#*romantic/sexual relationship. obviously they have a relationship that is very character-driven

[tobiasdrake]

Having talked a bit about both Chi-Chi/Goku and Bulma/Vegeta, I wanted to talk a bit more about Chi-Chi and Goku's relationship, and why it works for these particular characters.

As I talked about before, Goku is an aromantic character. He's also probably asexual or at least on the asexual spectrum. He's obviously not sex-repulsed as demonstrated by the existence of Gohan and Goten, but he's disinterested in the pursuit of romance or sexuality. Or any social endeavors, for that matter; Disappearing for years at a time while none of his friends get so much as a word from him was normal for Goku long before he ever even had a family.

It's a practice he retained even after he "settled down" with Chi-Chi.

"See ya later, Chi-Chi! I'm meeting up with all my old pals for the first time in five years."

This is just how Goku is. He doesn't have much of a social instinct at all. He has hyperfixations he wants to pursue, and he has varying degrees of "I do/do not like this person". but he isn't driven to socialize. The reason he's living with Chi-Chi is because he made a promise that he would live with Chi-Chi.

Yamcha's explanation here is Goku's sole conception of romance. They have to live in the same house now because that's what Goku promised her. That is Goku's one and only wedding vow.

He. Uh. He's not even very good at honoring that much.

Goku you literally only understand the barest possible minimum of what this social contract means and you're still failing at it. How do you even.

In any case, what makes Chi-Chi/Goku work is the innocence of it. Because Chi-Chi's comprehension of what they're actually doing here is as limited as Goku's is.

That's it. That is Chi-Chi's comprehension of romance. She is backest of backwoods Alabama Royalty. In this scene, she was five seconds away from letting herself be manipulated into thinking that a man that did this a minute ago was secretly in love with her:

See, it's okay 'cause he said "I love you" afterward so I guess this was all just a misunderstanding!

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Chi-Chi dodged a fucking bullet given the quality of relationship she could so easily have been suckered into. This girl was destined to be a domestic abuse victim.

...uh. Y'know.

Apart from one of the grossest jokes Toriyama ever wrote, I mean.

Point is, Chi-Chi is in the same boat as Goku. For Goku, this all started over a misunderstanding. He didn't know what Chi-Chi was talking about when she said she wanted him to ask for her hand.

For Chi-Chi, it's exactly the same. This all started over a misunderstanding. She didn't know that Goku just learned what girls are like three days ago and had a bad habit for a while of groping people to discern their genders.

Both of these kids are naive, innocent morons.

This innocence, this total lack of comprehension for what they are actually doing for both parties, is what makes their oddball contractual dynamic come across as funny and inoffensive. They aren't in love with one another in a romantic sense; They're playing house on a large scale.

The first day they met, they made a contractual agreement off of mutual dumbassery. The second day they met, the got married to fulfill that contract. Now they're trying to do the things that Chi-Chi was socially conditioned to believe you're supposed to do when you're married. That is their entire relationship with one another.

There is an innocence to all of this that allows the aroace Son Goku to be in a hetero dynamic without his partner coming across as predatory.

This, incidentally, is also why it's for the best that nothing ever came of this:

Yeah. Oh yeah. This. If it had been Bulma instead of Chi-Chi, this absolutely would have come across as predatory.

With Goku being aroace, there's essentially no possible way these two characters could get together romantically that wouldn't seem unbelievably manipulative on Bulma's part. Unlike Chi-Chi, she knows exactly what she's doing. She's super-intelligent, socially literate, and supremely amoral.

If these two got together, it would absolutely feel like she was taking advantage of Goku's naivety. That's why, though their relationship is arguably the strongest and the single-most important interpersonal relationship in the series:

It vitally remains platonic to this day.

This is, itself, the beauty of Toriyama's character writing. His plots have varying degrees of jankiness to them, his "traditional values" and sometimes flagrant sexism bleeds through his work, and there are some really gross moments here and there. But one thing he grasps well is the unique dynamics of every interpersonal relationship.

At no point are these characters simply "A group of friends". Every relationship between two characters is unique, built upon their own personal identities and histories with one another. Tenshinhan's relationship with Goku is not the same as his relationship with Gohan, his relationship with Krillin, or his relationship with Vegeta.

And they often defy easy categorization into boxes like "The Lovers" and "The Pals" and "The Besties". Goku's relationship with Bulma or Vegeta or Chi-Chi is what it is, and it is nothing else, but what exactly it is isn't easily pinned down into a neat, digestible semblance of normalcy. It just. Is.

[ripplestitchskein]

Thinking about this anti idea that the show switched gears on them. I don’t understand it. I’ve never understood it. I’ve already talked about how it’s pretty clear from the writing and show setup in the first few episodes what the focus would be but what baffles me is that it’s also just not true that the character’s issues are purely centered on and only expressed via the romance aspect. They are pretty good at applying the character’s issues to all aspects of their lives and interactions. Especially with Blitz because he is the main character.

Blitz, to put it simply hates himself, plain and simple. We all know this. He creates scenarios to force others to see him as he sees himself. He is a textbook case of someone who self sabotages due to extreme self loathing. He’s not sabotaging his work or his life in general though. We can see Blitz is hardworking, he is ambitious, he has his life together from a material perspective. He had a roof over his head, clothes on his back and food in his fridge. He provides these material things for a whole other person as well.

Where Blitz self sabotages is his relationships. It’s made clear from early on in the show it’s NOT just romantic relationships, it’s ALL of them. Blitz targets what he thinks will drive people away the fastest. I need it to be super clear that he does this to everyone and its ongoing even if sometimes it’s less prevalent. The show is about Blitz and Stolas, whether you like it or not they were the two characters who were focused on in the first few episodes. And the plot is driven by their issues and always has been, what gets disregarded in these arguments that the show is only about Stolitz now is how we see these issues manifest outside of the romance aspect of the show consistently and regularly just maybe not in entire episode long plots, it’s a through line.

With Moxxie Blitz insults him, he makes comments to make him uncomfortable. He targets little insecurities he has with himself. As we’ve gone along and they’ve developed he does this less, he compliments him more, he gives him responsibility. I think we see a good subtle example of Blitz’s influence in Moxxie on Full Moon. The Welcome to Hell, Bitch line was pure Blitz. His comfort with saying “So fuck him good sir”. These are the kinds of little things that slowly and carefully drive the changes in their relationship.

For Moxxie and Millie as a couple he inserts themselves into their relationship. He makes sexual jokes about them both. He mentions having a threesome with them. He follows and stalks them. It’s an odd and imo off putting behavior, one I think we’ve theorized about a lot and that’s lead to some interesting takes on his character and his view of monogamy in general. I don’t agree or disagree on the reasonings, I don’t have any info to make an informed decision on it but after Apology Tour it was kind of cemented for me that this behavior was also a pretty effective way to test them and drive them away. They are a very loving and committed couple, if I were a serial self sabotager faced with pushing away a couple to prevent them from getting too close, what is the best way to drive them away for good? Obviously, be the toxic third, have them join the Blitz Exes. He’s not going to admit that’s what he’s doing of course, so he approaches it in earnest like he does most things he is deluding himself about. Go all in on denial.

Blitz only ever tests the fence about them though, he never makes any serious moves on it, and he has largely stopped doing it at all after Chaz and Ozzie’s. I think that episode, how he felt after sleeping with Chaz, was the turning point for him when it came to them. It remains to be seen though.

I think GhostFuckers will be the place to explore it if there is anything left to explore about that. We seem to be getting a Millie based flashback and that might shed some additional light.

What also saves Moxxie and Millie from the full force of his self sabotaging behavior is that there is a built in buffer by them being his employees. He always has a way to keep them at arm’s length if there is a power dynamic he can fall back on.

With Loona she is a very closed off, anti-affection person. With her, the tact Blitzø takes is give her too much attention and show too much love. Smother her in affection no matter how many boundaries she sets and how much she protests about it. In Queen Bee he’s too in his head over Stolas to bother with that, and it’s sadly probably the most in sync they’ve ever been until the end. I pointed it out before but in Full Moon Blitz treats Loona very differently. He imitates her and actually snaps back at her when she says Stolas is dropping him, it was a very different interaction than earlier episodes and I think another subtle sign that how he feels right now is changing him and he’s making efforts. He hasn’t simpered at her for awhile. And he obviously is giving her a more active role in the day to day.

These are ongoing threads and they are all part of of the larger picture of Blitz’s growth and change. Just because a romantic relationship is helping drive that change doesn’t meant other things aren’t, or that the only changes or growth we see are only about the romance.

The fact that that there are two episodes focused entirely on Fizz speaks for itself.

[strawbebehmod]

Rogue x Gambit movie idea Disney is too cowardly to do

Picture this: rogue and gambit just got married, Kurt officiated obviously, and they are getting ready for their honeymoon. They got married during mardigras and plan on road tripping through the south for it. Kurt after this is headed to a summit in California he's gonna fly out early for the next day but gets captured by Dr sinister and injected with something that takes his powers away for a few days. He's weak and can't defend himself. They only find out about this cause rogue and gambit find Pickles the next day at their hotel door. Gambit and rogue have to save him and get him safely to California as the summit is a big one within the Catholic church to set up a pro mutant message across archdioceses in America and as a mutant priest he'd be an important and crucial part to make the best decision for it.

So they end up having to take him on their road trip putting off a lot of the honeymoon part, but still having wild and wacky adventures trying to enjoy some of the things they had planned and dodging doctor sinister's goons buddy road trip comedy style. All while there's personal drama with the whole situation and rogue is tempted by the thought of that injection that can temporarily remove powers with a grand climax and perhapse an old west style stand off in death valley as they escape from a lab after getting captured themselves, rogue realizing how important her powers are and they aren't just a nuisance, and that they dont need conventional romantic and sexual interactions to have a healthy relationship as a married couple...and then they ride off into the sunset.

Disney would never go for it as a low stakes buddy romantic comedy marvel movie that's incrediblely character driven and very not heteronormative in the romance department but I want it so bad

[yallemagne]

genuinely curious, what do you think about Jack x Art as a ship

you know it's a good question when i unlock my chambers to fetch the laptop.

Love it. I'm obviously not as invested in it as Mina/Jonathan or even Arthur/Lucy, but I love it.

Before I get too deep into this, I'm begging you, if you like Jack/Art read @bluecatwriter's fics for it on ao3. Such amazing work. I need to catch up, but I haven't had reading brain.

Think we're gonna have to dip a little into headcanon here. And I spoil the book, newcomers beware.

I see these two as family friends. Obviously, what with the familiar nicknames Art and Jack. Both from wealth, though Arthur has titles and land and Jack has medical nepotism. I imagine Jack's upbringing to be very emotionally stunting, raised to embody rigid standards of masculinity. Meanwhile, Arthur's father decided to put all the work he could in making him feel emotionally supported, leading to a very emotionally driven young man. When they were little, I imagine Jack almost hating Arthur for how sensitive he is, saying he's spoiled, but it's really just bitterness over not getting a healthy upbringing.

And then they grow up, and Arthur grows a million feet taller, and Jack has a lot of complicated feelings about that. Cue "Don't be intimidated, Seward. Try to imagine him in his underwear.". Jack is a bit more mature at this point and recognizes Arthur's emotional maturity as a good thing. He still tends to view it as "Arthur is masculine enough to make up for some feminine habits", so it isn't perfect. Meanwhile, Arthur has always looked up to Jack, though he now has to crane his head down. The two of them embody something the other finds admirable, and their regard for one another sits in this void space between respect and attraction.

Now. Sexuality. There are two wolves in my head. One is more interesting. The wolves are: Jack is disaster bisexual and Jack is compulsory heterosexuality gay. The former is what is said about every single male character in the history of tumble fandom, and the latter feels more interesting from a writing perspective. For the development of this relationship, I lean toward the latter. THIS IS RELEVANT I PROMISE.

So... I think Arthur introduces Jack to Lucy in hopes they would get along because Arthur wanted Jack to one day be his best man. Very awkward when (this is just an interpretation of the events btw) Jack subconsciously recognizes Arthur's feelings for Lucy and projects his feelings for Arthur onto Lucy because Perfect Man likes Girl -> Like Girl to become Perfect Man.

(I do think Jack truly falls in love with Lucy as a person separate from Arthur over the course of the story, but not romantically. He just can't perceive it as anything other than romantic because of heteronormativity.)

Arthur loves and trusts Jack so much that, even knowing Jack proposed to her the same day he did, he goes to him and asks for help when Lucy is sick. This love and trust means he doesn't think to ask questions, though. I talked about that before.

When Arthur loses his father, his existing family, and Lucy, the woman he was going to build a new family with, he falls apart in Jack's arms. He trusted Jack with Lucy's health, and she died without Arthur ever being informed how dire of a condition she was in, and he still trusts Jack with his emotions. Jack isn't fully equipped to comfort Arthur, but his attempt is genuine and deeply appreciated by Arthur.

And then Bram wrote Arthur being comforted by the only other recurring female protagonist and decided that that marked the end of Arthur existing meaningfully in the story because Bram is a coward.

I've already written a post about Jack's feelings of entitlement regarding women and why it's more than just shipping that makes me resist the idea that Arthur and Jack married anyone other than each other. Their relationship is based on mutual respect and a willingness to be vulnerable with each other. The key to getting these two hitched is getting Jack more open to vulnerability, and then we are set.

Following the events of Dracula, Jack is anxious about embodying perfect masculinity, getting a wife, having a million kids... but this anxiety manifests with him bothering Arthur to do it. Arthur is in no rush to do any of these things. The woman he was preparing to build a family with is gone. Jack, who sees every single woman as a potential wife because of misogyny, is flabbergasted. Perhaps they have a falling out (just cut out my write-up of the falling out bc I'm like "that's a good idea!" even though I know I'll never write it). Jack has been pressing Arthur to move on because Arthur embodies the masculinity that Jack strives for, and if Arthur doesn't want a wife, what if Jack doesn't want a wife either?? What if they're both gay??? Arthur asks "...well, what if?"

Then they have a Vegas wedding.

[thepurplewombat]

I want to hear your Jiang Cheng thoughts!

YASSSS my beautiful purple boy, I love him so much.

Sexuality Headcanon:

Idk I think he has like, a complicated relationship with sex and the concept of desire? Like, he's not opposed to the idea of sex, if it happens to come up (heh), but it's not something that he feels driven to seek out on his own. His relationship with sex is kind of like my relationship with chutney, I think? Like, if there's no chutney, that's fine. I won't go buy chutney, or go looking for chutney, and I don't feel like my food is incomplete without the chutney, but if the chutney is there? If it's readily available right at the table? I'm not saying I've accidentally put so much chutney on a burger that the patty fell out and I didn't notice, but I'm not not saying that either, you know?

Honestly, I think his sexuality can be best described as 'lazy'.

Gender Headcanon:

I think he has a complicated relationship with his own gender, in that he probably thinks his father would have preferred Jiang Yanli to be the sect heir, but Jiang Cheng was The Son, and therefore he, who was much too much like Madam Yu to please his father, was the heir. So it's not that he's genderspicy or whatever, it's just that he doesn't particularly like being a man and feels that his life might have been simpler if he'd been a girl and JYL had been a boy. Madam Yu would have enjoyed having an extremely cunty daughter, I think, and not being The Heir would have meant there would be less pressure on him to be So Grownup All The Time.

A ship I have with said character:

So like, I think he loved Wei Wuxian a lot, but I don't necessarily think it was romantic? But I can be convinced because honestly, Jiang Cheng is not well about Wei Wuxian and that can manifest in many ways. One ship that I do love for him, however, is Jin Guangyao. I just think...look, these boys are both fucking feral for family. The depths of their loyalty...it's insane. Like, do you know how much abuse it took for Jin Guangyao to turn on NMJ? three murder attempts, it's insane. And I think that him and Jiang 'casually carrying around my brother's flute thirteen years later incase he needs it' would actually be very good for each other. Of course you would either have to go poly or somehow short-circuit JGY meeting Lan Xichen, but it can work, and it can work really well!

A BROTP I have with said character:

Okay, hear me out on this one: Lan Xichen. I just...I don't see them romantically at all, but I think that they could be extremely good friends, if the stars align properly. Because I think Lan Xichen would enjoy having someone around who hasn't fallen on his mouth, and his gremlin side would appreciate Jiang Cheng's cunty side, while I think Jiang Cheng would appreciate having a friend like LXC.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Look, it's a free Internet and everyone can do what they want, but pairing him with Lan Xichen just confuses me. Like, why? Jin Guangyao is right there and him and LXC are obviously in love, and they've had 20 years in canon to be more than Some Dude to each other, and there's no evidence they ever did. But like, if it makes people happy, that's cool!

A random headcanon:

There are still no dogs at Lotus Pier.

General Opinion over said character:

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. He's such an amazing character and I want to both stufy him like a bug and wrap him in six blankets.

[sunny12th]

What are your favorite Dany ships?

I dont really ship Dany with anyone. She's a romantic character and she longs for a partner that will love her regardless of her past but I've always interpreted this as her wishing for a family as well. She equates marriage and romantic love with family bc she doesn't believe she can have children and all of her family has died. Her last chance at family is through marriage but "who could ever love a dragon." I think it'd be pretty beautiful for her to find a family (like her literal nephews) and have that found family love. She's never experienced pure familial love and, imo, Dany finding that would be much more poignant then finding romantic love. I'm always gonna choose a found family trope over anything else lol.

I like Dany and Daario, I think it's massively overhated and Daario is villainized by the fandom even though he's no more violent than any other male character. Of course I'd like Dany/Daario is they were closer in age but I like that Daario is clearly her mistress and is just a fun time. It's a very lust-fueled and youthful romance. It's not great but it's overhated and I like the version of it that exists in my head a lot. There's also some potential exploration of Dany's trauma here with how she compared Daario to Drogo in one of their first encounters. It's like she's trying to recreat her first traumatic sexual experiences except this time she is in control, she initiates the sex, she is the one with power. Can't ignore that all of this was started when Jorah molested her and she suddenly began to have sexual urges, like the molestation triggered her into seeking out what she experienced with Drogo again. I feel like grrm could've done more with their relationship in that regard but Dany actively avoids looking too closely at her wounds. At some point though, she's gonna have to get over that. If grrm had my vision then Dany would have pegged Daario the first time they fucked.

Dany/Tyrion is also a good ship imo but, again, I wish they were closer in age lol. That's just my personal preference but it is what it is. I'm happy with them being platonic as well esp considering they can be the loving siblings they never had. I love found family dynamics, I love healing from generational pain, I love the heartache and relief of realizing 'this is how family is supposed to love.'

I'm not into Jonerys or Dany/FAegon. I dont, like, hate those ships but I'm pretty ambivalent about them. *Could* be interesting but we'll see. grrm is a very good writer (when he wants to be) and all that so whatever he decides, it'll probable be good. For me, personally, Dany and Jon being a family and accepting each other as their family is way more interesting than some soulmate driven romance. Dany and Young Griff have so much potential as a platonic pairing to me too.

I dont really think about any other Dany ships that much honestly. Dany/[insert any woman character here] is obviously perfect. Seriously wish grrm would explore Dany's sexuality more but I doubt he will at this point.

Dany/Jhogo is the superior ship but there's very little to go on bc grrm refuses to give any of the bloodriders interiority or personality. It is the ship that had the most potential tho, if only grrm could try to care about the nonwhite characters that have been by Dany's side since day 1.

edit: wrote some more thoughts about different Dany ships here if you're interested

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Pride Month Character Sexuality Headcanon Moodboards 1. Yasmine - Lesbian 2. Demetri Alexopoulos - Gay 3. Moon - Bisexual 4. Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz - Bisexual

Next up is my favorite little gayboy in the whole world!!! Why am I so dead convinced he's a little gayboy and not a little biboy??? I'm so glad you asked!!!

Yes obviously he's in love with Eli, a boy, but I firmly believe Demetri has never once genuinely yearned for the touch of a woman akidjsilufhk

MF literally spends his first scene of the show limp-wristing. I am not kidding in the least.

Like even Eli is sus in the first pic akajsldibhodfku

"But that's circumstantial evidence, tumblr user demetriandelibinaryboyfriends!!!" you say. "He starts simping for Yasmine immediately after, so doesn't that cancel it out?"

Well, see, that's exactly what he wants you to think.

The reason he does this imo is actually kind of sad. Miguel comes to the table (Demetri's first potential new friend in like 10 years!!!) and immediately shows an interest in girls, establishing that he's probably a Regular Straight Guy. Miguel has seen Demetri talk in a slight gay lisp (he does!!! Don't @ me!!! Like maybe they were going for "nasally nerd voice" but it just sounds like the stereotypical gay guy voice???), have Some Kinda Fruity Vibe going with Eli, and limp-wrist all over the place, and Demetri knows this. He's also just met Miguel, and has every reason to believe this straight dude will ditch him immediately if he suspects Demetri's gay (high school kids really ARE that cruel sometimes), so...he tries to cover his ass and pretend to be straight so Miguel will stay :(

Speaking of Yasmine, though!!! Basically every time throughout the series that he shows an interest in her, it feels extremely performative. Like he's just saying what Miguel (or whoever else) would expect him to. And it's only ever about looks and social status in a way that suggests he sees Yasmine as a kind of placeholder/cover-up--"the conventionally attractive girl I act obsessed with so no one suspects I'm gay."

On that topic, the irt S1 Demetri, the fact that he picks a very unattainable girl to show blatant interest in is huge. Like what better cover than "pining" for a girl who you believe there is 0% chance you could ever actually date??? Indefinitely permanent beard without once having to fake a straight relationship!

I also think this is why Demetri is so gloriously unbothered when he botches hitting on Yasmine in 1x09. Like sure, he's socially inept, but he's not unintelligent; anyone with two brain cells could tell Yasmine wasn't interested (and he doesn't have the Eli-esque ego-driven delusion to think he's doing better with girls than he actually is). So why does he happily say "I think that went well!" when Yasmine walks away??? Because he's filled the Expected Straight Guy Quota beautifully by shooting his shot with a hot girl, and now that that failed he's off the hook!

Another funny thing is that he ONLY goes and hits on Yasmine after he's seen Eli making out with a random girl. I think it's both a mimicking kind of thing ("well, shit, if this is what Eli's doing I'd better do it too!" they're like cats I love them) and an "I guess if Eli's gonna start kissing girls and be unavailable now, I have nothing to lose so I might as well" kinda thing.

Generally speaking, S1 Demetri, um...sure does procrastinate getting romantically involved with girls. We're meant to believe it's solely a lack of confidence and his general defeatist nature, but like. Every chance he gets, he puts off making a move on girls. He straight up tells Miguel he's going to wait until he gets a well-paying, respectable job before asking any hot girls out. Homeboy literally putting off dating girls for like 5 decades. Not to mention the Halloween dance, where he tells Miguel to "slow his roll" asking girls to dance and says it "could've been worse" when they in fact don't end up dancing with any girls. Both rather flippantly and cheerfully, too! Like Demetri only ever seems to care about girls when Miguel is around, which goes back to my theory that he's worried Miguel would abandon him and Eli if he figured out Demetri was gay.

Tbh I don't think Demetri's lack of initiative with girls is because he's a defeatist because...he seems indifferent (sometimes even chipper) about his lack of luck with women. But when it comes to Eli being bullied??? He is ACTIVELY bothered. Like he's clutching the back of a chair in a silent rage during the library scene. He looks heartbroken when the cafeteria kids start snickering about Eli's mom calling the school. He goes off at Johnny when he makes fun of Eli's lip! Clearly Demetri doesn't like being at the bottom of the school food chain, even though he's also a defeatist about getting bullied. But when it comes to girls??? Every time the loser trio fails with women, Miguel tends to take it 5000% harder than Demetri, who legit barely bats an eye!

I feel like I don't need to convince you of the Demetri-Eli subtext, because otherwise you wouldn't be on my page, but...it's worth mentioning that Demetri spends all of S2 being a sad little simp for Newly Evil Eli and completely forgetting Yasmine's existence while she's in France. Moon is the only one who acknowledges Yasmine's existence all season, but that gay subtext is a conversation for another day XD In any case, Demetri quickly 100% forgets the girl he was supposedly "so into" during S1. Wack! Speaking as an ex-high schooler, btw, you don't just forget your crush over the summer if you really liked them that much. You yearn and talk wistfully to your friends about what they might be up to XD

Also worth noting that as soon as Demetri does drop the Aggressively Straight facade and forms genuine relationships with women, platonic bonds with girls seem to come second-nature to him! He very easily befriends Moon and Sam, despite being scared to so much as interact with girls for years. But as soon as he does, connecting and being amicable with girls seems effortless as long as it isn't romantic. It brings to mind how gay men often have a lot of close female friends and tend to be more at ease around them because there's no concern of underlying sexual/romantic tension.

Tbh you could argue the only time Demetri's relationships with women suffer is when he Tries Too Hard To Be Straight. He has healthy and solid friendships with Sam and Moon, and he has never once tried to flirt with either. Among all the girls in the cast Demetri regularly interacts with, Yasmine is actually the one he has the most contentious relationship with. And why's that? I would argue it's because he feels obligated to hit on her whenever they're together, lest his hard-earned new friends suspect something is abnormal about him. Not Moon as much, but Sam and Miguel for sure--as far as he can tell, they are both 100% straight and it's very possible he's worried about them abandoning him for being a "weird freak" the same way Eli did. In any case, him hitting on Yas makes the atmosphere between them tense and uncomfortable, making his relationship with her feel more stilted than his more organic-feeling interactions with Moon and Sam.

Worth noting that he only really brings up Yasmine/waxes poetic about how "into Yasmine" he is around the people he MOST wants to think he's straight--Sam, Miguel, and Eli. Sam and Miguel are his best friends sans Eli, and Eli, well...of course he would constantly bring up his Girlfriend He Totally Likes So Much around the dude he absolutely does not want to suspect he's into!!! In S4 especially he just got Eli back, and shies away from anything that might open a rift between them again, especially a big fat gay crush he's been harboring since the jump!

The whole Demetri-Yasmine relationship is super shallow and performative--in my opinion, from both sides, but Demetri's side especially. He seems to see Yasmine as more of a concept than a person, calling her the "girl of his dreams" and saying he's "101% in love" while...not appearing to know anything of substance about her. He literally never alludes to knowing anything about her personality except that she's hot and mean. And sure, you could chock this up to him being a shallow, horny teenage boy, but...we know he's anything but shallow, given how he loves his childhood best friend so much and so deeply that he forgives him for all number of horrible things in 3 seconds flat because he is that certain that Eli means his apology and is a good person deep down. Given that he has absolutely undying loyalty to his other best friend Miguel Diaz, despite Miguel being (indirectly) part of the reason that he and Eli got estranged in the first place. Given that he also has so much undying loyalty to Sam LaRusso that he backed her up in a dangerous gang fight and got his arm broken for it. Demetri clearly sees and understands the nuance and complexity in people. So why does he talk about his own girlfriend as if she has none???

Something else to note is how in S5, Demetri reveals that he and Yasmine fight so frequently that her arm is literally weighed down with all the make-up bracelets he buys her. This is just supposed to be a Funny Bit, but...I can't help but notice that this is a stark contrast to S4, where they seemed to be all over each other every time we saw them together. Maybe because when they're alone together, the facade falls away and their "relationship" doesn't really have any leg to stand on? Also one has to wonder why anyone would stay in a relationship that dysfunctional. Makes a lot more sense looking at it from the perspective that Demetri feels like he needs a beard, and isn't sure he'd be able to find another girl willing to date him. Besides, as far as fake-girlfriends-to-make-people-think-you're-straight go...well, you're really not going to do much better than Yasmine.

Mentioned in many other posts, but I firmly believe that Yasmine is a closet lesbian and she and Demetri are a case of "gay and lesbian date in high school because they subconsciously detect the gayness in each other and mistake that sense of kinship for romantic attraction."

I also think it's very possible that a little ways into dating, one or both of them realized they were gay, and they made a mutual agreement to "stay together for appearances." Yasmine's social status plummeted after the end of S1, and it's possible she had homophobic family in the picture who would make publicly coming out impractical. And Demetri, while definitely more popular than he used to be, likely thought he could stand to lose all that if it got out he was gay.

Tbh maybe it was a mutual fake dating situation from the jump!!! Point is that this relationship is WAY too stilted and awkward for me to believe one or both of them ISN'T hamming it up a little. It just does not feel genuine or natural at all :/ Although they DO actually have a lot of platonic potential (especially taking the mlm/wlw solidarity aspect into account, or even just the trope of a popular alpha bitch having a sassy gay best friend aidpsiufhodly), which leads me to believe there's more going on than just Demetri using Yasmine as a beard. I do think he likes her and admires her a lot, just not romantically or sexually!

I've actually heard from my mlm friends that it's relatively common for gay guys to be drawn to powerful and outspoken women, and mistake that admiration for a romantic crush! This is probably what happened with Yasmine, if Demetri did believe he had genuine feelings for her and wasn't faking a crush to actively hide his sexuality. I'd also imagine this is where the "bitchy queen bee girly-girl with a gay best friend" stereotype comes from!

A big part of my gay Demetri/bi Eli belief comes from how different their relationships with women are. Demetri is more comfortable with women from the jump, befriending Aisha, Moon, and Sam fairly easily in a way that could indicate a lack of attraction (so, once again, less pressure and more freedom to be his authentic self). Eli, on the other hand, seems to have more trouble with girls in a way that leads me to believe he IS attracted to (and intimidated by) them to some extent. Although he does form a close friendship with Aisha, his other relationships with girls seem to consist of him awkwardly flirting with/trying to impress them, antagonizing them (e.g. Sam in S3), or not really interacting with them at all. In S2, Eli doesn't even seem at ease around his own girlfriend! He's quick to jump to snapping the MOMENT Demetri says something that might make him look bad, like he doesn't trust Moon to like anything other than his "coolness" (which, to be fair, she...doesn't really lmao). He does befriend Tory, but it's more of a casual "work friendship" and it's nowhere near the kind of easy, close-knit friendship Sam and Demetri have. Even Dem's relationship with Yasmine is amicable enough when he's not trying too hard to hit on her. Point being that Eli struggling with girls more than Demetri kinda gives me the impression Demetri doesn't get (romantically) nervous around girls much at all. Not to say someone like Tory wouldn't make him nervous about getting punched in the face or knifed in the gut XD But nervous about dating girls??? Nah. He's only nervous about keeping up the appearance of wanting to date girls!

Just LOOK at what this mf wears!!! Like he LITERALLY has the mlm flag on a hoodie!!! With fucken purple-ass skinny jeans, the fucken bottom stripe of the mlm flag and also the gayest color alive!!! Like all throughout the show this mf's color motifs are CONSISTENTLY blue and green. The blue we could say comes with the Miyagi Do color motifs, but what of the green??? Why he wearing so much green, though??? To match Eli??? His BOYFRIEND???

Yes, it COULD be a reach, but like. It's SO CONSISTENT throughout the show!!! So much blue!!! So much green!!! And when he's NOT wearing those colors, whatever colors he's wearing usually match with Eli's outfit!

Sorry but color-coordinating your outfit with your bestie shows the fashion sense and awareness of a gay man. Demetri Alexopoulos...

As always, pic credits available upon request!

[flecks-of-stardust]

your five pebbles takes. hand them over /lh

[ask game referenced] [link to ask box]

Sexuality Headcanon: to be honest i feel like the majority of iterators would not... really invest time into these things?? like, i'm sure some wound up forming romantic relationships, but i really doubt the bulk have even considered it, given the nature of the task they were all made to solve. or maybe after the ancients are gone, i dunno. i really don't think about this very much gkjhkgjh for pebbles? i don't think he cares. he's some flavor of queer, but i doubt he gives enough of a damn to specifically label what flavor.

Gender Headcanon: see above. though he definitely feels like the type to just roll with whatever other people are calling him. like, oh, my ancients are calling me he/him? sure, whatever, don't care. he's too obsessive on what he's interested in to really think about these things i would say, and his own gender and sexuality are not things that fall under that domain.

A ship I have with said character: see above lmao

A BROTP I have with said character: not really a 'bro'tp in a sense, but the obvious answer is suns and pebbles. also moon and pebbles. both were mentor relationships, though i'm certain they were friends too. he looked up to both of them a lot, both because they had seniority over him and because he genuinely valued their opinions and advice.

A NOTP I have with said character: i honestly cannot see pebbles in any sort of romantic relationship ever, but anyone from his own local group is an extra distasteful thought. even besides the fact that i view each local group as a little sibling unit, he just... would not do that lmao. he does not care.

A random headcanon: pebbles deserves to be a little shit. as a treat. i think he teamed up with innocence kind of a lot to bully sig, in the way of like. helping innocence set up a 'deez nuts' joke with them or something of the sort. he'd deny helping, obviously, but hell if he doesn't help. it's one of the rare few moments he and innocence really got along.

General Opinion over said character: he's complicated and so are his feelings. his whole existence is built on contradictions and the expectations of other people, so i think it's pretty natural for him to have such a strong drive for independence that he destroys everything important to him in the process. like yes he's arrogant and irritable and often an asshole, but given his circumstances he's frankly pretty damn kind. i truly doubt he was built to be cruel, and any semblance of that is derived from him feeling further driven into the hole he dug himself into, while still fighting to clamber out of it.

in short: why bastard man have so much sad in him :(

[floaroma-sanctuary]

♥ = Character’s preference for relationships (sexuality, type of person, etc.)

Hello, hello! Well, I'm pansexual and polyamorous. Honestly, I have a preference for masc-presenting individuals. I do love a good femme and androgyny though!

For what I look for in a partner, I often am looking for kindness, compassion, confidence, honesty, passion, a sense of humor, and a strong work ethic.

I am a very busy man, and I want my partner(s) to also be driven, no matter what they do. Obviously, I want someone kind and compassionate. I don't work the job I do to be with someone mean and selfish, I see enough of that on the daily. I'm such a sucker for someone that can make me laugh! If you can be silly around me, I will probably fall for you very quickly!

I am a hopeless romantic, so I fall very easily in general. It's extra bad I think right now because I'm completely single and have been for quite a few years, no partners at all. I dated a couple of people right after moving to Sinnoh, but they didn't like how much of myself I put into getting my Sanctuary up and running as well as the day to day.

[faithandfairies]

Supernatural Musings; The Human Condition 2

I came across an interview question and answer from the Supernatural cast regarding Destiel that kind of made me want to clarify my own views on Destiel.

I don’t usually watch interviews/content of real people anymore just because they are real people and I prefer to deal with characters and their actions that I can interpret myself. I don’t really need actors and whatnot telling me how to feel about the things I like.

But I ended up coming across this and I think that this is important to address. 

People are...uncomfortable with the idea of Dean and Cas having sex. That is what it comes down to.

And I am not surprised. 

This show started out as every dudebro’s wet dream. I mean, fighting monsters (like in a video game) and being rewarded for saving the female damsel in distress by said ‘hot’ female damsel having sex with you. I mean, come on.

What turned that entire concept on its head was the introduction of Castiel. Because for a change when one of the brothers needed saving, it wasn’t the other brother who came to his rescue as had been the case up to that point. Turning the damsel in distress trope on its head.

And what’s more, Dean had never really had anyone looking out for him that wasn’t his brother who in his mind probably had to. Hell, he’d rarely had anyone looking out for him at all. He was the caregiver. That was his role.

Then, in traipses this angel who initially saves him because he has his own father giving him orders to do so, inadvertently pushing Dean into the role of Sam. And then this angel just continues to save him and show up for him and stay by his side even without orders from up high to do so as time passes. And as time passes it becomes increasingly obvious that this angel’s actions are very obviously driven by his love for Dean. And Dean reciprocates the love and trust and bestows his highest honor on Cas by season 6. That of family. And there’s sexual tension whether people want to see it or not. 

Fun fact, people who know they have found the person they want to marry/spend their life with often call that person family. In Castle for instance, in a romantic relationship between a man and a woman, that’s how you know that those two are it for each other. And if Dean and Cas had been a relationship between a man and a woman, it would have been confirmed romantic by the end of season 5, if not earlier. That’s the truth of the matter. 

[Technically it was confirmed romantic by the end of season 6 but it was always done in a joking manner that could easily slip through the cracks for someone who couldn’t/didn’t want to see it.]

The thing is that people cheapen Castiel’s love for Dean by only equating it to him wanting to have sex with Dean. And then immediately following it up with disgust related to sex between two men and with it these two men. Which saddens me.  Because it’s not just about sex. It’s about all the little ‘tropes’ that constitute a romantic relationship on-screen whether they ever even lock lips or not.

And I know I have talked about Dean and Cas possibly having sex. And me assuming they might have already. Even if it’s more likely that they haven’t. But I’ve talked about it because it’s something I wouldn’t mind. Sex is meant to be a celebration of love and it’s not the way all two non-related people who love each other would want to celebrate loving each other. Of course. But it is a valid way.

And Cas might want to sleep with Dean, he certainly seemed curious enough about sex, but the truth is we don’t know. And even if they did, with how reserved both Cas and Dean are, given Cas is an angel and all the personality traits that entails and the way Dean was raised, I would expect Cas and Dean’s romantic relationship to be quite reserved. At least in public. Who they are is why I’ve said before that I wouldn’t expect the romantics to take place completely openly in the forefront.

Of course, the show never confirmed Dean’s romantic feelings for Cas. We know that Dean loves Cas, but it was never confirmed that those feelings were romantic as well the way Cas’ were. And I think Dean spent those last episodes processing. That Cas loved him. The way that Cas saw him that was so different from how he saw himself. That Cas wanted him as a romantic partner. That he could have had a romantic happy ending with Cas. That he lost not just Cas but that shot at more if that’s what he wanted. And then he probably had to work through whether that was what he wanted. Because it’s entirely possible that he had feelings for Cas but never looked at them too closely. Or that he never thought about it because it never occurred to him that it was a possibility until Cas made him realize that it was. I assumed Dean returned those romantic feelings even if he was still processing that entire confession and where he stood in relation to it.

I think that Dean might want to sleep with Cas simply because Dean’s sexuality was such a big part of his personality from the start of the show. When everyone assumed he was straight it was established that Dean loves and enjoys sex and pretty much sees it as a celebration of life. Of course, we only ever saw him go for casual sex with women. But when it became apparent that Dean and Cas loved each other and it was suspected to be romantic, it meant that they were never going to be able to avoid the topic of sex in relation to Destiel. 

And also, when people ‘ship’ characters, sex and fanfiction are just a part of that. Fanfiction shouldn’t be read by those people who don’t want that relationship to happen. Because it isn’t for them. Of course, actually good fanfiction really only became a thing right around the time that Supernatural was airing and Destiel became a thing. So people already thought it was new and weird and then it also happened to center around queer pairings that didn’t or hadn’t happen(ed).

But the way that the possibility of sex between Dean and Cas is talked about by people who really don’t want them to have it, is...so very creepy. And makes me want to take several showers.

And it brings me back to GAP: The Series. Because people who make queer content have historically made queer sex all kinds of creepy, when it really isn’t and shouldn’t be. GAP is one of the first shows I’ve seen where two people of the same sex are just allowed to like each other and feel good about liking each other. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and you really get to see those two characters feel their attraction to each other and kind of pause and go “Huh, that’s...unexpected” without it being creepy. 

But it’s always those people who don’t understand something who end up making it weird in their effort to make it fit inside of what they do understand or in order to give themselves permission to condemn it.

What it comes down to for me is “Think romantic Destiel exists. Or don’t. There’s nothing wrong with either point of view. We’re all out here interpreting shit however it makes sense to us. Just don’t make people feel bad about how they see things if the way they see things doesn’t hurt anyone. And may actually help some.”

[dontfuckingbite]

Yuletide Letter

Dear Writer,

Thank you for taking the time to write for me, I'm excited to see what you come up with! If it'd be helpful for you, I've listed some likes and interpretations below along with my Do Not Wants. For any potential treaters, I have allowed automatic gifting.

LIKES: messy relationships - morally grey characters, doing the right thing for the wrong reason, doing the wrong thing for the right reason - character study and character-driven plot - competency and loyalty - being immersed into a culture, place, or time - soulbonds, a/b/o, and other supernatural tropes that draw from destined for each other, whether they like it or not - smut (some particular likes: D/s and power imbalance, rough sex, mouth kink, exploring erogenous zones, dubcon -- especially with these requests, I'm really into exploring sexuality outside of its most traditionally romantic and tender expression.)

DO NOT WANT (unless specifically requested): serious, graphic injury on screen - body fluids other than come, spit, and sweat, and preferably not an overwhelming amount of those, either - genderswap, focus on genderplay - natural disasters or apocalypse scenarios - requested characters in happy, endgame relationships with non-requested characters

My definition of "graphic injury" is basically going past canon typical depictions. Video game logic that says getting shot isn't that big of a deal, "Johnny felt his knee seize up," William has done very bad things are all fine. But I don't want to read about the specifics.

The unrequested endgame DNW also has some holes in it. I'm very down to my requested characters just going after each other, but I don't mind and can really enjoy flirting, flings, relationships that aren't meant to last, trying to move on and failing, or unresolved/unaddressed sexual tension. The only route I absolutely don't want is anyone I've requested happily ending up in a romantic relationship with another character.

I also realized as I was writing this that for each of my requests, someone ends up (presumably) dead. This is more of a preference than a DNW, but I'd prefer if the story kept away from "cold" grief, for lack of a better word. In Far Cry, for instance, grief is obviously, canonically a massive motivating force for Dani, and I don't at all mind a fic exploring that. This is opposed to, say, the nothingness in The Month Pages of New Moon. There's no right way, but within a story, the former is more engaging to me in this moment in time. I'm also, of course, not at all opposed to presumed dead fix-its, canon divergence, or just placing the story before the canonical death.

FANDOMS

Bullet Train (2022) - Lemon, Tangerine

Admittedly, I did fall into the trap of considering whether the twins were twins the same way gay couples used adoption as a familial loophole -- they just had so much chemistry! The bickering! The familiarity! ... Finding out they really are brothers did not make me ship it less. For the purpose of this request, I'm cool with reading a platonic brother relationship, they actually are husbands AU, outright incest, They Grew Up Together In Such A Way That "Brother" Is The Best/Easiest Way To Describe Their Relationship But It's Still Not Really Really Incest; whatever floats your boat.

Whatever your preferred answer is, I really do love their relationship, and I'd love to read more about their history, how they got into the business, developing their (very, very messy) style...

The Card Counter (2021) - Cirk Baufort, William Tell

I must have entered the theater with my twisted homosexual hat on very tight when I saw this, because I genuinely thought there was a chance that they might go there with Cirk/William, with William/La Linda purposefully being a stiff, unbelievable testament to how Tell will never be able to adjust to a more normal, moral life. C'est la vie.

But, as is the magic of fic, I'd move to read about Tell's attempt at pseudo paternal guidance falling off the rails; Cirk being very very very stubborn about the things he wants; Tell's variable ability to get what he wants and maintain control and how far he really wants to push it (preferably, for me, not that far, at least not with Cirk, but still with a healthy scoop of fucked up).

Far Cry 6 - Male Dani Rojas, Alejo Ruiz

Again, I was shipping it immediately, only for it to be taken from me only slightly less immediately. But Alejo still stuck with me -- maybe in part because this is the first time I was really motivated to go for the "secret" ending immediately -- and I felt very vindicated while tripping balls on the mad dash to Matías.

There are a couple layers I found really interesting and gut-punch about that scene: that Dani and Alejo weren't just like "lmao fuck outta here!" but had actual plans and dreams for once they left; the guilt and insecurity that Dani carried throughout the game; that "Lita" wasn't exactly fully wrong that Dani moral motivation wasn't exactly iron clad at all times; and that Cortez was definitely a negative influence on Dani's self conceptualization.

So, basically I'm really interested in The Orphans' lives leading up to the revolution, the messes Dani got himself into and out of, the decision to leave, the inability to go to. Has Dani always attracted older male figures that want to sculpt him in their image? Did Alejo have a Feeling that an active civil war might not be the best space for Dani to be in, even as a survivor? If Dani and Alejo were fucking, as I like to assume, what was going on that made him think "Yeah, we're all in together but also he's still in it for the girls on the other side"?

Point Break - Bodhi, Johnny Utah

I mean. It's Point Break. It's hard to even express how gay it is and how much doomed chemistry Bodhi and Johnny have better than the movie does itself. Let them fuck! Let Johnny go bad! Let Bodhi live and have them figure how to live on the edge without, you know, killing and robbing!

One angle that I do find interesting and that didn't get unpacked enough, unsurprisingly given the genre, was Johnny's dissatisfaction within being The Good Ohio Boy Who Does The Good Things With The Good Guys, and how flawed that whole structure is to begin with. He's obviously disillusioned with it all by the end, but I'd love to spend more time with Johnny as he discovers himself and his likes and goals after losing so much of what he'd been grounding himself in.

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

[louisironson]

more thoughts on greg that i’m only putting in tags bc it feels wrong to just make a post

[tizzyizzy]

What’s the Appeal of Izzy Hands? Part III: Depth

I’ve occasionally seen comments that Izzy Hands isn’t a deep character, and that most of the perceived depths is from Izzy fan projecting onto him. While we all enjoy projecting our myriad issues onto our meow meow, Izzy is absolutely a character with depth as portrayed in the show.

What is a shallow character, however, compared to one with depths? There’s a lot of potential ways to define it, but most would say, with a flat character, “what you see is what you get”. Their motives are on the surface, they have a few straightforward traits, and they neatly fit into well-known tropes.

As a flat character, Izzy is something like, “The obnoxious asshole who gets in the way of the romance because he hates Stede”.

While none of that is technically incorrect, it isn’t the whole story. Izzy also has one of the hallmarks of a deep character: internal conflict.

Reason the Third: The Many Facets of Izzy Hands

Practical vs Romantic:

Izzy, in the pseudo-love triangle that is Iz/Ed/Stede/, is obviously on the side of practicality compared to Stede’s romance. Stede wants adventure and freedom; he prioritizes aristocratic frivolities over necessities. Also, he is making Ed fall in Love, and Love is weakness. Izzy advocates for purging such weakness. He doesn’t understand Ed’s depression and desire for something more; Izzy is content to just survive successfully as a pirate. But...

Izzy is, arguably, one of the most romantically driven characters in the show. His love for Ed and devotion toward him are as impractical as you can get. Sure, it might not have mattered much when Ed was at his prime, but Ed has obviously reached a point where sailing with him might not be worth it if one wants to be a successful pirate. When Izzy is ready to bail, an “I need you here” is enough to keep him there. He responds to his banishment from the ship with an attempt to lure Ed away and kill Stede in an utterly misguided attempt to be ‘loyal’ to Ed. He tolerates being punched, choked, and permanently maimed by Ed without resistance.

Izzy has two moments where he is about to leave Ed, and he is conflicted during both, showing regret and grief. And interestingly enough, both times the romantic side eventually wins out. 

Toughness vs Vulnerability

This applies to all the tough pirates in the show to an extent. According to their culture, displays of emotional weakness aren’t acceptable. Anger and aggression are the only acceptable outlet.

While Izzy expresses plenty of anger, it’s clear he’s hiding other emotions. Con O’Neill is great with those subtle expressions. The poor meow meow is near tears on multiple occasions. His jealous horror at Stede and Ed’s sword sex. The desperation in his voice as he tries to convince Ed that letting Stede die is the right thing. His delight when Ed chokes him, followed by despair when he’s pushed away, then his lashing out with anger and a threat.

And when Izzy does lash out, he very often doesn’t mean what he says. Sure, he threatened Ed when he was kicked off the ship, but by the end of his failed plan to kill Stede he was pontificating about his loyalty to Ed and begging Ed to let Stede go.

Sexual Expression vs Repression

The conflict between Lucius and Izzy is particularly interesting. It’s not just bitching over chores and blackmailing over rumors. While I’d argue Izzy isn’t properly homophobic, he does seem to not be entirely comfortable with it, especially Lucius ‘flaunting’ it. He tries (and fails spectacularly) to mock Lucius’s sexuality, then to use his sketching Fang as blackmail material.

But it turns out Lucius is comfortable with him self and his relationship. Izzy can’t shame him over them. And through those interactions, it becomes very clear that Izzy has sexual feelings that he is not altogether comfortable expressing. He says ‘daddy’ with enough passion that we all pretty much decided immediately he was Into That Kind of Thing the moment the terrible words left his mouth. Speaking of mouths, he stares at Lucius’s and flees with his tail between his legs at an offer to be sketched, as flustered as he is humiliated. 

Dickishness vs Nondickishness

While Izzy is mostly a dick he, interestingly enough, has the capacity to not be one. He tries (and fails, eventually) to be patient about Ed’s refusal to talk about a plan in episode 4. He offers to kill Stede for Ed. He apologizes, even though his bitchiness was pretty justified imho, in episode 4. Sure, he disobeys Ed and tries to duel Stede, but his initial instincts are clearly to intimidate Stede into yielding, and he doesn’t resort to full stabbing until the end of their duel.

Competent vs Incompetent

Izzy, at first glance, seems like a pretty skilled pirate. He can do sexy Zorro sword stuff. He was able to negotiate with the potentially hostile islanders to buy two hostages. He’s literally the legendary Blackbeard’s first mate. His plan to pry Ed free from the seductive while of Stede Bonnet was almost a success.

But lord, that poor man can be stupid. The guy clearly doesn’t have leadership skills. He isn’t a quick thinker. He doesn’t seem to understand his own emotions or Ed’s, or anyone else’s really. 

In conclusion...

Izzy Hands is a veteran pirate who has learned to discard softer emotions to protect himself and the rest of the crew. He’s also tragically in love with his longtime captain and views serving him as one of his major goals in life. At first glance he seems like a typical tough, angry pirate type, but he’s got soft spots that peak out beneath the armor sometimes He’s uncomfortable to a certain extent with blatant displays of homosexuality, but secret holds interest in what he pretends to find distasteful. Izzy generally comes off as a dick, especially to the crew he orders around, but can be civil, openly apologetic, complementary, and helpful to Ed. Despite his experience and skill in some areas, like sword fighting, Izzy doesn’t have much imagination or leadership skills, and tends to fall apart when confronted with situations beyond his narrow range of expertise.

Hardly a flat character!

[jennana501]

A Case for Rexsoka

I’ve been around the block when it comes to ships. I’ve seen people obsess over them, and I too have been driven mad by obsession. I was a hardcore original avatar fan and I was OBSESSED with shipping Toph and Sokka together. Any time they so much as made an interaction I over analyzed it and picked it apart looking for clues that somehow would prove that my hunches were correct. It was because I related with both characters, and I loved their chemistry. I wanted them to have a romantic relationship because it would feel like some sort of personal validation.

I’m an adult now and nothing has changed. But it has been a while since I’ve desperately shipped two characters together that are not obviously romantically involved with one another, or who could be romantic behind the scenes or beyond the story shown.

Until Rex and Ahsoka.

And I’ve seen people be adamantly against it. 

“No no no it’s just a brother/sister relationship.” 

“No it’s gross she is a child”.

And of course being disagreed with on the internet can drive a person crazy, and instead of individually arguing with dozens of people online, I’m making this post once and for all to explain why I think Rex and Ahsoka have romantic feelings for each other. Especially Rex.

The argument I’ve seen, that their deep passion, commitment, love, admiration, and respect for one another (which are all so obvious you’d have to be...silly to not see it) are felt in a platonic fashion. Which, for the first 6 seasons and 8 episodes, I would totally agree.

But then Ahsoka comes back. And let’s face it. She is a woman. Age wise, she’s around 17, but everything from the maturity of her Lekku (which weirdly don’t get all that longer, especially compared to other Tagrutan women) to her poise and confidence, to her prowess as a warrior, a user of the force, and her ability to command soldiers as well as control her emotions points to her being an adult woman. She’s no Snips anymore; she’s no child. She’s grown up. And how her peers react to her illustrates how they now view her as an adult.

First there is Obi-wan. Obi-wan has always been a mentor to her, a sort of second Master. Obi-wan never hesitated to guide and Ahsoka or offer his council. He is proud of her when she succeeds, and will admonish her when she makes mistakes. When she returns and he sees her as a woman, he changes the way he treats her. He acknowledges her maturity by addressing her as an equal. He doesn’t admonish her. Instead he discusses with her, challenging her ideas and letting her offer an argument for them instead of putting them down and telling her how she should think or act. He also comes to her in his time of need, trusting her to help him with Anakin.

Then there is Anakin. We all know of Anisoka shippers, and they are perfectly able to ship and enjoy said ship, but we can all acknowledge that it is a crack pairing with no basis in the canon. Anakin portrays the perfect kind of brotherly love. He is excited to see Ahsoka, and is stunned by her unexpected reappearance. Things are harder for Anakin because he is used to their fun banter and sibling-like companionship. He’s constantly shut down with her business like manner and he struggles with coming to terms with the fact that she isn’t a little kid sister anymore. She is an adult with a mission and a plan. When he looks at her, he is endearing. He loves her. Admires her. And he can’t wait to pick up where they left off. There’s joy and adoration in his face. He is proud of her and what she has become, but he also feels alienated and even hurt because of how her adulthood has changed their dynamic.

Then there is Rex. When he first sees her, he wants nothing more than to reassure her that she still belongs. The clones had accepted her into their family. As far as they were concerned, she was one of them. When he looks at her for the first time, he’s beaming with the same adoration as he had had for her before, but also with a solemn awe at what she has become and what she has grown into. He welcomes her back into his life without hesitation.

But then there is a moment things shift so drastically that I paused the show and re-watched it half a dozen times. We all know it and love it. This face he gives Ahsoka. The Look.

What we see here is something we have never, EVER seen in Rex for 7 whole seasons. And it is my opinion that this is the first time Rex has been able to feel and express that he is attracted to Ahsoka. In other words, Rex has a sexual awakening.

Up until this point, Rex has been a sexless character. Nothing he does is flirtatious, sexy, or at all suggestive that he has those feelings inside him at all. Every sexual being has a moment where they are first animalistically drawn to another being. Characters who have already had this moment are easy to pick out. Obi wan. Anakin. Ventress. These characters have already experienced their sexual awakening. Ahsoka has too. Lux was her first object of attraction.

But Rex has never had this moment. Until this reaction.

I know some of you might be thinking “but Ahsoka gives a very similar look to Anakin, does that mean she is sexually attracted to HIM?” It’s a very good point. Ahsoka and Anakin share some cheeky playful looks during “Old Friends Not Forgotten”. We see many characters give similar looks to other characters, but does this mean it means the same thing as when Rex does it? The short answer is no.

When animators design a character, they establish the “range of emotion” for that character. You can easily see this when you look back at how many times you see Rex break from his stoic, captain’s face. He rarely laughs, smiles, or emotes in any way. This is why when we see him emote it is exciting to us as an audience. A character like Ahsoka or Anakin commonly show a wide variety of expressions. Ahsoka is much more likely to give a cheeky look than Rex is. So “the look” for Rex, means a lot more when he is doing than it does when another character does it, say Fives or even Obi-Wan.

Which means the writers are trying to tell us something about this moment. 

This moment has changed Rex’s and Ahsoka’s relationship. 

Now does this mean that they are going to go bang each other immediately? Does this mean the second they are alone after “Victory and Death” they start an intense, sexual relationship? Of course not. That’s not what this ship is about at this time. But the reason many of us ship it is because suddenly they don’t feel like brother and sister anymore. It isn’t entirely platonic. And the show does a good job to further emphasize this as they come closer and closer both emotionally, and physically during the finale.

Blocking is a huge factor in visual storytelling. During the finale, Rex and Ahsoka are blocked in a way that makes them as close as physically possible on the screen. This communicates to the audience that they are closer now than they have ever been. As Jedi and Clone Trooper. As friends, and as companions, their bond forged in the fires of war, struggling to find meaning in life as soldiers.

In contrast, look how Ahsoka and Anakin are blocked in their scenes. There is nearly always a gap between them, illustrating that they are distanced from each other emotionally. Rex is even visually inserted into the gap between them in several instances. Anakin and Ahsoka are growing apart, but she and Rex are growing closer.

We get to experience Rex and Ahsoka engaging in actions and conversations that we had rarely seen before. From casual banter, to moments of intense intimacy, to emotional peaks, Rex and Ahsoka interact more in these four episodes than in the previous six seasons. Part of this is because their maturity gap has closed. Ahsoka is finally Rex’s equal in experience and maturity. It is also in part because it is a unique dynamic. No Obi-wan. No Anakin. Rex and Ahsoka are equal leaders of the 332nd. There’s also the fact that they are put into life threatening situations and have no one else but each other.

But there is that “look” that is given at the beginning of all this that suggests something else, that as their bond undoubtedly becomes strong as beskar, there is an element of it that takes their relationship from the platonic to the romantic.

I feel every detail, moment, and piece of dialogue in the finale tells the story of this bond. 

Many instances of their strong emotional bond have been spread throughout the internet, with most ready to acknowledge that they have a connection unlike any other, one that may even be described as a “force” connection. These last four episodes are so exciting because we see two friends reunited, but then we get to watch as their relationship transforms.

Even disregarding their implied attraction to each other physically, they dive into each other and hold on tight. Ahsoka shares deep personal worries with Rex, and Rex and her are shown opening up to each other in ways they have never opened up before.

We were all floored and dumbfounded at scenes such as these that show these characters at their most vulnerable. But they decide to be vulnerable together. Is it because they are all that is left of their 501st family? It part, this is definitely true. But by being this vulnerable they transform their relationship into something very different from what they had before. It will never be the same again, and it will be near impossible to back out of the emotional intimacy that these two have participated in. Once you have formed that kind of an attachment with someone, there is no going back, and as is seen in rebels, these two maintain that strong connection even after years of being apart.

This goes beyond their sexual desires or needs. They’ve forged a bond that cannot be broken. They have shared minds, shared pain and agony that only the other can understand. They’ve been isolated from the world, and all they have left is each other.

And at the end of the series, when we have Rex and Ahsoka broken, their world flip upside down and everything they ever valued or cared about lies in ruins before them, the idea that they still have each other is that beautiful seed of hope Star Wars is so good at preserving. Those of us who believe that their relationship could be romantic want good things for Rex and Ahsoka. We want them to have that love and share it with each other. Maybe only for a few moments, but having known it would be better than both of them living and dying without having that experience. 

When we see the two in Rebels, for me it confirms that these two love each other deeply. But their lives can never be lived in a normal fashion. They cannot even be together as partners in life. The Empire has stolen this from them. The tragedy of this ship is that it can never be the way we want it to be. Rex will age and die long before Ahsoka is even halfway through her own life. They cannot live with one another. They cannot wake each morning with each other, at least not at the point we see them in rebels. 

But they continue to love each other. Even over distance, even knowing that mortality will claim them with only a fraction of the memories that they deserve with one another. 

So please, the next time you see some art or a fic, or a post like this, think of what I had to say. Rexsoka is about two adults, their lives destroyed at the hands of Sidious, but in defiance they still forge a bond that he could never break or take from them. And that to me is beautiful and something to celebrate.

Side note: I spent a ton of time making gifs but they never would work and so I had to use screenshots instead :(

EDIT: At the request of the OG poster of a few gifs, I have replaced them have also made some grammatical changes. 

[theajaheira]

ok you know what i think it’s actually really vital that i talk a little bit about tea time. buckle up kiddos.

first off, a brief and relatively spoiler-free summary: the premise of the issue is very simple. the kiddos (aged up, if willow’s mention of being engaged is any indication) are hanging out in the library to help giles with research, swapping stories about what it would be like were giles a vampire. each of them, save giles, gets a chance to tell a detailed story -- xander tells two! -- and each story plays out in a way that says a lot about the scooby that’s telling it AND the way they view giles.

obviously this is a VERY character-driven issue, and it’s a really really interesting look at giles and how he is perceived as well! shit like that is my bread and butter, so this has honestly become one of my favorite things that boom has put out -- possibly my ACTUAL top favorite issue if we’re being real here. 

below the cut is a spoilery dissection of every story told -- a literal summary of Every Single Thing that happens in this issue, as well as what it has to say about the scoobies and their perception of giles, so definitely keep that in mind.

as can be seen in the preview, xander’s first story is about giles rising from the grave as an ineffectual british caricature, who is easily defeated by smoldering, sexy xander harris (and xander in turn walks off with buffy and willow draped all over him, cooing about how amazing he is). it’s more of an intro to the premise than anything, but it still sets the tone pretty clearly wrt how xander handles this situation: there’s some laughter and levity, and he’s center stage. obviously a lot can be said about xander’s self-esteem issues and how he overcompensates by casting himself as the main protagonist both in canon and here. however, i wanna save my more in-depth xander analysis for his second, longer, story, so i’ll stop myself there.

willow immediately responds with skepticism: she’s of the mind that giles would be an incredibly serious big-bad level threat. the tale she spins involves giles as a dangerous vampire cleric with access to a cryptic altar, killing xander almost immediately and slaughtering buffy as a sacrifice to create eternal night. her view of giles is more clinical than anything -- and, i would argue, the most perceptive and realistic from a threat standpoint. the guy knows a fuckton of magic and he is incredibly well-read and powerful. he’d have some kind of terrifying master plan. where xander goes for comedy, willow goes straight for logistics, already looking at the battle like it’s a battle rather than laughs aplenty. 

xander and buffy have a bone to pick with willow’s story (xander is indignant that he’s immediately and brutally killed, buffy is of the mind that she would easily defeat giles in hand-to-hand combat even if he IS a vampire), so (after one more teasing story where buffy lives and xander dies) willow gracefully alters her narrative to reflect her friends’ objections: after a dramatic tussle, xander helps willow and buffy unceremoniously stakes giles in the heart. still pretty straightforward and plausible. willow sees vamp giles primarily as a threat -- one not easily neutralized. one who could easily wipe them out.

buffy, about to tell her story, is interrupted by xander, who “had an even better idea!” the web he weaves is this time purported as realistic and entertaining: while partying at the bronze, buffy and co. are interrupted by a bunch of balding, greying vampires in curlers and bathrobes, led, of course, by giles -- who is wearing a hair bonnet and disapprovingly informing the bouncers how late it is at eight PM. a knockdown brawl breaks out at the bronze -- old people feeding on and decimating the young -- and culminates in giles and the geezers taking over the band to sing “some terrible song” that’s “probably something really old and bad!” the rest of the story descends into b-movie chaos, with buffy throwing a broken guitar neck up at the stage lights to send the whole thing crashing down onto vampire giles and his vampire old person band. it’s categorically absurd.

the thing that really sticks with me about this story is how dumb it is. xander’s take on giles is not even slightly serious and wholly underestimates him. fandom at large talks a lot about how giles dropped the ball with xander, but i think tea time explores an easily overlooked factor: xander constantly, consistently underestimates giles. in canon, xander’s view of giles is not often challenged: to him, giles is a bumbling, british librarian who regularly gets his ass handed to him by vamps and demons and the like. certainly part of his story’s intent is about laughingly entertaining his gal pals, but there’s a very real and consistent thread involving giles being hilariously nonthreatening. 

giles, taking umbrage at this particular tale, calls out both xander and willow: xander’s story, in giles’s opinion, emasculates vamp giles and turns him into a ridiculous caricature -- and willow’s story, though much more flattering, lacks the kind of imagination that vamp giles would clearly have. he then offers a suggestion of his own. it’s worth mentioning here that both xander’s and willow’s stories get gorgeous multiple-page spreads depicting the vampy action, but giles’s is a simple and chilling little thing: this is his vampire story. this meeting, called to ostensibly “research” a vampire altar, is really an excuse to get the scoobies to do his dirty work and find the thing for him. they’re tired and silly because the tea and donuts he’s given them are drugged, and their library location is to keep them out of daylight. he laughs it off when he sees they’re bothered, and the meeting is then adjourned when willow finally finds what they’re all looking for. 

buffy’s left her phone in the library, so she doubles back, and accidentally wakes up a dozing giles. just as she’s about to leave, he inquires, casually, “...you never did tell your version of the story.”

and good god here is where it gets interesting.

see, buffy’s take is simple: she’s fighting giles in a cemetery, she’s given the chance to kill him, and she is entirely unable to do it. they share a tearful embrace as she sobs about the unfairness of it all -- “you’re giles! and you’ll always be! ...how will i do this without you? without your guidance?” and as the sun is rising, giles turns her into a vampire, with no resistance whatsoever from buffy. the next handful of pages depict bloody, indulgent violence on the parts of giles and buffy, the two of them cuddled up together as they watch the world burn. 

buffy’s tale is the most emotive, the most loving, which makes me so damn soft! i love this girl so much! she is unable to even joke about giles as a foe to be taken down -- he is her watcher. he is her friend. she loves him endlessly and that does not change when he’s a vampire. vamp giles as she portrays him is gentle and understanding, holding her as she cries, because he knows that they’re connected. it’s easily my favorite part of this whole issue.

notably, there is a definite buffy/giles bend that the comic itself tries to contradict. the art is sensual in nature -- vamp buffy all dolled up in a way somewhat evocative of drusilla, giles tenderly caressing her face as he waits for her to wake up. “watcher and slayer connected forever” being the quote chosen to describe the situation. i think it’s kind of what naturally happens in a vamp giles sitch, especially if he turns buffy -- the childe/sire bond is incredibly sexual in nature, especially in canon, and a lot of frustrating human sentiment gets translated into something sexual as well. sex is a big BIG part of the relationships between vampires we see in canon; it would make a lot of sense for that to hold true for buffy and giles.

the comic is reticent about Going There, which i can understand -- though buffy is decisively aged up in this issue (willow mentions being engaged to a woman, later revealed to be tara), the buffy/giles bond is always seen through a father/daughter lens in canon. i do think it’s also important to always recognize how desperately giles wishes to escape the label of father in reference to buffy, pretty much entirely because there is no way to parent a child soldier who you’re also training, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. point is, buffy very pointedly refers to vamp giles as her father not once, but twice -- once as a human, once as a vampire herself. it’s a very clear attempt, imo, to un-sexualize the vampy experience. the reason it doesn’t totally work, at least for me, is the fact that -- like i said -- the childe/sire bond is VERY sexual (spike and dru, angel and darla, angel and dru) and it seems just totally implausible that vamp buffy/vamp giles (two people who, as human were both VERY repressed) would chastely remain within the socially acceptable version of their relationship.

i can definitely understand why they did their best to blur that line, though. the idea of buffy and giles being romantically involved as vampires is 1) Kind Of A Lot and 2) not exactly the target demographic that i think this comic is going for. but the subtext is there, to the point where the issue itself has to actively obfuscate it, which i think is .... so interesting? especially as a counterpoint to the way i often see buffy/giles in fandom, wherein the father/daughter subtext in canon is at times actively obfuscated in fic in an attempt to push a preferred reading. 

the ending i particularly enjoyed: after buffy leaves, it is lightly and ambiguously implied that giles might really be a vampire. works GREAT as a standalone, imo, and the end is like the cherry on top. it’s a really REALLY interesting issue and i highly recommend it for any giles fan. 

[dutchforstrangers]

Digimon Astrology Journey - 'Head first' buddies: Koushiro & Taichi

So I’m back with some headcanon Digimon Astrology and I’m diving into it head first! Something fierce leader Taichi would do, however he needs his loyal ‘brains’ there with him and that will be Koushiro. Where Koushiro is a thinker, analytical in every way due to his pragmatic Sun and Rising, Taichi is one of action due to his Moon and Rising (and Mars!). However don’t underestimate them, they have some serious airy energy going on, making them vocal, diplomatic and charming in their own individual ways.

These boys are so different, yet work together very well. They just have a hard time… talking to others or each other about… the complicated, personal specific stuff feelings. Must be the stars, right?

It’s been a while, but you can read back all things Astrology (basics, background, etc.) in previous posts Part 1 | Part 2. Furthermore, exploring Taichi and Koushiro’s birth charts is part 2 of this series, you can read the exploration of Sora and Mimi’s birth charts here.

The important stuff

Koushiro Izumi, August 26th 1989 (around 05.30AM)

Sun: Virgo (earth-mutable)

Moon: Gemini (air-mutable)

Rising: Virgo (earth-mutable)

Taichi Yagami, October 15th 1988 (around 5PM)

Sun: Libra (air-cardinal)

Moon: Sagittarius (fire-mutable)

Rising: Aries (fire-cardinal)

Warning: IT’S VERY LONG! I’m sorry in advance…

A little disclaimer before I start rambling: These are headcanons! Their given birthdays are not canon at all, but just me having fun combining my love for Digimon and my love for Astrology. It can be highly self-indulging, but maybe you can find some truth in it as well! If you want to know how I calculated their birthdays, read my previous posts as stated above. I use these birthdays in my own fanfiction, but feel free to use them as well. Some credit in the form of a reblog, like or mention of these posts and/or my Tumblr would be highly appreciated! See something you want to discuss? I love to learn and talk! As said these are my headcanons, but I’m not afraid to change my mind or to defend what I have if necessary.

Everything charts and the why under read more!

Koushiro Izumi - August 26th 1989

Assigning the Virgo Sun to this boy was the first thing I did, because I myself am convinced Koushiro Izumi is the embodiment of a true Virgo. I could be wrong, as I did not study Astrology and am a simple hobbyist, but everything I read about Virgos always lead me back to this particular maroon headed anime dork for years now. Hence why I gave him the same Sun and Rising sign, because Koushiro is who he is. Anyway, let me try to convince you.

For starters, here are a few (or actually all the) things about Virgos in general, for both Sun and Rising. Virgos are bright, practical, pragmatic, orderly, respectful, critical, perfectionists, security driven, communicative, tidy, nervous, detail-oriented… Can I stop already? Okay, now pick one of the above and tell me it’s not fitting for Koushiro.

…

Hm, I know. It’s hard, isn’t it?

Maybe his tidiness is questionable depending on the situation… But the guy is orderly and the chaos only exists in times when his perfectionism takes over. The nervous part from the Virgo can be seen in shyness or even being obedient. All of that makes Koushiro a dedicated friend who would do anything in his power to make everything work for you. Danger is that he will efface himself, thinking he’s not worth as much as the others. This is what happens in Adventure episode 28 right after he solved the card riddle. On the top left corner either the Agumon or the Gomamon is right, but he doesn’t know which one and he apologizes, which is not necessary at all, with: “I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations,” which is such a Virgo Sun/Rising thing to say..! The Virgo dynamic is alive and kicking.

It’s even more alive and kicking in his other strong Virgo placements: Mercury and Mars. With Mercury in Virgo, Mercury is in it’s sign of its rulership, making it a strong placement. And precisely that planet is the planet of thoughts and knowledge! The combination of his Sun, Rising, Mercury and Mars in Virgo makes him be, engage, think and act like a true Virgo. Detail-oriented, thoughtful, respectful, orderly, practical and curious!

The hardest part for his birthday calculation was his Moon placement. The Moon is all about emotions, needs, wants, behavior, responds, et cetera. I first gave him a Capricorn Moon, but my boyfriend is such a Cap Moon and it didn’t fit the bill for Koushiro in my opinion. So I read and searched and eventually came to the conclusion it had to be an Air sign Moon, simply for the fact that our boy Koushiro is the bearer of the crest of Knowledge and Air signs can be seen as the intellectual ones of the Zodiac! Eventually I went for the Gemini Moon and I’m going to explain why exactly.

One could say Gemini is the bearer of Knowledge just as much as Koushiro is. Gemini LOVE to know things! They are naturally curious and are great communicators, when it comes to knowledge (pun warning if you’ve seen the reboot: they love to bring joy to their knowledge). Gemini tend to be a bit superficial when it comes to having and sharing knowledge and of course we know that’s not the case with our Koushiro here, due to his many Virgo placements, making him more observant and inward. What the Gemini Moon DOES to him is making this boy very talkative! He likes to spill what’s on his mind, he likes to share what he thinks, he likes to ramble and rant. It’s something we see him doing in Tri a lot, especially that one scene in Reunion part 3 (episode 3) where he keeps on rambling about all the strange events and he misses the first part of the conversation between the other DigiDestineds (about the news and Jyou’s ‘girlfriend’ poor guy no one believes him). Koushiro misses the conversation because a) his Gemini Moon likes to ramble and keep rambling, and b) because his Virgo placements can make him a bit unaware of his surroundings quite the time…

That’s not a bad thing per se, Koushiro is just very much focused on his work and d e t a i l s, which is a VERY Virgo-ish trait. But lets not forget that his priority is to help others with that knowledge and that the combination of his Virgo placements with his Gemini Moon makes him a great mentor. Brings me to his role throughout the entirety of Adventure 02: The Mentor. You’re welcome.

Another Gemini Moon thingy is rudeness. Now we know Koushiro is the most polite person out of ALL DD’s, always using honorifics, even saying Hikari-san instead of Hikari-chan, because Koushiro IS respect. But Koushiro is not afraid to tell you what’s at stake in times of ‘danger’, he’s not afraid to tell the truth. There are a few examples for that in Adventure, Adventure 02 and in Tri, but I’d like to refer to one of my favorite moments in whole Digimon Adventure history. Because Koushiro x rudeness brings me back to Diaboromon strikes back when he’s obviously so done with everyone, then Mimi enters the scene and he doesn’t even care. In the English dub she literally says “How rude”. Ooooohhh Koushiro, you little rude demon… It’s not the biggest proof it’s a simple one and my personal favorite.

All of the talkativeness and rudeness is something we mostly see Koushiro doing when he’s most comfortable. So we won’t see him being all talkative all the time -sharing more than just plain, superficial knowledge and instead more personal helpful knowledge- with everyone, but we do see him being talkative and speaking up to certain characters he’s most comfortable with. Now name one boy he’s very talkative to compared with literally all the other characters… You know what? Scroll down.

Last thing and then I’ll stop rambling about this beautiful and lovely nerd. His Venus, planet of values (and love…) is in Libra. What does that mean? Well, I’ve seen quite some fans type Koushiro as a bi-sexual, or something in that direction. Or even better a ‘disaster bi-sexual’. I already agreed on that, but when I saw this birth chart… IT’S (HEAD)CANON! Seriously, Libra is the zodiac sign of doubt, decision making (or actually no decision making, but I’ll get there with the next boy) and relationships and if you have your Venus placed in Libra you’re doomed to be a disaster when it comes to making decisions in your love life both romantically and platonically! Venus in Libra creates the desire for a good and loving relationships, but Koushiro’s Virgo Sun/Rising makes him more shy, his Virgo Mars makes him hold back. Once again, the Virgo Sun/Rising-Libra Venus dynamic lets him efface himself in relationships, thinking they have nothing to offer, but they have!! And so Koushiro gets left behind with his unresolved feelings… the boy has a hard time in love, let’s give him all a hug!

Taichi Yagami - October 15th 1988

The protagonist. Okay, let me compare this goggle headed protagonist to another goggle headed protagonist outside the Digimon franchise: Naruto. This is probably more interesting to people who have watched and know Naruto, so you can skip the part. To me Naruto is the classical protagonist type; bold, adventurous, playful, (a little) obnoxious at some times, hot headed… These are traits we easily assign to fire signs in the zodiac, especially Aries. So I would immediately give Naruto the Aries Sun placement. However, when we see Naruto grow up, his behavior and the way he speaks and leads grows up with him as well. That’s only natural. And based on those changes I wouldn’t necessarily give Naruto the Aries Sun placements, although the Aries placement or another fire placement is very likely to be present in his chart.

Now I could go even further, explain the development from child to adult through Jung’s theory about cognitive functions, but that’s incredibly complicated and a looooong stretch I won’t be making here today. In short, Jung’s development theory is interesting, because it shows how we first see the obvious traits in a child which are the traits the child engages (Rising sign) the world with before it develops the other functions showing the person’s true identity (Sun sign). So we could say we first see someone’s Rising sign more clearly before the Sun comes shining through. Like with Naruto. And the same could be for Taichi in the case of this headcanon.

To tackle his birth chart and big three, I’ll be starting with explaining his Rising Sign before his Sun sign. And the Rising sign I assigned him is Aries Rising.

Like I said above, Aries is bold, adventurous, playful and above all: courageous. Especially the Aries Rising placement which is more courageous than its Aries Sun counterpart. Aries are born leaders, can be extremely competitive, are somewhat restless and desperately need to move. In Taichi’s case with the above birth chart, that urge to move is magnified by his Aries Mars placement. The dynamic of his Aries Rising and Aries Mars makes Taichi a mover, an adventurer, and incredibly determined. This could be both positively, always wanting the best (especially for yourself, as Aries is a pretty selfish sign), and a tad negatively, always going and going and going. In the Adventure series this could be the reason why he makes Greymon dark-evolve, because he wants things too bad and too fast. Aries are hot headed and can grow impatient if things don’t go the way they want. And the Aries Rising and Mars dynamic makes Taichi a very physical guy. Mix that with the impatience and he is not afraid to pick fights and use his fists.

All of this can make Taichi a very stormy and reckless boy (boundaries? What’s that?), but also a fearless leader. The exuberance, the impatience and restlessness comes back in his Sagittarius Moon placement as well. This Sag Moon in combination with his strong Aries placements in Rising and Mars makes Taichi a sportive, physical, optimistic and forward leader that is incredibly courageous and adventurous, which could make him a bit ‘superficial’ as a protagonist. But the Sag Moon also deepens and strengthens his leader skills.

Sagittarius is a sign pictured by a centaur with an arrow and bow. The centaur’s horse legs make the Sag want to move and be free, but the arrow aims in a clear direction and aiming takes knowledge and focus. Sagittarius thus is an adventurous fella, but also a philosopher. Taichi’s Sag Moon placement makes him a pro in seeing the bigger picture and connecting dots next to his never ending energy. He will make sure we’re going in the right direction by overlooking the whole situation. So we absolutely shouldn’t forget Taichi is a true strategist! He sees, understands what’s at stake in a situation, connects the dots, comes with a strategy and like a true leader knows his team and can place everyone in his right spot to get through the toughest of situations (once again referring to Taichi asking Koushiro to pick the cards in Adventure episode 28). Speaking about a great leader, gosh, Taichi, you’re truly amazing! <3

However, it’s his Aries Rising and Mars that often make him act before he thinks, preferably alone (Taichi is a teamplayer, but the selfish and reckless Aries in him makes him act alone. And the sum of teamplayer + acting alone = self-sacrifice mode… which happens ALL THE DAMN TIME). Or actually makes him act while thinking without doing a short reflection beforehand. Seriously, I’m convinced that this reflection in advance could have saved him a lot of trouble throughout Digimon Adventure. Let’s blame it on (t)his (headcanon) birth chart…

Also, all of the above vouches for Taichi having an amazing intellect, but the guys needs to be challenged… Hence why he’s always staring out of the window during classes in Tri, daydreaming away to where the adventure is. He feels trapped, needs to be outside and should use his intelligence for things he finds important (like saving the digital world, soccer and saving friends and the world). The daydreaming could also be his Libra Mercury who can make Taichi lose his focus and could make him lazy. Luckily Taichi has a very active Aries Mars in opposite aspect from his Libra Mercury that neutralizes that lazy and dreamy Libra Mercury.

Okay, back to topic. Now you maybe think: But if Taichi is good in knowing where to go, being the fearless leader, also an intellect who has the knowledge to aim straight and shoot… then WHY is he so lost, down and in doubt in Tri and so unknowing of his future in Kizuna…??!! I have an answer to that. And that answer is his Libra Sun.

I know I know, this is a very VERY unpopular Sun sign to give this goggle leader, but please hear me out. For starters, Libra is the sign of diplomacy and if we believe the 02’s epilogue what’s Taichi’s job? Right, a diplomat. We also know he studies something like political sciences in Kizuna (which I think is AMAZING and vouches even more for Taichi’s intellect! Politics is a tough study…) and to make it in the political field you really do need diplomacy and charms.

Taichi is an absolute charmer, in my eyes at least. I mean, look at his 02 self! He’s such a smooth charmer in every way… The way he sends off Sora to Yamato while acting all cool and collected, phew, that requires some serious smoothness. And still we often see Taichi depicted as a down and broody boy besides his energetic and bold (sometimes indifferent…) character, especially after Tri. That too could be due to a Libra Sun placement.

Like Sagittarius is depicted by a centaur, Libra is depicted by scales and those scales are all about harmony, balance and justice. Libra is the opposite of Aries in the zodiac, but also about weighing opposites in the sigh itself. When we look at the Aries/Libra opposite placement: where Aries can be quite selfish, Libra as an opposite is the people’s pleaser. Where Aries is reckless and impatient, Libra is thoughtful and patient and one could say that an Aries acts where a Libra waits. Where Aries makes the impulsive decisions, Libra keeps deliberating leading into constant doubt and confusion. And how do we see Taichi in Tri? Ah yes, in doubt and confused.

A Libra Sun desperately wants to bring peace and harmony, driven by justice, in a diplomatic way. Libra Suns are deep thinkers which can make them very doubtful, making them spiraling down into a hole of overthinking and doubts. The Libra Sun-Sag Moon dynamic makes this all even more deep and almost philosophical in a way there will always be more and more questions, but never answers because Libra simply can’t make choices. All while being solution-oriented!

As Taichi grows up from a middle schooler to a high schooler, it’s that doubt coming from the Libra Sun that kicks Taichi hard. It conflicts with his carefree and bold Aries Rising nature and as that Libra Sun comes shining through, we see Taichi becoming more cautious and reserved compared to his younger self. The guy has a strong inner dialogue always looking for the best solutions to please everyone and bring harmony (I wanted to say ‘balance to the world’, yes to all the avatar the last airbender cameos) to the people and world(s in case of the digital world) around him he so desperately wants to protect. This is what we see happening in Tri, where he can’t choose what’s the right thing… Most of the time that inner dialogue is hidden behind his Aries Rising (and Aries Mars and Sag Moon).

So under that tough and courageous Aries Rising demeanor (remember that a Rising sign is all about engaging and how you come across to others) is a very soft, sweet, friendly and overall smart Libra Sun boy who has troubles expressing himself because the boy is in conflict with himself (which we see in the Dark Master’s arc in Adventure where he expresses his concerns towards his sister to Koushiro… it’s so hard for Taichi to let it all out, even when he needs it badly). It’s so sad, he’s such a complicated character, but that’s also one of the most beautiful things about Taichi. He’s layered af. He could be the best listener (Koushiro’s feels this, that’s why Koushiro can talk so open and freely to Taichi, because Taichi lets him thank you Libra Sun) if it weren’t for his strong fire placements opposite from his airy Sun sign. But give the boy time and space and he can show you his charms in a way no one else owns those charms.

So Taichi’s Libra Sun is hidden away most of the time due to his strong Aries placements. Usually his Rising and Sun sign being in opposite aspect from each other, should neutralize the placements, but Taichi’s Aries Mars placement makes the Aries Rising overrule the Libra Sun. Still, we shouldn’t forget Taichi is a softy with a big heart. He just needs the right people around him to get his charm on and Taichi definitely has some great people collected in his life who can help him think and make decisions.

A few things I want to point out before I stop rambling, because this analysis is already WAY too long.

Taichi’s midheaven in Capricorn in combination with his Libra Sun and Aries Rising makes him very ambitious on the intellectual side! Directly aiming for the UN and quickly climbing up the promotion ladder (and being successful like a true Cap, let’s not forget that).

His Mars was in transition from Pisces to Aries during his birth. Which means his Aries Mars is highly influenced by Pisces which could also explain why he spirals down as Pisces Mars has a lot of stormy energy on the emotional side (whereas Aries Mars has stormy energy on the physical side). When this emotional energy comes out negative, it can lead to mental health problems (!!! TRI DEPRESSED!TAICHI), especially when close friends and family (can you feel it coming? The whole Hikari-trauma is a thing) are involved.

His Libra Sun makes him in need of a group of friends and he loves being surrounded by them! Though he doesn’t like to admit that due to his Aries Rising. Taichi is such a conflicted boy…

An end note on these two boys: A heart to heart/hard friendship with a lot of mutual understanding and support <3