#I prefer this as a platonic ship but that might just be me being aro

[n0brainjustvibes]

Y'know, if I ever actually did something with Penumbra (sophia/vic), I'd take the "Steven was predatory or abusive to Sophia in a hidden-in-plain-sight way" trigger theory and run with it. I generally prefer physical confrontation trigger theories, but this gets you a Shadow Stalker based around this line:

“If it weren’t for all the crying and the complaining, I would almost be glad Leviathan had attacked the city.  Tear away that fucking ridiculous veneer that covers everything.  Get rid of those fucking fake smiles and social niceties and daily routines that everyone hides behind.”

Tear away that veneer. This Sophia interpretation would be convinced that all kindness or politeness is covering up brutality, either theirs or someone else's, and pride herself on doing away with this masquerade (read: openly being a dick). She'd also believe, from personal experience, that families and hero teams both are primed to conceal abuse.

And then you have the Dallons and New "Transparancy" Wave.

Sophia doesn't buy for one minute that they're really accountable. The more open and loving they make their public image, the more convinced she is that they're hiding something. This is kinda fun already with the Wards working parallel with New Wave, but not outright teaming up - she's keeping an eye on them, trying to justify her convictions. She's more than a little self-satisfied when she comes across Glory Girl on one of her extrajudicial torture excursions.

Now you can bounce her off Victoria in a whole bunch of ways. There's something to be done with how Vic uses makeup to hide wounds and give the illusion of invulnerability, for sure... there's also the fact that Sophia would not - having mentally categorised Victoria as "strong" - write off Vic's trigger as insignificant, even if Vic herself was writing it off as such. She'd also be puzzled as to why Victoria didn't lash out in response to her family's (cough, Carol's, cough) passive-aggression towards Vic and Amy. "I've seen you out there. You're not weak, and you're not some spineless coward. I thought you had self-respect. Why don't you do something? Throw their ugliness back in their faces, make them fucking see it."

Funnily enough, she would write Amy off as weak... that's gonna be fun, if she's still around to see the S9 arc play out in any capacity.

Anyways, yeah, I dunno. Just a fun relationship layer. I really like bumping early-Worm Shadow Stalker and Glory Girl up against one another's families.

[sevarix-blogs]

Hiya! I'm asexual/aromantic myself, and recently I've been learning that platonic love is just as important as romantic love and that romance shouldn't be considered this holy grail of relationships, but I still have trouble describing the difference between the two without still having this feeling that romance is "special" or "above" friendship 😔I was wondering how you'd describe it if that's okay to ask?

well, i think it can just be as simple as like, knowing that kissing/romantic gestures/etc aren't the highest form of intimacy. some people don't even like intimacy at all! friendship is also very special, and just as important as romance. a high-five or a hug can be just as fulfilling to someone as a romantic kiss can be. the platonic love someone has for a dog can be more powerful than the love a married couple can have for each other.

amatonormativity tells us that everyone should have 1 romantic partner, and that that romantic partner is the most important person in their life. that their friends are now lesser once they get into that romantic relationship. that's simply untrue!

sometimes platonic love is mixed in with romantic love. sometimes friendships are still satisfying without any platonic aspect at all. platonic and romantic are not a binary! they are simply two different concepts that can describe a relationship (and not the only two types of relationships!)

i think what is sometimes appealing, especially in fiction, about romantic relationships is the 'specialness' of having That One Person whom you trust and devote your life to. but could this not also be the case with friendship? could you not also have two characters who trust each other more than anyone else without being romantic about it? two people can understand and trust each other deeply without even a hint of romance. to me, that is what makes platonic relationships interesting in fiction. it is what makes me want to write about deep friendships in my fics. sure, they might not kiss or anything like that, but there are other ways of showing affection, perhaps even ways that are unique to the characters that make that kind of intimacy special without needing romance to portray it.

and also, i will throw in a few caveats. some relationships are neither platonic, nor romantic! aplatonic aros exist as well, and the way they interact and feel about others is also just as valid. some people don't experience love at all, not even platonic love, and they can also have friendships that are special and important even though they don't experience love.

i encourage you to explore these ideas! maybe take a fictional ship you like, and think about them in a platonic sense. for example, i love yurileth. but if someone made them besties instead of spouses, i would still be delighted! bc in my mind, that is just as special and meaningful as being romantic partners. if you take a romantic ship you really like and make it purely platonic... does it make you upset? does it make you feel like the 'specialness' has gone away? if so, ask yourself why. that might help you uncover what's holding you back from seeing platonic as lesser than romantic.

in fact, i encourage everyone to try this exercise. take your otp, make it platonic. do you feel like it's now lesser? not as special? ask yourself why. think about amatonormativity, and whether or not that might be clouding your judgement. i'm not saying you have to prefer platonic over romantic! we all have preferences of course. but non-romantic shouldn't feel lesser in your mind to romantic.

anyway, sorry this got a little long. hopefully that helps, anon! you're welcome to ask followup questions as well!

[lampochkaart]

I know this is unrelated to Danganronpa, I apologize in advance. I only ask this with respect and hopes to understand. As an aroace person such as yourself, do you find romance (particularly with shipping) to be appealing as long as it isn't in your own personal life? I'm sorry my hetero ass is struggling to understand, I just want to be a better ally.

Hi, anon! You don't have to apologize, I don't mind talking about something other than Danganronpa X)

I'm rambling here for quite a while, maybe a got a little carried away, because the subject of ramance is quite complex

Every aromantic and/or asexual person is different. Everyone has different experiences so there's no universal rule. I'd suggest, if you want to be supportive to your aromantic friends, you should ask them how do they personaly feel about romance and shipping. Are they comfortable with this topic in general? Are they fine with it as long as it doesn't involve them, or would they rather avoid romace completety whenever they can? Everyone feels differently about that, so it's better to ask people's opinion on that topic rather than trying to find one universal rule.

If you're not asking that because of some specific people that you know, but because you want to support aro people in general, I think a good idea might be to look at some aromantic themed blogs, or read some of people's personal experiences for a better understanding of the topic.

I think it's posible explain aromaticism with an analogy. Let's say, romance is some kind of food, like an apple for example. A lot of people like apples and eat them often. However, there are people who dont. Some people can't stand the sight of apples. Some people can eat apples sometimes even though they don't like them very much. Some people don't want to eat apples themselves, but are completely fine with other people eating them. And so on, and so on.

Romantic attraction (and romance as a concept) is as different for everyone as food preferences. Some people just don't like some things. Everyone is different.

As for my personal experiences... I don't necessary hate the idea of a partner, but I think I'm very picky so I would be hard for me to find ideal option. I'm not opposed to the idea of having a partner, but I don't feel the need to have one. The moment when I realised that I'm actually aromantic was when I realised that people are not just being overdramatic when they complain about not wanting to be single. A lot of people genuinely feel upset when they don't have a partner/partners. It's not just a joke that people make. For a lot of people romantic relationships are very important. Never in my life I felt like I need to be in a romantic relationship and I never really questioned this. It took some time for realisation that not everyone feels like that to actually sink in.

When it comes to shipping, well. I like romance, but I don't really like plain romance. I like when characters have something else in their relationship aside from romance. They could be friends, enemies, rivals, collegues, allies, etc. Anything really. I just want something else going on with them aside from being romantic partners. I think it might even be better to put it this way. I like when romace is secondary to the primary character dynamic. Like, they're best friends first or they're rivals first, before they're romantic partners. It's some primary dynamic to which romance is added, instead of it being the other way around and this dynamic being just the flavor to romance. When the relationship borders between platonic and romantic, but perhaps gravitates more toward the romantic. I hope this makes sense.

I am not saying this is the only right way for interesting relationships, but it's just the way I prefer it.

So, in short, I do find romance appealing, but with some requirements.

Thank you for your question! You were very respectful an polite. Hope I explainded it alright. If you have more questions or don't exactly understand something here feel free to ask. Have a great day!💜💫

[r95irth]

It's asexual representation day so-

Here are my Headcanons concerning ace-spectrum sexuality for MDZS characters -(know that they're evolving as i write)

I HeadCanon...

Lan Qiren as Aro-Ace. He does not feel sexual desire at all (not ever) can see people are beautiful like he can see a painting is beautiful but that's it. He has never been in love and given his family's foolish decision history because of love, doesn't want to be. He doesn't understand love at all and i like to write him being completely lost with his nephews + brother's love tragedy. (His opinion is basically "Like could you perharps, just not fall in love with a criminal??? maybe that would have helped not being miserable???)

I rarely get to write him that way because i have friends who love Lan Qiren/Sisi dearly so I gave them their ship when i can. In Building a home and Burning roofs however he is going to be Aro-ace, and stay that way until the end.

Wen Zhuliu is Aro (but not ace) in Building a Home and Burning Roofs. I'm planning on a queer platonic relationship between him and Wen Xu (who is Ace but not Aro) idk how it will develop yet.

But when i think about it i think i like the other way around, with Wen Zhuliu being a mix of in love with WRH on top of his loyalty. Though i do like having him being just Loyal-to-this-extent too without involving love (because love is not the explanation for everything/every loyalty)

Wen Ning is a complicated character for me, i like him Biromantic, that's for sure. But i also like him as Aromantic (making his devotion for WWX entirely on friendship gets me). One day i might write him as an Aromantic character. But right now i want to write a fic where he ends up with Mo Xuanyu. (In Building a Home and Burning roofs and Just a drop he ends up with Qin Su so i'm done with this pairing for now) Either way i like to imagine him on the ace spectrum, not sex repulsive but definitely not seeking things beyond hugs and kisses naturally.

Wen Qing i know lot of people HC her as a lesbian, but i started with CQL so i ship her with JWY (and my crack ship is her with JWY and NHS). I have like 0 ship with her as lesbian, sorry >< it's just not my jam. But I do like her on the asexual spectrum, very much like her brother, not sex-repulsive but very aware of consequences of sex (diseases, pregnancy, labor) and not looking forward that complication in her life. Sex is never a drive for her, emotions/affection are.

Jiang Wanyin again i started with CQL so i ship him hard with WQ. But as i read the novel i started to like him as Ace too. Then reading fic i started to like him with NHS too and i decided that since he wasn't loved by his parents he deserves two spouses and not a love triangle. This is how my crackship was born xD Anyways now i HC more as Demisexual (so on the ace spectrum still) he needs to spend lot of time and bond with someone before he develops feelings of love then sexual desire. It takes a long time and he is confused about it. He doesn't like kisses, sex, hugs when he is witnessing them but as he starts having a relationship he finds himself yearningf or it and it infuriates him. (He is not going to end up like his stupid brother!!)

Unfortunately i have 2 NOTP with JC which are LXC/JWN (I need canon interaction to ship, i do not understand this ship) - and JWN/WWX (i just don't vibe with it, i like them as brothers u-u sorry for those who likes it)

Nie Huaisang should not have a place here as i HC him as very Allo-horny, pansexual and even sometimes lately trans. But since in my crackship he is with asexual-characters i want to say that he respects his partner's boundaries UU All he wants is attention and love and fortunately having 2 spouses assures that there's always one ready to give him some. Sure he prefers having them both but consent is sexy.

I like to imagine sharing his porn book with them and WQ is judging it like "it's doable" or "this is compltely anatomically inaccurate and dangerous" while JC is like "please can we not- in front of my salad!" until they kiss him silly and he is like "fine but i'm not doing that part èé you want this NHS you do ALL THE WORK!" and NHS whines bc he doesn't want to work :c (and ends up convincing JC to do all the work bc JC has a praise kink)

Nie Mingjue is my most certain HC, i HC him as Ace of course (otherwise he wouldn't be on that list). But i also HC him as being completely in denial / confused about it and not able to put what he feels into words. He loves JGY but not the same way he loves LXC who is his best friend but how? I HC that their fallout / break up is 50% due to heartbroken denial on NMJ's part. He turned into this diorcee character who couldn't see a single flaw in their partner during their marriage but now they are separated their ex only have flaws.

I adore putting him as the "too ace for this bullshit" type of situation. Especially stuck him between his little brother, (NHS) his best friend (LXC) and ex (JGY) and being like "why" "why do you want to lick his face??? actually neverminde don't explain i don't want to know"

Putting him in this situation made me relate to him (i find myself back in High school with people kissing left and right and me being like "cant' we just play football?")

In Building home serie, I will probably explore his sexuality more. For now he is not sex repulsed (something i do like HC him as, but not always and not in this fic) - but he sexual intercourse is very much like a good training session for him. I can't wait to write about him exploring that, especially since LXC and JGY are horny (well they have problems so they can't be horny right now but-)

Wei Wuxian is totally demisexual in my HC. He does not imagine more than cottage core fantasy until he is certain of his beloved's affection. Then it goes to kinky land trainride wet dreams. I do think he is in love and in denial of his sexual urges (excusing it as teasing) until he is certain the love is returned. What does it say about his character? A lot. And i like to write about it.

Last but not least is Jin Guangyao as demisexual bi - listen my OTP (with Wangxian and ChengQingSang) is Xiyao. But i do HC him as Bi, and needing very much like WWX to be loved/respected to develop feelings. Qin Su is like this, i think he very much wanted to love a woman (bc to fit in and be the perfect son) and she was pretty and admired him so his heart caved. The only exception is LXC, he saw him and his brain went "pretty" then LXC respected him and his brain melted right away despite his precautions. I also adore HC JGY as having troubles with sex in general -being scared of it, of the intimacy, of the loss of control. Which almost brings him to the ace spectrum?

I do like story with Ace-sex repulsed and together and happy withtout sexual intercourses. (I aim to go for that with Wen Xu and Zhao Zhuliu in Building home serie; though i don't feel very confident about it) I loved KouhiArashi's fic "atypical courtship". But I don't write about isuch couples often because that hits very close to home for me and i don't write/read fanfics to be reminded of real life.

And here it is. The others characters in my mind are either hetero, homosexual or bisexual or pansexual but not on the ace spectrum. (Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji are very gay in my HC for example)

Know all those above are MY OPINIONS only (and as stated it changes too) don't take it personally i put the word HC for a reason. This is NOT a statement and presented as "the truth about this character's sexuality and everyone who disagree read the novel wrong"

[lilacs-stash]

Tlm identity headcanons + some ships

Okay so before we get started I just wanna say that these aren't necessarily canon to my nextgen "LCV" nor will some make sense, this is just what I believe deep down.

Emmet's a biromantic (with a preference for girls), gray-asexual, polyamorous GNC cis man (he/they). They're in poly marriage with Rex and Wyldstyle!

He knew he was gray-ace for a pretty long time, but had no clue he was also bi and poly till Rex (quite literally) crashed into his and Lucy's life. Ems uses masc, fem, and neutral terms Interchangeable, so you'll often hear Rex and Lucy refer to them as their wife or spouse.

Rex's a polyamorous, demi-bisexual, GNC Trans man (he/they/xe). Xe's in poly marriage with Wyldstyle and Emmet!

I don't know why I HC Emmet as cis but Rex as trans but I do. Their just trans okay man??? Like his husband, Rex had no clue he was bi until he met them. Unlike his husband, it took him a while to realize and except that. Rex only uses masc terms. The Xe/xem pronouns are only to be use by xir family and very close friends.

Wyldstyle's a bisexual polyamorous demi-girl (she/fae/they). Fae's in a poly marriage with Emmet and Rex!

Okay I'll be honest, this HC is just me protecting (minus they poly part, I don't think I'm poly). Lucy had herself all figured out before the first movie even happened. Fae mostly uses she/fae, but loves when people use they/them too.

Unikitty's Asexual, panromanitc, and Gender Queer (she/they/sprinkle). Sprinkle's a single Pringle!

I go back and forth between this HC, her being aroace, and a lesbian. But this is my favorite right now.

Sweet Mayhem's bisexual (with a preference for girls), polyamorous, trans fem, and bigender (she/star/they). Star's dating Rose(OC) and Benny!

Feel like I'm the only one who headcanons her as bi and not a lesbian. They're both NB and a girl btw.

Benny's a pansexual, polyamorous, cis man (he/him). He's Dating Mayhem, Lenny, and queer platonic partners with Rose(OC)!

Pan Benny > gay Benny

Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi is omnisexual and gender fluid (all pronouns). She's married to Batman!

Queen's gender is as fluid as their body. He's known that since he was born. I might change them to pan idk.

Batman's a Heteroflexible cis man (he/him). He's married to Queen!

I don't see Batman as bi but he definitely isn't fully straight. He likes girls but still thinks Queen's hot even if they aren't a gal that day. Also I just don't ship him with joker lol.

Badcop is aromantic asexual and agender (he/it). It's single!

Triple A BC my beloved. I actually do have some ships for him, but those are for random side AUs and nothing actually important lol. Might end up making it in a QPR with Larry the barista idk. BC just doesn't have time for romance, he's to busy dealing with Rex's bs.

Vitruvius is an aromantic cis man (he/him). He's single!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Vitruvius is our aro grandpa.

---------------------------------

So those are my gay legos! I'd add more but Tumblr won't let me :(

These HCs may change in the future.

[jawsofbalmung]

For the ship ask meme; NaruMitsu and RyuuSusa? :D

NaruMitsu: Ship It!

What made you ship it?

Of course I ship it, it just comes part and parcel with being an ace attorney fan! I'm pretty sure I started shipping it even before I played the ot, when all I knew was tgaa tbh.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

They're literally perfect? They're soulmates? They're so different yet so similar and they care about each other on purpose and help each other with their traumas and issues and fill a void in each other's lives that they wouldn't be complete without. Look, I may be aromantic, but I do believe in true love. They're the cornerstone couple of the whole series, they're dads, they're longterm monogamous husbands, they're kinky, etc.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Aside from them being kinky? Lmao. So many. For one I fully believe Miles is a stone/exclusive dom top, and Phoenix is a preferred (but not stone) sub bottom. I also think Miles is arospec if not fully aromantic, as it's very suggested in canon, but this does not mean he can't be/isn't in love!! Romance-favorable and romance-neutral aros exist, and aros regardless of how they feel on romance can be in relationships too. Anyway I also think they are both trans.

RyuuSusa: Don't Ship

Why don't you ship it?

I'm gonna be honest, getting me to ship a m/f ship is a near-impossible task. I mean, there are definitely ones I like, but they are few and far between and have to have very specific qualities. Just being close and friendly usually defaults to a familiar dynamic to me, which is good and special, but just not something I see romantically!

What would have made you like it?

If Susato was a man Tbh they have a kind of bond that I think is perfectly fine as just friends, and I feel like even if it was an mlm ship, I might ship them a little (cause I'm multishipper trash) but it doesn't have the depth or intrigue that I usually like in my ships, so it wouldn't really be my favorite. ESPECIALLY not compared to the likes of baroryu *fans self*

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

Yes! I think their dynamic, whether platonic, familiar, or romantic, is very sweet :) I love Susato very much, and I do think the ryuususa art I see is cute despite not shipping it.

[northlight14]

✨Intro post✨

Hey, welcome to my blog! You can call me North. My blog is mainly me rambling about anime and reblogging stuff. I also wanna start writing fanfiction again once I get the chance. Anyway, if you decide to stay, I really appreciate you being here :)))

All religions, ethnicities, members of the lgbtqia+ community, etc are welcome!

Feel free to talk to me via asks. I’m also cool about DM’s as long as we’re mutuals and you’re a similar age to me (preferably 17+)

If you like danganronpa, hermitcraft and/or my hero academia, consider following my queer platonic partner @iridescentsky29 cuz they’re really cool

Side blog is @north-writes where I’ll post book things, writing and OC stuff

😜Facts about me!

- I’m an INFP

- I’m a Scorpio

- I’m aro/ace but I’m still simping for Shigaraki, Aizawa, Mr Compress and Levi Ackerman (they’re pretty, ok?😅)

- My current hyperfixations are ace attorney (only played the Phoenix Wright trilogy so far tho so no spoilers!), Roleslaying with Roman, my OC’s, Osamu Dazai (the author, not the character. Although I do adore the character), and danganronpa (only finished the first and second game tho so no spoilers past that point!!)

- I have a lot of dnd characters that I might start posting about

- I have other OC’s I sometimes post about. Intro post to them here if anyones interested (aro/aces who are fans of QPR rep and sun/moon or opposites attract dynamics might like these guys)

- I’m British

📎Links

Pronoun card: here

Anime watch list: here

Playlists: here

MHA ships: here

Kin list: here

Fan fiction: here

Aro/ace headcanon’s: here

Trans/nonbinary headcanon’s: here

#️⃣Tags

#spoiler demon- something that would be a spoiler for my partner that I don’t want glitch seeing yet

#north speaks- short post

#north rambles- longer post

#north rants- me venting

#north writes- my writing

#northsky- me and my partner

#multishipper moment- rambling about a ship that probably doesn’t make much sense

#mha spoilers

#mha manga spoilers

#tw cursing (I cuss a lot tho and may sometimes forget to tag so feel free to remind me if that happens cuz the last thing I want is to upset anyone)

#tw vent

#Kim and Chana (my OC’s)

(If I don’t tag anything that’s triggering please tell me and I’ll tag it straight away cuz I want my blog to be a safe and comfortable place for people)

🚫DNI

Trump supporters

Homophobes/transphobes/TERFS/super straights/aphobes

Racists

Sexists

MAPs/p3dophiles

Pro shippers

People who think it’s ok under any circumstances to tell someone to k*ll themselves

🤓Non anime fandoms

🏳️‍🌈Sander sides/roleslaying with Roman

����Avatar the last airbender

💚3rd life/last life/double life (mainly Grians POV)

🎢Dead end: paranormal park

📚Anything by Alice Oseman

🎲Danplan (I only really post and reblog stuff from DP season 2 tho cuz honestly I just wanna move on from discourse and I love the new videos by the channel just as much as the old videos)

🙉Triggers

S*lf h*rm

Hair pulling (specifically someone pulling their own hair)

👎Don’t tag me in

Discourse, fandom related or otherwise

Anything character critical

Stuff containing spoilers (I swear if anyone does that, you’re getting blocked without hesitation)

[oneandonlyevie]

so, I’ve got this idea

For the longest time, ever since I saw Emily’s character card from an early release online, I knew she would be a sweetheart that would instantly become one of my favorite characters in hazbin hotel besides alastor, but I also had another thought. With her being such a pure character, she’s basically the total opposite of alastor. Which made me wonder, what kind of relationship would they have? Would they fight? Would they learn to get along? could Emily’s pure goodness perhaps change alastors hardened heart for the better? Yes, I am aware that alastor is ace, but it has not been confirmed if he is aro too, and from the sounds of what I’ve heard around, might not be. Though the ace argument part of this won’t be much of a problem cause I don’t plan on ever writing anything smut, and if I do, the most I’ll do is have a spicy make out session, and then make the screen fade to black through writing somehow. This is mainly for the romance argument. Yes, I’m aware Emily seems young for him, however though she is confirmed to be in her early 20s physically mentally and emotionally, in reality, she is probably hundreds if not thousands of years old. Like she said, she’s not a child to protect. She may be innocent minded and a total sweetheart, but she’s also a powerful seraphim angel and an adult. For example, in old art of her from the zoo phobia days, she looked very intimidating and held a glowing angelic sword. But moving on, I see them as a sort of beauty and the beast dynamic, and though most people might find this ship strange or even a little alarming, I feel it’s a ship worth exploring, and if your someone like me who ships it, I see you :). I already have the story more or less thought out, and just wanted to bring the idea to light first. And if you want, even though I mainly plan to write them it out as a romantic couple , your free to interpret their relationship as queer platonic if you prefer to see alastor as aroace :) .

[cinnamon-bunni]

Liam x damien for the shipping ask

(not a part of the ask game but like what is their ship name? Bloodyhell? I saw that once somewhere, although I can't remember where, and like I though it was fucking dope so I'll use that for them lol)

Do I ship it?: No, not really. I think it can possibly be cute and I can see why people ship it (especially if they're a fan of enemies-to-lovers), but I personally don't (but those two in a qpr is REALLY cute tho I won't lie)

Why do I ship/not ship it: I think it's just a bit hard to look at their canon chemistry and put them into a romantic relationship. For me, it's hard to see them in a relationship like that, because I don't think they would mesh together well, at least not like how people would want them to. I can think of cute interactions, sure, but I can't see them in a romantic relationship together (also because I headcanon liam as aro, so like I just can't see him in a romantic relationship :/)

My opinion on canon potential: Ehh....canon it's hard to see. Again, unless you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers, only looking at canon interactions makes it very hard to ship them. There's literally just an event of those two where they insult each other and debate who's cooler. While yes, they're both so hilarious, idk about it budding into something more. Canon in general didn't really give us interactions between the two other than for comedy's sake, so we don't really know the two's relationship other than them disliking each other enough to fight, but not too much seeing as they are able to at least tolerate each other (Ex: The Caganer Ending)

My opinion on fanon interpretation: Fanon interpretation is odd, mainly because there's very little content of them in the first place. I guess that makes them a rarepair? but I think it's mainly because that the fandom is smaller than most fandoms are. But I read a few things, and I think my biggest complaint would be is that people make them softer than they actually are--which I think is probably one of the main reasons I can't really ship them. My mind goes to Liam, I think he's a good example of this, of how people write him being soft with Damien, but that immediately makes him OOC, because he has a tsundere character thing going on and a wall up to keep people out (which one day I would love to just dissect and talk about, but not here), so he probably won't be this soft and loving person, and would still be very cold and distant, even towards his S/O. I do like the platonic interactions people write, though. Either it being just them as friends or a qpr (because I both like the idea of just those two in a qpr, but also especially the idea of the whole group being in a poly qpr, that idea definitely sends my brain spinning it's so good-), because how they're written, it feels more authentic and realistic. I'm not entirely sure why that is, maybe it might just be because I'm biased and prefer those relationships for bloodyhell more or something, I'm not sure. Maybe because the characters were written more, well, in-character, I don't know. All I know is qpr bloodyhell brings me many joys into my life and highkey I will write a long-ass hc list about them if people want me to--

[stormblessed95]

TO MY "MUTLISHIP" ANON

@akookminsupporter should not have to be my mailbox 🤣😭 I'm so sorry Rosie! I wasn't sure if I should humor this or not, but anon, if you are still around creeping on blogs, here you go! I'm giving you the attention you desired! I'm making so many friends today yall. I'm posting because I can't stop laughing. I'm really just here to cause trouble today. CLEARLY.

I don't "ship" anyone btw. I'm not in this to prove relationships in either direction. If you think me talking about moments that actually happened between other members is me spreading a poly agenda, well that's on you and your perceptions, not mine. If you think that platonic relationships are not just as important as romantic ones, well that's very aro/ace-phobic of you, not to mention makes me feel a little bad for you that you've never gotten to experience the beauty that is true friendship. Or if you HAVE, how selfish of you to try and undermine those friendships of the members, simply because you'd rather speak about a preferred ship that you think is romantic. Also if you've never been In a romantic relationship and these are your views, well good luck to future you!

Also if you have read every single one of my posts, you are clearly a huge fan. I have over 2000 posts here on tumblr. That is HUGE. Good for you. Thank you for the support. You may want to work on your reading comprehension though, because I think you might be falling behind in that area. But don't worry! You are making up for it with passion!! I mean literally very first thing you should see when you open up my page is this

So.... please tell me which posts of yours show that I'm shipping anyone else in BTS romantically anon? I would be so curious. Not to mention if you dare to go farther into said masterlist above you'll see posts such as....

Among many... many others... so if you just want my attention darling, all you have to do is ask. I know, I know. Negative attention is still attention, but I promise, positive interactions with me are so much nicer. But you have to stop pretending to be smarter than everyone else first. Its not working the way you want it to.

Thank you again though for pointing out that Jikook, yoonmin, taekook, minimoni, and jihope are different people. You forgot about 16 other ships there and since I'm spreading my poly agenda, I assume you meant them too. Here I was thinking I was enjoying celebrating everyone's different and special bonds with each other. Turns out I'm just a poly agenda spreader. I had NO idea. Thank you for enlightening me. Along with the fact that BTS and ARMY are not bots, that is such good information to have. My family will be THRILLED I'm a real human being! We weren't totally sure for a little while there. I appreciate you so much 🥰

Please god tell me yall understood the sarcasm in that last paragraph. It seems to be flying over people's heads today 😅 Im here to have fun, share my opinions and not compete in ship wars or ship comparisons, but enjoy all their relationships and bonds for what they are. You do you though, boo. But if for nothing else, I do appreciate you anon for the good laugh you gave me, my friends and @akookminsupporter as well when she sent it to me! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, I really do. Take a break from the internet though, enjoy some fresh air. You could use it. 🥰🥰🥰

[relaxxattack]

hi im asking u this bc u seem to be bee duo enthusiast so

ive been calling c! beeduos relationship platonic because i thought that was what their cc’s said, and i thought they had said that they were uncomfortable with ppl shipping the characters. But ive seen a lot of posts that say their relationship is canonically romantic? and i absolutely do not want to come across as homophobic by watering down a mlm relationship to just friends because that happens so much in media so.

what is the canon state of their relationship / ur opinions on the platonic thibg

dont worry abt answering if u dont want to!! i see a lot of differing opinions and i trust yours :)

aw it’s totally fine, im flattered you asked me about this!

let me put it simply: it’s a whole mess, lol.

first im going to talk about what’s happened fandom-wide that caused differing opinions, and then i’ll explain my own opinion/interpretation. :]

(this got really fucking long im so sorry)

ranboo and tubbo initially proclaimed the relationship was romantic, specifically in argument with the wiki editors who had set it as platonic by default. (you can see this in the vod where they decide they’re canonically married— it’s very funny. chat tells them the marriage is already on the wiki, they check, tubbo is jokingly offended that it says platonic and asks if he needs to up the romance).

tubbo also makes jokes about adultry, which sort of implies the relationship is not necessarily a platonic one.

(theres definetly more in that stream alone but it’s been a long time since i watched it so i don’t remember a lot of it.)

the wiki, because of this, suffers from going back and forth on platonic and romantic, seemingly unsure where the joke ends and the canon begins, or if its canonically a joke! a mess, as you can already tell.

this gets more complicated as the marriage bit goes on: outsiders, such as phil and scott, both at one point say “platonic marriage”, which then ranboo and tubbo agree with. however, when chat asks them if they’re platonic, they say the opposite. so there is a lot of confusion there.

there’s also the difficulty of being able to tell streamers and characters apart. ranboo and tubbo both don’t like being shipped irl, and that’s their boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. (they’re also minors, but tbh when they’re 18 in a year i will still be following their boundaries regardless of their legal age).

due to people not wanting to be accused of minor shipping, they started adding the platonic tone indicator to most of their drawings— basically a way of saying “no homo”. meanwhile, tubbo frequently on stream flirts with ranboo and makes quite a bit of nsfw comments towards him that are frankly hilarious.

this goes on for a while with nobody really sure what’s canon, but a lot of people assuming it’s probably platonic, until: the drama of the mods night. a few mods dmed all the wiki editors telling them ranboo wanted his canon character relationship officially set to platonic.

unfortunately for those mods; the very same day, a few hours later, ranboo on stream makes fun of puffy delivering him and tubbo “friendship flowers”. because, and i quote, “bruh. we’re literally married. this must be how the ancient greeks felt.”

in case you don’t know, the internet often jokes about how historians will call ancient greeks ‘very good friends’ when they are quite obviously gay. so in this context, ranboo is joking that people will call him and c!tubbo, who are married, “close friends”, when he doesn’t think they are.

basically, ranboo canonized romantic bee duo, the very same day the mods told everyone he’d wanted a platonic one.

chaos and drama immediately erupted everywhere. on tumblr, we were talking about how weird it was of his mods to do something like that without asking him first. we ALSO talked about how weird it was of them to assume that ranboo can’t make his own decisions, or assume teenagers cannot be in relationships without it being sexual. twitter did the same thing but in the opposite direction: called ranboo mods homophobic, or said they were mad ranboo felt pressured into making a romantic relationship canon ‘just so people could have mlm rep.’

i dont want to go into detail about the drama that happened that night because apparently official people follow me and i dont want to stir it up or have them come “clarify” things. im just saying what we talked about.

ranboo in typical ranboo fashion apologized quickly and seriously. he was deeply sorry for possibly offending anyone with how he’d portrayed his rp relationship with tubbo, and he also assured everyone the mod thing was just a miscommunication.

he said he would talk to tubbo and they’d decide once and for all whether it was platonic or romantic, and then announce so everyone would know.

it’s now been a few months and we've had no word from them on that development. we still have no clue.

-

now, here’s my opinion:

i want to take ranboos word for it that it was a miscommunication with his mods, but... we had it on good authority from people on the wiki team and people in the discord with the mods that (while it was happening) they were really going after the wiki admins, and also made some weird comments about it. that combined with the way ranboo seemingly had no clue (considering he canonized their romance that very same day).... it’s very. sus of the mods.

then there’s the canon we’ve got since then. although occasionally adults in the room have called it a “platonic marriage” and tubbo once (back when it first started) called it a “plankton tectonic” marriage, in roleplay it’s been... kind of not that. tubbo and ranboo make nsfw jokes about each other in character, and their characters also share a master bedroom and bed in the mansion. there's also the way c!tommy really thinks it’s a romance between them as well, and they agree with and play off that— for instance confirming that they “fell in love” when he asked, or ranboo confirming that they “make out on occasion”.

people will still put platonic on their art and posts, imo, because they’re worried about breaking ranboo and tubbo’s irl boundaries by looking like they ship them. or even just being accused of shipping real life minors. and that’s a valid fear to have.

the thing is though: c!bee duo are not cc!bee duo. they’re roleplay characters. cc!bee duo are not okay with being shipped, but they made their characters get canonically married, and call each other “husbands”. so it’s okay to write the word “husband” in your comic without adding “platonic” to it, i promise.

telling the ccs that their characters have to be platonic is... weird. it comes off as not only babying them, but also as saying teens can’t date without it being gross. which isn’t true.

(this is why seeing people overuse “platonic husband” so much bothers me. like, they ARE husbands. you can just say it. what are you trying to hide...?)

-

do i think they’re canonically romantic? ehh, its likely. it’s still okay to interpret them as platonic, because again, it’s hard to tell where jokes end and roleplay begins. like, maybe it’s jokes in the rp too, and c!bee duo are just friends. friends can and should be allowed to make jokes like that with each other! aro & ace marriages exist!

or, maybe it’s actually part of the rp, and they’re very much romantic. we don’t know!

some people say they could be a qpr (queerplatonic romance), which i could see. (a qpr is a relationship that fluctuates between, or can’t quite be sorted into, “romantic” and “platonic”. people in a qpr can do romantic things while having platonic feelings for each other). in my opinion this is a very valid interpretation as well!

-

CONCLUSION (sorry this got so long omfg):

are c!bee duo romantic?

its likely, but you can still interpret them however you like!

should i put /p on bee duo content?

ehhh? i find it annoying when it’s overused (as do others), but if you’re worried you can. its up to preference. putting it too much is weird though

should i put /p on things cc! bee duo do?

no. you’re not the one saying it so you can’t decide the tone tags for that. imagine you said something to your friend and a random stranger came up and was like “haha but that was /p right...?”

can i ship c!bee duo?

mmm. i’m not sure on this one. they are canonically married and very flirtatious, but the ccs don’t like being shipped and they’re close enough to being the ccs that actively shipping might be against boundaries.

can i treat c!bee duo as romantic?

yes. literally just don’t be weird about it. it’s not that hard! you can understand that two characters are husbands without making it weird

here’s the most important thing: boundaries. cc bee duo still haven’t told us what their preferences and canon is about this whole thing.

right now, i am assuming based on what they already show us they’re comfortable with, but! the second they give us any more info! all these opinions will change!

i am only going off what they do. i would never want to cross boundaries at all. i just wish they would make theirs a little more clear.

..... i hope that helped anon, i went way off the rails... i need to go to sleep.

[2toplibrary]

What are your personal favourite tropes to read in a tdbk fic? I think I’ve read on your regular BnHA blog that you prefer canon universe settings to AUs, but I’m just curious to know a little more about your fic trends.

I have a very broad taste - and doing the library also has pushed me out of my usual comfort zone as I've tried many different things I haven't necessarily before. Also, most of the recs I give here are things I've read personally, but nowadays I also include recs from people I follow (who write things I like, but read things I don't necessarily like) to expand into directions that people may enjoy.

So yeah, I prefer:

canonverse/canon close verse to complete AUs, but there are many AUs I have enjoyed too.

future fics (young pro-hero times is my sweet spot) to high-school or childhood settings.

angst, feelings, dysfunction to pure fluff, but I also have a sweet spot for well-written crack

length doesn't matter - I'll read a 100-word vignette or a 500K slowburn as long as it hits a sweet spot

rating also doesn't matter, I'll read from G-E, and have a particularly sweet spot for platonic TDBK friendship/ pre-relationship stuff

favourite tropes include:

quirk accidents - especially ones that force a new perspective on a character (e.g. mind-reading, truth quirk, body or quirk swap, time or dimension travel, age regression, animal form, etc)

getting together / getting back together (the aching type)

domestic TDBK in deep denial (the type where they are already married but still think that they are fuck-buddies) with cathartic feelings realizations

unhealthy coping mechanisms (especially using physical fight as an outlet / courtship)

exasperated ship captains / wingmen from Class A

slowburn progression of intimacy, touch-starved TDBK

the inevitable clusterf*ck that is Todoroki x social media

Bakugou & the Todorokis (also, this may be strange, but I like if fics give nuance to Endeavor and Shouto's relationship with him. Flat paper evil Endeavor portrayals take me out of fics unless it's a complete AU where it fits)

food as love language

offbeat / bizarre flirting methods (aka pining idiots), awkward love confessions and messy firsts

major injury / amnesia / losing civilians / disability + hurt/comfort

cats

Remedial Squad

TDBK x their friendships maintained (incl. Deku, Bakusquad, Momo & Jirou)

cameos by All Might, Aizawa, Hawks

wearing each other's clothes / merch

aro-ace Bakugou / demisexual Todoroki (any kind of ace-spec or gray-sexuality representation)

Poly-fics (OT3 TDBKDK, OT4 TDBKKRDK)

Having said that, I have authors who I will read every time, even if it is genres/tropes I usually dislike (e.g. abo, arranged marriage, soulmates - basically anything that limits choice/consent).

I do have a few (very personal) squicks that I pretty much never read - the most prominent being any kind of sugarbaby or daddy kink stuff (I don't judge people who write or enjoy them, it's just not my thing).

[edelegs]

so I have a very specific interpretation of the Edelgard/Hubert dynamic that I don’t think is particularly common, but I feel is worth sharing. This is largely because some people end up diminishing the importance of this relationship when pairing each of them with other people. It’s disappointing because I personally prefer these external ships (namely Edeleth and Ferdibert, for reasons I will make clear) but often see either Edelgard or Hubert reduced to some jealous, cuckoled cockblock in them. Honestly, that’s just . . . boring. 

(Long post under the cut)

TLDR: Edelbert is fascinating because it can be argued that Hubert’s feelings are born from guilt and shame rather than romantic love. This dynamic is unhealthy but deeply interesting, and it deserves to not be diminished in fan interpretations of these characters. 

Something that makes Edelgard so compelling is the fact that she’s full of contradictions. She can’t stand people/creatures with more power than humanly possible, yet she must use her own superhuman power and cooperate with what she despises to achieve her end goal. More specific to Edelbert, this end goal is equality, yet Edelgard is not allowed to be equal to anyone. She is a detached, untouchable princess who needs to learn how to meet her friends where they stand. It is through her connection to Byleth and to the other Black Eagles where she learns how to adapt her ideals to work in reality - and to be human. 

Unintentionally, Hubert does the opposite of this. His devotion to Edelgard began as an inherited role and evolved into something he does out of personal conviction. Either way, he is putting her on a pedestal and addressing her as a vassal rather than as a friend. Many of his supports with others involve him comparing them to Edelgard and telling them they’ll never reach her level. He takes it as his personal mission to protect her from those “unworthy” of talking to her. I don’t think this is intended to be selfish or malicious. I think that because of his role as her vassal and his failure to protect her from the Hresvelg experiments, he takes on this absolute devotion and prescribes it upon everyone else. 

Their relationship is unbalanced as a result. Edelgard makes constant reference to “fighting alone” and being prepared to end up isolated and maligned. The line “the solitary reign of Edelgard has come to an end” in her S-support is particularly telling. While she clearly views Hubert as someone important to her, she does not seem to view him as someone she can be fully open with. Hubert’s constant addressing of her as “Lady Edelgard” implies that he would not take the opportunity to call her “El” if it was presented to him. Edelgard and Hubert are both so caught up in the weight and scope of their revolution that they begin to enable each other’s bad tendencies. Hubert doesn’t dare challenge her, because he thinks of her as untouchable, and this devotion allows Edelgard to take him for granted. It is not a healthy relationship. I don’t think this is a particularly hot take. Their external supports are crucial for shifting these patterns of thought and allowing these characters to grow. 

What I think may be unpopular is this: I don’t think Hubert’s feelings for Edelgard are actually romantic. 

(For context, I am aro and just really hate m/f friends getting shoved together romantically. It may be easy to dismiss my thoughts as just me being bitter that we can’t have a m/f friend pair without one of them catching feelings but allow me to argue my point.) 

Hubert was assigned to Edelgard at a young age and told it was his house’s sacred duty to serve the Hresvelg family. He loathes his father for his involvement in the Insurrection of the Seven, which happened when he was ten. It goes without saying that this largely shapes his devotion to Edelgard. I would even say these events traumatized him to some degree. He mentions this in their A support, where he declares that his loyalty has been to her alone since she returned from the Kingdom. The path that these two share is informed and shaped by trauma - what Edelgard went through and Hubert’s powerlessness to stop it. More critically, these events radicalized them both and created the “shared vision” mentioned in his B support with Dorothea. 

That particular support jumps out to me. When I first played the game, I felt unbelievably validated by it. Hubert denies accusations of unrequited love in an edgily self-aware way (the line ”do I really look like the kind of drooling simpleton to have that kind of motivation?” made me literally cheer) and goes on to describe their relationship as walking the same path. He then highlights the qualities he feels towards Edelgard (gratitude, respect, awe, empathy, trust, and hope). None of these require romantic attraction. Dorothea then goes on to say that “loving another is really about wanting to be loved . . . I’m pretty sure that’s different from how things are with you and Edie”. This scene spoke a lot to my own experiences - my feelings for my best friend largely echo Hubert’s (though way less dramatic, of course) and I found the form of deep platonic love I feel for her reflected in that conversation. The acknowledgement on Dorothea’s part that it was different from romantic love (whether or not she truly believes it) is what blew me away. This is honestly one of the few times where a piece of media made me feel seen which makes me forever mad about the Edelbert A support.Though it could be argued that he’s just closed-off and could easily pull off lying about it, I know those feelings well. Others might see this as definitive proof of Hubert’s unrequited love for Edelgard, but I just can’t and I wanted to articulate this perspective because it means so much to me. Close, all-consuming, and important relationships can be platonic. 

I know better than to claim that the confession scene never happened. It is interesting to evaluate because it shows Edelgard finally calling attention to Hubert’s unknowing perpetuation of the gap between them. When Hubert states his feelings plainly, he is as composed as ever. Edelgard blushes and states that “you never cease to surprise me”. Hubert laughs this off, and that’s the end of that. It clearly is supposed to be a genuine love confession, but I think it’s more interesting to consider a man with only one real close friend misinterpreting his blind devotion towards her as love because he doesn’t really know what it is. I think it adds to the kind of fucked-up nature of their relationship (is it love or obsession? How is he supposed to know if a connection borne from trauma stems from love or guilt?). It also speaks to how difficult it is to identify romantic feelings when you’ve never truly felt them. 

That being said, I actually do ship Hubert with other people. I love Ferdibert because their personality clashes create a sense of mutual growth that helps Hubert learn to openly challenge Edelgard rather than subvert orders he disagrees with and it’s honestly just really funny. I also love Hubernie because the idea of a terrifying man and a girl who’s scared of everything learning to meet each other halfway shows similar character growth. I just think that for many years, Hubert’s devotion to Edelgard gave him a really fucked up understanding of human relationships, both romantic and platonic. There’s a tendency to erase the weight and importance of the Edelbert dynamic when both are shipped with other people as well as a great opportunity to show that strong platonic relationships can and should be perceived as equal to romantic ones. I have read so many Ferdibert things that suggest that their love is all-encompassing and Makes Them Whole. Wouldn’t it be more in-character to explore how they navigate the web of relationships in their lives? I love the Black Eagles’ interpersonal relationships so much and each one shapes the characters more and more. I’d love to see that reflected in ways that center platonic relationships! 

[adrienaline-rushed-art]

Yeah! The tags on the aroace post

It was half a joke, but I said “now no more shipping the kwamis” because when it comes to aroace characters (which are rare) it’s really preferable to keep them that way. Some might want to headcanon them as only ace so they can have fanon romance, or “the type of aro” that still dates. In general, this is valid and people like this totally exist, but sometimes it can feel like an excuse to get around canon representation? It’s not always intentional, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t have to feel like a limit to not romantically ship characters. Kwamis are just really closely bonded, and there’s still a lot of room for normalization of platonic relationships being equal to romantic relationships.  Additionally, shippers should reflect on whether they would still ship a couple if they were mlm or wlw. Kwamis don’t really have genders, they’re more like the gems from SU, where they present in a gender-coded way, but otherwise aren’t binary. So, is the fact that Tikki is fem presenting or Plagg is masc presenting the reason to ship them? Would they seem like friends if they didn’t seem het?  It might seem silly for fiction, but it’s reasons like these that putting into practice the respect of canon queerness. Again it was mostly a joke, I can’t stop someone from shipping something that isn’t technically harmful. And there may as well be aroaces who still want to ship kwamis. But to me, it would be nice if the fandom continued to treat them as aroace now that it’s confirmed. 

[savrenim]

i am running thru ur tumblr to find ONE POST to cite for tvtropes, and i agree so hard with the soulmate stuff. what if my soulmate is an awful abuser, i want the choice to NOT be with them without some painful physical consequence or loss of perception if i don't date them just because the universe said we were "meant to be"... plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist and less like an ass pull so you could justify getting 2 characters together

oH gods this is something that I have SO many feelings about that probably is slightly informed by my own orientation and preferences, but. feelings. this got long so it's going under the cut

so there are three and a half major things that I have a problem with in terms of general soulmate tropes that are "there is one person who is your perfect romantic partner" (which to be fair I've seen a number of soulmate AUs do that trope with the addendum "although it only applies to a certain percentage of the population / not everyone has soulmates / everyone has soulmates but not everyone has SUPER PERFECT ROMANTIC soulmates" which at least somewhat avoids the statistic inevitability of abusive soulmates if combined with Fate Can See The Future And So Your Fated Soulmate Just Won't Be) and these complaints aren't even from the "I'm poly where's my poly rep" kind of place which is a whole 'nother bag of worms, but let's go:

1. I aggressively believe that love is a choice. Love is something that is built, not predetermined before you meet someone. There might be initial compatibility aspects going down when you first meet someone, but, like. statistically there are more than seven and a half billion people on this planet. If there is only a single person perfectly meant for you, again, statistically, you are not going to meet them, I've seen the figure thrown that on average a person will meet on the order 10,000 people in their lifetime but let's even go 100,000, you will meet 0.001% of the world's population. Unless you think some sort of divine coincidence or fate is guiding you to a soulmate which throws free will out the window and then I can't help you but, like. discarding the math, I think it is actively harmful to a relationship to believe that it can be sustained on chemistry or predetermined 'but we're perfect for each other' alone. It requires work. You choose who is in your life, you choose who stays in your life, you choose who you want to be important to you based on what they contribute to your life and what you contribute to theirs.

(I am assuming this ask is at least partially in reaction to my soulmate post, which actually the fic in question, a buried and a burning flame, has since gone up. I highly recommend reading Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard first, but besides the setup for arson wizards that alas is never used because the fire mage with a soulmate in question is Responsible, I decided to both tackle 'okay soulmarks trope too let's throw it in', which leads to the not-really-a-spoiler passage that appears fairly early on about actually the full layout (albeit with less detail on the 'yeah for mages it just helps ground their magic, nothing romantic about it' part) of my Soulmate Rules:

Soulmates existed, both in the Empire of Astandalas and across the Wide Seas. They just worked slightly differently in Vangavaye-ve than the rest of the worlds.

The rest of the Empire seemed to view soulmates as a monolith. From what Cliopher had been able to glean, the tradition was grounded in their magic. Magi had soulmates, or rather, magic-workers would each have a soulmate. Cliopher wasn't clear if all magic-workers had a soulmate, or if magic-workers simply could have one, but there was always a mage in soulmate pairs, and it was always a pair. There were no marks, no visible signs involved, as soulmates were something that were sensed with magic. They were permanent, intrinsic, and to be recognized immediately.

To Wide Sea Islanders, soulmates were a choice.

The soul-marks, lana and lani-voa, would appear the first time you touched someone that you had chosen to love, with the full knowledge that you loved them. Cliopher had the marks of his mother and father, his sisters, Basil and Dimiter, Bertie and Ghilly. His skin was covered lovingly with the colors of his love, marks that he had gotten used to concealing with long sleeves in Astandalas when he had gotten tired of the constant staring at his 'primitive tattoos'.

Buru Tovo had been the only one to give him lani-voa, a greater mark of the soul. The pattern, with its thick lines and twisting design in a deep blue, extended over the entirety of his left arm and shoulder. They were the dances of his family pressed onto his skin, and he had traced them over with reverent and feather-light touch for months after he had received them. A lani-voa marked someone who had changed your life for the better in a deep and irrevocable way. It was a great honor to have even one.

And now, with the gold stretching up his right arm, new patterns that he didn't recognize stretching up from a handprint of pure gold that was expanding the longer he held that first contact with Tor—

now he had two.

(Buru Tovo is Cliopher's great uncle, for context. In fact, everyone listed there is either a familial or platonic relationship, with a single relationship that used to be romantic but settled into platonic.))

so. yeah. Love is a choice! The Biggest Of Moods! any soulmate lore that undermines that is a Bad Message, in my opinion.

The emphasis also on platonic soulmates leads into my second point:

2. I have found in my life that platonic relationships that I have are and have always been as important if not moreso than the romantic relationships. the emphasis of a single romantic relationship as the most important relationship that you can be in maybe fits for some people, but as a generalization to absolutely everyone I think is toxic and harmful. and not just for aro people! I'm not aro, but I would be miserable to write off my friends as Less Important And Meaningful to me than my parter, whom I love with all my heart! (I've actually ended up in my life settling into what I call the red/blue/gold system for 'relationships that I treat with the importance that society treats romantic relationships', but that's a personal thing). The standard soulmate trope tends to really solidly deliver the thesis of "there is a single romantic relationship that is the single most important relationship in your life" and I just think that's a very bad thesis.

3. Finally, I think the emphasis on permanent/forever is a harmful one for relationships in general. People change. you drift closer to people or further away from them. you move, they move, your schedules change, your interests change, your life changes. if you are living with a romantic partner you're going to keep seeing each other every day, but that doesn't stop you from changing as a person, which means see Point 1 Love Is A Choice; but even if you choose to remain together, you are probably eventually going to Ship Of Theseus your entire relationship. I think it is an important message that if that happens and it is no longer a relationship that is as deeply positive as it once was in your life, you don't...have to keep it out of loyalty to what it once was.

It's okay for people to drift out of your life that were once the most important person in your life. It doesn't invalidate how important and meaningful that relationship used to be, and it isn't a betrayal to let yourself and them and your relationships change and evolve. The idea that something has to be forever for it to matter I think is the idea about soulmates that I disagree with the most. Probably because that was the hardest lesson for me to learn as a kid and a teenager, and the life lesson that I am proudest for learning.

3.5 your point 'plus if it's just a magic thing it "feels" more justified in-universe that soulmates exist' is exactly on the nose, literally I am unable to write anything without attempting to write down a universal theory of everything for How The World Works. if something soulmate-wise is going down even if it never appears on the page you bet your ass I have either figured out the general cosmology and theology of "are there gods or divine forces who have instituted this policy? if so, why? what purpose does it serve", or in the case of abaabf which already has such interesting magic rules in the original canon of "is there an evolutionary reason for soulmates to exist" which I don't go tracing out full evolutionary biology for a fic necessarily mostly because I would want the full evolutionary biology in canon to make sure mine is compliant enough but that sure as hell does translate to "if soulmates exist and it's not for the reason of Because Godlike Beings Said So, there better be a practical purpose". I find at least long-form soulmate fics (ie things With Plot and a Developed Setting that aren't just "let's do a ficlet with this well-known trope") that Do Not Feel Like They've At Least Thought About Why Soulmates Happen To Exist hurt my soul. which I think slightly intersects with my "I hate it when the rules of the universe/ laws of physics are human-centric" instead of "the base rules which were not designed for humans came first, and how the human world works arose in reaction to them" and. yeah. consistent desire to know at least for myself why things are set up the way that they're set up which gods ifmlam is wild and completely bullshit and pulls from quantum multiverse philosophy I started writing that thing when I was like. eighteen? nineteen? but at least it's there so I can be consistent.

as a caveat for everything above: I don't actually think that fiction, fanfiction in particular, needs to perfectly reflect what A Good Relationship or A Good Message About Relationships should be. it is a very human desire in a chaotic and confusing world to want a simple, absolute, binary thing to hold onto. fiction is a place for escapism or wish fulfillment or even exploring things that you wouldn't actually want in real life, I think that the movement in fandom/fiction that all of the messaging in your story should match the advice you'd give for a real-life setup is a bad and harmful one. mostly my opinions on soulmates and hence desire to do inversions of the soulmate trope in my fic and things like the red/blue/gold system and heavy emphasis on platonic relationships in original work that I'm writing is about a desire to see representation for me and the things I love and find important and my sort of relationships in the stories that are a big part of my life. but I am really glad that in doing so I seem to have struck a chord in other people, who maybe want to see the same thing!