes today. You probably have enough kisses from me to last 4 weeks.”

[lyranova]

Children of the Future:

Chapter 9: Aloys

Hi guys~! So i was supposed to work on the fics i have for my event but I really wanted to write this and post it 🥺. Its another ‘future child’ fic but with Greyche this time! I hope you guys like it I’m sorry if it isn’t very good, I have one more ship I want to do with this idea (i have thought about doing a couple of ‘self indulgent’ ones but I’m not too sure tbh 😅) anywho I hope you all enjoy!

Edit: Here’s chapter 9! I made a few edits but it should be the same overall 🥰!

Taglist: @eme-eleff @jovialnoise @simpingforthisonedeer @ckjwnnbc (if anyone else wants to be added please let me know!)

Word Count: 1,848

Warnings: None

———

Julius was completely puzzled at this point, what on earth was going on?! The young boy that was currently struggling against the binding spell he had placed on him, glared daggers at the Wizard King. He was angry, shouting, he wanted to leave now. He reminded Julius of a certain Black Bull member, as far as the side of his personality he was currently showing went. Julius sighed and looked over at Marx, who had a concerned look on his as he watched the boy struggle.

“ Marx, why don’t you summon Yami again? Tell him to bring Gauche and Grey this time please.” He asked in a slightly exasperated tone, Marx nodded before going into his own office. Julius watched as the boy began to settle down a bit, he was probably getting tired of struggling or he had just accepted that he wasn’t going to be able to get out of the spell. Either way Julius was thankful, although, he did wonder what the two Black Bull members would think when they saw the boy.

——-

Yami groaned as he, Gauche, and Grey walked towards Julius’s office, again. First, he was summoned there with Hikari, then Zora was summoned there for Josslyn and Ace, and now he was being summoned there with Gauche and Grey! He hoped beyond hope his gut feeling about this meeting was wrong, that it wasn’t another child who traveled here from the future. He glanced at the two walking behind him, they had just started figuring out their feelings for each other, and now to throw a possible kid into the mix? That could easily spell disaster! But, considering how close the two were now, they would be ok he thought.

“ Hey, you alright back there?” He asked, Grey jumped slightly and hid behind Gauche. She was still a little nervous when Yami addressed her directly. Gauche sighed, he acted like he was annoyed whenever she did that, but sometimes it warmed his heart that she wanted him to protect her.

“ Yeah we’re good Captain, right Grey?” Gauche asked, directing his question to the bluenette behind him. She peered around him and nodded at Yami.

“ Y-Yes sir, we’re ok!” She told him with a firm nod although she was still holding onto the back of Gauche’s shirt tightly. Yami nodded before facing forward again, the Wizard king's door in sight. He knocked on it firmly before a voice on the other side told them to come in. Yami opened the door and walked inside, leading the two squad members inside as well. He walked up to the desk and saw Julius with a sheepish look on his face.

“ Hello Yami, how’s Hikari?” Julius asked, trying to sound casual as he made small talk, the two had already seen each other earlier that morning and yet Julius was trying to act like they hadn’t, he watched the young man's eyes narrow.

“ She’s fine. Why are we here again Julius? Please tell me it isn’t another-.” Yami wasn’t able to finish his sentence before he noticed a young boy with dark blue hair that had an almost brown-ish tint to it, standing next to the desk, bound by Julius’s magic. “ Uh…”

“ Great, the old man’s here.” The boy mumbled as he glared at the group. Yami glared at the boy.

“ What did you say kid?!” He asked in a dangerously low tone, the kid blinked up at the Captain seemingly unphased.

“ Oh, I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about him.” The boy nodded his head in Gauche’s direction, causing the three Black Bull members to stare at him, Gauche? An old man? Yami sighed before turning to look at Julius.

“ Let me guess, another kid from the future?” He asked exasperatedly, Julius laughed nervously before scratching the back of his neck.

“ Yep you guessed right! He was found wandering around in the Capital, and some of the magic knights brought him here.” Julius explained.

“ Why is he bound up?” Yami asked curiously, it wasn’t like Julius to bind people with his magic unless he didn’t have a choice.

“ Well,” Julius laughed again nervously. “ let’s just say he’s a lot like his father.” He didn’t really feel like explaining how the young boy was angry at being brought there and started attacking the magic knights and Julius had to bind him in order to make him stop, so instead he looked pointedly around Yami and was staring at Gauche, who had paled slightly and looked at the boy in shock.

“ T-That’s not possible! There’s no way I’m this kid's father!” Gauche tried to argue and he heard the boy scoff slightly.

“ As much as I wish you weren’t my dad sometimes, it’s the truth unfortunately.” The boy smirked and Gauche growled.

“ What’d you say, you little brat?!” He began to walk over to where he was standing but Grey grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“ G-Gauche! Don’t!” She pleaded, her face red from embarrassment. She didn’t like everyone looking at her but she had to stop Gauche before he did something to hurt the young boy, his son to be exact.

“ Why don’t you explain a little a bit? Just to clear things up?” Julius offered, the boy glared but sighed slightly. Even his glare looked like Gauche’s.

“ My name is Aloys Adlai, my parents are Gauche and Grey Adlai.” The boy muttered. Gauche and Grey both just stared at the boy in bewilderment, he was their son? But, how? How could he be their son when they weren’t even in a relationship yet? This was impossible right?! Grey’s face suddenly turned the deepest shade of red it ever had in her entire life! Just the thought of possibly having children with Gauche was enough to make her wish she would sink into the floor and never resurface!

“ So, he’s like Hikari, Josslyn, Ace and Alistar then?” Yami asked, crossing his arms and turning towards the blonde haired man who nodded.

“ Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that actually. Let’s leave these three alone and talk in Marx’s office.” Julius suggested, standing up and leading Yami away.

“ Hey Gauche, don’t kill the kid alright?” Yami warned before leaving causing Gauche to mutter under his breath. Julius quickly snapped his fingers and the magic binds were removed from Aloys. The small ‘family’ stood there in awkward silence after the two men had left, no one really knowing what to do.

“ So-.” Gauche started before Aloys suddenly darted for the office door. “ Hey!” Gauche shouted before lunging towards the boy, he grabbed Aloys by the arms and held them tightly. The boy was kicking, swinging his arms around wildly, trying to get out of Gauche’s grip.

“ Hey stop it brat!” He shouted before one of Aloys’s punches made contact with his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. As soon as his grip loosened Aloys quickly ripped his arms out of Gauche’s grasp and made a mad dash for the door, only to be stopped by Grey. She grabbed him by his shoulders, Aloys tried to fight her but not as much as he did with Gauche.

“ A-Aloys, where are you going?” She asked nervously, even though her voice shook, her grip on his shoulders remained strong and firm.

“ I need to leave! I have to find her!” He argued as he continued to try and wiggle out of Grey’s grasp.

“ Find who?” She asked, when he didn’t answer she decided to speak louder. “ Find who Aloys?”

“ Maelie!” He shouted, his voice suddenly breaking. He stopped struggling in Grey’s arms. He looked down at the ground, and Gauche watched the boys shoulders shake. He was crying. Gauche stood up and walked over to the two.

“ Who’s Maelie?” He asked, crossing his arms, Aloys didn’t look up.

“ M-My little sister, we came here together but got seperated. I need to find her! I can’t let anything happen to her, she’s my responsibility, she’s all I have.” His voice broke and he began to sob. Grey and Gauche both looked at each other, that’s why he was so determined to leave; he wanted to find his sister. Gauche could understand completely, when it was just him and Marie when they were younger, he would do whatever he had to in order to make it back to her.

“ Why didn’t you tell the Wizard King?” Grey asked softly, the boy shook his head.

“ Because I don’t trust any of you! Sure, you all look and sound the same, but you’re not. The Wizard King isn’t the same, the Captain isn’t the same, and you two are not the same!” He finally looked up at the two, tears streaming down his face, his cheeks and nose red, Grey quickly cupped his face in her hands and began to wipe the tears away causing Aloy’s eyes to widen.

“ Y-You’re right, we’re not the same. But if there is one thing we have in common with your parents, it’s that we want to help people, to help you. I know you’re scared and worried about your sister, but you can’t find her alone! Especially when you don’t even know where to look.” Grey pointed out, causing Aloys to blush and look away, but Grey wouldn’t let him and moved his face to look at her again. “ So please, let us help you!”

Gauche watched the exchange silently, Grey had always seemed to be good with kids and this proved to be no different. Aloys bit his bottom lip in thought, as though he were contemplating the offer.

“ You promise we’ll find her?” He asked so softly, his blue eyes filled with tears again. Grey nodded firmly and she smiled at him.

“ I promise! Gauche promises too, right?” She suddenly turned to look at him, he blinked in surprise, not really wanting to be wrapped up in this little ‘deal’. But when he saw the pleading look in Grey’s eyes, he sighed in defeat; he really couldn’t say no to her when she looked at him like that.

“ Fine. I promise.” He grumbled under his breath, he watched as both Grey and Aloys’s faces lit up. They had the exact same smile which made Gauche’s heart stop for a moment.

“ I’ll tell the Captain and the Wizard King of our plans.” Gauche added as he began to walk towards the door that led to Marx’s office. Before he opened the door he turned and saw Grey and Aloys talking excitedly, the boy still seemed to be anxious to find his sister, but he also seemed to be more relaxed around Grey than the others. Gauche smirked, he was a total momma’s boy. But as he watched how comfortable Grey was with him, how calm, kind, and almost motherly she was when speaking to him a moment ago also confirmed a suspicion he had since he had seen her with Marie and the other kids at the orphanage.

Grey would be a great mother one day, even if she had children with someone that wasn’t him. Those kids would be some of the luckiest in the world to have her as their mother.

———-

Ah i’m sorry if this isn’t very good but I hope you al enjoyed it! Like I said I have one more ship planned for this ‘series’, but i probably won’t write it until I finish my event 😅! Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day 💕~!

[redxblueihateloveyou]

i know that there are rinharu shippers that exaggerate interactions and read too deeply into them, but ngl mh shippers take it to a whole new level. Like, yeah we all know Haru cares about Mako, he's his best friend, but they take soooooooo many things and twist it out of context and then try to claim it as canon. i don't get it. it's fine if makoharu is your deal, but then they use it to attack rinharu and its like not. even. canon???

Every shipper exaggerates their otp moments, I mean, it’s a normal thing. But there’s a huge difference between taking an existing moment and overemphasizing it and taking this moment and turning it completely upside down, you know what I mean? Take a canon moment and go ahead and exaggerate it, but don’t create something that didn’t happen and exaggerate it, and don’t take a canon moment and make it the complete opposite of what happened.

I think it’s perfectly okay and understandable, when you like see your ship smile at each other or smth and freak out, for example. Or like when Rin said that maybe he and Haru also gonna be in one bed together next year, like I think, I deserve to make a big deal out of this, cause... I mean, it’s right there. He said it, not me.  

Or take me, for example, after the new bnha ova, when I went like “tododeku flirted and forgot bakugou under the rocks”, which was like a hilarious scene. I’m of course exaggerating, cause I just found it funny that they started talking about getting out without even looking around for the third party, that could be crushed under rocks, but I’m just joking. I mean, you can’t help but joke at scenes like this, when it’s your otp.

Now imagine if todobaku fans for example were watching that scene in ova and be like “Todoroki only ran to Midoriya because he thought Bakugou was buried under him, and then Midoriya threw a magic dust at him so he couldn’t remember anything.” Can you even imagine such madness? Now that’s how most Makoharu fans are watching Free!

And I just want to say, that I’m normally in many fandoms are so good with people who ship something that I don’t. I mean, I absolutely love bakudeku and todobaku fans, like 90% are so sweet and they even write comments under my tododeku vids like “this is amazing, respect from bakudeku gang” and KNB fandom is very nice no matter what they ship, and etc.

But.. but makoharu, I mean Makoto fans, I in all seriousness cannot talk to. I mean, these bunch... most of them don’t even like Makoto for who he is. They sell him as some protective and secretly very dangerous dude. It’s like if I said that Haru is my favorite, cause he’s so good at communicating with people.

I mean, to create something that’s completely OOC and claim that it’s there is just utter nonsense to me. Like when someone wrote that Haru is unrequitedly in love with Makoto, I almost peed myself from laughing, but honestly at some point it all got to the point where it’s not funny anymore, cause when you read their posts, you realize that they’re serious.

I mean you gotta realize that when you change characters to the point that they’re not these characters anymore, it’s not called “all ships are valid”, it called “pure stupidity”. Because it’s not the said ship already. It’s some other characters.

And when you constantly post not in your tag and get jealous of a rinharu post that got 20k notes and screenshoot it on insta even tho it has nothing to do with your ship and wasn’t even tagged no by makoharu no by makoto, there’s clearly something not okay with you, just saying.

And I’ve seen some fandoms/ships who twist everything to the point where it gets histerical. 

Like when, for example, when Eren told Mikasa that he always hated her because she behaves like a slave without her own will, and they interpreted it as “he said it because he loves her so so much” and I’m not joking there’s a whole tumblr post dedicated to this.

And I’ve seen some fandoms/ships who twist everything to the point where I’m genuinely worried for people’s sanity.

Like when V had a live translation and someone wrote him about getting on with Jungkook (1stly, are u even ok???) and he addressed this and asked to stop being delusional, and that they’re friends. I legit thought maybe it’ll stop people, until next day I saw a post on YouTube about how Bighit tries to cover vkook with jikook and Jimin is an asshole who always hangs on Jungkook... I’m like I do not know how to react to this. I mean, do I wanna ask why Bighit would want to cover one gay BTS ship with another one? Or should we just skip to the question “are you okay?” lmao 

But I still think Makoharu fans take the cake tbh.

I mean it’s not about the ship wars, because I normally don’t mind anyone shipping anything, since everyone has their own tastes and some people, like in real life, see love in all kind of crazy shit. Like someone thinks “he treats you like shit and yells at you, means he loves you”, someone think that it’s if you’re with somebody all your life or grateful for something... ppl mistake this for love too. And hey, to everyone love means different things. Someone just settle for things, some dream big and wants to live a life. No judging. 

But like if you ship makoharu, accept it for what it is, not for something it’s clearly not. But once again, it’s mostly makoto fans, cause it’s all going from twisting a character, and pretending he’s not what he is.

But then once again, many people do not understand characters in anime in general. Like if you think Momoi is really Kuroko’s love interest and do not see what author intended, you probably need to broaden your horizons a bit.

Or like if you think that, idk, Alois is a villain, Lance is really this cheerful and Kuroko is an angel. I mean, it’s hilarious how even in some obvious situations people do not get things. Like seriously, maybe put just a tiny bits of brains into work when you’re watching, this is all I ask.

And don’t get me wrong, I won’t  generalize and say that all makoharu shippers are like that, but there are some ships and sometimes even whole fandoms whose most fans are just dumb, and makoharu is in top three of those for sure. I’m sorry, but it’s true, you saw it. I just can’t even have a normal conversation or a healthy argument with them, cause the logic doesn’t exist there.

And ones again, don’t get me wrong, you can be the smart one in the dumb fandom, too. Sometimes fandoms embarrass nice people, it happens.

[zwritestuff]

Some Things Are Bound To Be (Kyara) - Epilogue

A/N:  This is it homies. We've made it. I'm sorry it took me so long to post the epilogue, I hit writers block and tbh didn't want to let go of this fic. I tried to make the epilogue longer, but at the end of the day I don't think that's necessary. A big thanks to Emerald for being my biggest supporter during this ride and beta-ing every single chapter. Also, a huge thanks to the people that stuck around even after the season finished, I treasure all of you 💕 I have thought of a sequel focused on another ship that didn't get to shine here, but it's still a thought. I hope you all enjoy the epilogue. 💕

Find the rest of the chapters here | Read on ao3.

Kyne has no idea why she’s so sweaty.

Under normal circumstances, she’d be annoyed. Instead, she has Priyanka talking her ear off on one side, giving her one of her usual pep talks, while Bobo on the other is trying to get her eyeliner as sleek as possible. Bo has her head in her wardrobe, criticizing each and every clothing item she owns. That would gain a hundred eye-rolls from her—but then again, these are no normal circumstances.

She’s had dates before, despite what Priyanka might try to say, it’s just that they were never all that exciting. She was lucky if she was interested enough in someone to accept to go on a second date, and third dates were unheard of for her.

The fact she’s this nervous over her first real date with Kiara should be a surprise, considering she still swings by her office every day, coffee and cupcakes in tow, they still go out for lunch almost every day, they’ve been together just yesterday at work, not even 24 hours ago; but still, she can’t help the anticipation welling up inside her—it’s one thing to grab lunch together, to have movie nights and stay over at each other’s places when they think it’s completely platonic; but once they acknowledge the feelings meddling in the middle, it becomes harder to keep their cool.

It’s just a date with Kiki, she thinks, trying to keep her calm. It’s just Kiki, she repeats it like a mantra, because it’s really not that deep. She knows how to talk to Kiara, how to get out of her those throaty laughs that echo through the room and make her eyes crinkle at the corners. It shouldn’t be all that different from their usual “dates.”

Then again, if that’s the case, why does she feel like her brain has been replaced with TV static once the time for Kiara to pick her up arrives?

Kyne’s going to dig a hole through the carpet pacing back and forth. She doesn’t think she was ever this nervous, not even during her final exam to graduate.

“Don’t stress too much about it,” Scarlett yells out from the bathroom, possibly—definitely—smoking against the window. “She already looks at you like she wants to propose every time you open your mouth, a date can’t be all that bad.” Kyne’s cheeks heat up, not even bothering to yell out anything because she’s too busy chewing on her nails while she waits for a text from Kiara.

And then it comes through. 

‘I’m parking, I’ll be up in a second,’ followed by a red heart. Kyne smiles unconsciously as she grabs her purse and jacket, and turns to Priyanka and Bo sitting on her couch, intently looking at her.

“Right. So, you two keep your hands out of my fridge, don’t let Bobo stain the whole place with smoke, and for the love of god, don’t blow up my phone every ten minutes,” she says, like she’s a single mother giving her children instruction before going out on her first date in years. She stops to wonder why she ever allowed them in in the first place, but considering Priyanka has a spare key, they probably would’ve entered anyway.

They nod with childish grins, and Kyne paces around for a little while before there’s a knock on the door and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

It’s just a date, she thinks one last time.

Then she opens the door, and she feels her cool fade away the moment she sees Kiara’s smile.

“Hey,” they say at the same time, eliciting a chuckle from the other.

“You look really nice,” Kiara offers as a compliment, the smile on her face never faltering. Kyne opens her mouth to return the compliment, when she hears Priyanka and Bo snicker behind her back, making Kiara cock a brow and look past the door. “Ah, nice seeing you guys,” she says awkwardly, waving at them.

“Looking good, Kiki. Have fun, don’t make stupid decisions again,” Priyanka calls out as Kyne shuts the door behind her, mumbling apologies about her friends as they walk to the elevator.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Rita and Tynomi came over to bother me before I left, too. I get it.” She rolls her eyes, scoffing with an amused smile, and Kyne feels the nerves melt away as she laughs, hooking an arm around Kiara’s biceps, letting her head fall against her arm.

“I have no idea why I ever thought giving Priyanka a spare key would be a good idea,” Kyne comments, chuckling slightly as Kiara recalls that one time she gave Tynomi her apartment keys so she could water her plants while she was away, and she has yet to return the keys.

Kyne makes a comment about not having noticed Kiara’s plants in all the times she visited, and Kiara just shrugs with an embarrassed expression. “Yeah, that’s ‘cause I don’t have any right now—I don’t have a green thumb like you, y’know? My plants always end up dead one way or another,” she admits, as the elevator opens its doors and they step outside.

“I can help you grow some stuff, I think we have plenty of time ahead of us for that,” she comments, meaning it, but Kiara has that shit-eating grin on her face that makes Kyne roll her eyes right away.

“How are we going to grow a garden in just a few hours?” She asks, leaning in on Kyne, and she’s feeling generous tonight, so she doesn’t shove her off, saying how corny she is; she just scoffs and softly headbutts her.

“You know what I meant, dumbass,” Kyne says, the affection in her tone palpable despite the name calling. Kiara doesn’t seem to mind; she smiles cheerily as she opens the car door for her, and Kyne dreads the moment their hands let go, if only for a couple of seconds.

“I know, I know,” Kiara chuckles after a moment, fastening her seatbelt so the annoying beep will stop. She turns to look at Kyne with a smile as she turns on the engine, “I’d love to have a garden with you, babe,” she says, with a tone so soft Kyne can tell she means it. She gets the car going, searching for Kyne’s hand almost right away, giving it a small squeeze before lacing them together.

She’s not sure if it’s the fact she hasn’t had a proper date in a long time, that she’s waited a long time to be like this with Kiara, or just that all of this seems straight out of a romantic movie, one she thought she’s never get to live herself—but she feels like a teenager in love all over again, wanting to dive head first into what she has going on with Kiara without a helmet, because she knows she’ll be there to catch her when she falls.

*

A week after their first date, Kyne gives Kiara a pot of dahlias, and promises to help her not let them die. If Kiara catches the symbolism behind it, she doesn’t say anything, just gives Kyne a kiss and promises to take great care of them.

Red camellias come next, some weeks after the dahlias, when Kyne thinks Kiara is doing a good job with them. Then, a small arrangement of orchids—Kiara notices the pattern at some point, and just smiles and kisses her forehead when Kyne brings her a new plant.

The dates keep on coming, and so do the flowers and indoor plants; Kiara eventually runs out of space to put them. Kyne isn’t of much help, either, since her place is small and barely fits her own plants.

“It’s not fair,” Kiara childishly complains one day, while Kyne’s staying over. They’re cuddled up on the couch, not paying attention to whatever it is that Kiara randomly selected from Netflix’s catalog. “A flower shop opened around the block, do you know how much I have to contain myself to not enter and buy everything when I ride past it to work?” She pouts, adding a vocal fry to really get her point across.

Kyne just laughs, amused at her girlfriend’s antics, while five different types of flowers hang from the sides of the TV. Maybe getting her into gardening wasn’t such a good idea.

“If space was really the problem, you’d be throwing out stuff to bring in more plants,” Kyne comments, not really giving it much more than a second thought.

But Kiara bites her lip, fidgets with her fingers for a little while, and avoids Kyne’s gaze for a solid minute. Kyne knows that demeanor all too well.

“No, yeah, I know. But, like, I dunno, I’ve been thinking about moving somewhere else, somewhere bigger, obviously, where the sun actually can come through and I don’t have to haul a bunch of plants in the same five spots,” she explains, stammering over her words, visibly nervous. Kyne prompts her to go on, knowing there’s more to it. Kiara breathes in hard, looking at her straight in the eyes. “And - and I want to live with you, too.”

The world seems to stop during the seconds it takes Kyne to process what she just said.

When it dawns on her, the sun seems warmer, birds are chirping and the flowers are in full bloom—even if they’re in the middle of winter and there are no birds in the city. That’s just what love does, she suposes.

“I’d love to move in with you,” she says softly, pulling her in for a hug, and Kiara breathes out a long sigh of relief.

She’s ready to plant a long-lasting garden with Kiara.

[quaranmine]

Ok now I formally demand to know more of the old mcyt lore. Are we talking Team Crafted lore or Hermitcraft? Cause I’ll take both.

Team Crafted Lore! But not only just them, also other mcyt of their time period. I don’t really know any specific old Hermitcraft lore, because I only started watching since season 7 started, but there’s definitely some out there and some older stuff like nHo still gets referenced. 

People used to have various sorts of headcanons back then, like Enderlox, but I honestly can’t quite remember a lot of those in detail. There’s . . . a lot of things involving Sky and squids, lol. Seto being an actual sorcerer, and so on. Mitch and Jerome were so close that if you weren’t shipping them a lot of people headcanoned them as adopted brothers. 

Most of the lore I’m talking about comes from this one fic series that I followed back in the day!  So that’s why I said that for old mcyt we made up lore, because while some of these incorporate what I think were popular headcanons, a lot of this is original headcanon. Now, these are old, and probably cringy, but tbh I run a whole blog dedicated to block men in 2020 so it’s obvious I don’t consider what people may find cringe!

From coldstone4815 on fanfiction.net there’s Animal (about Sky and...you guessed it, squids) and Insomnia (Jordan, but he’s the son of Herobrine and I’m gonna be honest this has lived rent free in my head since 2013 and is kinda still a personal headcanon) and Fallen (Bodil and all his Bulgarian crew were/are angels.)

IMO, the best and most well-known one is the oneshot book of interconnected stories in this author’s universe, called Miles and Inches. GUYS. It has 846k words and over three hundred chapters. Like...excuse me? If you knew what username I used back then you can find (embarrassing probably) reviews of me screaming over it. I mean, the world building in this fic series is unparalleled. It also has, like, practically everyone from that time period. All of Team Crafted, but also Jordan, Ant, Bodil, Slamacow, ZexyZek, Aureylian, MunchingBrotato, NFEN, xRpmx13, Dawn, the other Bulgarians (like Simon and Ghost and Double), Vikkstar, Syndicate, and I could go on but I’ve already forgotten whoever else is in this. Some people’s headcanons change throughout it but a couple I remember: demi god Jordan and Ant, Wither!MU, fallen angel Bodil, Artificial!Ian (Ssundee. I think he was like a robot or smth?), Enderlox, sorceror Seto. There’s a lot of dragons as OC characters, more OC characters that dark “reflected versions of character,” and more. It’s also basically completely angst fic too soo...

Anyway, now that I’ve hyped up some fanfic that I read in 2013, here’s some other relics of that time period:

Dangan Ronpa Minecraft by MangoKiwi (semi self-explanatory but murder games with team crafted and co) and her YouTube channel with all her animations! Enjoy all the 2014-ness lol I used to watch these over and over and over again! Just don’t contact Mango herself, when I went to go find the fanfic link I saw that she wants to close that chapter of her life for good. 

anyway this is less of an informative post on old mcyt lore and more of me getting excited over old fandom content I loved, so thank you for reading if you made it this far!

[arofili]

saved post, ignore this

(don’t reblog this)

Smut4Smut Prompts

I didn’t intend to write an actual letter, I just wanted to paste my prompts into the description box for this exchange, but then I got long-winded (as usual) so here are the prompts that were too long for AO3 to handle! If the prompts did fit into the box they’re not going to be here, and I am not restating my DNWs/Likes/etc; that’s all readily available in my AO3 signup.

~~~

Canon Russingon Prompts

(These are optional - if you have a different idea, go for it!)

This is my “Russingon in canon” request, though if you’ve got a canon divergence AU, be my guest.

BDSM - A doms B into being nicer to/taking better care of themself: This just screams Russingon to me. Maedhros asking for Fingon to be cruel to him and Fingon using kindness as the greatest cruelty because Maedhros hates himself so much...

Character Bottoms Who Normally Tops, Character Tops Who Normally Bottoms, Role Reversal: I’m a sucker for role reversal, especially with these two. I lean toward Maedhros bottoming more often than not, but however you prefer their dynamic is completely fine.

Can't Stop Thinking About It - A Accidentally Sees B Naked, Can't Stop Thinking About It - A Hears B Masturbating and Moaning A's Name: I think I’ve written both of these scenarios for these two but I would LOVE to read another take on them! Mutual pining in Valinor? :)

Characters mutually pining finally get together and have amazing sex, Filthy Sex With Feelings,: I just love this in general, and Russingon having filthy but extremely loving sex is my very favorite thing <3

Characters Experiment With Sexy New Ways To Use Detachable Body Parts: Maedhros’ prosthetic. Enough said.

Characters React To In-Universe Smut Written About Them: Listen, someone has GOT to have written some Russingon smut in-canon, that’s just statistically likely. The sillier and less accurate it is, the better, especially if it’s countered with them having the kind of sex they prefer in...protest? Or maybe trying out some of the dumb things, lol.

Cock Slut, Slut Praising: bottom!Maedhros tbh.

Crown kink, Fealty, Throne Sex: The “Fealty Kink” tag is literally half Silm fics, and half of those are Russingon fics. Add some more?

Dom/sub - not 24/7 but reflecting RL power roles: Very much related to the above. Liege/vassal kink? Yes please!

Domesticity - Sex In Bed Before Sleep: Just. Soft married Russingon. ;-;

Devotion: THEY JUST LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND WOULD (AND DO) DIE FOR EACH OTHER. AHHH.

First Time: I am SUCH a sucker for first times. Could be their first time together at all, or their first time doing a specific sexual act, or their first time in a certain situation (post-Angband, post-rebirth, etc...)

Getting Together: Another thing I really really love in almost any form, especially if there’s been mutual pining before this.

Fluff and Smut: Russingon just loving each other SO DAMN MUCH...bonus points if there’s some baby Gil-galad fluff involved before/after the sexytimes?

Hurt/Comfort Sex: Their lives are so depressing that there’s so many times this could apply. Right before Formenos? Right after the Darkening or the First Kinslaying? Post-Angband/Ice? Post-Bragollach? Or any other time things get angsty (aka all of canon)?

Magic - using telepathy to cause other person to orgasm: Soul bonds. Dom Fingon. Yes please.

Morning After (Incredible Sex the night before): Fluffy good times. Maybe after their first time, back in Valinor?

Mutual Masturbation With Intent to Watch Each Other in Lieu of First Time Sex: Another fic I have definitely written before but would LOVE to see again! This would make the most sense in a LaCE context, I think.

Mutual Pining: I’ve mentioned this a billion times already, you get the idea.

Praise Kink: Maedhros has a praise kink, that’s just canon. This can be fun and slightly embarrassing in Valinor...or really intensely emotional post Angband. Or post-rebirth...oof.

Pregnancy - Sex to Conceive Heir: Just where DID Gil-galad come from, hmmm? (Trans mpreg is wonderful; I’m not interested in cis mpreg. Either one of them could be trans, I enjoy both.)

Reunion Sex: They’re basically in an LDR in Beleriand, give me some Fingon visiting Himring or Maedhros visiting Dor-lómin and just how horny and desperate they are for each other after being separated for awhile.

Scar Worship: Finno post-Angband finding Mae’s scars Extremely Sexy?

Secret relationship between members of feuding families: This is literally just canon. Lean into the Romeo and Juliet style Valinor shenanigans!

Sex After Taking Revenge on Someone Who Wronged Their Partner: Husbands who murder orcs together and then fuck while still all nasty from battle :)))

Sex Toys - Character Fucks Themselves on a Dildo While Performing Oral Sex: I just think Mae giving Finno a blowjob and fucking himself at the same time would be really hot, okay?

Size - Size Difference: I do love bottom!Maedhros, but I also love size queen!Fingon, and I think they both really enjoy the size difference :))

thank god you're/we're alive sex: I bet this happened SO many times after battles in Beleriand. This could also apply to right after the Darkening, and would be just HEARTRENDING right after the First Kinslaying...

Soul Bond - Sharing Physical Pleasure Through Soul Bond: I am very fond of this trope! Also like. Them feeling how much they are loved through each other’s eyes. Ahhh. But also like, Mae getting off on how good he’s making Finno feel. Or vice versa.

Character A hurts Character B (at their request) during sex but Character A immediately regrets it, Character Thinks Rescue Has a Price Tag, Sex gets paused to deal with PTSD then maybe returned to, panic attack during sex: These are some angstier options! I would love a fluffy/happy story (or a hurt/comfort story) but if you wanted to go a bit darker route here’s some ideas. Just. Post-Angband Mae with no self worth and/or consent issues, Finno having a hard time dealing with Mae being masochistic, Mae flashing back to Angband...all of these are some really juicy ideas.

~~~

Modern Russingon Prompts

(These are optional - if you have a different idea, go for it!)

This is my “Modern AU Russingon” request - though if you see a tag here that you think could be applied to canon, that would be awesome too.

Trans Male Character: Lots of these tags would have at least one of them being trans, which I’m also super happy to see in canon-compliant fic, but I know for me it feels a bit easier to me to write about trans stuff when I don’t have to worry about terminology not fitting the setting, so I put them here.

Cunnilingus to relieve period cramps, PiV With Trans Male Character, Sex Toys - Character Fucks Themselves on a Dildo While Performing Oral Sex, Sex Toys - Giving a Blowjob to a Dildo or Strap-on, Sex Toys - Strap-On: Just all some very excellent stuff if you want to go the trans route. I imagine the strap game would be next level with these two.

Characters mutually pining finally get together and have amazing sex, Filthy Sex With Feelings, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Getting Together, Morning After (Incredible Sex the night before), Mutual Pining, Praise Kink, Size - Size Difference: I requested all these tags for the canon prompt too, this is just the same stuff but modern, where they get to be dorky about how much they’re in love, minus most of the angst.

Character with Low Self-Esteem has Self-Worth Affirmed Through Tender Sex: ...but not minus ALL the angst. Just. Mae having had bad experiences in previous relationships and Finno being extremely tender and loving to him, AHHHH.

Getting off on how much partner trusts them: And this could be the other side of the previous request - Mae is trusting Finno even after all the bad stuff he went through and that’s very sexy to him.

Good Boy/Good Girl Kink: This could apply in canon too but if you want to do the trans thing, it could also be a gender affirmation thing.

Impact - Friendly ass slap unexpectedly turns character on: Mae is mortified that he’s into spanking, Finno is delighted.

romantic sex: This didn’t fit into the previous request but YES PLEASE. Just. They love each other SO much.

~~~

Russurgon Prompts

(These are optional - if you have a different idea, go for it!)

OKAY wow I love this ship, it’s so incredibly fucked up and angsty, hell yeah. This is one request where you really don’t need to bother with anything fluffy or a happy-ish ending, just go full on angst mode, please! Basically, I just think it would be very fun and horrible if Mae seduced Turgon for political reasons post-Nírnaeth when they’re both grieving Fingon :)))))

Character Bottoms Who Normally Tops: I can see Turgon having a hangup about bottoming...which Mae is fine with but one day they get into a Very bad argument and Mae like, puts Turno in his place. (No non-con though. Dub-con would be okay here.)

Characters about to kill each other decide to fuck instead: Kinslaying averted by sex!

Dirty Talk - Character A Gets Off on B Relaying Their Sexual Exploits: Just. Mae growling in Turno’s ear all the filthy things he would do with Fingon and Turgon HATING it and especially hating how hot it is.

Enemies to enemies who fuck, Enemies With Benefits, Frenemies with Benefits, sex between enemies, Sex between rivals: Basically all the same thing. These guys do NOT like each other but they’re fucking anyway.

Fucked with the hilt of a weapon: Look idk man just. Turgon being really mean to Maedhros after a post-battle argument or something?

Grudging/Horrified One-Sided Attraction To Someone Who Annoys You Deeply: I think this would be funny if Turgon realized he was into Mae (honestly, at any point in time, not just post-Nirn?) and that maybe the reason he was so mad about Fingon dating Mae is because he was jealous...lmaooo

Hate Sex Turns Unexpectedly Tender: Like. A moment of understanding between them. That they both refuse to talk about after it happens.

lord/retainer, Political Alliance Confirmed with Sex, Political Debate as Foreplay, Sex as a Negotiation Tactic, Sex As Part Of Diplomatic Negotiations: POLITICAL SEX. It’s showing that they’re serious about this alliance...nothing else, just that...right?

sex as self harm, Sex as Unhealthy Coping Mechanism, Sex as Grief Processing: This could work for both of them but I think it especially works for Maedhros. He unlearned a lot of fucked up shit with Fingon after Angband, but now Fingon’s dead and it’s all coming crashing back down on him...and Turgon hates him so much that if he can tell, he doesn’t care.

A using B as replacement for C who is not present: This is exactly why Mae would fuck Fingon’s brother.

~~~

Anairë/Fëanor/Fingolfin/Nerdanel Prompts

(These are optional - if you have a different idea, go for it!)

OKAY so I don’t like sibling incest EXCEPT for Fëanor/Fingolfin, pretty much, just because the love-hate stuff with them is SO juicy. But I also hate how most FëaNolo fics depict their relationships with their wives, so I would just love it if they were all a polycule or had a foursome or something that didn’t end up with Fëanor and Fingolfin leaving their wives.

Bisexuality: They’re all very hot and they’re all very into each other. Gender who?

Breeding Kink - as dirty talk without risk: Look Fëanor and Nerdanel had SEVEN kids, I think there was probably some kind of breeding kink there...Fëanor applying this to Fingolfin, though? That’s hot. Or maybe he’s dirty talking with Anairë while Fingolfin is Right There.....yesss. But again, no risk, because elf pregnancy is always very intentional.

Character A and Character B Mutually Pine For Each Other While They Fuck Other People Together: Fëanor and Fingolfin just absolutely refusing to acknowledge their feelings even when they’re having sex with each other’s wives.

Double Anal Penetration, Double Penetration - Vaginal and Anal, Double Vaginal Penetration: I just think it’s hot. You can mix up who’s penetrating who, give the ladies some strap-ons or mess around with gender, if you like.

First Time - Getting Pegged: Fëanorians get pegged, it is law, so probably not Fëanor’s first time but... Nerdanel pegging Fingolfin? Or Fëanor and Nerdanel showing Fingolfin and Anairë how it’s done? OR since let’s be real Fingolfin ALSO probably gets pegged regularly, Anairë and Nerdanel fucking each other while their husbands watch, and it’s their first time with another lady.

First Time Having Sex Postpartum: I imagine Nerdanel is unfazed by what pregnancy does to the body, but maybe Anairë isn’t, and her lovers all get together to show her how much they still love her after like, Argon is born?

Fucking Someone While Being Fucked By Someone Else: All the fun things you can do with multiple partners...

Grudging/Horrified One-Sided Attraction To Someone Who Annoys You Deeply: I must admit I missed the “one-sided” part of this when I picked this tag - but maybe they think it’s one-sided but it turns out that it’s not? Regardless, this is exactly how I see Fëanor and Fingolfin if they’re in a ship situation.

Sexy Shenanigans at a Masked Ball: Anonymity allowing a secret relationship to be slightly less secret!! Everyone is like “wow who is that tall fellow dancing with Prince Fëanáro?” or something like that!

~~~

Taeglin Prompts

(These are optional - if you have a different idea, go for it!)

Now this is my rarepair that I completely understand why it’s a rarepair, but also like MATCHING CURSED SWORDS. I generally think of this ship in the context of a “Túrin goes to Gondolin with Tuor” AU, BUT it could also be a “Aredhel and Maeglin go to Himlad, and then follow Celegorm and Curufin to Nargothrond and stay after they get banished” AU, but that’s a bit more convoluted. Or you can have them meet each other on one of Maeglin’s journeys away from Gondolin, or whatever other take you’d like to explore.

Both parties are pining for someone else: Túrin missing Beleg? Or both of them being in love with Idril and upset about her choosing Tuor instead, lol.

In Captivity Together, Bad guys think they made them do it but they really just enabled them: Túrin gets captured alongside Maeglin...or maybe Maeglin gets captured earlier, at the same time Túrin is after Amon Rûdh? (In that case it would probably just be “Bad guys made them do it” without the qualifier because they haven’t had the chance to Pine.) Basically, they finally have an excuse to fuck, and it’s not ideal, but hey they’re gonna take it.

Realizing romantic feelings mid-sex: “Oh FUCK I actually like this guy. Shit. Goddamnit.”

Mating Cycles/In Heat: Maybe heats are an elf thing, and Túrin remembers how Beleg would get, so he knows how to help Maeglin...and it’s not like Maeglin was going to ask anybody for help, he was just planning on suffering through it (again?)...

~~~

eta: an anon asked about smut likes and i was like oops i didn’t make that list so here’s some stuff i enjoy. otherwise just see the kink tags i requested

anal sex, vaginal sex, oral sex (basic but yknow)

fingering

frottage

very romantic sex (especially for russingon)

nonromantic sex (i like aro takes on characters)

trans characters whose gender is affirmed during sex

trans characters without much physical dysphoria

reunion sex

first times!!

hurt/comfort sex

political sex

fealty kink, liege/vassal dynamic

mutual masturbation

double penetration

russingon stumpfucking

dirty talk

healing from trauma through tender sex

dealing with trauma through rough sex

teasing, begging

dramatic miscommunications that get cleared up (such as mutual pining, very brief worries about consent, etc)

praise kink (especially for maedhros)

size kink (especially for fingon)

telepathy/osanwe

dom fingon/sub maedhros

hair kink

possessiveness but ONLY for russingon

sharing a bed

maedhros getting spanked......

role reversal, switching

[artemispanthar]

Tentative Title: Movie Date Originally written: 09/12/16 Word Count: 3,119 Intended plot: Pearl goes on a movie date with Mystery Girl.

Notes: Extremely self-indulgent Pearl/Mystery Girl ship fic written shortly after “Last One Out of Beach City” aired. I was actually super motivated to finish this one but the fall of 2016 was when I got really, really sick and almost died so it unfortunately fell to the wayside and I never got to pick it back up. This is a pretty good example of how I usually write, though, as I usually end up writing the beginning and end of a story first, write in the scenes I have a clear picture of, and then fill in the spaces inbetween. Since this is unfinished, it kinda just jumps between scenes midsentence, so I’ll indicate the scene changes with a — mark

I’m kinda tempted to finish this one too. It’s self-indulgent to the point of it being embarrassing but that made it really easy to write

Side note: You may or may not recall my big rambly post (here) about a fictional horror series called Helltel from a few years back. Well, it was developed entirely due to this fic and tbh it’s likely none of the information I made up was even going to come up in it, I just got carried away lol

It had been several weeks since the night of the rock show and Pearl had already experienced more of Earth and human interaction in that short time than in the last 6000 years she’d spent on the planet. Sure, it was mostly house parties and bonfires, but it was all so different and new and exciting. Part of her wanted to kick herself for not exploring this side of Earth life before, but another, more rational side told her she could never have experienced this way before now. She certainly wouldn’t have felt so comfortable shamelessly flirting with that mystery girl she’d met at the show, and that was really what made those social outings so enjoyable.

Pearl had seen the girl a total of three times after getting her number. The day after the show, after working up her nerve (and goaded on by Amethyst) she borrowed Steven’s phone and gave the girl a call. They finally exchanged names (hers was Sheena, which Pearl thought was lovely) and compliments. Pearl found her just as captivating on the phone as she was in person. After that initial call, Sheena began sending her texts, which Steven explained as short written messages people exchange on phones. They texted back and forth for a day (mostly idle chatter) before Greg stopped by and gave Pearl a new phone. He had said it was so she didn’t have to keep asking to borrow Steven’s and also “for privacy”, whatever that meant. Pearl had refused at first, but Greg insisted, “We can call it a late payment for when you fixed the van. Besides, what’s the point in having money if you can’t share it?”

 —

Pearl was shaken from her musings by someone tapping her in the back. She jolted slightly, startled, and turned to see a short woman with blonde hair. The woman took half a step back, pulling her arm away.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask if this was the line for the Splatterday event.”

“Oh, uhm…” Pearl looked around. She wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. But there was only the one line, so it had to be, right? “Yes, I think so.”

“Ah, thanks!” The woman said, giving Pearl an appreciative nod and a warm smile. Pearl smiled back. As she went to turn away, the woman spoke again.

“Hey, aren’t you one of Steven’s… uhm, one of the Gems Steven lives with? You're… Pearl, right?”

Oh! That’s why this human looked so familiar, she was a friend of Steven’s! She was one of the donut children from that donut shop Steven liked. She was the nice one, who was always kind to Steven.

“Yes! And you’re from the donut shop, correct?”

“Right! Are you here with Steven? Because I don’t think they’re going to let him in… Or is this a Gem thing? Should we evacuate the theater?” The woman laughed awkwardly, half-joking, half-completely serious.

“Oh, nono, it’s completely safe, especially with me here. And Steven’s at home, I’m actually here with…” Pearl said turning to point out her companion. As if on cue, Sheena was already on her way over. She stopped beside Pearl and handed her a small piece of paper.

“Here’s your ticket. Looks like they’re showing Helltel four and five tonight.”

“Oh dear, would I have had to have seen the first three for it to make sense?”

“Naw, they’re not gonna make sense anyway.” Sheena laughed, putting her hands in her pockets and nodding toward the woman Pearl had been talking to. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh! Sheena, this is… uhm…” Pearl paused as it suddenly occurred to her she didn’t actually know this woman’s name, and though her knowledge of human social etiquette wasn’t the greatest, she was pretty sure calling her “the Donut Child” would definitely be peculiar.

Mercifully, though, the woman interjected.  “Sadie.”

“Yes, right, Sadie! She lives next door to the temple.”

“Well, I don’t live there, I work there. But I’m there so often it does kinda feel like I live there.” The woman, Sadie, laughed. “It’s the Big Donut. I think I’ve seen you in there sometimes, actually.”

“Oh, yeah.” Sheena said, nodding. “Cool place. Decent coffee.”

“Thanks, it comes from a big bag in the backroom.” Sadie said, causing both Sheena and herself to laugh. Pearl didn’t really ‘get it’, but laughed as well.

 —

They followed the crowd into a long, narrow room with a large screen. It had an aisle running down the middle toward the screen with about fifteen rows of four seats on either side of the aisle. After looking around for a moment, Sheena led Pearl to a row of seats to the left of the aisle, five rows from the back. Sheena motioned for Pearl to sit first, and she shuffled into the narrow space between the rows to get to her seat. She then paused, perplexed. The seats were very peculiar, they had normal fabric covered backs but the seats of it were strange, narrow columns that didn’t look at all comfortable to sit on. Nothing Pearl couldn’t handle, of course, so she went about trying to perch on the awkward seat, which proved rather difficult as it wobbled terribly. Then she heard a snort to her right as Sheena stifled a laugh.

“You gotta push the seat down and then sit on it. Like this.” To demonstrate, Sheena pushed down on the odd column on the seat closest to the aisle, causing it to fold out into a typical-looking cloth-covered seat. She then sat down on it, settled in, and gestured for Pearl to try. Pearl looked at the seat in front of her and gingerly pushed down on the folded seat. It folded out into a seat just as Sheena’s had. Pearl released her hold on it and it snapped back into its original, folded position. Fascinated, she pushed it down and released it a couple more times. It creaked audibly but otherwise seemed to operate perfectly. Finally, she sat down on it, testing her weight on it.

“Oh, it folds up when not in use to make space and it folds out for use, with one’s weight keeping it down. That’s very clever!” Pearl marveled. It was a simple mechanism, but she was always impressed by what humans were capable of building. Primitive, compared to Gem technology, of course, but humans always seemed to figure out ways to make what they needed or clever ways to engineer something to make it more useful. That was probably her favorite thing about humans. In the beginning they had nothing and they figured out how to make everything they needed, taught themselves how. In this way they kind of reminded her of… well, herself.

“Yeah, I guess it is kinda clever.” Sheena said, amused. She leaned on the armrest between them. “Y’know, you’re really cute when you geek out about this stuff. Makes me think about stuff different than I used to.”

“Oh! Well, I’m happy to hear that

 —

The room got louder and louder as more people continued to pour into the theater, taking seats and idly chatting. A human couple squeeze by Pearl and Sheena, murmuring ‘excuse me’s, and took the seats just to Pearl’s left. Pearl’s nerves prickled and she removed her arm from the armrest between her and the stranger, shifting slightly to be closer toward Sheena. She bounced her leg and absently scratched at the worn fabric on the armrest to her right. Pearl didn’t mind the crowds, really, she had expected it and prepared herself for it. But the noise level rising, the heat from all the bodies, the bright fluorescent lights, and the feeling of being boxed in… it was just a bit much all at once. It brought up unpleasant feelings and memories. She shook her head to dispel them, she wasn’t going to dwell on the past and ruin the evening,

“Are people going to be able to hear the movie with all this noise?” Pearl muttered.

“They’ll be quieter once the lights are off. It buggin’ you?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, I’m fine, I’m fine.” Pearl said. After a few seconds, she felt Sheena’s hand rest on her own. She stopped scratching at the armrest and turned her wrist so she could hold Sheena’s hand. It was comforting. She bounced her leg at a slower pace.

“Y’know, we could leave if you’re not feeling it.”

“No, no, I’m alright. I want to do this. I’m just nervous.”

“Hmm. Do you want to switch seats? You could be on the aisle, just get up and go if you need to.”

“Oh,” Pearl looked around. Maybe it would help to have that option. “Could we? If it’s alright with you.”

“Psh, yea, I’m cool wherever.” Sheena said, letting go of Pearl’s hand and standing up. She stepped into the aisle to allow Pearl to move over to her seat, then squeezed by Pearl and sat down.

Pearl sighed. It was such a little change, but it really did make her feel much better. She didn’t feel boxed in anymore, having that free space to her side was doing wonders.

“Thank you, this is much better. Sorry for being a bother.”

“Eh, it’s nothing. Sometimes you just gotta feel like you can go whenever. That’s what I like about my bike, I used to have a car but it always made me feel like I was stuck.”

“Oh? I’ll have to try that out sometime. I used to get that feeling when I’d pilot spaceships but… well I don’t get much opportunity to do that these days.”

Sheena laughed. “Well, I doubt it’s gonna feel like flying a spaceship. But it is pretty cool anyway. I could take you for a ride on in sometime.”

“Oh! That would be lovely. I-” Pearl stopped talking and sat up straighter when the lights suddenly turned off. The large screen lit up and after flickering for a few seconds began running advertisements for the theater.

Sheena leaned over to Pearl and whispered “It’s about to start, so we can’t talk too loud.” Pearl nodded. She did know that much (she got the run down of movie theater etiquette from Steven) but appreciated that Sheena thought to tell her.

The screen turned black and slowly faded into an image of a dilapidated hotel on a hill, shrouded in fog. Rain battered the building in a way that was clearly not actually rain, probably some sort of sprinkler set up. It looked very fake, in Pearl’s opinion. The movie cut to the interior of the building

—

Pearl turned to walk away, then turned back. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Sheena, wait.”

“Yea?” Sheena paused, her helmet partially on her head. She took it back off and hung it on the handle of her motorcycle.

Pearl took a few steps closer, wringing her hands for a moment before clasping them together, to stop herself from fidgeting too much. “I… uhm… I had a very lovely time tonight. Wonderful, in fact. I hope you did as well.”

“I did.” Sheena said, amused.

“Good! Good. And, well, after such a nice night I’ve heard it’s customary to… well, I mean, I’m not an expert on human dating practices by any means, of course, but I thought it would be nice if…”

“Yea?” Sheena closed the distance between them, causing Pearl to need to look up at her.

“What I’m trying to say is,” Pearl took a breath. She could do this. “I would very much like to kiss you, if… if that isn’t too forward. I completely understand if you would prefer not to, of course, I was just thinking…”

Sheena didn’t say anything, instead she brought one hand to rest on Pearl’s cheek, gently guiding Pearl to tilt her head up. She leaned down slightly and Pearl stretched up, their lips met and…

It was amazing. Sure, it wasn’t the bombastic fireworks like the first time she kissed Rose (which was the first time she kissed anyone, ever), after a hard won victory during the Gem War, but it still felt electric. Kissing a human was so much different from kissing a Gem, Pearl found. Gems can simulate the human body in many ways, simulate skin texture, teeth, saliva, all that. But it’s just a simulation, incredible but never quite the same. Humans… humans are cohesive yet imperfect. Always imperfect. There’s just no way to properly replicate the random imperfection of the human body accurately. Her lips were warm and soft, but not uniformly so. Some spots were softer, wetter, warmer. And it changed, very slightly, even over the short time they kissed. And that lip ring! Pearl wasn’t quite sure what that would feel like, in fact it had puzzled her because surely it would just be in the way? But strangely it wasn’t. It was noticeably there, yes, but it didn’t seem out of place. It was a cooler, harder texture comparatively, and interesting in a good way. Everything about this felt… right, imperfect and different yet completely right.

It felt like it lasted ages but it was only a few seconds before they pulled apart. Pearl stared up at Sheena, breathless. Figuratively speaking, of course, as she didn’t really need to breathe and yet felt out of breath all the same. “Wow…”

Sheena laughed, soft and low. “Yeah, wow… Y’know, I gotta tell ya, I’ve been waiting to kiss you for a while now. Not that I mind taking things slow, of course.”

“Oh goodness, I’m sorry! I wasn’t sure how long it’s customary for humans to wait.” Pearl blushed, embarrassed. Everything on Earth moved so fast! It was hard for her to gauge how time worked for humans. Gems, being ageless, didn’t really have need to rush. “I didn’t want to rush into anything or pressure you.”

“Naw, it’s alright, I get it. There’s not any customary way of doing these things, really. It’s just what feels right, I guess. Some people go fast, others go slow. It’s all good.” Sheena paused, thinking, then said “What’s customary where you’re from?”

“Oh, nothing. Gems don’t really… have these sorts of relationships. Not on Homeworld anyway. We weren’t meant to or allowed to. Romantic relationships were completely unheard of. Kissing as a concept doesn’t exist there, or didn’t, I suppose I’m not really up on how things are there now.”

“Damn, really? Wow. That’s… that’s really awful. I’m sorry.”

Pearl hummed in agreement. “It was. I was on Earth for several years before I learned what kissing was. And even more before I ever tried it myself.”

“Oh, you’re really behind, then.”

“Behind?”

“On kissing. You should’ve been kissed way more in your life. But I’ll be more than happy to help you catch up.” Sheena said, leaning in.

“Oh!” It was a line. Cheesy, maybe, but Pearl appreciated it. “Oh, I think I’d like that.” She leaned in as well and they kissed again.

They broke after a moment. Pearl sighed, happily. “You know, in the beginning, I thought the act seemed rather messy and unpleasant.”

“But you don’t anymore?”

“Oh, goodness no.”

“That’s good.” Sheena said, and they kissed again.

“Well,” Pearl started, when they broke for breath (for Sheena, anyway). “I suppose it still is but-” They kissed again. “-with the right people it somehow-” Again. “-feels right and it doesn’t bother me. But-” Again. “-if I think of it in the abstract I suppose-” Again. “-it is still somewhat unpleasant. So-” Again. “-it’s more about the company than the-”

“Pearl?” Sheena sighed, breathless (or perhaps just exasperated).

“Yes?”

“Not that I’m not interested, ‘cause I am, but I think this would go smoother if you stopped talking so much.”

“Oh, right, sorry!”

“S’alright, no need to be sorry. I just think you’d enjoy it more if you lost yourself in the feeling, y’know? Or just try it out, at least.” Sheena said. Pearl nodded. They kissed again.

“I’m just nervous.” Pearl said when they broke again. Sheena hummed sympathetically and they kissed again. “I have a tendency to ramble when I’m nervous.” Again. “I don’t even realize-”

“Pearl.” Oh, right, rambling again. They kissed again. And again.

“… Sorry.” Pearl squeaked out between kisses. She couldn’t help it, she had to! Sheena didn’t respond, but instead continued to kiss Pearl while laughing softly into her mouth. It was a kind laugh, not cruel or mocking, just… amused. It created a pleasant, humming sensation in Pearl’s mouth. It was infectious, too, and she couldn’t help but laugh along with her. After a moment they stopped and just continued kissing, with no further interruptions.

They continued like that for a while, and Pearl had to admit Sheena was right. It was rather nice to just… lose herself in the feeling. To just fall into that rhythm and that pleasant feeling of exploration and just being with someone. It was nice. They pulled apart again and neither felt compelled to continue, just allowing themselves to look at one another in silence, save for the sound of breathing.

“Alright.” Sheena sighed, reluctant. “I really should go now. Got work in the morning.”

“Ah yes, and you humans do need a certain amount of sleep to function properly! I’m sorry if I kept you from it.”

“Naw, it was worth it.” Sheena gave Pearl one last kiss before turning and walking back to her motorcycle. She straddled the seat and put her helmet on, adjusting the strap. “See you Saturday, probably.”

“Yes, with luck! And, uhm, catch you later!”

Sheena laughed. “Should I fall.” She started her motorcycle and drove off.

Pearl watched her drive away until she disappeared behind some buildings and the roar of her motorcycle’s engine could no longer be heard. Then she stood in silence for a moment, just breathing, just being. She was so… proud of herself. She was socializing with humans, she was experiencing Earth. Not for Rose and not even for Steven, but for herself. She went on a real official human date for the first time! She was nervous, but she did it. She felt happy at this moment, genuinely happy. Best of all, she felt little to no guilt about feeling happy. Out of everything, Pearl was probably most proud about that.

With a contented sigh, Pearl finally turned and walked to Greg’s car. The parking lot of the movie theater was mostly empty now and dead silent. She hummed softly, getting into the car and starting the engine. She flicked on the Earth radio, fiddling with the dial until she found a tune that sounded half-way pleasant, and set a course back to the temple.