#they both romanced him in their saves and i genuinely think they'd have a good dynamic as a throuple

[deerdreams]

Since I finished up Page's game I keep thinking of an AU where her and Lunarae are in the same campaign and honestly it's a blast. You KNOW Lunarae would take one look at Page and her "I can fix her" instincts would immediately kick in.

Also in this AU Lunarae has lost her silver eye privileges bc only one of them can get the Volobotomy, and frankly she's much smarter than Page and therefore less likely to think it was a good idea. Meanwhile Page would be like "Screw it I'm desperate, why the hell not"

[quasiquack666]

One of my biggest borderline-canon headcanons is that Kayden is arospec! Sure, I like romantic plots for him, but in canon I think he genuinely makes sense as arospec based on canon evidence.

Disclaimer: This is my argument for arospec Kayden as arospec myself, but other arospecs may have different views!

(Spoilers for later chapters with Gestella)

Evidence: Relation to Kartein — The panels where Kayden talks about leading the way for Kartein  — The framing of that panel (a bit sparkly, soft) and the scene just after Kartein heals Subin's grandpa — Kayden talking about Kartein's beauty to Vatore — The way Kayden went up to a remote mountain solely to make sure Kartein would be okay — General vibes between them too

Often cited as evidence for romantic KarKay, these points also work well for arospec Kayden in a more canon context (since romantic KarKay will not be canon, but platonic KarKay is canon!)

Although the points can be taken as romantic context, they could also be deep admiration and aesthetic interest for Kartein, for an arospec person. Kartein makes total sense as someone Kayden would admire, for his regal beauty, for his prowess in healing and combat, and likely because they're similar in personality.

Believing Kartein's attractiveness as greater than Vatore's (in his eyes) doesn't have to be romantic. Although saying Kartein is super attractive doesn't seem like something a brother would do (who says their sibling is attractive in that sort of tone…), it could certainly be something an arospec person might say about someone they'd be queerplatonic with.

In arospec context, Kayden is simply admiring Kartein's beauty as aesthetically pleasing to him. Maybe even sensually pleasing, someone he'd want to touch and caress and show affection to, but not romantically. Perhaps this man enjoys pale aesthetics. 😂 

(Side Tangent, seriously all of Kayden's closer connections seem to have a pale part of their aesthetic: Kartein, Pluton, Jiwoo, and eventually Gestella).

Evidence: Relation to Gestella — The phrasing of Kayden's letters to her — Not seeming to comprehend himself in relation to romance

Although canon is making them out to be romantic already (despite not knowing each other…), arospec Kayden can explain both points.

Kayden has never been shown to be entirely ignorant to relationship context or emotions. He noticed immediately why Delein wanted to off himself and scolded him, was gentler comparatively to Amyeong after Kayden knew he saved Jiwoo's life, tried to dress up and make a good impression to Yujeong since he knew she was important to Jiwoo, noticed that Kartein would've wanted to help Subin's grandpa and gave him an out (via writing a skit with a specific tone...), noticed how Kartein was actually nervous going to Astra's and then followed him, knew enough to feel uncomfortable whenever Subin was simping while he's in cat form, etc.

Yet the romantic letter plotline makes Kayden seem drastically more dumbed down than those examples, hence why I despise the letters romantically. But from the perspective of an arospec Kayden, the letters make sense.

Just from my own POV, thinking of oneself in a real romantic context is difficult. Or at least, not the first thing I think about in relation to other people. Even though I know romance exists and actively think about it for characters in fantasy, the practical reality is that it doesn't quite make sense relative to myself. It's like thinking about dragons: they can have complex social structure, different meanings to different people, many shapes or forms, but ultimately don't exist in the tangible reality even if I can imagine them.

So with aromantic Kayden, he's not suddenly more ignorant than before and still understands that romance exists in general. But relative to himself, he doesn't see why anyone would view him in a romantic context, and therefore doesn't immediately question the phrasing of his letters, or that the way he talks about Kartein could be a little gay.

The plot becomes less that Kayden is more dumbed down than before, and more that Kayden does not view himself as romantically compatible to anyone. So any affection or admiration expressed by him is platonic, even if it's a very strong yearning, wanting, desiring sort of feeling (such a feeling would be more queerplatonic than romantic!)

In other words, Kayden had a mega squish (arospec word meaning something similar to ‘crush’). Kayden was pretty much squishing on Kartein and Gestella (potentially even Pluton if we got backstory there, although he did deny Pluton’s statement lol).

Evidence: Relation to Jiwoo — Kayden not noticing that Jiwoo seems have romantic inclinations — His extreme protectiveness over his son (cough)

Kayden not noticing about Jiwoo’s romantic interests also makes sense here. He's not literally ignorant to the fact that romance is A Thing, and moreso doesn't think of Jiwoo in non-platonic relationships perhaps because he doesn't think about them for himself. And with Jiwoo as His Son �� it may just slip his mind to think of that. (Like a parent whose little boy is growing up LMAO).

Nevermind Kayden’s very familial affection for Jiwoo. Which also makes sense for arospec since family and friends are often the only relationships arospec folks generally desire (with some exceptions).

Conclusion: Arospec Kayden!

I much prefer an arospec interpretation of Kayden in canon because it avoids him looking dumb in the letter plot, while also making sense of his blindspot to Jiwoo's romantic interests, and his phrasing of admiration in Kartein. 

He remains a lot more loyal to his original characterization this way. And honestly I love that a character like Kayden is arospec-coded.

Arospec Kayden is ugh the most adorable thing 🥰

[thinkingofausername]

Pairing BG3 companions

I made every possible pairing and how I think they would look.

(this is just my opinion and i'm still fairly new to bg3 and i have yet to thoroughly meet the characters so there's probably inaccuracies but this is all in good fun)

Astarion:

+Shadowheart = banter, sassiness, sexiness, BIG issues with opening up, enemies to lovers trope

+Gale = canonically compete and have a hilarious grudge against each other, also canonically hilarious when irritated, beneath the comedic duo is a gorgeous romance (neither experienced genuine love, just use and abuse), canonically both are devoted lovers

+Karlach = beautiful gorgeous precious, she would adore and protect him and he could never hurt her, perhaps better as platonic but either way very nice

+Wyll = definitely Astarion teasing Wyll for being a "noble fairytale prince", perhaps stemming from Astarion's grudge about never being saved and then ironically being with a savior, Wyll would be very patient and kind and it would piss Astarion off before he had a breakdown about it

+Lae'zel = possibly the toughest combo, Astarion might like her spiciness but i'm honestly not sure what would get her to warm up to him, they're both survivors tough, under Astarion's prissiness is someone who's gone through many hardships and so has Lae'zel so trauma bonding might be possible, they could also bond about their regrets about hurting people in the past, i could see some mutual respect there some day

Shadowheart:

+Gale = don't know how to explain but this just makes sense, they would look like an obvious couple, definitely bonding about being devoted to people who never deserved their loyalty, they'd also hilariously sass at people

+Karlach = beautiful gorgeous yes, sexy girl power and all but jokes aside very precious, i mean we do remember Shadowheart's first comment towards Karlach right?, Shadowheart would definitely be receiving princess treatment

+Wyll = gorgeous couple, i can see Shadow snarking at people and Wyll sending apologetic looks but she would be very soft with him in private, he would definitely have her guard down and cherish her

+Lae'zel = no idea how to explain but Katara and Toph vibes??, the tough girl and the princess, they've got guts the both of them, they'd be badass, just two hot girlfriends judging everyone

Gale:

+Karlach = precioussssssss, they'd be so good to each other, they're both such good companions and lovers, they'd protect and cherish each other very much

+Wyll = Wyll's duty and fairness and Gale's devotion? their full devotion to their lovers? their hearts entirely in the romance? yeah i could see them being sickeningly sweet husbands

+Lae'zel = see this i think would be pretty iconic, the loving wizard and his warrior wife, he'd be so nice to her and she could heal and learn so much

Karlach:

+Wyll = oh we knowwwwww this is top tier, the prince of the group and the most precious woman on earth, obviously perfect for each other

+Lae'zel = Karlach would hug and tease the hell out of her and she would grumble so much, they'd be pretty cool and sweet at the same time

Wyll:

+ Lae'zel = yes, yes this could work, kind of similar to Gale and Lae'zel in the sense that Wyll would be very kind to her and she'd be baffled and caught off guard, i can see her changing a lot as the relationship goes on, she'd probably eventually be a bit softer and nicer, maybe a little less murdery, but obviously still cool

[castlebyersafterdark]

do you know any blogs that are into platonic madwheeler? i just found a clip in s4 of them whispering together that i had never seen before and wondered if anyone had seen it or wanted to discuss! i think the reveal of mike's story in s5 might have some max involved somehow, perhaps a hospital visit or even his memories of their fraught relationship that develops into a mutual understanding because theyre both depressed at the start of s4.

I actually don't know any! I really like them as good friends, but I either see it mentioned as a romance angle or complaints about liking it since they don't interact much. Which I think is silly - clearly they are friends? I love how when you pull away the snark and sarcasm, Max just wanted to be friends with Mike. The scene with the skateboard in the gym in season 2 when Max is skating around and Mike starts genuinely smiling - that's one of my favorite parts of the entire series. It shows them both so perfectly!!

We don't have to see everything perfectly spelled out on screen. It's like jokes about how little we see Will and Dustin interact in the actual show. Sure, we want more of that and sure this much is true with minimal screen time together - but that doesn't mean in the "reality" of the show's internal world, that they don't interact. They're all friends and they'd all be together a lot, using the implications by means of imagination. So - Mike and Max. Great duo. Love them! Wish I knew of anyone you can vibe with, but that has never been a focal point I can recall well. I'm only following a really small number these days and do a lot of blog and tag jumping.

But ooooh I would love some nod in season 5. Mike talking to Max bedside while she's unconscious would be cool. Maybe guilt for being involved in bringing her into the danger of their lives. Maybe a confessional for some hard truths. He wants to tell a friend whatever it is he's been going through but he can't tell anyone else who could actively judge. Maybe him upping his loyal leader arc, bedside vowing they'll save her, even after all that time. There's a lot they can do. Will they? It would be nice, but part of me feels all the storyline with Max is going to be with others, but who knows!!

[yakool-foolio]

Phoenix Wright

Just gonna go off of what's listed on the shipping wiki, cause if I tried to rate every single pair with him with the amount of characters in these games we'd be here all month.

Phoenix x Iris: 8/10; very cute, me likey. Iris genuinely caring for Phoenix while pretending to be Dahlia is super sweet, and Phoenix instantly being able to tell the difference between Iris n Dahlia is concrete evidence he knows her like the back of his hand. While I personally don't see them dating again post-Bridge, they'd definitely stay good friends forever.

Phoenix x Mia: 4/10; can't imagine this relationship lasting very long before death knocks on their door, but the utter grief is suffocating. Their relationship would just be full of sadness on both ends; they'd probably date for a short time just to try to forget Mia losing Diego and Phoenix being betrayed by Dahlia. Romance as a coping mechanism.

Phoenix x Maya: 0/10; nuh uh, they're siblings to me. I refuse to see them in a romantic light personally, but it certainly isn't the end of the world if I come across it. I don't care what anyone else does, I just don't ship it in the slightest.

Phoenix x Dahlia: 4/10; only fun if it's one-sided. I wanna see either Dahlia silently hating Phoenix's guts as he boasts the pretty lil necklace she gave him, or Phoenix cursing under his breath at the thought of talking to Dahlia again while she's possessing Maya. I need them to be bitter or I shall turn my nose up at it.

Phoenix x Doug Swallow: 2/10; this is a thing apparently, according to the wiki. I mean, I can guess why people might ship it; Doug basically saves Phoenix from the impeding doom of Dahlia and then they make out about it. Only reason it's rated so low is cause I haven't seen anything about this ship to really get a sense for their chemistry, but I do get the baseline concept.

Phoenix x Godot: 6/10; a ship I see a surprising amount of content for and I think it's getting me to like it more. Another relationship sunken in grief, but it's a much better fit on them in my eyes. Coffee dates are the best dates. Imagine all the coffee shop AUs that exist just for them.

Phoenix x Gumshoe: 5/10; neutral on this one, but I do like the concept! Just a couple o' guys staking out crime scenes together, lovin' their work. The best dudes for the job. They're supposed to be rivals but it never works. They're homies for life.

Phoenix x Kristoph: 7/10; if I liked Kristoph more, I might like this ship more than I already do. I am a sucker for toxic yaoi, so I'll gladly take it! Kristoph definitely has respect for Phoenix, as much as he hates to admit it, so why not seal the deal by making them have a very shaky relationship that ends in one framing the other for murder. Phoenix is suffering Edgeworth withdrawal and it's leading him to dark places. Kristoph is the Maria to Phoenix's James (n Edgeworth's Mary) and no one can tell me otherwise.

Phoenix x Lang: 5/10; I have no idea where this ship materialized from, but it just sounds funny. Alpha Wolf hot shot and his sassy lawyer boyfriend. If you thought Phoenix's sass was apparent enough already, Lang just intensifies it by being around him and they have a blast gossiping about the competition. I wanna see them interact in canon now.

Phoenix x Edgeworth: 10/10; A CERTIFIED CLASSIC! ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF MLM SHIPS! THEY ARE A PART OF INTERNET HISTORY! It's so hard for me to ever think of them not being hopelessly in love with each other. They're husbands to me. They have matching wedding rings you just need to look closer.

Phoenix x Larry: 3/10; I don't like Larry so in turn it's really hard for me to like this ship. I think it could be interesting if teen Phoenix is in his bicurious era and does practice dates with Larry who is more than willing to help him out. Two men realized they're bi that day.

[thatgirl4815]

A few thoughts re. your post about Top/cheating double standards - I feel so bemused bout ppl who say they felt conflicted bout the Sand/Ray love scene cos it was cheating (if nothing else, just listen to the scoring! If you were meant to feel icky about it the music would tell you so! The way it was scored and filmed is 100% meant to convey a sense of romance and love and *fucking finally* - nothing about it indicates shenanigans are afoot!), because at this point literally EVERYONE knows Mew is faking his relationship with Ray - Mew knows it, Ray knows it, the audience has always known it. Just because they haven't explicitly verbalised it doesn't mean they don't know it. The last time they saw each other Ray accused him of still loving Top and Mew didn't deny it, nor did he try to stop Ray from leaving (some ppl might even consider that as good as a break-up...). Now compare that to Top: at the time of the Car Incident, both him and Mew have genuine feelings for each other and are genuinely having a go at making something of it; they are on good terms - they part on good terms. Like you said, yes Boston messes with his head, but that's literally all it takes to get him to cheat. Okay, ppl will bring their personal povs/experiences re. cheating to the table, as is their right, and I get that it's an emotive subject (and one for which I too have basically zero tolerance), but I'm not sure how anyone can say with a straight face that those two scenarios are comparable let alone that what Ray did was worse. I keep seeing ppl watch the Ray/Mew end scene and come away from it happily acknowledging that Mew consciously using Ray explains his indifference to Ray/Sand, whilst simultaneously still condemning Ray because they don't seem able to extend that reasoning to Ray's own behaviour - Mew's not the only one clued in! IMO there's no way Ray would be out there having ridiculously hot make-out sessions with Sand if he believed for one second that Mew was genuinely falling in love with him (or even genuinely trying to). Even when he's high as a kite in ep 8, it's obvious he knows what's up - when your so-called boyfriend (who up until a hot second ago repeatedly and flatly denied having any romantic interest in you whatsoever) recoils from you in private but plants one on you in front of his ex in public...like Ray said, you get the hint! You can argue semantics about cheating and sure, in an ideal world they'd have had that open and honest convo then and there because yes, it's always better to communicate your feelings instead of running away to interrupt a perfectly lovely platonic bestie sleepover, but have they MET these characters??? They're walking disasters! It just fascinates me that you have Mew, the so-called victim of Ray's nefarious betrayal, not only shrugging it off but actively giving Ray his blessing to have as much sweet sweet sex with Sand as he wants, and yet parts of the audience are still like 'I dunno, still feels wrong...'

As far as Top is concerned - like you, my issue with his character isn't so much the cheating, it's how two-faced he is: he's a completely different person in his interactions with anyone who isn't Mew/someone Mew is on good terms with. And to be honest, I like him the best in those scenes! I do believe he's trying to be a better person for Mew, or at least he thinks he is, but as other ppl have pointed out, at the moment it's only performative precisely because he doesn't bother when Mew's not around to see it/won't hear about it. Sand is the obvious example - even when Top's ostensibly offering him an olive branch, his words may be conciliatory but his tone of voice/facial expressions are anything but - they ooze scorn and smarm! And you could argue that he's making progress (not telling Mew about Ray/Sand, or bout him saving Ray from arrest), but to be honest I enjoy the Top that turns on a dime the second Boston or Sand show up (I love his chemistry with both of them - that little Top/Boston scene at the party in ep 8 cracked me up) because that keeps him interesting - you're always waiting for the facade to drop!

Excellent points all around! Your bit about the use of music and tone to highlight the purity and positivity surrounding the SandRay scene in Ep9 is really telling. Like you, I see a lot of people resisting the narratives’ attempts to guide us towards a positive/negative outlook on the plot—not to say people should not push back against these details when the characters’ actions are deserving of scorn, but these details give us a good sense of the characters’ head spaces. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t meant to inform our impression of these situations.

The entire RayMew talk is so necessary to the conversation of whether SandRay is considered cheating. I won’t fault the pushback to a certain extent, because I can’t say that anything in this show is the most straightforward. But like you said, these characters are messy. In a perfect world, yeah, they’d lay everything out on the table and have the “what are we?” discussion before going forward with other people in any way. But especially for someone like Ray who is so conflicted in his feelings (and so clearly struggling to accept that Mew has never, and will never, love him romantically), that just isn’t plausible. The most important point to me is that MEW DOESN’T CARE. He might as well have said it before with how blatantly obvious it was. Like, what is Ray supposed to think about the status of your relationship (which was never explicitly defined) when you refuse to kiss him in private but make out in front of your ex-boyfriend?

Gonna list a few of your claims here that I connect with a lot because you really said it best:

“…when your so-called boyfriend (who up until a hot second ago repeatedly and flatly denied having any romantic interest in you whatsoever) recoils from you in private but plants one on you in front of his ex in public...like Ray said, you get the hint!”

“IMO there's no way Ray would be out there having ridiculously hot make-out sessions with Sand if he believed for one second that Mew was genuinely falling in love with him (or even genuinely trying to).”

I don’t think anyone is arguing that what Ray has done is the best way to handle the situation objectively (at least, no one that I’ve seen), but just that the circumstances and evidence we’ve been presented with are not 100% aligned for Top and Ray and should thus not be treated as equally wrong. When the characters themselves are not only demonstrating these lack of feelings but calling them out verbally, there’s substantially less room for the “Ray is just as bad as Top” thing. And I do expect to get flack for this but honestly, in my viewing experience, viewing the situations as objectively as I can, what Top did is worse for the reasons you outline. And this is not me saying that Ray can do no wrong. It’s in consideration of what was expressly defined by each couple.

Regarding Top’s character in general; Top is two-faced, and I also enjoy that aspect of his character because it’s the only thing that really gives him any dimension. I wish Mew could see him when he interacts one-on-one with Sand and Boston because I have a feeling that would enlighten him to aspects of Top’s character that he’s hidden away. The funny thing is that Mew seems to have suspected this right from the start, yet he hasn’t ever seen this part of Top.

[acacia-may]

From the excerpt ask game, could you answer 15, 16, and 17? 💖

Aww thank you so much, Erika! I'd love to answer your questions and share some excerpts as part of the ask game! 🥰

15. An excerpt from an old piece that I like

After reading your awesome Fairy Tail thoughts (thank you again for sharing those by the way!), I wanted to choose an excerpt from one of my Fairy Tail fics for you. I don't have any Jerza, but I do have some Mystwalker (Edo Jerza) and hope that'll do 😅 This excerpt is from "More Than My Life" which was my very first Fairy Tail fanfiction and is over a year old (so I'd consider it an old piece, especially since I never really talk about it) ^^

"I’ve failed in my duty to protect you, Your Majesty.”  Erza Knightwalker hung her head but could hear King Jellal hum thoughtfully. “I suppose that is one way of looking at it.”  “With all due respect, Your Majesty, what other way is there?” she questioned, glancing up at him again with a slight tilt of her head.  The corners of his mouth twitched just barely with that thoughtful, almost imperceptible smile she had come to recognize after years as his most trusted bodyguard. In many ways it seemed saved only for her and those moments when she was far more frank with him than a servant should be with their king. “That I succeeded in my duty to protect you.”  “Your Majesty, if you are the one protecting me, I have no right to call myself your bodyguard. It is almost nonsensical. When your subjects learn I have allowed you to be injured in my place, they will insist I be stripped of my rank of Captain in your Royal Army and perhaps even imprisoned or banished for treason.”  As something almost affectionate passed over his eyes, King Jellal tilted his head. “I think they will understand.”   “Your Majesty, your people are not as forgiving as you.” Erza sighed. “Though they are good people, they are also reasonable ones. They will never understand why their king would risk his life to protect his bodyguard.”  “Perhaps,” King Jellal admitted quietly; however, his expression softened. “But I can only hope they will understand why their king would risk his life to protect the woman he loves.”  

16. An excerpt from a recent piece i want to brag about

You are too kind to me, Erika! I feel bad I don't have any recent pieces from our shared fandoms, but if you will indulge me, I would love to ramble about "Under The Weather," to you specifically because this relationship is my "finding love again when it didn't seem possible" oc x cc pairing (ala your Nacsele, and you know how I passionately I feel about that kind of love story). Again, I apologize for choosing an excerpt from a fandom you're not in, but I just wrote this story for my birthday back in February and am so proud of it and this scene in particular because I think it means my romance writing is getting better...maybe? (I mean it's still one of those, "wow I can't believe I wrote this" things and they'd both swear they're just friends here...so it's ambiguously romantic(?) (I guess?) but it's an extremely slow burn so I feel like it's appropriate to be subtle). Anyways, I hope you'd have an appreciation for the vibes at least, and I chose from a portion of the story with no specific spoilers for OMORI or anything. ^^

“Lorraine has nothing but nice things to say about you,” he admitted with a slight smile. “She’s always telling me how smart, driven, and beautiful you are. How you’re strong and honest but so kind, so much softer than you want people to know. She says you’d make a great girlfriend.” Hero blushed. That last part had just slipped out—he probably wouldn’t have said it, if he wasn’t so feverish, but Zoey just laughed. “My sister said that to you?” She sighed, rolling her eyes somewhat affectionately but the look in them was genuinely guilty. “Sorry. I’ll talk to her.” As he coughed, Hero shook his head. “No, it’s…it’s okay. She’s right…” His voice trailed, distant and breathy, but he couldn’t stop the words that tumbled out of his mouth, “You are all of those things, and if you did ever want to date someone, that person would be very lucky…” “Not nearly as lucky as the person who gets your heart, Mr. Prince.” Even though Hero was sure she was only teasing him, his face flushed anyway—burning to the tips of his ears. He pursed his lips together, then stared down at his hands on the duvet. “It’s pretty broken…I’m not sure it’s much of a prize anymore,” he mumbled, trying his best to play along despite the sadness that crept into his words. He bit his lip, but he felt her warm, gentle hand reach out to take his. He couldn’t look at her face, but he felt her squeeze his hand, heard her voice—quiet but sincere. “I don’t think that’s true.” As he took a long, shallow breath, Hero shivered, but he wasn’t sure it was from the fever.

17. An excerpt from an unpublished WIP

This is an excerpt from "Something...Happened..." which is a Black Clover WIP I never finished. Noelle is the POV character, and the story takes place when the Black Bulls are combing through Gordon's observation diaries trying to find any information that might help Asta when he is put on trial after the Elf Arc only for silly shenanigans to ensue. It was fun to write, but I think I got distracted by other projects before I finished it...😅 Here's a snippet though ^^

Noelle began to skim looking for anything interesting but it was just the same old, same old. Shopping. Visiting with the vendors. Nothing new or exciting and certainly nothing that is remotely relevant to Asta. After about 4 more pages at the market, Gordon finally returned back to the Hideout. When I returned from the market with our groceries, Vanessa was busy setting the table. Captain Yami decided that we were going to have a special dinner to celebrate our very first mission where we caused no accidental casualties and didn’t earn a negative star. Noelle paused. So they were earning negative stars even back then, huh? No wonder the squad was in such bad shape when she had joined. Captain Yami bought some nice bottles of wine for the occasion, and he is even going to let Finral have some. Captain Yami said that since Finral recently turned eighteen, he should be responsible enough to drink in moderation. Vanessa is particularly curious since she wasn’t allowed to drink in the Forest of Witches, even though she says Her Majesty the Queen of Witches is very fond of red wine. She says she is very excited to finally get to have some. Noelle snorted. She bet she was—considering how fond she was of drinking these days. It was almost comforting somehow to see that her squad mates hadn’t changed much over the years. She had almost expected them to be a little bit different since she was given such an old observation diary. But no, Gordon was still awkward. Vanessa was still friendly. Finral was still a flirt, and Captain Yami still didn’t put up with anyone’s nonsense. It didn’t make for as interesting reading as one would think though. We all sat down for dinner—was the last sentence on this page, but when Noelle turned to the next her brow furrowed. This couldn’t be right… I managed to trap the goat in the bathroom. Then, I gently tied a rope around its collar and led it down to the basement where Captain Yami keeps his magical beasts. The goat seemed scared but there was another cage down there that would keep her safe. Noelle blinked. What? She flipped back to the previous page. Boring dinner. She flipped forward. Goat drama. It didn’t make sense—at least until she noticed the remnants of some pages that appeared to be ripped out.

[threadsun]

THE 🧸 TEDDY BEAR 🧸 IS HERE TO INFODUMP THE DoL PCs!!! I have four main ones for different playstyles/romancing our four favourite beans; in order of most to least likely to make friends with Izzy we have Zoe, Max, Faith and Natalie. I also cheat the stats around because I am a weenie and don't want them to get hurt outside of my control lmao call that CNC

Zoe is my transfem black-and-purple-aesthetic babygirl and local Whitney slut. She's kind of a reactive bully, Whitney's a bad influence on her, but she has a soft spot for the fellow orphans and will generally redirect her 'boyfriend's ire away from them where she can. While they started dating with him at high dom, over time and Drama I figured he'd soften up a little (touch-starved, affection-deprived bully finds love, gets clingy). They have tattoos of each other's names, they have matching collars (Whitney's is spiky), and they absolutely fuck nasty on Leighton's desk while he takes photos. You'd think Whitney's forcefem kink would be wasted on a gf who's already transfem, but she plays along and wears a lil chastity cage and everything. She'd be the most likely to be friends with Izzy, both being cheer-outfit transfems who are too busy flirting to study properly. T4T makeouts ensue, Whitney can watch idc lmao

Max is a big fuckin boy, just a beefy big wolfman badboy with a heart of gold. Real German Shepherd energy. He works really hard at the docks and comes home late, so his grades aren't the best, but he's no delinquent. He shows up to every class, just kinda… daydreams through them. He's very protective of Robin and takes on their debt after saving them at the docks (with the help of his coworkers), becoming their personal guard dog. He also sticks up for Robin when they come out as genderfluid (NB!Robin from the crossdressing scenes gives me so much joy!) Would probably make friends with Izzy since she's nice, but he's very much Robin-sexual so they'd just be broskis.

Faith is my poor innocent baby who did no wrong and has the most, uh, non-mechanics-compliant story shiz. She and Sydney were all sweet and cute lil hetero-romantic celibate temple initiates holding hands and being innocent… until she had her halo broken and her wings blackened in the very temple she thought she'd be safe in. Sydney and Sirris took her home, and none of them ever went back to the temple again gdi LET ME RESCUE SYDNEY FROM THAT PLACE! They both end up disillusioned by the whole scenario and fall to corruption and demonhood pretty easily (demon!Sydney my beloved), but they're happy now and fucking in the change room as we speak. Faith probably wouldn't have been very good friends with Izzy before she fell, but afterwards? As long as Sydney's involved, the more the merrier! She's got three holes.

Finally, Natalie, poor dear Natalie… She's my Kylarmance. She used to be a really popular kid, a bit of a delinquent thanks to having a short temper about being harassed and groped all the time. But it was nice to have a friend who seemed genuinely interested in talking to her, even if people thought he was a creep. Sure, he had a shrine to her in his locker, but that was… kinda sweet? He hadn't hurt her or touched her or called her horrible things like most guys she knew. He was endearing, and such a talented artist, and she cuddled up to that owl plushie he gave her every night. So when Whitney threatened to lie about her if she wouldn't fuck him, she rejected him. She'd be able to tell Kylar it was a lie, right? That she didn't sleep around, she was waiting for Kyl- for the right person, you know? Well… a mild kidnapping later, he proved that she was telling the truth by taking her virginity himself, and slowly molding her into his ideal goth gf. They're totally 'married' now, trust me! And sure, she's become a total social outcast and basically never speaks to anyone else, she'd never really have the opportunity to make friends with Izzy, but she's HAPPY now. She has KYLAR. That's all she's ever needed.

(sorry this wound up so long I fuckin love this game I am kissing you on the mouth aaaAAAA 🧸💋🌞)

SHAKING HANDS WITH YOU SO HARD OVER PLAYING WITH CHEATS!!!!! Look, sometimes you get stuck in an infinite assault loop and you really just gotta teleport yourself home 😔 Also sometimes you wanna lose your handholding virginity to literally anyone other than someone's pet dog who you taught to shake paws.

Whitney would absolutely love to watch Zoe and Izzy go at it and he's valid!! These ladies deserve some hot t4t action >:3c

Max sounds sooooo sweet and Izzy would adore him, she'd just be so happy someone else cares about Robin too!!

You're so valid on non-mechanics-compliant stuff, I ignore the actual game canon all the time for the sake of what I think would be more realistic (and fun) for Izzy!! Including getting Sydney away from the goddamn temple!!! Gotta save that boy!!! And then Faith, Izzy, and Sydney can have a threesome about it :3c

God Natalie is soooooo valid and relatable, Kylar is simply so !!!!! How can you not love him? Especially once he kidnaps you and you develop stockholm syndrome 🥰

I'm so happy to hear about all of them, they all sound super fun!!!! Mwah mwah I am kissing you on the mouth too!!!!

[writ-in-violant]

Blake Kearney

Names/Title: Blake Kearney, Chen Xiuying, and many others; the Acrimonious Agent

Pronouns: He/They

Referred to as: Detective, Sir

Profession: Detective & Watcher (Aiming for Midnighter)

Ambition: Nemesis (ongoing)

Closest to: The Great Game

Associated Stats: Watchful, Dangerous, A Player of Chess

Associated Quirks: Ruthless, Steadfast, Subtle

Destiny: Gleam

Background

Blake is uncertain about many of the specifics of his birth. He was born as Chen Xiuying in Shanghai's International Settlement sometime around 1868, and while he knows his mother was Chinese he doesn't know his father's origins. He spent most of his young childhood in the International Settlement; he faintly recalls there being some reason he left his mother's house young, but while he has conjecture he has no solid memory of why he ran away. While living on the street, his talent for languages and the fact that he was easily overlooked caught the eye of a British spy who was stationed there; the man, who went by Reynard Martin, took the young Xiuying (his name, at the time) in and taught them the basics of spycraft, which Xiuying took to like a fish to water.

Martin was something in between a teacher, a handler, and a father to Xiuying. He was accepting of their fondness for wearing male guises and quickly took to introducing the young man as such, and while initially he used Xiuying to gather information and rumor, Blake at least suspects that the other man genuinely cared for them; certainly when Martin was re-assigned away from Shanghai, he gave Xiuying the option to come with him and continue their education, and Xiuying agreed.

Over the next few decades, Blake used many names and played many roles as a member of Britain's spy networks throughout Europe. He was a tool of the government more than he was a person, but he was good at it, and had been inducted so young that he didn't really have moral qualms about what he was doing.

And then, when he was around 23 years old, he was on an assignment in Ireland (I like to think it was figuring out how likely Ireland was to split off from Great Britain. Answer: very) and ended up extremely injured. He was in a small town and a clearly foreign stranger, and most of the town was very wary about helping him, but the assistant to the local doctor stepped in anyway and saved Blake's life, even putting him up in his own rooms while he healed from a seriously broken leg and an abdomen wound.

That doctor's assistant, Blake learned upon regaining consciousness, was named Liam O'Connell, and when he asked Blake's name in return Blake scrambled for a name, ended up with "Blake Kearney," and hasn't stopped using it since. Over the month and a bit it took for Liam to become thoroughly convinced Blake was in fact healed, the two men grew closer, in the end having what both desperately tried to pretend was a one-time fling right before Blake left.

...but neither of them could forget about the other, and the next time Blake had a break from his work, he actually took it and went to visit Liam. The two developed a romance over the next five years, and in the process Blake learned something of how to be a person rather than just a tool -- to the point he realized he'd be happier staying with Liam than he would as a spy. He planned to quit, to go clean, to stay with Liam, to find a dress that still fit and trick some priest into marrying them, just so they both knew they'd promised themselves to each other.

And then, on his last mission, he came back to Liam's funeral in 1896. It took Blake a few months to track down the mysterious name and rose petals, but he descended to the Neath in early 1897.

In the Neath

Much like Vivian, while Blake's ambition is technically ongoing, in-universe he did finish it before 1899(2). Unlike me, he is actually living down there on the day to day and has the death of a loved one driving him. I think he concluded his ambition around late 1989/early 1899(1).

Blake took to the search for the truth behind Liam's death with singleminded dedication, but as with all things in the Neath, he ended up needing connections and assistance to achieve this. One of the first friends he made was the Honey-Addled Detective, who put Blake in touch with many of the resources a sharp-minded young investigator would need in the Neath; Blake remains a friend of the man and they can often be found discussing cases together, as despite his other occupations Blake still does work as a detective, particularly aiding with finding missing people.

During the Horticulture Show, Blake captained the ship The Green Knight and, in the process of attacking the Roof, lost an eye. He replaced with with a Fourth-City eyeball, giving him his distinctive odd-eyed look; it aids his perception considerably. He tries to avoid unnecessary connections, but balances getting along with the Duchess and the Widow -- the latter, through aiding in her business and offering sound advice, and the former, through canny decisions and a mutual love of cats. Blake has several cats of his own; Waterlily, his Lamp-Cat, is most frequently seen with him, but he also has a kitten he affectionately calls Trouble and has been rumored to be seen with a midnight matriarch once in the retinue of the Duchess.

Still, most would characterize Blake as a forbidden, dour man worthy of his title as the acrimonious agent. He is a ruthless man if crossed and capable of great cruelty to achieve his goals -- after all, his gateway to ever being a normal man, and not a tool, is now forever closed in his mind. And a tool doesn't have moral qualms about what it does to achieve its wielder's aims. Unexpectedly for him, he's taken on a ward of his own; Sarantani, (or Sara,) a half-Khaganian pirate's daughter working as a Costermonger at the Docks, proved to be insightful enough to figure out he was a spy and curious enough to follow him, and now he tries to teach her the tools of the trade while sparing her the same level of depersonalization he ended up with. She calls him her dad, but not to his face; he'd be extremely flustered if he ever heard it himself.

As of right now no Exceptional Stories are canon for Blake but I'll probably grab some of the cat ones at some point.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

I have now shifted from reading the first X-Men run to reading the Claremont stuff, and of course I have opinions. (I'm nowhere near done with Claremont's run, just past Dark Phoenix and Days of Future Past.)

I can honestly see why Claremont basically saved the X-Men franchise, his stuff is so much better than the first 66 issues. I'm sure part of it is a shift in comics writing style, from less adventure-of-the-month to more ongoing saga, soap opera style, but it's just good. It's really good. Claremont sets up plot points well in advance, he creates a team with distinct personalities, and friction (or friendships) that come with that. The prose is beautiful at times. I remember trying to read Claremont stuff after growing up with 90's X-Men, and thinking the writing sounded corny (and I know people who grew up reading later era X-Men feel the same way about 90's comics now). But after reading the first run, Claremont's X-Men hits differently, and it's so much easier to read, like I'm not forcing myself to slog through it.

Phoenix/Dark Phoenix saga is genuinely a beautiful story. There's a lot to be said about the all-powerful female character being unable to control her power, and being essentially corrupted by lust (both physical lust and lust for power), and the weird virgin/whore dynamic Claremont has going with Jean. Like, there are absolutely weird sexist undertones. But if Jean absolutely had to be killed off, it's a well-written death, and I can see why adaptations keep going back to it, although I wish they'd stop, no one has gotten it right. I think the X-Men Animated Series actually did the best job, they stayed close to the original story (with the 90's cast) and went with a "Jean is possessed by Phoenix" angle rather than the "Jean was replaced by Phoenix" retcon in the actual comics. I can kind of see why the later retcon went with "cosmic firebird" to separate Phoenix from Jean, as even the way Jean talks about "Phoenix" in the original story, like she's tapped into some primal, cosmic power, sounds like it's some force outside of herself.

I totally forgot that Beast and Angel are both there for the final battle before Phoenix dies, Beast because he saw on an Avenger's monitor that the X-Men were in trouble. And Angel actually rejoins the team for awhile. Poor Bobby is the only one who gets left out.

There's a long period in the comics where Jean and Beast think the other X-Men are dead, and the X-Men think Jean and Beast are dead after the groups are separated escaping Magneto's lair, which fills with lava. I can understand Jean not being strong enough to do a psi-scan (she is exhausted from protecting herself and Beast, and they emerge in Antarctica, so they are struggling just to survive). But apparently when they report the news to Xavier, he just doesn't bother to do any kind of Cerebro search. "The X-Men are ambiguously dead with no bodies or real confirmation of their deaths, guess I won't bother to use this device that can locate mutants, I'm off to space with my bird girlfriend."

This was also the start of the "Professor Xavier is a jerk!" era. The first run had Xavier doing so very questionable stuff, but it was always treated in a "Father Knows Best" kind of way. Xavier was the mentor that they all obey without question, and he was basically always right. Claremont wrote an Xavier who is flawed and capable of making mistakes, although he still appears to be a man who loves his students like his own children. He gets distracted by his dreams of (and later romance with) Lilandra, he butts heads with Cyclops and tries to treat him like a child when Cyclops has been leading the team independently for a while. After Jean's death, when Cyclops is basically summarizing his entire life with the team, he criticizes a few of Xavier's decisions, and in particular thinks about how cruel the whole "fake death Changeling substitute" thing was. I know Claremont is also responsible for also fleshing out Magneto as a character and making him a much more nuanced figure, and I like it. To be honest, I think fan opinion lately has swung too far in the other direction, now we've got "Magneto was right" and "Xavier is the worst," and I don't fully agree with that, either. I think they are both deeply flawed leaders who are both capable of good and bad. I like flawed Xavier who is still a thoughtful and caring person.

This run also gets into Claremont fetish territory, big time. We've got the whole Jean seduction thing, the Hellfire club fetish gear (only for the women, of course!), Storm constantly getting naked, and that time Magneto turns the X-Men into adult babies. No, seriously, he is angry about being changed into a baby by Alpha the Ultimate Mutant (something that happened in another book between the first run and Claremont's run), and he wants to give them a taste of it. So he has them strapped into chairs with collars that shut off their powers and greatly restrict their movement and speech, while a robot nanny feeds them and brushes their hair, and yeah, it's really weird. He sort of makes it make sense, as Magneto claims that in baby form he could still remember who he was and what he had lost, and that actually sounds nightmarish. I can understand wanting to subject his enemies to the same indignity. But it's still weird.

Claremont really loves putting people in leather bondage outfits and the whole "you're mind-controlling me to be evil but I secretly like it" thing, starting with Jean. Even in the New Mutants and Excalibur we get some of this stuff, like Empath forcing Sharon and Tom to have sex with each other and put on weird bondage outfits. It's a whole thing with him. Storm is kind of like Starfire (who came later), in that she's a sexy, beautiful character who likes to get naked because she is comfortable that way, but she is not actively trying to be "sexy." I can kind of see it as "Storm is connected to nature," but otherwise I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't think female characters should have to dress in skimpy outfits because they are trying to be sexy, but at the same time we get sexy characters who aren't really "allowed" to own their own sexuality. I almost respect it more with characters like Emma who say, "Yes, I dress this way to be sexy." We just get a lot of Storm taking showers.

Poor Thunderbird, he only lasted like four issues. Sometimes I wonder how it would have been if Wolverine had died instead, and if Thunderbird would have become as big a character. Wolverine has the whole "Weapon X" past thing going for him, but it seems like that was added later to flesh the character out, they could have just as easily given Proudstar an interesting backstory. Thunderbird's death is interesting, because it's not really depicted as a necessary sacrifice. Thunderbird didn't have to stay on the plane with Nefaria, Banshee was right there and could have caught him in the air. It was less of a noble sacrifice and more like a character desperate to prove himself. I'm not trying to disrespect Proudstar here, I just think it's interesting. I wonder if this death was meant to show Cyclops/Xavier failing in leadership for the first time, that they didn't realize Thunderbird would do something like this. They sort of "bring him back" with James Proudstar/Thunderbird II/eventually Warpath in the Hellions. Normally I don't really like "replacement characters" that have the exact same powers and look very similar to the original except Madelyne but New Mutants did a good job of making James Proudstar his own character. He is connected to John as his brother, he wants revenge for his brother's death, but unlike John, James comes across as very calm and serious, the leader of the Hellions who is responsible for everyone. And hey, now they're both alive in current comics - if only they'd be allowed to actually interact.

Claremont starts with a big team and then does a lot of pushing characters out. The original team leaves except Scott. Thunderbird dies. Then Jean comes back as Phoenix (and dies). Sunfire goes on the Krakoa mission, then says "Fuck you, I'm out," which is kind of constant theme with him. Lorna and Alex are constantly on the periphery, occasionally getting dragged into stories (like when they are brainwashed by Erik the Red), but never full team members. At least Havok gets to properly join later, Polaris is constantly getting pushed aside. Banshee actually gets a proper run on the book and is there for the first Phoenix saga before Claremont eases him into retirement with an injury to his voice and a romance with Moira. I really like Banshee, it's neat to have an "older" character on a team full of kids (and even Wolverine is treated as a younger guy in his early appearances, before his backstory gets fleshed out), and he has his own backstory of being an Interpol agent, and an evil cousin who wants to kill him. He also has an ancestral castle with leprechauns, but we won't talk about that. Claremont sort of keeps the "Muir Island" characters in the loop for awhile, so occasionally Banshee, Moira, Multiple Man, and sometimes Lorna and Alex get drawn into the story again.

Erik the Red shows up as a Shiar agent, even though Erik the Red was a fake persona that Scott used in the first X-Men run, and I swear we never get an explanation as to why. Did the Shiar agent just find the costume and think it was cool? Or maybe it was the agent's costume the entire time and Scott found it somewhere, that would explain how Scott quickly cobbled together a villain disguise complete with laser gloves that mimicked powers. I think Claremont just saw the bondage gear and couldn't resist.

First appearance of Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy as a duo, and Juggernaut even dives into the sea to save Tom. These two, along with Pyro and Avalanche and Unus and Blob, are high on my "gay villain duo" list.

Mesmero hypnotizes the X-Men into thinking that they are carnival workers, and Magneto shows up and is like:

Magneto actually rescues the X-Men from Mesmero just so he can take revenge on them himself, and says that Mesmero was just working with a Magneto robot the whole time.

I probably make it no secret that Wolverine is very low on my favorite character list, but I like him more in the early days when he's not only allowed to be a massive asshole, but the narrative actually treats him like one. Wolverine bothers me the most in his over-hyped days, when he is basically, to borrow TV Tropes, a Jerkass-Sue, who always saves the day and is still loved and respected by almost everyone despite being a massive asshole. In the early days there are actually consequences for Wolverine being a massive asshole, people yell at him and put him in his place, he actually loses fights occasionally, he gradually develops and shows that he has a good heart and cares about his team-mates. He is actually part of the team, not the star. My favorite Wolverine is a character who fits in as part of the X-Men, while Wolverine on his own bores the shit out of me.

The Hellfire Club story really makes Mastermind an impressive villain. I always thought he was a creep, and Hellfire club elevates him to mega-creep, but it also shows him managing to work his way into this Inner Circle of powerful mutants, and gain control over Jean with his illusion powers. (And some help from a device that Emma made, current comics forget she is a tech whiz). Like this is a legitimately dangerous, threatening Mastermind, although not after Jean wipes the floor with him.

I wonder what fan reaction was like to Kitty Pryde - was she a welcome addition, or the "annoying child character," like Wesley Crusher? Personally, I like Kitty, and I appreciate her acting like an actual child, not a hyper-competent genius, although she is an actual genius. I don't mind her doing things like wandering into the Danger Room and forgetting to phase because she's so scared, it makes sense. She's like 13.

There's a lot more to be said about the introductions of Sebastian Shaw and Emma and my favorite Brotherhood, with Destiny, Mystique, Blob, Avalanche and Pyro, but this has gone on too long already. Claremont definitely gave us a lot of characters with staying power.

[ryttu3k]

#it's really funny having him as a companion bc he is such a main character archetype #like in a rypical high fantasy he would be a perfect lead to bring the the cast together and be teh druving force for the plot #and ofc he is the main chacter of hisbstory but its funny with Tav to fill that place instead #wyll is my friend and the only person my Tavs trust to help guide the group along lol #its like his hero persona is both an act a choice an aspiration #its who he wabts to be and how he defies mizora despite everything she puts him through #and his overly flowery language and hero boasting in act 1 one is so funny #it is kinda insufferable but also buddy i see that you rehersed that #relax you dont have to impress me #sth about wyll's sense of self and how he shapes it by stories he tells and projects outward #and how it gets confronted by his fiendish transformation #ugh i am thinking about wyll again

Agreed, and I think he takes on the mask of The Blade of Frontiers! so hard because he almost doesn't want to acknowledge all the pain and trauma he's survived. It's so much easier just to wear the mask and bury any pain. Of course The Blade would sacrifice his soul to save the father that exiled him as a newly-disabled teenager, that's what A Hero would do! If he's The Blade, he doesn't have to think about being Wyll, because then he'd have to acknowledge... *waves hand* all of that.

A lot of the characters have masks, acknowledged or just implied. Astarion puts on a facade of being the seductive, charismatic vampire who would love ;) to get to know ;) you ;), when that's genuinely the last thing he'd want. Shadowheart tries so hard to be the perfect emotionless Cleric of Loss when she really feels so much. Gale outright asks a romanced player why they'd want Gale Dekarios when they could have The Wizard of Waterdeep.

Karlach is a really good foil for him because she knows and rejects her mask of the Scourge of Avernus as soon as she can. She's absolutely delighted just to be Karlach, and I think that's a big part of Wyll ultimately potentially learning to just be Wyll, choosing to save her instead of Slaying The Devil, learning prioritise himself for once in ultimately rejecting Mizora's deal.

Anyway I think he should be allowed to go batshit for a bit. As a treat.

I think when people dismiss wyll as being the Normal Guy companion they are overlooking a key piece of his character which is that yeah he's pretty normal in comparison to the rest of these messes but have u considered how much Effort it would take to stay that normal while putting up with mizora every day of your life. This guy isn't normal because he's boring, he's normal because he has moral fortitude rivaling that of every god. The fact that he's still so normal after what 9 years of being trapped in an insane psychosexual torment nexus is a HEROIC ACHIEVEMENT. This one will only make sense to the disco elysium fans out there but Wyll's volition stat is through the fucking roof. Nothing can shake this guy and it's not through luck or chance it is through more strength of character than any other person ever born. Wyll ravengard u will always be famous

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Hi, how are you? I think that Jopper is the most beautiful relationship in ST, and Season 4 Jopper reunion/interaction/kisses are just perfect, even better than I imagined. Which kiss do you like more? The first one or the second one?

Hi anon! I'm doing ok. Currently on break at work. 😵‍💫How are you doing? Ps- sorry this took so long to get out. I was really chewing on the answer. Love this ask. 🤗

I definitely 100% agree with you. I am not much into the kid romances. Mostly because I don't think a lot of them can really act a very believable romance and I genuinely gravitate to the older actors on a given show. Season 4 does have its issues but their storyline was pretty amazing imo. I only have small nitpicks about it, but you can really tell that the reunion scene was very important to both of the actors and they really pull it off!

There aren't many actors that can pull off a scene like that with absolutely zero dialogue and project every emotion the characters are experiencing in that moment. 🥹

The thing that I really love about that relationship is that this is two middle aged people. With a romance that's based on friendship that's also allowed to be sexy. That's really rare and I appreciate what the ship has become. Sex and being sexy doesn't stop at 30.

What kiss do I prefer? 🤔 I love both of them for different reasons. I love the tenderness and reassurance in the second one and I love the passion of the first one. I think I'll have to say the first one is my favorite.

I love how shy they are around each other. Both of them want the other so badly but aren't really sure what the best approach would be. It's so funny because Joyce just dropped everything to go save him including walking into a Russian gulag. And Hopper endured torture and death to keep her safe. 🥹 Here they are the first chance they are alone to finally change the nature of their relationship and admit the depth of their feelings but they are just tip toeing around each other.

I love how both of them keep checking out the other one while they are undressing. How sad Joyce looks when she sees the scars on his back and facing the reality of what he went through. The journey her face makes when she realizes he was just dreaming about food.

I love the parallels to Joyce's make out scene with Bob and how it differs. Listen. I love Bob! I love her relationship with Bob. He's such a sweethearted man who he loved her so much and was so good to her kids. But it's clear there's a fire that burns between her and Hopper that just doesn't exist between her and Bob.

Bob was the one to drive that makeout scene. They are knocking into stuff and when they bump into the wall he puts his hand out to protect her from getting hurt. There's this sweet gentleness to the scene even though it's a heavy makeout.

Here we have Joyce driving the scene. She's the one to approach hopper, the one to bring up their date and to push him into talking about what sort of after dinner dessert they were going to have. She's the one to push him against the wall.

I love how 🔥 it is. They get really into it. She's clawing at his shoulder and he's biting her lip. They definitely 100% were going to bang in there. It was going to be hot, they were going to leave all sorts of masks on the other and they were going to be loud. the fact that neither of them cared that they were on the run from the KGB, that they were covered in shit, that Murray, Dimitri and Yuri were right outside. None of that mattered right then and there and I love that for them so much. They'd held out for so long and I just love how explosive it is between them.

Anyway I love that they are allowed to be passionate and tender. Hot, sexy and soulmatey.

[pftones3482]

Can I just say I am so happy you wrote that coming out fic and showed Phineas coming out as aro-ace? I think a small number of PnF fans actually do harbor that headcanon but it is very appreciated when I see it in fic. Especially when even less of those people seeing Phineas as ace and/or aro are writers too. I've seen Ace Phineas on at least one other fic besides yours and even then he's established as demi (which is also very appreciated) in that one (that same fic has Ace Stacy too!).

Ace-Aro Phineas should definitely be something explored more in PnF fandom - or in fact any fic where Phineas doesn't necessarily end up with someone if the main point of the fic a non-Phineas focused ship (I've seen multiple Ferbella and Bujeet fics with Phineas/Candace, Phineas/Adyson, Phineas/OC.) There's so much, let him be aspec!

I'm genuinely so happy people resonated with that part of the fic specifically - I'm not aro/ace myself, so it was the part I was most nervous to write bc it was so introspective (compared to Doof's scene, which was more observational about him being trans, and obviously it's well established that he's known for a long time). To hear that a lot of people liked it makes me feel so good.

In canon, Phineas is SO oblivious to any kind of romantic attraction directed towards him - he is well aware that it exists, and that it's real, but he never acknowledges it when it's directed at him and there is not ONE moment in the show (save for AYA, which ew, and the Star Wars special, which isn't canon) where he directs it at anyone else. And it's not even age - all of his friends and both his siblings at one point or another in the show have crushes or relationships.

I know Phinabella was always end goal, but with how disinterested they made Phineas in the concept of romance at all, it always just sat wrong with me. (Not to say ppl can't like it ofc, y'all do you, but it just never added up)

And yo honestly? I hate how many non-Phineas focused relationship fics have him in an incestuous relationship. I can't read half the Ferbella fics that exist bc they put him in a relationship with his sister 🤢🤢 Like there's already a severe lack of Ferbella fics in the fandom, and then they do THAT?? Before I really headcanoned Phineas as ace/aro, I usually headcanoned him as ace/gay, and would pair him with Django p frequently (still think they'd be fun in a queer platonic relationship tbh)

Anyway, that's all a long winded way to say I'm really happy you liked the fic, and I also wish more people would consider ace/aro Phineas. You don't need to be in a relationship to be an interesting character 🤷🏼‍♀️ that's honestly one of the biggest reasons I write so many family oriented/friendship oriented fics - there's a lack of good found-family/family tropes in every fandom that exists (the PnF fandom is esp bad with this, which is INSANE, bc their platonic/familial relationships are the core of the show - literally both movies were about family). And sometimes that's all you want to read.

[the-unconquered-queen]

Because I'm still thinking about this, I also missed how the romance would blossom on his end, because as someone who seduced him in the shadow realm... y'all, there is an untapped source of angst for this route that could've been explored if it had gotten the chance to be a slow burn.

In my playthrough (and, I'm assuming, in those of most of his romancers), the thing that ultimately leads to Aerin's defeat is that MC tricks him by using the seduction skill, making him believe their feelings for him are so strong that they'd turn on everything to be with him, but god, imagine how that looks from his perspective:

You're Aerin, you've never felt any kind of love in your life, have always been just a spare, unwanted. Then someone comes along and they make you feel like you might actually be worth a damn, but you know it can't last, because as much as you might have liked to forget everything else and just give in to this rare bit of happiness, there are things in motion that you are no longer able to stop, so you meet again on opposite sides of a millennia-long conflict. But then! Then they tell you that all they want is to be with you, that they traveled across realms just to be with you, and nothing has ever been this simple for you so you're loath to believe it could ever be this easy, this good for you. Until they use that moment by the lake against you, and it was so deeply meaningful that you can't fathom that they would be anything but genuine. And no one has ever thought the person you are is worth a damn, but here this person thinks the world of you, finds you more attractive this way, would have you as you are. Even despite. But they were lying. They broke you heart as swiftly as they broke your nose, and that would seem to be the end of it.

You spend a year in prison with no company, unable to do anything but stew over all of your regrets, and gods, do you have plenty. You know you were in the wrong, and you recognize that they did what they had to do to save the realm, but it doesn't change that it had to be at the expense of your heart, which leaves you with an ache not unlike that of the stone you ripped from your chest, but your heart doesn't come off so easily. And then the two of you are reunited under a common enemy and a romance gradually blossoms. But you're hesitant, because you can't help the part of you that feels betrayed—you were betrayed—even if you also feel like you've no right to feel that way after what you did. You can't help it, though. You recall all of those books you read during those long days seeking refuge in the safety of your library, your haven, and the way they talked about love, how true love is having someone see you at your worst and love you anyway. But the one you love, they did see you at your worst... and they wanted nothing to do with you. Worse, they fooled you into thinking that you might be deserving of love, looking you in the eyes and lying through their teeth. If you want to win their affection, you'll have to tear down the person you are piece by piece and become someone completely different, someone they'll actually want, someone worthy.

And it costs you to believe them this time around when they say they want you, when they say sweet things to you. The reasonable part of you tells you they mean it, but the betrayal ran deep, on both ends. You have to learn to forgive them while at the same time knowing that they're the one who needs to forgive, because you have no right to hold a grudge after what you did. You want to be better, you really do. You try to atone and you try to be good. But knowing that they wouldn't have had you before, you feel like you're on thin ice, that the slightest misstep that might be construed as a relapse into who you used to be might mean losing them for good this time, but then wouldn't that mean that their love for you doesn't run deep enough to be true? Were you really impossible, to love—unworthy of it—before, just as you always feared? Is it really love if you have to change everything about yourself to be its recipient? He's never been loved before; he wouldn't really know. It always comes down to "Love makes you want to be a better man—right, right. But maybe love, real love, also gives you permission to just be the man you are".

Yet another missed opportunity from writing Aerin out of Blades 2 is the ability to have a slow burn enemies-to-lovers route with him. I previously touched briefly on the fact that he has no route if you didn't romance him in book 1, and he is essentially entirely paywalled; every scene to develop his relationship is one you have to pay for: the lake, having him a bit longer in b2, the kiss, and the two hookups.

But because he's barely in the story, you don't get a chance for MC to be truly angry and hurt over what he did. Pretty much every time there is a chance to be angry, you have to choose between that or a romantic choice, and, again, since he's barely in the story, you can't really afford to be rejecting the romance choices if you want to have a route with him (and in my opinion, the very sparse canon dialogue of MC being mad at him just comes off as needlessly rude, not heartbroken or betrayed).

I just want my MC to go off, to not sweep stuff under the rug, to expect to be betrayed again, but to ultimately choose to take the risk of trusting him again. Instead, I have to play her as a bit of a pushover just to develop their relationship. The ch 8 dialogue if MC was wary of trusting him was really good, and I think we should have been able to explore that dynamic more. And this isn't even going into how well their stories could have mirrored each other's and helped each other's development... just overall a missed opportunity.

[weakforarwen]

It's something that felt so obvious and was even implied several times yet was never fully explored. Freya is okay but Merlin should have been interested in Morgana even and especially when she was bad. Would have made their dynamic even more interesting and play on the viewers emotions.

I think, in the first season, I saw the romantic potential between Merlin and Morgana, but it was only in that season. I don't think they needed to date; they'd been friends and Merlin had tried to protect Morgana. His biggest mistake was that he cared too much about protecting his secret, even from someone with magic who was unlikely to betray him.

Merlin didn't trust Morgana because of Kilgharrah. He revealed his magic to Gilli, who'd been little more than a stranger at the time, to protect Uther and to save Gilli from himself, yet he couldn't have done the same for Morgana, his friend, when she begged him for help. Merlin did help her, but he'd been more concerned with protecting himself, and protecting Camelot from Uther's wrath when Morgana went missing. Merlin had really wanted to help Morgana, but hadn't willing to risk that much for it.

The thing with Morgana is that everything she'd ever felt for anyone was erased by season 3, or even before, in season 2. If the love she'd had for Gwen and Arthur weren't enough, and all her ideals changed (she grew to despise servants where she used to believe in equality), would romantic love for Merlin have endured?

I agree that, had Merlin held romantic feelings for Morgana, their dynamic would've been more interesting. They are the most powerful sorcerers on the show, but their dynamic is just Merlin pretending to be powerless and Morgana despising the mere thought of a servant daring to thwart her plans.

However, Merlin's already a tragic character, so a tragic romance with Morgana - another person for him to mourn and feel guilty about - isn't something I would've wanted for him. Also, the idea of the core four characters being perfectly paired up doesn't appeal to me, and the servant/noble dynamic already played out with Gwen/Arthur.

Instead, a genuine bond of friendship between Merlin and Morgana due to both of them having magic would've been better. I wish Merlin had revealed his magic to Morgana. It would've changed everything. Merlin would've tried to convince Morgana to not listen to her sister and to believe in Arthur. But Morgana wouldn't have been satisfied with that, and inevitably would've chosen the "wrong" path. Because of their friendship, though, Merlin would've been too "weak" to kill Morgana, and Morgana would've kept Merlin's secret and left him alone - until the day the two of them inevitably faced off in battle.

I think something like that would've been better. Morgana needed someone to care about, and she especially needed to have a tie to her older self, so good Morgana and evil Morgana didn't feel like entirely different characters; Merlin could've been that bridge.

I know Morgana and Merlin are a popular enough pairing, especially to Arwen shippers, but I don't care for any couple other than Arwen. There's often one couple in a show that I just love, but I'm usually indifferent to other ships and don't see the romantic potential of any pairing. That's really how I am. I only care for couples that are canon, but usually only one, if any.

[hmshermitcraft]

OKAY HOLY HECK- SO FROM THE LAST ASK I SENT I KNOW WHAT DIRECTION THE CONFESSION CAN HEAD TO. I am so sorry for the spam but I got incredibly inspired thanks to you!

As mouthy and outspoken as these two are I have a feeling their kind of romance is like a slowburn due to them being uncertain of the others feeling towards them. They have a good thing going already and their friendly rivalry keeps them on their toes. It would be devastating if all of that were to be destroyed over a misunderstanding

So the confession would probably take place during their final weeks. The major exam is coming up and soon they'll all leave this place. Soon Doc and Bdubs aren't going to wake up seeing each other every day again. If you were to ask them at the beginning of the semester if they'd be glad to ditch the other they would have said "Oh yeah, in a heartbeat." But now, they don't even want to think about it. However they do have to face reality as the boxes packed with their things start to pile up in places that they can see.

Doc and Bdubs spend their final week before the exam studying with one another. Sure their grades may be good but you can never be too sure, also, this may be the last time they get to see each other again so they might as well make it last while they can.

It's been silent ever since they started studying, save for the scratching of pen on paper and the clicking of a keboard, and Bdubs decides to break it by speaking up first.

He confesses to Doc with a chuckle at the start that he was never all that confident joining the engineering course. Even though he was only minoring it, a part of him thought he was going to absolutely struggle. Doc says that he's just pulling his leg but Bdubs quickly assures him with a laugh that he isn't. He was genuinely debating about dropping the course early before it was too late but thanks to Doc, he didn't. He thanks Doc for helping him, by being his rival, mentor, and most importantly someone he deems close to him and that he really appreciates him. He's can't bring himself to use the word friend, it stings a bit more than it should to use it on Doc.

The silence starts once again as Bdubs finishes speaking but instead of looking at his work, Doc is now staring back at Bdubs. Bdubs can only manage to look at Doc for a while before growing flustered and looking back at his computer. Doc won't lie, he's a bit flustered too, but he's damn good at keeping it in check. Instead of letting silence settle any longer Doc speaks up as well.

He says that he should thank Bdubs as well. As mentioned before, Doc is a competitive person but Bdubs helped him want to work harder by challenging him and even besting him at times. Doc confesses that after a while, he did want to impress Bdubs with his work. However that's not the only thing Bdubs helped him with. Bdubs also reminded him to have fun while he could. Sure his friends often invited him out but they weren't as stubborn and persistent as Bdubs was to get him to go places, to see new things even if it was just around the corner. Bdubs helped him make new happy memories, memories he would always cherish.

Bdubs asks him if he means that, if he really means that he would cherish those memories, his tone of voice hopeful.

Doc decides it's a better time than any to make a move and says that if he could, he'd happily cherish the person in those memories too. Bdubs can't help but laugh at the cheesiness of that line but when he sees Doc's stoic persona finally crack a bit to show signs of embarrassment, Bdubs tones it back a bit by saying that he likes Doc too.

Before Doc can help it, he asks what kind of like Bdubs means and with all logical thoughts out the door (bold of me to assume they were there in the first place) Bdubs leans closer to Doc to give him a kiss.

As Bdubs pulled away, they both felt like the kiss ended far too soon but it got his point across very well. Instead of words, Doc decides to respond to the kiss by reaching out to hold one of Bdub's hands that was resting on the table. They both let out a short laugh at the situation and decide that it's best to leave it there, that there's nothing more to say.

The silence settles once more, the sound of clicking and scratching continues, and the only thing that's changed is the smile plastered on both their faces and the two hands holding each other from across the table.

- 🐝 (I am so sorry if this doesn't make any sense of if the grammar is terrible ^^')

After college, they move into an apartment that’s only slightly bigger than their old dorm room (but hey, at least they get their own bathroom!). They know it’s a big leap when they’ve just confessed, but hey, they were already living together for four years, so what’s the big deal? And while they do move homes several times, they never live without each other again.