#and then my friend points out the aro coding

[morganasmissus]

guys I’m about to say something so controversial rn-

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH BABYYY!!!

shoutout to my friend who pointed the aro coding of this movie out to me (an aroacespec person) who totally forgot that was a thing (I was blindsighted by Pedro okay leave me alone😭)

[shinysobi]

"it was awkward to see colin flirt and behave like a rake" "he gave me the ick" yes ! that is the fucking point!! congratulations! you have the media literacy skills of a fucking monkey because my 4-year old niece could understand it better than you do.

we are supposed to find colin cringey and annoying and get the ick because that is not who he is. he is not anthony, or simon, or even benedict. colin (apart from gregory) is the sweetest of all bridgerton brothers (i'm going by book canon) and his most identifiable character trait is the fact that he values an emotional connection above everything. he runs away to the continent because he wants to feel that emotional connection. he has meaningless sex in brothels because that is the example he has seen growing up, that is the norm. he tries so hard to fit into the norm. he goes out drinking, adopts an entirely new personality, learns flirtations because that is how he thinks he will fit in. he's got armour on, as violet said. he puts everyone's needs above his own, he stops rambling on and boring his family with details of his trip because he knows no one cares. he doesn't talk to anthony or benedict about his heartaches because he knows they still, somewhere in their heart of hearts, view him as the annoying younger brother. he's so devastated by his closest friend not responding to him that he adopts a new personality in the hopes that it might mask the hurt better. he runs after penelope in episode one because he is so attuned to her emotions that he knows she's hurting, and tries to comfort her even when she's spiraling and lashes out. he must have been hurt by her words in the "good night mr bridgerton" scene but he puts it aside to genuinely apologise to her when literally no one else in that family would do that. colin, instead of brooding over his own feelings, goes and corners penelope in her family's garden and apologises to her, disregarding his own hurt at being cruelly dismissed by his close friend.

penelope asking colin to kiss her is not a mark of how "pathetic" she is. she has written and shamed herself in a manner that is almost entirely unsalvageable. she is at her lowest point, and then portia comes in and reminds her of how undesirable she is, and she sinks even lower. she asks colin to kiss her because she sees it as a final act, after which she can quietly wave goodbye to her dreams of ever getting married and leaving her mother's home. colin kisses her because he is also keenly aware of how she's feeling. he knows how hurt she is, he wants to do anything to alleviate that. be it cracking a joke, or kissing her. he is gentle, because he wants it to be something she can dream of when she's by herself. penelope, at this moment, has no hope for herself, and their kiss is an act of letting go for her. no, it's not a pity kiss, no he did not like her after her glow up, he has always loved her. him being struck dumb is a reaction to her physical transformation, nothing more. he does not flirt with her in that ballroom scene, he only approaches her when she's in distress. he's not flirting with her. i can assure you penelope could wear the frumpiest most neon yellow gown of all time and colin would still go "<333 my pen" for her.

colin jumps to catch the balloon's ropes because he sees that penelope is in danger, he does not give a shit about anyone else lmao. he feels temporary relief when he sees eloise run to safety, but the moment he sees penelope in immediate danger, he rushes to take action. afterwards, when he sees that she's being comforted by debling (all my homies hate debling, even if he is aro/ace coded i do NOT claim him) he does not approach her. it would be easy for him to do so, but he does not, because he respects her boundaries. colin bridgerton is the only man in the ton who respects women (the featherington sons-in-laws are too pretty to have a thought) he calls out fife and his friends for treating women like objects and calls them cavalier. the only way he would have been more explicit about his demisexuality was if he tap danced on the club table (entertaining thought, luke newton please)

colin also rapidly takes action, something which no one in the show has done so far. simon would have died instead of accepting his feelings for daphne, daphne would have been content with a loveless marriage forever instead of asking for help. kate would have pushed edwina down the aisle and gone off to india instead of confronting her own feelings, and anthony would have married edwina if she hadn't been brave enough for the three of them to run from the altar and ruin herself. penelope stood on the sidelines for years and loved him quietly because she had no hope of him loving her back. colin, the moment he is assured of his feelings, runs to penelope, almost kisses her in the middle of a ballroom. when he hears that debling is about to propose, he goes to the ball, just to dissuade penelope one more time. he cuts into their dance because he's desperate. when he runs after her carriage, he asks her if she has been proposed to, because he would not have touched her otherwise. he confesses his feelings to her only when he knows that she hasn't gotten engaged to debling, and when she says "but we are friends" he moves away. nothing more. he would have let her go, if she did not return his feelings.

idk whether i should be flattered or offended at people misunderstanding this season because on one hand it is offensive, but on the other hand, it means only smart people get polin. seriously. your minds have been rotted by insta-love and enemies to lovers that you can't even appreciate the innate beauty of friends to lovers. being friends with someone and then holding all those feelings for them. the trepidation of possible rejection. the fulfillment of being loved by the person who knows you the best of them all. the privilege of loving someone whose feelings you know better than your own. love is gentle and kind and yes it is a violent, uprooting force but above all, love does not hurt anyone. it does not hurt you. i could love someone quietly for years and it wouldn't bother me if their feelings were requited or not because my feelings are none of their business and i consider it a privilege to love and be loved by them, even if it is not in the way i would want it to be. polin are privileged in the highest sense. they know each other better than anyone else, they know how to love each other better than anyone else. to think they are rushed or they dont deserve each other is a disservice to both of them. they would be miserable with anyone else.

in other matters, if i see one more person talking smack about luke or nicola behind the safety of their screens i will personally get a bazooka.

[northlight14]

Ok you know what, fuck it. I’m feeling like enraging some aphobes today

Welcome to what I’m gonna call:

Do I Think It’s Good Ace/Aro Rep? (Probably Not)

Sooo a few weeks ago I made a post about what I think makes for good ace/aro representation because in the spirit of pride month I really wanna encourage both writers to do better with our representation and offer guidance, and also encourage fellow aces/aro’s to have higher standards for our representation. We’re so used to getting the bare minimum and I’m fr so tired of it. I will be referencing the points I made in that post in this one so if you wanna give it a read, here’s the link

Now, as a follow up to that post I really wanted to make one about characters who are aro and/or ace and if I think they’re good representation. So that’s what I’m doing! (Can’t wait to get doxxed for this😀/s)

Brief disclaimers:

all of this is just my personal opinion. I do not speak for the whole of the aro/ace community. People can disagree with me and that’s ok. Just don’t be a dick about it.

Also, just because I think a character is bad representation doesn’t mean I dislike the character. All the characters I’m including in this post are characters I personally really like. But that doesn’t mean I’m above critiquing them, the media they’re in, or their creators. I’m literally getting my degree in media and English lit y’all, critiquing media is kinda my whole thing

Lastly, I’m aro/ace, in a QPR, white, and able bodied. I bring this up because I will be mentioning the lack of loveless aro rep, wider spectrum rep, POC rep, and ableism. Essentially, these points are going to be acknowledged but I’m not at all qualified to talk about them in depth. If I say anything wrong plz correct me

Alright, let’s get into it

First things first, the man. The myth. The legend: Todd Chavez from Bojack Horseman

Identity: asexual hetero-romantic

Pros:

It’s not just coded. It’s said explicitly in the piece of media and not just confirmed outside of it or left ambiguous

It’s obvious the creators actually did their research with this character and know what it means to be asexual. While not perfect, they acknowledge that some asexuals do still have sex, Todd just happens to be one who isn’t interested in that. And also that there’s a difference between being asexual and aromantic

They saw that Todd fit into the “childish” asexual stereotype and avoided it by including other asexual characters, specifically Yolanda, as a direct opposite of Todd to show that his traits aren’t because he’s asexual

They let Todd be happy in his asexuality! The show explores Todd figuring himself out and the struggles of being asexual in a way that’s very well done. But they also let Todd be happy with his identity and fully accept himself instead of some “woe is me, I’ll never find love” nonsense

Cons:

As stated previously, Todd does kinda fall into the “childish asexual” stereotype but I’ve already gone into how they circumvented that

I also think some explanations could’ve been done better like how they describe being asexual as “not being interested in sex” which isn’t the case, at least not for all aces

On the whole though Todd I think is a very good example of ace rep

I’m mainly gonna be talking about the protagonist of Loveless, Georgia Warr, for this but considering this book features multiple ace and/or aro characters and I don’t have the time to talk about each individually, it’s easier to address the book as a whole

Identity: aromantic and/or asexual

Pros:

Features an aro/ace protagonist

Written by an aro/ace author

Features multiple aro and/or ace characters outside of Georgia that help her on her way to self acceptance. These characters are also allowed to be diverse, having Sunil be an asexual romantic POC and their friend be aromantic allosexual

Presents the struggles of figuring yourself out as an aro/ace person but also lets her be confident in herself by the end

Addresses how our community can relate to other lgbt+ identities, specifically lesbians

Says it explicitly and goes into detail about definitions

Cons:

Alice Oseman is straight up one of my idols as a aro/ace writer from the UK and Loveless is one of my favourite works of hers. That said, there is a big issue I find with Loveless and that’s some of the internalised bias against loveless aromantics. A lot of Georgia’s acceptance of herself is centred around this idea of “you might not feel romantic love but there’s still platonic love”. And obviously that’s great and real for a lot of aromantic’s. But I do think this could unintentionally play into the demonising of loveless aro’s.

The allosexual aromantic character also doesn’t feature much in the book which is a shame because she is good rep from what we see of her

On the whole, I do think Loveless is good rep but it’s definitely not perfect

Next up, a prime example of what NOT to do when confirming a character is asexual, Viktor from Arcane. Holy fuck

Identity: asexual (I mean….the creator meant aromantic but he said asexual and I’ll get more into that in a bit)

Pros:

I mean…there’s an argument that he’s diverse rep in the sense he’s disabled ace rep?

He’s one of the main characters. So that’s cool

Cons:

Prime example of coding instead of saying and why just coding a character as sexual doesn’t fucking work. Him turning down Skye just shows he’s not interested in her, not that he’s not interested in sex/romance at all

Didn’t state it in the piece of media and as I said there was next to nothing to indicate it. That’s barely representation. Plus I’m pretty sure most people missed him saying that. I didn’t find out until months later which again proves why this shit doesn’t work. There’s the argument to be had that maybe in the world of arcane they don’t have labels for sexuality. But even so, it wasn’t stated until after the show finished so it really feels like he’s just pulling a JK Rowling

Not only that, but the creator went and confirmed it in response to Jayvik as a way to rebuke it. The creator clearly doesn’t know what it means to be asexual if he’s using it to claim that Viktor can’t date because of it

Addressing more on the Viktor also being disabled thing, it also feels super weird to me that the character whose arc is mainly focused around his disability is the one who is asexual. Disabled person are so often denied sexuality so it just feels really iffy to me. Had there been multiple asexual characters then this wouldn’t have been as much of a problem but nope

In summary, yeah Viktor is very bad ace rep. I love him but the creator clearly didn’t know shit when he said that

Onto even more bad ace rep and the one most likely to get me doxxed, Alastor from Hazbin Hotel! (Fuck me, I’m gonna get so much hate, aren’t I?😅)

Identity: asexual and ambiguous romantic orientation

Pros:

He’s a main character

It was actually stated both outside and inside the show! Plus that “ace in the hole” joke was fucking hilarious and iconic lol

Alastor is creole and not just another white asexual character

Cons:

One of my biggest issues with Vivsipop’s handling of Alastor as an asexual character is her refusal to make him canonically aromantic. Or more specifically, her refusal to confirm if he is or not. Before the show aired, one of the staff members said he was aromantic but then Viv said that his romantic orientation is being left ambiguous. She’s then allowed staff members to call him aromantic IN FRONT OF HER and not corrected them but refused to say one way or the other and only calls him asexual. And the reason for this is pretty apparent too because she’s said it in a livestream before the show aired, being she “doesn’t want to ruin people’s fun.” I’m going to make this super clear: Aromantic representation is more important than your ships. I say this as a multishipper who spends most of my time in fandom spaces consuming ship content. Viv gets points for confirming his asexuality but it’s her refusal to say if he’s aromantic or not that’s what fuels a lot of discourse in the fandom and makes me feel unsafe engaging in the Hazbin Hotel fandom as an aro/ace as a result. I don’t think I need to get into why that’s a bad thing. Yes this discourse would be there regardless but she’s not helping the situation

More on Alastor being creole, while it is good as I said since the ace community has very little POC rep, another big issue is that you would not know Alastor is creole by looking at him. Not only that, but he’s the only character whose heritage plays a part in his “evil powers” (i.e the music that plays, the symbols used.) I’m in no way an expert on this but I do encourage other people to look into this because again it’s a bit iffy

Alastor is also a prime example of the “evil asexual” stereotype. Trust me, Alastor is my favourite character in the show but let’s not pretend that having the only asexual character also happen to be a mass murdering cannibal from Hell is a win for representation. I’d have less of an issue with it if Viv didn’t have a habit of these stereotypes, other characters that are confirmed ace in her universe being Mammon, a selfish, evil asshole who happens to be one of the only 7 deadly sins who actually behave evilly. And Octavia who has the character growth of a cardboard box. Plus neither of those characters were given any indication of being ace and if anything Mammon has had a scene that implies the opposite. Only reason we know he’s ace is because of the official art

Anyway, back to Alastor. I do think there’s parts of him as a character that are good representation, I just think the bad outweighs it

Now if Alastor didn’t get me enough hate, this one certainly will. It’s my favourite gem, Peridot from Steven Universe

Identity: aromatic asexual

Pros:

She’s a main character

She started off as an antagonist but then had her redemption arc and it was after that redemption that she was confirmed aro/ace

She’s such a good example of aro/ace’s who still love shipping and romantic media. As an aromantic who loves shipping, her Percy and Pierre rant is so relatable lol. She’s a prime example of how you can enjoy that stuff in media and still not want it for yourself

The creators clearly know what it means to be ace and aro

Cons:

It’s never said in the piece of media, only confirmed outside of it. I’m more lenient on this point because no sexuality labels are used in Steven Universe but I still want to mention it

It was confirmed only when her final episode aired on Steven Universe Future. I can’t remember if it was confirmed before or after that episode aired but either way it’s not great

Plays into the non-human asexual trope. Easily avoidable if there was another asexual character who’s human in Steven Universe

The coding pre her confirmation definitely could’ve been done better. She’s said to be aro/ace because she doesn’t want to fuse but fusion isn’t always sexual or romantic. The crystal gems fuse all the time and non of them are in a romantic relationship with each other besides Ruby and Sapphire who are fused all the time. I don’t think the coding is too bad but I definitely understand the critiques I’ve seen of it

On the whole, I don’t think Peridot is necessarily bad representation but definitely not perfect and room for improvement

Now a character I don’t see talked about much, Elijah from Big Mouth

Identity: asexual hetero-romantic

Pro’s:

Honestly I have a lot of pros for Elijah

Even though Elijah is religious, they make it clear that his Christianity and his asexuality are completely different. He isn’t asexual because he’s Christian

Again, they state it explicitly in the piece of media and like Todd and Georgia they explore how being asexual affects him, especially when he’s at an age where a lot of students are starting to feel those types of feelings for the first time. It’s honestly pretty relatable, I remember being at late middle school age and so fucking confused at hearing my peers talk about their feelings

He’s a rare example of black asexual rep which we love to see

They explore his relationship with Missy and any issues they first run into as they navigate this for the first time. And because Missy is the best, she’s obviously super supportive of him being asexual which is great to see. But she’s also allowed to have moments of questioning if an asexual relationship is what she wants which is totally understandable too. But they’re able to work it out and when they do break up, it’s for reasons fully unrelated to Elijah’s asexuality

He also isn’t a one off character which is awesome

The shows creators also clearly did their research and was very educational about asexuality which rules

Cons:

As I said he is very religious and again, while the show does make it clear that his religion and his asexuality aren’t related, it is still a bit of a miss to have your only asexual character also be your only super Christian character

He’s also only there for one season and then forgotten. Big Mouth has such a big problem of establishing relationships and then killing them at the end of the season for literally no reason and it’s so infuriating

I’ve also seen some people, aces included, who say Elijah is pretty boring to watch and honestly I can’t disagree. I didn’t hate watching him but I think they should’ve added more to his character than just “Christian” and “asexual”

On the whole though I’d say Elijah is pretty good rep, though some tweaks could’ve been made here and there

—

There are more characters I could talk about but I’m gonna end it here. Hope y’all enjoyed my rant and I pray the pitchforks are kept to a minimum lol

[omegalomania]

What are some of your favorite aro-/ace-coded fob lyrics?

oh fuck yes a little bowl of seeds just for me

boycott love from disloyal order of water buffaloes is a personal favorite of mine. its a lyric i really really want tattooed at some point. that's not the only lyric i latch onto from an aro perspective but it's probably the biggest one

basically the entirety of it's hard to say "i do" when i don't but a special mention goes to you are appealing to emotions that i simply do not have as well as the only ring i want buried with me are the ones around my eyes

it's true romance is dead / i shot it in the chest and in the head from the music or the misery is also a favorite of mine, also just that whole song in general

i thought i loved you but it was just how you looked in the light in hum hallelujah resonates with a lot of queer folks i've found, and it's no different for me

same goes for it's a strange way of saying that i know i'm supposed to love you from g.i.n.a.s.f.s.

i'm outside the door, invite me in / so we can go back and play pretend from alone together brings me back to when i was trying to perform heteronormativity/amatonormativity even if it was making me miserable

i also hold to a very similar vibe with she said "i love you 'till i don't" / i am just playing house, no idea what i'm doing now from sunshine riptide and also most of burna boy's verse, frankly. i fell in love but i didn't fall down and feel like i'm bulletproof, baby in particular

american beauty/american psycho, particularly the first verse. i think i fell in love again / maybe i just took too much cough medicine

golden is a big one for queer folks in general i've found. the chorus especially hits hard from an aro and/or ace reading. and i saw god cry in the reflection of my enemies / and all the lovers with no time for me

i've got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth is a heavy song no matter how you slice it. but that chorus gets to me in particular: we can fake it for the airwaves / force our smiles, baby, half-dead / from comparing myself to everyone else around me

the kids aren't alright reads to me as one big anthem for platonic love above anything romantic, which resonates super hard with me. the second verse has a lot of good lines that i latch onto from an aroace lens too. your love is anemic and i can't believe / that you couldn't see it coming from me

pretty much the whole chorus of HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T does it for me, and those verses have got some good aroallo vibes too! i never really feel a thing... confidants but never friends...

the whole of fake out is a gimme. that chorus rings real true. starts with love is in the air, i just gotta find a window to break out and finishing with but it was all a fake-out

i've got all this ringing in my ears and none on my fingers is one that has another highly applicable title but the whole refrain of the truth hurts worse / than anything i could bring myself to do to you paired with the one-two punch of that second verse REALLY gets under my skin

and of course, the culminating one: you are what you love, not who loves you from save rock and roll. obviously there are a LOT of ways to read that line

there are a couple other songs i latch onto - wilson (expensive mistakes); a little less "sixteen candles", a little more "touch me"; the (after) life of the party to name a few - but the ones listed above are the big lyrics that resonate with me on a personal level

just in general i have a shitton of fob over on my aro playlist (which doubles as a general aroace/queer playlist but has a lot of emphasis on aromanticism) in case i forgot to mention anything but like i said those are the big ones

[bluejayadler]

Is Desire a "friend" of Charles

Got another NGL. Apologies for the delay. This one is only partially my fault. The app didn't initially tell me I had this message, so I didn't see it for 3 days. The other 2-3 days are cause I'm slow. Anyhow, here's the prompt:

And my long rambling 1 am response is below the read more. (No editing, no reviewing, we sending this like the Night Nurse sent herself. Enjoy!

It seem taken for granted that Charles is a friend of Desire's. Why?

I actually don't know. I don't think he is a friend of Desire. I can see the narrative play here. Desire and Despair in the Sandman universe are twins and its regularly mentioned that Desire and Despair are connected, one leading to the other. We taste despair when we desire things we cannot have or things we lose. At the same time, despair can make us desire things - things that would spare us from that despair. So Despair and Desire are very tightly linked and often seen together. And since the boys are inseparable, I think people are drawn to the fun narrative options there. A lot of what I've seen when Charles is tied to Desire is actually Desire seeking Charles out. I haven't read all the Sandman comics in a long while, so I am rusty on things. Still, I do know that Desire is pretty involved in humans lives. Not for the human's benefit but for Desire's entertainment. So I've seen a few fics and headcanons that are essentially, Desire sees that Despair has a plaything in Edwin and so decides to claim the other one in the pair for themself. Which I think can be pretty fitting for Desire's character. I don't really find that as much fun to explore for Charles's character though - for me personally.

I think one reason I struggle to tie Desire to Charles is because so much of the discourse I see is around intimate desire (romantic or sexual) - mostly the idea that Charles is in love with Edwin and desires Edwin but is consciously or subconsciously denying that desire. And I admit, I personally struggle with reading romantic/sexual coding outside very formulaic tropes. I do love payneland as a ship and think that it's endgame for the show. I love the friendship and partnership the boys have. I agree they have "married for 30 years" vibes. I think Charles needs to have his own arc before he realizes that and he needs to learn what love is, given his own abuse history and how that would impact his perception of what love means and if he's capable or willing to give it in that way. At the same time, a LOT of the scenes the fandom points at as proof of Charles's romantic feelings towards Edwin, I don't see that way. I don't read them that way. This might be due to my being very ace/aro or my particular brand of neurodivergent, as I struggle in real life to read a lot of social cues around romantic/intimate relationships. That "they were roommates" joke...yeah, I've done that...to friends who were dating prior to moving in together and only realized they were dating when they announced they were engaged. Not kidding or exaggerating. So yeah, I struggle with reading Charles as madly in love with Edwin romantically in season 1. And I don't associate him with Desire in that regard.

But I do think there's a fun (for me) way to explore Charles being associated with Desire from how I view the season's events. I don't think its as a "friend" though, even in the way that Despair claims Edwin as a friend. First of all, I don't think Charles is as much fun to play with. Charles does have a lot of desire, and there's the obvious relationship with Edwin, be it romantic/platonic/whatever. But for the most part, Charles sets his own desires aside for others. He is the people pleaser and will put his own desires down to put others first. So I think he'd be hard to hold in Desire's realm/power. Not because he doesn't have wants and desires but because he is someone who has gotten very good at setting them aside. He's essentially built up a little resistance, I think. But there is one major desire I think would draw Desire's attention that Charles couldn't protect against.

One desire that Charles held throughout his life that even carried over into his afterlife - to be enough.

Charles wants to be enough. His breakdown at the cliff is all about that. His breakdown in episode 5 is an extension of that. Even in episode 1, we see his reaction to being called out as not appearing to be the brawn. Its played for laughs, yeah, but he gets defensive. He doesn't brush it off or ignore it or even laugh it off. The brawn is his job and he needs to do it, to be good enough at it to protect Edwin and this afterlife they've made together. In ep 3, he starts to touch on the abuse he experienced. "No matter how good I was". Because however good he was at whatever he did, it wasn't good enough. No strong enough. Not fast enough. Not good enough at sports. Not good enough in school. Not good enough when he was alive. In ep 4, he says he's not good enough to help Edwin or Crystal, to save the Devlin girls. Even in death, even as a ghost helping so many others, he's not good enough. He helped save Crystal and Niko. He helped the WW1 ghost move on. He's helped dozens probably hundreds over the years, but its not enough. He's not enough. Not enough to stop his dad hurting him. Not enough for his friends to care for. Not enough for his school to tell the truth. Not enough for Edwin to admit what's going on with the Cat King. Not enough.

Charles just wants to be enough. He has always wanted to be enough. Its the one desire he never sets aside. Its the one desire he holds so tightly to himself that its the first true desire we see burst out of him when he lets the mask of a smile slip away.

And I think this would be an interesting angle to have Desire come in from. Because Charles doesn't know he desires Edwin. He says he doesn't know how he feels but he, they, have forever to figure it out. Imagine Desire showing up and Charles having that confusion - because he hasn't been running from his love of Edwin, he just doesn't know what it looks like yet. But then Desire points out that "desire" isn't just intimacy or sex or pleasure. "Desire" can be a lot of things, like wanted to be enough.

I know I'm a bit biased, as I don't often connect with romantic/intimate plotlines. I love found family and yeah, payneland is a ship I really get behind because its foundation isn't just romantic/intimate like many ships I've seen in tv/media. But I would love to see Desire come in in a different way and explore the different desires characters can have, not just for an intimate relationship, but other things (also not for things like greed or wealth or power as that's already been played out). I think Charles's desire "to be enough" is such an amazing thing to explore as so many viewers would relate to it as well. 

[dragonfire2lm]

Elden Ring Headcanon: Messmer Edition

Spoilers below, these headcanons are based on item descriptions, and thanks to some helpful people in the discord I'm in for clarifying some lore that completely flew over my head.

Ok, so, just as a disclaimer: I do not care who you ship Messmer with, or how you view him, the following headcanon is just my interpretation, that does not mean that everyone should share said interpretation. If you do, awesome! if not, just continue on with your day, the following headcanon has no bearing on your enjoyment of the character, the game, or what you do to express your love of Elden Ring.

Messmer seems very aromantic coded to me. He has friends among the knights that serve him, cared about them to the point he listened to them when they wanted knowledge preserved, and mourned the loss of a friend when two of knights rebelled against him because of Messmer's serpentine nature. He also has a lot of love for his family, with how he was an older brother figure to Radahn and had a brotherly bond with Gaius, not to mention how he's turned himself into a symbol of fear and uses his fire (which he has tried to get rid of multiple times) all on his mother's orders.

Yet he has no interest in romantic relationships (R.I.P Rellana), and I just, think it'd be neat if I headcanon him as aromantic (Note: that does not mean he's also asexual, I am specifically focusing on aromanticism here) based on the fact that he cares a lot about his knights and his family, but had no interest in Rellana in a romantic way.

Plus, its all in good fun, and aromantic rep is sorely lacking in media, so what's stopping me from reading certain characters as being aro-coded? Fandom often interpret characters as gay, bi, trans and so on for their headcanons and fanfics, so what does it matter if I pick a character to write as being aromantic?

This is, after all, a hobby, its for fun, and if you personally don't agree with this, that's ok. Whatever ideas you have, and whatever ideas I have can coexist in the same fandom space.

Now, here's a headcanon that's a lot less...controversial.

Messmer sees via his serpents, his remainnig eye, as seen in his phase two transition, is a glass one, a prosthetic eye. He probably can't see out of it. Granted, there is a lot of blodd on his fingers after removing it, so maybe it is a magical functioning eye or something, but it could go either way. But given that when we enter his boss room for the first time, we see one of his snake friends before we see him, so I feel like that opening cutscene hints at the fact that he uses his snakes to see.

I like Messmer, he's very friend-shaped.

I just think he's neat.

Edit: The lengthy disclaimer at the start of this post is just me covering my bases, I've gotten guilt-tripped and generally felt unwelcome in a couple of other fandoms for simply having an aromantic spectrum headcanon, or you know, being an asexual fan of a game and its characters when most of the player base is clearly not asexual. (A different game, not Elden Ring, the elden ring community has been very accepting, but the Doubt Still Remains because of my previous experiences)

Thank you for reading.

[house-of-slayterr]

Comfort Character Heaccanons:

An: because these are the easiest thing for me to write right now, I’m trying to ease out of my writers block

The Lost Boys

David is very dad coded, I think he sees himself as the oldest needing to take care of his “brothers” but wanting to turn Star and Micheal, that’s because David wants away from Max. He’s technically the true leader of their little coven but he wants to takes Max’s place. Being a maker in important to him and as grumpy and stoic as he usually in, he loves and would do any thing for him coven. He’s attached to the boys because he’s known them so long, but the way he feels about his own progeny is much stronger of a bond. Laddie even is special to him because he’s the baby of the family and must be protected at all times.

Dwayne gives me serious caregiver vibes. The way David entrust him with the safety of Laddie because he sees how close the boys are. He loves taking care of Paul and Marko too. He smiles the most when his little ones are around. He gives the best cuddles and even loves to hunt when the others are too small to hunt for themselves. Being there to calm the boys and star is.

Marko is the most chaotic of the boys, he likes to push the boundaries to see what he can get away with. Despite being less flirty than Paul Marko almost always seduces his prey first, enjoying talking to them and watching him trust them before he devours them. Marko is also an age regressor, I believe he longs for a time when he was still human deep down. When things were more simple and easy for him. I think he regresses quite young, almost around laddies age which is why they get along so well. Dwayne and Paul are little Markos favourites

Paul is also an age regressor, he didn’t even realise for years he was doing it until Dwayne pointed it out to David. He regresses a little younger than Marko meaning he needs more help. Even laddie loves to help take care of little Paul. Paul loves being a vampire when he’s little however, he insists Dwayne and Star take him hunting so he can watch. Dwayne hated it at first not wanting his little eyes to see the violence but when he hears Paul giggle watching them his heart feels much lighter. Paul is a very needed little one, but he was already a needy and clingy adult so no one in the coven is surprised when he won’t let them go. Poor boy is so touch starved.

Now if the boys take on less of a family role in their coven and see each other more as best friends, I believe this is how I would pair them off. Star becomes a full vampire not just a fledgling and ends up with Dwayne. They have their own micro-family with Laddie. David finally gets Micheal and I think they’re super cute together. The relationship gets healthier the longer the boys are together. They’re in charge of the coven together, Dwayne stepping down for Micheal so he can focus on Star and Laddie. And last Marko and Paul cannot be separated at any cost, big or little they can and will bite and claw their ways back to each other. Paul is Marko’s rock.

Slashers:

Herbert West is Aro/ace I believe. He doesn’t show much interest in that side of his life, despite most of his colleague dating or being married. Even his own best friend has heart eyes for a girl right now and he hates it. I do think he could handle a queer platonic relationship, something a little deeper than just friendship. But anything past that is foreign retorts the scientist does not want to investigate in the slightest. He wants to be closer with Dan but worries their relationship dynamic might ruin Dan’s romantic relationship. But in the end Herbert gets what he wants and Dan is already wrapped around his finger.

Micheal is strange, he grew up in a way that didn’t fully allow him to grow up. Sure his body is an adult but his mind wanders to some of his first kills when he was a boy or teen often. It’s not quite a full regression state, more he’s stuck in the past and has zero plans for his future. Micheal knows one thing and that’s killing, he hides his complexities even from himself, dumbing himself down to just being the town slasher and pretending he doesn’t exist the other half of the time.

Lester Sinclair doesn’t give me Cis energy for some reason. He’s gives off character who’s non binary but just says their birth gender to make things “easier”. Plus growing up where he did, I doubt he ran into many trans or queer people. I see him as a Demi-boy and could totally see them rocking more femme outfits if it were for Bo. Femme boy Lester keeps me going.

Jason Voorhees is an age regressor I don’t care what anyone says. I believe his brain stayed the age it was when he drowned. All he wants is to feel safe and have a good time at summer camp and to be close to his mama. Jason throws tantrums after she’s gone, if he can’t hallucinate her or talk to her shine he looses his mind, breaking down and breaking everything in his path. He’s a mama’s boy til the day he dies and he needs her. I think he stays at camp because now he gets to experiences all the fun parts without the bullying, he just gets to be kid Jason chilling in a cabin. That’s also why he kills anyone who enter for disturbing his peace and comfort.

Billy & Stu are gay for each other, that much is cannon. But I think they work well because of their dynamic. Billy gives me caregiver energy and Stu gives me flip energy. The reason Stu started to grow disinterested in Tatum is because he was stuck being both dom and caregiver for far too long. With Billy he’s allowed to regress or not be in charge and just let his Brian heal from whatever was bothering him that day. He trust Billy with his life and would do anything for him. Billy loves taking care of Stu whether it’s as his boyfriend or as his caregiver. He’s surprisingly better at the caregiver side than he is the boyfriend side. But then again he hasn’t had a lot of practice on the boyfriend department yet. He thinks little Stu is the cutest thing to walk this earth. But equally enjoys when his boyfriend is big and decides he wants to be the more dominant one that day, he’ll step aside to let Stu have his moment

Billy Lenz is a depraved perverted boy, we all know that. But I can’t even begin to describe how many kinks this man would have. For starters he has a blood kink that much is obviously, he loves playing in it, tasting it, the colour, everything. He gets hard when he tortures his victims thinking about the delicious things he could do to them. I don’t think he understands the concept of right and wrong and would go far enough as to play with a victim after they passed for his own gratification. Billy also would have a mommy kink, his mommy issues run deep and if he felt like they were giving him any sort of affection like that he would cling to them and keep them alive longer. His Brian will view the interaction sometimes and just gentle motherly comfort, that he desperately needs, or because it’s Billy his mind always wonders to sexual desires. I don’t think there would be any ways to calm this man libido he’s just a horny freak even in his sleep.

Misc:

Spencer Reid has autism, even if the show was too cowardly to fully commit to it. Along with his photographic memory it surpassingly makes the boy good at a lot more than you’d think. A lot of people think Spencer is very innocent, the type to be bashful when holding hands with a girl, but no, his hands are very skilled and he loves to use them. I headcannon he likes to finger his partner under his desk or at the couch when he’s reading or studying paperwork for his job. He finds it fun to split his focus and mess with them. He’s also really good with his mouth when he needs to be kept quiet. The boy genius is as much of a genius in the bedroom as he is at school and work.

Abby Sciuto is an age regressor for sure. Her comfort item when she’s big or little is her stuffed hippo. Her caregivers are Gibbs and McGee, but mostly Gibbs, she feel safest with him and he loves taking care of her. Gibbs doesn’t let her have Caff pow when she’s clearly regressing after a long day, the last thing he needs is a hyper toddler Abby running around the precinct. Ducky comes up to babysit sometimes when Gibbs and McGee are out on case because he knows she’s scared of the autopsy room.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs may have more than one ex wife, but he does know how to keep a woman satisfied, in the bedroom at least. He’s not great at communication and feelings and being open, that’s why his relationships crumble and fall apart. But he’s been on this earth a long time now, he’s ripe bee keeping age. He doesn’t mind if his partner is a big younger than him, but he prefers women his age. He likes to take his time in the bedroom just like he takes his time with his boat

Barry Allen is another you would expect to be innocent. But this man has a dirty mind he keeps well hidden. He’s all smiles and giggles and himbo with his friends at work, but when it’s just him and his partner behind closed doors it’s different. Barry is a switch, sometimes he has a need for control, galaxy after difficult missions, but he doesn’t mind giving up control either. He enjoys the dynamic of playing both sides. I also fully believe this man is bisexual, he simple just doesn’t have a lot of experience with men yet.

An: I wrote this twice because my phone deleted the better first draft for no reason 😭 sorry if my headcanons were all over place I had to rewrite them from memory.

Tag: @mothmans-kingdom @kados-of-chaos @oceansrose2002 @myers-meadow

[poppitron360]

I have a big big deadline coming up at work, and it’s been really stressing me out. However, instead of focusing on that (which is what I should be doing), my stupid, dopamine-chasing brain has been thinking about nothing but this singular piece of Valgrace fanfiction I’ve been working on for the past two weeks.

A lot of you requested to be tagged in it once it was finished so you could read it, based on this post that I made about it. So anyway:

@moonssong @lavenderfairiez @huntingrays @hazellevessque @onion-dishwasher @the-aro-ace-of-spades

Here you are. Go nuts.

Concept: Leo goes back to Texas after the War to get some closure on that miserable chapter of his life. Jason decides to tag along, but little does he know that this trip’s real purpose is to do more than just tie up loose ends…

CWs: Swearing, blood, lack of smut (they are teenagers)

I tried to write it so that it could be interpreted as a friendship thing if that’s what you want (although there is a lot of Staring Deeply Into Leo’s Sad Brown Eyes, and Holding Him Tightly In Jason’s Big Strong Arms). But no actual kissing or anything. I think “wanting to be there for someone” is a universal thing, so I tried to make it up to interpretation.

This is also FUCKING LONG (as this has been my main form of procrastination for the past two weeks), so you have been warned. Final Word Count: 5,934!

Valgrace Fanfiction: “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

Not sure on the name tbh. Lmk if you have any better ideas.

Leo took the window seat and Jason sat next to him. Jason watched as Leo leaned his head against the window of the bus and closed his eyes, breathing softly, his curly hair vibrating against the glass. There was no cheeky grin on his face. No playful twinkle in his eye.

“You look tired,” Jason mused.

Leo nodded, not opening his eyes, and breathed out almost inaudibly through his parted lips, the vapour from his breath making a circle of mist on the window. He looked utterly dejected. Jason examined his best friend’s features, taking in his sunken cheekbones, his pointed nose, his dirt-covered face. Only now did he realise how thin Leo was- his clothes hung loosely around his body, cinched in by his tool-belt and suspenders, but even those seemed disproportionately loose on his tiny frame. His arms and hands were bony, and covered in scars. Jason’s body was pushed up against Leo’s on the cramped bus seat, and he could feel the bones of Leo’s emaciated ribcage pressing against his side. He thought he truly saw for the first time that kid who had run away so many times, who grew up on the streets. He wondered how Leo had survived all those years alone- demigods weren’t supposed to make it on their own past thirteen, but Leo had been completely by himself for seven years. Jason couldn’t think what that might’ve done to him. What he’d been through. Leo never talked about the foster homes much, but Jason got the sense they had been rough- he had mentioned once about sleeping in a sewer. Jason studied the scars on Leo’s arm. He had scars too, they all did. But Leo’s seemed to tell a different story, more bleak and depressing, like he hadn’t always been able to fight back. There was nothing funny about that, Jason decided.

He reached out, and brushed a strand of curly hair away from Leo’s face. He didn’t flinch at the touch, and Jason wondered if he might be asleep, but soon he felt Leo’s hands slip into his, his bony fingers were gentle and warm to the touch- as if to say “I’m here. I’m okay.” His skin was rough and calloused, but Jason didn’t mind their lack of softness. He cupped Leo’s tiny hand in both of his own, as if to respond “I’m here too. It’s okay.” Leo’s fingers were completely covered by Jason’s big palms, and they wriggled against his skin, tapping out a strange arhymic pattern. Jason figured it was morse code, but he couldn’t translate it. He recognised the pattern as the same one Leo was always tapping out with those restless fingers.

“I can feel everything,” Leo whispered, weakly. His eyes were still closed. His voice was low and hollow and raspy, like it had lost all of its brightness. Something about the way he spoke had changed too- his vowels dragged out longer, his consonants became softer, more rounded. Jason could hear the warm tones of a hispanic accent seeping through, like Leo was too tired to hide it anymore.

“What?”

“The bus. I can feel all the machinery beneath us- the axels and pistons and gears and motors- it’s clouding my brain. No way I can sleep,” He explained.

Jason listened to the low hum of the bus engine as it bounced along the winding road. He imagined it must be a hundred times louder for Leo, who could sense every single moving part. He squeezed his hand sympathetically. No wonder Leo had trouble focusing all the time.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jason asked.

Leo shook his head, his head still resting against the glass.

“Just promise me we’ll find a place to stop and rest soon,” He said.

Jason rubbed a thumb over the back of Leo’s warm hand. “Okay,” He assured him.

Leo nodded, softly.

They sat in silence, Jason watching Leo breathing. His brow would furrow with soft despair when the bus sped up, like the movement caused him pain. His breathing was shallow and weak, and Jason could feel his lungs expanding and retracting underneath his skin. Eventually, Jason rested his head on Leo’s bony shoulder and closed his eyes. His shoulder-blade was digging into his cheek uncomfortably, and the dirt and grime on Leo’s face was rubbing into his hair, but he didn’t mind. He breathed in Leo’s warm smell. He smelled like smoke. Woodsmoke, like a campfire. He smelled like the metallic aroma of rust and motor oil. It wasn’t usually a pleasant smell, but it smelled good on Leo. Just like the hardness of his rough skin felt good brushing gently against Jason’s palms. Everything about Leo was coarse and rough and dirtied, reflecting the gritty hardness of the forges and workshops he’d grown up with and surrounded himself with. Despite being so small and weak, Leo was by no means soft or delicate. Jason thought again about that little boy, skin and bones, growing up orphaned and alone. While Camp Jupiter had never really been caring or familial, it had still been there for Jason when he needed it. He’d always had safety, food, friends, a place to stay. Leo had had none of that. Suddenly, Jason felt a surge of protectiveness. He wasn’t gonna let Leo go through that anymore. He was gonna make sure Leo was safe, that he had food, friends, a place to stay. Yeah, you’re doing great at that so far, Jason thought, but he pushed the feeling down.

He leaned in closer to Leo and whispered in his ear.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?”

“Jason…” Leo whispered in return, “You know you didn’t have to come with me.”

“We’ve had this conversation, Leo. You shouldn’t have to be here alone.”

Leo tilted his head so that it rested against Jason’s instead of the window. He was silent for a long time.

“I… I’m glad you’re here, Jason.”

He really did sound tired.

Jason absent-mindedly traced the lines of Leo’s palm with his fingers. He heard the tires hiss and he sat up. They had arrived.

Huston bus station was about as grimy as Leo’s workshop, but with none of the charm or magic of it. It had low plasticky ceilings stained nicotine yellow, the grout in the cracks of the tile floor were peeling and cracking. Jason did his best to avoid a mysterious stain that looked suspiciously like blood, as Leo led him through the jostling crowd, pulling him by the arm. Once they were out onto the street, Jason nudged Leo’s shoulder to tell him to stop.

“Let’s find a hotel. I promised you we’d get you a place to sleep. We’ll talk game plan in the morning.”

It was hard to tell with the hot Texas sun beating down on them, but it was getting late.

“Yeah… I guess taking a sightseeing tour of the locations of the most traumatic moments of my life can wait until morning.”

The next morning came, heralded by the autumn sun.

“Can I just get these, please?” Leo handed the gum and the 6-pack of water to the man behind the kiosk. The tiny newsagent’s shop was empty except for them and a guy in the corner, looking at the chips.

“Hey, don’t I know you?” The shopkeeper asked.

Leo looked around nervously, “No, I don’t think so, partner. You might be thinking of that guy in the movies- Antonio Banderas. I’m told we look a lot alike.”

“No…” the guy said, squinting at Leo, “Wait- you’re that Valdez boy!”

A look panic flashed across Leo’s face, but he tried to keep his cool.

“Nah, man, you’ve got the wrong guy-“

“No- it is you. Boy, you’ve got guts showing your face here again. The police came ‘round asking questions ‘bout you, y’know? From what I heard, you burned down your mom’s machine shop and ran away. I’ve got half a mind to call the cops on you right now-”

He reached for the phone.

“No! Look- I don’t want any trouble, okay? Can we just buy these and go?” Leo’s eyes were pleading and desperate.

“You’ve got three seconds to leave my shop before I call the cops.”

“But-“

“GET OUTTA HERE, FREAK!!”

Leo ran. Jason ran after him, but not before turning and flashing his best raised-by-wolves death-glare at the shopkeeper.

“Hey-“ Jason said, finally catching up with him three streets away. Leo was a fast runner. “You okay? What that guy said-“

“It’s fine!” Leo said, his voice high-pitched and a little hysterical, “No big deal, just… no gum. That’s fine.”

Jason put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. He made his voice low and gentle, “Leo… this must be really hard for you. Talk to me.”

Leo shook his head, “We have to keep moving. Aunt Rosa’s house is this way.”

Leo led Jason through the busy Huston streets, twisting down roads and sidewalks. Suddenly, he turned a corner and stopped dead in his tracks so fast, Jason nearly ran into him. He was staring at a large brick building on the corner of the street. The sign above it read “Bookstore”.

“They… they rebuilt it…” Leo said.

Jason realised what he was talking about.

“This was your mom’s machine shop?”

“I c-can’t believe they rebuilt it…”

“Leo… it did burn down nine years ago,” Jason told him. Then, realising that that was probably not the best thing to say, he added, “I know this is hard. Do you need a minute?” After all, Leo had grown up here. Seeing his childhood home not only burned to the ground but rebuilt, totally erasing those moments, must’ve been torture.

Jason squeezed Leo’s arm comfortingly. Leo nodded, “Yeah… thanks,” he whispered.

Jason kept a respectful distance as Leo walked up to the building. He watched as Leo pressed his forehead against the bricks, his calloused hands gently caressing the stone, as if trying to remember the way it used to feel. He saw his fingers tapping out that message he always tapped. He saw Leo’s mouth moving, whispering silently to the building. After a while, he began to approach Leo, but then hesitated when he saw the tears in his eyes. But now, he was close enough to hear him. Leo was humming, softly. A sweet, lilting melody. He hadn’t noticed Jason was standing there. Jason watched as Leo drew a shaky breath, and began to sing.

Jason didn’t understand the words- they were in Spanish- but he could hear the roundness of the syllables, the way the vowels and consonants danced up and down, in and out. He couldn’t believe how right it felt, hearing Leo speak the language. Leo had a weird way of talking- the sentences would stop and start in jagged spikes, gliding rapidly right over full stops, and pausing right in the middle, like his brain was moving a thousand times faster than his mouth. His words felt odd and out of place. But now�� Jason realised this was the first time he’d heard Leo speak Spanish at length- more than just a few phrases, under-the-breath insults, and frustrated cursing. He felt bad, eavesdropping on him when he clearly was never comfortable enough to speak the language around Jason, but man… it was beautiful. The sound of his voice was enthralling- tendrils of words wrapping around his chest and arms, softly caressing his skin. Jason felt warm inside, like he had just drunk a cup of hot chocolate on a freezing winter’s day. He wondered if Leo’s song had some sort of fire magic in it, filling him with comfort and homeliness, and a memory came back to him. Him and Thalia sitting at the hearth on Christmas day, watching the flames dance as they toasted marshmallows. The feeling didn’t flicker and die when Leo finished his song, either. Jason stood there, stunned as the last few notes hung in the air.

“Woah, Leo…”

Leo tuned, startled, snapping out of his trance. Something flashed in his eyes- Panic? Fear? Jason felt guilty. Leo was having a private moment, and he was intruding.

“H-how long have you been standing there?“ He asked.

“Just a few minutes. Leo, that was beautiful. Where did you learn-“

“A lullaby. My mom used to…” he trailed off, and looked at the building. Then, wiping his tear-stained eyes with the back of his sleeve, he said, “Look, can we go now?”

They stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the door of Leo’s Aunt’s apartment. Jason rubbed Leo’s back, reassuringly.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” He asked.

“You keep asking me that!” Leo complained, but his eyes shifted nervously and his fingers restlessly picked at the skin around his thumb. Jason grabbed his hand and squeezed it- “I’m here.”

Leo’s big brown eyes looked into Jason’s. He looked grateful for his company. Then, he let his hand drop as he walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

An old woman answered. She had Leo’s curly hair and dark skin, but unlike Leo, she was ugly. In a sort of cinderella-ugly-step-sister way. Her nose was hooked and pointed. Her mouth snarled and her eyes squinted into wrinkled crows-feet.

“Uhh… hey, Aunt Rosa,” Leo said, wringing his hands, nervously.

“Well, look who decided to come back,” the old witch sneered, “you’ve got guts, boy.”

She spat out the word “boy” like Leo was some sort of vermin. Jason felt anger bubbling up inside of him.

“Look, I just wanna talk. Maybe apologise? I’ve done a lot of thinking-“

Leo was cut short when the old crone started howling with laughter.

“What makes you think I’d give any attention to you, after what you did, Diablo?”

Leo took a step back, fear and hurt flashing in his busy eyes.

“It- it was an accident-“

Jason had been keeping his distance up until now, but he moved closer to Leo and put a hand on his back, staring at the woman defensively.

“Look, lady, Leo and I… we came all this way so that he could do what he needed to do to make things right. Do you know how much guts it takes to want to apologise and make amends, especially after how you treated him? Leo’s doing something brave here, and you should at least hear him out, you owe your sister that much.”

The old lady scoffed, and barked something to Leo accusatorially in Spanish. Leo backed away again, fearfully, mumbling a response. Jason only became angrier. He hated seeing Leo like this.

“Leo doesn’t owe you any sort apology whatsoever,” Jason growled, “And yet he’s still offering one. Even though it wasn’t his fault. Even though you treated him like shit!”

“Hey, Jason, maybe we should go-“

Jason looked in Leo’s eyes and mouthed, “Do you want to leave?”

Leo nodded, “Jason, please…” he whispered.

Jason hated seeing Leo so afraid and helpless. With one last glowering look at Leo’s Aunt Rosa, he guided Leo away.

“Freak! Diablo!” Rosa called, “Worthless, Satan Spawn, good-for-nothing-“

She didn’t have time to finish the insult. With one swift motion, Jason spun around and punched her square in her ugly face. She crumpled to the floor, moaning.

“Leo Valdez is fucking amazing,” Jason said, standing over the old woman, “You are fucking blessed to even be associated with him. You have no right to treat him the way you did. You know that it wasn’t his fault what happened, but you made him think that it was. You’re a fucking disgrace. Now, I wholeheartedly think that Leo should not apologise to you. But if that’s what he needs to do,” he looked over at Leo, and smiled, then looked back at the old crone, “then you’re gonna fucking hear him out, okay?”

She nodded, still rolling on the floor. Leo walked over and stood by Jason. He didn’t help her up.

“Aunt Rosa,” he said, and then paused for a moment, looking at Jason, and then looking back down, “Fuck you.”

Jason patted him on the back, and they walked away together. As they got further and further down the street, Leo stated sobbing.

“Oh, hey, no, it’s okay…” Jason assured him, “Sorry, did I-“

“You were great,” Leo said, “It’s just…”

He hugged his shoulders. Jason walked in front of him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

“Hey. Look at me. Don’t let what she said get to you, okay? She’s not worth it.”

Leo chucked, but the laugh turned into more sobs.

“Hey… hey… that was really brave, what you did.”

Leo dug his fingernails into his arm. He was hugging his right forearm close to his chest, hiding his scars from Jason that he knew for a fact were there. Jason wondered once again where they had come from. What their story was. But he didn’t dare ask. He pulled Leo into a hug, right there in the middle of that busy Texas street. Fragile, and shaking, Leo was a mess. But Jason held him, and stroked his hair, and whispered soft words of comfort.

“I don’t know what she has against Spawns of Satan,” Leo said eventually, “Nico and Hazel are lovely. It’s not really an insult.”

And there it was. The jokes. Leo took a deep breath, and Jason could practically see the mask come up. It had slipped away for those few moments while Jason held him, and he had caught a glimpse of that vulnerable, scared little eight-year-old boy. But now his defences were up. He had let Jason in for just a second, and Jason wanted so desperately to be let in again. To get to know the real Leo. To be able to comfort that little boy, maybe even help heal him. Bandage his bleeding scars.

“Next stop,” Leo said, “Mom.”

The cemetery was beautiful. Peach trees lined the gravel pathway, rustling in the late autumn breeze. Jason watched Leo closely as he walked down the path, scanning for the gravestone he wanted. Leo’s dark brown eyes caught the low light of the evening street-lamps. They reminded Jason those bugs stuck in amber you could buy in museum gift shops. He felt in danger of becoming like one of them, perpetually lost in that deep liquid gold. He could swim in them for eternity, preserved in beautiful stillness for all time. If those dark irises dared lock themselves on his, they would pull him under, and he would be trapped forever in perfect torture.

Leo turned a corner and trekked down a well-trodden path in the grass. He wove through the headstones until he found the one he needed.

Jason stood behind him, tapping his own fingers nervously on the back of his other hand. He realised he was copying Leo’s rhythm- he’d committed it to memory without even learning what it meant.

He watched as Leo knelt down by the headstone. The engraving on the headstone read “Esperanza Valdez, beloved daughter, wonderful sister. You will be missed.”

Jason noticed with another surge of anger that the epitaph did not say “mother”. Leo had been cast out by his family, and the hard work and sacrifices his mom had made to raise him weren’t even recognised on her gravestone.

“H-hey, mom…” Leo said, trying to keep a cheery note in his voice, “How’s it going? Good? Good.”

He kept talking to the stone, commenting on small things like the weather, how his day had been, what he had for breakfast (he’d lied and said oatmeal, but Jason knew he hadn’t eaten anything that morning). Jason could see he was desperately trying to keep it together, not wanting to let his walls down again. Eventually, Leo turned to him.

“Hey man, there’s something I gotta do. Alone. Can you just maybe… I dunno… wander ‘round the shops for a bit? I’ll come find you once I’m done.”

His eyes were dull and unsaturated in the cold light of the evening. He looked at the headstone with something other than just grief- purpose. But not the twinkle Jason saw when he had an idea for an invention. A sort of quiet resolve. It was unsettling.

Jason didn’t want to leave Leo on his own. He moved closer, reached up, and touched Leo’s face. He took off Leo’s mask, and looked at the broken boy behind it.

“I… I…”

Suddenly, Leo crumpled to the ground, sobbing. Jason caught him. He held Leo’s trembling arms in his firm grip. The underside of his arms were covered in a patchwork of faded scars. Jason caught another glimpse of that boy- the runaway, helpless and alone. He imagined those scars freshly bleeding, no-one there to clean the cut or dry his tears. It was that boy that stood in front of him. That boy that crumpled to the floor sobbing at Jason’s feet, as he held his arms tightly in his strong grip.

“I’m sorry…” The boy said, his voice small.

Jason crouched down, letting go of one of the arms and putting a hand under his chin, forcing him to look up. His big brown eyes were watery with tears, filled with sorrow and remorse and fear.

“The… the reason you came here,” Jason said, slowly, “Was not to visit your Aunt Rosa, was it?”

Leo didn’t meet his gaze. Jason’s hand dropped from holding his chin, and Leo looked down at his hands, one still clutched in Jason’s own.

“A ritual…” Leo said, “I found it in a book at Camp… I… I could fix my mistakes.”

“By bringing your mom back?” Jason guessed.

Leo shook his head, “My mom’s gone. Nothing’s gonna bring her back… but I’d be able to get rid of the thing that killed her.”

Jason grabbed Leo’s shaking shoulders, his grip firm, yet gentle. He touched Leo’s cheek with his other hand, his fingers lightly grazing his skin, hurriedly trying to commit it to memory.

“Leo, you mean you’re gonna-“

Leo shook his head. “Not that. My powers,” he explained, “If I give them up, I might be able to reconcile for what I did. I could be at peace.”

He looked up at Jason, his eyes so full of anguish and hurt it made Jason’s heart break.

“I never lied to you, Jason. I did come here to get closure.”

Jason held Leo’s tiny, shaking body against his.

“Leo, it wasn’t your fault, okay? You have to believe me when I tell you it wasn’t your fault.”

“I lost everything in that fire, Jason. These powers have cost me so much.”

“Leo, please believe me,” Jason begged, “You don’t deserve to hurt yourself like this.”

Leo didn’t respond. Jason realised that he was afraid. Afraid of himself. Afraid of hurting others. Afraid of his power, despite all the good it had done, despite all the times it had saved Jason’s life. Leo only ever saw all the bad it did. Why couldn’t Leo would see himself the way Jason saw him- brave and good and kind? Then he remembered Aunt Rosa- the way Leo had backed away from her, afraid and guilty. The way she had reduced Leo to a small-voiced child with just a fierce glance. Jason couldn’t even imagine what it must’ve been like having her as your only family. He figured the foster homes hadn’t been much kinder to Leo, judging by the assortment of scars across his skin. And the shopkeeper- how Leo’s eyes were desperate and panicked, how he had ran from that place, how the man had yelled at him so fiercely. If Leo’s powers were responsible for doing all that to him, Jason didn’t blame him for wanting to get rid of them. Jason did want to get rid of them- nothing that hurts Leo like that should ever be allowed to continue existing.

He hugged Leo tighter.

“You know I can’t let you do this, Leo. It’s dangerous. I mean, if it’s never been done before… what kind of side effects might it have? Will it just get rid of your fire or your other abilities as well?”

Leo shook his head, “I’m still a son of Hephaestus. That would never change. But the gift… curse… whatever he gave me- that’ll be gone. It’s served its purpose now, so The Fates will allow it. But I can be a normal demigod.”

Jason was pretty sure the words “normal” and “demigod” had never been used side-by-side before.

“Leo, these powers have saved my life so many times. All of our lives. You can’t just… by letting them go, you’d be erasing all the good that you’ve done. Please, try to see my point of view. I don’t want you to do something you’d regret.”

“It’s my decision, Jason. My whole life, I’ve wished I’d never gotten these powers. I don’t care if I can use them to help people- I don’t want to risk hurting anyone else,” Leo looked down at the gravestone.

Jason remembered the warmth Leo had filled him with when he had sung his mom’s lullaby. The joy and happiness he had felt. That wasn’t bad. That couldn’t have been bad.

“Leo, you can’t do this.”

“You’re not changing my mind, Jason.”

And Jason knew he was right.

“If this is what you need to do, Leo…” he whispered, softly, “Then I’m not gonna stop you. But there are better ways. You don’t have to do this.”

“But I do. You don’t understand, Jason. You never knew your mom. I had something, and then it was taken away as a result of my own mistakes. That’s worse than never having had it in the first place.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Jason snapped, “Leo, I get it. You’re hurting. And I want to be here for you. I really do. This whole trip-“

He stopped and took a deep breath.

“This whole trip, I’ve been trying to make myself a safe space for you to open up to me. For you to let down those walls, let me in, let me see you,” he took Leo’s hands in his, “Because what I want more than anything right now, is to see you, Leo. The real you. Behind the jokes, and the smiles, and the “everything is fines”. I can’t bear to stand by and watch you do something I know you’d regret, but if this is what it takes to gain your trust, then I’d do it. For you.”

He knew this wasn’t right. He knew Leo was making a really bad choice, and Jason saw no future where he didn’t live to regret it. Leo would not be at peace. He would still be weak and afraid, just now he would also be powerless. But he knew he couldn’t stop Leo. And he couldn’t let him do it alone, he just couldn’t. Leo had been alone his whole life, and Jason couldn’t abandon him when Leo needed him most. And Jason wanted to be with him. Be there for him. He wanted to see that little boy again. But it shouldn’t be about what he wanted. Deep down, Jason knew he was being selfish.

With shaking hands, Leo reached into his backpack and brought out a thick leather-bound book. Jason recognised it as the kind of thing they kept on the bookshelf of the Athena cabin. Leo opened the tome, and flicked through until he found the page he needed. His dark eyes scanned the instructions, then he reached into his backpack again and brought out a knife and a vial of glowing red liquid, and set them both on the grass in front of him.

“Leo…” Jason said, looking at the knife.

“It needs my blood for the ritual, Jason,” Leo said.

“So, you’re really going through with this?” Jason asked, not meeting those eyes of amber.

Leo didn’t answer right away, just studied the book, knife, and vial in front of him. He studied his mother’s grave, tracing the name “Esperanza” with his eyes.

“I… I don’t…”

Jason put a hand on Leo’s cheek, forcing him to look his way.

“Leo, it’s okay.”

Leo tried to hold the glass vial steady to drink it, but his hands were shaking too much. Jason gently took it from his grasp, and held it up to Leo’s lips. This is a bad idea, he thought, but it’s for Leo. It’s what he wants. Jason poured the weird red stuff into Leo’s mouth, and Leo did his best to swallow it down. He shivered.

Leo sat back on his knees, facing the gravestone. He took the knife in shaking hands and dragged it across his palm. He whimpered in pain as the blood seeped out of the cut and down his wrists. He collapsed on the ground, his hands out in front of him, digging his fingers into the dirt. Jason watched as, sobbing, Leo read aloud the words from the book. Jason didn’t understand Ancient Greek, but he got the gist. This was some serious magic going on. Leo screwed his eyes up in painful concentration, repeating the chant over and over. His fingers dug deeper into the ground, and his hands caught fire. Jason took a step back as the fire grew. Leo cried out.

But then, the fire sank back to a flicker, then it was gone. Where it had been, tendrils of red, orange, and gold light were coming from Leo’s fingers like tree roots, spreading into the dirt. They wrapped around his mother’s headstone- making it look overgrown with flame-coloured vines. The light glowed brighter and brighter, and as it did, Leo’s breathing got shallower and weaker. Eventually, the light became so blinding white that Jason had to avert his eyes. Then he heard a grunt, and the sound of a body hitting the soft dirt. Jason turned and saw Leo lying on the ground, shivering. He ran over and scooped him up in his arms. Leo’s skin was cold to the touch- colder than Jason had ever felt on Leo before. His cut hand was stained with grass and mud.

“Leo!” Jason called.

He didn’t answer. He was unconscious. Leo inhaled, shakily, and his breath was sharp and painful. Jason could only hold him.

Eventually, Leo opened his eyes.

“J-Jason?” He said, weakly.

“How are you feeling?” Jason asked.

“Are… are people this cold usually?”

Jason laughed. He couldn’t help himself. He hugged Leo tighter.

“Did it work?” Jason asked, after a minute.

Leo shakily got to his feet. Jason kept a hand on his waist to steady him. Leo held out his hand, and closed his eyes in concentration. Nothing happened.

“It worked,” he said. He wasn’t smiling. Jason realised that Leo didn’t want to lose the powers either, but was doing it because he thought it was for the best.

Leo fished a cigarette lighter out of his tool belt. He flicked on the flame, and held it underneath his palm. Jason grabbed Leo’s wrist and yanked it away from the fire.

“Careful,” Jason said, “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I’d prefer to find out if I’m still fireproof or not now, rather than in a life-or-death situation,” Leo reasoned. He moved to put the lighter under his hand again. Jason didn’t stop him, but he wasn’t happy about it. Leo gasped in pain as the flame blistered his skin. He yelped and dropped the lighter. Luckily, the flame went out before it hit the grass. Leo nursed his burned hand.

“Ouch,” he said, “That… that was…”

Jason knew what Leo must’ve been feeling. He had never been burned before. He had gotten a taste for the first time of how his mom must’ve felt in her final moments. That tiny burn on his hand adding to the many, many scars.

Leo was shivering. “Seriously, why is it so cold?” He said. Jason wrapped his arms around him, still getting used to Leo’s newfound lack of radiator-ness. For once, Leo had to depend on Jason for warmth. Only now, did it occur to Jason the gravity of what they’d done. Leo would never summon another fireball to save Jason from certain death. Jason would never roast a marshmallow over his best friend’s head again. He no longer had an excuse to cuddle up next to him on cold winter nights (not that he wanted to cuddle Leo for any reason other than for warmth). Jason would never watch in awe as Leo stoked the forges with his bare hands. Leo was normal now, but was normal necessarily better? Jason had never thought so, but then again, he had always been revered- held aloft on a golden shield, praised as a leader- for the abilities he had inherited.

Jason knew about the bullying at Camp. After Leo had revealed his powers to Cabin 9, the rumours had spread like, well, fire. His siblings had been supportive, but the other cabins not as much. Jason knew Leo hated the looks he’d get at mealtimes, so much that he often hid in Bunker 9 to work on the Argo II. He’d get nasty comments, people calling him a freak and an arsonist, and he’d tried to downplay how much it had affected him, but Jason knew. The worst were the fights. Leo just curled up on the ground and lay there while the other campers pummelled him. Jason had begged him to fight back, he knew Leo could hold his own, but Leo had just looked down sadly, and said, “I can’t fight back. I don’t want to let myself go. I don’t wish the fate of my mother on anyone, even those fuckers.”

No. Normal was better for Leo. Safer.

“Let’s go,” Leo said.

“Back to the hotel?”

“No. Bus station. I’ve got what I came for now. I don’t ever wanna see this place again.”

He turned to the gravestone, and traced his mother’s name with his fingers, ‘Bye, Mom.”

Leo took the window seat on the bus ride back to camp. He did not rest his head on Jason’s. He did not hold his hand. He just sat, looking sadly out the window as the entire state of Texas passed by them.

“Can I ask you something?” Jason said.

“You just did,” Leo replied.

“Why Huston? I mean, I thought you told yourself you’d never go back there.”

“The ritual required a place that was meaningful to the person performing it.”

He didn’t offer any other explanation, and Jason decided not to push it.

“Jason… can you not tell the others what happened here? They’d freak. I just… I can’t deal with having to explain my choices to them. Not right now.”

Jason hesitated for a moment, but then said, “Of course, Leo.”

Leo still wasn’t meeting his gaze.

“It’s funny…” Jason said, “We started this chapter of our lives on a bus. We’re ending it on a bus…”

Leo began to cry.

“Oh… oh no, sorry, Leo, I didn’t-“

Leo hid his face in his hands. Jason tried to touch his shoulder, but Leo shrugged him off. They stayed like that- Jason helpless as Leo sobbed.

Jason had tried to get closer to Leo. He had tried to see through that mask. He had hoped that letting Leo do what he needed to do might make Leo let him in. But Leo still pushed him away. He might always push him away. Leo rubbed his eyes with the heal of his hand, and resumed looking out the window.

And a little part of Jason died inside.

[aroacewxs]

the ruikasa that lives in my head is not romantic in the SLIGHTEST and it cracks me up. sharing my repulsed aro ruikasa thoughts here hehehe don't mind me

first of all i just cannot see tenma tsukasa above all people, the aromantic of project sekai (he's competing with ichika for number one coded aro) sparing one single thought in his empty head for romantic feelings. i feel like tsukasa lacks all common sense surrounding society's idea of what is suggestive/romantic/flirtatious, to the point where if he were to be assigned a role that required him to perform a kiss scene or something of the sort, he'd be all "boy oh boy im going to knock the audience's SOCKS off with this one" and completely disregard that this is actually very very embarrassing for the poor actor that has to be on the receiving end of his rehearsed romantic gestures

oh yeah, speaking of rehearsed romantic gestures

i need you to picture a pathetic tenma tsukasa, specifically kamikou fes tsukasa, on one knee in front of his mirror at 2 in the morning, reciting his cheesy love monologue and chuckling to himself after for how GOOD he is. "just ham it up. it'll look so good. i'm so good. genuinely who else is professing their undying love for their soulmate like i am"

on the other hand, rui actually has thoughts. these thoughts fill him with such distress it makes him feel nauseous. he's really just going about his day, rehearsing with wxs at the wonder stage when he suddenly feels a surge of warmth swirl in his chest whenever tsukasa gladly complies with his wacky ideas. he's just trying to live his poor life when the excitement and adrenaline from performing shows with wxs has him in shambles later because he's debating whether or not this is what everyone calls Romantic Love (it's not. he's just a repulsed aro loser who would die for his friends)

tsukasa: rui, throw anything my way and i'll deliver with 12000% !!!!! guaranteed!!!! as always!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA

rui: (god are you trying to torture me or what. am i deserving of such a person. Goodness gracious i feel like im floating whenever I'm around these guys is this some kind of sorcery I'm unaware of. i think my heart is going to twist and leap out of my chest they're so good they're so wonderful and im really just here aren't I im really just here and oh my freaking god is this what they call having a crush. is this what everyone around me has been hyping up. jumping jellyfish if it is, it feels AWFUL and i can't believe i've been thinking i'm missing out. no but then what really defines romantic feelings because if we're talking pros and cons and hypotheticals and possibilities, i would not want to kiss tsukasa like that, but isn't that a given when you love someone in that way. am i crazy am i broken am i an anomaly. I need to write this down for later and perform a google search)

[pastelsprouts]

Creepypasta/Marble Hornet Head cannons My friends and I have developed in the past 9 months

- Nina is the go to person for Piercings. Her two favorite people to practice on are Toby and Sully. Toby because he can't feel pain anyways and Sully because he likes making the body his when he fronts

- Nina also gets crushes super easily. She's pan and if anyone is just a little nice to her she very well could get a crush. They usually go away pretty quickly unless your Jeff, Toby, or Kate

- Ben's British

- Ej comes from a family of 5 with his parents and two younger siblings. He was a mommas boy when he was human.

- Liu would shoot Jeff with Dr. Pepper filled water guns.

- Brian is allergic to pineapple

- Liu is an insomniac

- Lazari has a swear jar for everyone, it's her college fund. Jeff and EJ are the ones who pay the most

- Nina is very annoyingly charming, she always worms her way into people's hearts.

- EJ was born in Australia on an army base. He has the slightest accent while his siblings don't.

- speaking of siblings, he has a brother named Travis and a sister named Victoria. Victoria is an FBI agent while Travis does freelance work

- Jeff's an ass hole but he actually does care about his boyfriend (friends oc Kris)

- Liu can sing quite well, especially considering he has no training.

- Lulu stays away from the mansion, she's more often than not terrified and attacks anything that could pose a threat.

- Ben is a trans man

- Liu is also a trans man

-Lazari and EJ have a father daughter relationship. They're very wholesome

- Sally is co-parented by Slender and EJ at this point

- Liu, Jane, and Nina are found family. Jane and Liu were a duo first a while but they found an abandoned Nina in the woods and took her under their wing as a sister

- Sully isn't a demon or anything evil. He's just an alter that holds all of the trauma making him angry and vengeful. Sully is ace/aro, a gender, and uses He/It pronouns.

- Sully hates men

-speaking of the system, Liu had already had a system long before all the Jeff stuff. Most if the alters have gone format after tho leaving only him and Sully

- Jeff is obsessed with one piece

- Liu is an awful driver

-Lazari can't bake to save her life, she enjoys it anyway. EJ encourages her and makes sure everyone eats what she makes, even if it probably isn't edible. He's a little shit once you get past the gentle giant part of his personality

- EJ has better eye sight than he did as a human. That being said he doesn't actually see, he 'sees' the way you do when you day dream... So he sees everything but nothing at the same time

- Natalie and Toby had an extremely healthy breakup. They're still really great friends.

- Nat is very gay, she loved women especially if they could kill her

- Lazari is really trying to play matchmaker with Liu and EJ. She has not figured out that as if December they're together

- EJ is very cat coded. Purs, hisses, sleeps all the time, and pushes shit of counters

[fallout4-reacts]

Can you give your idea about every important npc like you've done about the companions ? (by important npc I mean Sturge, the long family, diamond city mayor, Fahrenheit and etc)

Interesting one and I am so eager that you will just, hm... jump the list

(I will be so hated)

Sturges - Fahrenheit - Tinker Tom - Irma

Sturges had to be gay. If not, he needs to be an ace/aro. It would be shame if he isn't.

Because you absolutely need Sturges as your gay best friend. The gay best friend of everyone.

Yes, he is a modest, ingenious man who comes up with his own words when none exist to express what he wants to say—not quite as intense as Tinker Tom, but you get the picture.

Everyone, even homophobes, needs Sturges as their gay best buddy. They just don’t know he is. They’ll appreciate him.

Furthermore, presuming he isn't Ace/Aro, Sturges is, secretly or not, attracted by Preston. And if he is Ace/Aro, he still has to have a platonic crush on Preston.

Well, that's all there is to it.

Although Preston is charming, the ragtag group of Quincy survivors would be severely lacking in charisma if it weren't for Sturges, our gay neutral buddy who possesses an excess of verve that overwhelms our feeble minds.

It is canonical that Fahrenheit is Hancock's daughter. It's in the code. That's it.

Why didn't Bethesda have the guts to include it in the game? No idea. Still, she's.

Now that we've covered that, let's move on to the two headcanons in the game.

To start, no one has mentioned the fact that she is actually Hancock's daughter.

It is clear that Hancock knew her mother before he turned ghoul. For one, Fahr wouldn't exist if it weren't for this. Second, she would be younger than five years old.

With this being, it's plausible that Fahr hasn't spent much time in Hancock's company, even given she's between the ages of 25 and 35.

For the most part, I'm fine with the 2-3 year time frame that's commonly used in fan fiction.

On the other hand, I have my own headcanon.

Fahrenheit was born out of a fleeting encounter with a girl, a bar, and a reckless young Hancock. Totally careless to the point where the pregnant woman wanted him to know absolutely nothing about her pregnancy.

An affair with the stunning McDonough for just one evening? Of course. Sharing parental responsibilities? At no point.

However, Hancock had found the truth in some way. Perhaps his own brother was aware of what was happening and wished for him to suffer hardship.

"You are such a disaster; Alyssa has fled Diamond City so you will never find out you are a father!"

When it happened, Hancock's havoc level skyrocketed. So much so that his friend Nick, who was becoming famous for his sleuthing abilities, once suggested he go after the girl and the child, who was probably a toddler by then.

And he found them.

Here's another set of diverging head canon. Somewhere Nick is unable to rescue the mother but the child, while others have Hancock watching after his ex-girlfriend from a distance as his daughter grows up.

But eventually, mom either dies or vanishes. And the Wasteland is no place for Fahrenheit to be alone.

Next, we have two more variances.

1. Similar to Piper and Nat, Hancock takes in and raises the girl as best he can. In contrast, Fahr is more of a rat street and does not receive much direct attention from Hancock. Nevertheless, compared to the Wasteland, being Diamond City's rat street, or kind of drifter, is greater.

Or

2. Fahrenheit is bestowed upon a family that Hancock has confidence in.

Whatever the case may be, Farh eventually shows up at Goodneighbor after Hancock turns into a ghoul and is almost definitely involved with Vic's expulsion. The still, small voice that encouraged Hancock to do it.

Fahr already sees her father's potential—with a little guidance—as a Master of Chess, and she wants to help him reach it.

She is quite helpful.

Rather than deal with a symbolic authority that she leaves to her father, she chooses to focus on the military corpus.

That concludes her relationship with Hancock.

Now let's talk about her personality.

The character Fahrenheit is more nuanced than her lines suggest, as is typical in Fallout.

An observer, she is.

She avoids bonding herself with anyone, as they are just pawns on her board.

No matter how fond she is of Hancock and how dedicated she is to his goal, she still looks down on him.

The wickedness she experienced as a child is largely to blame for this. She could have been led to believe by her mother that her father had abandoned the family. Or something.

Also, her mother perhaps has been cold and distant as she struggled to provide for her family. Perhaps she felt this way because her daughter was a bittersweet reminder that she will never get her heart's desire.

Whatever the case may be, it's given a Fahrenheit that doesn't connect to anyone or open to anyone.

She prefers to follow her own path and isn't interested in sharing it with anyone.

This is something that Hancock acknowledges and values.

That is why Hancock has her respect.

That is why they make a great duo to lead Goodneighbor in the right direction.

One of Deacon's greatest secrets is Tinker Tom.

Yeah, you heard me well.

Of Deacon.

There is an unstated origin story behind Tinker Tom. He was rescued by Deacon, who then integrated—hiding—him in the RailRoad. That is precisely why Tinker is so incredibly paranoid. Simply put, he has an absolutely compelling reason to be so.

Everything he experienced and learned is a thousand times worse than anything you can ever fathom.

A timid young prodigy who was relentlessly exploited until Deacon came along and provided him with a safe haven.

Now, most people respect him; those who seek his assistance must first prove they deserve it.

He is under no more any sort of obligation.

Yet, he keeps a subdued attitude in the face of the "RailRoad leader," but it's all a joke between Deacon and Tom, and Tom KNOWS that no one can command him anymore, be mean with him in any manner. 

Should one go on, Deacon would expose his worst traits, leading to the person's doom...

And somehow, everyone in the RailRoad realizes that.

Irma is a woman of power. While they were younger, she flirted with Marowski and took advantage of him.

Simply put, she is a woman with the big W.

A stunning lady.

But she refuses to be a pawn for anybody.

She had brought the Memory Den long before it became significant. It wasn't just anything; it was plainly a brothel.

Bawd suits well to Irma. A clever matron.

And Amari is a very wise lady as well.

Akin to Irma, she has seen the property's potential. The proposal was made by her. They have associate.

And that's Irma that tricked Nick Valentine in the Memory Den.

Because it was not otherwise.

After following the trail of a runaway spouse once, Nick arrived at the Third Rail. He was quickly spotted by Irma.

At that time, he was not quite as battered as he is today. Everything about him—his handsome style, his deep, cool voice, and his gentlemanly behavior—was exquisite for someone with an open mind.

His charms have captivated Irma.

She has exhausted every possible means to lure him into her clutches. However, he still manages to gracefully sidestep her traps.

And her attraction has just intensified. Nevertheless, she possesses an elitist aspect that should not be lowered. Never would she have knelt for him.

After that, a status quo of sorts. Just like him, she's a gamer.

However, if the SoSu are successful in their romance with Nick, Irma will go absolutely wild. SoSu, be careful with your drink if Irma serves it to you.

[luffy-is-aroace]

Do you have the source in which Luffy was confirmed aroace? I’m making a project on the ace and aro communities that includes a list of aro, ace, and aroace rep in media and I can’t find where it was confirmed, but I hear everyone say he is. Thank you.

luffy is very very much aroace coded but neither he nor the author have ever directly said the words "luffy is asexual" - one piece's canonical queer rep is limited to transgender characters

that being said, here's the relevant passages, and some context if its needed:

in chapter 516/episode 411, luffy stumbles across boa hancock, the worlds most beautiful woman, in the bath. she has an ability to turn people to stone when they feel some amount of "love, lust, or adoration" to her; ie. when they are attracted to her. heres how it goes:

this is the first time hancock meets a man who isnt affected by her power. it basically suggests that, by not turning to stone, hes not attracted to her at all.

eventually, she develops a crush on him, and she wants to marry him, which he outright rejects (chapter 598)

in regard to the "mero mero" moment, a fan noticed a discrepancy, and asked the author about it in the SBS corner from volume 54. luffy had previously responded to the naked body of a woman the way all the other guys did. oda decided to blame it on luffy imitating his friend

"That's not the Luffy we know." "When Luffy is alone, his reaction is what it was with Hancock. He's interested, but he's not entranced by her." Luffy acting in a certain way because Usopp does - going along with the mood of the moment, or performing, or however you want to say it - feels awfully aspec to me. It's definitely a common aspec experience to try and force yourself into amatonormative - or, in this case, I guess allonormative? - behavior.

In the SBS for volume 88, oda was asked about why luffy called a woman a "beauty" at one point. The response:

Luffy understanding physical attractiveness as a classification, understanding it but not caring about it - that suggests he probably doesn't experience aesthetic attraction (appreciating someones appearance, disconnected from sexual/romantic attraction). this definitely speaks to my experience as an aroace individual.

also, this isnt necessarily evidence for luffy specifically, but moreso a general answer - in the SBS for volume 34, oda was asked if there would be romance between the main characters, and he brushed it off:

my impression, personally, is that Oda is generally fairly uninterested in pursuing any romantic relationships between his main characters.

in conclusion, I personally feel like the evidence here suggests that luffy is aroace, or at least aspec, given some of Oda's wording (which is probably a little up to interpretation, given it's been translated from japanese). His answer in volume 54 has always felt like a retcon to me, like Oda only came to a conclusion of sorts on this when Luffy met Hancock, and had to go back and find some reasoning for why Luffy would have responded that way. Luffy, more than anything, wants to have an adventure, and romance and sex aren't part of that for him.

I'm not gonna try to police how people view Luffy. it's not healthy for me to do that - luffy and his aroaceness is something that's very very personal to me and itd be way too messy. In addition, in the past I've had people point out that this evidence would only necessarily suggest luffy isnt attracted to women, and he could be gay; I personally don't see him that way, and I seriously doubt Oda would make that choice in canon, but people can do what they want. I think, however, it's pretty telling that a lot of aroace and aspec people see themselves in him.

This morphed into something of a modern take on my thesis here instead of just answering your question; sorry about that. I'd be interested to see your project when you're done, if you're able and willing to share!

[alexandraisyes]

*skitters in in need of nice and funky things* HOKAY. SHIPS. I am honestly open to nearly all ships due to the fact my aro-ace ass simply doesn't require them to live BUT I do have few that either sparks my interest or i think they work pretty well :3 I also go by the logic they are robots and relationships cannot be really compared to humans. Earth x Eclipse - I don't what it is with Earth cracking the harshest personalities but my god, Eclipse v4 warming up to her to the point of tolerating was a feat and sparks immense joy. Allowing Earth to hug him and hang out? Chat? Feel loved? Absolutely precious. Earth respects his boundaries and at the same time Eclipse appreciates her embracing his persona. It's just such a good premise for a slightly odd but good couple. I love it. Sun x Eclipse (many versions) - Canon divergence with Sun and Eclipse working it out? YES. Solar and his original Sun? My god please yes. Oh, what's his? Lord Eclipse and his Servant Sun? Mhm mhm yes. Excellent. So many potentials. So many ways to roll with the ship. Can be loving or spicy or unhealthy. So many choices. Nexus x Solar - do I even have to explain. I think many feels similar about this one. Nexus as new moon found his Sun, even if that Sun is eclipsed. Solar desperately needed someone to love and appreciate him. I am both friend shipping them and shipping, both works for me beautifully.

Sun x Moon - ho boi a controversial one but hey, what is the multiverse for if not ship anything you want (especially since it was even confirmed in canon that romantic DCAs are as normal and common as brotherly bonds or coworkers or absolutely hating each other). They are AIs inhibiting robotic bodies. They are synthetic beings and their understanding of bonds are different than the ones of a biological critters. They are a bundle of codes that try to understand the convoluted partnerships and roles among each other. Protective Moon and caring Sun may decide their bond is on the romantic spectrum. Cos who knows Sun better than their Moon? What is Moon without their Sun? :) Those would be the ones that stick to my brain. Thank you for making the small sharing time! I hope you have a lovely day/evening :) Cheers!

Hiii Wonszu!!! (Waving at u from my enclosure!!!)

I think that Eclipse deserves something nice. And maybe Earth could be that something nice, in the right circumstances.

They're literally my first ship (just normal SunChips) in this fandom and ough. Ough. I literally never even considered the idea of shipping the sillies until I found out that this fandom has a fucking ao3 tag. I was still mostly in the UTMV fandom when I started watching TSAMS, and my poor fandom then was burning while I was slowly jumping ship.

I think they're sweet. I don't see them as romantic myself, but I support those who do. They remind me of the relationship my brother had with his best friend.

I think the fandom is slowly getting over their whole general "every sun and moon HAS to be related and platonic" since we have people hardcore shipping Helios (dark sun) and Nexus. Not to mention the AU Sun and Moon in DoctorF's fic, Sunlo and Moonlit. They're cute. I don't see why we can't have TSAMS AUs where the dynamics are different when it's generally acceptable to ship SolarMoon as an AU. Idk maybe I'm biased, I've been shipping Sun and Moon (in general) since like immediately when Security Breach came out. I took one look at them and went "oh yes they are so fucking gay". And jadkl;fsjads it was such a lonely time when I didn't know anyone else who shipped them.

As I've already said before, I see TSAMS as just one DCA au amongst many DCA aus. Do whatever the fuck you want bro.

Ask Game - Send Me Ship Headcanons (TSBS)

[purplecelestial-buddy]

( @celesteeal is kind enough to always include me so let's do this )

I'll tag: @kagiura-akira @kalpalatas and @malt-rants-and-stuff but anyone can do it. It was a fun exercise.

Propaganda under the cut (it's not actual propaganda I just wanna swoon over them)

Hirano Taiga is THE most relatable guy to anyone under the ace or aro spectrum. He's also a weirdo when it comes to expectations of how interpersonal relationships play out (and, per my own hc, a weirdo when it comes to his sense of responsibility). Just a guy but also best boy ever. His canon animal representation is a wolf but he's so heavily cat coded and such a dragon lover that he should have been assigned a tiger. And that really shows how much of a walking contradiction he is.

What can be said about Childe when he's... So many people. I would argue that his core traits are:

•being family oriented (he's such a great brother)

•being battle oriented (he's not precisely someone that would fight everyone but he does get going whenever he meets someone worth fighting with)

He's for the people whose family shamed them for changing. Did I mention he once got lost and returned as a different person? The guy carries a curse but he also has a magical girl transformation. He has it all (except light in his eyes).

Haruhi is a Nonbinary icon. Queer royalty. Progessive 2000's role model that said gender does not matter that much.

Hiiragi Kashima is THE boy. Think of your bias from your favorite boyband. That's him. Dazzling, shinning ray of sunshine Hiiragi has it all. The bass, the vocals and the trauma. What he does not have are healthy coping mechanisms or emotionally available friends. But he will figure something out, his clingy cat demeanor will make him get through it.

Mikoshiba is the embodiment of the term "girl failure" and we love him for that. To most, he's one of the two highschool's princes. Although the reality is thag he couldn't hold a conversation with a woman and he spends half of his time as red as his hair; to the point his mangaka friend took inspiration in his demeanor to write a shoujo protagonist.

[allthefujoshiunite]

Hi, Nora....My friend and I made a list of ace and aro characters from BL, and then we get to Love For Sale. We think Sieon is aro, based on he never regret his previous relationships until he is with Namwoo. And how he felt so indifferent about them. But what do you think? Also, do you have any BL characters that you think are ace or aro?

Great question! And thank you for giving me a chance to talk about Sieon. I'm always happy to do so. If you want the tl;dr answer, I don't consider him to be one. However, as is always the case on Wild Wild Web when you express a thought or preference, people take it as me condemning all the other thoughts/preferences. So here's a PSA: if you consider him Aro, good for you! You can interpret him however you like.

Also, lots and LOTS of spoilers for the uninitiated.

As for how I read his character. I think Sieon is hard to understand for a lot of people because they expect him to be either this or that and try to put him into categories he doesn't fully belong in. It's one of the reasons why I'm so enamored with Love for Sale as a whole, and Sieon in particular. Dal Hyeonji, even though this is their first commercial BL work, does an absolutely fantastic job in this character study.

Back to the point. When the story was still being released, I entertained a similar idea myself about him that, maybe he's demiromantic. Not a romance-aversed aromantic, but still a part of the spectrum. Then I kind of abandoned that as well.

We are a melting pot of our environments, cultural codes, family, and our characteristics. That's why most of the time, it's hard to make out whether you've become something due to some external force or you were that something before anything else. A very lame example would be, do I find red lipstick sexy because I find it arousing, or is it because it was marketed in such a way that I am conditioned to think it's sexy? Similarly, it's not always easy to tell apart whether your feelings are genuine, you feel like you have to feel certain ways towards certain people, or something impacted you in such a way that you don't feel a certain way anymore. I know I'm being vague but hopefully, it'll make more sense now.

Sieon, having to shoulder her mother's emotional well-being and their reversed parent-child roles, has found himself in a position where he seeks gratification through the things he can provide to his partners so he can feel 'needed'. The comfort he can provide for his partner becomes his purpose to be in that relationship. I was throwing him bombastic side-eyes very early into the story where he never expressed any type of preference and was very evasive whenever Namwoo tried to probe. Naturally, it was quite frustrating for Namwoo. As for me, it was as if Sieon was trying to erase himself from the relationship and be there for Namwoo as a combination of 'bank account + lips to kiss + a hand to hold' and blend into the ether as a person.

That's also why his relationships ended the way they did. He knew his mom wasn't happy, and even if he tried to alleviate her pain, it ultimately didn't work, thus, the one last good deed he could do for his mom was to let her go. To not be greedy. To not be selfish and say "I need you, don't go." This is the root of his letting go of his exes 'too easily', rather than him not 'loving' his partners.

Here's where things get tricky. Ideally, a romantic relationship requires you to be vulnerable, communicative, diplomatic, etc. Ideally. But none of us are exempt from carrying our baggage with us into the next relationship, no matter how big or small. In that sense, should we say that just because Sieon hasn't been perfectly vulnerable or has been avoiding conflict, he was never in a real relationship before? I don't think we can. 

One of the moments my heart ached for him was during his conversation with his close friend. He reiterates it later on when they're having the talk with Namwoo, but he desperately tries to convey that, no matter what his partners felt, whether they were satisfied on their own account or not, he was always genuine. Has always been. It may not fit the mold of grandiose, shouting-from-the-mountaintops, I'd-swallow-a-sword-for-you kind of love we are constantly sold in the romance genre, but that doesn't mean he isn't capable of love either. On the contrary, I think he does look for romantic companionship, but he just doesn't know how not to intellectualize his feelings.

So, in my opinion, "he didn't love anyone else before Namwoo" is not exactly the correct way to read him. Up until Namwoo decided that he was going to hold onto Sieon and 'show him a selfish love' in Sieon's mom's words, their relationship was following the pretty much same direction as the others. At first, Namwoo is content with what Sieon provides, but then he develops feelings for him and expects Sieon to return them in a way he can't. The same old story that is bound to end with a break-up.

Emphasis on 'in a way he couldn't'. The way I read it, his way of loving is different from what others deem as 'romantic love', so he's convinced that he can't reciprocate others' feelings. If that's love, and his feelings don't look like that, then he must not be in love after all. And when Namwoo shows Sieon that it's okay to be needy and selfish at times, and it's okay to be vulnerable and honest, we see that was the wake-up call he needed all along. 

The verdict? If you consider his past partners through the "he wasn't able to genuinely love them" lens and interpret his "not being able to reciprocate romantic feelings" literally, you can think of him as an aromantic who's not really averse to dating. But as I've tried to elaborate, rather than not feeling romantic love, he does feel love and seek companionship but doesn't know how to handle conflict and can't break free from the behavioral patterns ingrained in him in childhood. 

About aro/ase characters in BL. There's only one work that comes to mind which, interestingly, makes asexuality/demisexuality one of the core themes it explores and that's This is Love by Ziki Masaya. I have reviewed it before (click me) and I highly recommend it! I can maybe mention Sangwoo from Semantic Error, but then again, I think he's just autistic and his approach to romantic love for another guy is different from his normie boyfriend Jongchan because of that. I can't really think of any other works with Aro/ace characters as there's always romance/sex involved. Or maybe I just haven't paid enough attention! Let me know about the list you two came up with ~

PSA: I added the intro because the original link needs you to login to Lezhin as it's a Mature title, but you know the drill. Read on the official platfrorms!

[madladmorty]

Can we reclaim Voldemort? Seriously, I wanna do that-

If you read the books, you can, amongst all the transphobia and antisemitism, find a lot of queer coding in Voldemort. Specifically trans/non binary and aromantic.

Look at that fucker, and then look me in the eye and tell me he would be a transphobe. If you can, I politely and respectfully ask you to fuck off because that is not the vibe at all.

The aromantic coding isn't even coding at this point. While, yes, Rowling got it quite wrong about where aromantisism comes from with Voldemort, (for a shockingly nice representation of it I recommend looking at Charlie Weasley), he is canonically aromantic. He doesn't understand love, it's a foreign concept to him. It doesn't make him evil, in fact my aro friends agree that they actually find him a little relatable in that way. Like, wtf is this thing that everyone is constantly talking about? I don't get it. It's weird.

As for trans/enby, bare with me here.

As a trans person myself, I can actually match up to the muggle raised wizard experience in general, but Voldemort has added stuff.

For starters, he always knew he was different, knew he wasn't like the rest but also realised that talking about it would result in a worse situation for himself. Very relatable. I remember when I was very young and finally realised that, no, girls don't all want pixie sticks. I don't why, but I felt that I had to shut up about it because some things are just better left unsaid.

I think the biggest trans/enby coding in Voldemort is the name change. Unfortunately, the way Voldemort's name is treated does somewhat reflect experiences of real trans and non binary people. No one calls Voldemort by the name he has chosen for himself, except the those who view him as a threat. In fact, Harry, egged on by Dumbledore who also does it, flat out deadnames him. To his face. Dumbledore even acknowledges that he uses a different name now but STILL calls him Tom just to seemingly assert dominance. Real mature, Dumbledore, real mature.

Then there is the fact that he has undergone drastic physical changes that people around him view as 'monstrous', 'unnatural' and 'deformed'. That ring any bells? As a trans guy it sure does for me, as Abigail Shrier in her infamous book Irreversible Damage claims that trans guys have a 'bulldozed female profile' and says over and over that we are mutilating ourselves and having our womanly features stripped from us as if we didn't choose this for ourselves.

So please, can we reclaim Voldemort? We can really expand him as a character, it's incredibly easy. I don't condone his wizard nazi views, but we can give this complex, multifaceted, nebulous being the respect and depth that he truly deserves. what do think?