#some people act like shipping ruins the very concept of friendship? why?????

[cheetahsprints]

S3 Spoiler

What they meant

Sonic: Grab my hand, no homo :)?

Shadow: Yes homo

Sonic: Ok your idea is better so how ya doin 😏

[aetheternity]

What are some of your favorite and least favorite genshin ships?

My favorites are the ones I always end up posting I'm a huge

Xiaother/Aexiao (Xiao and Aether) Al Haitham/Cyno (Haino/Cytham) Beigguang (Beidou/Ningguang) Ittosara (Itto/Kujou Sara) Chilumi (Childe/Lumine) fan

For ships I just like though it'd be Jean/Diluc, Kazuha/Scaramouche, Aether/Scaramouche, Albedo/Aether, Kuki/Heizou, Bennett/Fischl, Albedo/Xingqiu, Chongyun/Hu Tao, Zhongli/Guizhong, Eula/Amber, Xingqiu/Xiangling and Gorou/Kokomi. I'm kinda starting to like Kaeya/Dainsleif too.

Ships I hate most people know: Any Venti ships outside of KazuVen (Cause Kazuha is the only character I could see working well with Venti and being good as his partner.)

I hate Cynonari so much it's so boring as a concept: friends to lovers is a lame trope.

I can't stand Xingqiu x Chongyun while I like their dynamic to a degree and I think the ship makes perfect sense I hate how the fandom has made their entire relationship "two gay twinks" 🤢 (They're not even twinks the definition of the word directly contradicts what the fandom keeps saying about them being underage not that I expect Genshin fans to read.)

Razor x Bennett another ship the fandom has ruined. The shippers are rude as hell and they never get called out. Their relationship feels like a friendship nothing about it screams gay.

Kavetham because it feels like the two of them aren't allowed to have their own characters without being called gay and it's exhausting.

Eimiko same reason as Xingyun honestly. Plus I find it hilarious how everyone will call Yayato an "illegal" ship because of the age gap and power imbalance as if Eimiko doesn't suffer from the same fate. Plus Yae was raised by Ei so.. interesting.

Jeanlisa terrible ship name/terrible fans.

Zhongchi most of the fans don't listen to the actual chinese fans when they say that Zhongli giving Childe chopsticks was not an act of love. Also I just think the ship only exists to sexualize both guys as much as possible.

Ittogorou I just ugh I hate this ship it's so overly sexualized like I like gay ships with an abundance of romantic tension. Plus it only exists because of one voiceline and an in game joke that isn't funny and reminds me of why I can't stand Yae.

And the ships I don't like/don't get [just as a sort of bonus]

Scaramona I'm pretty sure it's an enemies to lovers thing but I don't get it.. I know they had an event together I just don't get it..

KokoSara another enemies to lovers my favorite trope but they're so professional with each other I can't find it cute at all.

Alberose they have no chemistry 😐

Ganqing I just find them both so boring that I can't like any ship with either of them.

Zhongxiao I mean I see them as father and son but they're canonically not so yeah they have a good relationship but like.. it wouldn't be very healthy either way.. cause Xiao treats Zhongli as this always correct force above him and it's a little too imbalanced power wise.

Dainlumi I like the dynamic without liking the characters together.

And any ship where they have never had any in game conversations/ have no voicelines for each other. I don't get any of them Childe/Diluc, Jean/Ningguang, Thoma/Diluc all of those I don't get it.

I'm pretty sure after this no one ever has to ask me what ships I like and don't like again.😂

[sankttealeaf]

Hello there - I was wondering when did you first start liking durgetash? How did you get the inspo for your story? ps Im a huge fan ❤

hi anon!! thank u!! <3

the thing that dragged me headfirst into the depths of durgetash hell was the prayer for forgiveness! i went into the dark urge playthrough knowing very little! (started rue's run in early september but only got around to actually playing her in early october! (act 3 was lagging so bad on my first playthrough i needed to jump ship to simpler times)

seeing other peoples interpretations of their durge & gortash got me thinking a little more about rue & gortash and what they couldve been like! i went into rue's playthrough knowing i was going to romance gale and went woah, theres some similarities between the two there. rue has a type!

(fun fact: my first tav playthrough & the beginnings of my durgetash era overlapped so when i got to meet gortash as my tav, cassiopeia, i was only slightly taken in by him. did not trust him at all, though. stupid man)

i think i love the tragedy of it all. no matter what relationship your durge has with gortash, its still one of closeness. and to have someone you worked hard with ripped from you, only to return now wanting to destroy everything youve made? thats gotta hurt.

as for my fic it kind of started as a series of one shots i started writing, never really with the intent to publish them! i wanted to work out how rue acted before the tadpoling and how different she was then!

the original plan was just a collection of moments shared between rue and gortash throughout their time together. back then rue was still called rue, i hadnt given her another name to further separate her life before & after being tadpoled. i also really wanted to make little letters and notes that you find in the game to go along with the writing. however i only ever made gortash's initial request for a meeting.

(as u can see below. i thought it was a cool concept. no idea how i wouldve fully executed it though)

then it sort of spiralled from there! what if rue and enver were friends as kids? what if they keep finding each other over and over again? what if they always fall to the same fate? i love tragic romances, friendships that are doomed to fail, relationships that can only end one way, so it was very fun to explore all this with them!!

the title was originally a title from a one shot i started writing about them. i think the phrase "let sleeping dogs lie" is very them - after all, why disturb what is a peaceful alliance? why ruin it by admitting feelings or saying words they shouldnt? also dog imagery & rue go hand in hand (despite me saying she's cat coded)

i had key events planned from the start that i wanted to happen, the main thing being how rue lets down her guard over the course of their friendship & how that becomes her downfall!

i also wanted to use this as a way to not only explore rue and gortash, but rue and orin, too!! it meant i could write in their povs, get into their brains and work out why they do what they do! i love villainous characters and finding out the root cause behind their actions (im currently running a curse of strahd dnd game and did the exact thing for strahd - writing up his motivations and intentions to give me better access into his headspace & why he acts like he does!)

at the start i never really intented to publish it on ao3. i added the little prologue after writing the second chapter, and then i decided to bite the bullet and post it! i made this account to share my writing, why not do that!!

im still a little in shock at how many people have enjoyed reading it & especially how many people love rue. ive never written any oc x canon before so it was a little scary putting her out there for the world to see!! sometimes i get that little voice in my head that goes "gr. youre being cringe" and i have to bap it away before it can rot my brain. im allowed to have silly characters and make them kiss other characters - no one can stop me!!

this got a little longer than i intended, but thanks anon!! <3 i hope this has been a lil insightful about the behind the scene of my very chaotic brain behind this fic! its all ive been thinking about for 6ish months now (oh gods)

[runephoenix6769]

“What is with the Blake / Yang hate this week? Folks seem particularly fired up.” I asked this question on a forum because of something I’ve noticed the last few days on discussions about Blake and Yang/Bumbleby/shipping in general. I keep seeing the same answers.  “It ruins the team’s dynamic.”

Welp, I’m pretty certain none of those people would say that Raven/Tai and Tai/Summer ruined the team’s dynamic. Or that Ren and Nora are currently  ruining the team’s dynamic.  What is this holy than thou crusading to protect the sanctity of the team dynamic? Rwby has always been first and foremost about interpersonal relationships. It’s what drives the actual plot. Character growth, failing relationships/friendships. How they change over time, either to grow or crumble. 

“It’s being shoehorned in, for fanwank.” How? How is it being shoehorned in? Give me a narrative breakdown as to where/how/when this occurs? Compare it to the Sun/Blake narrative and show me the glaring differences between the Yang/Blake narrative to prove that bumbleby was never planned yet blacksun was?  (Sidenote. Anyone that has been asked to do this on the forum has yet to do it.)

“Yang showed interest in boys.”“ Yes, yes she passed comment once. In vol 1 episode 1. 8 VOLUMES AGO. She has shown not a lick of interest in guys since. Its almost as if she’s like any normal 17 year old girl who is growing into adulthood and figuring herself out, who might be realising her interest in Blake isn’t strictly platonic and is trying to navigate that whilst also grappling with what that means with regards to their friendship. And dealing with an over arching situation that is, ya know, potentially the end of the world as they know it.  It’s about two years in universe, right? Which is about right of an amount of time for what its happening between them to play out. It only feels like longer to the audience because, well, its taken 8/9 years to tell the story up until that point. 

“The Fans are too loud/vocal/come on too strong.” Ok, this one I agree with, we are loud and vocal and that might come across as coming on strong  (here’s a huge) BUT, there is actually a genuine explanation for why it seems that way.   If you really think about it, objectively. 

Hear me out.  Fans are excited about the potential representation we don't otherwise usually get in media. I mean, if you have 10,000 pieces of media and only ONE of them represents lgbtq people, of course we’re gonna be excited and talk about the ONE quite a bit with others who are like us. This might also be the first time we’ve seen anything like this, or seen ourselves represented in a somewhat positive light. It stands to reason that the other 9999 pieces aren't going to hold our attention as much, esp if its the same hetero romance played out a bajillion times before, right? I mean, if you have a group of people who are constantly represented in the 9999 other shows, their voices are going to spread thinner, right? They aren’t going to be gathered all on one place, talking about the same thing because there are 9999 other choices to connect them to other people. They aren’t going to care as much if their straight ship happens/doesnt happen 

“Hey, I can move onto another piece of media that is churned out by the status quo. No big deal.”

Hetero romances are ten a penny. Flick through netflix, hulu, crunchy roll etc.  Where as if you have a group of people who are only represented in ONE show out of the 10,000 those people are going to gather in one place to connect with others and its only going to seem like they are louder due to the densely packed space.  These same people have been majority silent about the other 9999 pieces of media as their voice isn't usually represented in a positive light - being queer characters are usually brutally murdered or sidelined. (Thankyou Hays Code.)- or not even represented at all. (Bury Your Gays is a trope for a reason, folks.) And we are NEVER the titular characters. We’ve been living on crumbs and subtext for decades! Not to mention showrunners who actively queerbait the hell out of us for ratings and viewership. The almighty Pink Pound as its often referred to in business. “But why do they have to make them gay?” You’re not made gay, you’re born gay. It just takes longer for some people to realise than others. It can be a gradual realisation. And this is quite possibly the case with Yang/Blake, slowly coming to realise their own burgeoning sexualities and attraction to each other.

”Why do they have to be gay?” They don't need a reason to be queer! They just are! Queerness is only a part of a person, not their everything. It’s actually quite refreshing to see Yang/Blake being portrayed as much more than their potential sexuality.  Ask yourself, ‘Why does a character have to be straight? And why doesn’t a straight character have to constantly reaffirm their sexuality? Why is ‘straightness’ assumed by default?’ Heteronormativity, is something that has been perpetuated by decades of media. (helped by the Hays Code with its out of date moral code. To be other is to be punished within the narrative.) That straight is the default setting. It’s not! We exist! Everywhere! We always have and we are going to talk to each other about it when we see a glimpse of ourselves represented in what has been a relative Sahara Desert when it comes to queer content were we are not villainised.   “The romance is detracting from the plot.” Two seconds ago, people were claiming that the romance was none existent. Which is it? But Nora and Ren’s romance that is being held up as a mirror to bumbleby is fine? That Jaune relentlessly pursuing Weiss was perfectly ok. Neptune openly hitting on female characters is fine. 

“I don’t have a problem with LGBT. I just don’t want it forced down my throat.” Again, out of 10,000 pieces of media, this is just ONE show. Nobody is forcing anyone to watch it or participate.  Queer people have had to stomach literal 100′s of years of straight media forced upon them. Since the very conception of the written word and narrative storytelling. In plays, theatre, art, music, tv, film, on billboards, advertising, in places of education and learning etc etc. Queer people are bombarded with it whilst also being surrounded by negativity towards queerness. 

“They are shoving it down my throat!” part two Is hand holding, compassion and expressing concern for another person and comforting them somehow offensive? Renora kissed, not a problem. Arkos kissed, not a problem. Show me in the sand where the line is drawn. What is the difference? Please explain this to me? Why is the expression of queerness somehow offensive? Is this because decades of media have perpetuated the false idea that all queer people are sex crazed perverts? That you’ve been groomed into thinking that queer sexuality is only based in the act of sex itself? That queer sexuality couldn’t possibly be similar to heterosexuality in its expression?

That it couldn’t possibly be about attraction, emotional, mental and maybe one day blossom into physical between two consenting adults, a pure expression of love the exact same as heterosexuality. 

That some how queer love stems from some sort of deviancy or mental health issue. That queer people are some how bad or evil, and therefore their expression of affection is wrong? Oh, I wonder where those beliefs have possibly stemmed from?  “Why are they in my face?” part three.  50% of of the titular cast are potentially queer. Blake and Yang. But if you look at the overall cast ensemble that runs at minimum 16 any given volume, that’s a measly 12.5% (prolly a lot smaller if you actually counted the whole cast that appears in rotation each volume) Also, someone did the math. Blake - a titular character- actually has less spoken lines that Jaune. ffs. B&Y spent neatly a whole two volumes of 8 apart. 25% of the narrative as it stands on entirely different continents. 

I fail to see how it being in someone’s face could be the case.

  “I just don't see it!”

That’s ok and perfectly valid But listen when people who have lived this experience are telling you that their experience is being portrayed on the screen. That they see themselves being represented.  OK, This completely got away from me. In conclusion. They are more straight people than queer people and media often reflects that.   We are usually the silent minority, we are sick of it but we are used to it and we are very excited that things seem to be finally changing.

It’s two characters in an large cast in ONE show out of 10,000. Its a piece of media that, for a change, hasn’t been 100% curated for straight people.  We are often not allowed to play in the sand box and if we are, we’re told to play with the broken toys, be grateful and quiet. So when we are given a sandbox to play in with new unbroken toys, we are gonna dog pile in there and make a ruckas, calling our friends over. What I’m trying to say is, it’s gonna get rowdy.  and here’s something to think about.  “When you are used to privilege, equality feels like deprivation.”  

[aster-ion]

Sylvie x Loki Might Not Happen and Here’s Why

***SPOILERS FOR LOKI TV SHOW***

1.  They are basically siblings

Even though they have different personalities, backstories, and physical appearances, that doesn't change the fact that they are the genetic equivalent of siblings. No matter what Timeline you're looking at, both Sylvie and Loki are the offspring of Laufey and whoever he had children with. We know this because they are Variants of the exact same person, meaning that if either of them were born to someone other than Laufey, they would have been pruned as a baby. And since they weren't, that means they must be just as genetically similar as siblings are.

Because of this, the idea of Sylvie and Loki engaging in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship is extremely disturbing to a lot of fans. It's too big an oversight to brush past, especially when the show has continued to remind us over and over that they are, in fact, both Lokis. Maybe if them being the same person wasn't such a major plot point, it would be easier to ignore the facts, but it is, and that means that Marvel is basically pushing either an incest or selfcest (depending on how you look at it) type relationship. And that’s extremely risque for a corporation as large as Marvel, especially with a character as beloved by fans as Loki. 

2.  It is terrible LGBTQ+ representation

And before anyone says anything, no, it is not because Sylvie is portrayed as female and Loki as male. I've seen a lot of Sylvie x Loki shippers say that the reason people don't like the couple is due to it being one between a male and female, but that's not true. Loki and Sylvie were both confirmed to be bisexual, meaning that they can engage in a relationship with anyone of any gender. It would be completely valid for either of them to pursue romance with someone of a different sex and still be bisexual. No one is arguing against that, and if they are, I definitely do not agree with them.

However, the problem comes in when you take into account Marvel and Disney's (who owns Marvel) long history of queerbaiting. There have been countless times that Disney advertises their "first gay character!" only for it to be a single line of dialogue or a brief shot. Marvel in particular has used the popularity of certain LGBTQ+ ships and headcanons in their fanbase to generate media popularity that they don't actually follow through with in their movies/shows. So when Loki was confirmed to be both genderfluid and bisexual in Episode Three, lots of people felt like they were finally getting a win for representation. 

But those people, myself included, appear to have been let down again. The first two official queer characters had so much potential to go off and be with anyone they wanted, but instead, the show has set them up to be in a romance with each other. Now, this wouldn't be problematic on it's own, but when you take into consideration the questionable nature of their romance from Point One as well as the fact that the show has explicitly referred to it as "twisted," it raises the question of whether or not this is actually good representation. Because the fact is, in one episode the writers went “look, it’s two queer people!” and in the next, they said “their relationship is disgusting and demented.” Marvel’s first bisexual characters being borderline incestuous/selfcestuous does not sit well with me at all.

All of this is made even more confusing when you take into account the background of the Loki crew, most notably, the director Kate Herron. She also directed the Netflix series Sex Education, which has quite a bit of very well done representation of all kinds. So how is she managing to fail so badly on this project? It makes me wonder whether she truly is just losing her touch or if this is all a misdirection. Personally, I'm hoping for the latter.

3.  It does not send the "self love" message people seem to think it does

The writers, director, and cast of Loki have said multiple times that the relationship between Sylvie and Loki is meant to act as a metaphor for self love. And in a way, that makes a lot of sense. Despite creating different identities for themselves over time, they are still ultimately the same person and therefore share a special bond because of it. And there's a lot of potential that can be done with that concept.

Loki is an extremely complex and intriguing character. He has experienced a lot of trauma in his past that has shaped him into the person he is today. And that person is clearly very broken. He has never given away or received any kind of love, with the exception of his mother and possibly his brother, Thor. Other than that, he's had no healthy friendships, romances, or perception of himself. It makes sense for him to be confused by this pull he feels towards Sylvie, who is both alarmingly alike and vastly different from himself.

Something this series does exceptionally well is breaking Loki out of his comfort zone. He is finally forced to see himself from other people's perspectives. It started with the file Mobius showed him in the first episode. Loki was able to view his actions apart from himself, and was hit with the realisation that he had been hurting people, and he didn't like that. 

Loki is also confronted by the existence of the Time Keepers and the TVA, who describe him as an antagonist and nothing more. To them, his role is to make those around him look better, even if that means he repeatedly gets the short end of the stick. Mobius mentions that he disagrees with this and that Loki "can be whoever and whatever he wants, even someone good," adding another layer of depth as to who Loki could be in the future of the series. 

Another huge moment for Loki's character development is while in the Time Loop Prison with Sif. Though he starts out annoyed with the situation and recalls not feeling apologetic when he cut off Sif's hair, the longer he is in the loop, the more he changes. Loki admits things to himself that we have never seen him say aloud, such as the fact that he is a narcissist that craves attention. Sif telling Loki over and over that he deserves to be alone makes Loki question whether or not he believes that to be true, allowing him an introspective moment where he really has to think about who he is. 

Now with all of that being said, I'd like to tie in why this is important to the writing of Loki and Sylvie. They act as a mirror to one another, representing both the flaws and strengths of "what makes a Loki a Loki." For once, Loki gets an honest, unbiased look at himself without layers of expectations or self doubt. On Lamentis, he calls Sylvie "amazing" and praises her for all her accomplishments. That's a huge moment for him because it shows that despite also finding her irritating, he can look past those traits and see someone worth being a hero underneath. And through that realisation, he begins to understand that he can also grow to love himself. That kind of character development for Loki is incredible to watch, and it's the kind of character development I want to see from this series. Unfortunately, them possibly engaging in a romantic relationship will ruin it.

Whenever I'm feeling insecure about myself and my abilities, the solution has never been to look at who I am through a romantic lens. Self love is an entirely different type of love from romantic love, so if the series tries to push this relationship as a romance, it will fail to truly represent the arc that they are trying to show.

4.  Nobody likes it 

This one's a little on the nose, but it's true. Almost no one likes this ship, and more than that, most people actively hate it. Yes, there is a small minority that like Loki and Sylvie together, but there is an overwhelmingly larger group that is disgusted and angry by the fact that the show paired them up.

After Episode 4 aired, I ranted for about an hour and a half with a friend about how much we didn't want them together. My aunt whom I have never texted reached out to me to say that she hated their relationship. My homophobic neighbour came over and told me that she would prefer any other romance to this. Friends that I haven't talked to much since school let out for summer have all agreed that they collectively dislike Loki x Sylvie. This ship has brought people together purely because everyone hates it more than they hate each other.

There is no denying that the general feedback for Loki and Sylvie being a couple has been negative, even if you support them getting together for some reason. So if there are so many people out there who don't like it, I'm confused as to how it would be approved by a team of professionals.

5.  The contradicting information we have gotten so far

Before the release of Episode Four, Kate Herron said that the relationship between Loki and Sylvie was “not necessarily romantic.” During the interview, she continued to refer to them as friends and people who found solace and trust in each other.

However, after Episode Four, the head writer, Michael Waldron, and other members of the crew spoke up about Sylvie and Loki. They said things like “it just felt right that that would be Loki’s first real love story” and “these are two beings of pure chaos that are the same person falling in love with one another.” These kinds of comments very heavily imply something romantic, directly contradicting what Kate Herron said. Even Tom Hiddleston, the actor for Loki, has assessed the situation, highlighting the differing viewpoints. He’s also said before that the end of Episode Four ultimately has Loki getting in his own way. 

Now, this could all just be a misdirection on either side to build suspense for the show, but as of right now, it is entirely unclear who is telling the truth. Though it is more likely that the statements made by Michael Waldron are more accurate (as he is the writer), there is still a slight possibility that Loki x Sylvie won’t happen. I’ll link the articles I’ve found on this topic below so you can read them and decide for yourself. 

Kate Herron Statement - https://www.cbr.com/loki-sylvie-relationship-not-romantic/ 

Michael Waldron Statement - https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-sylvie-in-love 

Tom Hiddleston Statement - https://thedirect.com/article/loki-tom-hiddleston-sylvie-romance 

6.  It is still salvageable

The odds are not in our favour, I’m afraid. It is highly probable that the show will put Loki and Sylvie in a romantic relationship with each other. Yet there is still a way to salvage it and turn their bond into something incredibly satisfying. Like I mentioned in Point Three, the relationship between Loki and Sylvie has the potential to be incredibly empowering and provide both characters some much-needed growth. And I believe that while unlikely, it can still do that. 

The only mention of them being romantically interested in each other came from Mobius, who at the time was angry, betrayed, and doing anything he could to get Loki to talk. Then, at the end of the episode, right before Loki is about to confess something important to Sylvie, he is pruned. This results in no explicit confirmation from either Loki or Sylvie that they are in love with each other. The audience is left not knowing whether Mobius was correct in his speculations, and honestly, I don’t think Loki knows either.

Loki is no expert on love, as I explained earlier. It is entirely possible that he doesn’t grasp how he feels about Sylvie and defaults to romance because of what Mobius said. There is undoubtedly some sort of deep bond forming between them, and I would love to see that being explored in the next two episodes. I would love to watch Loki’s journey of realising that he doesn’t want anything romantic with Sylvie, and was simply confused by the new things he was feeling towards her. Loki even says “this is new for me” when talking to Sylvie at the end of Episode Four. Him momentarily believing that he wants to be a couple with her then shifting into them becoming friends who help each other grow is still a reality that could happen. And ultimately, I think that would benefit them both as characters as well as strengthen the overall message of the show.

In a show about self love, acceptance of yourself, and figuring out who you want to be, Loki very much needs people who support him. He has that in Mobius already, and now he’s beginning to have it in Sylvie as well. I just hope that it is done in a way that resonates with the audience and subverts expectations, which just cannot be done through some twisted romantic relationship. I’ve spoken to others watching the show and seen people talking online, and everyone seems to agree that Loki and Sylvie work much better as platonic soulmates or found family than a couple. 

Of course, my hopes aren’t that high up. While I’d love for this to happen, I’ve been let down by Marvel before and wouldn’t be surprised if they went for the easy route of pairing characters up rather than dealing with the emotions correctly. Still, I have hope for this series. Everything else about it is wonderful and perfect in every way. It has the potential to become a masterpiece and easily the best thing that Marvel has ever done. However, this romance would ruin it for me and so many others. We already feel incredibly disappointed by Loki x Sylvie being suggested, so I can’t even begin to fathom how people will react if the show makes it canon. I’m begging Marvel to please do better than this. They have a wonderful story to tell and a wonderful team to do it, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that they don’t throw that away. 

[arthur-j-raffles]

Hey, why do you think people get upset (especially purists) with the concept of Johnlock when it's been here for ages? I love the thrilling impulsive disordered way Sherlock thinks and acts (like my ADHD, OCD, and other mental disorders which I headcanon Sherlock to have.) alongside his nurturing and supportive Boswell (like my fiancé). They're flirty, fun, and affectionate with their jokes and laughs with each other throughout their mysteries, and that comforts me. Canon is damned and I don't care what Conan's opinions are if it makes me happy. Why are people so sour, salty, and act like the idea of me writing fanfiction and buying fanart of my first ship at 12 (when I first read Sherlock from the public library with my nana a decade ago) is the worst thing in all of existence and ruins Sherlock Holmes? Am I the crazy one or is everyone else who's crazy? (Btw it's nice to see someone on Tumblr who loves the OG turn of the last century version Sherlock than the terrible show alongside Lupin and Raffles.)

Hi anon! I know you probably just asked this question to get me to respond about how it’s ridiculous that anyone would get that upset about a fictional ship, but this question got me thinking for a bit. I’m one of the most biased sources here (i’ve made posts about how i don’t tag John/Sherlock because it should be a given, etc.), but I’ll try to respond to this question with an honest and fair answer because there are a lot of factors as to why people get upset at John/Sherlock.

Below the cut I’ll talk about:

1. Cultural Osmosis

2. 19th Century Friendship

3. Distaste for Shipping

4. Homophobia

1. Cultural Osmosis

One of the reasons I think is most prevalent is that people who have never read or watched any Sherlock Holmes content assume because it’s so old and so popular that they’ve somehow absorbed enough of it through pop culture and references that they know what Sherlock is like via cultural osmosis. They know he’s deductive and doesn’t like people, so they assume he’s cold, always calculated, and the pinnacle of detective perfection. They know John is the narrator and Sherlock’s friend, so they just assume John is basic, boring, and so uninteresting that he’s barely in Sherlock’s social circle, but merely tags along with him. This vision of both of the characters is skewed so far from the canon that people either can’t fathom how you ship these two characters who in their minds are very incompatible, or the more common thing, people have a preconceived notion that you’re looking too much into it because nothing old and published can be gay.

(This kind of thing isn’t just exclusive to Sherlock, either. People will also gawk at the idea of Spock/Kirk from Star Trek TOS because they assume they know what TOS is without even watching it because they’ve seen the cultural impact of “beam me up, Scotty” and “live long and prosper.” They create a mental image of TOS that’s mostly full of their own assumptions, and gay subtext isn’t one of their expectations.)

2. 19th Century Friendship

Another reason is that historical male friendships are different than what the typical male friendship is now. In the 19th century, men were more open to showing affection for each other in strong ways. Photos from the century show male friend groups openly holding hands, arm in arm, and helping light each other’s cigarettes. Obviously a lot of men are shaking off ideas of “manliness” that limit the way they can express their platonic love to their friends, but there’s still a lot of men that won’t hold their best friend’s hands because “that’s just weird/that’s gay.” This is all a long-winded way of saying that, to some people, Sherlock and John are the pinnacle of close male friendship in the 19th century. They are the perfect show of platonic affection between men, something that some people look up to and aspire towards. To people who think of Sherlock and John as exclusively best friends, they may feel offended or baffled that anyone would try to “ruin” that friendship by making the two lovers. That’s why some people who are legitimate fans of Sherlock Holmes may take offense to the ship: they think it ruins the friendship between the characters.

3. Distaste for Shipping

It isn’t uncommon for fans of a series to have a distaste for shipping elements, especially for a series whose sole focus isn’t romance. Sherlock Holmes is in no way a romance, and some people feel that shipping shouldn’t be the focus of fandom content because the source material isn’t romantic. People who want to focus on mystery and suspense elements may believe that shipping ruins what fans should be focusing on and appreciating in the franchise. And they have some merit in thinking that shipping can ruin the focus of a franchise, because there are definitely some fandom subcultures out there that ignore important themes and messages in shows to instead focus on their ship. But, this is an over-generalization of any fandom, clearly.

The above reasons for someone disliking Sherlock/John are not malicious. They assume the person is well-intentioned but misguided. In the cultural osmosis example, the person just doesn’t understand the source material and thus doesn’t understand the ship. In the friendship example, the person just wants to see a male friendship that isn’t toxic, and mistakes the act of shipping for throwing away that interpretation entirely. In the distaste for shipping example, the person just wants to focus on the themes of Holmes and not the romantic subtext. However, saying that everyone who gets upset at shipping John/Sherlock is well-intentioned would be a lie.

4. Homophobia

There’s an obvious reason of—whether implicit or explicit—homophobia when some people get downright disgusted or outraged that someone would ship John/Sherlock. I don’t think it needs explanation as to what homophobia is, but Sherlock/John especially outrages people more than other gay ships because the characters are classic. Sherlock is known throughout the world, everyone knows his name even if they’ve never read any of the stories, and his iconography—smoking pipe, hat, and jacket—have become well-recognized. It makes ignorant people boil over when you say that this iconic character who has remarkable impact on the world may be gay, asexual, or transgender. They think that lgbtq identities are something taboo or something to be ignored. To them, lgbtq characters should be background noise at most. And vocalizing that you see John/Sherlock subtext in their interactions destroys that.

TL;DR: Some people may be upset by John/Sherlock because they don’t understand the source material, they think shipping destroys a friendship dynamic they liked, or they feel that shipping takes away from the story. Some people may be upset by John/Sherlock because of ignorance and homophobia.

[noassallclass]

So what do you think of FJ? Please be a little mean lol I like your thoughts on CR stuff✌

Oooh i am glad I have piqued your interest!

For me Fjorester at best is stale, boring, no flavor, zero chemistry. Like inoffensively milquetoast and I literally cannot grasp the concept of people actually enjoying the ship and finding it engaging.

Like I was never interested in FJ but I mean Travis describing Fjords feelings towards Jester as "being worn down" really solidifies it as a bad ship...

Because how exactly did Jester wear you down Fjord? Like what steps did Jester take to make you fall for her basically against all your reservations? Because where I am standing Jester really hasn't shown any interest in Fjord since the mid 40 episodes, which was about 60 episodes before the Playlist came out.

And that’s where Fjorester comes at worse, a complete reversal of at the very least Jester’s character growth. Because From episode 40 to episode 99 Jester has taken steps away from being romantically interested in Fjord and also finding self worth within herself and not having to find value in how a guy she had a crush on saw her. Especially since he’s kind of a goober that I feel like Jester questioned what she saw of him in the first place.

Like to me, Fjord and Jester consciously uncoupled throughout the series. I feel like there were times where Jester would try and test the waters again with Fjord to see if there were any romantic feelings still there and it seemed like the interactions always came up short for Jester.

The most prominent example I can think of right now is Jester asking Fjord if she could workout with him and everything went horribly wrong. Like yes some of that had to do with the poor rolls that Travis was rolling, but Fjord acted so poorly about it and acted like his masculinity was injured, even if he was trying to be comedic, and Jester was just like “Ok yikes dude nevermind”

At that point I think Jester thought Fjord ain’t shit anyway and that seemed like a big old nail in the coffin. Because before that we had moments where Jester couldn’t be less interested in Fjord, like when Beau knocked him down for touching her fresh tattoo and he whined to Jester who just told him to “Stay Down”. I mean she also kicked him when he was drowning and told him to “just get up man”

I mean even recently Jester told Fjord to shut the fuck up because he was mumbling to himself about how he was hoarding his money. Like as much as Fjord has grown out of his machismo phase and has just become a more open, vulnerable person. With Jester I still see the old Fjord who has to defend his masculinity in front of Jester and just be a general asshat and Jester at the very least didn’t find it charming. That is until the Hiatus attacked.

“You wore me down” is such a bad, unappealing way of describing how you feel about someone romantically, especially when there was really no effort or attempt on Jester’s part to pursue any type of relationship with Fjord for the majority of their in canon time together. Like not “I got to know you as you are and I’ve grown fond of you” or “We’ve grown so much and I admired you for who you have become”. Ya know...things that would make sense narratively and character development wise. like 3 months of Jester having crush did nothing for you Fjord but 9 months of radio silence is what wore you down?

No, what really wore Fjord down was the rest of the friend group, especially Nott/Veth poking and prodding both him and Jester to get together because for some reason the party doesn’t think Jester has the ability for growing out of a highschool crush that wasn’t really based on reality in the first place? And that is one of the worse parts of Fjorester is everyone keeps putting their own ideas of who Jester is and what she wants above who Jester actually is. It’s like their extreme makeover home edition but instead of making the kid’s bedroom all about one thing the kid likes its the mighty nein making Jester’s romance all about Fjord because she liked him that one time.

It’s honestly like highschool friend group relationship drama shit where your friends won’t give up the fact one friend has a crush on another friend until it either becomes so awkward it ruins their friendship or they date each other even though it would never end good from the start. Like Veth wriggling her eyebrows when Jester and Fjord had dinner together, but it was so uneventful they just skipped it but of course Veth had to make a big deal about it.

Not to mention that Fjord is one of the worse culprits in fundamentally not understanding Jester At All. Like he doesn’t infantilize Jester but he greatly underestimates her complexity, like he looks like a deer in headlights when Jester talks about anything more complicated than liking cupcakes. He also condescends and negs her a lot. Like he thinks Jester is an incurable fibber and just straight up doesn’t believe her when she does things she is capable of.

like not even thinking Jester could dupe the Hag into lifting the curse on Nott and Jester rightfully called him out because his pattern of condescension is irritating AF. And he pulled the exact shit again when Jester said she talked to a tree. Like he fully gets on board with Caduceus talking to plants and stuff but for Jester it must be all make believe. I’d have less of an issue if he didn’t believe everything Jester says if he didn’t always do it in a snotty, passive aggressive way of like “oooh suuuure Jester ooooof coooourse”

like sir, with that attitude you should get nothing, you lose, Jester is better off without you! 

with all of the above you would expect “oh yeah it doesn’t seem too likely, even if Fjord has feelings for Jester now” because like it isn’t great, and Jester up until the Hiatus gave him Nothing. But Now! Now they are pushing it, like it is 1 of the 2 main ships steering the show and the cast thinks we should be gobbling it up as much as they are.

Like why should we be rooting for a couple that 1) don’t understand each other 2) don’t necessarily enjoy each others company and 3) are completely adversarial to each other I think at any moment they’re ready to throw down

Is it because “oh they make each other better because they call each other out on their shit”? because it would be better if they didn’t do it through gritted teeth like they are thinking of which layer of hell they will be sent to after they kill the other person

Is it because the majority of straight couple in media have the two people in a couple hate each others guts until they kiss? I don’t think we should be setting our standards for het romances that low.

Because Jester showed interest in Fjord once and can no longer have feelings for any other person?

Or is it because now that Fjord has caught feelings it doesn’t matter what development Jester has made that has pushed her narrative away from being about romancing men that ain’t shit for her?

like CR is tripping over themselves and destroying any compelling romance to give us the blandest, low budget, hallmark hetero romance story that literally nobody asked for.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Rapunzel Day One

This is decent episode, and one of the few that isn’t filler in season two, but because there are problems with the over all character acs, there’s problems here with episode too. 

Summary:  Rapunzel and Cassandra come across an abandoned magic stall while searching for parts of their destroyed caravan. The stall contains a wand of forgetting. Cassandra impulsively wishes that Rapunzel would "just forget about everything" when she was tired of her trying to patch things up between them, which results in Rapunzel regressing to when she was still in her tower with Gothel.

The Episode Order is Confusing 

So this and The Brothers Hook aired on the same day. Now in the production order listing, Rapunzel Day One is suppose to come before The Brothers Hook and that’s how it’s ordered on Disney Plus. Which is where I’m watching this marathon and getting all my screen caps.

However The Brothers Hook did air before this episode according to Wikipedia. Also Hook Foot is nowhere to be seen with nary a word. So placing The Brothers Hook before would indeed make more sense in that regard. 

Yet Raps and Cass aren’t fighting in The Brothers Hook, so I don’t understand how this was supposed to originally work. What’s the correct viewing order here? Is Hook Foot just off screen with Fidella this episode, or is Cass and Raps ignoring their big fight in The Brother’s Hook? 

For Someone With a Disability Now, It Doesn’t Seem To Affect Things

Ok, to be fair, they do show Cassandra practicing here and later in Mirror, Mirror trying to relearn how to use her hand, and indeed physical therapy for injuries is a thing. Yet, two scenes isn’t enough to establish that. She regains usage of her hand really quickly and far too easily, given the type of injury it was. 

Disabilities, even unseen ones, still impact your everyday life. Yes, they don't ruin your life; you can still do things. But they don't just go away and you have to deal with it. 

Finding that balance between not making a character useless, while still recognizing that there are things that they struggle with when writing disabilities is a line that writers have trouble with. But if you’re not going to put in that effort needed to pull it off tastefully then don't introduce the concept. 

One Step Forward; Two Steps Back

Rapunzel recognizing that there is a problem, and wanting to fix it before it gets worse, can be viewed as progress. After all, avoiding the issue is why things got so bad between her and Varian. But, she’s still failing to see why Cassandra is upset and so goes about things the wrong way. 

And keep in mind, Rapunzel does have every right to be mad at Cassandra, just the same that Cass has a right to be mad at Rapunzel. Both girls screwed up.  

Yet, it’s only Rapunzel’s side of things that Rapunzel cares about, and therefore nothing actually gets resolved. 

This could have been a decent conflict for season three, but that’s not where the writers take things so we’re just spinning our wheels here. 

It’s also kind of shitty that Cass is the only person that Rapunzel is willing to put effort into righting things with. She still doesn’t give a crap about Varian, nor any other villain in the show. 

Well I Guess This Has to Come Before The Brothers Hook

They have the caravan in Brothers Hook, don’t they? I mean how else did they meet up with Hook Hand? But if that is the case then where is Hook Foot now? I don’t know.  

Cassandra’s Hurt Hand Only Matters When It Concerns Her Relationship With Rapunzel and Not How It Affects Her Character as a Whole 

An extension of what I was saying before, but it shows the fundamental problem with the writing for Cassandra. The writers only think of her as a conflict for Rapunzel and not as a person with like her own life and shit. 

Long Time, No See Owl

As soon as Hook Foot goes unceremoniously missing, then Owl shows up. I don’t think he’s been seen since season one, yet they act like he’s always been here with the group. 

Why is continuity and consistency so hard for this show? 

The Saporians Are Indeed Homeless, But Don't Expect That to Ever Be Brought Up

So things to note. 

This isn’t a village. It’s an encampment. What we see here are destroyed tents and caravans. The only permanent structure is a short stone wall. 

Secondly, the magic book they find has the Saporian symbol on it, and indeed the Saporians use the wand of oblivium to take over Corona in S3.  

What we can gather from this is that the Saporians were driven out of Corona after the first war. They’ve been living as nomads for centuries without their homeland.Yet their most recent settlement was destroyed by the black rocks sometime before season one started, along with most of their possessions and means of living. 

All of this would explain their motivations, goals, and why they picked now to try and take over and not just any other time.  

But don't expect any of that to be brought up or remembered by anyone come season three. We can’t have any po the bad guys, save for Cass, being sympathetic now can we. 

Also, just a side note. It’s funny how apothecary is treated as magic and alchemy as a science in this world, when in reality it should be the opposite way around. 

This is Not an Apology 

If you gotta throw a ‘but’ in there, then you haven’t really apologized. 

Rapunzel’s not sorry for Cass getting hurt. She doesn’t recognize nor understands why Cassandra feels the way she does, and she’s even attempting to try to. All Rapunzel cares about is how Cass being upset makes herself feel. She’s putting in this effort to ‘talk about it’ because Cass being outwardly angry at her is inconvenient to herself and nothing more. 

Rapunzel Still Hasn't Learned Boundaries 

Didn’t we already have this conversation back in season one? 

And like, yes, it’s not good for Cassandra to ignore her feelings, but what Rapunzel does here by pushing isn’t a good thing either. 

What's most frustrating though is that neither learn anything from this. Just like they didn’t learn anything in Under Raps or Goodbye and Goodwill. 

It’s aggravating to see the writers give us an actual conflict that’s worth having the mains fight over, only to be undermined by previous episodes and then thrown away altogether. 

So How Come the Wand Only Erases Part of Rapunzel’s Memory and Not All?

Like, this is suppose to be set for season three with Frederic and Arianna losing their memories. Yet despite Clementine using a similar wand, it doesn’t have the same effect on them as it does on Rapunzel here. They lose all their memories and sense of identity, while Raps just forgets a few years. 

Speaking Forgetting How Things Work 

Where did this handy dandy book with the cure go when Frederic and Arinna lost their memories? Why didn’t Raps go looking for it then, or force the Saparoians to give her the cure while they were in her custody? 

So This Plot Point Kind of Back Fires, and Winds Up Undermining Everyone’s Relationship with Rapunzel

First off, just repeating New Dream scenes from the movie, but with Cass in Eugene’s place is ill advised given the direction that the show went in. Whether you ship Casspunzel or not, it’s important to recognize that ‘sisters’ is what they are intended to be in canon. That’s the direction that Chris went with them, whether we like it or not. So either no one on the show knows how to write platonic female relationships, or this is gay baiting. Take your pick. 

It’s also lazy. 

But most damaging is that this only shows that Cassandra only liked Rapunzel when she was naive and stupid, and not the Rapunzel we have now. Tie in how her friendship with Rapunzel is based off of validation to begin with and we got a very unhealthy relationship, and not one that should be rooted for, despite the show wanting you to do just that.  

They even go so far to repeat the lines from the flashback in the last episode, as if this was a positive thing in their dynamic, instead of recognizing it for the really mess up thing that it. 

Then there’s the Eugene side of things that this calls into question. 

We know Eugene loves Rapunzel through thick and thin, but how much of their relationship is based off their first adventure together and not about how they work together in the here in now? 

Did Rapunzel just simply latch on to Eugene because he’s the first person that she met who wasn’t her mother and wound up being nice to her? If anyone else found her, would she be in a relationship with them instead? Is it healthy for her to never look for anything else? How much does Rapunzel actually like Eugene, for himself? 

Then throw in Eugene’s over idealization of Rapunzel in season three, they’re lack of communication issues, and Rapunzel’s crippling need to always be right, and I can’t say if New Dream should be what we’re rooting for either. 

This isn’t a Casspunzel vs New Dream thing, nor is it a personal dislike of Rapunzel herself. Rather, it’s a very serious question about the nature of Rapunzel’s interpersonal relationships vs her character development, and how that has to change things on some level, and if it’s still worth having those relationships now that she herself has changed so drastically. 

Is everyone being fulfilled? Is everyone getting what they need still? No? Then, why are any of these people still together? 

That needs to be addressed by the narrative now, and it never is. 

So Why Would You Say That Cass?

Rapunzel doesn’t know where she is and therefore has no idea what direction the tower lies in. If you’re heading south back to the camp then just say the tower is south. In fact it actually is south because you’ve been traveling northeast to the Dark Kingdom for months now, according to the map in Rapunzel’s Return. So what was the point in lying about that? 

In in effort make Rapunzel look smart, they had to make Cass look dumb and that’s not good writing. If you needed Rapunzel to suddenly not trust Cass then there were other better ways. The drawing she placed in her pocket should be enough on its own to tip her off, and all she has to do is reach into her pocket to put like a rock she found in there and then find it that way.

 So When Did Rapunzel Have Time to Build This Elaborate Mousetrap?

This would have taken hours, it’s not even been minutes. 

There’s making Raps competent and then there’s turning her into an overpowered invincible heroine. 

Now Pascal Is Missing

Oh is he with fucking Hook Foot now? 

He was right on your shoulder Eugene. 

If you’re going to have characters conveniently missing then establish that first, preferably in a visual way and not with exposition.  

So Rapunzel is Treat As In the Right Even When She’s Not

So Cassandra opening up about her feelings is treated as the solution to the problem, but it’s really not, or it shouldn’t be anyways. She can recognize she lied about the wand without having to doing something she finds uncomfortable, and it’s not like Rapunzel right now has any frame of reference for what Cass is talking about. 

All this amounts to is giving Rapunzel a free pass on her earlier bullshit.

Also if Cass repeating a phrase Rapunzel said earlier was all that was needed to jog her memory enough to trust her, then why couldn’t Eugene done the same? He was right there.  

This Doesn’t Resolve Anything

Ok first off that’s not what friends do. Friends actually work through shit. Friends make sincere apologies. Friends forgive each when they do. 

If you’re not doing that then you’re not friends and you should just leave. 

No one, not Raps, not Cass, ever apologizes for what happened in the Great Tree. They never try to understand what either of them did wrong, nor do they put effort into fixing themselves or addressing their issues and flaws. 

And you know what? That would be a valid reason for their falling out in season three. But it’s not used as such, so any resolution to their conflict there winds up feeling hollow. 

Conclusion

This episode, like with the Great Tree, gave me hope that this was all leading somewhere. Now it’s just a bitter reminder of how screwed up the writers’ morals are in this show, and how poorly planned everything was. 

[dwellordream]

“The most important thing to understand about most polytheistic belief systems is that they are fundamentally practical. They are not about moral belief, but about practical knowledge. Let’s start with an analogy:

Let’s say you are the leader of a small country, surrounded by a bunch – let’s say five – large neighbor countries, which never, ever change. Each of these big neighbors has their own culture and customs. Do you decide which one is morally best and side with that one? That might be nice for your new ally, but it will be bad for you – isolated and opposed by your other larger neighbors. Picking a side might work if you were a big country, but you’re not; getting in the middle is likely to get you crushed.

No. You will need to maintain the friendship of all of the countries at once (the somewhat amusing term for this in actual foreign policy is ‘Finlandization‘ – the art of bowing to the east without mooning the west, in Kari Suomalainen’s words). And that means mastering their customs. When you go to County B, you will speak their language, you wear their customary dress, and if they expect visiting dignitaries to bow five times and then do a dance, well then you bow five times and do a dance. And if Country C expects you to give a speech instead, then you arrive with the speech, drafted and printed. You do these things because these countries are powerful and will destroy you if you do not humor whatever their strange customs happen to be.

...Ah, but how will you know what kind of speech to write or what dance to do? Well, your country will learn by experience. You’ll have folks in your state department who were around the last time you visited County B, who can tell you what worked, and what didn’t. And if something works reliably, you should recreate that approach, exactly and without changing anything at all. Sure, there might be another method that works – maybe you dance a jig, but the small country on the other side of them dances the salsa, but why take the risk, why rock the boat? Stick with the proven method.

But whatever it is that these countries want, you need to do it. No matter how strange, how uncomfortable, how inconvenient, because they have the ability to absolutely ruin everything for you. So these displays of friendship or obedience – these rituals – must take place and they must be taken seriously and you must do them for all of these neighbors, without neglecting any (yes even that one you don’t like).

This is how these religions work. Not based on moral belief, but on practical knowledge (I should point out, this is not my novel formulation, but rather is rephrasing the central idea of Clifford Ando’s The Matter of the Gods (2008), but it is also everywhere in the ancient sources if you read them and know to look). Let’s break that down, starting with the concept of…

Knowledge. For the Roman (or most any ancient polytheist) there is never much question of if the gods exist. True atheism was extremely rare in the pre-modern world – the closest ancient philosophy gets to is Epicureanism, which posits that the gods absolutely do exist, but they simply do not care about you (the fancy theological term here is immanence (the state of being manifest in the material world). Epicureans believed the gods existed, but were not immanent, that they did not care about and were little involved with the daily functioning of the world we inhabit). But the existence of the gods was self-evident in the natural phenomena of the world. Belief was never at issue.

...This, of course, loops back to one of my favorite points about history: it is generally safe to assume that people in the past believed their own religion. Which is to say that polytheists genuinely believe there are many gods and that those gods have power over their lives, and act accordingly.

In many ways, polytheistic religions, both ancient and modern (by modern polytheisms, I mean long-standing traditional religious structures like Hinduism and Shinto, rather than various ‘New Age’ or ‘Neo-pagan’ systems, which often do not follow these principles), fall out quite logically from this conclusion. If the world is full of gods who possess great power, then it is necessary to be on their good side – quite regardless of it they are morally good, have appropriate life philosophies, or anything else. After all, such powerful beings can do you or your community great good or great harm, so it is necessary to be in their good graces or at the very least to not anger them.

Consequently, it does not matter if you do not particularly like one god or other. The Greeks quite clearly did not like Ares (the Romans were much more comfortable with Mars), but that doesn’t mean he stopped being powerful and thus needing to be appeased.

So if these polytheistic religions are about knowledge, then what do you need to know? There are two big things: first you need to know what gods exist who pertain to you, and second you need to know what those gods want.

Two things I want to pull out here. First: the exact nature and qualities of the gods do not really matter, because remember, the goal is practical results. Crops need to grow, ships need to sail, rain needs to fall and the precise length of Zeus’ beard is profoundly unimportant to those objectives, but getting Zeus to bring storms at the right times is indispensable. The nature of the gods largely does not matter – what matters is what you need to do to keep them happy.

Second, you may be saying – you keep ramming home the idea that you have to cultivate all of the gods – what is this ‘pertaining to you’ business? What I mean by this is that while the polytheist typically accepts the existence of vast numbers of gods (often vast beyond counting), typically only a subset of those gods might be immediately relevant. Some gods are tied to specific places, or specific families, or jobs, or problems – if you don’t live in that place, belong to that family, hold that job, etc., then you don’t need to develop a relationship with that god.

...Now, normally when you ask what the ancients knew of the gods and how they knew it, the immediate thought – quite intuitively – is to go read Greek and Roman philosophers discussing on the nature of man, the gods, the soul and so on. This is a mistake. Many of our religions work that way: they begin with a doctrine, a theory of how the divine works, and then construct ritual and practice with that doctrine as a foundation.

This is exactly backwards for how the ancients, practicing their practical knowledge, learn about the gods. The myths, philosophical discussions and well-written treatises are not the foundation of the religion’s understanding of the gods, but rather the foaming crest at the top of the wave. In practice, the ruminations of those philosophers often had little to do the religion of the populace at large; famously Socrates’ own philosophical take on the gods rather upset quite a lot of Athenians.

Instead of beginning with a theory of the divine and working forwards from that, the ancients begin with proven methods and work backwards from that. For most people, there’s no need to know why things work, only that they work. Essentially, this knowledge is generated by trial and error.

...I have found that students often find that this form of learning sounds very silly to them, at least at first glance. But we actually discover only a very few things theory-first, from first principles. Instead, we learn most of what we know this way. This is how you learned to farm, to cook, to work metal, to make crafts. This is how we learn most things in our daily lives – if not by trial and error directly by ourselves, then by benefiting from a chain of knowledge that eventually ends in someone else’s trial and error.

Crucially, for individuals living in a traditional, pre-modern society, this process of hard-won trial-and-error knowledge passed down through generations is how most of them know everything: how to do their jobs, live their lives, act on a daily basis, how the world works, all of it.”

- Bret Devereaux, “Practical Polytheism, Part I: Knowledge.”

[amimons]

Miraculous Sweet-ember (Sept. 23rd)

September 23rd: Chameleon, Animaestro & Bakerix

Chameleon brings the official return of Lila causing more trouble for Marinette. Lila has a personal vendetta against Marinette and Ladybug so on top of being extremely good at manipulating and lying we knew she was coming back as a more serious antagonist for our protagonist. Her lies are so good that she has the ability to get away with whatever she wants, which deeply angers Marinette since she believes in honesty and justice. Lila made sure to spare no expense towards Marinette once she arrived back at school and immediately work to isolate Marinette from her peers. Her classmates are oblivious to Lila’s true nature because they believe she has the best intentions. Therefore, when Marinette tries to prove Lila is nothing but a liar they are skeptical of her claims of dishonesty because Marinette cannot disprove anything Lila is saying.   

Lila tries to work her charm on Marinette and offer a fake gesture of friendship. Lila told Marinette that she caught onto why Marinette was acting harsh towards her and it was because of Adrien. She extended a false olive branch to Marinette suggesting they should patch things up and she can even help her with Adrien. But Marinette is a clever girl and sees past her fake persona. She tells Lila that the real reason she doesn’t like her is because she lies and although she knows what she saids isn’t true she cannot prove it. Once Marinette called her out, Lila  dropped her façade. Lila threatens Marinette saying if she doesn’t chose to stand alongside her then she will work to tear down Marinette’s reputation with her classmates. Now alone, Marinette rushes into a bathroom stall full of pain and anger. 

Throughout the school day Hawkmoth has been targeting Marinette as his next akuma but every chance he gotten she would let go of her negative emotions before he could manipulate them. Hawkmoth finally had the opportunity to akumatized Marinette who was now face to face with said akuma. Tikki encourage her to overcome her negative emotions, telling her that she has the ability to find a solution to her situation. The affect of Tikki’s words worked. Feeling self-assured she announces that she is proud, confident, she's Marinette! Which ward off the akuma. Lila as a plot device is suppose to create the ripple in Marinette’s civilian life giving her an enemy outside of Hawkmoth. Unfortunately, people fall victims to convincing liars all the time and even though her classmates appreciate Marinette greatly they are blinded by the concept of who they think Lila is. Even though Marinette has a new obstacle to face in class, as long as she believes in herself and her abilities she can work to overcome it. 

Another thing about this episode is that it works on the slow buildup of a potential akumatized Marinette. This is the second time Marinette almost became akumatized and both times was when she felt justice was not being served. Marinette needs an ally to offer their support in this situation, someone that also can see through Lila and she found that support in Adrien. Chameleon was a good step up for a new antagonist in the school. Together Ladybug and Chat Noir work together to fight against Hawkmoth and now Marinette and Adrien have the opportunity to work together to defeat another common enemy outside their super suits. 

Animaestro made Marinette team up with someone we least expected. Chloe Bourgeois. Even though the intention of the two of them joining forces wasn’t a good one, it was still pretty enjoyable to see due to the comedic value of it. Besides Marinette learns by the end that it was a bad idea to follow Chloe and join in on her schemes. This episode also narrows in on what Marinette will need to work while the season progresses. Which involved her feelings towards Adrien and his potential relationship with Kagami.

It’s nice to look at this episode as a starting point of Marinette’s development on that subject. She feels threatened by Kagami’s role in Adrien’s life but as the season progress she comes to terms with it and even offers her friendship to Kagami. But at this point in time we have Marinette up to her whacky antics which includes Chloe tagging along...well more like Chloe bossing Marinette along. This also give an opportunity to compare and contrast how these two characters treat their relationship with Adrien. Chloe centers the relationship around herself at least on the surface level while Marinette does go to extremes to get a chance to be with Adrien, she will always put Adrien’s happiness over her own. Chloe and Marinette have such an interesting dynamic so it was great to see them attempting to become temporary allies. 

Bakerix is dedicated to learning about Marinette’s father side the family. Specifically her estranged grandpa. Due to a family fall out, Marinette never got the chance to meet Grandpa Rolland Dupain and for her father’s birthday she makes it her mission to rekindle that father and son relationship. Thats easier said than done because Rolland is a man who is very caught up in the past. It’s even hard for her to get the chance to come inside his house since he is so closed off from everyone. She didn’t want to ruin a potential opportunity of talking to her grandpa by admitting she was his granddaughter so she tried to come up with other excuses to get inside. Her attempts to get in are funny and emphasizes why I love Marinette as a character. Several attempts later she was still not welcomed in his house. 

Lucky for her, Rolland is opening his home up for the flour delivery person. She immediately takes the opportunity and tells the delivery man that she is Rolland’s granddaughter and she would love to pull a funny joke on her him by pretending to be the delivery person. The flour guy lets her take the bag and to top it off she asks for the hat to make it more convincing. Marinette wearing the flour hat was just adorable. Even though reconnecting her father with his father became a bigger task than she could imagine (especially since he ended up getting akumatized) Marinette is always willing to go the extra mile for the ones she loves. She will take on any tasks and figure out solutions to any problem just so those in her life have the very best. Thats very telling of just the type of person Marinette is. 

About Sweet-ember:

For the month of September I wanted to spread some positivity and praise Miraculous Ladybug on the things I’ve appreciated/enjoyed from the show.

Everyday I’m going to select one particular moment, event, theme, etc. from an episode of Miraculous and shared what I liked from that episode. Each post will discuss 2-3 episodes (from season 1-3; 78 episodes in total).

Whether its something big or small there is something positive that I can take away from every single episode of Miraculous.

Please feel free to add a moment from these particular episodes that you loved to this post as well!

Salt towards the show, characters, ships will not be tolerated!

Sweet-ember posts

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

[lavenderchedder]

Hiya! I’m sasuledelicatessen- well, I don’t know if you ship SNS but I want to know, if you do, what made you ship them? I want to know your version

Well, it's kind of long.

I've been following the Naruto franchise since 2007 and initially I was into the anime/manga for the action and the unique storyline that it presented, as well as the art-style (I’m a sucker for unique art-style). The concept of Naruto (the character) being the "underdog”, the introduction of ninjutsu and chakra and the integration of Japanese folklore into the story overall what made me sort of a Naruto addict, if you will.

Anyway...

I’ve always thought that the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke were interesting at first in Part 1. When they “accidentally” kissed, at first I thought nothing of it and chalked it up to anime humor, not knowing the huge significance that scene brought (among others) years down the line in their relationship (and the progression of the storyline). Them challanging each other, the playful bickering, teasing each other, I initially chalked it up to the whole “boys will be boys” trope until watching the end episodes in the “Land of Waves” arc of Part I. The way Sasuke sacrificed himself for a boy (Naruto) he barely knew sparked something in their relationship that will change the dynamics of the relationship moving forward...

The reasons why I ship SNS has changed since 2007, although it still stands that the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke are among the strongest bonds in the entire story. Me being a crazed teenager that I was at the time, I initially shipped them because they looked ‘cute’ or ‘hot’ together. This is when I started looking into SasuNaru fanart and fanfiction around that time, because it was such a unique pairing. The Uchiha in general are some of the most beautifully drawn characters I’ve seen, thus far. No wonder it was mentioned that it was hard drawing Sasuke back then, I mean just look at him! And well, Naruto seemed to be the only person that he ever payed attention to in the manga, and actually smiled around (because it takes ALOT to get Sasuke to show any emotion). Their interactions during the Chunin arc, how Naruto showed deep concern for Sasuke during his lowest points (when Itachi attacked Sasuke, etc), how Naruto acted around Saskue sort of sparked new beginnings of a deeper bond than I realized. And it was the same with Sasuke, how he had shared his lunch with Naruto in their first meeting despite consequences, him somehow always to Naruto’s rescue.

VotE1 is what sealed the deal for me then when I noticed that the Sasuke x Naruto bond was deeper than just a friendship. The passion and heartache they had for each other, even as they were fighting was just too intense. Noone that I’ve seen in this story had that much feelings for each other than these two. And when it was over, and Sasuke had this look in his eyes when he saw Naruto unconscious on the ground, I just knew that there was love involved, even when I just looked at their relationship as ‘cute’ ship at the time. 

Watching Shippuden to its end, after years of being away from the Naruto fandom, I began to understand what Sasuke went through and how much pain and lonliness he was actually in. The UCM was no joke and it took away what was most important to Sasuke (his family) and destroyed his deep love and admiration for Itachi. At first, I didn’t understand his character, and wrote him of as ‘emo’, annoying and obssesed with his revenge because I truly thought he was ‘ungrateful’ for what he left behind in Konoha *chuckles.* And honestly, I thought Naruto’s obsession with Sasuke was no better and believed he should’ve given up on Sasuke. But then, as I began to truly understand both characters as a whole and their backgrounds, I noticed that they can’t truly live without each other. Naruto’s “I will consume all your hatred and die with you” was said with so much passion and love, it’s hard not to look at them as just “good friends,” although their interactions at this point was more volatile, I could see that Naruto’s admiration for Sasuke grew stronger. Naruto having a panic attack over Sasuke being executed, begging on his knees for forgiveness from the Raikage, Naruto constantly having thoughts of Sasuke’s well-being to the point of obsessiveness, it made me think “ Wow! Naruto must really be in love with Sasuke.” Especially when everyone else (even Sakura of all people) seemed to give up and consider Sasuke “irredeemable.” I was even surprised at some the things Naruto said in regards to Sasuke, thinking it was weird to think of a mere ‘friend’ like this. I always saw their relationship as more twisted, violent and beautiful. Some folks may say their bond was unhealthy and one-sided (on Naruto’s end), but I think in this universe, it seems that way due to the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were both fucked up, emotionally. 

During the war arc, when both are reunited, it’s like they were back to being their old selves. Them discovering that they are indeed soulmates (in the most literal sense because they are reincarnations Hagoromo’s sons) demonstrated that both Naruto and Sasuke’s bond transcends beyond friendship and even romance (although it’s fine to look at them as either one). They were like yin and yang, the sun and moon among the stars. In their final battle at VotE2, I looked at it as them getting out their repressed feelings they had for each, because they knew that they cared loved each other too much for them to ‘kill.’ It was at that point in the end of their fight Sasuke felt the most vulnerable, probably since he was child. Other than Itachi, Naruto is the only other person to truly make Sasuke at peace, and knowing that he was never truly alone, even though it seemed that the whole world was against him. Naruto never gave up on him, and knew him on a deeper level than even those that were considered close to them (Sakura, Kakashi, etc.). When Sasuke cried, it showed to me that he was most happy being with the one he loved.

When I heard that Sakura got paired with Sasuke way back, I was very disappointed, not only because it insulted Sakura’s character and eliminated most chances for her to grow as a female character, Sasuke is a type of character that was too complex to just ‘marry off.’ Naruto was more tolerable, even though he never really gave Hinata any deep thoughts other than a friend/comrade. I knew SNS wasn’t happening, no matter the obvious signs and it being the most developed relationship in the Naruto manga. And Kishimoto kept dropping hints all over the place, giving fans hope. A homosexual relationship, even implied, is something the Shonen audience isn’t ready for right now. I do believe Masashi Kishimoto intended to have at least an open ending with the manga because honestly, the so-called “canon” pairings were not well thought out and was rushed. Sasusaku is so unbelievable and poorly written, no wonder it’s not well received among alot of the fans. Sasuke’s character was pretty ruined after Gaiden, because it ruined the potentials for a beautiful relationship (SNS) for a sequel. And so much was left unresolved. It’s all...dissapointing. 

Woah! That was long. I hope that answers your question. Long story short, yes I do ship SNS to the nth degree!

[hedwigstalons]

SpaceBear - bit 3

The SS Rare Pair now has a ship name.  A little bit longer this time - Alan and Brandon got a little friendly so minor smut warning ahead.  

Thanks to @willow-salix for many notes and prods.  @ak47stylegirl big brother makes an appearance but you will need to wait for bit 4 for the fallout, I absolutely loved your sketch though.

Bit 1 is here, Bit 2

Bit 3

“So did you kids have fun today?”

Alan facepalmed, “I’m not twelve years old any more, or have you forgotten I can fly a Thunderbird.”

Scott smirked from his place at the controls, well aware of the embarrassment emanating from the crew seats behind him, or at least the one containing Alan.  There was just something about being able to wind up younger brothers that made it one of life’s simple pleasures.  “No, but at the moment you’re getting a lift in my ‘bird.  So, little brother, how was your day?”

“It was great, Scott.  Real great.”  Once Scott got into dad mode Alan knew he wouldn’t be appeased without an answer, the problem was he still had a lot of unanswered questions of his own about the day.

“Show some enthusiasm, why don’t you?  You’ve been bugging me about this Expo for weeks.”

However, it was Brandon that launched in with the rundown of the day, or at least an edited version of it.  There was something about travelling at supersonic speeds that always got him hyped up and energetic.  “It was, like, totally awesome.  We got to try all the new tech and Alan here totally rocked on the flight simulator.”

Scott gave a chuckle.  “I should hope so.  Can’t have you doing anything that might show International Rescue in a bad light and failing on a flight simulator would just about cover it.”

Alan tried to sink lower in his seat; a futile task given there was a safety harness holding him firmly in place.  He wondered what sort of light was cast by him and Brandon kissing for the cameras.  He just hoped any coverage stayed within reports about the Expo where Scott was unlikely to see it otherwise he sensed a lecture on PR obligations as a minimum.

The merciful thing about flying in Thunderbird One was that even when Scott wasn’t punching it a flight never took a long time.  Within minutes they were on final approach, the pool retracting to give them entry to the underground hangers.

“Dinner’s at seven” Scott announced as he started post flight checks, “so don’t be late, I know what you can be like if you get too involved in a game.”

It was a clear enough dismissal and Alan and Brandon took it as their cue to leave.  They made their way through to the upper levels of the villa and along to Alan’s room as normal, Brandon babbling away about the various games they had tried and how he needed to stitch together some footage for his vlog.  It was as though he needed to keep the air filled with noise, there was just no let up.

Once in Alan’s room Brandon made his way over to the desk and Alan followed after, hovering behind the chair while Brandon made himself comfy.  Now that they were finally alone, something he had been trying to achieve ever since Brandon had pulled his stunt after the snowboarding, he was lost for words, unable to broach the topic that had been bugging him for hours or months if he examined his deeper feelings.

“Mind if I get get these vlog posts sorted?” Brandon asked, not stopping to wait for an answer before booting up Alan’s computer.  “Got to keep on top of my media presence and give the viewers what they want.  We can’t all of us rely on other people doing something stupid to stay in business.” 

Alan’s thoughts were in turmoil.  Brandon was acting as if absolutely nothing had happened between them.  If it wasn’t for the fact that he knew there was video evidence out there to back him up he might have started to doubt that the whole thing had ever happened.  Did Brandon just want to forget it?  Did it mean absolutely nothing and this was a sign that Brandon just didn’t care for him in that way?

With Brandon’s back turned towards him, settled in front of the now glowing screens, Alan found it a little earlier to find his voice.  There was something about looking into Brandon’s eyes that sent him tongue tied, but faced with the back of his head Alan was able to draw on some of that courage that marked him out as a Thunderbird.  As they say, if you don’t ask you won’t know, and he’d had enough of not knowing. “Is that what today was?  Giving the viewers what they want?”  The words were spat out with rather more venom than Alan intended as he tried to keep a check on his feelings, hurt that his friend would use him as a way to boost his ratings and grab the limelight.

Brandon’s shoulders slumped slightly but he didn’t turn around, not daring to face those startling blue eyes that could knock him sideways.  Not wanting to see their usual kindness turned to hate.  He might have all the bravado and swagger in front of the camera but without an audience to play to he felt all his courage ebbing away.  It was only because the damn cameras had been rolling that he’d felt able to make a move in the first place.  It was a decision he was now regretting and he wished the floor would swallow him up; anything to stop him being alone in Alan Tracy’s bedroom.  

He wished that whole sorry moment had never happened but self-control had never been his strong point when he knew the world was watching.  With his arm slung around his friend that adorable smile that made him glow every time he saw it had been too much to resist and buoyed by the Dutch courage given to by a rolling film he’d acted on the thoughts he’d been harbouring for too long.  

“You...you’d...kiss me as some stupid stunt for the media?”  

Almost alone.  

The venom had been replaced by hurt and Brandon winced internally at the thought of having ruined a perfectly good friendship by overstepping the mark.  Hurting Alan had been the last thing he wanted but it looked like the damage was done and lying wasn’t going to make it any better; honesty was a big thing in the Tracy household and he’d rather tell Alan the truth than leave him thinking he’d just played him to gain subscribers. 

“Is that what you want it to be?  Just a stunt?  Cos we can call it that if you want but I like you Alan...really like you.”

There was silence between them as Alan tried to process that answer, the response certainly wasn’t what he’d been expecting.  There was no ‘It’ll be great for the ratings’ or ‘Lighten up and live a little’, not even a ‘Gotta give the fans something to buzz about’.  

As the seconds stretched into eternity Brandon spun the chair and finally met Alan’s eye, trying to convey that for once in his life he was serious.

“You do?  Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Not very good with words, I’m more an actions kinda guy.”

“And you thought slamming your face into mine in front of the cameras was the right way to let me know?”

“No, I get it, I screwed up.  I wanted to talk to you at the Expo, talk properly, but I just had such a buzz and there you were and….urgh…put me in front of a camera and I can’t help doing dumb stuff.  See, you’re the smart one, I just ruin everything.  I’m sorry it happened.”

He expected the anger to return, expected to be told to get ready to leave the island and get out of Alan’s life.

“I’m not.  I just imagined our first kiss to be a little more private, that’s all.”

Alan looked at the upturned face that he’d spent far too long lusting over.  Brandon has been first an idol and latterly a friend after fates and rescues thrust them together but Alan had never dared to act on his hopes that one say they could be more than friends.  The Bear, with his brash confidence and a partner in every ski resort, was everything he wasn’t with his sheltered island existence.  Now though, those delicious chocolate brown eyes were marred by worry suggesting that the confidence part might not be true.  

“Can we start over?  Maybe do things your way?”

Alan swallowed nervously, eyes fixed on the mouth that seemed to be drawing him in like a magnet.  He leant forward hesitantly, worried about screwing things up, all the times he’d played through this moment in his head suddenly seemed poor preparation for the reality.  Brandon leant forward to meet him and their lips brushed gently.  It was the polar opposite of the crushing assault of the Expo but it still left Alan tingling as he pulled away a moment later. 

“So, are we good?”  

Alan felt Brandon’s hands reach out and take hold of his hips, gently pulling him forwards until he was sat straddled across his lap.  “I think we’re more than good, rocket boy.”

Alan smiled as a warm glow filled him.  He leant in again, a little more confidently this time, continuing the kiss that he now knew they both welcomed.  A warm tongue swiped across his lips and he readily granted entry, happy to let Brandon take the lead as he gave in to the desires that until now had only been played out in his head.  

He ran his hands through Brandon’s hair and was rewarded with a stirring beneath him that suggested Brandon enjoyed the feeling very much indeed.  His own body tensed in response, the sensation sent his head into overdrive but this was unknown territory and he was both nervous and excited about where things might lead. 

Sensing the tension Brandon broke off from the kiss.  “You okay?”  He worried that the young Tracy was already having regrets, his actions were so chaste and not at all like the fans Brandon was used to relieving his frustrations with.  But then this was pretty different for him too, it wasn’t often that he had feelings invested in these encounters. 

“I’m fine,” Alan’s hands dropped to his shoulders, suddenly finding the floor very interesting, “this is all just a little new.”  He flushed slightly at the admission of his inexperience.  

Realisation hit that it wasn’t just the concept of ‘them’ that was new to Alan.  “Oh...you mean?”  The sight of Alan biting nervously on his lower lip, unable to meet his eye, gave him silent acknowledgement. 

“Not a lot of opportunity when you're related to everyone on the island.”  There, he’d said it.  Brandon was probably going to think he was a right idiot.

Brandon’s fingers skittered upwards along the line of Alan’s ribs, breaking the tension and causing him to squirm.  “Damn you’re cute when you blush.  How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“You don’t mind?”

“No, why would I?” Brandon snorted, “But we can take things slow if you want.”

In answer he found Alan’s hands tangled in his hair again, the fingers carding through, nails gently scratching against his scalp in a way that had him moaning.  He might be a novice but he was a quick learner.  Teeth clashed together as both decided at the same moment that they’d had enough of talking.  

Brandon’s own hands roved upwards, sliding under the hem of Alan’s t-shirt, rucking up the material as they travelled up his back, strong fingers tracing up the line of his spine causing Alan to shiver in delight.  The shirt suddenly felt far too warm and constricting, his skin yearning for more touch and the material was just a hindrance to that.  He broke the kiss for a moment and leant back slightly.

"Mind if I…?" he let the question hang unfinished but the intention was clear as he grasped the hem, pausing for an answer.

"Whatever you want is good with me, rocket boy.  We can stop this at any time though, just say the word." 

A moment later and Alan was ripping the hem upwards, getting slightly tangled in his haste to shuck the garment off.

The sight of the exposed torso normally covered by a shirt or encased in body armour, stretched out in front of him and showing off every sculpted muscle, brought out the devil Brandon and he planted a kiss on the bare chest then flicked a tongue over a nipple in a way that had the sensitive bud stiffening in an instant.  He worried that he’d gone too far and messed things up again but the burning eyes that met his own when Alan had finally freed himself and thrown the shirt to the floor showed that Alan’s mind had clearly gone to the same place his had.

For Alan the feeling of Brandon touching him, kissing him, was awakening all his senses and setting his nerve endings on fire.  His body was crying out for more and all thoughts of taking it slow were long gone.  Even the undercurrent of fear of doing or saying the wrong thing had been fairly successfully shoved to the back of his mind.

Brandon remembered his own early experiences, the flood of hormones finally getting a chance at release and that overwhelming desire to touch and be touched.  It could be so easy to take advantage but he didn't want Alan to end up with any regrets.  He wanted this to be a relationship that meant something, not one that turned sour with broken trust.  He'd crashed into Alan's life, literally, and then Alan had crashed into his heart in a way he had never expected; he really didn't want to mess this up.  One thing he knew for sure though, the chair really wasn't designed for two.

"Al," he mumbled into Alan's collar bone as he trailed kisses from neck to shoulder, "can we move somewhere more comfortable?" Alan's slender form might be light but he was still starting to lose circulation to his legs.

"Oh God, am I hurting you?" Alan pulled away, the devastation etched across his face.  

His concern was touching and Brandon was quick to give a reassuring grin.  "I'm fine, honest.  I just thought we could have more fun over there," he nodded towards the bed, "but only if you want to."

Sliding backwards off his lap, Alan pulled Brandon upright and allowed Brandon to lead him the few steps towards the bed.  He sat down and watched wide eyed as Brandon pulled off his own shirt before joining him.  

Alan shyly reached out and stroked the exposed skin, tracing his fingers down Brandon's sternum, ghosting fingers around the outlines of pecs honed by years climbing mountains and riding the slopes.  He still couldn't quite believe that this was happening, that Brandon could be interested in him in this way.  

Brandon sat there, enjoying the sensations as Alan explored, that was until Alan raked his nails against his scalp again and primal instincts kicked in.  They tumbled back onto the mattress, Alan ending up bottom of the pile, pinned down the Bear.  Hungry mouths sought each other out again and hands roved, driven by pure lust.  Brandon ground his hips downwards and Alan could clearly feel the solid bulge which matched his own.  Even through several layers of material the feeling was enough to white out Alan’s thoughts for a moment and he gasped as his whole body felt electrified. 

Neither heard the door.  

The voice that cut across the room was stern, causing their heads to whip round in shock.  Twin blushes formed at being caught, almost literally, with their pants down.

“Alan, Brandon, get dressed.  You’re late for dinner.”

The commander of International Rescue did not look impressed.

-TBC-

[thanksjro]

Dark Cybertron Chapter 2: Going from Zero to Antichrist Real Quick

Bumblebee and his camp buddies are trying to figure out what to do with the Titan who just popped out of the ground like a prairie dog, as the sky looks like a Lisa Frank notebook thanks to the portal to the Dead Universe. It’s honestly very nice, we should should get more pretty apocalypses like this.

Bumblebee starts throwing out orders at everyone, much to Slag’s chagrin. When Slag brings up the point that they probably can’t do much of anything to a guy roughly a hundred times bigger than they are, Bumblebee tells him to shut up and do as he’s told.

Yeah, I had about the same reaction, Slag.

So the Dinobots do their thing. Swoop, who I think is the only guy here who can fly, goes up to see what the Titan’s doing. It’s not much, other than looking really upset. Oh no, what if he’s afraid of heights? Poor guy.

Even if the Titan isn’t moving, the mere presence of the thing is jamming signals, which is kind of an issue. Ironhide’s ready to shoot it in the foot, and Arcee will help, because she’s a team player now. Bumblebee has a minor crisis over whether this is the same Titan that told Starscream he was a prophesied son of a gun, but Prowl doesn’t seem to think that it is.

Prowl, who has been suffering from short-term memory lapses over the last several months or so because a bug-man was controlling his mind.

Yeah, let’s maybe take his opinion on the matter with a grain of salt, even if he is right.

Over at the Lost Light, Orion Pax is visiting Brainstorm’s workshop, where everyone’s favorite science man is admitting to having studied the Dead Universe’s effects on the living and interviewing people who had been to the area.

Man, I sure hope that guy signed a waiver, otherwise Brainstorm’s going to be in a spot of trouble.

Then we get a quick rundown of what the Dead Universe is: an omnicognizant parallel universe that functions on fundamental principles that differ from our own and wants you to die. So, obviously not a place you would want to go to. Still, we gotta, because that’s where the plot is the Dead Universe is gonna vore Cybertron if we don’t.

Brainstorm agrees to cook something up to make the trip through the Gorlam Prime portal easier.

Back on Cybertron, the Titan looms in the distance as we check in on an oddly pristine-looking Iacon. Rattrap tells Starscream to come out of the closet, because the Titan still hasn’t moved and doesn’t seem like it’s going to anytime soon. Starscream does come out, but it’s with his arms full of weapons of Autobot design that he appropriated from the ruins of Kimia, because he doesn’t trust that Titan to not start some shit. Rattrap suggests that they maybe get a second opinion before they start murdering people for standing in a barren field.

Back on the Lost Light, there’s a little shindig going down at Swerve’s, everyone staring down the table where Optimus, Rodimus, and Ultra Magnus are seated. Swerve takes the opportunity to do what everyone else is probably really wanting to, and snaps a few photos of them for his scrapbook. As soon as he’s done, we get to the Emotions portion of our issue.

Rodimus is letting himself be vulnerable in front of the man he idolizes, and I think that’s very brave of him.

Nobody’s feeling super great about the situation they’ve been presented with, but there isn’t a lot that can be done about it now. Just gotta work with what they got. Rodimus asks Optimus how he feels about Starscream being elected leader of Cybertron.

But I thought that freedom was the right of all sentient beings? You know, like the freedom of choice in our government officials, even if they aren’t the best option we could possibly have, because at least they’re better than the guy who had bombs planted in people’s heads for crowd control purposes? Are you saying that it only counted when the concept of freedom could be manipulated so you could go kick Megatron’s ass, and that actual freedom of choice doesn’t jive with your personal sensibilities as much as you’d like everyone to think it does? No wonder you’re going to try to overthrow the entire Earth’s government system to get humanity annexed into Cybertron’s bullshit in a few years’ time.

But perhaps this Starscream thing is actually the work of Megatron! What will Orion do then?

…I mean, do I even have to say it?

ORION, THAT’S GAY.

And I thought we’d already figured out what to do with Megatron back in “Chaos Theory”, where you spent three issues waffling on the subject until the man himself told you to execute him, because even he was sick of your crisis of self. The only reason you didn’t get to act on it was because Megatron disappeared after Vector Sigma blew up and then you fucked off into space without even bothering to check if he was actually dead.

But enough of Orion promising to kill/kiss Megatron, it’s time to see what Brainstorm’s cooked up. It’s not much, but to be fair, he’s only had a few hours to pull something together- our ship’s genius has made a few forcefield generators, using nothing more than some forcefield generators and juice he squeezed out of a bug. Science truly is amazing.

And I bet Trailcutter hates this invention too, for multiple reasons this time!

Cyclonus, who is looking especially purple today, agrees to join the excursion to the Dead Universe, even though it’s pretty clear he really, really doesn’t want to. Hardhead seems in better spirits than our resident space jet, though maybe that’s just bravado macho-man bullshitting on his part.

With our team put together, it’s time to jump out of the spaceship and into a place that quite literally wants them dead. But first Rodimus has a little chat with Ultra Magnus about his feelings. A lot of sharing this issue.

Magnus doesn’t feel fit to be in charge while Rodimus goes off to save the day and maybe die, because he doesn’t have that special something that makes a leader a leader. Charisma? The ability to think on your feet? The ability to see people as people and not numbers? Not having people know you’re actually a much smaller man running around in an Ultra Magnus suit? Whatever it is, Rodimus seems to think that it’s trumped by a mysterious something in his hand, and that Magnus will do just fine.

While Team -Imus goes into the murder reality, Magnus and the Lost Light will be going off to find Jhiaxus, because they need something to do while our protagonist and his absentee father go on their own adventure.

Back on Cybertron, Starscream’s visiting prison, and wants to talk to a very good boy without the guards overhearing. Jazz makes a very vague threat about what will happen if any harm comes to the prisoner, then steps away.

Let’s talk about how to sell toys for a second.

This issue of “Dark Cybertron” had a cover featuring Scoop, the very good boy I’ve mentioned before, because it was paired off with his Generations toy. We know from reading RID that Scoop is the leader of a group called the Construction Patrol, and he likes to help simply for the sake of helping. Sounds like a nice, if generic, character. How is this issue going to introduce people to him? Will he bust out of prison to save the day? Fight evil through heroic sacrifice? Do anything besides talk?

No, he’s going to tell Starscream he’s a herald of death that was foretold in the robot bible.

Yeah, that’ll move some fucking product!

This isn’t even the most batshit thing Scoop’s going to pull in this event, but it is what they decided to put in the issue that “features” him.

Over with Shockwave, we’re treated to some renewed friendships, as Nova Prime and Galvatron reveal that they don’t hate each other after all, but have a mutual respect based in subjugating those weaker than them.

I’m guessing this is a contrast to their previous relationship dynamic in older publications, but I’m not going back to comb through the likes of Heart of Darkness to check, because it really doesn’t matter.

There’s a bit of a snag in Shockwave’s plan to bring Galvatron and Nova Prime back to the Not-Dead Universe, as the space bridge in the Titan burnt up when it got there. Gee, that sucks. I guess all those “Prelude” issues about getting the Titan from Gorlam Prime were sort of a waste of time, weren’t they? Love it when I’m told I wasted my time reading motherfucking Ramondelli issues.

Speaking of Ramondelli, it’s Dead Universe time.

Sigh. Hello, public domain pictures of space on the overlay layer option in Photoshop. It’s nice to see you.

No, it isn’t. I lied.

I’m sorry, public domain pictures of space on the overlay layer option in Photoshop, this isn’t your fault.

So we’re here in the Dead Universe, and it’s looking pretty wild and crazy, though the characters are likely thinking this for a completely different reason than we are as readers. It turns out, the Dead Universe… is dying.

…MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM THAT’S SOME GOOD WRITIN’ RIGHT THERE

Also, Cyclonus has disappeared, not that anyone actually gives a shit, because they’re too busy dealing with the giant space leeches that just showed the hell up. Dang, why’s that happening?

…That only happens as a form of population control, or if the young in question are sickly and have a low chance of survival, not just because the mama rabbit got a bit peckish between lunch and dinner, you stupid fucking robot.

Half of this writing team won awards a couple years after this was published, I want you to remember that.

They fight the cyberwraiths for a bit, things look like they’re getting dicey, then suddenly they fuck off as Cyclonus shows up, probably fresh off the end of a goddamned panic attack because he’s back in the Dead Universe. Then he proceeds to vomit up some black energon. That’s a fun thing, glad you made me look at that.

Rodimus is concerned that one of their team members has got the Hollywood Tuberculosis cough, but Cyclonus doesn’t want his fucking pity. The fellas decide it’s time to get a move on, seeing as they’ve been here a grand total of 20 seconds and been attacked, so they need to get this over with ASAP.

As Team -Imus flies off in a ship I don’t remember them bringing along, someone decides that they’re going to stick their finger in that puddle of vomit.

Nightbeat you fucking idiot, there aren’t any sinks in the Dead Universe! Now your hand’s gonna be all gross for the entirety of this event! He’s not even analyzing it, it’s just on his hand! Why is Nightbeat having zero concept of personal hygiene a running theme in the things I read? Fuck!

You may be wondering what Nightbeat’s doing in the Dead Universe, or even where he’s been for a good chunk of IDW. We’ve seen him in flashbacks from before the war, but not during or after, least not within anything I’ve covered. So, what’s be been up to?

Fuck you, you’ll have to wait for a later issue to be told what Phase One bullshit you’ll have had to read to understand why this dumbass is here.

Back on Cybertron, Prowl is telling Bumblebee that he sucks because he’s not acting. I’m not exactly sure what he expects Bumblebee to do about the Titan who’s just standing there. It’s not like issuing a loitering ticket is going to do anything. Then the Decepticons attack them, among their ranks being the scariest fucking Ravage I’ve ever seen.

Why do you look like that? Rojo’s supposed to have the cutesy style on this team, why the fuck did he turn the kitty cat into one of the terror dogs from Ghostbusters? 

Anyway, that’s the end of the issue. Sure hope you’re invested enough in trying to figure out what the fuck Nightbeat’s deal is to snag Robots in Disguise #23.

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

Just some theories and critcisms that I have the the recent two volumes.

Probably to start off from the beginning, Volume 7 was... interesting the say the least. Not that I hated it, because I didn't, I enjoyed many of the characters that they introduced to us, as well as I kinda enjoyed Penny making a come back, however I do have gripes about that, but I'll get into it a little further down the road. There was always one issue that I had with 7, and admitedly, it ruined one of the characters for me. Clover. A little bit of back story, when I first started watching 7, and Clover was properly introduced in the Dust Minds with Qrow, and the phrase "My semblance is good fortune." came out of his mouth, I instantly hated him, and for 2 main reasons. I knew the shippers were going to go crazy about it, and I just hated the potential connotations that came with it. I don't know about everyone else, but I love good and propper character growth. I was gonna be kinda pissy if they spent a whole volume trying to build Qrow's character up, only to solve his whole character arc by making his depression magically go poof with friendship, and that friend having a semblance to combat his own. Not matter what people want to believe, that's not good character growth. Genuinely sit down and think of the message behind that. It might as well be implying that if you can find that one person who builds you up, all of your problems will go away, and speaking from real life experience, it is not a good idea to have your happiness revolve around a singular person, because you never know when that person can back stab you, or just kick rocks.

What really broke my heart is that it took RT killing him off for me to actually take a deep look at Clover as a character for me to realize that I actually like him as a character, I just hated how they used him for plot device towards Qrow's developement. As much as I now like Clover, I'm glad that RT killed him off, because in the long run, it was better off that way for Qrow's sake, and again, the implications of their friend ship aren't entirely healthy, and is kind of ignorant to how much of an issue things like depression is. That shit doesn't just go away just because a person is introduced into the mix. In part it's also why I don't like Fair Game as a ship, because while cute in concept, it gets boring with a lot of the content that get's produced as it's mostly happy, cute, good times. It lacks in any real complexity because it's all honestly just cookie cutter romance, and it's not really all that fun to take in. In addition to that, the main issues I had mentioned before come into play. The idea that one person is so perfect while the other is fucked up in the head, that the fucked up one is heavily emotionally reliant on the other which is in fact not a healthy relationship for either member, and it would be terrifying to see how Qrow would pull himself together if he's even able to, in a scenario where they were long time romantic partners, and suddenly Clover just up and kicked rocks, or the relationship fell a part. In all honesty, it would potentially just destroy him. In general, I just think the lucky semblance thing was a dumb idea all together. I see why they did it in the grand scheme of things, but it annoyed me.

Then of course there's Robin. Let's be real, her semblance is story wrecking levels of broken. Like come on RT. Lie Detector semblance??? Really??? That is a power no mortal should ever have, and there's so many times that Robin could have broken the whole ass story just with the touch of another person's hand. (And no, just because Harriet didn't take her hand in Vol. 8 doesn't make the semblance concept any less stupid. If anything, it just makes it worse, because it shows that Harriet can't be trusted to act rationally in a situation she should realistically be able to act diplomatically towards. Grief is not an excuse when you're on the job.) I have the same issues with her that I had with Clover, it's that her semblance is damn near unneccessary.

Now to go into Volume 8, but not before giving a genuine criticism towards the whole series of RWBY. Why is it that the majority of the antagonistic characters have tragic back stories. Roman Torchwick was the only one who didn't have that sort of back story, and he wasn't even the main set of antags. Then of course there's Neo, but what good does that actually do when that's exactly what her future drives end up being is the tragic tale of her losing a close friend and associate. With Cinder, they pulled no punches, and oh my god, the song that goes with it. Like my god RT, could you slap the veiwers any harder with your dick obviousness? I hate that they gave easily the 2nd most fucked up character a sob story. It wasn't neccessary. The only good thing about it was when Wattz used her tragic past against her to put her in her place. There's no need to humanize someone who is so driven by hatred like that, as she's done so much fucked up shit to the main cast of characters that most if not all people wouldn't bat an eyelash at her, because it doesn't change her decision to intentionally be sadistic. And while on the topic of a Maiden, let's move to another. Penny. Volume 8 did her dirty. I'm all for bringing a character back, and I'm all for killing off a character for plot purpose, but the two don't fucking mix. Penny's death was redundant and unneccessary. What was the point of giving her a human body if she was just going to die within that same day? What was the point of bringing her back again if she was just going to die? Again? There's two routs RT should have taken. Either they should have killed her vol. 3 and had her stay dead, or she shouldn't have died in vol. 3, continued on as normal, and only then should she have died in vol. 8. Option number 2 is the ladder. I get what RT was trying to do with Penny's death, and I think it was a good concept, but god damn, this is Dragon Ball, we don't need redundant, pointless deaths. At least in vol. 8, there was a purpose behind Penny's death, but in vol. 3, Penny's death was more so unneccessary, and was only used to be a maryr for Ruby's cause. In fairness to them, you can't really expect them to fix what they had done years ago, but with full knowledge that this is what their plot meant they would have to do, they should have reconsidered the handing of their events for either Vol. 8, or both Vol 8 and 7 by removing Penny from it entirely.

Some additional criticisms that don't hold a lot of weight in the over all quality of the show, and more just some missed opportunities. Okay, so remember that whole speil Nora went on about having to find herself before she could be with Ren? Yeeeeeah, so why was it again that Jean had to be the one to fall into the abyss and not Nora or Ren??? Just putting that out there. If Nora and Ren needed to be seperate long enough for Nora to figure herself out, there's no real reason that they couldn't act on this. Because now instead, they're going to have to lean on each other even more so when news comes to them that the majority of their friends just got fucking dusted, and so they'll most likely be grieving together under the pretences that their friends are dead. Speaking of the abyss, fan theory time.

From what we've seen of this abyss that everyone has fallen into, it seems to be a fairly habitable pocket demention. With enough work, a civilization could possibly grow there. Where am I going with this? Well what do we know about Salem? She's a force to be reckoned with who could very potentially kill off the whole world with or without the help of the gods. We also know that she's immortal and cannot be killed. That doesn't however mean she can't be stopped. That's where the pocket demension comes into play. How do you fight off an immortal, blood thirsty, angry ex wife? By taking away everything she has to destroy in her path. You can't cause a mass genocide if there's no one to kill. And so that's where the pocket demension comes into play. What if that's how they stop Salem? By just leaving Remnant behind completely? They could take the staff back, and move all of Remnant's population into this dimension, and start new. In addition to that, they would need to take the staff of creation with them, meaning so much for collecting all four relics to blow up the planet. Now of course, there are some flaws with this theory, mainly in regards to carrying capacity of the area around them, rather or not the area is truly as inhabitable as it appears, and how safe the it actually is to live there. It's just more fodder for thought. What is RT planning with this pocket demension? Why are they so excited about Vol. 9 in regards to this? I'm really interested in how they're going about this, and hopefully the do a good job with it.

Anyways, those are just my thoughts on RWBY so far. Hopefully Vol. 9 does make up for the haphazard ending that was Vol. 8

[kinetic-elaboration]

October 25: 1x20 Court Martial

Now that Chopped is done I am free to watch TOS again. Today’s ep: Court Martial, a wonderful combination of two of my favorite things: Captain Kirk and Legal Stuff.

Look at that backdrop. I forgot how many Very 50′s backgrounds they had in this show.

The Intrepid is here for repairs! Such a lost opportunity to show more Vulcans in Starfleet.

I don’t entirely get why the Commodore has his own special transport pad. I guess it must allow him to beam himself places without the use of a ship but like... to where is he beaming?

Lol that absolutely terrible sailor suit outfit on the little girl. I can only assume it’s a school uniform as it’s the only thing she ever wears.

Can you believe how this whole episode is based, essentially, around allegedly broken regulations? I mean I know it’s more than that and they do a good job explaining why it’s bad to eject the pod early (”when there is no emergency”) but like, essentially, the underlying conditions of emergency are not in Kirk’s control. It’s possible to just skip officially calling the emergency while nevertheless acting in a way that is appropriate for an emergency, and so it comes down to “did he first declare the emergency officially and then act in accordance with the declared emergency or did he just skip the first step?” rather than “did he act too quickly?” since HE was the one who determined if the conditions warranted an emergency.

Having said all that I still don’t get what an ion pod is or where it was or why it had to be ejected at all. Or how Finney got out of the pod if it was ejected.

Vulcanian expedition?!?

Kirk’s default voice is just flirty; I’m sorry but it is. Even talking to his old school classmates, who are VERY quick to judge him harshly and hate on him, implying they were probably never friends, he’s All Charm by default. And he doesn’t drop the charm even when he starts politely fighting with them.

Bones using Jim to flirt--with Jim’s ex-girlfriend! “Did you see that guy over there, he’s pretty famous, and we’re friends!”

I love Areel Shaw and I’m just gonna say I think she’s my favorite Kirk girlfriend.

Charged with culpable negligence. As opposed to...not culpable negligence?

When he was a midshipman...

What’s with all these professor & student friendships??

I cannot believe part of the Finney & Kirk backstory is that he literally named his daughter after Kirk. Like that’s so intense! I feel like it kind of changes everything but I can’t entirely untangle how.

This “I can’t believe you filed a report about my error” backstory is literally the beginning of STID except Kirk is the Spock of this scenario.

Star Trek: Law and Order. Bum bum.

This whole idea of pitting Kirk against a computer is clever in that people to this day are like “but computers are infallible?” but also dumb because Kirk >>> Computer obviously.

Having drinks with the ex and he turns the charm up to 11.

All of this is wildly unethical, from her telling him about the prosecution’s case, to her BEING the prosecution.

I actually read an article recently about this isn’t, or shouldn’t be, her job as prosecutor, to drum him out of the service in disgrace. Her job should be to find the truth in a more neutral way.

Wtf are all these totally useless federal reporters doing here?

I’m a pro-book person but this is a HILARIOUS anti-computer speech. Like--the law is in the computer dude! It is! It’s the same law as in the books. Intergalactic Westlaw is available to you. And then he goes off on this weird rant about Moses, like--dude, Moses isn’t in the reporters OR Westlaw OR whatever Starfleet code is actually at issue here.

Kirk likes him though.

Shaw in the dress uniform with the long skirt hot damn.

Not even the computer can pronounce Spock’s full name. And he’s been demoted again.

Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor.

Spock isn’t having any of this. “I don’t dispute it. I just... actually I do dispute it because it’s nonsense.”

His entire testimony is the equivalent of “You don’t have all the facts.” / “Which are?” / “I love him.”

The defense doesn’t need to question him because he’s already testified for the defense.

This is such a hilarious use of McCoy. For the first time ever we’re told he’s actually a psychologist on top of being a surgeon and GP and then his whole testimony isn’t even really medical? It’s just like wild speculation, which being a doctor and an “expert in psychology” somehow qualifies him to provide?

I love how Kirk’s service record just goes on and on and on. Areel doesn’t do herself any favors objecting to it; that just draws attention to it. As the defense lawyer knows by insisting it continuing and then cutting it off for being comically long.

Kirk: “I can be level-headed in an emergency. This wasn’t my first rodeo.”

This chair design is SO BAD. I know it needs to be like this for the plot but omg putting the pod release button on the chair at all (like does the captain have to jettison pods a lot?) and then especially directly under the red alert button, and then putting both of them just out there without any kind of cover or anything--that’s just waiting for someone to lean on his chair arm and make a deadly mistake.

Also nothing else is even labeled lmao.

This is a very impressive deep fake.

This whole ion storm does not really seem like a scary emergency situation lol. It seems like Kirk and everyone else are basically keeping their heads.

“You may be able to beat your next Captain at chess” Kirk as chess master confirmed.

“I didn’t realize how close you and my father were even though I was literally named after you.”

Obligatory Bones accuses Spock of not caring about Jim scene.

“Why thank you, Doctor, my blood is very cold.”

I can’t believe Spock programmed the computer to play chess with him. Probably so he could practice for Jim.

The lawyer’s outfit is hilarious: little pocket for a pen in front. Is he... a civilian lawyer? Is that even allowed?

Here is talking about the Bible again. And the Magna Carta. First, it’s always funny when a bunch of real things are followed by some fake science fiction things. And second, he’s pretty obviously just talking about the Constitution, and like maybe a very tiny bit about the Magna Carta. There’s no right to counsel in the Bible.

Really glad to know the Martians care about the right to an attorney though. And that the Alpha 3 Colonies protect the right of confrontation.

I bet Spock is unimpressed with this Drama.

Why did they change out of their dress uniforms?

How convenient that Finney was one of only three people who could change the computer. I mean I guess this is a permissions thing--but why would the records officer have that? Not that I know what a records officer is.

“White noise device” you can’t fool me, that’s a microphone.

Also another hilarious use of McCoy. Do they really NEED the ship’s surgeon to put a microphone against people’s chests? “Don’t mind me, just stealing your heartbeats.”

Like the general concept of this is nifty story telling but some of the details are....uh.... funny.

Captain’s log: “We brought a young girl onto the ship even when it’s in a dangerous position so we could use her against her father.”

Finney really was playing the looooooong game of revenge lol. And yet it still doesn’t seem well thought out. What was the next part of his plan? Somehow get back OFF the ship once Kirk’s career is ruined, and then live the rest of his life under an assumed name? Never seeing his daughter again? No Starfleet career even though it’s allegedly so important to him? Seems a little bit like everyone loses.

Lol not letting Spock leave the bridge because the court martial’s not ever. “Sorry, we all might die, but court IS still in session.” Even though they ALREADY KNOW the alleged victim is still alive!

I love that Uhura is essential personnel. They didn’t keep the navigator on board, even though they apparently need one, but they did keep Uhura.

Oh no, Kirk’s flimsy shirt, falling apart again!

��Beaten and sobbing, Finney told me how to fix the ship.” Bitter much?

Kirk, being a badass, fixing the ship all by himself.

Honestly I just really love a narrative in which an upright man plays by the rules, does the right thing, and behaves in good faith and is ultimately vindicated and rewarded.

Now everyone agrees there’s no crime and thus no point to continuing the court-martial.

He’s defending Ben Finney! Good luck with that.

I love how Kirk’s face goes from full-on-romance to slightly-embarrassed-serious-Captain as soon as he remembers, hey, I really AM on the bridge!

“She’s a very good lawyer.” / “Obviously.”

This was such a good Kirk episode, both for showing off all his good qualities, and for getting some interesting insight into his character. He strikes me as the kind of person who, because he’s so by-the-book, and because he’s smart and successful, inspires jealousy in other people, and thus has a lot of strained acquaintanceships--like with the other men at the bar. But he also has these really, really strong friendships and relationships: Areel Shaw, Spock and McCoy, and even Finney. I feel like he’s probably rather awkward with most people, but then when the relationship is established, he’s ride or die. And, he doesn’t hold grudges. I don’t think he really knew how upset Finney was about what happened literally 10+ years ago--especially if he had any say at all about Finney serving on his ship, and I suspect he could have at least vetoed him. And even after Finney tried to disgrace him and then actually kill him, he still didn’t seem to upset about it, or about his lawyer turning around and defending Finney.

I think Kirk likes the military in part because it gives him this very strict set of rules about interacting with other people, so he doesn’t have to make up his own. I bet the intensity of the service also allows him to form these stronger relationships, which do seem to suit him better. And when he doesn’t have anything else to fall back on, he INVARIABLY pulls out the charm: he does it with old classmates, random 21st century pilots, immortal teenage girls, and actual love interests. It’s his default mode. I think that makes sense for someone who’s very ambitious, very precise, very nerdy, very rules-oriented, and whose default mode as a young man, by his own admission, was “grim.”

Wow it is so much later than anticipated... I need to get to sleep!

Next ep is Return of the Archons, which I’ve only seen once and don’t remember super well. I think it’s a ‘society ruled by computers’ thing, which is fine. Maybe not as much of a classic as some other S1 eps, but it should be fun anyway.

[shibalen]

♡ matchup for @imissleeandluke

hello! i am so sorry for the wait, i ended up in some rather unexpected situations ^^; anyhowdies, i think i've found nice matches for you!

(will add the 'read more' once tumblr desktop stops its shenanigans)

|| Kuroshitsuji: i match you with . . .

Undertaker

My first thought and I stick with it 100%. (External?) opposites attract type of situation? Firstly, Undertaker is too eccentric to be put off by your antisocial behavior. Once he takes an interest in you you're already strapped up and in for the ride.

What pulled him to you most was how closed off you were. He was immediately intrigued and wanted to know what more there was to you. Though given his sketchy mannerisms it was no surprise you didn't trust him at all for a while.

He's just as stubborn as you are and clever to say the least though so you two gradually began getting along. Eventually you realised you have more in common than you could have imagined!

It's a good thing you're interested in horror because being with this man means seeing plenty of gore among other horrifying things–it's a package deal.

He lOvEs your sense of humor, it's one of his favorite traits about you! He's not too different in that aspect, and we know he appreciates laughter so being with you never fails to make him giggle. Dirty jokes, sarcasm - lay it all on him. He's glad to have someone to finally find his jokes funny too.

You tease each other so much some might question if you're a couple at all. You both have already agreed to let them use their imagination instead of giving a straight answer.

Saying he was delighted to learn about your childish side is an understatement. Whenever you act like it, in a good or bad way, he'll find it cute and just chuckle to himself and join you.

Y'all play tag and hide-n-seek in the funeral parlor, it's chaotic. And speaking of, if you're not getting pranked you're in on one with Undertaker oof–

Sing for him while he's working and he'll hum along. He really likes hearing your voice and as much as he'd think it'd funny to ruin it by intentionally singing badly, it's more worth listening to you sing.

Be careful though, he'll try to take your hobby for shopping to his advantage. Whenever you go out for fun he'll try to convince you to get him a long list of stuff that's a pain to carry. No matter how he tries to seduce you into it you have to firmly refuse otherwise he will keep at it.

"It's good exercise~ I'll give you an award later~ You get one book from my archive~" etc.

The closest thing to competition you will have are corpses, so you don't have to worry about anyone stealing him from you -w-y

Though sometimes when you get mad at him for being too wrapped up in work, he'll only tease you further by melodramatically talking to his "guests" aloud.

"Dear me, I think she's ignoring us. What a shame. Why do you think that is, hmm? Could it be . . . jealousy?"

He has so many nicknames for you. Darling, dear, doll, sweetheart, poppet . . . Your rections to them are priceless to him.

He will ask you to bake cookies for him but you've already stopped accepting his each and every request because you know he'll just eat everything by himself. He loves your baking that much.

On other days Undertaker will bake for you and have you guess what he used for a secret ingredient. oh boy.

You both are no doubt a mystery to many but that doesn't matter to either of you. I suppose that's one of the reasons why you fit so well together?

Runner up: Mei-Rin

|| OHSC: i match you with . . .

Haruhi Fujioka

It was ultimately your strong moral centre as a Griffindor that made me put you together. Haruhi would love you for not letting something you stand for be walked over. That, plus your personality and interests? It's safe to say she's whipped.

Haruhi is more an ambivert but she definitely understands your dislike towards socializing, at least partly. Some people can be very annoying. So, unless it's necessary, she won't insist you go anywhere or talk to people you don't want to.

In some situations she'll be like your representative in communication and it's adorable. She doesn't mind at all, as long as you're content and comfortable ♡

There was likely a painfully long period of friendship before you two got together, and an even longer period of acquaintance-ship prior to that. At first you talked just to discuss some schoolwork but gradually grew closer as time passed. Haruhi liked you more and more as she got to know you and was very patient with you opening up to her.

She first noticed your independance and honesty (as a Griffindor). Having been surrounded by spoiled rich people for so long, Haruhi saw those traits as a breath of fresh air! She was honestly a little taken aback later seeing your childish side but bounced back quickly, learning to accept and love it. She'll be there to watch your back in case you might go overboard.

She takes playful teasing well amd might even strike back, but your dirty jokes will never fail to make her blush /// (it's funny cause it only happens when you make them)

She doesn't entirely understand your tendency to get jealous easily, being more laid-back. That being said, she never makes you jealous on purpose! If it somehow happens anyway and she notices you're feeling down because of it, she immediately gives you her attention.

Later when you're alone together she tries to make up for it. She makes you sweets and your favorite hot drink and you spend the remnants of the day enjoying a nice indoor date, watching horror movies while snuggled up, reading, singing karaoke, just the two of you.

Sarcasm duo™ that's all.

While you tend to be stubborn Haruhi's more peaceful so you don't have to worry about intense fights. She'll give in 9/10 times because she hates arguing with you. You're so important to her🥺

Take her shopping with you! She's so used to saving up so with your help she'll be able to loosen up a little every once in a while. At the end of the day she'll be grateful, you both will be laughing to your hearts content and you get to see one of the most adorable smiles directed only at you.

Baking dates at your place are frequent! You teach her some handy tips and tricks and she shares her mother's recipes with you. Kisses while getting bits of batter or cream off the other's face are super sweet ♡

h e i g h t d i f f e r e n ce

You two wearing matching sweaters is too powerful a concept. If you do it, the boys in the host club won't be able to handle it and neither will I. It's too cute💀

Alongside with being a couple, you'd be best friends. Your relationship would be built on strong, mutual trust and respect. Haruhi feels so lucky to have you!

Runner up: Kaoru Hitachiin

thank you for requesting and i hope you have a lovely day! also, any feedback you might have is always be appreciated ♡