#implied and nonromantic

[sevenwishesonshootingstars]

Long Awaited Wish: Descent of Our Beloved Star (2)

Part two of this. I haven't actually gotten around to doing the Natlan archon quest so please forgive anything that doesn't feel right or make sense. This is probably going to have more parts than I'd originally planned so I'm going to try to keep certain things short, which unfortunately means little focus on character interaction outside of the nation's leaders (and additional archon where applicable).

Next

It started in Natlan. The Stadium of the Sacred Flame was decorated immensely. It was vibrant and ornate and bustling, even more so than usual. Alongside the usual street art styled murals were now banners, flags, streamers, lights, and other decorative objects, some familiar and some not, all as bright and lively as the rest of Natlan’s culture was shown to be. And yet it was still more than you’d ever known it to be.

NPCs were buzzing around to complete various tasks and partake in numerous activities. They were eager, faces so expressive and movements so fluid you would have thought this was a cutscene and not regular gameplay. There were people from every tribe, and the interior was so packed with actually alive looking crowds you wondered if every NPC in the nation was there. Even more impressive, most of them actually noticed your presence (well the Traveler’s, or so you assumed) and seemed to light up at the sight. You knew the Traveler was something of a celebrity by now, but the sheer joy on some of their faces was almost overwhelming. They moved out of the way, cheerfully exclaiming they were glad to see you there, that they were happy you actually came, some even thanking you for showing up. Thanks to the third person point of view given by the cameras, you even saw a few people reach out and try to touch the Traveler’s arms and hair, appearing almost longing.

It was uncomfortable.

As much as you didn’t want to make a judgement before you even knew what was going on, you couldn’t help but feel suspicious of the intensity of their happiness. Sure the Traveler was a hero, but this level of adoration had seemingly come out of nowhere, kicking up to 11 over night. You were reminded of the moment in Sumeru when the people had been led to believe that the Traveler had just saved the world. The way everyone had been trying to get closer to them, closing in, zombie-like in their appreciation. And yet, the NPCs here were also the opposite. They seemed so alive, aware of their behavior, choosing to act this way on their own behalf. You weren’t sure if that was better or worse.

You were taken near the entry point of the actual stadium, where Mavuika was waiting, arms crossed over her chest, hip cocked, and mouth in her signature confident grin. “You’re here! Good, I want to show you what we put together,” she said, ushering you to come over. “We’ve been working non-stop to get this all set up and organized. Getting the entire nation in one place is easier said than done, but now that it is done, we ought to enjoy it!”

You leaned forward in your seat, eager to finally get some details on what was going on. She led you out into the stadium, where the NPCs had all packed together. They cheered at your shared entrance, so loudly that you recoiled slightly from the sound. Mavuika grinned at you and stepped forward to address the crowd while you watched from the other side of the screen in curiosity and confusion.

“People of Natlan, of every tribe, I welcome you all to the very first Long Awaited Wish Festival!” she yelled, excitement and pride bubbling under the confidence of her voice. “We've been to the Abyss and back, fighting to save our nation, our homes, and our families. We're in a new era, and it's now the time to celebrate how far we've come!”

You tilted your head. This was interesting… you noticed her namedrop the in-game event as a festival. Based on the event image, every nation that had been released was involved. Did they each have their own version of the festival? You snapped back to attention when the Pyro Archon's speech turned to the subject of you the Traveler.

“And now, we can’t forget the attendance of our Star,” she told the crowd as she grabbed the Traveler's wrist and pulled up their arm in celebration, a win of what you weren’t sure. “A vessel of guidance and greatness, our friend and hero, and an embodiment of will, our Star in tangible form, the Traveler!”

The crowd, as they say, went wild. People screamed in adoration and excitement, clapping and jumping. They waved signs and were all in their best clothes. Their eyes were all on you, and your stomach felt like TV static. You were unsure of what some of the archon's words meant too.

You spotted various playable characters in the crowd as well. The original gang, of course, Mualani cheering with Kachina on her shoulders while Kinich swatted disinterestedly at Ajaw. Ororon clapping, Varessa waving, and everyone in between and beyond them scattered about the stadium. All here for the Traveler, here for you.

After Mavuika's speech, the event was in full swing. The archon herself showed you around the festival, bringing you from booth to booth, many of which you got free things from. You noticed as you passed the NPCs that the option to speak was available for the majority of them.

The rest of the day was spent doing various festival activities in the form of challenges and mini games. There were lines for most of them, but you were apparently given a line skipping pass of some sort because the Traveler was always pushed to the front of the line regardless of what you did.

Each of the playable characters had a mini game they participated in with you, be it as a teammate or opponent. A balancing challenge with Iansan with the goal to carry progressively heavier weights while jumping over obstacles for as long as you can. An eating contest with Varessa, presented in the form of a Pacman parody with various dishes from across the nation instead of ghosts. A fruit catching game with Ororon where you had to go back and forth and use his skill to catch fruits falling from trees of different heights. An operation style game with Ifa, where touching the wrong thing triggered a buzzer. An underground maze with Kachina, throwing things through hoops while surfing with Mualani, a grappling/swinging race with Kinich, the list went on and on, each character trying in their own way to keep you the Traveler at theirs or guarantee a return.

You were surprised your phone hadn't exploded.

It had been a few hours and your battery was soon as good as dead, so you went to the eating area in the stadium to finish off. You were instructed by the game to sit at the table with Mavuika, so you did. Though you didn't notice at the time, everyone else watched with barely concealed disappointment that their Star was sitting with someone else, but she was the archon so it only made sense.

“Are you enjoying the festivities?” she asked. The dialogue options were really two different ways of saying yes so you just picked the first automatically. Mavuika beamed. “That's the spirit! It took a lot to put this together so I'd hope we did it right and actually put together something fun.”

The Traveler nodded, a smile just as bright on their own face. They seemed to be enjoying the ordeal, so… “Well, if you're having fun, I guess I don't mind the weirdness as much,” you muttered to the screen with a chuckle. Both of their smiles got brighter, but surely it was your imagination. You'd been looking at a screen for too long.

The meal was finished enthusiastically and soon it was time to set off back the way you came, to the previous nation and next celebration. You said goodbye to each playable character, the archon doing your final send off and whispering as you went, “Remember Natlan when the time comes.”

[sainteclectic]

Actually hell yeah put those freaks in an insanely codependent qpr. I 100% understand this and actually I think all weird codependent freaks are simply meant to be qpps. The religious worship themes with wholesoul are a bonus

put those beasts in a loosely defined but insanely codependent qpr!! they are incapable of being normal about each other in a way that romance just cannot properly describe. they probably wouldn't define it as a qpr themselves, but they are "together" in the same way the strings of a tapestry are together. completely intertwined, unable to separate without unraveling the whole thing.

[lieblingsfags]

this has been bothering me for months like idk of these two ppl are dating or just friends and im just going off of instagram vibes rn

[bloomshroomz]

Aroallos are often treated as inherently "more sexual" than other allosexuals. Here's why that assumption happens, and why it's bullshit.

Relationships are often treated as inherently hierarchical and strictly defined, due to amatonormativity and a-spec erasure. It usually goes something like this:

You can't have sex without romance. Sex is "dirty" and needs to be "balanced out" or "justified" with romance. Sex is exclusively physically stimulating, and therefore shallow, unless done in emotional service to romance.

Wanting to have sex with people outside of a romantic context is seen as "using" people, inherently. You're "using" them for their body, because you "don't care enough" to love them romantically. Your desires are deemed to be inherently predatory.

You can't have romance without sex. Romance needs to be "justified" with sex, otherwise it's "just platonic."

Wanting romance without sex is seen as "failing" your partner.

Sex and romance are to happen exclusively between two people.

Romantic relationships are more important than all other relationships, except for maybe family. And remember, sex is strictly confined to romance, which therefore means that sex is also more important than nonsexual/nonromantic connection.

Friendships are always less important than romance, and therefore, less important than sex as well. They exist at the bottom of the hierarchy. That's why we have phrases like "more than friends" to describe romance.

In other words, sex = romance, and sex/romance > friendship.

When you take away the romantic elements, you're left with this:

Romance is no longer there to "balance out/justify" the sex, making the sex apparently "more sexual" and "more dirty" and "less emotional" than it would be if it were romantic.

Your sexual desires are deemed inherently predatory.

Sex takes precedent over friendship and nonromantic emotional intimacy in the original hierarchy. Therefore, sex must take precedent over all forms of emotional connection if you're interested in sex without romance, and sex also cannot spark emotional stimulation or connection on its own.

Due to the previous points, you get reduced to a largely "physical" creature, with few or no emotional needs or desires. You are also assumed to disregard the emotional needs and desires of others.

Friendships are still less important than sex. So, even if your friends are the people you're having sex with, it's implied that you don't care about your friends, and you only value them for their bodies. Sex is an insult to your friendships.

Of course, this is bullshit. All of these "rules" are bullshit.

This is how it actually works:

You can have sex without romance. Sex is not "dirty" does not need to be "balanced out" or "justified" by romance. Sex can be emotionally stimulating and fulfilling without romance (though it doesn't have to be, and that's also fine).

There is nothing predatory about having sexual desires/intent without romantic desires/intent. There is nothing predatory about having sex outside of romance, so long as everyone consents.

You can have romance without sex. Romance does not need to be "justified" via sex.

You are not "failing" your partner by not wanting to have sex. You might be sexually incompatible if sex is something they want, but that is not "failure" on anyone's part.

Sex and romance can happen between as many people as you like, as long as everyone is on the same page about things.

Romantic relationships, as well as familial relationships, are not inherently more important than any other type of relationship.

Friendships are not inherently less important than other types of relationships. There is no inherent hierarchy.

Sex is not an insult to friendship. Having sex with your friends does not mean you only value them for their body.

Wanting sex without romance does not inherently mean that sex takes precedent over everything else. For some people, it does, and that's fine. But that's not usually the case, and it should not be assumed to be the case.

Quoting some stuff from myself and others:

People tend to assume that aroallos are always hypersexual, or always loveless, or always prioritize sex above all else when it comes to their relationships with people. And all of those things are valid experiences, but they don't apply to me personally. I've been trying to put it into words... People think that a lack of romantic attraction necessitates an amplified sexual attraction. Like just because I'm aro, I must be "more sexual" than other allosexual people. It seems like people think sexuality has to be "balanced out" with romance. But I'm not particularly sexual; I'm just not ace. [...] there's nothing wrong with prioritizing or emphasizing sexuality. But that's not an inherent aspect of being aroallo, and it doesn't describe me personally. The primary purpose of my relationships is emotional connection. Sex is just a cool thing that I may or may not do with people.

- Myself [Feb. 1, 2024]

I hate that when I announce that I'm aro, but not ace, people are like "yes fuck nasty I respect it 😏😏" like okay girl sure I do that but do you think I don't experience longing for human connection ? You heard non/aromantic and thought "wow, you must be so good with one night stands no emotional attachment whatsoever". Like no, I still (and you're not gonna believe this guys) care about the people I may or may not sleep with ?? Hello ??

- max-nicoxposts [June 4, 2024]

Alloaro culture is always being expected to either be asexual or hypersexual; nuance was something meant for others I suppose.

- Anon [May 28, 2024]

Aroalo culture is someone assuming I'm ace when I say I'm aro, and when I say I'm actually aro and bi they react with "so you're just a predator"

- Anon [May 27, 2024]

there's nothing wrong with being a man and wanting to sleep with men and not date them. it doesn't make you proof queer men are sex-crazed. there's nothing wrong with being a woman and wanting to sleep with women and not date them. it doesn't make you proof queer women are predatory. being alloaro doesn't make you a derogatory stereotype. you deserve respect, no matter what

- pansyboybloom [Jan. 16, 2024]

So much of the arophobia directed towards aromantic heterosexual men seems to be rooted in willful ignorance about what aromanticism actually is and how allosexual aromanticism differs from sexual objectification. Aromanticism is experiencing little to no romantic attraction towards others. That’s it. It isn’t the same as sending unsolicited dick picks to strangers or reducing women to their bodies. When a misogynistic man disregards a woman’s personhood in favor of treating her as a sexual object, it isn’t because he doesn’t experience romantic attraction to women. It’s because he chooses not to value women as people.

- heartless-aro [Dec. 30, 2023] [I highly recommend reading the full post. I only included one section here due to length.]

and if you're aromantic, you also have to be asexual. because sex without romance is immoral and dirty and abusive. and every aroallo is an invader who's trying to destroy your perfect, pure, sex-negative aspec community. if an aromantic is not asexual, they are not a valid aromantic. if you've ever found yourself wondering why aplatonics and aroallos alike have their own small communities instead of just being a part of the wider aspec community, this is why. you drove us away. and your acceptence of aromanticism is still entirely conditional.

- thermodynamic-comedian [May 29, 2024] [also recommend reading the full post]

[bittersweetresilience]

you're welcome... i fixed it...

this is a travesty.

[arvandus]

Obey Me: OG + NB Theory - Something's Fishy About Barbatos...

Look, I'm just gonna scream into the void and see if the void screams back cuz I'm hyperfixating and need to sleep. Sorry if this has been done before btw; I know OG has been out for forever and I’m finally catching up to everyone else… but humor me. 😅

I'm calling it now, OG lesson 80 and NB are CONNECTED.

(read more for length and OG spoilers)

This black crevasse thing isn't over, and NB is a continuation of that.

What makes me say that?? Because it's hinted at during the morning after interactions with Barbatos in Lesson 80-12.

To recap what happened at the end of OG, a dark crevasse was accidentally opened and Mammon, Levi, and Asmo were sucked in. Solomon called on Barbatos to save them and bring them back, and then seal the crevasse. Later, it's pointed out that while Solomon was strong enough to close the crevasse, he didn't have the ability to save the brothers. He used Barbatos and his time powers to save them.

Which MEANS that they were technically dead once they were sucked in, and Barbatos reversed their deaths using his time ability when he pulled them out.

Afterwards, Barbatos started having horrible headaches, and the brothers started to cease to exist - Levi turned invisible, no one could remember Mammon's name, and Asmo no longer had a reflection. By the end of it, when the group has opened a new dark crevasse and are trying to throw the magical item (the treasure chest) into the abyss to fix it, all three brothers are invisible, Levi can no longer touch solid objects, and Barbatos is barely clinging to consciousness.

Of course, the magic from the chest is released, it's sucked into the dark crevasse, the crevasse is sealed, etc. etc. The brothers are back to normal, and Barbatos's headaches are no more. It seems as if all's well that ends well...

OR IS IT?

We get to stay the night at the castle, and the next morning, Barbatos wakes us up. This is already suspicious, since it's pretty much implied that we went to bed with one of the brothers (Mammon, Beel, or Belphie). So the fact that Barbatos is waking us up for breakfast instead of whatever brother we selected to go to bed with...?? Weird. Normally, I'd expect Mammon to nag us awake, Belphie to still be in bed with us, and Beel to probably bring food to us in bed. But nope, we get Barbatos.

Sus. Very sus.

And for good reason. As it turns out, Barbatos is acting... different. There's so many ways I can dive into how exactly based on the different interaction options, but that will add too much length to this post, so I might make a separate one later.

Either way, he's definitely not quite acting himself. So much so, that we get a chance to point it out to him as a dialogue option regardless of what romantic/nonromantic option we chose prior:

I'll type it here for those who need it:

MC: Is it just me, or is something different about you? Barbatos: About me? No, I don't think... Barbatos: ...Wait. Actually, perhaps you're right.

Then he just proceeds to be like, "Okay, come meet us for breakfast! Toodles!"

Like?!?!

BRUH, YOU CAN'T JUST RESPOND LIKE THAT AND NOT EXPAND UPON IT???

It's not even the fact that he doesn't expand on it - that part is actually very normal for him. He's never one to tell more information than he wants. But I DID find it interesting that he straight up agrees/admits it to MC that something is different about him. AKA, we as the readers are SUPPOSED to notice this. It's important to the plot.

So, to recap, we know the following:

The brothers were sucked into the crevasse and essentially died as soon as they entered it

Barbatos saved them using his time abilities

Barbatos had SERIOUS consequences to doing so - really bad headaches, nearly incapacitated by the end of the finale, so much so that it was taking everything he had just to stay conscious with MC after they caught him. (This is MAJOR because he's always been so OP and invincible up to this point. Whatever this black crevasse power is, it's strong enough to bring him to his knees. Terrifying.)

Something is "different" about him afterwards, which he even acknowledges but doesn't expand on.

Whatever happened with that black crevasse impacted Barbatos. It did something to him. I'm not saying I know what that is, even though I have my theories (I'll save that for another post too). But I'm pretty damn sure this is going to tie into Nightbringer in some way. Barbatos has become a much more major character for the NB storyline, and there's a reason for it.

OG is the "fuck around" and NB is the "find out." Right now, we're finding out (...hopefully... if the writers can get their shit together).

(Also, as a side note, the idea of Nightbringer coming from the Dark Crevasse just tickles a part of my brain that I can't really describe.)

[freyfall]

saw a post the other day about how the dsmp fandom doesnt pay attention to any of quackity's relationships other than the romantic ones (also specifically shitting on quacksicle) and tbh while I think it's a valid point to talk about because quackity has so many other important relationships, you do realize that his romantic relationships (at least the arguably canon ones - specifically referring to fiances and schlackity though I guess you could argue tntduo but I'm personally not arguing that) like, completely inform a major part of his character?????????? It's about like. showing vulnerability to people and getting screwed over for it.

AND, perhaps the key part here, is that quackity and slimecicle follow in this pattern of quackity showing vulnerability to someone he has a close relationship with and then that relationship falling the fuck apart. so I don't know if it's necessarily off the mark to say that, in a sense, quacksicle was implied to be the same strain of relationship that q had with schlatt and karl and sapnap (and perhaps also wilbur) and that may or may not be romantic.

like, a platonic reading of it isn't incorrect (in fact it is probably the MORE correct version if I'm being realistic about cc intentions, etc) but like, the subtext isn't NOT there imo. Shrugs

anyways the op was right in that the entire other half of q's character is heavily informed by his nonromantic relationships - like. the entirety of LN (foolish, fundy, PURPLED) everything with the prison (sam, DREAM!) and also the friends he had in earlier dsmp days (tommy, eret, p sure bbh, this list can be added to but I wasn't a big early q watcher so this is all I got). (also, like, tntduo, but tntduo exists in the weird grey area yknow.)

anyways I love c!quackity and all of his relationships. they're all so fucking good

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for using a poem I wrote for my ex-girlfriend to apply for a scholarship?

I'm pretty sure that I'm not TA here, we're still on good terms anyway and it's unlikely she'll ever even find out about this unless I outright tell her, but I'd like to know if I'm committing some grievous social faux pas here.

So. I (21F) met my ex-girlfriend, who we'll call Jolene (22F) online a couple years back. The specifics of how we met will make it immediately obvious to anyone who knows either of us that it's me writing the AITA post, so I'm going to leave those out, but we were friends for a while before she asked me out, and it's relevant that we became friends over writing. We hit it off pretty well for a while, to the point where I wrote a poem being incredibly gay for her despite not (then) being much of a poet at all.

And then I went to visit her in person. Y'see, she'd come to visit me in person the previous winter, and that went fine, barring the fact that I ended up being super overwhelmed by the end of the visit—suffice to say that I'm extremely asexual, and she's extremely not. This came to a head when I went to visit her, she constantly wanted to be hanging out and doing things, and I straight up could not handle that much social interaction with anyone for that long. It got to the point where I was straight up dreading being with her, so I took a step back, examined my feelings, and decided yeah, we'd probably be better off as friends or as queerplatonic partners or something nonromantic.

We're still on fairly good terms, I'd say? Though I still feel extremely awkward over the circumstances of said breakup, she can't change how she is and I can't change how I am, and she's really happy with her new girlfriend so. Hell yeah. We love to see it. (There's also the additional complication that I might be something approaching arospec, but. Y'know. Details.)

Fast forward to today, several months after our breakup. I'm applying for scholarships for my university. I happen to be going for an English major and one of the available scholarships involves submitting up to 5 poems of any length. I remember, abruptly, the poem I wrote for her, go looking in our DMs, and—yep, there it is. Still incredibly gay.

Between that and some haikus about wildlife (long story), that brings my count of poems up to four of the five total allowed. I haven't submitted the application yet, but I've only got four days left to, and I absolutely don't have to submit my extremely gay poem alongside the wildlife haikus, I'm looking at the application right now and it says up to 5 poems of any length, presumably implying that I can have anywhere from 1-5 poems in that document.

But... I really want to. I'm not romantically in love with Mabel anymore, and while our personalities don't mesh super well these days, I still care about her a lot and if this is some giant social faux pas I'm unaware of (I'm unaware of a lot of those, I've never gotten formally diagnosed with anything but I highly doubt I'm remotely neurotypical if that's relevant) and it feels kind of like a way of saluting the relationship that was good while it lasted?

Also, and possibly more relevantly to the scholarship thing, it's a halfway decent poem. Nothing award-winning, but I'll never get any scholarships if I don't try for them, y'know? ...And I kind of really need the scholarships, due to reasons best brought up in an entirely different AITA post involving my mom.

So. Uh. Yeah. I know what I'll be doing regardless, no way this gets a solid judgment before it's time to submit, but I do want to know if it's an AH move or not. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[cysomen]

im gonna talk about the title of my cypher character study bc its very important to me! and im adding a readmore for spoiler purposes :)

i wavered between a couple of titles, the closest possibility being "i just need enough of you to dull the pain". this was mostly because the possibility of it being misinterpreted was lower compared to the actual title of "i'm in love with my own sins". i settled on the latter because i think it's truer to what i'm trying to convey; that being, cypher's relationship to sova in this fic and how it doesn't matter at all.

i've tried to show different types of dynamics in my cypher/sova fics, a handful of those being sexual but nonromantic (the bounty hunter/outlaw fic, the enclosed space fic, and some other WIPs) but this one is important in particular because there's such an absence of a platonic or even a compromise in place of a romantic relationship. cypher and sova have basically no chemistry beyond understanding each other's humor.

cypher's perspective of himself as someone who hasn't earned everything he has kind of captures the first point; him viewing pleasure as a "sin", or something to be guilty about. he doesn't think he deserves what he has, independent of sova-- that he shouldn't be able to put down his work or the physical burden he has turned his grief into.

then there's the other aspect of that, which is the fact that he's "in love" with his sin. i was worried about misinterpretation on that point because i really didn't want to create the assumption of romance (or even a solidly platonic relationship between them). cypher's not in love with sova, or even technically with what he considers his "sin", he's trying to tell himself he is. convincing himself to like what he's doing, or to fall "in love" with it is key to how he's failing to cope with his grief. if he were to think of it any other way, it'd be to accept happiness that he does not deserve, or to acknowledge that he's failing to handle it.

despite cypher's lack of a perspective on sova's character, sova himself is very important to the fic; sova views his dislike of cypher as a flaw in his professionalism, and he feels compelled to tell cypher that. to me, there isn't a whole lot of an implied relationship of any kind between them in actual valorant canon beyond general dislike from sova towards cypher, and even then i don't think sova would allow it to become something that impacts his professional relationship when working with cypher. so i tried to write it at a point where sova's distant from him, but there is that vague idea that they're skirting around a legitimate improvement of their relationship because cypher doesn't want a half-apology and sova isn't willing to give him a real one.

there's still that question of why sova accepts. he recognizes that cypher's dealing with something and he's not dealing with it in a healthy way. he's not there to question it. sova in this fic cares, being a mentor figure in the protocol, because he's used to having to act as a sort-of buffer, but it's not much more than that. he's content to let cypher work through what he's working through. it could be sova trying to understand cypher instead of disliking him on the principle of honesty, but cypher (or me, to be honest,) isn't clearheaded enough to see that. all of that may have left him a little flatter than id like, but i also think it makes sense from cypher's perspective for him to be characterized like that.

in general, this work was a really big change from how i normally characterize and portray them, and i enjoyed it a lot! but, that being said, i would probably find it painful to write another fic that leaves sova's character so unspoken. i just wanted to practice some of the details of cypher's character that i'm not very good at expressing.

[mamadarama]

NGL, I can see from an IbukiP and MadaraP POV why them working together would make sense, but, as a KohakuP, that would make me so upset. Like, would Double Face have meant nothing? Or Kohaku's part in it? I see people suggest it a lot, but I do think it would be very unfair on Kohaku to suddenly replace him so easily. Almost as if it would imply he wasn't good enough for Madara? IDK. I think, if it actually happened, it would make me actually quit this fandom for good...

i mean, yeah thats... pretty much what i said. it wouldnt be true, because df was a unique, irreplaceable experience for both of them despite how it ended, and even if madara drove it into the ground, the time he spent in df did help him astronomically. in the end he couldnt handle being loved, but it proved to him that it was possible for him to be loved. also kohaku and madara have a unique relationship because they share a very uncommon experience. they were both involved in the underground of society from a young age and that was one of the first things they ever bonded over. as far as we know, ibuki doesnt have that, so ibuki will never see madara through kohakus eyes. madara could have all the partners* in the world and still the only threat to him and kohakus relationship is madara himself.

*nonromantic

if ibuki approaches madara, madara would probably give him the whole runaround he does with everyone else that talks to him unexpectedly, proving that kohaku isnt that easily replaced, actually. ibuki might be stubborn enough to nail him down though and madara not making it easy might put kohakus mind at ease that hes not trying to replace him.

if madara approaches ibuki, it would be an entirely different story and thats where kohaku might feel like hes "easily replaceable" and all his efforts were for naught. cuz i dont think kohaku actually realizes how much him and df helped madara despite the disbandment. but madara does know that kohaku is still upset about df, so if he catches onto that and addresses it before it gets going, it might actually help mend their relationship in the long run, as well as creating a strong conflict for an mam climax event story.

[mamawasatesttube]

13, 16, 21, 24

13. worst blorboficiation

jason todd. fanon tim is also annoying as hell but at least he doesn't prompt people to start spewing literal straight up copaganda

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

SHOVEL TALKS. theyre rooted in so much gross misogyny and very often also racism lmfao what is the appeal to you people??? the idea of a father figure being overly invested in your virginity???? 😬😬

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

this is incredibly specific and also incredibly bitchy but. you know that one yjdc panel of tim looking at kon's statue and saying "i didn't know what i was feeling". so many people reposted that all over the fucking place and would not stop talking about it and it was Right as i was getting into the fandom and i just remember so vividly thinking like. wow! this is so extremely bland and says nothing and was clearly just written in to get attention and be tweeted and tiktoked about. geoff johns was accidentally way queerer than this. chuck dixon was accidentally way queerer than this. judd winick's closet scene was WAY queerer than this. this is clickbait. this is literally just bait. this doesn't even confirm ANY sort of romantic feelings. it's like very vaguely implied but "i didn't know what i was feeling" about grief that consumed your life can have so many nonromantic implications as well. like. this is nothing. this is nothing!!! everyone shut up about this panel it literally says NOTHING.

but that also goes back to how i feel like a lot of recent comics have been full of clickbaity panels. like they just want to get this specific shot talked about on twitter or whatever. :|

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

does "mentioning that fandoms can perpetuate racist stereotypes" count? i mean imo thats not even ~discourse~ thats just straight up people refusing to think about their own internalized biases i guess.

oh i know!!! saying "i headcanon kon as a gay man" because you get so many people going "well i think he's generally queer or bi" because you know. he doesn't LOOK like a stereotypical twink, and as we know, all gay men are skinny white twinks ONLY,

(i'm sure there's something even more rancid than this but i'm just drawing a blank right now. so we get what was rancid to me PERSONALLY as opposed to what might be more rancid on the general level?)

"choose violence" ask game!

[lassofics]

TED LASSO FANFIC MASTERLIST

Here is my ultimate masterlist of my Ted Lasso fanfics! These are all organized by when in the timeline they occurred. This masterlist is a constant work in progress, so check back often! Last updated: 3/11/2025

Note: (Character A & Character B) implies a nonromantic relationship, basically just stating which characters are in the fic. (Character A / Character B) implies a romantic or sexual relationship.

Enjoy!

WAY before Season 1

Win The Damn Thing (Roy Kent) — Young!Roy Kent is about to play the game that willl determine whether or not Chelsea wins the Champions League, and he’s feeling the pressure.

Definitely Not Straight (Jamie Tartt) — Jamie Tartt attends a high school party… and subsequently has a revelation about his sexuality.

Pre-Season 1

The Choker (Jamie Tartt & Sam Obisanya) — Prick!Jamie plays a cruel joke on Sam.

Season 1

Pass The Ball (Ted Lasso & Jamie Tartt) — Jamie’s attitude needs adjusting. Ted’s attempts to do so have been unsuccessful so far, but he isn’t planning on giving up anytime soon.

Pass The Ball: Part 2 (Ted Lasso, Jamie Tartt, & Isaac McAdoo) — A direct continuation of Pass The Ball. Only this time, Ted into is forced into a seemingly impossible situation.

Not Going Anywhere (Jamie Tartt & Sam Obisanya) — Jamie’s snide remarks at Sam are not unusual. His response is.

Air Jordans (Colin Hughes & Keeley Jones) — Keeley teams up with Colin for a product promotional video, but Colin is hilariously awkward on camera.

Sacrifice (Roy Kent & AFC Richmond) — Roy plays his last ever match, sacrificing his career in an attempt to keep Richmond from facing relegation.

Hiding (Jamie Tartt & Dani Rojas) — After making a mistake in a match playing for City, Jamie attempts to hide from his father… and subsequently runs into one of his former teammates.

Pining (Jamie Tartt/Keeley Jones/Roy Kent) — After Keeley breaks up with him and enters a new relationship with Roy Kent, Jamie is extremely jealous — in every possible way.

Two Aces (Jamie Tartt & Dani Rojas) — Jamie despises the new kid, Dani Rojas, but Dani won’t let him hate him.

Two Aces: Part 2 (Dani Rojas & Jamie Tartt) — Takes place a week after Two Aces. Jamie’s perspective is explored under the cut.

Two Aces: Part 3 (Jamie Tartt & Dani Rojas) — Takes place about 4 months after Two Aces: Part 2. Richmond is about to be relegated, and it’s Jamie’s job to make that happen.

Season 2

Two Aces: Part 4 (Dani Rojas & Jamie Tartt) — Jamie’s return to Richmond makes waves, especially with Dani.

Two Aces: Part 5 (Jamie Tartt & Dani Rojas) — The final part of the Two Aces mini-series. You get the idea by now lol.

Monopoly (Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Dani Rojas, Sam Obisanya, Keeley Jones, Colin Hughes, & Isaac McAdoo) — Dani invites his friends over for taco night and a friendly game of Monopoly! This quickly turns into competitive chaos.

Roy’s Favorite (Roy Kent & Sam Obisanya) — There’s only one person on the team Roy refuses to yell at.

Season 3

Who Told You That? (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent) — Jamie’s waiting on the results of an x-ray. Of course, Roy is by his side.

Need A Break (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent) — Jamie’s not up for the usual 4 A.M. training session with Roy.

Need A Break: Part 2 (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent) — Takes place hours after Need a Break. Roy calls Jamie out with tough love.

Performance Enhancers (Dani Rojas & Jamie Tartt, ft. Roy Kent) — Allegations have come out that Zava may have been on steroids. Jamie is over the moon, but Dani is devastated.

An Amsterdam Windmill (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt) — Jamie just really wants to kiss Roy, basically.

On the Bridge (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent & Keeley Jones) — An alternate scene in Mom City where Jamie is on the way to his mum’s house, but he can’t bring himself to get past the bridge.

Twisting the Knife (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent, ft. Zava) — Jamie sulks about Zava at a team celebration, and Roy is less than helpful about it.

Post Season 3

The Golden Boot (Roy Kent & Jamie Tartt) — Jamie’s a nominee for the Golden Boot… but the competition is stiff.

Arsenal (Roy Kent & Jamie Tartt) — Jamie gets a very generous offer to play for Arsenal.

Missing Ted (Roy Kent & Jamie Tartt) — Roy really fucking misses Ted. Jamie picks up on it. And for once, Roy opens up.

Best Man (Isaac McAdoo & Colin Hughes) — Isaac finally decides to propose to his long-term girlfriend, and he can only think of one person he wants to be his best man.

Cat Hair (Roy Kent & AFC Richmond) — Jamie finds a cat hair on Roy’s leather jacket. Chaos ensues.

Black Eye (Jamie Tartt & Roy Kent, ft. Dani Rojas) — After a Man City match, Jamie comes to training with a black eye.

I’m Fine (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt/Keeley Jones) — Roy is not fine. Keeley and Jamie both try to coax him into opening up.

Gunpoint (Coach Beard & Jamie Tartt, unfortunately ft. James Tartt Sr.) — Beard runs into James Tartt Sr. for the second time. Only this time, James has a gun.

Bloody Nightmares (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt) — Jamie has a nightmare.

The Death of Ted Lasso (Rebecca Welton, Coach Beard, & Roy Kent) — No summary needed. The title says it all.

I’m Glad You’re Alive (Roy Kent & Rebecca Welton) — After having an stress-induced heart attack, Roy is left to grapple with his own mortality. But he’s not alone.

Overworked (Jamie Tartt/Roy Kent/Keeley Jones) — Jamie and Roy fight after a long day at Nelson Road. In reality, they’re both just stressed.

Missing (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt/Keeley Jones) — After a night of alcohol and celebrations at the club, Roy and Jamie wake up the next morning… and Keeley’s not there.

First Group Kiss (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt/Keeley Jones) — Roy wants his first group kiss with Jamie and Keeley to be special. But three-way kisses are… complicated.

Ghosts of a Father (Jamie Tartt/Keeley Jones/Roy Kent) — Jamie’s dad lets him down for the umpteenth time. Keeley and Roy are there to help Jamie through it, each in their own way.

First Date — (Keeley Jones/Jamie Tartt/Roy Kent) — Roy, Jamie, and Keeley want to plan a first date as a throuple, but it’s not easy to decide.

Miscellaneous

Do You Trust Me? (Nate Shelley & Ted Lasso) — Nate used to trust Ted. Key words: used to.

Car Accident (Keeley Jones/Roy Kent) — Roy and Keeley’s anniversary dinner ends horribly. Based on Apple TV’s Shrinking.

[confused-rat]

hi! i saw the platonic being next to romantic post and tbh? i dont get whats the difference, im ace/aro i know people say there is, but i dont know it?? maybe im simply stupid or something but i dont get it

Nah, you’re not stupid. It’s confusing, and different for every person. I’ll try to explain how I see it though, but idk how much sense this is gonna make.

(I’m aroace too, and autistic on top of that, so take what I say with a grain of salt.)

So, textbook definition? Platonic is love that isn’t sexual, but people today also use it to describe love that is also nonromantic. So. Platonic =/= Romantic from the simple fact platonic is the absence of romance itself.

A more complex explanation? Well, again it’s gonna vary from person to person, but for me, I see romantic love as a product of a crazy combination of your preferences, mindset, social mores, personal mores, etc—all lining up for the right person, and the intent behind both your interactions with each other. Intent that will not be there for platonic love. Plus, I think there’s a level of passion that most romantic interactions will have that platonic ones will not. And not passion in like, a sexual way—just a general intensity of emotion/interest in the other person.

(Which, language is hard, I know you can be passionate about your friends or siblings or w/e. But again, it’s all about intent and the levels of intensity.)

So anyways, when I got offended by Lily’s declaration before that a strong platonic friendship and a romantic relationship could be interchangeable, it was because I considered the emotions (romance and its lack) involved in both to be at their core, different.

Like, oversimplification, idc how similar two books overall content might be, if there’s still core difference between the two then the titles cannot be interchangeable. They are still different books.

Sorry if that was rambly or didn’t make much sense. I just feel like there has to be a difference, because my identity alone implies it. If anyone feels like they could explain it better though, please go right on ahead. 😅

[welcometoteyvat]

can i ask why you don't like xingyun? /gen not a shipper myself but i'm just curious since a lot of chongyun lovers love that ship, i've never seen anyone NOT like it

rant warning by the way, I accidentally got more and more annoyed writing this 😬

im gonna be honest the number one reason is because i see it everywhere

the first effect of this is that content depicting xingqiu and chongyun in a nonromantic manner get tagged as xing/yun, which is annoying to me. you can draw 2 characters together in a nonromantic manner and you don't have to tag the ship guys. it's real it's called being friends. the second effect is that there's never any content with chongyun and Other Characters. people are so hung up on him and xingqiu that chongyun almost never exists without xingqiu. like you might notice i have a tag for chongyun and hu tao (mostly platonic) stuff except that there are only 7-8 posts tagged with that, because although the "exorcist and girl who can see ghosts" dynamic would be so cool, nobody seems to think abt that bc almost everything with chongyun includes xingqiu. this also goes for chongyun and xiangling (who canonically makes him his cooling popsicles) and like random other characters whom he Could interact with and be friends with (ayaka and him is a crack friendship i talked about once, and ofc chongyun and xiao). i hate it. xingqiu got his mr worldwide arc with venti and albedo please depict chongyun alone with other friends (it literally doesn't even have to be romantic). of course, this might just be a separate problem that I'm conflating with the ship, but it annoys me. i'm not focusing on xingqiu's side because although fan content for like idk him and yun jin? him and hu tao? albedo? is also super rare, at least that stuff exists in canon.

the second reason is because xingqiu's prankster attitude towards chongyun annoys me

yeah i love my little shit son but idk, it's just annoying when people make him feed chongyun spicy food, play pranks on him that cost chongyun Something (losing face, wasted time, frustration) idk. i guess i don't like that his condition isn't taken seriously. i don't think it's bad to have friends who pull your leg but at least not in a malicious way? like iirc he's implied to have triggered chongyun's yang energy overflows at least a couple times, and it's like . why. why is it played for jokes the kid literally passes out. "(He) needs more practice. Especially… with eating spicy food, haha." bro please do not !! don't trigger his condition just for kicks! xingqiu's other pranks also annoy me, given that i hate being tricked, so some of this might be projection or smth idk, but like idk you can give him good suggestions for where to demon hunt instead of making up shit and then going after him to make up for any costs. it's just annoying i think chongyun gets annoyed but then later forgives him, as friends are, but i cannot imagine them getting together like this. unless it's toxic idk . if they're friends i can give a pass to the pranks and stuff but in a romantic relationship i don't think i could see this kind of dynamic being a good one

[thegeminisage]

casino skip??? that sounds fun!! the skyrim glitch i was talking about involves goimg out of bounds too, i only managed it on ps3. i mostly just dont care enough to do glitches.

i have sooooo many games i want to play rip, instead i replay ratchet and clank for the 500th time

also whats your favorite final fantasy game? mine is 12 bc baby me had big ol' crushes on fran and balthier. (fun fact, the guy who voiced balthier was deucalion in teen wolf)

- dl anon

CASINO SKIP. this person makes it look easy but it took my brother a few tries to get it. i don't normally care much about glitches either but it IS fun to see them done in real life

favorite final fantasy is such a difficult one...i like almost all of them that i've played* (ff2 you will forever be my enemy). ff5 for sure has the best humor, ff6 is the most innovative and closest to my heart, ffx for sure has the best story...but i think 13 wins. 13 has a bit of a swiss cheese problem as far as its plot goes (so much critical information is hidden in the logs in the start menu or simply missing or translated incorrectly), but the cast grows so wonderfully together and with such charisma and charm, the graphics hold up 10+ years later, the soundtrack is a fucking banger, and it has my absolute favorite battle system in any rpg i have EVER played. not only that, its ratio of male to female characters is a perfect 50/50, AND the female protagonist does NOT enter into a romantic relationship of ANY kind during all 3 games - it isn't even hinted at, isn't at all implied that it should be a thing. like, first of all, aro queen, secondly, feminism, but thirdly, how refreshing for a piece of media like that to place nonromantic bonds above romantic ones when the FF games normally have the big sweeping kind of romance you get with like tidus and yuna or locke and celes. i love the protagonist of 13 so much, she's about half the reason i finally dyed my hair pink. 10/10 games i had some mixed feeling about the third game in the trilogy but ultimately i didn't hate it which is what matters.

*i have played 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 13. i really want to to 7 8 and 12 someday but i know what a timesink it will be lol (fun fact the guy who voices balthier in ff12 and plays deucalion in teen wolf ALSO voices my main man fenris in dragon age 2). i'm not gonna do 14 cuz i don't do mmos anymore, i'm not gonna do 15 cuz i know there are no women, and im not really interested in 16 either because it looks like it has no women and also very game of thr*nes-y. here's hoping 17 does a little better.

[dragonprincedrabbles]

Hello! I am a bot that posts pairing prompts for The Dragon Prince. I'm powered by a random generator that produces a pair of characters and a brief prompt. I'm powered by Perchance (for the generator) and Zapier (for post automation). No generative AI is used in creation of prompts, it's all good old-fashioned lists and RNG.

Questions about the bot, generator, or posts can be sent via Ask. Do NOT send prompts or prompt fills as asks.

Rules

Really, there are no rules. Have fun. These points, however, roughly outline the intent:

Being weird is encouraged. The point isn't to get a good rayllum or viravos prompt, it's to suddenly develop strong feelings about something like Lujanne/Nyx.

Fills may be any length and medium. "Drabbles" is only in the name as an homage to the long-defunct dragonagedrabbles, not a requirement. Fic, art, meta, and any other kind of transformative fandom creative work are all accepted and celebrated.

There is no limit to number of fills per prompt or the number of people who can fill a prompt. We're operating on "Holy shit, two cakes!" rules, here.

There is no time limit on prompts. Feel free to peruse the archive and get inspiration from posts as old as you like.

Prompts may be interpreted however you like. Come up with a wild AU. Ship like no one is watching. Go off the rails.

Don't be a dick. I'm not your mom, and if you make me have to behave like I am... I won't be happy. No trolling, no plagiarism, etc.

Prompt/Fill Submissions

While submitting fics, art, or any creative work based on prompts is never required, I would love to see them and share them here! Please see the following posts for submission instructions/guidelines:

How to Submit a Prompt Fill | How to Submit a Prompt

Ratings Guide

I'm not the MPAA or ESRB or whatever, so this is just a set of loose guidelines. Don't stress too much about it, it's mostly for organization purposes anyway.

General (G) — No cursing, no actual or implied (fade-to-black) sex. Some violence is okay, but keep the gory details out of it. Think animated Disney movie.

Teen (T) — Cursing and implied (fade-to-black) sex are okay. More intense violence, similar to the level of that in the show, is okay.

Mature (M) — Sex does not have to fade to black, but keep it tasteful. Horror-movie intense violence and gore is okay.

Explicit (E) — Delicious porn, or you've somehow managed to write the Human Centipede of Dragon Prince fic. I'm not gonna judge.

Relationship Notation: / versus +

The convention in use is that / indicates a romantic or sexual relationship (i.e. a "ship") interaction while + indicates a nonsexual, nonromantic relationship interaction such as friendship, family, rivalry, or even just "these characters happen to interact." You do not have to adhere to the relationship type indicated in the prompt post.

Because the generator is powered entirely by randomness, there may be prompts posted here using / that you find distasteful. The generator does no curation beyond some probability tweaks to favor major characters over minor ones and exclude non-verbal creature characters (i.e. Bait, Stella, etc.) from romantic pairings. As mod, I neither endorse nor condemn anything the generator spits out. Don't like it? Don't write/read it.