#the parallel of the one meme ‘you know a ship is good when one has catholic guilt and the other is goofy’

[connecting-the-stars]

Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking I’m normal. Then I drop into add to one of my 50k word docs dedicated to characters I think about a little too much to add a fic summary of Shadow the Hedgehog, Kurt Wagner, and Matt Murdock walking to a church.

I’m realizing not for the first time, I have something of a fixation. And a pattern of favorite characters.

[rwbyrg]

Can we take a moment to appreciate just how well fed we are? Both in canon and beyond?

Oscar said "woah" the moment he first met Ruby.

"Woah. You have... silver eyes". Specifically.

The scene of them sparring at sunset and being goofy about it.

They're the two youngest members of the team, and both of their main allusions are stories about growing up (The Little Prince and Little Red Riding Hood).

Oscar's main allusion is of a character that's in love with a rose. Ruby's last name is Rose, she has a rose emblem, and can turn into rose petals.

They also have shared/parallel allusions from in-universe fairytales (Ex. The Boy Who Fell From The Sky, The Girl Who Fell Through the World, and most notably, The Warrior in the Woods).

The Dojo Scene

Their shared attachments to each other keep being put in focus.

Oscar cared more about Ruby being knocked out than Weiss being impaled at Haven.

Ruby's always watching his back in fights, and he always has hers in group conflict discussions.

Neo, the illusionist character, uses Oscar as both the first and last illusion to torture Ruby; going so far as to make Ruby "kill" him with her own hands. It could have been anyone, but it WASN'T. It was OSCAR.

Meanwhile, Oscar in the V9 epilogue laments to Ruby's "grave" about how he is struggling to hold onto who he is more than ever before. In large part because of the merge, but also because Ruby "always saw people for who they really were", and she's not around anymore to help remind him of who he is.

"You're your own person."

The Almost Hug.

The song that plays leading up to The Almost Hug is one about someone pining for a love they've lost and been separated from across worlds. The song airs a few episodes before Oscar and Ruby are the only "pairing" split up between Remnant and The Ever After. The song itself is called Treasure and Ruby is a type of precious gem, while Oscar's name alludes to gold.

Oscar's last name is Pine. Which, aside from the species of tree, is defined as: "to long or yearn for the return of something; to suffer, typically from a broken heart"(please see points 12 and 15).

They have multiple paralleling arcs and themes around choice, identity, responsibility, leadership, grief, etc.

Their character designs have complimentary colour schemes like other canon ships (red/green and silver/gold).

Sun/Moon ship

"Combat gear looks good."

They also follow the same story beats, separations, and reunions that other canon ships have in show (the meet-cute, the getting-to-know-you, the breakup arc, the distance makes the heart grow fonder trope, the (upcoming) emotional reunion, etc).

The animators, writers, and even voice actors on occasion, engage with fan content or discussions of the ship in a positive manner.

The Official RWBY Twitter Oscars Meme

Miles Luna has said a few times that the ship is cute. He also highlights that their relationship is built on mutual understanding from being in similar circumstances as the youngest kids in the group with too much weight on their shoulders.

Miles also said that in a hypothetical scenario where everyone celebrates Oscar's birthday, Ruby would buy a co-op video game as a present and the two of them would stay up really late playing it together.

Rosegarden won 2nd place in a popular RWBY YouTuber's "Top 10 RWBY Ships" poll as voted by fans after Volume 8 (it would have been third place if Renora and Bumbleby hadn't tied for first).

That one video from Aaron Dismuke, Oscar's VA.

"That kid's got a collapsible staff" -heart eyes emoji-

We've gotten a "Rosegarden Moment" in every Volume premiere since Oscar's debut in V4.

Oscar shouting Ruby's name too many times in the V6 fight against Cordovin.

Maria tells Oscar to "keep that fire fed" after he overhears Ruby talking about food always making her feel better. Then a few episodes later, he suspiciously makes a casserole for the "team" after "they" had a rough day (where he stood up for Ruby when she was looking defeated in a group argument).

Oscar's the only person Ruby opened up to about her grief until the blacksmith. Meanwhile, Ruby's the one who's always assuring Oscar he's his own person despite the merge.

The parallels of Oscar's struggle with the merge and Ruby's ascension in The Ever After.

"I'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't I?" / "What if you could be anyone?"

Characters within the narrative regularly notice how close these two are to each other. Mainly Nora, Weiss, Yang, Cinder and Neo.

Oscar blushed when Ruby touched his shoulder???

THE FUMBLE?!?!?!?

[alice-after-dark]

One Day I'll Do a Proper Ship Meme But for Now Here Have My Vox Agenda

Thoughts/headcanons/rambles under cut

TW for abusive StaticMoth and Vox having been a bitch to Sir Pentious.

Alastor/Vox - Do I really need to explain this one? Are you new here? I'll just direct you to search "radiostatic" on my blog. I̸͎̝͛́ ̷͙̲̊̄͐l̴̮̲̭̍͌͆ȏ̶̜v̵̞́̑͒̆e̷̡̡͉̰̍̽́ ̷̇͝ͅt̶̡̛̬̖͓̆h̴̠͎̞͕̑e̵͆̈́��͕̼̜̘̔m̷̤̜̒

Valentino/Vox - Again, unless you're new here, you'll pretty much know my thoughts on them. Check out my "staticmoth" tag and you'll understand.

Charlie - I see so many parallels between these two and I desperately want them to officially interact in season 2. They're on completely opposite ends of the spectrum and aaaahhhhh I just want to see Vox's cynicism clashing with Charlie's idealism and it could be so good you guys. So good. I do also really like the idea of Charlie being the catalyst to Vox realizing just how much he's changed since arriving in Hell (like he used to enjoy the TV scene for the pure creativity of it and now that's all been replaced by the cold corporate greed).

Vaggie - Honestly, I just think it would be interesting. Also I really hope Vaggie doesn't have a carbon-copy reaction to him like she did Alastor. As I mentioned in a previous post, while yes, she might be cautious, she has less of a reason to be so hostile towards him. Plus their mutual dislike of Alastor would be a bonding moment, but also presents an opportunity for Vaggie to find out more about Alastor (albeit from a biased party).

Angel - I've brought up inklings of these two before, but I think them having a very complicated relationship due to their mutual connection and experiences with Valentino would be interesting, especially in regards to how they both handle it in similar yet different ways. They both bury their pain, Angel by leaning into the sexuality, drugs, and alcohol to forget how much he hates it and Vox by refusing to even acknowledge that he's in pain at all. And Vox's refusal to acknowledge it also makes him complicit in Angel's pain as well. He could do something, could try to stop it, but he doesn't to protect himself. I think seeing the two of them try to heal side by side, both from their issues with Valentino and the issues between each other, would be fascinating.

Husk - Knew each other from back when Vox and Alastor were still friends. Husk calls him "kid" (Vox was in his 30s when he died in the 1950s while Husk was in his 60s when he died in the 1970s) which annoys Vox as he doesn't think he's that much younger than Husk to warrant being called a kid. Vox knew him as an Overlord and was very shocked and kind of sad when he found out about Husk losing his soul to Alastor some time after their falling out (just one more thing to embitter him towards the Radio Demon).

Niffty - Anyone who has been on my blog when I started posting about Hazbin Hotel knows it started with these two. I think a dynamic between them would be fun and interesting to explore. Like Husk, she knew him from back when he was friends with Alastor. I like to think that Vox was literally there when Alastor brought her home with him ("What is that?" / "I'm calling her Niffty! Isn't she precious?" / "She is actively biting your arm." / "What a darling little thing!"). He was a little weirded out by her at first, but has since grown to care for her as much as Alastor does. Despite her size and lack of power, Vox fully trusts in her ability to take care of herself...he's seen things that can't be unseen.

Rosie - Vox definitely respects her for her ability to keep such tight control of a horde of bloodthirsty cannibals and actually turn them into a polite society. Despite not being very physically strong, her charisma and drive keep her on top and well respected. I like the idea that he met her through Alastor when they were still friends and though he hasn't really engaged with her too much since the fallout, he does still hold respect for her and frankly won't tolerate anyone disrespecting her. She is the only one outside of the Vees who knows about Vox practicing using his electrokinesis to heal.

Mimzy - They're not exactly friends, but she will not hesitate to approach him if she sees him. It's Mimzy so she absolutely expects special treatment. She's way more up front with him about wanting something than she is with Alastor simply because she knows Vox operates differently than the deer demon. If she wants something, she's gotta be prepared to pay up in some capacity, but Vox is usually willing to be flexible in terms of payment because she has her uses.

Sir Pentious - Okay, so I know this one is a bit awkward cause it would involve Vox actually apologizing to Sir Pentious for the cruel things he said and telling him to unalive himself, but I really think they'd be interesting. They're both innovators and creators and the two of them combining their skills would be both awesome and terrifying. I do think that Sir Pentious, while he does think all the Vees are incredible, idolizes Vox specifically for these exact reasons.

Velvette - They're both bitches, but they love the other for it. Can snark at each other for hours. They're the two who get shit done, even if Velvette can sometimes take her bitchsona a bit too far and Vox has to reign her in. Politics aren't her strong suit, but he can always count on her to take care of the business side of things.

Zestial - Based on my recent post about them, I like the idea that Vox has a respect for Zestial that he doesn't give to most other Overlords (Rosie being the other exception). Sure, he'll play nice and professional with them, but he doesn't truly respect them like he does Zestial and Rosie. I honestly see them having a mutual respect for each other (though Zestial wouldn't say he approves of Vox's choice in colleagues) and we do see in that Zestial can be a little sassy so I 100% believe if Vox had been present during the Overlord meeting in episode 3, Zestial literally would have ignored Velvette entirely to speak to Vox about the angel's death instead (and we all know how much Velvette would have just loved that).

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

For the character ask:

Rei: 4, 9, 26

For this ask meme

Doing yours first, because they're easier ^^

✨🔪Rei 🗡️✨

4. Favourite line

I get to pick three, right? One from canon, one from the movies, and one from ZTT?

I'm actually horrible at remembering specific lines, so I'll be paraphrasing

"Someone as strong as you... why did you let him die?"

ZTT

has a strong runner-up:

Love it because it mirrors Shiho's sentiment with Conan, and they really didn't need more parallels but they're there now.

However, I know I'm biased but the wistful:

"If only I could forget you..." while wearing a ring takes the spot for ZTT. I'm just too weak for AkAm.

The movies:

While the whole ✨exchange✨ in m26 is what got me into the ship in the first place, the line that has my heart is from m20.

"Is that gun you're carrying just for show?!"

Rei worked his ass off to stop the bomb threat and in the meantime Akai has done nothing with his bid dumb toy he dragged out here? That can't be, now it's his time to prove he's worth Rei's trust.

Also the line works great as an innuendo.

Canon:

This is actually the hardest, because I can't remember any specific lines from canon tbh.

I like this scene, but the line by itself is a bit of a nothing burger.

But thankfully that reminded me of a line I did vaguely remember:

Look at him being menacing to a grade schooler for no good reason. #goals #thatsmyblorbo

Bonus: konapazu game

"It's normal to be attracted to the strong, isn't it?"

I see what you are, Rei. (Powersexual)

9. Scene that first made me love him

This one's easy and hard at the same time. I was massively intrigued by Rei in m26, but the specific point at which I came to love him is hard to pin down.

I think it was his cocky confidence when he met with Yuusakokiya, explained all of his (correct) deductions, and then pulled down the sweater. Only to be bamboozled so hard he made a surprised pikachu face. The man is insane and has no boundaries, and the fact he got screwed over so hard, yet persisted with his gut feeling just made me love him more. He's so funny.

26. What would he do if he was stuck in an elevator with [agent Camel]?

Of all the things I expected ZTT to give us, the unwilling Rei & Camel friendship arc was not even close to getting on my bingo card.

But I do find them funny, because Rei is just. So much more competent and capable than Camel, and we know he hates the FBI being in his country. But Camel is so pathetic that Rei makes an exception for him (or maybe it's Amuro's customer service face, but we know that Amuro also doesn't take shit when he doesn't want to - see: Masumi).

So if they were stuck in an elevator, Rei would almost immediately clamber out through the emergency hatch, because he has shit to do, and leave Camel to rot wait until help has arrived, but he would give Camel a tip for where to procure the salmon Jodie's been wanting to eat for her birthday.

Thank you for the ask <3

[thegeminisage]

tos ep rewrites/stid rewrite for the wip meme!!!

HIIII ty for asking

this isn't technically a fic per se, it's almost like a half-fic half-meta kind of deal - essentially it's an outline of what could be a fic if i had more time and patience. i did this for the first tos movie here and had a lot of fun doing it, and then i also did a small rewrite of "tholian web" here, and i had SO MUCH FUN DOING THEM but then i got side tracked and haven't done anymore. my plans for other episodes/stid are vaguely as follows:

the enemy within - loved this one conceptually but the crass rape jokes left a real sour taste in my mouth. i'd have less of that (or, if i had it, take it seriously) and more shenanigans where someone can't tell the two kirks apart because. they're both the real kirk!! that's the real point of the episode, right?

the conscience of the king - frankly, there was too much shakespeare here, even though it will always be my fav trek episode of all time. i also thought the lenore thing, while a great twist, could have been a little less "but kirk really secretly loved this woman 20 years younger than him!" and more "man this is crazy fucked up that is trying to honeypot this very young woman and surprise she is doing it back to him." more foreshadowing and drama, you know? the tos version wouldn't have to be gambler's knife but it could be something more than what it was considering the huge effect it had on fandom - i always kinda wished it had the vibes that obsession did.

the galileo seven - i thought this episode treated spock like he was kind of stupid. "why is my first command failing when i've been an asshole to everybody?" he has a human mother! he knows how emotions work! he is not stupid! i also thought there was a missed opportunity: they all talked about how callous it was for him to be picking a man to leave behind to lighten the ship, and he was so obviously going to choose himself, but it never went anywhere. let's do him more justice!

metamorphosis - let's chill with the horrific misogyny and have more fun with the accidental parallel kirk made in his really cool speech. like fuck it this is my edit let's just do spirk

mirror, mirror - this one is actually perfect as it is but i wish we'd had more time to se what the mirror kirk & co were doing in the prime universe.

journey to babel - this one is great but i don't think it takes either of spock's parents to task enough for him turning out like that. also, they tricked us into thinking amanda was the good cop in aos and then have her slap him in tos but then acted like that was just fine? girl, let's get into it

the paradise syndrome - i just want this episode without the heinous racism. please please please. easily easily EASILY my biggest trek disappointment ever

requiem for methuselah/the enterprise incident - these two go together as part of a more complex story based partially on the fact that they originally wanted kirk's breakdown in the latter episode to be a real result of the various um things that happened to him in season 3 and partially by the fact that requiem for methuselah WAS my november 5th and i am being completely serious. i didn't think i would ever feel that way again but i did at the end of that episode. you can read about the general idea here at the end of @maulthots close encounters powerpoint which i helped a little bit with.

honorable mention to episode premises i would have loved in a different context - lights of zetar where spock is the possessed one and an episode totally unrelated to wolf in the fold, the funniest tos ep after tribbles, where an enemy who feeds on fear jumps around the ship possessing people. that could have been great had it been in a serious episode and not been played by piglet's voice actor

and finally, star trek into darkness...everything about this movie was bad, except the warp core thing which was accidentally very very VERY good. so i'd rewrite it from the ground up, starting with recasting khan, because that was just a hateful thing to do. i don't have very many concrete ideas on this yet except you'd HAVE to get assad zaman for khan, right? because he can do that thing where he makes his eyes shake? he would have rocked it.

let people send you an ask with the WIP title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

[renaultphile]

TC tag game

Thank you for the questions and for tagging me @spudodell.

Rules: Answer the questions and tag other TC fans!

1. "He would not fucking say that" only they did and it's canon. When/who?

Ralph to Laurie in the ‘break-up’ scene, as soon as Laurie starts asserting himself:

"Don't waste time, Spud. It's childish to start an argument about whether we love each other, the moment I go and sit on the other side of the room”

What a horrible thing to say!  Run like the wind, Laurie!

2. Did they kiss in the study? Yes/no + why you are 100% correct about this.

First let’s take a moment to appreciate Spudodell's recent spot of a stealth kiss (can you re-blog that one too, I couldn't find it!) at the beginning of the ‘break-up’ scene when Laurie comes through the door, which to me is absolutely definitive and ground-breaking (not in a good way for me, but still….brilliant detective work!)

On the kiss, I am in the ‘no kiss’ camp, but it is not possible to be definitive.  I feel that Mary plays a lot with echoes, parallels, and contrasts, and for me ultimately I feel the lack of a kiss is meant to be a contrast to other moments in the book, not an echo. 

But what has exercised me more recently is, kiss or no kiss (but especially if there was a kiss), this scene in chapter two really gives me the creeps.  I have been reading around the topic for some schoolboy Ralph fics and Alec/Ralph (watch this space on that one), and it has become ever more clear (Alec Waugh’s commentary ‘Public School Life’ being the best reference on this) that Prefects really were like Gods.  He points out that prefects had almost as much power as but even less accountability than teachers due to the ‘no-snitch rule’.  You can see it in the discussion of Hazell and his confessions, and how contemptuous the schoolboys are of him for 'confessing' (or in modern terms, reporting an inappropriate relationship).

In some ways, a kiss could explain quite a lot about Laurie’s behaviour and attitudes to Ralph in the book.  But to be brutally honest, I’ve had enough of creepy behaviour in men being disguised as ‘romantic’ in heterosexual romances (Mr Rochester, anyone?) and the thought of encountering it in a gay context in such a beloved book is just too much to bear.

So, no kiss for me!  He was still behaving pretty weirdly but that’s understandable in the circumstances.

3. Mandatory question about Ralph's alleged tattoos.

I’m sold on the fic that has him get a tattoo of his sunken ship.  Love the co-ordinates of Dunkirk idea though!  But I think Lux’s one is more realistic.  My reading of that being that he got drunk and wanted to fit in so he got a load of random not-very-good-ones.

4. 53 vs 59 edition: quote a line or paragraph that is better in the edition you like the least.

I favour the ’59 edition, as I broadly feel the cuts make it read better.  But there is one exception.  When Laurie is daydreaming about swimming with Charles, Mary cuts this line:

“Take off your things and jump in."

Apparently skinny-dipping was a step too far for the US audience!  Scandalous!

5. Which TC character would feel right at home here on tumblr dot com?

Bunny but not in a good way.

6. Tag yourself at Alec's birthday party.

I’m Laurie as in sitting in the corner checking out the books.  Not as in going on a rescue mission with some drunken guy.

7. Post a TC meme.

Sorry I couldn’t find the source of this – not exactly a meme but it made me laugh!

8. Easy to talk about who deserved better. Who deserved worse?

Not that I know what happened to them, but Andrew’s relatives who tried as hard as they could to ruin his life, as if his parents dying wasn't bad enough.

9. You can break the fourth wall (at any point in the novel) and say a single sentence to our protagonist, Laurie Odell. What do you say?

I would tell him not to let Dave bully him into leaving Andrew without seeing him.  Because he knows with every fibre of his being that Andrew would not want that.

10. What's a question you have about TC? One you haven't found an answer for yet.

Too many to say.  It’s the unknown unknowns that really get me.

Tagging @gayskogul @telltaleangelina @jeork @alovelywaytospendanevening @black-bentley and anyone else who wants to play and would like to raise their head above the parapet!!

[beatricebidelaire]

shipping ask meme: hector/lemony, kit/justice strauss

(i had to really wrack my brain for things i don’t think you’ve even talked about because you are such a rare pair multi shipper :D :D :D)

thanks mayo this is excellent i love seeing new rare pairs <3

so initially i thought, for hector/lemony, i can see the potential to explore the dynamic of, two people who grew up into adults that their teenage selves would be disappointed with ("she's not just your associate, snicket, she's your sister" vs H's inaction wrt J in tvv) but then once i start thinking about H's inaction wrt J in tvv ...... and then i decided to switch my answer from "ship it" to "don't ship it"

hector/lemony:

Why don’t you ship it?

so when i was still considering answering this ask with "ship it" i was going to make a case about considering hector could possibly survive post-canon, there's a chance of meeting up again, potentially, and it'd be interesting to explore their pre-canon vs post-canon dynamic, the difference of it all, which is not something a lot of pairings get to do because so many people died. but then they never did have much time pre-canon, and post-canon ..... there's jacques's death. i don't know if lemony would be able to forgive hector for that, or even if lemony could, if hector himself would be able to get over it and not that it hang between them. i believe they're good friends in teenage years (good enough that hector visits him) but after all that, too much has happened.

What would have made you like it?

given my previous answer it felt like i might say "tvv happened differently and H's inaction didn't partially lead to J's death" but hector's brief appearances in both asoue and atwq and the contrast in those appearances is what makes his character so interesting. if we removed that, removing that from the books - it's also not what i would've wanted. so it's sort of a paradox, really. the thing that made them impossible for me is simultaneously what made their dynamic so interesting to explore (but not in a romantic way)

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

their dynamics is really interesting to think about (as listed above) and i believe they were friends, once, and i like that and enjoy that. also hector's iconic first line in atwq "so the butler did it" is delightful and i'd like to think maybe they've discussed mystery novels when they were younger. it's fun!

____

kit/justice strauss

okay admittedly i've never considered them before but i can see it, i think, so i'm going to answer this one as "ship it"

What made you ship it?

bec's horse girl headcanons about kit and justice strauss canonically being a horse thief when she was younger - so i can see them having this to bond over when they were younger! picture kit and strauss, maybe in their late teenage years or early 20s, crossing paths. or maybe strauss stole one of kit's horses (beasme parallel!) very fun to think about. i wish i can give you more details but i myself don't actually know that much about horses aside from all horses are the same color paradox

What are your favorite things about the ship?

i am now imagining that one time kit had to get out of a tight spot and needed to escape someone (possibly the authorities) but couldn't access her taxi or any other cars, and strauss was passing by with horses she just stole and they sort of travelled together for a while. which is a lovely image to think about.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

hmmm .... i am drawing a blank. i don't think there are even popular or unpopular opinions concerning them.

[aewinning]

for the ask meme: 🕯️ 🦴 🍄 ?

From this ask meme!

On a scale from 1 to 10 how much do you enjoy editing and why? I'd actually put this up at an 8 I think. Most of my trouble writing comes during the first draft process b/c I'm a perfectionist and I have to write things in order from start to finish, so the first draft is sometimes super painful to get out if I'm having trouble focusing. But once the draft is in place, editing is SO much easier because I already have something down to work with! It's easier to adjust than to produce, and I can skip around as needed in a way that I can't really get myself to do when writing the draft.

Is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? I mean everything I've ever enjoyed since childhood tbh but if I had to pick one piece of media as formative in a fandom sense it's Homestuck. Second person is still my favorite POV for how it lets you get in characters' heads, and while I mostly avoid it in Hoyo fandoms b/c readers outside of Homestuck fandom hate it, that closeness to a character's thoughts is something I strive to emulate in any POV. Homestuck also made me aware of how much I love massive ensemble casts with complex character dynamics. And it was extremely formative for kinks and preferences both narrative and sexual lmao. Weird alien xenobiology stuff, doomed narratives/characters, trans characters, oviposition, body horror, weird time/parallel universe shit, polyamorous and nonstandard relationships, multishipping and switching. All kinds of good stuff.

Share a headcanon for one of your favorite ships. Well right now Phaidei owns my soul so I'll give you something for them, based on some lines Mydei says early on about how as a representative of Kremnos he can't just do/accept anything he wants: Mydei has been interested in pursuing a relationship for Phainon for a while now, as someone that is his rare match/equal, but politics prevented him from acting on those urges. Now he's no longer the crown prince but his promise to Aglaea meant that he left soon after abdicating, so he didn't trouble Phainon by bringing it up (he knows Phainon's fragile heart couldn't bear to be separated again after that). However, after receiving the signet ring from Phainon, he considers the two of them engaged or possibly even married, and if the situation were to allow him to return to Okhema, he would 'court' Phainon Kremnos-style by pinning him in a duel, throwing him over his shoulder, and publicly carrying him back to his quarters to have his way with him 😉

Thanks for the ask!

[feralkwe]

I- 4; II- 5; III- 12

8D well then let's go shall we? lucky you, you get kit/elidibus. feel free to ignore any links. they're only there if anyone feels like having the context.

I - 4: did either of them try to resist their feelings?

they both did! out of a sense of obligation to their respective duties.

obviously kit went to elpis for pandaemonium with all the knowledge of the future and was understandably wary of elidibus. he was not what she expected, to say the least, even if she saw many parallels between him and the ascian she knew. his words to her before sos in shb finally made sense, as much as she did not want to believe them. but she was in a closed relationship back in the present, and knew that this affair was only ever going to end one way, so she resisted. that willpower quickly crumbled in the face of how enchanted they were with one another, and she did a lot of mental gymnastics to rationalize pursuing it.

without the context of the future, elidibus himself made... let's say a good college try of not acting on his quickly developing crush. he also knew it was only going to end in heartache. all the logic and reason at his disposal was not enough.

they were both aware of the consequences, but it did not stop them.

II - 5: what is their height difference? age difference? do either matter to them?

lmao kit is a full height female viera. elidibus is... not.

sometimes you're a gorgeous six foot two bun and you see a cute lil twink and ask "should i hit that?" and don't wait for an answer.

kit's actual age is young enough to get me canceled in some corners of the internet for her relationship with thancred and urianger, and the actual number is between me and my bun. that said, elidibus is noted to be young comparative to his peers, and i put them about the same relative age, given the near immortality of the ancients. both of them old enough to know better, but young enough to be inexperienced in love and any common sense regarding it.

i don't feel like either of these things matter to them. it sure didn't dissuade them in any part of their brief time together.

III - 12: who remembers the little things?

the thing about this ship that dug its claws into me and really keeps me in a choke hold is... neither. i'm a monster. i am absolutely feral over the fact that save that whirlwind affair between them, neither of them remembers at the same time. when he remembers, it hasn't actually happened yet in her life. When she finally knows, none of their tangled time as foes has happened to him yet. their knowledge of being in love marches off in separate directions. god i need to chew on something. get me a kong full of peanut butter, please.

however, after he returned to the aetherial sea, kit made it her duty to remember everything they had, good and bad, however short their joy was. she considers it part of the responsibility with which emet-selch charged her.

thanks so much for the ask! i know i promised you a full accounting of my shipping woes, so consider this installment the first!

ship meme here.

[eriexplosion]

Echo just left and I already miss them :c onto watching Omega have an emotional breakdown in The Crossing!

The way Omega looks immediately miserable coming out of the Marauder. Honey :C

Hunter sensing the storm and trying to determine what direction its moving: Reasonable Hunter for some reason needing to touch dirt about it: WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?

Did the dirt tell you what the storm's direction is?

All this time we thought Hunter's enhancement was his enhanced senses turns out that it's actually just talking to the dirt.

Hunter literally refuses to adjust for being a man down, Tech and Wrecker are trying to act like they ARE DOWN SOMEONE SURE but it's fine they'll deal, and Omega is just So Deep in her teenage depressions

"What's with you?" WRECKER WHAT DO YOU THINK? And just telling her she'll get used to not having Echo around. Wrecker IS the most emotionally intelligent of the batch, but it's a bit like being the tallest at the gnome convention isn't it?

This mineral is highly unstable and destructive. We need the child to drill for it.

Omega is pulling out the sass for this and I do love it, it's the first time she's let it out on anyone but Cid. She's TIRED, she MISSES ECHO, everyone is acting like it's NO BIG DEAL, let her be angry and pissy actually.

Hunter sensing someone stealing the Marauder like Lassie

Tell me Wrecker :) How exactly did you miss our ship being compromised :)

The way that Tech and Omega have the same external reaction to stress and it is turning the sass up 3000 times. Their processing may be different but good god are they similar in some ways.

Tech knowing Echo disabled their communication device because presumably he tried to call too, this is fine, I'm fine.

LITERALLY LION KING BEHAVIOR I STILL REMEMBER THE VAGUE MEME FOR THIS. THEY PUT DYNAMITE ON SIMBA.

"You must protect the ipsium case!" "WELL WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING ME :C"

I will protect you Wrecker don't worry

"Why don't you carry it?" "FINE!"

I'm sorry their dynamic is so funny when Tech gets extra spicy

And lest it be thought he's only being casual with Wrecker's safety his reaction to being saved instead of the ipsium is literally THE CASE!!!!!!

"So, now we are trapped. AND we have lost all of our ipsium. >:T"

Tech must be a NIGHTMARE to vacation with if even one thing goes off the itinerary

Nightmare Family Trip To Space Arizona

I'm just. Echo is gone for five minutes and their HOUSE gets stolen. THEIR WHOLE HOUSE. WITH THE FAMILY DOG INSIDE.

Tech looked at his dialogue options and literally it was like

[Persuasion] Assure Omega that while things are changing it will be alright and she will adapt *Rolls a nat 1* THIS SQUAD EXISTED BEFORE ECHO WAS A PART OF IT, AND IT WILL EXIST AFTER. WHAT IS YOUR ISSUE?

Everyone looking at Tech like WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Tech is so sincere when saying "She... said she wanted to be alone?" he genuinely does not process like this and the thought that she'd say she wanted to be alone if she didn't fully mean it DOES NOT OCCUR TO HIM.

Just slap those extremely volatile tubes into the satchel to roll around it's fine nothing to worry about.

THE WAY THAT TECH JUMPS AFTER HER IMMEDIATELY STILL GETS ME BUT ESPECIALLY THAT SHE DISAPPEARS INTO FOG WHICH HE JUMPS THROUGH WITHOUT HESITATION. He doesn't know what's down there and it doesn't matter, he is GOING AFTER HER.

(Plus parallels to the season finale again, and another example of just how much they can survive.)

Hunter sensing that something, somewhere is wrong. Because their day hasn't been hard enough already.

I love the small details like Tech having to shake water out of his goggles.

Just crawl down into this dark tunnel, carrying the extremely explosive material, throw yourself into the raging rapids, and get thrown into our cavern. Also if the vials touch each other too hard you die <3

Wrecker has the right assessment, this planet sucks

GODDDD THIS SCENE BETWEEN OMEGA AND TECH. Tech having to take a long moment to try to think about his replies, trying so hard to make sure that he's completely understood, because it's important that this in particular get through. Explaining how he feels the losses, intensely, but that he focuses on adapting to the change. I'm WEAK.

And god Omega's little "We're more than that. We're a family. Aren't we?" gets to me every time too but especially since I saw someone suggest the final two lines that sum everything up might be "We're more than that. We're a family." stated with utmost confidence, and like, I would absolutely shatter, I would BREAK INTO A MILLION PIECES, I would CRY like an INFANT.

Following up this wonderful soft moment with [WRECKER SCREAMING]

As we know, the fact that they hid Hunter's wet hair from us is a fucking crime.

Setting up that Tech is good at making precision shots in preparation for the finale. I see you writers, and I hate it.

This conversation with Cid is SO fucking funny like it's awful she's completely unhelpful, but also I feel like the Empire is definitely there, because this is the start of her entire vibe towards them Changing.

[crumchycow]

a get to know you better meme

thanks for the tag @thestrangeillusion

do you make your bed?

Nope never, if something doesn't need to be tidied it will not be tidied, have left a bucket in the middle of my room for 9 months because of this.

what's your favourite number?

Don't have one

what is your job?

Currently just a student I kinda need to get a job but studying and working is a lot for me and acquiring a job is annoying and hard so uethggghhhh

If you could go back to school would you?

Um will I continue studying? Maybe....

can you parallel park?

No

a job you had that would surprise people?

None? Probably the most interesting way I have earned money is the only commission I've ever had, which was my mum commissioning me for her work (kindergarten) because they needed 30 little icon drawings that each kid has at like their bag hook and on their stuff to identify them, she didn't like the person who used to do it because they were weird about it for some reason and the designs were kinda cluttered and ugly so my mum was like my child can draw? Yes! and this way I can be really fussy and specific with it.

(dw she paid me quite well)

do you think aliens are real?

In the sense of any life existing outside of earth? yes 100% would be weird if there isn't. In the sense of complex or intelligent life? probably. In the sense of there are human equivalent creatures that have achieved space travel and are equally or more technologically advanced than us, unlikely but possible. Just thinking about how much time life has existed without humans and how long humans have existed before any ideas of space exploration and the very specific technologies and discoveries that were necessary for space exploration I wouldn't be surprised if we are the only ones. Also just like how incredibly difficult space travel beyond our solar system is I think it's unlikely we will truly know or make contact.

can you drive a manual car?

No :) do not care to learn. fuck cars and driving is boring i only learn to drive because its kinda necessary where i live :( get me good public transport government please

what's your guilty pleasure?

im guilty about alot things like drinking milk, eating too much sugar, spending too much money, doing literally anything i will find a way to feel guilty about it but thats just my general state of being since i was a child and i mostly ignore it or work around it.

I guess in the more traditional sense of things i like that are embarrassing and i wouldnt want people to know, it would be reading fucked up smut. Particularly my fondness for incest ships? Don't know why I suspect it is the codependency. but yeah umm...

Tattoos?

Not yet but I wanna get a spider (not decided which) on my back soon.

favourite colour?

Peach

favourite type of music?

Um I mostly listen to kpop because uh autism? idk, but I genuinely like a lot of music. Some of my favourite music is like objectively awful and difficult to listen to, I think I often like music that is complex and has lots of things.

Some of my favourite artists trying to include multiple genres I like:

Mamamoo

Stray Kids

Taemin

F.T. island

Jeff Satur

S3rl

Enaria

Chopin (I'm learning one of his preludes atm it's v pretty)

Vivaldi

BabyBeard

GHOST (vocaloid producer)

also gregorian chants slap (not christian, vocal harmonies just make me feral)

do you like puzzles?

Yes! I just recently was like y'know what I haven't done in years but suddenly really need to do:

But also just generally like I LOVE maths and figuring out things and patterns and stuff so fun.

any phobias?

Nope

favourite childhood sport?

Um not that into sport, I guess I wanted to play netball when I was like 8 (but that might've just been because that's the thing you do) but I missed the trial periods 2 years in a row but kinda glad I didn't I know multiple people with permanent injuries from playing netball as a kid/teen and my joints are not the most functional in the first place. Do still enjoy playing casually every now and then.

do you talk to yourself?

Yes my favourite hobby, I have the best conversations with myself, will stay up for hours just talking to myself. Also great for preparing for real conversations. I love it when a topic I fully thought about and talked to myself comes up in conversation and it's like fuck yeah gonna ace this one.

what movie(s) do you adore?

Hmmm not the biggest fan of movie as a story format but uh have seen how to train your dragon at least 20 times and I need to watch it again sometime soon, been craving that animal/human enemies to deep emotional connection best buds.

coffee or tea?

Love coffee, but over half of my daily water consumption is through tea (usually multiple kinds)

Would be less alive without tea also its just like so diverse, green tea!black tea! rooibos! masala chai! rosehip! liquorice! peppermint..... camomile! and so much more with sugar! with milk! with honey! or lemon! hot! cold! literally my favourite, shoutout to whoever invented plant in water. Also soup different kind of plant in water but still absolutely banging humans peaked at plant in water best things invented.

and caffeine doesn't affect me like at all? so i only drink these things for taste.

first thing you wanted to be growing up?

Idk the first but I know at some stage I wanted to be an author or a marine biologist (why is this so common who put it in our heads? Actually maybe David Attenborough....) probably the first was an animal or something

egh its rambly and may not make sense but whatever, also revealing any information about myself on the internet scares me even though literally nobody could do anything with this information like guys pls dont dox me through knowing my mum is a kindergarten teacher

tagging @gaylittlepieceofsh1t @mousydentist @mr-bazongos @wildelydawn @thestarscanalwayslookatus @fiddlepickdouglas @ae-azile and any one who wants to, no pressure tho <333

[dragonologist-phd]

For the character meme - I would love to hear your thoughts on my girl Morrigan!

aaah thank you! love talking about morrigan <3

How I feel about this character

ha in case it isn't obvious i love her! there's so much going on with her character, and her base arc is one i love: a young woman leaving a harsh, abusive environment who's intent on focusing only on herself, who finds friendship and acceptance and something worth fighting for beyond mere survival. it's a really good journey!

she's also smart and snappish and mean and awkward, and is just such an endearingly messy character. she's also a woman written in the 2000's, which means there's a lot of unintentional mess in her character that i can repurpose for my own ends (autistic wlw morrigan forever)

All the people I ship romantically with this character

obviously there's my Brosca, Darvis- i love Morrigan with a Brosca, there's so many parallels that stir up my feelings for them. their background are vastly different in terms of setting, yet there's so much they have in common. with Darvis in particular, i love the way they both approach their relationship determined to not have any feelings or get attached at all...and then that plan fails spectacularly

for canon characters, i really like Zevran/Morrigan- again, i love the trope of people determined to have a no-strings attached affair and then falling hard for each other, and they would pull that off so well

i'm also fond of Leliana/Morrigan, but specifically in DAI. in DAO they don't quite mesh...but meeting up years later, when the world is about to end again? when Leliana's idealism has been hardened by all that she's lost, and Morrigan's survival-at-all-costs attitude has been softened by her love for Keiran? there's a lot of good potential there

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Zevran again- i just feel like there's a lot they get about each other. they've both been brought up with a very cynical, transactional worldview; their banters when asking each other about a romanced warden are basically paralleled. i like the idea of them growing beyond that worldview together through their friendship!

her friendship with a non-romanced warden is also very sweet- it's very tender and vulnerable in a way you don't often get to see with platonic companions in these games, especially in those moments at the end of the game

My unpopular opinion about this character

she's so awkward and trying so hard to hide it. i think she scripts every conversation before it happens so that she can appear as cool and aloof as possible. i think she practiced that entrance in the korcari wilds like 5 times before the wardens showed up. i think her grimoire contains cheat notes on how to navigate conversations and reminders of one-liners that she comes up with in the middle of the night.

i don't know if any of this is unpopular, but it's an aspect of her character i wholeheartedly believe in that i don't see talked about much

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

this is kinda vague but i wish her canon romance were written...better. it's amazing in my head, but then i play the game and there are certain lines the warden can say that should be erased from existence. she deserves better!

give me a character

[nobodysdaydreams]

Since posting on the potential for the Sequel Trilogy (especially in regards to Leia and Ben's arcs between TLJ and TROS), @myfairkatiecat has asked me for my thoughts. I apologize in advance. There's so much I don't even know where to start. I suppose the best place to start is my thoughts on TFA and TLJ:

I liked the force awakens. It was the first Star Wars movie I'd ever seen. I wasn't planning on getting into Star Wars, because like most people who didn't grow up with the movies, I still knew all the twists, all the memes, and all the quotes. What was the point in seeing it? I knew it was good, but it was hard for me to feel the magic of seeing it for the first time when I'd seen so much out of context already. But the force awakens was new. I know a lot of fans at the time were like "this is a cheap new hope remake" and sure, it had a similar plot structure, but it also introduced a lot of new ideas, characters, and concepts, and I think it succeeded in it's two goals: 1) Offering the beginning to an excited new story that could go in a number of interesting and cool directions. 2) Capturing what was so good about Star Wars in a way that would bring in new fans. It not only succeeded, but it completely knocked it out of the park, at least for me. I remember sitting in the theater, before the movie was even over, and thinking to myself "Dang it. They did it. I didn't think they'd do it, but they actually did it. This is the start of another hyperfixation. Maybe one of the worst I've ever had." I knew 100% that the moment I had free time that this was going to take over. And it did. I appreciated the other movies so much more after having had the experience of watching a Star Wars movie unspoiled that captures that feeling. This brought me into the fandom. It might not be everyone's favorite movie, but I loved it.

The Last Jedi was actually good, but it made one fatal mistake. Two if you count the fact that they skipped all the Ben and Leia stuff, but I forgive them for that because it's not like they could see the future and knew Carrie Fisher was going to pass away. If they knew that, I think they would have written a different script. But I liked most of it. The force dyad stuff was incredible. I was in that theater completely in awe because I gotta hand it to them: I would never in a million years come up with the force dyad stuff, and it's better than anything I could have thought up with on my own. 1000/10. Amazing. Fantastic. So what then is my problem with TLJ? Finn. Especially because he was right where he needed to be. They could have even done his arc in a lazy way, and I would have still accepted it. All they had to do was have him panic and rescue Rose from Hux, accidently connecting him to the force, and then he could suddenly be like "woah I'm force sensitive." All they had to do was have him find some files on where he came from and info on all the stormtrooper brainwashing so that we could continue to explore the mystery of his past instead of pretending like it doesn't matter. For heaven sakes, he was right there on the ship. We saw a hologram of child Finn in Force Awakens when they were going over his file. Phasma could have offer him information about himself or his past in exchange for his freedom or betraying the rebellion. Not to mention Finn's discovery his force sensitivity would have parallel Rey discovering she's a dyad AND her not receiving any answers about her past, which would that tied the movie together thematically. That plotline was right there on a silver plater, it was the obvious choice, the easy part, it baffles me that they fumbled it, especially when the stuff they did with Kylo and Rey completely knocks it out of the park. I've probably watched the scene of the two of them fighting in the throne room the most of any Star Wars scene. But I don't think I've ever gone back to rewatch one of Finn's scenes from TLJ. But I could have and that frustrates me so much. I left the theater of TFA being like "Dang. They got me. I'm hyperfixated now.", and I left the theater of TLJ feeling kind of conflicted. On the one hand, the force dyad stuff was one of the best things I'd ever seen. But on the other hand, I wanted more out of Finn. The Rose and Finn kiss came out of nowhere for me, and it made me worried they were gonna waste time in the third movie with an unnecessary Rose, Rey, Finn love triangle then ended with Finn and Rey together (turns out I did not need to worry about that. They had plenty of other ways to waste my time. But I'll put my thoughts on the romance plotlines in another post because...romance wasn't the biggest draw for me anyway, and my takes on it are a tad more nuanced than "love it or hate it with everything in my soul" which seem to be the only two options). But my other worry was that they didn't seem to know what they were doing with Finn. They also have a lot of "Main characters" to keep track of now. The OT trilogy had the classic "Leia, Luke, Han". Now we have Rey, Poe, and Finn, but Rey and Poe didn't meet until the end of the second movie, and also we have Rose now, and then we have Kylo/Ben and his whole dyad bond, he's much more of a main character than dark mysterious villain. In the OT trilogy, was Vadar conflicted? Sure, but we as the audience didn't fully know that until the end, we didn't need to spend a ton of screen time following his internal journey. But we did need that for Kylo/Ben because of everything they set up for him. With all of that, plus Carrie Fisher dying (which would likely force them to rework a lot of their plotlines), I did have concerns going into TROS. But, since they blew me away with the force dyad stuff, I held out hope that they wouldn't fumble it. Sure, I saw the negative reviews. But everyone was crying about TFA and TLJ too, and I enjoy those. So I held out that hope until the end.

And...well... I have thoughts on TROS too. But I'll save those for another time. Also: I know things can get heated in the star wars fandom, and while I welcome engagement and it's totally cool if you hated TFA, loved Finn's TLJ arc, and hated the force dyad, (different opinions are fine!) please don't hate on my posts and please be respectful. Thanks! 🥰

[ohhgingersnaps]

Shane/leah? Tell me more! They are my two favs, but i've never thought about them as a couple.

Okay SO my affinity for Shane/Leah is a fairly recent thing (I fully credit @coolcoolglasses and @floopthecooper for fueling this particular fire and brainstorming with me haha).

My relationship with this ship has been a month-long slow-burn enemies-to-lovers kind of situation. My initial gut reaction of "eh that would never work" quietly progressed into "oh wait they might be cute, actually" and then into "oh NO! i'm invested!!"

So, reasons why I think Shane/Leah would work:

"Hello, neighbor. We both live outside of town. Does that mean something?" (from Leah’s dialogue). They're both a little introverted, and a bit non-conformist, and they both moved to Pelican Town to escape their old life. While that doesn't automatically make them kindred spirits, it's not nothing.

Leah is the sort of person who's willing to sit with someone in whatever they're going through, instead of trying to fix them or cheer them up, and that's what Shane needs. He doesn’t need a savior, he needs support.

Bonding over nature/animals. Leah talks a lot about how much she loves farm animals, even before she's interested in the farmer, and a good portion of her high-heart dialogue is along the lines of, "Oh, gosh, a farm sounds so nice, I love farms! Wouldn't it be awesome to have help on your farm? Maybe me??" Leah would absolutely jump at the chance to help take care of the animals on Marnie's ranch, is all I'm saying.

Narrative parallels. Leah's arc is partly about finding the confidence to present her art to the world, which involves a huge level of vulnerability; Shane's arc is about a lot of things, depending on how you slice it, but vulnerability's one angle.

Also, not to project all over Shane (read: absolutely to project), but an important component of my mental health recovery has been "hope"— not hope as a feeling, but hope as an action— as buckling down and trying, even if you're scared or tired or aren't feeling positively about it. You know all those "going on my daily stupid walk for my stupid mental health >:(" memes? To me, that has recovery!Shane vibes. He's grumpy about it, sure, but that just means he's gotta do it grumpy.

And Leah's arc is chock-full of Hope As An Action. Being an artist is a constant struggle of "this thing I am making will not turn out as perfect as it is in my head, and I will make it anyway." Leah often expresses uncertainty about her own level of talent, but she puts herself and her work out there in spite of that, and she gets stronger and more self-assured the more she does it.

(Putting the rest of this under a cut because it got long oops)

What they value in a partner. Leah values someone who's okay with simplicity, who's straightforward and honest (which Shane generally is, when he's not putting up a front to push people away). She also wants someone who will believe in her and respect her, and I think Shane would not only respect her unique traits, but admire them. Having a goal you're passionate about in the first place is awesome, but being willing to fight for it? That takes guts.

I think Shane values honesty, steadfastness, and realism, but also needs someone whose realism is cut with hope and determination instead of pessimism. Also, per earlier discussion, he needs someone who's willing to sit with him at his lowest points instead of trying to fix him. Someone who's independent and can offer support, but who's also good at setting and respecting boundaries.

(Also, while we're on the topic of Things They'd Appreciate About Each Other, I do think Shane would appreciate that Leah is capable of breaking him in half. Like, he passes her chopping firewood on his way to work one day and goes "hope this doesn't awaken anything in me" lmao)

They have similar senses of humor. They both have dry sarcasm vibes to me, with a side of terrible puns. I'm not elaborating on this at all, I just think it's true.

Consider also: Leah hanging out with the ranch family. Found family tropes! Coming over for meals, bringing over a hearty soup when the ranch fam gets sick, coming over to sketch the chickens. (If doodles of Shane end up on her pages more often than the chickens do, well…)

I tend to headcanon Leah as having been through the wringer a bit re: her own mental health post-Kel, so while her situation does differ from Shane's, she does understand facets of what he's going through. And when she needs to vent about Kel, or needs time to process something that's triggered her, Shane's in a similar position— even if he doesn't fully get it, he can still empathize, make space for her, and also sometimes get angry about it with her, which she finds oddly validating.

I can talk about this for hours but I will stop here!!

The main difficulty I see in them getting together is that Shane tends to rebuff people, and Leah would take his "leave me alone" at face value because boundaries are important to her for Personal Reasons (i.e. Kel-related trauma), so they’d need some sort of contrived circumstance to force them to interact with one another long enough that he lets his walls down a bit…

Once he does, though, they'd get along like a house on fire, and I have a giant cardboard box full of contrived circumstances that I'm itching to use on them :)

[wexarethewalkingxdead]

Yumagna for the ship development meme

SEND IN A SYMBOL FOR SHIP DEVELOPMENT - @laskar1s

✩ what is their go-to food when they want to have a treat together?

Ice cream. They each have their own preferred types of toppings and ice cream flavors, but they both love ice cream.

♡ who said i love you first?

Yumiko.

✧ how do they break the tension after a disagreement?

One will usually come up quietly near the other and try to make eye contact and if the other smiles, they know it's going to be okay.

◛ what is their preferred method of communication when apart?

Texting before the Outbreak. Letters after the Outbreak.

♥ how do they cuddle when they share a bed?

Magna usually spoons Yumiko from behind. Or they sleep back to back while holding hands.

✿ do their music tastes align? are there some things they clash on?

They do have some of the same artists that they like, but overall as a whole, they don't like the same overall type.

❀ what is the dumbest argument they’ve ever had?

It was after the Outbreak, that they were on a supply run while Connie and Kelly and Luke and the others stayed back behind to fortify their home for the next couple of days. Magna found a box of chocolate bars and Yumiko said they needed food items that would sustain them and chocolate wasn't it. Truth was, Yumiko was worried about not finding enough and sweets weren't on her list at all. So Magna wanting to put smiles on their friends' faces annoyed Yumiko. So they argued, but Magna took the chocolate bars anyway. And she had to beg Yumiko to share one with her because Yumiko felt ashamed for starting an argument with her over stupid chocolate.

✾ what kind of ‘couple talk’ have they developed? (baby talk, weird words or phrases that are an inside joke etc.)

They really don't have any couple talk. Sure, they have some inside jokes but those things don't have a place in their lives anymore.

᯽ how has your muse changed since their relationship? in what ways do they rub off on one another?

Yumiko has softened somewhat toward things she doesn't quite understand. Magna has softened to things that are important to Yumiko that she doesn't understand. So they compromise and meet in the middle most times they don't understand one another's desire to do something.

❉ what was the first quirk of the other’s which became endearing but annoying?

Yumiko found Magna's way of sulling up and giving her the silent treatment annoying, but in the end, it became something that made them who they were with how they interacted with one another.

❁ what moment made them realize they’re in love?

Yumiko knew the moment in the courtroom when Magna refused to take the stand that she was in love with her. She was a strong as steel woman, and Yumiko hadn't been this attracted to and enamored with anyone before in her entire life.

★ what foods do they swap or pick out of their food that the other will eat for them?

There's really nothing. They both have a pretty good palate and more so since they couldn't be picky anymore.

❥ what song(s) would they send each other when first beginning to date?

They didn't really send one another songs. Instead, they talked about the books they liked and wanted to share with the other.

◇ who likes to cook and who cleans? how do they generally divide domestic labor?

They take turns cooking and cleaning. When one cooks the meal, the other does the cleaning. The other stuff just happens naturally with what needs done gets done.

◉ what hobbies do they do together? if they prefer parallel play what sort of tasks and hobbies do they like to do in each other’s company?

They like to play trivia games. Stuff that really doesn't matter anymore now that the Outbreak has happened.

▣ what is their favorite color(s) to see the other in?

Yumiko likes to see Magna in darker shades of red. Magna likes to see Yumiko in black.

❖ how does their casual intimacy look? what part of the body do they tend to innocently/comfortingly caress?

Sitting on the couch reading books together. Yumiko usually has her back against the arm of the couch with Magna laying against her side/stomach. She has an arm slung around Yumiko's stomach usually caressing the soft skin she found on her side. Yumiko usually caresses the back of Magna's neck or shoulders.

◈ what was your muse’s first impression of the other? how did it change over time?

Yumiko felt that Magna was a strong and confident woman. Magna felt that Yumiko was confident and appreciated how she went to bat for her defendants. Over time, the first impressions proved to be correct.

[seventhdoctor]

>:3c for the yugioh ask meme: Ai!!!!

Why I like them/why I don’t Honestly my introduction to VRAINS was a GX/VRAINS crossover that set up Yusaku/Ai as parallels to Judai/Yubel. It's unfinished and probably abandoned, but it was good enough that VRAINS was my first venture into non-GX spinoffs this last year. SO. I came in predisposed to liking Ai, and my opinion has not changed.

I'm a sucker for partner dynamics in general, and Yusaku/Ai got me like I expected them to. To be clear, I don't like Ai because he's VRAINS Yubel (he's not, really); there's just something about two people who complement each other and choose to stay with each other despite their differences...except Ai doesn't! He does not choose to stay with Yusaku, and in fact forces Yusaku to be the hand that separates them. There's so much to dig into there, although I haven't really talked VRAINS meta enough that I can do more than quote what I've absorbed from my more knowledgeable friends.

But Ai is interesting to me because like...he's not human, and he never will be, and the show explores that through him as well as other characters. Not that this is unique to VRAINS but it's always fun to me - characters like Data and Dax are always my favorite in Star Trek for this reason. And he didn't come into things planning to really make bonds, but he did and that just makes things complicated and oh look, now he's the only one of his kind and even caring for Yusaku isn't going to help that. Arguably it makes things worse. I like to "joke" that Yusaku came pre-traumatized so VRAINS broke the funny silly little guy instead, and boy did he suffer for that.

What I like about their appearance

AI IS SUCH PEAK CREATURE I LOVE HIM. Funny silly rubber guy. If you throw him I bet he bounces. When I was watching VRAINS I instantly made three different Discord emotes of him and I had to stop myself from making more.

Here's one of them, in case anyone wants.

His SOLTIS form having earrings of his rubberguy face also charms me a lot.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

No difference to my knowledge!

OTP

Yusaku/Ai naturally, romantic platonic whatever.

NOTP

Uhhhh I don't know VRAINS ships well enough to answer this. Can I make up a ship to NOTP? Nah that only sounded funny for half a second never mind.

OT3

I'll be real I don't know VRAINS ships well enough for this either, but the server I'm in has tossed around Ai/Lightning for toxic hilarity and I'm sure you could elevate it by throwing in a third guy. Bohman? (Making up a ship actually is funny here, To Me.)

Favourite card they use

A. I. Shadow. Just, the wink. Ai pls.

Favourite moment they were in Once again I talk a lot about one thing I love (Ai and Yusaku's partnership) and now quote an entirely different moment, which is Ai looking at his "perfect field" in the final duel.

It was a really strong moment for me, one that came to mind in the penultimate duel of Zexal as well when Nasch does something similar. (Well, Nasch did it first but anyway.)

Least favourite moment

I'm not sure it's "least favorite" exactly, but I'm thinking that bit about where Ai talks about how Roboppi was a "normal" AI in becoming cruel and megalomaniacal, and how his fear of becoming the same was part of his motivation for his actions in season 3. HELLO? CAN WE DIVE INTO THIS MORE? HELLO???