#and all the FG (platonically)

[lovely-delphine]

There is something honest-to-gods slightly maddening and fantastic about going from relationships that are so deeply focused on sex-as-intimacy and other forms of intimacy being rejected or looked down upon as lower or not as important to…basically the opposite of that. My previous partners were so obsessed with fucking me that they both ended up assaulting me, among other forms of mistreatment.

With my ex-boyfriend, any form of intimacy outside of sex or physical intimacy was ignored, he didn’t care. That relationship didn’t last long for a variety of reasons, though the multiple extremely violent SAs was the main one.

With my ex-wife, it was more complicated. It was like she understood my love languages were things like gift-giving, acts of service, words of affirmation, and physical touch…but only seemed to focus on the last one because that was the only one that also aligned with her. The only time I ever really felt like she even wanted me around was when physical touch was involved.

With my current girlfriend it feels a bit like the tables are turned completely around. It’s not that physical affection isn’t desired, but it’s not set upon a pedestal as the only form of love or intimacy that can be expressed. Making a cup of tea for one another is a quiet “I love you.” Talking about our interests for quite literally hours is a soft “I adore watching you speak, please don’t stop.” Enjoying a rainstorm side by side is an unspoken “I would not want to be anywhere but here, with you.” Not feeling ashamed to act silly in front of her gives me freedom to be myself rather than a meticulously curated version of myself that I’ve had to put out for partners in the past just for them to even give half of a fuck about me. Giving a thoughtful gift to her and seeing a reaction that elicits so much joy in me I nearly explode makes me feel like the effort I put into finding such a thing was worth that moment of her receiving it. I’ve never had a partner who could make me flustered just by calling me darling or kissing my hand. I’ve never had a partner where every single “I love you” feels real and full of truth, rather than hollow and just something you say to your partner because that’s what you do. Every hand hold and gentle kiss feels incredibly meaningful and special.

And sure, maybe it’s the newness of the relationship and eventually the sparkles and butterflies will settle down and these acts will become more comfortable, but even still I do not think they will lose their meaning because every action she does is with intention, she’s not going to lie or humor me to make me happier. She’s not afraid of letting me know her limits, and I don’t feel afraid to let her know mine. It’s refreshing to have a partner who REALLY understands that intimacy doesn’t only equal physical acts and it shows so fucking much in everything she does and says to me. It’s also a bit mind blowing because I’ve not had a relationship like this. There’s never a feeling like I’m beneath her. Even if I was physically beneath her (😳) I would still feel like I was her equal.

I know it’s bare minimum and sad as shit to be like “wow! A partner that respects me! This is amazing!” But that’s where I’m at. And…I am so thankful for her, for showing me what it is like to be loved right. Thank you, my love(s).

[misssmina]

I have this different (platonic) ships I have and was wondering about your thoughts on them since you really know the characters! I don't like shipping non-compatible characters so your thoughts on if they'll get along or not would really help!

The platonic ships are:

Baku&Camie (I feel like he would put up with her slang bc of dealing with Denki)

Melissa&Deku (They would totally [and did] geek out on tech/quirks)

Baku&Ocha (He already acknowledges her strength)

Kiri&Tamaki (They already work together with FG so I like to imagine Kiri begging Tamaki to spar with him)

Momo&Iida (With being Class president and vice, I feel like they would hang out a lot and develop a friendship that way)

Sero&Todoroki (Todoroki is pretty dense romantically and I think the same applies platonically, but Sero probably approached him after the sports festival because he found him interesting)

Mina&Jirou (Mina helps with Jirou's style and Jirou teaches Mina an instrument [I like to imagine the uke, but maybe something else would suit her better-])

Anyways! These were just some of my platonic thoughts because I've noticed how crazy the fandom is with romance and thought why not mix it up a lil with asking your opinion on them!

So I love these! I’m big on platonic ships.

But here’s the thing,

Bakugou is friends with all the girls (whether he’d admit it or not). Canonically, he gets along with them because they simply do not care about his little attitude issue. My favorite platonic Bakugou pairing is him + anyone in the rich kid club. (Momo, Iida, Todoroki, & Jirou)

Melissa and Izuku but also Monoma (If he can figure out how to stop being a dirt bag). I feel like they all geek out about quirks, especially Monoma because he wants to try them.

Kirishima and Tamaki are already sweet on each other. They both push each other to be better and Kirishima likes to take him on little introvert adventures to make him feel good. (Book cafes, walks, etc)

Momo and Iida, I feel like they get along outside of school very well, but often they’re together for things like press conferences and business meeting, same with Bakugou and Todoroki.

Todoroki and Sero are friends, but I think there’s a very specific dynamic they have. Tired friend + Snarky friend.

Jirou and Mina are BESTIES. Typical yapper+listener friendship. Can be very messy with gossip lol. They are normally who plan dorm activities (movie night, game night, birthday parties, etc). The equal opposite to their friendship is Kirishima and Kaminari.

Sero and Ojiro are best guy friends, they can talk about just calm, normal things. Low energy pals.

[blue-sadie]

.Random.

.Request Page.

A place for my different fandoms brain rots

Platonic = 🌼 Fluff = 🌺 Smut =🌹 Lime = ⚘️ Angst = 🥀 Yandere = 🍁

Anime

Imagines.

(H) kakeru Sengoku - Her Little Merman 🌺

(H) Keishin Ukai - Assistant Manager 🌹

(HMC) Howl Pendragon- A Thing Of Beauty 🌺

(LOK) Mako & Bolin - Brothers Charm 🌹

(MHA) Katsuki Bakugo - Silly Nicknames 🌺

(MHA) Shota Aizawa - Villainous Love 🌹

(MHA) Shota Aizawa - Little Helper 🌹

Combo.

Incorrect Quotes.

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

(H) Asahi Azumane - Pregnant Hungry 🌺

Different Aus.

Headcanons.

NSFW/SFW Alphabet.

Animation

Imagines.

(QFC) Garrett Touch Says All 🌺

Combos

(A&TAE) Dimitri & Cale Tucker - The Tucker Twins 🌹

Incorrect Quotes.

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

Different Aus.

Headcanons.

Nsfw/SFW Alphabet.

Celebritys

Imagines.

Hayden Christen - Yn Moment 🌺 Jamie Flatters - Admiring The Interviewer 🌺

Henry Cavill - Distraction 🌺

Oscar Isaac - Wavering 🌺

Combo.

Jamie Flatters,Tedros Pendragon,Neteyam - One Room 🌹

Incorrect Quotes.

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

Jack Champion - Past Experiences 🥀🌺

Jamie Flatters - Attention Thief 🌺

Jamie Flatters - Bakery Girl 🌺

Jamie Flatters - When Fate Intervenes 🌺

Stephen Lang Hard At Work. Prt 2 🌺

Combos.

Avatar Cast - Dream Come True 🌺

Different Aus.

Headcanons.

NSFW/SFW Alphabet.

Games

Imagines.

(BG3) Astarion - Love From Cold Lips 🌹

(BG3) Astarion - For Your Pleasure 🌹

(BG3) Astarion - Flaunting Treasures 🌹

(BG3) Astarion - Sweet As Sugar 🌹

(BG3) Astarion - Red As Cherry 🌹

(BG3) Halinsin - Size Difference 🌹

(TLOU) Joel Miller - The Tiredness 🌹

(HL) Sebastian Sallow - Dazzling Smile 🌺

Combos.

(BG3)Astarion & Halsin - Vampire And The Bear ⚘️

(BG3) Astarion & Gale - Love From The Gods 🌹

(BG3) Astarion & Harleep - Jealous Much 🌹

(HL) Sebastian & Ominus - Bros Before... 🥀🌺

Incorrect Quotes.

(SR) Fratpack - Bare Claws🌹

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

(BG3) Ascended Astarion - Truly Broken 🥀

(BG3) Astarion - My Darling Baker 🌺

(HL) Sebastian Sallow - Lace Me Up 🌺

Combos

(BG3) Astarion & Halsin - Lust Filldd Touches 🌹

Different Aus.

(BG3)God Astarion & God Gale -Praises From The Gods🌹

Headcanons.

NSFW/SFW Alphabet.

(BG3) halsin - NSFW

Movies

Imagines.

(HP) Draco Malfoy - A Bubbly Companion 🌺

(It) Bowers Gang - Plaid Skirts 🌹

(MR) Newt - Second In Command 🌺

(MR) Gally - Soft Spot 🌺

(RH) Prince John - Fall From Grace 🌺

(T) Paul Lahote - Second Head 🌺

Incorrect Quotes.

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

(A) Kane - Stop Your Breath 🌺🌹

(FG) Walter Mckey (keys) - Cuter Then Puppies 🌺

(MR) Newt - Glow Of Embers 🌺

(TF) Santiago Garcia - Friend Of A Friend 🌹

Combos.

(TF) Santiago Garcia & Frankie Morales - Movement Of The Hips 🌹

Different Aus.

Headcanons.

NSFW/SFW Alphabet.

Series

Imagines.

(F) Savitar - A New Day Has Dawned 🍁

(OBX) Rafe Cameron - Uncontrollable??? 🌹

(SN) Dean Winchester - Jealous Much 🌹

(ST) Billy Hargrove - Addicted 🌹

(ST) Eddie Munson - Something A Bit More 🍁

(T) Jason Todd - Cold Stares 🌺

(TVD) Stephen Salvatore - The Classics 🌺

(TW) Derek Hale - Big Bad Werewolf 🌹

(VK) Ivar Ragnarsson - Tracing Tattoos 🌺🌹

Combos

(OUAT) Peter Pan & Felix - Princess Treatment 🌹

(ST) Billy Hargrove & Eddie Munson - High And Mighty 🌹

(ST) Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington - You Wouldn't Dare🌹

(T100) Bellamy blake & John murphy - little convincing 🌹

(TW) Stiles Stilinski & Scott Mccal - Rain Check 🌹

(TVD) Damon and Stephen - Elana Really... 🌼🌺

Incorrect Quotes.

Drabbles.

Oneshots.

Combos.

(911) Eddie Diaz & Evan Buckley-Something To Look At 🌹

Different Aus.

Headcanons.

NSFW/SFW Alphabet.

Tag.List

@sweetirilly @neteyamyawne @greekgods15 @laylasbunbunny

[noemilivv]

haii!! im really interested in matchups and im currently sorta fixated on hazbin hotel so i was just wondering who i would get sorted with!! (could be platonic or romantic idm)

i'm a bisexual girl but unsure of what my pref is... hhh go wild

abt me!!

personality wise; i can be distant often, not the one who starts convos or tries too hard to keep them going, often clinging to people im already familiar with and not engaging myself with those im not, im better assigned with people that can speak for me and can do well in public <33

around people im more comfortable around and feel like i can be myself i just say whatever atp

im either too loud or too quiet no inbetween ??

"very eccentric (in a good way)" when i asked my fg to describe me

i can be extremely passionate and ramble and talk ab my insane lil theories on and on thats about stuff i actually enjoy and i feel like i'd need someone that could withstand that and endure my entire essays of whatever i'm interested in at the moment!!

extremely sarcastic and doesnt take most stuff seriously

im often immature and can be viewed as not the smartest at times, my humor is also questionable, someone who could joke with me or just laugh with me overall

style & appearance

i dont think i have a specific style, big baggy clothing/pants, sweaters, streetwear inspo, i have a lot of jewelry stashed up too ^_^

i'm 5’2.., middle eastern and for a short description have short dark brown hair and brown eyes

love languages

im not sure what my love language is?? maybe words of affirmation or quality time i love receiving those two too

the rest that idk what to name !!

i like to draw from time to time, play video games, make up theories about pieces of media i like, most types of competition, cooking/baking often

i like

dark chocolate, warm colors, oversized stuff, taking photos, instruments, fighting games (even though they bring the worst out of me and i constantly rage), lava lamps or anything else thats incredibly cool to look at, cartoons, anything chocolate (cake, ice cream, donuts, etc)

i dislike

tomatoes, warm fruit/vegetables, over complicated stuff, hot weather, bugs, sudden loud noises, academics

yayay thats all tyy!!

okay i’mma be real here, i couldn’t think of a romantic matchup for you, but i decided on a platonic one!! and that is…

Angel !! (Platonic)

No matter what social event you may be at, Angel is one of the best people to cling to imo, he’s chill - but also not boring - he has enough energy to keep shit moving, he’ll push you to go out of your comfort zone socially but he won’t force you to.

Angel’s humor is very…questionable at times as well, so honestly, he gets you. And he probably thinks your hilarious, let’s be real. I can see your humor meshing very well with his, especially if you’re also considered immature haha

Despite Angel passing away in the late 1940’s, he has grown quite accustomed to modern technology in Hell, so he’ll happily play fighting games with you, and he’ll not so happily rage when he dies… :’)

[carllisle]

sending you characters so you can procrastinate -.-

Tanya

Carlisle

Alistair

Amun

Kate

Irina

omg ty <3 im love you

Tanya

Sexuality Headcanon: bisexual babey

Gender Headcanon: she/her, and very attached to her gender and femininity

A ship I have with said character: I kind of like her to be romantically alone, Tanya/herself <3

A BROTP I have with said character: Tanya/Eleazar

A NOTP I have with said character: Tanya/Carlisle, Tanya/Edward

A random headcanon: if Carmen had been alone, Tanya would have fallen in love with her. As Eleazar is in the picture and she loves him platonically (one of the only men worthy of her love) she never let herself fully fall for Carmen, but that longing is under there

General Opinion over said character: I like her, but there is something about her that stops me from really loving her, I'm not sure what it is.

Carlisle

Sexuality Headcanon: straight :(

Gender Headcanon: he/him :(

A ship I have with said character: Carlisle/Esme ofc <3

A BROTP I have with said character: Carlisle/Eleazar because I really love the idea that he gets on so well with someone who is basically a clone of him. A sexy clone, but a clone nonetheless

A NOTP I have with said character: Carlisle/Aro please shoot me in the face

A random headcanon: a lot of Edward's negative thoughts about himself come from living with Carlisle alone during his formative vampire years. Carlisle's own self-loathing was loud in his head, especially around the time he first changed Edward and had no one to talk him out of this opinion. When Esme came along, he had a more mature mind to match his own, and she could change his viewpoint. Edward, on the other hand, just absorbed it all and found himself to be a monster, just as his creator saw himself also.

General Opinion over said character: he's so sexy and at fault for so many things that he would never acknowledge which is far less sexy. I like to think that he would be someone to be constantly letting his views on the world evolve, that once he realised his mistakes (if they were pointed out to him) he would learn from them. I think one of the reasons he has made so many mistakes is because there are those in his family who would not question him; he's in an echo chamber and that stunts his ability to grow. I like to think that with Bella in the family, she is able to point these things out to him as a fresh pair of eyes, but she tends to put him on a pedastal like the rest of them, so maybe he's doomed to be villain forever, without ever realising.

Alistair

Sexuality headcanon: not exclusively gay, but exclusively not into women

Gender headcanon: nonbinary. Because he's a pretty old vampire, he wouldn't be interested in different pronouns that humans use in the modern world, but he would also not consider himself a man, just some person

A ship I have with said character: Alistair/ancient gods of bogs and moors and fens

A BROTP I have with said character: Alistair/peace and quiet/friends who aren't going to put his life at risk

A NOTP I have with said character: Alistair/women

A random headcanon: his name should be like Geoffrey or Oswald or Stephen or something not Alistair wtf

General opinion: underrated character I love his backstory

Amun

Sexuality headcanon: STRAIGHT but with homoerotic overtones

Gender headcanon: MANLY MAN MAN

A ship I have with said character: Amun/being given a half decent name like imagine there was a Norwegian character called Odin fgs

A BROTP I have with said character: Amun/Demitri :(

A NOTP I have with said character: Amun/Benjamin ew

A random headcanon: he really does love Benjamin like a son, but because he finds it impossible to admit it (especially after Demitri), it is easier to pretend and let others think that he values Benjamin most for his gift. Like yeah he chose Benjamin because of the potential he saw in him as a human, but that doesn't mean that it's didn't evolve into a real and meaningful love

General opinion: he needs to chill out, because if he had the chance to rule the world, he absolutely would and that's not a realistic goal

Kate

Sexuality headcanon: that sexy bitch is bi

Gender headcanon: that sexy bitch is she/her lady the whole way; like her sister, she is very attached to her womanhood and femininity

A ship I have with said character: kate/everyone literally let her bang whatever adult she wants good god she is a slut and i mean that in the most supportive, admiring way, the way amber rose says it <3

A BROTP I have with said character: kate/emmett is wildly underrated and has SO MUCH potential

A NOTP I have with said character: there's literally no one she couldn't work with

A random headcanon: she's the most outgoing one of the sisters. She's the one who laughs the loudest, indulges the most, and loves the hardest, she feels every emotion x10 more than those around her, or at least appears to. Her heart's on her sleeve and all she wants to do is make people laugh, sometimes all the way into her bed

General opinion: love her 10/10 ruin my life please

Irina

Sexuality headcanon: a bisexual icon

Gender headcanon: very feminine very woman very she/her

A ship I have with said character: I believe in Irina/Esme supremacy

A BROTP I have with said character: Irina/Carmen

A NOTP I have with said character: Irina/Laurent she deserved more than a Frenchman

A random headcanon: she's the quietest out of the sisters, happier to let Tanya take the lead and Kate take the attention. She's still pretty outgoing, but is a wallflower compared to her sisters. She's genuinely kind and caring, and so when she went to the Volturi it broke her heart. After seeing what happened with Vasili and the destruction it caused, she couldn't bear to think what an immortal child with the Cullen's protection could do and she was devastated to do it. But she believed that the Cullens had betrayed the lifestyle that her family was committed to, to preserve peace and human life, and it looked like they had turned into monsters. She didn't do it out of revenge for Laurant, but because she was putting the lives of thousands of humans above the lives of those she loved like family.

General opinion: I actually love her, she did NOTHING wrong. As far as she knew, the Volturi were good, they were the power that kept the vampire world safe and secret, and they made the hard decisions that others would not. I genuinely think that she made a selfless decision. From her point of view, if she had got any closer to Bella and Jake and Renesmee, she might have been attacked by the Cullens to protect the 'immortal child' and they might have killed her. She acted hastily, but she had no reason to believe that if she was mistaken, she would be executed unlawfully. She didn't deserve her fate, or the misunderstanding of fans :(

[btsandvmin]

It honestly makes sense why vmin would act weird/ or trying to convince people (or themselves lol) that their friendship is simply just what it is nothing more. They know each inside out fgs, things their own family, probably fellow members doesn't even know to a point, when vmin got older they simply became awkward / odd around each other. Although I'm obviously here all open to any theory about them, in the back of my mind I kind of doubt they would be involved romantically

Why would they have to convince themselves or others that here is nothing more though? Like either there is or there isn’t or you feel unsure. But if you feel unsure I would say that likely means there is “something”. There are plenty of people who are very very close best friends and are perfectly fine with that label. Or platonic soulmates that use that as well of course. Vmin themslves chose the label soulmates and even sang it in a song. That’s a strong word. If they are awkward why do something that basically makes the focus on their relationship as special even clearer.

My point is that why would they do that and other things that go into queerplatonic areas if they at the same time want to “convince” themselves or others that their friendship is just what it is and nothing more? It’s a contradiction to me.

I don’t see any reason to “become odd” if they still maintain the same relationship of close best friends that they have always had. There are many many idols that are way more open and act a lot “worse” than Vmin. Of course their personalities play a part too, but neither of them seem to have the same problem with other memebers as they have with each other. And again, they don’t seem to always have these awkward moments with each other either, it seem to depend on the context quite often.

I could maybe see a reason in holding back a bit for cameras just for the sake of not showing things they know people might interpret the wrong way... But even so acting odd or avoiding things like Vlives or being stiff when touching at times seem a bit extreme (assuming these things would be tied to Vmin’s bond to begin with) if they really just are best friends. It should be easy and fun.

I am not saying they have to be involved romantically, but I also fail to see why they would feel a need to actively convince themselves or others that they really are just friends. And to write a song like “Friends” would definitely not be the way to do that either as they basically openly label themselves as special with the term soulmate.

Again, of course their weirdness is just how we interpret things and they could have their reasons for not having done any vlives etc, but looking at them I personally see some weird behaviors that I don’t know why they are there. 

Vmin feeling something for each other is a possible explenation, but I am sure there could be many other reasons as well. I just don’t really agree with you saying them “being weird makes sense” and that they just became odd as they grew older and that they would try to convince themselves or others that there is nothing more than friendship between them. Because most of the time if you know someone for a long time and your relationship or behavior change, it does so for some reason. It could be outside reasons, doesn’t have to be something strictly between Vmin, but considering a lot of the things that got weird seem to be mostly between them I wonder if something in their relationship might have changed at some point. Or that the way they show their realtionship might have changed for some reason. Getting feelings, or even getting involved in some way could be one such reason. Especially considering the things we have from Vmin in regards to their relationship changing etc. and it seemingly being for the better and making them closer. Saying you got closer to your best friend and going on to call them your soulmate to me would indicate getting closer and more comfortable rather than suddenly starting to act odd. This is one speculation on why from me. 

But we as usual are missing a lot of pieces, not to mention we don’t even know if some of the pieces we have is to the correct puzzle. (Meaning we can’t even know if our interpretation of Vmin being weird are actually true or just exaggeration or over anlyzing.) Anyways, your view confused me a bit... But I hope you understood my reply and that I didn’t completely misunderstand you.

[therockerfromspace]

Thoughts on Good Fight 3x09

(aka The One Where The Sun Comes Out)

SPOILERS BELOW (however this episode came out on 9 May 2019 so not really).

Specifically I was rewatching it this evening and I have a lot of thoughts on the Marissa/Maia betrayal and figured I wanted to talk about it? So here's a half-baked blog.

DISCLAIMER: Marissa is my absolute favorite character on the show along with Lucca (shoutout to Cush Jumbo and Sarah Steele) but I've tried to be as objective as possible in this blog.

I think the reason for me the "you fucked me over" phonecall hits so hard is because we completely understand Maia's reasoning for it. The Maia corruption/villain arc in Season 3 is really well executed, so as soon as she feels she can get back at the firm that ruined her life it makes a lot of sense for her to take RBL to court. But the added depth is that she throws Marissa under the bus in order to do it.

Marissa is the character who is consistently there for Maia. I remember some of their opening conversation in Season 1 is some variant of "I'm going to do everything possible to keep you out of prison" (from Marissa to Maia). And even though Marissa is very flawed - she's obnoxious, lacks self-awareness and sometimes unwilling to acknowledge her blind spots - the one thing you can't fault her on is her loyalty. She FAKES A DRUGS TEST for Maia. She visits Maia at her new place of work. She asks Diane to help Maia out (she does by arranging interviews). All in the space of about 3 episodes. Which is why the betrayal works so well as an arc. Even if we view it as completely platonic (which I am certain we're not supposed to, seeing as they kiss and talk about fucking prior to the phonecall), Marissa does everything for Maia and there's absolutely 0 question where her loyalty lies- she risks her job for Maia fgs. But for Maia to turn around, manipulate Marissa into giving her information, then kiss her and then the next day Marissa finds out that Maia is working for Blum - that's got to sting.

So when they have the phonecall where Maia does the whole "it's not what it looks like" that's when it all becomes clear. Maia has become corrupted enough that she is prepared to disregard her best friend, to give confidential information all for Blum who is the most rotten to the core of all the lawyers on the show. So when Marissa says "You fucked me over" on the phone we know there's no way Marissa could forgive Maia now. Because after everything does Marissa does for Maia this season, Maia still betrays Marissa and the information she gave her just to take bitchslap her employers who (rightfully) fired her.

It works because it shows the contrast between the two characters - Marissa, despite being opinionated and vocal would still keep quiet out of loyalty to her best friend. Whereas Maia is so willing to put herself above everything else she throws betrays her best friend in under 24 hours for own self-advancement.

And that's why that episode works so well.

[skybird13]

MORE FG Analysis....(I think I might have a problem)

I keep rewatching and rewatching the Clover and Qrow scenes we have so far and trying to see the bromance thing or the platonic buddies thing and I just... can’t? 

Look, I don’t run around with shipping goggles on if that means anything to anyone. I got through the entirety of The Lord of the Rings and the first two Hobbit movies without shipping a single couple (Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage punched me in the heart in the third Hobbit film, but that’s another tangent for another time). I wasn’t even fully on Bumblby until volume 4. 

There’s just no other way to view these scenes. Things keep escalating between these two. I don’t really have a good scale for measuring romantic/sexual tension, so I’ll just try to pinpoint the moments in which things tick up a notch or two. Starting with...

The Mine Scene

The baseline here is the casual conversation that Qrow initiates. From there, here are the beats:

Conversation turns personal very quickly, thanks to Qrow opening up

Clover catches Qrow

They engage the Grimm

Qrow warns Clover

Qrow shares his semblance (again... Qrow is the one to get personal, which I find extremely telling)

Clover shares his semblance (and puts Qrow at ease)

Clover flirts (look, I’m trying to be as objective atm as possible, but the wink, the smile, the eyebrow wiggle, the full-body lean, and the lingering stare as he turns around... I’m sorry, there’s no other word for that. I challenge anyone of you to replace Qrow with a woman, show it to someone who doesn’t watch RWBY, ask what the tone of this still-shot is, and find me a single person who will tell you it’s not romantically charged. I dare you.)

Qrow stares back (this is absolutely from a myriad of emotions running through him and I will not discount that, but can we all at least admit that he seems to come out of this shock in a pretty okay place?)

They reach the main cavern and... more flirting/showing off from Clover. (The toss, the smirk, the salute, and the fancy-ass backflip which, considering he hooks Kingfisher to the ceiling and goes zipping upwards directly after this (thank you @fairgame-is-endgame​) was completely unnecessary.) 

The joke! How did I miss this?? Qrow doesn’t joke about their semblances for the first time at Schnee manor. He does it here! (Sorry, I couldn’t get the dialogue in there with Qrow’s eyes open.)

Clover counters with: “Hmm. No. I’d chalk that one up to talent.” (Already highlighting the difference between their attitudes regarding their semblances. For Qrow, everything bad that happens is his fault. For Clover, semblance isn’t everything. A very healthy person for Qrow to be around, no?)

The Truck Scene

Now we shift to the truck scene. Again, trying to pinpoint the beats where the romantic tension clicks up or something significant happens:

Clover initiates conversation. (Apparently, him mentioning Ruby is enough to put people on edge, but might I point out a few things? (Jesus lord, this is turning into another essay.) He brings up Ruby as “[Qrow’s] niece”, first of all. And that’s it. You know where he shifts the focus from there? On to Qrow. This is Clover’s next line in this exchange: “It’s a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky.” Real nefarious there, guys. Way to have Master Spy Clover probe for info. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Clover is absolutely probing here but it’s for another reason entirely.)

Qrow shifts from being closed off and a little taciturn to making sure the conversation doesn’t drop. (He thanks Clover in case anyone wants me to be specific about that). 

Qrow gets personal. Again. He opens up about being an alcoholic.

And the peak of this scene? Clover calls Qrow on his self-deprecating habits and tries to offer him something solid and good to hold on to. Which I and others have written about ad nauseum, to the point where repeating myself is getting annoying, so have some visual aids instead:

James’s Office

Non-verbal communication. Here, surrounded by people that both Clover and Qrow know better than they know each other at this point, and their first instinct in this moment is still to seek each other out. Enough said.

Schnee Manor

The second inside joke between them about their semblances. 

Qrow flirts openly. Similar to Clover’s “You’ve had more of an effect on them than you realize” line delivery here, Qrow’s “I mean, they already invited you, didn’t they?” carries a very specific and multilayered tone. He’s playful, he’s open, he’s relaxed, he’s enjoying himself, and yes, the man is flirting. It’s in the voice, it’s in the smile, it’s in the body language. And it is absolutely in the lingering stare as Clover walks through the door (a mirror of Clover’s lingering stare in the mines, btw).

Final thoughts/speculation

Does anyone want them? You’re gonna get ‘em. 

I think the fact that Qrow is the one who gets personal when he has every damn reason right now to be guarded is ridiculously significant. In the last two volumes before this, his sister tried to have him murdered, a long-trusted colleague (Lionheart) turned out to be a traitor, and Oz was revealed to be a massive liar (I love Oz, I really do, but the man screwed up). Qrow has no reason to drop his walls for just anyone so you know what this tells me? He’s interested in Clover from the beginning. Qrow’s early-stage flirting style isn’t to wink and show-off (at least not anymore), it’s to lower his guard and see how the other person responds. I think he’s gotten to the point of “if you can’t deal with my ugly shit, you won’t be getting the rest of me either”. Qrow Branwen is doing a little probing of his own and, in light of this, you could make the argument that he’s the one to open the door for their relationship to happen. 

Clover’s early-stage flirting style, on the other hand, is very overt. He’s more guarded about himself personally (notice how he keeps the focus on Qrow quite a bit and even does a bit of deflecting of his own in the truck scene) but he is perfectly comfortable with making his interest known in a very straightforward and physical manner. 

There are reasons for this!! Reasons deeply intertwined with character and who these men are.

Qrow sees himself as the eternal monkey wrench that no one wants. He’s finally starting to recover from this viewpoint, I think, but he’s also very aware that no matter how healthy he might get, he is always going to come with a little... extra. He has his semblance, he has his depression, and he has his alcoholism. He’s tired of secrets and he’s tired of games, and if he’s going to get involved with someone, they sure as hell better be ready to deal with all of that, because it’s not going anywhere. The solution? Put it all out there and see how the person responds. He gets the wrong response, he’s going to shut that down and move on. The right response?? He’s going to keep moving forward to see where it goes. Clover is giving him all the right responses.

As for Clover, he’s not only military but he’s also the leader of the elite Ace Ops and the man with the good-luck semblance. I know we don’t have a lot on him, but I suspect that the pressures of all that get to him quite a lot, to the point where he has major trouble being personally vulnerable for anyone. He’s probably used to having to keep it together at all times, to presenting that tightly controlled professionalism he displays with Robyn and even with Jacques Schnee to a degree. He’s used to everyone else relying on him, including James. This means that even in the presence of mutual interest, he’s going to flirt in ways that are emotionally safe, at least at first. 

The balance inherent in this is so unbelievably beautiful. And, I’m starting to realize, a complete subversion of early expectations. 

Qrow isn’t the one who has to learn to open up. He’s already doing that. What he will have to do is learn to accept someone (outside of his nieces) loving him without strings attached. He’ll have to learn to trust that Clover (and by extension their relationship) isn’t going anywhere, even if/when things get bad. Clover can be the one who stays. 

Clover, on the other hand, is the one who is going to have to learn to open up. He’s going to have to learn how to return that emotional vulnerability that Qrow has already given him, and he’s going to have to learn that Qrow can be the safe place where all that confidence and self-control can finally drop. Clover might have to be the unshakeable support structure for everyone else in his life, but Qrow can be the one place where he can lean and just breathe.

[afoolforatook]

My WIP list is out of control

Tagged by the lovely @drbtinglecannon

Rules: Post the file names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous the name.

Send me an ask with the title that intrigues you the most and I'll tell you something about it!

Tag as many people as you have wips. no spoons for thinking of people to tag rn, so just whoever wants to

My doc naming is an absolute mess so, some of these are nonsense to anyone but me but

And read more cause this is shamefully long (some of these were supposed to be for FGW 2020...)

LA ch 2A/C Master (FG)

LA ch 2B Dialogue restart (Loving Ch2 revision) (FG)

Hockey au notes/hcs (FG/Horseshoes)

Watching (FG smut)

Sensory Clover's pin (FG)

Summer dream (Hummingbird)

Ironqrow hockey history Clover asking (IQ, FG)

Breaking rules and hands (as in breaking rules/hands fgw not breaking hands....) (FG)

Hockey - Qrow Branwen 'Neat' (FG)

Saying I love (Eclipse ch 3/4) (FG)

Hockey Clover and Qrow meet (FG)

Ironqrow injuries history (IQ)

Controlled Burn follow up (FG smut)

Goalie pads (Horseshoes)

Deep pressure (FG/Horseshoes smut)

In Your Hands ch 4/5 (FG smut)

Hands and Glasses (Domestic Distractions ch 2/3) (FG smut)

Wrists (FG)

Our Relative Colors master (FG)

Revival Clover and Summer talk (FG/Hummingbird)

Anthology complete doc (FG) (38 finished, ~20 prompts/notes left)

Anthology sequel No kissing/platonic intimacy (FG)

Fair game tickles (FG)

Spice mines (misc smut ideas, FG/Horseshoes)

Sensory Cuff (FG)

Clover nonverbal (FG)

Reaching Autumn (Finding Spring sequel) (FG)

James' Nightmare (Horseshoes)

Hockey au versions (FG/Horseshoes)

A Symphonic Pitch (busker/orchestra au) (FG)

Clover's cello (FG)

At the mall (FG)

Musicians au - Clover hearing lullaby (FG/Hummingbird)

Qrowtober (FG)

The giant STR/QJCOOG polycule breakdown (....many)

Confident Crow!Qrow (FG)

LA ch 3A/B/C Master (FG)

LA ch 4A/B/C Master (FG)

LA ch 5 Ruby and Yang talk (FG)

LA ch 6 start of check ins (FG)

LA ch 8 The talk (FG)

LA ch 9 Mission moments (FG)

LA ch 10 touch starved (FG)

LA ch 11 light check in/Qrow's good dream (FG)

LA ch 12 intimacy discussion (FG)

LA ch 13 moments w/kids (FG)

LA ch 14 Clover's Not Okay (FG)

LA ch 15 Qrow on his own (FG)

LA ch 16 check in post CNO (FG)

LA ch 17 touch starved 2/tickling/sensory (FG)

LA ch 18 Every Part of Ourselves rewrite (FG)

LA ch 19 Every Part Epilogue (FG)

LA ch 20 announcement (FG)

LA ch 21 getting dressed - sad happy (FG)

LA ch22 Qrow and Jaune talk (FG/Hummingbird/Arkos)

LA ch 23 'seeing' Summer (FG/Hummingbird)

LA ch 24 To Grow Old rewrite (FG)

Fair game ideas/aus notes: Frozen, Luthier/expanded musicians, Abhorsen, HTTYD, Modeling (Corvid Affair), Stardust, Moulin Rouge, Qrowley and Az, Expanded hockey, Orpheus, Welly boots

[penunumbra]

all jokes aside, i will get to the previous post about the AU later, bc im brainstorming it and realizing it’s batshit crazy and confusing and im adapting way too many things from Necrologue mod

but can i for now say the story how i even found the games in the first place? i found Penumbra when i was around 16 (maybe even 15, i really dont remember, but i know it was middle high school in poland education standards) and it was a pretty bad period in my life and i for some reason latched into the trilogy and found.. comfort with it? yeah as dumb it sounds, speaking about an old horror game that isn’t perfect or anything. watching the let’s plays of it and reading lore gave me strange feeling of comfort and helped distracting me from irl stuff and school.

being older teen that grew up with weird mentality and saw shit you shouldn’t see underaged, my og ideas were.. obviously horribly made and questionable af and in later years i pushed FG works away bc it was reminding me of that weird and bad period and my bad ideas. i think i went back and embraced it again when SOMA came out, but i dont remember. but after SOMA came out, the interest was back and i stopped being embarrassed of myself. kind of.

in a way, i watched a let’s play of Amnesia first, it was a bit before Machine for Pigs came out. but the difference between this LP and Penumbra one was that, the dude i watched (some polish youtuber) didn’t bother to read the notes and the game was full english so i didnt understand shit. with Penumbra, he actually had a polish translation mods and read the notes and explained the plot a bit better, so.. idk i was hooked with the Penumbra story and Philip a lot more than Amnesia and Daniel. imo it had a better pacing and plotline that made somehow sense in my teen brain (i was more likely believe into outbreak of ancient hivemind alien virus that. whatever the fuck orbs business was about idk lol). it hit differently, and he seemed like a more.. relatable protagonist in a way? maybe i just like (platonically) dudes stuck in a horror situation and they are fucking tired of it. Daniel was too confusing and not angry enough for my tastes.

oversharing is my passion

[reniplier]

Fro the desc. requests: I’m Feli/FG and I’m nonbinary (they/them)! I’m short (5’1) and chubby, with glasses, pink hair, and brown skin. I’m a cheerful and mischievous sort of person, but very creative and, I hope, kind. I like to write, draw, and cook! Platonic or Romantic, dealer’s choice. :)

You’d be great with...

Wilford!

Wilford is quite the tall and muscular boy so I imagine he’d want someone the opposite of him. Homeboy is definitely a chubby chaser and was like 💖👄💖 the second he saw you. AND PINK HAIR- you are literally wearing his colour so obviously yall are soulmates.

Honestly, you were made for each other but when yall are in the same room no one is safe. A man with a gun and tiny mischievous s/o? yeah, its best to slowly walk away.

I hope you don't mind him watching over you like a hawk while you LITERALLY ANYTHING. He just thinks you are like magic. Also, he thinks anything you create is gods blessing. Just finished a drawing, it's hung up on the wall next to the portraits (he’ll tear down actors picture just for a sketch.) Just got done making something? Please let him taste it, he describes it as a world-class chef. want him to look at something you wrote? He’ll gather all the egos and read to them like a teacher reads to their students. It’s very chaotic, but trust me when I saw fulfilling.

[scarvin]

Sammy 👉👈😳

I LOVE YOU GUYS WHAT THE HELL OMGMKDHD;SHD;LKGHD;FG I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! 😤 😤 😤

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual FIGHT ME ON THIS I DARE YOU Gender Headcanon: cis woman A ship I have with said character: S..Sammy and Braelyn!!!! THEY ARE CUTE! IM SORRY! THEY ARE SWEET TOGETHER!!! But... But I also... I also really like Jasammy ngl... A BROTP I have with said character: Jasammy!!! Cute BROTP but also... Shawn and Sammy would be such a cute little BROTP!!! Also they... Share a girlfriend. A NOTP I have with said character: Should I say Dave again or.... Should I take this one more seriously? I don’t think she’d get with anyone who would treat her like shit, platonically or romantically. But Dave definitely would, fuck Dave. A random headcanon: She probably doesn’t actually hate her sister as much as she states that she does. Every sibling talks about how much they hate their brother/sisters but let's be honest, it’ll probably die down in like three years. General Opinion over said character: I didn’t really like canon Sammy all that much but I LOVE fanon Sammy to DEATH!!!1

[commandtower-solring-go]

I totally agree with your analysis of Simpsons vs SP/FG, but I was wondering something: when can one tell if the person is meant to be satirical? I like the argument and want to bring it up with some people, but I can't think of any supporting evidence, if that makes sense.

I haven’t really watched enough FG/SP to make an informed assessment on the show and, to an extent, all it can come down to is the beliefs of the creator/writer/show runner and how they manifest in show. But I’ll explain how i see it in The Simpsons and maybe that will help. I’m sorry if its a bit messy. There is always a lot to unpack and I’m not great and being explicit about each part. 

The point of the Simpsons’ particular brand of satire isn’t meant to mock a particular ground of people.From go, the Simpsons was explicit in what it was parodying. It was meant to highlight the dissonance between the kinds of family shown on TV (the platonic ideal of middle class America) and the kinds of families most people had (largely dysfunctional). As a result, every aspect of the show was designed to reflect another. The situations they then found themselves in and how they handle them were the catalyst for the majority of the show’s discussions. 

For example, in Season 2 Episode 2: Three Men and a Comic Book the episode depicts Bart, Milhouse and Martin’s endeavours trying to acquire and share a first edition Radioactive Man comic book. In the end, each of their desires to see their fair share and ignore the other’s leads to the comic being ruined for each of them. Their selfishness leads to no one, not even themselves, getting what they want. 

Honestly, looking back on it and given the Nuclear theming of the comic, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if this was also an alagory for the Cold War, but I digress. 

What makes how the Simpsons handle this is that each of the characters in this situation are like characters in a sit com. They are actors, playing characters and the writers are seeing what happens when you put those characters in a particular situation. Those characters are meant to be a direct reflection of real like people (Bart - Older Brother, Martin - Male Friend, Milhouse - Best Male Friend). Their actions are realistic and are drawn from genuine behaviour and lead it to its logical conclusion. In this case, 10 year old boys aren’t the best at sharing and unless they learn to, they’ll never be able to realise the true advantages of friendship. Moreover, if we bring into it this idea of the Cold War, they’re effectively saying that each part in the discussion is no better than a 10 year old boy who can’t share. 

The show uses humour, then, not as a way of pointing out what’s stupid. Instead, they use humour as a way of connecting with the characters. Homer isn’t funny because he’s dim witted, fat or lazy. He’s funny because we can see that behaviour in the people in our life that he relates to. We can see how the ‘dads’ in our life are a bit lazy when so much TV leads us to expect them to be better than that. 

But it also accepts its own failings and mocks the creators of the show as imperfect. This is the shows first depiction of its creator

The point of The Simpsons isn’t to show how the modern American family is a failing, or worse yet how the creators are above that. The point is to highlight, in a grounded way, just how dysfunctional we all are. To emulate that dysfunction in action. To show how we can’t actually be expected to be as perfect as 80′s family sitcoms would have you believe. But, and this is the most important part, do so in a way which involves the creators as part of it. 

I said before that Lisa was the writer’s voice in the show. But that’s not true. Lisa is the often ignored voice of our conscience. Bart is the voice of the creator. By placing themselves in this position, the creators recognise themselves as a part of that satire. 

So, to bring it all together. The Simpson’s aims not to mock, but to show our foibles. To accept them as a part of ourselves, but also as something to try to overcome. And, most importantly, they acknowledge that even the creators aren’t free from this. That the moral compass of the show is meant to be followed, but often isn’t simply because that’s how it be. 

By contrast, FG/SP don’t view their own show as actors playing characters being put in situations. Instead, one of them being being played by the creator, rather than an actor. This character is the one who lays judgement on the other characters, in a certain way. He is the voice of the creator. But the problems arise because you can’t effectively mock the character who gives moral judgements. He will always be above what he receives. If anything, it produces a situation where the voice character is the be all end all, but undermines their own opinions as a way of discrediting those who might criticise him. 

For this kind of idea in action, I would strongly recommend you watch HBomberguy’s video on climate denial. Towards the end he talks about these same ideas in response to Ben Shapiro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLqXkYrdmjY

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

so about those descendants ocs?

Oh man okay so!!!  there are a whole lot and I get more ideas literally every single day I blame @seaweedhufflepuffocs

OCs that I’ve talked about/are already on the masterlist:

Avalon Le Fay (faceclaim: Emma Dumont and sometimes Emily Rudd): Avalon was not my first descendants OC, but she’s the first one that I really thought about making into a fic!  This started because SeaweedHufflepuff and I were rabbiting descendants 2 and were both thinking of Camelot based OCs and then realized that they were most definitely (platonic) soulmates and turned it into the wonderful crossover that is King And Lionheart!  Avalon is the daughter of Morgana and Merlin (using the Merlin cast) and while Morgana was originally allowed to stay in Camelot - which did not join Auradon - they later (when Avalon and Nimue are infants) force her to the Isle and Morgana agrees, so long as Avalon can stay in Camelot, which they have to agree to or Camelot will declare war.  Avalon struggles a lot with her identity and not knowing who her mother is, and although Nimue is her person™ and they’ve been raised their entire lives with the knowledge that Nimue will be King and Avalon will be her right hand/advisor/essentially co-ruler, Avalon has also always struggled with feeling like she’s second best.  She’s my baby and I adore she and Nimue and I’m very excited to hopefully start writing this story soon

Maria Frollo (fc. Hazelle/Bellamie), Queenie (fc. Darya Lebedeva), and Helena (fc. Kimmy Schram): These girls were my first Descendants OCs, the daughters of Claude Frollo, The Queen Of Hearts, and Hades respectively.  I had this idea a while ago, as I wanted to write a fic where the VKs and some of the Auradon kids have to go to the Isle post D2 and they meet the new leaders.  Queenie was very much taken under Mal’s wing as a kid and Mal is very proud of them.  Queenie is the leader and Helena is her right hand (and girlfriend) and Maria is basically they’re daughter tbh they adore her.  I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with them but I do love them very much.

Elise Charming (fc. Lili Reinhart): Elise is Chad’s twin sister and polar opposite (well other than being preppy and a cheerleader).  She truly believes in second chances and is super excited for the VKs to come to Auradon?  And definitely falls in love with Evie but thinks that Evie is straight

Finley Rider (Fc. Virginia Gardner): Her name is Princess Finley Ryder - Corona is officially part of Auradon but they still have their own royal line.  When she was ten she was at some fancy gala party at the museum and got really bored, and got caught stealing Jafar’s staff (no one noticed that she also got both lamps) and she gets sent to the Isle on one of the shipping barges, and the first person she meets is Jay.  Once they’re a bit closer and she’s been officially accepted into the VK circle, she tells him that she still has both of the lamps, Jay makes her promise not to tell anyone else and they’ll keep them as a last resort bargaining stool.  And then they get summoned to auradon (she’s not supposed to go but Jay convinces Jafar who convinces Maleficent who “convinces” the driver) and she has to face the people who exiled her

Princess Isabelle (fc. Danielle Campbell): Ben’s twin sister, who is actually the firstborn.  She believes that she should be the queen (and so does Belle) but her father insists on Ben because Isabelle is significantly harder to control.  Her endgame love interest was going to be Mal but now I’m torn between Mal and Audrey for her.

Violet Kingston (fc. Meg Donnelly): Alice and the Hatter’s daughter who gets sent to Auradon to investigate an attempted assassination of the White Queen.  Very unimpressed with Auradon and likes Wonderland a lot better, thinks that the VKs are pretty cool, gets shoved into a dorm with Mal and Evie because there wasn’t really enough space

OCs that I haven’t talked about:

there are actually a lot more than just these but I keep losing track so hopefully @seaweedhufflepuffocs can help me remember them lmao

Harley Hook (fc. maybe Madison McLaughlin, open to ideas): Harry’s younger (by a year) sister.  She was part of Uma’s crew and loved it but then she gets chosen to go to Auradon?  She kind of hates the VKs and really wants nothing to do with any of this, she just wants to go back to her brother and her crew and her boyfriend Gil.  Except that they sort of broke up when she got chosen because they didn’t think they’d ever see each other again.  And she starts to fall for Jay and is torn between the Crew, the VKs, and Auradon

Lani (fc. Madelaine Petsch): Melody’s daughter, the first second generation child to be born, and to go to Auradon Prep.  She’s half part of Auradon (because of Eric’s kingdom) but also Atlantian which is still separated, and she’s trying to unite the two but is being torn apart by it

A daughter of Hercules who the fates predicted would be evil and is therefore sent to the isle as an infant and is raised by Hades but then Ben includes her in the group being brought to Auradon

A daughter of the Fates (their scissors are seen in the Villain Room of the museum) who was raised on the Isle

A daughter of Hans, plot TBD

A daughter of Lady Tremaine - much younger than the other two, only a couple of years older than Dizzy.  She and Dizzy are extremely close but are separated when she’s brought to Auradon.  I’ve been thinking maybe Lana Condor as the FC just because Lana and Anna have already played sisters once and because she has some awesome dark leather isle looks and cute preppy auradon looks.  Probably also treated badly by Lady Tremaine, ends up becoming quite close with Cinderella during that first family day where everything went wrong.

A daughter of Gaston, either Gil’s twin or little sister, and I don’t really have much of a plot for her except that she becomes quite close with Belle (I think that she would have been majorly mistreated by Gaston and Belle can tell as soon as they meet) and Adam really hates that

A daughter of Fairy Godmother (fc. probably India Eisley or Emily Rudd): in a slight AU where the Beast is honestly really dark, FG has twin daughters and he forces her to send one to the Isle (I’m not sure if it’s specifically because they’d be magic or if there’s a one child rule because he doesn’t want anyone being able to overthrow him) but FG hides her away somewhere instead?  Or she does go to the Isle but then escapes in D3 when the VKs and Pirates leave after visiting Hades.  I have very little plot beyond that but in D3 when Jane and co find the statue of FG, Jane thinks of getting the wand, but when she goes in she sees this girl taking it (and not being stopped by the shield because she has the same blood) and discovers that she has a twin, and then they overthrow the beast or something

Thank you for this ask, I love talking about my Descendants OCs, I just need to remember the other ideas that I have lmao 

Forever Tag List: @themildestofwriters​ @gottaenjoythelittlethingzz​ @dancerdramatic14​ @seaweedhufflepuffocs​ @iceandwaterfairytail​ - want to be added to the forever/fandom/character tag lists for fics or all content?  shoot me an ask!

Descendants Tag List: @katiesocs

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD S10 Trailer: Analysis

Okay let's dive into this trailer. Lots of great symbols. I’m basically going to list everything we see (because many scenes flash by so fast that people miss them without realizing it) and make some observations along the way.

The first thing you see is the ocean and water. Obviously, Beth = water, so this would make me excited one way or the other. But it also shows that some of the symbolism we saw clear back in S4 is being fulfilled now. I talked about this recently (X) but there's the picture above Hershel which shows a ship on the ocean. We been predicting things that are ocean related (shipwrecks, etc.) for a long time. That’s why we were so excited when Oceanside became a thing in S7. Nothing much has come of it yet, but it may this season. Spoilers tell us that there's going to be a ship wreck this season and a lot of stuff happening with Oceanside. The very fact that it’s the FIRST thing in the trailer is significant.

Perhaps more importantly, we see a walker impaled on some wood. I can’t tell if this walker is bobbing in the water or if he's actually walking through the surf. It could be that the camera is low and he's actually walking. Doesn’t really matter, but he's impaled on the wood piece of wood that looks like a cross (or an X). So, this is pretty much a Christ symbol walking up out of the water. That's kinda huge in terms of symbolism.

Then there’s a group of people riding horses. Nothing huge there. We could mention the Horse Theory but these aren’t black and white horses or anything.

Then we hear Alpha talking. I mentioned this in an Ask on Sunday but she says, “There's only one rule. We are always watching.” 

One reason that's important is because many of us have noticed a theme of TF being watched from afar over the seasons. I don't think it was always the Whisperers doing the watching. It might've been the helicopter people. But if you've been keeping up with my posts, you know this theme is coming together in a big way. So, if they’re reiterating the idea of someone watching TF, that's important. We also see Michelle with binoculars to reinforce the theme.

Negan talks about the skin-colored bogeyman arriving, by which he means the Whisperers.

We then see Eugene running toward a radio. I think that's important given voice we heard in 9x16 and the radio stuff we've seen in Fear this season. We see Rosita with what I'm assuming is her baby and Luke looking scared. Judith holding a walker face, obviously from the Whisperers.

Then Michonne speaks. She says, "Fear is dangerous. It can drive us apart again." While Michonne speaks, we see Siddiq looking ill and then his face is plunged into water, almost as though someone is holding him under. I don't know what that means but it could signify Siddiq’s death.

Then we get something interesting: a hooded person painting, "silence the whispers," in different places around Alexandria. No idea why they would be hooded, but it's interesting.

Then we see Lydia practicing with a quarter staff (Morgan would be so proud) and obviously she and Daryl will have a lot of scenes together. 

Then Daryl challenges Negan, saying to them have never gone toe to toe before. Maybe that will happen in the season. It would be interesting.  

Michonne and Father Gabriel peer at each other from opposite sides of the fence. Later in the trailer, we also see FG in what looks like a jail of some kind. Not sure what that portends, but the interesting thing is that he’s sort of imprisoned a lot in this trailer and, because of his one eye, he’s a walking Sirius symbol, which makes him a Beth proxy. She had a lot of imprisonment symbolism around her because of Grady. So, as with so many things here, I don’t know what it means, but I’m side-eyeing it.

Negan says, "If you don't protect what belongs to you, soon it will belong to someone else." While he says it, there are a lot of family-and-friends shots: Aaron with Gracie, Siddiq holding his and Rosita's baby, Daryl and Connie and Dog, and then horses riding into Oceanside.

Next, Father Gabriel tries to get Negan to fight. Negan says he doesn't want to do anything but pick tomatoes. That's a nod to Carl and Carl's vision of the future where Negan literally picked tomatoes. Father Gabriel insists that Aaron needs fighters and Negan can fight. Then he says my favorite line in the entire trailer, "Peanut butter, meet jelly." 

(Quick refresher: this is a Beth and Daryl symbol. X At the funeral home in Alone, Beth at peanut butter and Daryl ate jelly.) FG points to Aaron when he says peanut butter and Negan when he says jelly. How many times have we said Aaron is a proxy for Beth? Even had a lot of her dialogue in 5B. So, Aaron represents Beth, and both of them are peanut butter. Negan represents Daryl, and both of them are jelly. Very nice!

Next are lots of scenes of people killing walkers in different ways and locales. Rosita punches a punching bag. Then Carol says, "Do you ever wonder if this is all there is?” Daryl answers, 

"Sometimes I think we’re just surviving one fight to the next." During this part, we see people fighting on the beach, Daryl and Carol hugging, a lot of stuff with boats, such as Ezekiel and Jerry trying to keep walkers inside a boat.

Then Daryl says, "No more fighting. Just get on the bike and go." And it shows him and Carol on his motorcycle. Then Carol says, "Head out west." And Daryl says, "See what's left." And then more beach stuff.

Okay, let’s talk about this for a minute. First, it’s worth noting that conversations in the trailer are often spliced together in a deceiving way. These lines may be (and probably are) parts of several different conversations rather than one as we har it in the trailer.

That said, I know this worries many people and a certain ship is going nuts. But there’s no reason to worry. I actually find this very intriguing. First of all, they went out of their way to define Carol and Daryl’s relationship in this trailer, and it’s still one hundred percent platonic and mother/son.

In terms of what they’re saying, Daryl implies that sometimes he wants to leave, get on his bike and ride. But it's interesting that they say “head out west.” Because, where are Morgan and his group? They’re in Texas, which is far southwest of Virginia. And then of course there's Carol. We think she's going to get on a boat at some point and take Michonne’s comic book arc. So, if anything, I think this is a foreshadow. Nobody freak out. I don't think Daryl and Carol will run away together and abandon the rest of the group. I just think at some point, this may come into the story. But I can see Daryl heading west in some way to find Beth over even Rick.

And remember that last year, both Melissa and Norman were seen in places that suggested they were filming scenes for FTWD in Texas. Obviously, we haven't seen either of them on that show and, much like Beth’s missing scenes from S5, I think they filmed this far in advance to try and minimize spoilers. But at some point, one or both of them may end up in Texas. So again, I think this is a foreshadow, but not one that any of us should be worried about. If anything, I kinda like it.

Next, Rosita and Father Gabriel, lots of people fighting, babies. Eugene seems to be measuring what I assume is Rosita's baby. Kind of funny. No idea what's going on there. Yes Eugene, babies do grow.

Daryl hugs Lydia and Magna and Kelly have a romantic moment.

Michonne says, "Somehow, it's harder the second time around. You get used to having someone there. A partner in crime." During this voiceover, we see Judith and Luke together; Daryl and Connie at the head of a group walking through the woods, Carol, and a shot of the H coin from last season. Right after Michonne’s line, we see her kiss Ezekiel.

I talked about this on Sunday as well, but I feel like this is mostly misdirection. Think about what Michonne says here. It’s harder the second time around without the loved ones she misses. Without a partner in crime. She's either talking about Rick or possibly Carl. About how much she misses them. And then it shows her kissing Zeke as though it’s about him? It’s clearly not. So that alone tells me they’re being deceptive.

And yes, I suppose it might be some sort of rebound relationship with Ezekiel, but it’s a little too convenient in my mind. So again, I think this was just put in to get a rise out of the fans. Even if she and Ezekiel are in a relationship, I don't see it being anything long-term or very important.

Then we get into some more Whisperer stuff. Magna says, "If we get caught on their side of the border, that's it. That's war." Right then, Daryl crosses the border. 

So obviously the Whisper War is about to begin in earnest. Alpha says, "What did I tell you about crossing my border? You’ll have to be punished." Then Carol says, "Bitch has to die."

Then more shots of people running, fighting, raising weapons in quick succession. We get a quick shot of Earl fighting. He’s Tammy's husband from last season. I was happy to see him.

We also see a lot of flames. We actually see a lot of fire throughout the trailer. Much of it seems to be at Oceanside. So again, if Oceanside burns in some way, it will mean what happened with the Oceansiders at the end of S8 was a foreshadow. At the time, it seemed really random, and I think I even suggested then that because it was so random, it was probably a foreshadow something. Now we’ll probably see it’s fulfillment.

Next, Alpha has a line I can’t quite make out. Maybe someone can tell me if they can hear better than I can. She says, “This is my ??? now. You'd better run." I’ve listened to it thirty it times and can’t understand what she says right there. And yes, I obviously checked out the subtitles, but they’re translating it as “This is my that, now.” which obviously isn’t correct.

Michonne says, "It's going to get worse before it gets better, but we aren't going to get through it at all if we do not act as one."

Alpha then says, "You should fear me."

Finally, it cuts to the humorous scene with Daryl and Carol when he says that he didn't want his best friend spend the rest of her life on a boat. Carol razzes him, saying, "What are you, ten?" Then she says she could make them matching friendship bracelets. She keeps going, teasing Daryl about the comment until he says, "I got an idea. Let's just eat and not talk."

Naturally, certain shippers are pouncing all over this like it's a marriage ceremony or something. But if you think about what they're saying here, there is no more clear way to define their relationship as a friendship. Not only because she offers to make friendship bracelets for them, but because when she asks if he's ten, it's very much a throwback to Carol thinking of Daryl as little as a little boy. As her son. So this clearly defines the relationship this as a mother son relationship as well as a platonic friendship rather than romance. I thought it was a fun and humorous scene.

It also illustrates one of the major differences between Carol and Beth. Carol is utterly unsentimental. Don’t get me wrong: she can be sentimental sometimes, and she was with Ezekiel and Henry, but she's never been that way with Daryl. 

Actually, this reminds me of the scene on top of the bus in 3x01, where she said, "You want to make out?" And then they both laughed. It had that same ambience. And remember that right after that in 3×01, Daryl stared at Beth while she was singing. By contrast, Beth would've been much sweeter and more sentimental about what Daryl said. It’s not a bad thing on Carol’s part. It simply shows the difference in Daryl's relationship to Carol versus his relationship to Beth.

Finally, there’s a mini coda where Michonne holds Negan’s bat. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of that. They've been foreshadowing something that has to do with Michonne and Negan for a while now. Last season, remember she went out and found his bat and saw a guy hanging, which was a lot like Librarian the Saviors hung over the bridge at the end of S6. I don't know if this portends something literal that Michonne and Negan will be involved in, or if they're trying to say that Michonne is becoming Negan in some way? That doesn’t seem particularly plausible to me, but as I said, just not sure what to make of this yet.

And this coda was super short and vague, which is different than past trailers. Maybe that’s because AK is showrunner now. It will be interesting to see how this coda plays out in the season.

Okay, some closing, overall thoughts. We see a few shots of Daryl and Connie together, but nothing about them suggests a romance to me. He hugs both Carol (mother) and Lydia (daughter) more than he does Connie, who he doesn't hug at all. We do see the two of them hanging out in various ways. So, I think he's developing a friendship with Connie, much like he has with Aaron or Tara or any other member team family. Honestly, that doesn't bode well for Connie.

If you're worried about Donny being a thing, consider this. At SDCC this past weekend, they announced that Lauren Ridloff (who plays Connie) is going to start filming a Marvel movie. And congrats to her. But in my mind, there's no clearer evidence that she won’t be playing a huge role in the show moving forward.

I don't know they’ll kill her off, or just take her away for a while, like they did with Maggie. But from what we know about TWD actor contracts, they’re ironclad. The actors have to be 100% loyal to the show and often have to get special permission to do other projects. So, if Lauren Ridloff is doing something as big as a Marvel film, it must be with AMC's blessing. That tells me that either her character will die, or she's just not going to play a very big role in the show moving forward, which frees her up to do other work. If someone's going to be Daryl's love interest, that's going to be a huge role in the show. So it's already looking like those of us who assured everyone Daryl and Connie would not be a thing were correct.

The only other observation I have from the trailer is that we didn't see Lauren Cohan at all. No Maggie yet. Not a particularly big deal. The commercial tends to only cover the first handful of episodes anyway, so maybe Maggie won't be back until late in 10a or even 10B.

Overall, I'm seeing a lot of Beth symbolism. No smoking guns about her appearance, but I wouldn't expect there to be. For the most part I really loved the commercial and I'm excited for S10.

[scarypunkmother]

tbh, i just don’t want star and marco together. i get that everyone ships it and stuff but isn’t it kinda annoying when the main two protagonists end up together ALL the time?? can’t we just have soulmates that are platonic? they don’t HAVE to be together, they can just be best friends because cmon, lots of people fall for their best friends but it doesn’t always necessarily mean you’ll end up with them. LET THEM BE FRIENDS FGS