#So... I don't usually take anything with ships in it explicitly (because I want to avoid ship arguing) but I feel like is an exception

[dirtychainsawconfessions]

Stretch definitely pegs bubba. She pegs me too btw ❤️❤️❤️

[beanghostprincess]

I would like to know your thoughts on Boa x Luffy.

Because I have a few problems with this ship. (actually it´s mostly one, the others are more reasons why I don´t ship them)

First the age gap: Can´t say anything to it since I like Marco x Ace (I don´t won´t to think of that age different! )

A problem I have is that Boa seems to idolize Luffy and alredy wants to merry a 17Y old Luffy. And first I was like thats a bit creepy but then I stopped a moment to think. When I look of her behavior and her thoughts, she actually reminds me more of a little girl with her first crush. (lasteres is definitive true) While she wasn´t as lucky to grew up as isolated as most of the amazons (who didn´t even know what a man looks like) and has probably good reasons to hate men, she soesn´t know much about relationships.

I think, and I can´t believe I´m saying this, that Luffy is in this more mature than her in this. He clearly says that he won´t marry her. (and thank you Oda to not play it for laugh and make him not understand what she means) I´m pretty sure Luffy knows her feelings for him, but ignores it (doesn´t think about it).

What I really don´t like about this ship is actually not the ship itself (even if I don´t ship them), it´s some "shiper" when you can call them that. It´s when someon just ships them because Luffy NEEDS a love intrest (not true) or because with someone Luffy has to have children in the future (also not true!).

I hate that! Boa (and Luffy) deserve better than that. She is a strong independent women that is more than her crush on Luffy.

I could write so many reasons why I love Boa, but I wrote already so much (more than I wanted) and my cat is bothering me because she wants attention. ( how dare I not give her the attention she deservs? Love her.)

I usually have no issues with ships because if I don't like them I just ignore them, so I basically don't care about this ship? Like people be people. You do you. Hakuna Matata. I personally don't like it because it's not my type of thing and because the only reason Boa likes Luffy is because she feels safe around him the way she feels safe around Rayleigh. Men have always seen her (and still do) as an object, and she has managed to use her beauty against them and their stupidity and I love it. I love her. I find Boa and Luffy's dynamic really endearing because it's not only that she has a ""crush"" on him, but she trusts him and genuinely feels comfortable in his presence to the point of saying "well, if this goes wrong I'll just go to Luffy" (which is really fucked up actually because she should be more independent and relying on romantically/sexually is only a trauma response, but yeah, at least she has two men in her life she can trust). I think she doesn't love Luffy or have a crush on him at all. She's just captivated by him and how safe he makes her feel because he's one of the only two men who have never seen her as an object. So, from that POV I really like the dynamic, but not romantically/sexually at all. I honestly think she's a lesbian going through the biggest fucking case of comphet I've ever seen, but then again, no opinion on the ship other than I don't like it but people can do whatever they want as long as they don't bother me.

However, I must say I do agree with you on the fact that most Boa/Luffy shippers (dudebros, mostly) like the pairing because they think Luffy as a main character needs a female love interest, and since she's been pretty much the only girl who has explicitly displayed romantic feelings for Luffy, they just take it as canon without thinking about their relationship or characters in the slightest. These people just keep pushing a normatively straight and allo agenda that I can't fucking stand. But, well, it's not like I interact with them so whatever.

Most people see this ship as problematic for the age difference and I find that pretty much stupid because usually the main problem with age difference is the level of maturity and power imbalance, but in this case, Boa is just down bad for him and she's a bit annoying at times (honestly, I keep saying it's just her coping mechanism often played as a joke for her character). And Luffy knows that she is because he has refused to get married to her multiple times. People act like Luffy is this naive kid who doesn't know what love/sex is, but the guy is just... Not interested. He doesn't seem bothered by her either? If Luffy genuinely disliked Boa for this he would've said so. He is a very direct and honest character. He likes Boa. He's friends with her. He'll help her if needed and he cares about her. However, he just doesn't like her romantically and... That's pretty much it? It's not that deep from Luffy's POV, honestly.

And when people call Boa a predator (I've seen that) I just feel uh... Conflicted with their opinion. Because a predator is somebody who has these patterns and keeps wanting/liking kids/really young people and keeps insisting whether or not they want it and they're, well, pervs, basically. Boa's feelings for Luffy are, like you said, pretty much shown as a high school innocent crush. The way she acts around him is to rely on him rather than take advantage of him, because, I repeat, all men in her life have used her and now that she has a male friend who doesn't see her as an object, she copes with having a crush on him. Which is really sad and it has happened to me and to a lot of lesbians with bad past experiences and... Seeing people call her out like this as if she were some big evil predator makes me feel really uneasy and worried about the reading skills of this fandom. Have you considered that... Even if there's an age gap... Some people don't have bad intentions and adults can also be traumatized? Like, I'm not saying this would be okay in real life, because it wouldn't (even if her behavior is understandable from a psychological POV), but in fiction? I think Boa is a pretty complex and well-written character and she has her reasons behind this comedic gag, even if it doesn't seem like it. Oda likes to exaggerate these things, with Sanji, for example. Y'all would literally hate Sanji in real life for how he treats women most of the time and we all acknowledge it's a comedic gag that got out of hand.

I'm not sure if I'm wording this right, but basically: Boa doesn't like Luffy romantically/sexually and just mistakes feeling safe with those types of attraction. I don't like the ship for that reason, and most shippers only ship them without having any understanding of their characters at all and because they just want a main straight pairing. It can be seen as problematic for the age gap and it's a running gag that can make people uncomfortable, yes, and I understand. But that does not make Boa a pedo/predator and y'all keep using those words very very freely to the point of them losing their true meaning.

Now this ended up being kind of an essay on them rather than my opinion so, TL;DR: I don't like the ship but they're cute friends.

[lettucebee17]

For the writing request: both Idia and Azul seem to have self esteem issues in the very least in the game. Maybe something exploring that, if you don't mind? Doesn't have to be shipped, friends can support friends too:D

I've had this request in my inbox for over a month and I decide to finish it today when ao3 is down... :(

I wanted to get it to you anyway so I'll just post it on ao3 when it comes back.

Thank you for the request! I hope it is satisfactory!! It can be read romantically or platonically depending on your preference!

Requests are still open: the details are linked in my pinned post

Fic under the cut:

Idia Shroud was, definitively, not the kind of person who worried about other people. Then again, Azul Ashengrotto was not the kind of person to skip out on board game club without so much as a text. The latest Azul had ever been to a club meeting was three minutes, and that had been after texting Idia the exact details of why he’d be late (possibly even more details than Idia had wanted or needed). So, after waiting fifteen minutes for the other housewarden to show up, Idia started to pack up his own things. Of course, there were other members of the club that he could play games with, but he knew from prior experience that that was usually just more annoying than it was worth - not that he’d ever let Azul hear that.

It was most definitely not because he was worried that he took a more roundabout path toward the hall of mirrors as he left the clubroom. What reason would he even have to go looking for Azul? It wasn’t as if something would have happened. Besides, Azul could take care of himself even if something had.

Idia almost didn’t hear the talking coming from a nearby classroom over his own internal monologue. However, it was generally pretty easy to hear Kalim’s voice over anything. Although, Kalim’s voice on its own wouldn’t have stopped him - Floyd’s did that.

“C’mon Azul! Sea Otter just wants to see~!” Azul? Following the voices, Idia found himself standing at the open door of a classroom. Inside, he could see Kalim, Floyd, Riddle, and Ruggie gathered around Azul. His clubmate was leaning against a desk, clearly trying to look casual and composed, though his arms were wrapped tightly around his abdomen. Idia knew that stance - he’d practically invented it - but seeing it on Azul was foreign.

“I explicitly told you not to bring this up, Floyd.” Azul’s voice presented itself as confident and threatening, but Idia could hear it waver even from his place at the door. It was a wonder no one else could tell how uncomfortable he seemed - or maybe they just didn’t care.

“I have to admit, I’m curious to see your true form as well.” The arms around Azul’s middle tightened at Riddle’s comment. 

Idia Shroud was also, definitively, the kind of person who thought before he spoke. Unfortunately, he seemed to have thrown that fact out the window as he stepped further into the room, alerting the others of his presence.

“Um… Azul? Sry to interrupt… uh, could I er- could we talk about something?” He paused in his quiet stuttering as all five of them stared at him. “Not in here?”

Idia had to refrain himself from mirroring Azul’s uncomfortable stance as the octopus raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. He tried to smile, immediately regretting the grimace that graced his face instead. Azul tilted his head, speculatively, though his arms didn’t loosen from their protective spot around him. “Alright.”

Despite the mild protests from the other sophomores in the room, Azul extracted himself from his spot on the desk to follow after Idia as he left the classroom. As they walked, Idia dimly noted in the back of his head that Azul’s arms didn’t loosen from his abdomen. Azul quietly followed Idia into a different empty classroom at the end of the hall. Idia’s racing thoughts drowned out the uncomfortable silence that fell over them as they stood in the room.

“What did you need to talk about?” Idia startled out of his mind at the question, turning back to look at Azul again, who had resumed the exact same position he’d had in the other classroom, leaning against a desk. The tremor in his voice was more noticeable now without anyone louder to cover it up.

“Wut?” A wave of embarrassment washed over the older boy when he remembered the ruse he’d used to get Azul here in the first place, not even two minutes ago. “Oh. Nothing. You just looked like you’d wandered into a boss battle you were about ten levels too low for and I didn’t want you to get ganked…” Idia trailed off as Azul’s eyes narrowed further with each word he said. “You looked uncomfortable,” he amended.

Azul’s eyes widened minutely and his mouth fell slightly open before returning to their default settings just as quickly. The silence regained its grip on the room when Azul didn’t respond. Idia’s mouth skewed a bit further each time he glanced at Azul only to find the arms tightening more. Gathering all the determination he could muster within himself with a sigh, Idia unzipped the hoodie he wore over his uniform. He opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed that was where his determination ran out and he ended up staring at the floor while wordlessly holding the hoodie toward Azul. It wasn’t until he felt the weight lifting from his hand that he looked back up to find Azul’s confused face staring back at him from a tilted head.

“It helps with the…” He trailed off, raising one hand in a gesture that was indecipherable to anyone else except maybe Ortho. Luckily, Azul gave him a small nod and an affirmative hum before slipping his arms into Idia’s hoodie. 

With another uncomfortable sigh, Idia dropped his own arms heavily to his sides and spun around to lean against the desk next to Azul, perfectly content to let the silence linger over them. He felt bare in only his uniform dress shirt, but Azul’s arms had finally untangled him as he, instead, started rubbing at the material of the sleeves that fell down too far over his hands. Idia felt a small smile wash over his face at the sight of the oversized sweatshirt on his smaller friend. They stood there for a few minutes and Idia listened to Azul’s breath even out and watched his posture return to its usual state.

“Thanks.” There was still an uneasy vulnerability in Azul’s eyes as they locked onto Idia’s, but the softness of his voice put Idia’s own uneasiness to rest.

“Yeah, I mean… um, you’re welcome?” It wasn’t supposed to be a question, but Idia would take what he could get. And what he got was a tiny chuckle from Azul so he supposed that was fine. “I get it. I mean–! I don’t get it, get it. I obviously don’t know exactly what’s up with you… Not that there’s anything up with you, I just mean—” He cut himself off with a frustrated noise. “Why aren’t there dialogue options irl?”

“You’re doing fine.” Azul punctuated his statement by leaning over and bumping his shoulder gently into Idia’s with a soft smile, threatening to knock the taller boy to the floor. Regaining his balance, Idia let out a small, self-pitying laugh and returned Azul’s smile.

“You know, since we’re missing board game club…” Idia paused, briefly remembering that he usually liked to think before he spoke, especially when he was about to say things like the thing he was about to say. Azul’s head tilt reminded him why he was about to say it in the first place. “I have some games in my room if you wanted to…” The implication was all he could manage to get out before self-consciousness grasped his vocal chords again.

“Alright.” Golden eyes widened at the easy agreement as Azul straightened up, adjusting his glasses before tucking his hands in the pockets of Idia’s hoodie and heading toward the door, confident demeanor returning in full force, though he used his hands in the pockets to wrap the sweatshirt tighter around him. Idia briefly wished he could do the same, having given his precious self-esteem buff to Azul. But, he had plenty of sweatshirts back in his room, he could tough it out for fifteen minutes or so if it meant Azul wasn’t shrinking in on himself anymore.

“Alright.” The older boy repeated Azul’s statement to himself as he followed the octopus out the door again, not mentioning when Azul took a longer path to the hall of mirrors to avoid the classroom Idia had found him in.

As they walked, Idia’s thoughts took the opportunity to run rampant once again. Floyd had been one of the people causing Azul to feel that way. Idia had thought Floyd was one of Azul’s closest friends. If Floyd caused the problem, did that mean Azul didn’t have anyone to talk to when he got like that? Idia couldn’t imagine either of the twins being any sort of comfort to anxiety. He knew he wasn’t one to talk, but at least he had Ortho when things got too bad. What did Azul do? Hide in his room until it went away?

“Idia.” He must have gotten too lost in his thoughts. When had they arrived at the Ignihyde mirror and why was Azul looking at him with that much concern? “I’m okay.”

“I know that. But, if you ever…” He paused. “If you ever need someone to, I don’t know, talk to? I’m… here, I guess.”

Azul chuckled. “I could say the same thing to you, you know?”

“Fair enough.” Idia Shroud was, definitely, not the kind of person who worried about other people. Then again, he also wasn’t the kind of person to give his hoodie to someone else, so he supposed he was throwing a lot of facts out the window today.

[weenwrites]

Eyy

That request that i made was not incest it WAS NOT romantic at all for you to think its incest is disgusting just read it right will you how could you even think that

Ok, I'll explain how I saw it that way. /nm

Most romantic ships usually have an "x" between the two characters that are being shipped. For example, for the ship Arcee and Cliffjumper, it would be written as "Arcee x Cliffjumper".

The "x" is basically a universal romantic ship sign.

I don't interpret it as you want a platonic or familial pairing between them unless you explicitly say so in your request or use a "+" or "and" in place of the "x" to signify you want a platonic pairing (e.g. "Arcee + Cliffjumper" or "Arcee and Cliffjumper").

So I mostly assume that when you send in an ask like this:

I circled that part because that was what my brain was focusing on when I first read it.

I see that "x" and I immediately think "does this person want me to write incest or pedophilia?". Granted, you mention that the reader insert is explicitly his child, but in my mind, the "x" takes priority above all else.

Regardless of whether your request broke some of my rules or not, I didn't want to accept an ask that might have been written with the intent to request for incest or pedophilia.

Sure you could argue that I could infer that wasn't your intent, judging from what else you said, but for me, I don't have enough information to determine that myself. You may not need more context to understand things, but I do in order to properly understand what you wanted, hence why I ask for people to be as specific as possible in their requests so I don't misunderstand their intent and what they want.

But since it wasn't your intent to request either of those things, then great! I don't need to block you for requesting anything far out of line.

I'm sorry I can't read things right according to your standards or the way you write things, but people understand things differently and I'm not you. I can't understand your intentions unless you help me understand what you want. /nm

[evilwickedme]

Do you have Jason fic recs that specifically deal with the batarang to the throat?

hey, I absolutely do! it's a short list, but it's some of the best fics in my bookmarks. I'm sure there's more that I'll regret not adding later but that's how it always goes so

take care of yourself some of these fics can get dark

as if i would ever have a place for you is a short established jayroy fic written specifically for the prompt "batarang scar". it's mostly about boundaries within the jayroy relationship and how Jason relates to his own trauma, and I wish it was longer because I think it's very elegant in how it approaches these subjects

Say Something is a mute!Jason au, where the batarang to the throat actually damaged Jason's vocal chords. this is another jayroy, though in this one they start as strangers. it also touches on Roy's history with addiction. it's also relatively short at 3k I don't have much else to say, strangely soft get together tho

My Scars Aren't Silent (Selectively Mute Jason Todd) is, uh... well, what it says on the tin, idk what to tell you. this one's another au where Jason is mute as a result of what Bruce has done to him, and is also jayroy, but this one's a series! so that's different! anyway in this au everyone thinks Jason is dead for the second time, established jayroy come to live in gotham, the batfam slowly get to know this Jason, and he tries to rebuild his life. it's pretty emotional, actually.

finally, as usual saving the best for last, is to the red planet Mars. this is a relatively long 'un at 36k, but I've reread it multiple times. this one explicitly deals with Bruce's canonical physical abuse of his children in depth and while the other fics here deal with the aftermath of a single case of violence without ever showing it on page, we absolutely see Bruce beating Jason in this fic, so please take care of yourself. it's not an easy read but I love it a lot, and I think the rest of the series is pretty damn good too, but unfortunately it's not complete :/. Roy does show up but it's not a ship fic, I actually read this before I started shipping them, which seems weirdly impossible now.

anyway, yeah, dark subject matter and there's certainly more fics out there, but I actually started making a jayroy fic rec list (which you can really tell lmao) and realized I was making this list instead, so that one got delayed for now. enjoy and let me know if there's anything else anybody wants to read about!

[tamelee]

did you ever watch tokyo ghoul? do you know about the main character ending up with a girl he always had a crush on but he was shipped a lot with his male best friend and all the gay shippers lost it when they revealed the guy and girl not only explicitly being in love but also have sex? i heard it's not in the anime and the manga is more explicit but yeah. i watched tokyo ghoul once when i was younger but didn't finish it cuz i got bored of it but i do remember the main guy having a crush on a girl, but idk if the girl is the same one he ended up having sex with later on. i just know there was a girl in the beginning and then he met a girl (or it was the same one? idk) later on in the ghoul community. he was good friends with his male friend throughout the whole thing, they were childhood friends, and he stuck with him the whole time. when i found out about ppl's reactions to this i wanted to know about the relationship to see if it's like sns lol since they have a similar "childhood friends to lovers" situation but from what i remember the mc did like a girl. but he also had a cute friendship with the guy, i think i remember a really emotional moment between them, and the guy's friend also ended up dying? like the really popular pic from this anime, idk if you've seen it, where the white haired guy is carrying another guy, that was the mc and his friend. also ppl on anime twt like to use this anime and its ships to prove how when yaoi fans hate on a girl that gets in the way of their gay ship it's usually cuz of misogyny. that's actually how i found out about this lol . cuz this girl apparently isn't a hated character like sakura, or has legit reasons and traits about her that are misogynistic in writing therefore not likeable like hinata, but ppl still hated on her like crazy when this was revealed.

Oh, I don't think I actually know anyone that finished watching the Anime it got so boring for sure -.- I think, although I don't really remember, I really liked Season 1 and then struggled through the second one, then dropped it eventually. I still really want to read the Manga because I've seen a lot of people say it is SO much better and that the Anime ruined it? The art from the few panels I've seen are so beautiful 🥹 but it's a shame if that's true because the concept of the story I think is really cool.

(also, that OST 👌) Uh, I only remember this purple hair girl and I know what the best friend looks like and that I really liked him, but other than that I have no clue anymore, sorry 🫣

Cute though~

"also ppl on anime twt like to use this anime and its ships to prove how when yaoi fans hate on a girl that gets in the way of their gay ship it's usually cuz of misogyny. that's actually how i found out about this lol . cuz this girl apparently isn't a hated character like sakura, or has legit reasons and traits about her that are misogynistic in writing therefore not likeable like hinata, but ppl still hated on her like crazy when this was revealed."

I don't know anything about this regarding TG but yeah, people in the SNS fandom who don't like Sakura and/or Hinata get that thrown to their heads all the time but it is a shallow assessment that doesn't take anything else into consideration. This idea isn't entirely baseless though because it does happen a lot in many fandoms gosh. But in Naruto's case it's just... not the same *childish-foot-stomp* 😆 The entire foundation of the story is involved, its Themes rely on Naruto AND Sasuke, they live the problem and in the end are the solution, they are literally the big 'why' of its story. I mean I probably could write a thousand essays on that alone... And so, controversial opinion maybe, but I don't think it's very valid to compare Sakura and Hinata with other female characters regarding things like this because of Kishimoto's intentions (which I get not everyone agrees with this method but.. yk) and the way he wrote them to convey what he wanted to tell. In that sense they are merely literary tools used to show contrast in order to explain what the other end of that contrast means for Naruto and Sasuke without actually having to spell it out... and it's so cleverly done but it makes a discussion about female characters (especially a generalization) and the way they are treated difficult. Nonetheless, it's always an interesting conversation though because that line between a character being allowed to have a flaw or criticizing the character meaning it's misogyny can be very blurry at times...

[radioactive-earthshine]

YJ!Animated TimBart was actually probably the first gay ship I thought about as a kid, something about how in the show whenever Tim was absent from something usually Bart would speak up instead of Cassie just had my confused closeted kid brain thinking "Bart would make a better girlfriend for Tim than Cassie I think" and then I read them in comics and I've always been a little partial to them but honestly comics Bart reads so Aro to me (though he totally thinks most of his friends are hot and is a little in love with them in an aro way) and I have fallen deep into TimLonnie as my #1 Tim ship, but still I think that Young Justice Animated would be able to do something really cool with them and idk it'd heal my inner baby gay

Oh goodness that's a fun story thank you for sharing it.

Bart as aro/ace/aroace in the comics is SO REAL honestly - there's some great evidence to point towards that even if Waid has said that his reasoning for not having a love interest until much later in his series was because 'he was still developing' (paraphrasing). This is sort of a death of the author situation though so we take what is shown in the comics and from what is shown there is precedent for Bart being on the aro/ace spectrum.

As for Animated TimBart I'm not entirely sure if that will come to be (we're still in limbo for a 5th season) but anything is possible until we're shown it.

On one hand I can see them going that direction - it would be surprising and fresh and would get people talking and it would involve a Bat which is DC's cash cow. Tim is canonly queer in the comics, Titans and in Gotham Knights so it's very likely he is queer as well in the cartoon even if we do not see him with anyone. Bart is already heavily suspected to be queer and there's been implication that in the animation he is gay. They have history together, are around the same age and are close in the comics so there's no particular reason they can't be dating.

On the other hand Tim is with Bernard now and even if season 5 was technically written before Tim came out Bernard is a permanent part of Tim's history. They may feel that it is improper and inviting a type of drama they don't want to start by making Tim date anyone else - even if this is an elseworlds and is not connected to the comics in any way. There's also already evidence to suggest that Bart and Ed are dating even if it is not shown explicitly.

I guess at the end of the day we all know Bart is queer in some way, and we want to see some representation.

[betweenlands]

feel free to ignore/delete this ask for any reason, but i need to ask someone because i can't tell if i'm imagining things or not, and i know you've sort of talked about things like this before, but has there been a large jump in... not always active arophobia, but in the amatonormativity in mcyt fandom spaces lately? it feels like things go untagged, there's a larger focus on romance and love, and the active aphobia that there is just goes quietly unmentioned by the majority, and all of these more than before. this isn't me trying to say shipping's bad or anything, i don't have a problem with it, just that this fandom has felt so alienating lately for some reason and i can't figure out whether it's because something's changed in the fandom itself or not

i think this is genuinely a really interesting topic to talk about so i'm giving this a kinda longer response!

(tl;dr -- it's not just you and things have changed, but it's also not what you might think; this is how most non-mcyt fandoms are)

so! to start with, more than ever i think the amatonormativity thing depends on the specific sub-fandom you're in. qsmp's a huge outlier; by virtue of having canon relationships it brings itself more in line with the average fandom in terms of how much people talk about ships (being in a non-mcyt fandom or two helps for perspective on this. i s2g half the tag for murder drones is just ship wars. nonstop ship wars. please stop i want to discuss lore).

with qsmp being such a genuinely interesting outlier (it's something the english mcyt fandom hasn't seen in a while in terms of a series with explicitly canon relationships being mainstream) i think that causes a lot of people to really want to post about these relationships, because like... people feel strongly about being able to express this aspect of their interests in a way they weren't able to before, i think? we've never personally been interested in shipping stuff (with like maybe 5 exceptions ever across all fandoms we've ever been in) but the attitude towards shipping used to be so INCREDIBLY hostile that i think people take their ability to post ship stuff very personally.

i'm not sure about other series, though -- this is where things get weird, because we're not really in mainstream mcyt fandom right now. we don't follow a lot of hermitshippers, but most of them generally tag their stuff? on reblogs it's a bit more sloppy but i also think a lot of people tend to just put "i post [server]shipping content" in their bios as like a blanket reminder and leave it at that

all that said, i don't think it's intentional amatonormativity, or even remotely malicious. i do think we're seeing a lot more ship content than usual/it's a little more difficult to find platonic stuff than it used to be in general mcyt fandom -- this VERY much varies based on series, though. we currently main dominion/adjacent and there's not shit for ship stuff there (to be fair, there's also not a lot of fandom in general, it's Mad Small), whereas with something like trafficseries there's a lot of focus placed on shipping partly because that series is Heavily About character dynamics.

am i tired of seeing ship content as like the main product of fandom? oh, absolutely, but that's nothing new -- that's been the case since before we had this blog, before we were even in mcyt fandom at all. fandoms are just Like This, which can absolutely be exhausting if you're not here for ship content, but this sort of thing is not uncommon for any more mainstream fandoms.

so, yes, it's not just you, there's more amatonormativity in mcyt fandom than there used to be -- because it's starting to act more and more like most fandoms, and therefore is reflecting the amatonormativity most fandoms have, whereas before there was such a hostile attitude towards shipping that this absolutely Could Not be the case.

it sucks in some ways, but at the same time it's very important to note: this is not a new problem. this is an old problem. this is a problem as old as fandom itself, and mcyt fandom is only just getting to a place where people have stopped tearing each other's throats out long enough to act like most other fandoms do.

anyway shoutout to jaidenanimations. aroace icon👍

[itsaship-literally]

My god, this is going to sound SO silly but I NEED to vent or I'm going to explode.

Do not misunderstand me, I don't want to sound like one of those Beetlebabes haters who use age to complain about the ship even if it's meaningless, but seeing people EXPLICITLY sexualize underage Lydia is TRAUMATING to say the least.

Like, I'm not here to complain about these people because it would be very naive of me to think that they're going to stop because of me or any nonsense like that but... How do you guys usually deal with that? Really, I don't know what to do or think about the situation, I just know that it's bothering me a LOT. I know, I know, it's silly to care about it because I absolutely can't do anything about it, but it still hurts.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to exaggerate or anything, I don't mean to upset people either, but god, I feel so gross seeing this and at the same time I feel guilty for worrying too much or whatever… I saw that in yours blog you mention that you support ship in a sexual way when Lydia is older (Or something like that, forgive my poor memory), so how do you usually react/deal with this type of content? Or does it just not bother you?

I apologize for the outburst, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to have a nice experience in the fandom because of this... I just arrived, I don't want to leave because of this, but it's making it IMPOSSIBLE to enjoy. I feel like a dirty pedophile just for shipping, so I think seeing posts like this only makes it worse.

Um, anyway, I appreciate the attention :)

You know what, you bring up a good topic here. Before we start. I don't kink shame people because it's just not me. However! I had moments when I was younger (early 20's) that freaked me out when it came to over-sexualizing things (in my case it was bellydancers because that was my hobby at the time) but after a while, I sorta just stopped worrying about it because like you said, it won't change how people feel about their proclivities. The same goes for fandom. I ick after things too. (Example: the Dora the Explorer stuff. holy shit) Today, I learn that the best way to go about it is to not look for it. Don't seek the stuff that ick's ya. I don't much care for baby toon Lyds in adult situations but I can separate the idea that Lydia is an actual real person. I can take a story as just that. A story. As for art, I do not like Loli stuff. It's an ick for me. But I also don't judge a person for enjoying it. I would prefer to avoid it and I set my boundaries with my friends accordingly.

Back to Lydia in the Beetlejuice fandom!

Let's say you are a Shipper

Age of consent is a big deal for most here, including myself, but we are also realistic in the sense that many don't think that people give teens enough credit for their own biological functions. Let's take a step back to reality for a moment. 100%, It's not right for a real-life person to act on things like taking advantage of youth and naivete. However, it can not be dismissed that many people in their youth made choices based on their overactive hormones. I recall being one such teen where I allowed myself to act out in ways that, as an adult, I CRINGE at. To have Lydia as a 16-18 year-old act out with an undead creep feels plausible. Does everyone here feel that's a comfortable read? No, not at all. Many, like me, prefer to have an older, more informed Lydia make choices that work for her. Now about Beetlejuice. First off. He's a creep. If it's got tits or whatever suits his fancy, he's gonna jump on it. He's always been that way in media. Except with Lydia. His respect for her, and his treatment of her have always been different from other people. He'll probably take any advantage given to him and if his death was during a plague-riddled time then his view of human women could easily be skewed. Again it comes to how comfortable you are with his characterization. Do you want him chasing a 12-year-old, a 16-year-old, or an adult? Do you think he would go for body type? Do you think he would choose feelings over physical desires? Your best bet in navigating the whole Betelyds/Beetlebabes dynamic comes from understanding yourself. Are you confident in separating your choices in romance from alternate depictions? Do you prefer a more Ace approach of no romance/sexuality? Do you like a soft romance with no raunch? Do you want sexuality and passion in a more adult setting? Check with tags. Look for underage warnings. Talk to writers and artists to see what they do. Skim over or remove yourself from places that ick ya. Ask questions of yourself and others. There is no harm in discovering your boundaries and respecting those who have set theirs.

Now let's say you are a Friendshipper only.

You want Beej and Lyds to be pals with a slight affection for each other that defies a normal buddy pal. Maybe they have something that can't be defined as a friend but also not a romantic relationship. I like to consider this Babes Adjacent. They are not romantically linked but they are bonded. Soul mates without being physical mates. We have plenty of Babes who love friendship just as much. Some prefer to be called non-shippers, and others don't really care. They just wanna vibe. Some of them like Kid Lyds and her ghostly Boo. They support and care and protect each other like there is no tomorrow. It's painfully sweet and heartbreakingly loving. So many of us need that in our lives. Unconditional support and protection from things that make us hurt. In this case search for the & and not the / if you can. If folks are willing to send me art and fics where this bond is emphasized, I'd appreciate it. I admit I have a fear of finding a fic of someone who is gonna freak when they see my screen name and go "Noooooooo not a Beetlebabe!". That's a stress I don't enjoy. I just wanna vibe and watch these two dorks be happy with each other. Now to address your last fear, that you feel like a dirty p-word. All you gotta do is know where you stand on your attraction. It comes down to knowing yourself. Personally, I like an older man and older lady (Bi-mama here) but I don't shy away from stories with younger characters. I don't squick because I know my preferences are not reflected in getting lost in a story. With all the love and support I can send ya through the blog. Please don't feel ashamed for enjoying a ship (friendship or relationship). Just set your preferences and find your inner confidence. Stay polite to those who have different levels of shippiness. You can navigate the ship. I believe in you.

[captain-astors]

C, E, J and Z for the ask game? :>

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will: Good question, I'm usually pretty flexible and I can't think of anything that isn't sort of a given from Tokyo Ghoul, but when it comes to JJK I just don't really like Nobara and Itadori. As friends? Absolutely. As a QPR? I could be convinced with a short explanation. Explicitly dating in an allo way? Eh. Given, I haven't caught up with the manga so there's always a chance!

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?: I don't know about hilarious, but certainly cracky. This Post which resulted in Shuu does top surgery which is even less plausible than the initially proposed Kanou, but wildly amusing. Then there's the old men chronicles which I would've had more fun with at the time if I wasn't fully aware that I'd lose a mutual over it. In retrospect it's nice though! Also, I think almost everything I've shipped here is very cracky.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over: Tumblr has recently become very convinced I need to see everything related to Moomin Valley so, that I suppose.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.) Sometimes I get really scared to talk about all the reasons I like characters because I don't want to unintentionally reduce their personality to stereotypes. Thus, counterproductively I end up describing everyone with short, vague sentences out of fear of overusing reductive phrases. So today I rant free!

Hairu is absolutely fascinating to me as a character, I feel like she's a wonderful example of Ishida's special tactic of writing a character with a couple vague core ideals and points of history that hint to something far more complex in such a way that leaves you wondering if he's actually a brilliant writer or if he just left you so much space that you can fill it in with headcanons to your heart's content. Anyways, I just love how she's consumed by an unobtainable goal, (being recognized by Arima again) and her method of slaughtering as many ghouls as she can to achieve it just takes her further and further away, while also distancing her from the actual achievable reality of a closeness with Koori. It's so sad and I ADORE HER SUBTLE COMPLEXITY, it always disappoints me a little to see people to describe her as nothing but a dreamy airhead or just another murderous cog in the machine of the CCG. I do actually really like her and Koori as a pairing because they'll take so terribly long to communicate, I just also really like making Koori suffer hell. Anyways, nearly 80% of what swayed me was a fic where Koori and Hairu swapped uniforms on the first day of being partners because Hairu hated the new female one, and Koori discovered the skirt was actually very comfy. It was sweet, kind of a crackfic, and very enjoyable to read.

[ninjakk]

I don’t know your opinion on bottom lwj (maybe you like it or have no problem with it) I personally hate it with a burning passion, not even from fetishized point of view. But because it literally goes against how the character is in canon. Regardless, I usually just block that tag in ao3, but now i come back to tumblr after not logging in like almost a year and one of the first things i see is a freaking fan art of JC supposedly doing LWJ (is not shown explicitly) and WWX looking and being supportive and i just wanted to throw up. Literally felt like someone hit me with a pokemon psychic attack, i of course blocked the account and the bottom lwj tag here (something I didn’t even think i had to do) but i still can’t erase that image out of my brain so i had to rant to someone. Since you seem like someone really nice and you’re always amazing when answering asks here i am. If this ask makes you uncomfortable please feel completely free to delete it and forget it.

Hello Anon!

Aww, well thank you 😙 that's very sweet of you to say.

So firstly, before I tell you my opinion - I actually know the image you are referring to and I did the exact same thing when the post assaulted my eyes. I mean, everyone has their ships but come on! WX and JC?! No thanks.

As for your question, I have no majorly strong opinion on bottomji. I have read a few fanfics that have worked out alright. Mostly YLLZ era WWX meets extremely horny and willing 'self-sacrificing' virgin LWJ 'taking one for the team' - which were quite funny. But overall I do find it a little strange, because by making LWJ 'bottomji' people tend to make WX somewhat out of character one way or the other.

The reason I do not have a particularly strong opinion on LWJ being the bottom, is because it's kind of implied in the extras that they may well have done such things during their very active and passionate sex life already.

Seeing that he’d nearly hit his limit, Wei Wuxian laughed heartily and kissed his lips. “Er-gege, what haven’t we done? Why are you still so shy?”

7S translations - From Dawn Till Dusk extra

To me, the above certainly implies they've done a lot more than we have witnessed and switching would certainly come into that.

Also, I actually think LWJ would do anything for WWX, if he should ask. Including switching things up every now and then if his dear husband wished.

Overall, I don't think LWJ switching positions on occasion is necessarily out of character, if done properly and the fanfic authors stay true to how the characters actually are and would react during such acts. For example, LWJ still being the more dominant one out of the pair. Just because he's bottoming doesn't mean he's suddenly going to be submissive.

That being said, the image you and I saw is of course just completely out of character! JC is homophobic for a start! It just wouldn't happen. Ever. Even if JC was interested in some strange alternative universe. WX just wouldn't! I'm also convinced that WX would not want to, nor be willing to engage in sex with anyone else, even a threesome or some voyeuristic partner swap - or whatever the hell that image was?!

Wangxian are too wrapped up in each other, too completely obsessed with each other for anything else. Not to mention LWJ would drink so much vinegar he would pickle! And I don't think WWX would fare much better, LWJ is his and I don't think he'd be willing to share either!

I can understand why you might find it a bit odd seeing the roles switched around, but I do think it's something that could possibly be an occasional occurrence in canon because of the lines I mentioned above. Though I do love their dynamic in the novel and that is definitely what I prefer. Overall, we all have different preferences and opinions I guess ☺️

Finally, my dear anon...please go and read your favourite fanfic or browse through some gorgeous Wangxian art to cleanse yourself of the image which assaulted your senses. It's what I did and I feel much better now lol!

Hope you have a lovely day 🥰

[mari-lair]

hi there!! i don't know if u have done this yet but could u do an akane character analysis??

Hello! I have done ship analyses with him as a focus before, but I’ve never done a post with Akane himself in the spotlight.

Akane is a hard character to tackle cause he is extremally reactive, so his attitude changes a lot depending on who he is interacting. Going over everyone would make this post huge, so I’ll try to share my overall take on him without getting into the nitty gritty.

As observant and smart as Akane is, at his core, he is an extremally emotional guy. He is openly obsessive and his mood swings are violent enough to put other characters on edge. 

But no matter how much Akane can be a slave to his emotions (usually his love) he very rarely gets blinded by rage. Even when he is enraged, he has never accidentally hurt someone (all the people he beat up are always his target. I feel so bad for Lemon...) and his anger can die just as easily as it comes to life.

Akane is not close to Nene here, he had explicitly admited he didn’t think they could get along many chapters later at the arcade hang out, but he loses his drive to kick ass once she jumps in front of his target.

His hatred did not disappear, he will still chew out Yashiro and Hanako on their behavior later, but he can control his anger, he isn’t dominated by it.

The reason he is so angry in the first place isn’t a thirst for violence or anything of sorts, the guy just cares too much about too many things.

Is a contradictory aspect of his character cause he does not care about what his classmates think of him, but he still cares about them to some degree. He genuinely values people. He doesn’t expect anything in return when he helps someone, he helps for the sake of helping.

And while his sense of duty and taking responsibility is a big part of Akane’s character this isn’t the only reason he is always ready to help, he is a good person, and it’s no coincidence he sticks with duties made to help others (class representative/student council) even after Aoi-chan loses interest.

He tries not to make it obvious, but he is very affected by other emotions, when Akane overhears Nene’s situation in the clock keepers arc he gets so fucking angry.

His “tch” is not a mere “ugh, look at this supernatural being awful" it comes from a place of genuine anger for Kou, he feels inspired by his determination and he understands perfectly where Kou is coming from. He is rooting for Kou as he would root for himself, he genuinely wants him to succeed and the way Hanako brushed Kou off rubs him the wrong way.

This is a constant in his character. If Akane cares, he’ll care with his whole heart. His hatred of supernaturals is not because the clock keepers tricked him (though putting Aoi's life at risk does help A LOT) it's caused by their dismissal of human lives.

Look at his face, this is not a fit of explosive anger, is a deep-rooted hatred, one he chose to hold on to.

The only time his anger is weak, and quick to disappear, is when people are assholes in ways that only affect Akane.

When Aoi asks something ridiculous, he’ll do it with a smile, no matter how tired he is. When Teru brutally bullies him, he doesn’t hold any grudges or get violent. When his classmates overwork him with chores and the clock keepers keep him busy he is never shown even thinking about rebelling.

Everyone that needs him is the priority over himself.

For someone so full of passion, Akane has very little self-respect. He complains cause he can recognize when something is unfair but he doesn’t get genuinely angry for himself because he can do it, so he might as well be useful and do it. He both does not value himself and really value himself: he has a lot of pride, he really values his promises, be them explicit, vocal promises, or the ones that come with his duties

He is very contradictory.

Akane has never been an underdog, people recognize he is helpful and smart, he is a pretty popular kid, and yet, since he isn't satisfied with himself, he never gives himself a break. His standard is ridiculously high, so trying is a constant in his life. He aims for the stars so he usually fails.

It is the most obvious with his confessions with Aoi but a chapter that illustrates his struggles perfectly to me is the exam chapter: It’s clear he tries his very best to achieve his goal, which earned him an admirable full mark, the ‘expected’ best score. It’s not an exaggeration to say “he studied as hard as he could!” but it still isn’t enough, he doesn’t have the extra points Teru and Aoi have: He is not a star prodigy.

Aoi doesn’t mind, but his standards for himself are far higher than Aoi’s, it’s one of the main reasons why he doesn’t take her rejections to heart.

He is used to giving his all and still not gain anything.

He does not fear the concept of failure, which makes him surprisingly self-centered and clash nicely with how observant and kind he is at his core.

His first instinct when he is handling people he cares about is to take all the work and responsibility. So when something doesn't work, he is to blame. He is the one that had to try harder.

He focused so much on doing his best to please Aoi, that he never questioned her motives for constantly turning him down.

He knows Aoi well, he genuinely pays attention to her likes, and dislikes, and values. He could pick up on hints that she likes him since way back, when they were little kids, and saying "I hate you!" made her cry even though her bullies, who are much harsher, never got her to even frown. But for as much as he understood Aoi, flaws and all, he never considered that for this relationship to work, she had to work on herself too and get over her mountain of issues, he just assumed she didn't accept his feeling cause he is the problem. He isn't enough. He should work on being better and make more impressive confessions. Their relationship was something only he had to chase, only he could fix.

His approach never worked, but he never questions why, following the instinct to "Do better next time". He gets stuck in it, he keeps trying to the point he considered his goal to date Aoi on the same level of 'accomplishing the impossible'

But this is already long enough as it is so I'll stop rambling about the guy.

[ultfreakme]

WOW... You can't imegine how excited I am now that I know you also ship AkaFuri from KnB. When I entered the fandom, most people ship akashi with kuroko or akashi with his white haired senpai (sorry forget the name). And then Zuko/ Sokka, at that time (years ago), most will ship zuko/katara or katara/aang, and I was made fun of because of my ship... Thanks for sharing your fav ships @ultfreakme ....

I found your blog cause your post about parallel between ItaJun with SatoSugu (you are the first person who I found to see the similarities between ItaJun with SatoSugu)....

Can I ask why do Gojo in s1 left bad impression on you? I love your HC about him, so true, I can't imagine Gojo without his power or wealth but I can imagine Geto from rags to riches.....

YES ANOTHER AKAFURI SHIPPER MWAHAHAHA!!! And a Zukka as well I see I see you have wonderful taste hehehe. I fully understand why people shipped Akashi with Kuroko and white-hair senior(Mayuzumi hhhhh me & my friend love this character a lot, we mostly enjoy the secondary and tertiary character like Nijimura- who was the Generation of Miracles former captain). But like, AkaFuri just have so much fun potential~~

And oh my god I fully escaped the Zuko/Katara shipping content and discussions because I wasn't in fandoms as a kid, it must have been a nightmare for you to have shipped Zukka back then when the Zut@r@s are....well they are not fun to talk with. Back then and often even now, people see queer ships as less valid than het ships even though both are equally unlikely. Just because a ship is het doesn't mean it's less delusional. Glad we can all enjoy the Zukka renaissance now and hopefully the vitriol from the het ship wars does not reach us anymore.

I posted the ItaJun/SatoSugu parallel thinking no one would agree and it felt a little delulul shipper brain even to myself but like, it was there, and I just wanted to talk about it and I'm so glad someone else saw it too!!! I think JJK has a lot of relationships that are just, variations of each other. Eg; Gojo-Geto, Yuuji-Junpei, Yuuji-Megumi are all sort of divergences of each other. There's an idea of 'being saved' that runs through all 3 of them. Geto doesn't want to be saved, Junpei wants to be but he doesn't manage to say it out loud, Megumi explicitly asks to be saved. I think they each give insight into the effects of loneliness and power, sort of like Junpei, Geto and Megumi are all a 'what if?' of each other and I think this exists outside of shipping with multiple characters [Maki and Toji, Jogo-Hanami-Dagon and the jujutsu high kids (wild comparison ik but I;'m thinking of it in like, the aspect of wanting to protect one another and be there for each other while being unable to in the face of an enemy that is much stronger than their desire and power to keep each other safe)].

Ah, and Gojo's first impression. I don't usually trust characters with immense power. On first watch I was empathizing with Yuuji the most since he's the MC, and this suspicious, extremely powerful man is playing nice with Yuuji, who he wanted dead at the start. I saw him making Yuuji grow stronger and eating Sukuna's finger as something he did to serve his own unspoken(probably evil) goals in the future. Like the way he acted kept making me think he had an ulterior motive. As the series went on a the exchange event came around, my suspicions went away but I still didn't enjoy his personality type- arrogant, childish, never takes anything seriously, high off his own power and unable to empathize with normal people.

But season 2 made me enjoy his silliness from s1 because it re-contextualized his attitude. He's not annoying and childish to people only to be an asshole, he genuinely likes these people and wants to have fun with them. He doesn't take anything seriously on the surface but deep down he's calculating everything so the kids around him don't need to worry. He's high off his power but why wouldn't he be? He wasn't exaggerating in the slightest when he said he was the strongest, that was objective fact. It's not that he doesn't want to understand the people around him, he just fundamentally CAN'T but despite that he really, really tries in the few ways that he can.

I'm used to characters like Gojo- those that are low on empathy and way too strong for their own good- Saiki from Saiki K, Saitama from One Punch Man. Those characters despite their strength, have this human struggle and relatable element to them which I found missing in S1. But S2 showed his weaknesses and suddenly everything about him made a lot of sense and he shot up from being a character I didn't give a crap about to one of my top faves. Gojo Satoru wasn't a god.

He would rig thing so his students can play baseball instead of shed more blood and build animosity through fighting. He'd bargain for the life of a child because he's a child and children deserve to be happy. He was a child once.

It's so funny and frankly amazing how I, the reader who has insights the characters will never have, still fell into the trap of thinking of Gojo as separate and unattached to regular humanity that most characters in-universe did. Having that subverted was such a fun experience.

Thanks for the ask anon! Have a nice day~~

[thedawningofthehour]

I'll be honest, after the emotional beating of the last chapter I was really considering taking a break from the fanfic until more chapters were updated, however, my curiosity was stronger and I ended up reading chapter 14 and all I can say is.... Thank you.

Taking a time jump was very helpful for the readers to breathe and not have to deal with the aftermath of the failed rescue, which would have been very heavy.

Seeing Big mama will always be welcome, and OH MY GOD! what a woman! The fact that she is already 5 steps ahead of everyone shows why she is the most powerful woman in the hidden city. Donnie will be back with his brothers, one way or another, even if one of those ways means he will now have a new stepmom. But hey, at least she won't brainwash your father into forgetting about you and keep you away!

By the way, I find Splinter's relationship with big mama quite interesting. Despite what she did to Splinter, he still loves her, and I think that's because of the time they spent together. Lou met Bmm in 1984 and the writers said he spent 10 on the nexus, if we do the math then that would mean they were together for 20 YEARS, TWENTY YEARS! no one spends that much time with someone without developing a deep bond, for better or worse. Also, we have several clues that his time in the nexus wasn't all bad, Big mama certainly gave him a lot of privileges, I still don't know why lou was in that little cell when Huggin and Munnin went after him, but I have theories.

Sorry if this is long, but I'm a sucker for hero x villain ships. Maybe for that reason I also ship him with Draxxum.

I think it was the right decision. Originally the chapter opened up on it, but it was just...like you said. An emotional beating. Everyone was still in the adrenaline cooldown, Splinter had completely checked out, Leo was trying (and failing) not to disassociate, and it ended up being mostly a three-way fight between April, Raph, and Mikey, which in turn ended up being more of a April/Raph vs. Mikey fight because that's usually how it devolves. They were all lashing out at each other and there was no real closure to anything because they were all too upset to really talk. It was just pure angst.

Which...I know that's what you guys are here for, but I just felt there were better ways to get it across. There are some bits that turned out nice, and I'll definitely use them down the line. This just wasn't the right place for them. Leo's been mostly coping by disassociation, so my explanation is that he disassociated so hard right afterwards that he doesn't really remember it too well.

The handling of Big Mama is one of the...I don't want to say the worst things about the writing, because Big Mama is fucking great. She's an incredible character and you can tell that the writers had so much fun with her. But it seemed like they couldn't decide if she should be a redeemable villain like Draxum or the one true villain of the show. Splinter still having the hots for her after she kidnapped him-yeah, he's a himbo and a slut, I'd be more worried if he didn't make those kinds of questionable judgements.

But like...she tries to kill his kids. And not because she was tired of them messing with her shit for the fifth time that week, she explicitly states that her wealthy clients requested them. (which is another layer of what the fuck) She was literally using them to make snuff films. And then five minutes later their own father is saying there's 'still good in her'? And they say that she'd 'do anything for dad'? Except not murder his children apparently? I guess that was too hard for her?

(ooooh, I'm thinking about my 'dark armor corruption' theory in regards to Draxum's behavior at the end of s1 and if it could be applied to her-don't mind me)

Um...anyway. So my story for Splinter is that she 100% kidnapped him-like, Lou Jitsu has whole conspiracy subreddits dedicated to him and his disappearance, he is the Roanoke colonists of this universe. (even moreso now that I think about it, since it's super obvious what happened to them. A bunch of people are probably like "guys, it was the girlfriend, come on she absolutely murdered him") I headcanon that Lou Jitsu was more of a B-list or C-list star and he became a cult classic after his disappearance. Splinter didn't want to fight-but he was good at it, the adrenaline and energy from the crowd made him feel good, and the fights let him get the anger out. Since he was putting on a good show Big Mama let him have some privileges, like going out for drinks and shit, but he refused to be her arm candy anymore. The cell was definitely a recent thing-I think Big Mama got sick of him refusing to fight and threw him in there to get him to comply.

Everyone's all thirsty for Splinter in this universe and Splinter's like "I'm a single dad of four. I haven't slept in eight years. I've wiped too many butts to find them sexy." He does not have time for that.

[ov-rwhelmed]

May i ask a question ? Why Killua is always ( mostly ) on bottom in fanfics, I mean I'm not complaining or anything, I just don't get it , yk ? That's why I'm asking, like , I'm so confused, how killua is more into that than Gon 😕 ... and Gon is somehow .. more fitting on topping him ?? ,like .. okay it's just a ship , but I really can't see it that way whenever i watch the canon . That's why I'm asking for clarification .

hello there!! sorry if this took a while for me to reply, i didn't realize i had any asks so i did not know this was here and idk when you sent it!

soooo i unfortunately am not equipped to talk about the general canon (fanon?) of this since i am not in the heads of all writers haha HOWEVER i can give my thoughts as to why i think this is the case! and I'm going to keep it as PG as possible by speaking more from a "taking the lead in the relationship" perspective, even if just from a physical/making the move aspect, because i personally think that i often see them going go hand in hand in what i’ve read. but LET ME CAVEAT that, again, i am not speaking for everyone, just my thoughts since you asked, and i will also caveat that the connections I'm drawing are not rules - so, when i say "i see Gon as acting this way or doing this thing, that is why i think the connection to XYZ is being made, or why he is then written into fanfics as being this ABC archetype", i am not saying it as a definite or as an expectation for how these relationships/actions/etc. would manifest themselves every time or irl!!! so please do not take it as such, relationships are very personal and not one size fits all and not like "well if you act THIS way, you will always be THIS person in the relationship". ok disclaimer over but i just want to make that v clear.

so, i personally view Gon as the more explicitly forward and outspoken one between the two of them. we all know Gon is shameless, and i think many authors (including myself) write him as such. i think it's easy to draw a connection between shameless -> speaks his mind no matter what -> doesn't worry about getting embarrassed -> shares his feelings first -> makes the first move -> makes suggestions for progression of relationship. also we know that Gon is obviously strong and loves that about himself, so if he can showcase his strength in other ways I'm sure that plays into it - like showing that he's also HEADstrong, strong in his convictions and emotions, strong in his sense of self, is STRONGly sure of their relationship... you get the point. so me personally, as i write, i will usually write Gon in ways that bring in these beliefs that I have about him by writing him as being pretty forward, extroverted and social and outgoing, maybe making the first move, etc., but i will caveat that with saying that as sure of yourself as you are, you can also get nervous or flustered or whatever, so i also include that into his character when it feels right. with that logic, i'd imagine that that is why authors would write Gon into that position (no pun intended), but i personally don't write explicit content so this is just my personal rationale.

for Killua, i think a lot of people view him as a polar opposite in a lot of ways - not excessively sure of himself (you could argue that at the end of the anime he is, but a lot of ppl I know that resonate with his character specifically resonate with the version of him that is struggling with a sense of self and purpose and consciously being beholden to, and affected by, others' expectations of him), VERY easily flustered, etc. i think it's very common that, when people talk about their relationship, they talk about killua NOT being the first to admit feelings, NOT being the first to make a move (unless he can do so in a half-jokingly, "oh you don't feel the same haha well i was OBVIOUSLY KIDDING YOU DUMBASS I JUST WANTED TO SEE YOUR FACE LOOOL" way), and NOT being the one to really, fully make himself vulnerable first. have i seen him written this way? yes. and it often makes sense when i do depending on the story itself! but I'm speaking from a more generalized, "what i see most frequently" perspective since that's the context of the question. so, given all of that, i think authors will take him "not taking the lead" and write him into also not taking the lead physically, at least not in the stereotypical sense - since, if we want to be extremely verbose and accurate, we need to acknowledge that "positions" in a sexual relationship do not always relate to "positions" in the emotional part of the relationship, or to personalities, or to anything else. sometimes they do but sometimes they don't! but if we want to guess as to why this seems to be a common theme, I'm assuming that sometimes that line can be drawn by relating these pieces of their characters/personalities to the other aspects of their relationship.

WHEW ok that was a longer answer than i expected! just want to reiterate that these are my personal thoughts as to why i think we see this "theme" often - i don't know for sure since i do not personally write this genre of explicit content, but those are just my two cents; also want to reiterate my emphasis on these not being hard and fast rules for relationships, there isn't always a correlation between how a person acts in the bedroom and outside of the bedroom, and there isn't one right answer for how these two are portrayed in any setting in any type of relationship IMO - so much of it comes down to the writing itself, how/why they are written the way that they are in a particular fic, and what we as readers take away from the fic. this is especially important since so many people have so many different preferences of writing, characterization, etc.!!!!

THANKS FOR LISTENING OK BYEEEEE

[shy-magpie]

RQG 166

Where in there is shipping, talk of strange magics, and preparations are made

"Smooth Sailing" is not quite up there with "everything is fine" but its ominous.

So is this strictly to annoy Alex or did they notice fandom commenting on how fast they spoke?

No sexy Jesus then it can't be Grant

I love Hamid made them all cold weather gear

Tension for long periods sucks. Azu is going to find Kiko!

Cel points out that Azu asking if Kiko wants "take a break together"!

Hamid is also a shipper on deck!

Kiko sees Hamid & Cel sharing thumbs up A love nest?

Azu is nervous!

Azu refuses because she doesn't want to risk it while they are in danger; Kiko doesn't want to die sober

Kiko hangs out in the nest because it beats throttling Carter.

Kiko takes control of the conversation, since Azu is jumping quite a bit ahead; asks what Azu is doing in Japan on her way to Svalbard. Azu starts to say "save the world" when Ben points out infosec, panics and says "nothing".

Oh Earhardt is the captain of Kiko's adopted father, a gnome named Elbert. Azu goes pretty vague, says she want to be high priestess of Aphrodite which means good works like healing people. At this point Kiko asks if she could do anything about the crick in her neck. Which seems a bit "lay your hands on me".

Alex draws a vail there beyond asking Helen if Azu kisses on the first date (yes a little one).

Hamid & Cel notice Azu coming back up alone. Azu tells them she had a kiss: Hamid claps, Cel squeals.

Oh the bears climbed to the top of real mountains to die.

Earhardt asks Zolf if he thinks something killed the bears. Zolf basically says we'd see it coming.

Earhardt is more worried about the effects of the borealis on the ship.

Zolf says to take it to a vote. Earhardt tries to tell Zolf to handle it, Zolf tells her it should be her

Zolf gathers them all, giving Azu an approving pat on the arm.

Earhardt isn't actually bad at this. Lore time!

Hamid is trying to share his magic knowledge again, but he still sounds nervous.

Cel asks if something like the antimagic cell would help, but I don't know if they can persue that? Yeah spells and material.

Zolf points out that they have magic types fairly covered.

Oh so this is explicitly not like Rome.

Hamid figures its mostly safe.

Zolf asks how the Kobolds feel!

They get that its dangerous and ask it they can kill it. They ask if they can make a lightning rod! Clever Kobolds. Cel follows up the idea.

The lightning rod would protect a room below decks but it would send the danger elsewhere.

Oh Hamid wants to transfer the magic into spells rather than just vented dangerously.

The Cohort looks to Hamid before voting. Earhardt voted nay because the detour would take them someplace useful; but takes being out voted with grace.

Wilde offers to drive or give the anklets to Zolf since they offer protection. Zolf doesn't want him taking either risk but agrees to teach him in case Zolf can't fly. The rolls for the lightning rod are so very low. Only Cel knows that its "a bit sketch" but the others think its fine. Earhardt wants to head to enemy territory and the party knows it.

Sussura is a lovely name for a Kobold. Skraak & Sussura are arguing about something. Sussura tells them that unless they can do better they should take what Cel is offering. They take Cels hand leads them inside and turns around makes a rude gesture then asks if they want inside or outside!

Cel offers Sussura the fang. Cel misses that Sussura looks at them with even more respect or adoration than they look at Hamid. Azu catches it.

Helen tells Cel they all trust them. Which makes it so much worse.

Alex doesn't tell us how well Wilde learns. The safe room is actually a modification of the living area.

Zolf makes the usual vague catch you on the flip side noises. Earhardt tells him this risk is only worth it while the borealis is near and to get them asap.

Hamid asks to cast a spell on Zolf. Its called "Heroism" and gives +2 on a bunch of things for 90 minutes.

Cel reminds them there is still an element of risk but is more cheery than they were. We fade out on the image of Zolf sailing into danger.