#because regardless of ship the interpretation is just too different from mine...

[satsuha]

society when people finally realise ship order is less about sex and more about characterisation

[sixlane]

any regulily headcanons if you ship them :D

hello lovely anon! ok sooooo i do not personally ship regulily im sorry to disappoint, but i think the way they interact is soooo interesting and very much worth exploring so i will use this as my opportunity to rant about them. also disclaimer: most of this is pulled straight from my conversations with renn @malchai so this is as much their post as it is mine.

so lily and reg seem to be parallels in a lot of ways. both younger siblings who feel left behind or neglected or hated by their older siblings. both very good at hiding their emotions. both have had roles assigned to them by others that they suffocate under. but the spaces they occupy in their lives are very different.

where regulus will always be less than, lily will be more than. lily has this angelic larger than life image. she gets the things she wants. regulus has never gotten anything he’s wanted in his life. <- the implications with james!!! regulus cannot stand to see jily together because he harbors these secret forbidden feelings for james that he will never act on because he thinks he’ll never be good enough. he thinks james looks at him and sees sirius’ little brother or sees a blood purist or whatever. if he ever wanted to be with james he would have to work for it. and lily just has him. just like that. and all she had to do was be lily. and this goes for other things too! lily gets good grades easily and reg has to study to stay at the top of his class. lily has friends because they like her. reg has friends because he grew up with them. (i also must add that almost all of this is reg being an unreliable narrator. a lot of this stuff is not actually true. (i see lily as someone who does have to work hard to maintain her perfect girl image. reg’s friends do actually like him regardless of whether they grew up together or not. james being with lily is 100% about james and not about lily at all.)) then there’s lily’s thoughts about reg. “while she has to work to be taken seriously because she’s muggleborn, regulus already has status simply because he’s a black, so she’s incredibly jealous of that. there are people who consider her lesser just for existing while regulus will never experience this. people expect regulus to succeed, while lily has to be perfect to be deserving of a place” (renn, our dm’s). and then there’s everything with sirius. “depending on interpretation of canon, if sirius wanted regulus to come with him and regulus refused, lily probably wouldn’t understand that either, because here is his older brother wanting him and regulus turning his back on him. if lily had gotten that from petuntia, she wouldn’t have hesitated. all she ever wanted was to be acknowledged by petuntia” (renn, our dm’s). and then you turn it around and regulus does want sirius, he just doesn’t know how to reconcile that with sirius leaving, so he looks at lily who is a gryffindor and is part of this new family that sirius chose instead of him! (<- more stuff from the rane dm’s). all this to say, their relationship is complicated! i think i’ve said this before but their like or dislike for each other doesn’t have much to do with the other but more to do with themselves.

[blankcest]

Okay I'm gonna try to sort my questions from least to most pedantic u can stop answering whenever I know abo isn't about practicality but u want questions and I always have questions I'm aroace and sex is a hyperfixation - :) e

Are u gonna be writing abo fics in the future?

Did you have specific characters/fics in mind with the way you view abo?

If a pack used to be perminant does that mean switching packs is stressful/harmful? Does it work different in different countries like the concept of moving away from your parents is?

You said something about sex being different because of fem alphas have weird inflatable dicks, how? Is it just because they're smaller? Different shape? What would be the purpose of that?

You mentioned different secondary genders appearing at different rates for practical reasons, is this just the bog standard 'omega males are rare and so are alpha females because sexist implications' or is it different and why? This vaguely implies environment has a role in secondary gender presentation like clownfish, is this canon? I will be adding it to my own abo takes regardless because I love clownfish and complicating everything

Why Gammas and Deltas? Did you have specific characters in mind when you were talking abt them? I've seen them before but it's usually for specific character dynamics for specific ships, is this the case with you?

Please for the love of God not ass babies. This isn't a question just Please No. I can pull up a diagram for a pelvis right now you're not getting a baby head out of that thing sideways and no one wants to crap their child. Or do fuck it do it if you want be free shit babies hebehd

Why are there primary genders? Why do they exist? Why do people trans them? What's the difference and why's the difference when the sex part of sex and a lot of the build and societal role parts of sex are on a quintinary seperate from that binary and what is primary sexism targeting? Does this affect gendered words like mom, patriarch, scientist, etc. ?

I've realized I'm way too sick to be being coherent. O well. Send!

1) I mean!! Anything is possible. I don’t have any specific ideas rn but like! I dunno! I’d love to talk about it and play around with it!

2) Yes and No, a lot of my omegaverse interpretations is based off well, me roleplaying in the universe for years on end from highschool till now. Like pack dynamics is somewhat based off friend groups and how they worked, as well as pervious relationships i’ve had.

Some fics have influenced some ideas or gave me them (such as the extra glands on the wrists and inner thigh, as well as temporary marks), but a lot of this was developed just through interpersonal connections. Like, it was a major part of my ex’s identity and slowly became a part of mine as our relationship developed. So now i have this like, really weird and intense connection to omegaverse and how it works. Defining how i interact with others sometimes.

3) Oh pack dynamics and expectations are absolutely different in different regions and cultural contexts.

I will say a lot of my ideas for pack culture is based off how I think western omegaverse society would develop! So i have major blind spots here :]

In terms of being “permanent”, that wasn’t really true? Its more like it was traditional or a major social expectation that you’ll always “belong” to your village/family/hometown etc. And as travel and global communication became a thing, that idea became less popular or thought of as true.

And in modern western culture, creating your own pack or joining a different one from your family became seen as apart of growing up.

So similar to any major life event/social development. It can literally mean nothing or be Extremely Life changing depending on the person. Humans are funny like that.

4) I think when i mentioned sex verses gender it was more about like, Biological Sex verses Gender Identity rather then like, the act of sex being different.

Gender as a concept in real life is really strange and complicated, and having a secondary sex would make that more complicated i think! So i wanted to focus on physical sex as like a “intro post” to give like breathing room for myself.

In terms of like the actual act, its?? Hrm, with female alphas in particular i didn’t really know what to do with them cause of lack of inspo for a long time until i was introduced to the idea of their clits growing during rut. To me, it gave that connection to male alphas and their ruts and well, made being a female alpha more interesting then just “oh they’re aggressive females” ykwim?

Cause the point of omegaverse is that their physical sex is weird so! The Girls should get that treatment too.

5) Hmm, i could see environment playing a role in secondary sex development but like, i would say its as impactful as it is for the primary sex in the womb. Like yes it affects it but also it can be Literally Anything.

I sort of like the sexist implications, sort of like the idea that Males tend to get favored in certain cultures while Females tend to thrown to the way side. I think in reality its kind of a even spilt and a lot of it is affected by culture.

Like i could easily see a version where female alphas tend to be shamed, so their more likely to take rut suppressants and try and pass as Betas more often then not.

I could also see a version where any alpha is favored and any omega tends to be treated like dirt.

Admittedly my omegaverse is always subject to flexibility and change depending on what I find more interesting and “accurate” in my head at the time.

Like i love the idea that Omega Males tend to be inflantized and looked down upon, and Omega females even more so. LIKE, the sexism is what makes it interesting to me.

In relationship to Gammas and Deltas showing up less. I think its because they where viewed as “intersex alphas/omegas” for a while and maybe only really recently (as in like the last century) got recognized as their own sex rather then a variation, at least in western culture. So they’re finally being less repressed and accepted in mainstream culture.

6) WELL! I sort of developed Gammas and Deltas for myself because I! Didn’t fit in the traditional A/B/O structure myself!

For a long time, I found myself out of place and not fitting anywhere, so my idea of a Gamma was born. I heard of it before, but never found it explored. So, i kinda based it a lot of myself before it became its own thing. Deltas developed similarly, cause i knew people who where omegas but werent omegas ya know what i mean?

And overtime i kept adding to it and giving it breath and ta-da, it became a major thing.

Nowadays i have zero clue what my A/B/O would be, but it’s probably still Gamma lmao. Or maybe a Gamma-Alpha intersex variation, who knows anymore LMAO

7) WELL! AGAIN I CAN SEE IT HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT WAYS

My interpretation is genuinely very flexible and and willing to change when better ideas come up so! There doesnt have to be ass babies. Who knows! The world is a strange and wonderful place.

8) This is partly why i prefaced with the idea that a lot of this is still pretty fantasy based rather then like, being super realistic.

Cause realistically! Primary sexism probably wouldnt exist or matter at all in my omegaverse, cause like primary sexism in the real world was more about controlling certain types of labor and those who could get pregnant.

And if most people can impregnate and get pregnant then that separation wouldn’t fuckin matter.

HOWEVER, ARGUABLY, the reason i always include it is because I think it makes it more interesting! It adds a layer and breath to A/B/O sexism that feels important and creates these weird dynamics and relationships.

Like, its part of why i think Omegaverse can be used to talk about Cissexism in a allegorical sense, cause the idea of “omega males” being subjugated based on the fact they give birth is!! really relatable to how transmasc people tend to get treated in regards to their reproductive rights. Without it being transphobic, and hell even gender affirming in cases!

Its the same with Trans and Intersex people existing in the omegaverse, it creates this breath and interest for me. It makes everything dynamic and I think points out how arbitrary it all is better then I can do outside of fiction.

Alphas aren’t absolute, same with being a Woman or Man. Its all a social game, you feel me?

Trans people exist in my omegaverse because well, I’m a trans person and I exist. Same with being intersex.

Its apart of life to me and it would be weird if it DIDNT exist, ya know? Especially if gender and sex in omegaverse is already strange and weird, it make sense the Humans living in it would also be weird about it!!

I think! There is a version of my omegaverse where gendered words are affected, but I think they also dont have to be at the same time. Cause like, if the point of my omegaverse is to sort of be a “reality au”, with a lot of stuff being somewhat based off experiences ive had in real life well! It can be similar to real life with the words people use, yeah?

I do think calling someone “omega” or “alpha” is common though. It sometimes working as a title or as a term of affection. “My girl” being replaced with “my omega” sort of deal if that makes sense. (this applies to other sexes btw)

I also think “Pack Head” and “Pack secondary” are also terms that get used often, since packs are bit more organized then irl friend groups and have actual Roles within them. At least in a general mainstream culture sense, in practice it can be way more casual and less serious depending on the friend group.

[sweetshelluvaau]

I really want to you know get invested on stolitz but the problem is is just how the couple is presented. I may love toxic couples but I really don't like how the show didn't acknowledge it,like I see stols as this person who need sto get his shit together literally and spends really good quality time with Octavia(like I want to believe he is trying but we didn't see that freaking effort and that's coming from an ex shipper of stolitz) and blitzo,look I feel sad about the man and I do because of how literally he have seem to care but I shut,I pity the man. No offense to fans who made stolitz that is fleshed out,mad respect for them seriously.

Hey, you want to know secret: I was slowly getting on board the Stolitz train post Ozzie's. Not necessary in a 'I want these two together forever and live happily ever after' kind of of way but I was starting to get invested in seeing them both grow as people. I still wouldn't want them as end game and putting aside the icky stuff for a second, they're two different people with two different wants for a relationship plus BOTH really need to get their shit together before even entering any kind of relationship honestly.

(I was also indifferent about Stolas at this time as well. Didn't hate him but didn't really care for him neither. Just thought he was another asshole in a sea of assholes but rich).

Blitzo put his foot down and Stolas finally coming to the crushing realization that his actions hurt his family (regardless if he loved Stella or not, he still cheated and the whole mess harmed Octavia emotionally) and even realizing that Blitzo gave him some comfort, 'escape from the gilded cage' you can say, but that comfort was at the cost of the other person's happiness (plus ya know, you did force the guy the sleep with you Hooters).

There was real room for even as fucked up as their relationship was, them learning a thing or two from each other, more so Stolas. He learns some humility, ending the deal and just letting IMP use the book no strings attached until the times he does need it until they find another way to access Earth without it, or just have Stolas give Blitzo that crystal things or something like it at the very start of the season, genuinely apologize and be on his way. Perhaps his treatment of Blitzo and IMP has him reevaluating how he's treated those underneath him in the past. Boom! And being we have that assassination plot thing with Stella and Striker going on still and depending on how the whole thing is handled (NOT HOW IT'S HANDLED IN THE SHOW NOW GOD PLEASE NO), you aren't completely writing Stolas out of the show. There are ways to still have him play part of the story without taking away from IMP and the premises.

Honestly, I thought the 'Stolas wakes up from his delusional fantasy and owns up to his actions' was the direction the story was going but I gave Viv too much credit as season two dropped and we know where this tale goes...

But yeah the problem in itself isn't that it's toxic I happen to like toxic ships myself, the problem is the show acts like it isn't. It's a weird show don't tell Uno Reversal where we're being gaslighted to believe that Stolas is this great guy that Blitzo just hates because he's blue blood but his actions and treatment of people show differently and that he's a whiny, entitled privileged dick. The 'this is hell' excuse doesn't hold water when you refuse to acknowledge your characters are horrible or keep telling us they aren't when they are.

A roleplay partner of mine told me they viewed Stolitz as Fizzmodeus' darker mirror which I think is an interesting way of viewing it. I've seen plenty of writers in the rpc write great interpretations and their own takes of these characters that I honestly wish those portrayals were what we ended up getting suppose to the wattpad fanfic bullshit we did get. (it likely also helps that surprisingly half of the Hellaverse RPC on tumblr is just as salty as I am)

Also Viv, if you really wanted A Main Gay Couple in the show who ends up with Blitzo, I know I keep saying it but *will smith poses at Fizz and her one true polycule* STOP BEING A COWARD VIV LET FIZZ HAVE TWO LOVING BOYFIRENDS IT AIN'T CHEATING I PROMISE!!!

I hope I'm making sense here I feel like this turned into a ramble more than anything else XDD

[rubistella]

Regulations

Private & Selective Owing to time constraints and the demanding nature of roleplay, I'm highly selective about whom I write with, as I firmly believe in valuing quality over quantity.

This is not a self-insert/projection friendly zone The title says it all! Projection and self-inserts make me very uncomfortable, so I will terminate interactions immediately if I catch whiff of that.

Dashboard Stuff I often overlook the dashboard since I rarely check it. When I do, I might choose to engage with a few people, but it's pretty infrequent!

Adults Only (21+) Given the mature and dark themes my writing frequently explores, as well as Astarion's past, this roleplay blog is not suitable for minors. I personally prefer that only those 21 or older engage. Every potentially triggering content and/or interaction will be put under tw; dddne and "ask to tag" for blacklisting purposes.

Astarion & Headcanons My portrayal of Astarion will stay unfiltered. For more details, click here. Also, please don’t assume Astarion will choose your muse— there are other people in camp (NPCs) he could be feeding from, or other plot devices we could use instead.

Duplicate Friendly Space While I love connecting with fellow Astarion enthusiasts and sometimes follow duplicates, I avoid reading their headcanons to keep my portrayal unbiased. Any shared ideas or plots are purely coincidental—great minds and all that!

Credits & Disclaimer This blog's avatar is by artbyvi, and the graphics were commissioned from ilithid-psds. Some icon screenshots aren’t mine, so if one is yours and you want credit or prefer I don't use it, just let me know, and I'll make the changes.

Unfollowing & Re-following I'm mutually exclusive: if I don't get a follow back in a few days, I'll unfollow. I also unfollow blogs inactive for over a month without notice. If you return and want to be mutuals again, just drop me a line, and I'll gladly follow back.

The Mun I'm Milky, 21+. I like cats, tea, a good book and playing video games with my friends. Even if we can't, for whatever reason, roleplay together, feel free to send Astarion IC asks or approach me OOC for a chat. :) Toodles!

Ship Exclusives I won't always extend exclusivity to ship partners, and by no means do I force anyone into that position. While not all my ship partners fall under the exclusive category, for those with whom I do ship exclusively, it’s been mutually agreed-upon beforehand. For transparency's sake, here is the list!

[astriiformes]

I know it's very likely to end up romantic in the show but like I am choosing to see Huntlow as Queerplatonic until otherwise stated because it's just so sweet

I'm going to tell you fun little a secret anon: You can see it as queerplatonic no matter what! There's no rules against it!

Like perhaps this is something we lost the plot on a bit in back in the aspec discourse mines of 2015-2018, but there's nothing wrong with preferring a duo as queerplatonic instead of romantic -- they're both meaningful types of relationships that, depending on the people involved, can look incredibly similar. I'm a little baffled by the fact that so many people talk like you can only think that up until a point.

People ship non-canon ships, I don't see why we're not allowed to do the opposite and say we like it when two characters that appear to be a couple are actually into each other queerplatonically. Especially with characters where the shoe really seems to fit. I know I happen to like queerplatonic Willow and Hunter because the two of them remind me so much of my and my qpp (Which is one reason I'm not a fan of how a lot of shippers tend to talk about them -- it's fine to prefer it as a romantic relationship, but looking at their interactions and saying the "only" explanation is romance or there's no way the two of them stay "just friends" makes me feel pretty uncomfy, seeing as Willow and Hunter don't really act any differently than she and I do with each other)

Anyways, that's just my two cents, but I really do hope more folks take it to heart. I've seen a lot of people saying they would like to interpret them as aspec or in a queerplatonic relationship but feel like they won't be able to anymore if the show does certain things, to which I say: Be free! Queer headcanons are tethered to our wants and desires, not some specter of what we're "allowed" to do. Queerplatonic partnerships are not obligated to exist only until eclipsed by romantic desire! We are allowed to steal them back!

I know I've got at least one aspec Hunter fic idea I intend to write sometime after TOH ends regardless of how things play out in the show (and possibly even influenced by them), as does my qpp if her curse allows, and I hope other folks who like aspec/queerplatonic Willow and Hunter as a dynamic will join us.

Queerplatonic-ing ships is good for the soul! Don't settle for having dynamics that bring you joy stolen from you! People like us are allowed to take up space and tell stories too!

[friendlyfatbee]

9th Hottest Ghost: Clem

I’m so sorry I did this to you Clem. 😭

Looks: Pretty average since I couldn’t find any source to base Clem’s beauty off of (Nothing for either Appalachian or Cajun people when I looked into it, or maybe Google is rigged-) Points are deducted due to bad dental hygiene (ONE tooth we can see so far prominently) and stains on his already worn and torn clothes. Chef Souffle has stains on his clothes, but it’s expected from his job and he does not have any wear or tear. What makes Clem so different? Clem’s clothes are understandably stained, but to be torn is unreasonable (Unless Clem is underpaid as his job of, I dunno, BEING THE MECHANIC WHEN THE HOTEL HAS A WHOLE FAUX OCEAN ON ONE FLOOR.) Basically, only points deducted from dental care, ‘ugly’ features like a bulbous chin, overbite, balding, etc, and ripped clothes.

Personality: Pretty good aside from his direct interactions with Luigi. Around the boiler works are various things that presumably belong to Clem such as the duck tea party, a fake date with the bucket and mop dummy, a ten gallon hat resting on a chair, and more, indicating a lot more that happens than just scaring Luigi and laughing when Luigi is scared. There’s also other details such as he fights with a paper fan despite having the ability to summon water mines, getting dizzy and spinning around in his floaty when his spinning attack doesn’t hit Luigi. He even shimmies to get into his inner tube and what I consider to be an adorable animation to do so when he needs to get back in the water during his boss fight. Though his personality does get points deducted for laughing at Luigi’s misfortune by scaring him or turning on a water-pipe line to hit him with water.

Survival Rate: This minimal ranking is why Clem is so low on the list despite being enjoyed (or hated from his boss fight) by LM3 players. Clem can summon water mines, which I may remind people ARE MEANT TO BLOW UP SHIPS. Also considering his knowledge on the environment and it’s pipes, he can definitely flood a room to drown someone.

Niceness Rate: This is also right in the middle considering his behavior toward Luigi, but this can be interpreted as either teasing or sadistic behavior. The redeeming qualities comes from how he allows (and maybe even indulges) the shark goobs by setting up a chair and fishing rod. Who knows what else Clem does that isn’t to Luigi?

Overall, though I absolutely adore Clem and consider him to be in my personal top 2 LM3 ghosts, I admit that he can literally blow up someone with a water mine and might tease too hard. I also suppose I did an actual drawing for Clem this time because of my remorse that he didn’t get a higher score than I expected.

I can confirm however that this is the turning point in the list where ghosts soon begin to show more positive qualities, whether that be looks, personality, survival rate or… just being nice to people lol- but regardless HOORAY! 🎉

[nefastum]

Have you ever thought about writing a genderbend fanfiction about Guts as a woman & Griffith? What would a female Guts look like for you? Do you think Griffith would act the same if Guts was a lady? I think he would most likely pursue her but Guts would be too scared because of horrible experiences in her past and reject him and Femto...well he would do the same he did in the manga. I think this is great material for a darkfic. What do you think?

Hello there, love~ I hadn't considered writing a fic, per se, but I have seen a few fem!Guts interpretations and have been tempted to try designing my own. Perhaps I shall get around to that, so keep an eye out for my take on her.

As for if Griffith would be interested in her, I would have to say yes. I don't think it was Guts exclusively being a man that drew Griffith to him, but more so, Guts' demeanor and attitude. There was something about him that instantly intrigued Griffith to an eventual point of infatuation beyond what even Griffith could put a name to at the time. I think that same spark would be lit regardless of Guts' gender. Perhaps Guts being a woman warrior would be yet another fascinating layer to the enigma of a young mercenary.

If Guts still had that persona that fascinated Griffith, he'd absolutely still find Guts distracting. I think a key difference would be that pursuing Guts openly would not be a dangerous/scandalous affair if they were m/f. I imagine Griffith would feel less internal conflict about the intensity of his interest in Guts. Perhaps that would lead him to admiting it was love/infatuation sooner. If he did, I can imagine his approach to overt affection might be different from their m/m canon. Of course, there is still his dream to consider, so pursuing Guts as a permanent romantic partner would butt up against his need to marry into royalty still. Ahh, it is really hard to say how he would handle his feelings towards Guts if openly courting Guts was an option that wouldn't compromise his reputation in the eyes of Midland and its connection to the Holy See, even if that meant abandoning his dream for her.

If Guts still wanted to leave the band, though, and the same downfall of Griffith occurred, I agree the Eclipse would still likely be unavoidable. Griffith’s mental state was a wreck. He wasn't in the mindset to be able to handle a second abandonment. Assuming Casca and Guts still spoke of Guts leaving the band again, Griffith would probably crack the same way as canon. As for the exact events of the Eclipse... it's really hard to say. Griffith used sex before to bury his anger and pain. Accosting Charlotte after Guts left and trying to force himself on Casca in his weakened state post torture. I think the assault by Femto only follows form. He was feeling immense amounts of mental and physical pain and anger. The only question I'm not sure of in this reality is if it would be Casca or Guts herself Femto assaults? In a darkfic setting, I could easily see it going either way. On one hand, Guts would have been violated as a young girl, and being forced to watch Casca experience the same trauma would be triggering (not unlike canon tbh). On the other hand, (and I've come across this in m/m griffguts art/darkfic as well) you could make it Guts herself that Femto abuses. Almost as if to say, "You may have rejected me, but you can never deny me. You are mine. You belong to me." Dark stuff, my friend.

Quite the interesting thought exercise! Typically, I only view griffguts in a m/m light (and occasionally a w/w AU), but m/f could be really interesting as well to delve into. Tbh, gender doesn't make a huge world of difference in my interest in character relationships, aside from the in-world implications that can add strife or spice hehe. It's one of the reasons my main ships are all over the place ^ ^;; I think m/f have just as much potential for dark, angsty, heartachingly interesting storytelling as any other ♡ I'm up for anything-- especially in a darkfic mwhaha~ m/m, w/w, m/f, give me all of it.

Thank you for the ask, dear Anon ♡ You've given me much to think about~

Please, have a happy new year, as well 💕

[nightswithkookmin]

From Jimin: To the hyungs Jungkook is just my little brother...

I have no idea what that says. But if this is what he said, then definitely it leaves room for interpretation because it's an incomplete statement. You don't need to know the nuances of the language to understand that that statement is a sentence fragment that expresses an incomplete thought on the surface of it.

The omission of a second clause implies the opposite of what was said in the first. It's as simple as that.

The question anyone would ask upon hearing that is, so... he's more? Or, so he's not your little brother?

Makes sense...

But I've seen other translations such as, to the hyungs JK is like my little brother and in other instance, Jk is our little brother etc.

Makes you wonder if these interpretations took the context of the conversation into consideration or even why Jimin would make such a statement in the first place in their attempts to provide nuance.

"SUGA: Jungkook is good at everything

J-hope: Jungkook always surprises us. he changed his style recently!

Jimin: The hyungs all think he's like my actual little brother.

V: Jungkook is good at keeping his focus

JK: Everything about Jungkook is pretty!"

It's Jungkook from the members' lens.

When you interpret Jimin's bit within this context then it's more likely he is trying to highlight his dynamic with Jungkook more than anything, mainly to the effect that Jungkook is perhaps obedient, likeable, sweet, puppy etc.

Comparing Jungkook to his actual little brother is a compliment and perhaps has a much deeper meaning than mere friendships in my opinion. It shows just how close, more than co workers they are, how more than friends they are, how really close they are.

I don't know why shippers shy away from comparisons to family bond when in fact the bond of family is the greatest bond one could ever have.

BTS do have a habit of liking their bond to that of family- and they love to show that bond off.

It's interesting seeing Jikook through the lens of the members when most times the bond of those two are invalidated, watered down and downplayed.

Everyone would have us believe Jikook are sworn enemies from rival states. So however you wanna interpret what he said, there's value in taking things at face value. You don't need to do too too much with it to try to get its meaning across because then that would be analysis and analysis are always subjective and subject to our own confirmation biases.

To the hyungs, he's like my little brother, he is just my little brother, he's like our little brother- all have the same sentiment if taken from the perspective of that whatever JM said was intended as a compliment to Jungkook.

Perhaps Jungkook treats JM just like a younger brother would a Hyung- given the culture of respect between hyung/dongsaengs, given the way hyungs are expected to take care of their dongsaengs, given the emphasis BTS places on their bond, honorifics culture...

Perhaps he means, Jungkook treats me in such a way you'd think he were my actual younger brother- a theme which to me is in line with that whole Jimin treats me better than my own brother does or the numerous times he's compared him to his own brother or something along those lines.

They love eachother very much. Whether that is platonic or romantic is up for debate but I don't think after this anyone can invalidate their bond or gaslight is into thinking those two aren't close at all.

If the members see them as this close then it really puts an end to this whole Jungkook is uncomfortable with Jimin nonsense.

The busan bros, the busans, the sun and moon duo, the exceptionally close pair, the hyungs all think Jungkook is like my actual little brother etc

They all have a similar vibe to me.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't care much about the nuances of the language in this context or in any context to be honest as the intention behind the text is pretty obvious💀

To me he is either providing the hyungs' perspective to affirm his dynamic with Jungkook or to affirm all that he's been saying of his dynamic with JK which is that JK is like a little brother to him just as he repeated in Festa.

To highlight and affirm their bond or to compliment Jungkook like the other's were in this instance.

This is the diagram some Karny drew to explain the nuances of the text.

And here I thought I was extra chilee.

I'm not mad at this. Love when a moment brings out the delulu in yall's eyes😭🤣🤣

I don't know why we are hung on Jimin's words out of all the statements that were made trying to dissect and over analyse it.

On one hand I feel some people are over sensationalizing while others are just plain invalidating Jikook's bonds- especially over something Jimin of all people would say.

He slick slick. I'll give him that. And he loves him some double entendres. But he's also usually the one to use dictum that makes it easier for his words and meaning to be translated- if they get translated. So it's fascinating to see the confusion his words are creating out in these streets. It really ain't that deep if you ask me chilee.

Alas, we are all adults and we all have different perspectives on these things. I'd say, find a source you trust based on their track record and stick with it. Do your own analysis or seek out others' perspectives on it. This is mine and how I take it- regardless of what any Karmy says😊

My delusions are mine and mine alone. No disrespect to Karmy. In fact, yall great people doing great holding it down for the gays🤭

Also disclaimer, I'm not a translator and any translation used here isn't mine.

In conclusion,

Hyuna screws her dongsaeng and Rain fucks his Noona. Dead that whole Jikook womb mates shit before I lay my paws on ya.

Please pls Jikook is louder than this🙄

Jeonlous counts. Keep your wokeness yo yourself please. You must be in the wrong industry if you think you have to live by a code of ethic in these ship streets.

There is no ethical nor moderate consumption of ships under shipping. There is nothing like ethical or moderate shipping for the holier than thou shippers in the back.

We all ghetto ma'am. You might as well go all out😴

My favorite line from their song though is when Hyuna sings, "I'm finna tell my father about us and pledge eternity to you. You have to be careful always though, there are lots of pretty girls out there. We have to tell the world, I can't share you with another girl."

Eventually they told the world🤭

Their careers suffered but they did it anyway.

Please no nondelusional, fake woke, moderate shipper person should tell it to me when I talk about Jungkook's frustration to come out with their relationship and come act like it's illogical hence implausible for him to want to come out etc😒

I like my delulu perspective better😌

Peace.

GOLDY

[colourful-void]

Supporting Satoshi - an examination and comparison of JN36 and XY121

Part One: Snowballs do not cure depression but it was worth a shot

You know that episode of Pokemon where a gym leader beats Satoshi in a battle so hard that one of his pokemon gets mildly hurt (though there's no long term effects) and because of it he becomes depressed, closing himself off from his friends before someone comes along to pull him out of that mental state, and also severe weather phenomena is involved and a reflection of a persons mental state? Or rather, the two episodes?

So when I was watching Journeys, I noticed an episode that had a similar-- but distinctly different-- plot to an xy episode I had seen before. And what was particularly interesting was that while I couldn't stand the xy episode, the journeys episode was one of my favourites. I won't drag this out for you guys, I love the journeys episode and re watch it a LOT and the xy episode sort of just leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. and don't go claiming its solely ship bias, because i saw the xy episode first and disliked it then.

This will analyze both of these episodes, comparing them against each other. Specifically within the context of how Goh and Serena both help Satoshi through a similar situation There will be some discussion of AmourShipping and Satogou in this analysis. I'm going to be a bit negative regarding Serena's actions and the potential "romantic" weight of them here, but I want to be clear that I Do Not dislike Serena as a character. Personally, I wish the writers had given her more room to grow outside of her romantic interests, but I do not hate Serena as a character. I do, however, disagree with her actions in this episode. Please don't take this out of context and dont be ship fighting in the comments, it's boring. This is a comparison of These Two Episodes, not of Goh and Serena and their respective ships as a whole.

This part mainly focuses on the xy episode and the second will focus mainly on the journeys. It's only divided into parts because of the tumblr post limit.

(If you like the xy episode or hate the journeys episode, awesome! having your own opinions is great. these are mine though, so i hope you'll listen to them)

With that out of the way, let's start. And I'm going to use mostly japanese names here because I'm taking screencaps from the subbed japanese copies.

The set up for each of these episodes is eerily similar as pointed out in the gag at the start.

Xy has a bit more set up before the episode in question though, with the initial loss and retreat into the forest by Satoshi taking place the episode before. The episode opens up proper with Satoshi taking time to breathe to himself, alone in the forest.

Emphasis is placed on him taking a deep breath, aided by the visuals showing them (thanks cold air) and the silence of the rest of the soundscape, with the only other sounds being the wind and some bird pokemon, plus some falling snow.

Journeys Satoshi starts off in a better mental state than Xy, with the episode starting off with him jogging along with his pokemon.

However, we can still see that he's been affected by the last battle he lost, against Saitou, as he's putting a lot of effort into training and doing better.

Which, doesn't go well for him, as he loses his next two battles as well, and drops in the World Championship ranking as a result

And he's pretty upset about it too. Same thing as over in xy. In both cases, a respective friend/love interest notes that Satoshi is upset and expresses concern.

He's got support from his friends in both situations! But that support comes across in very different ways.

But, to understand how that support manages to affect Satoshi, we need to understand the problem at play.

Now, I wanna make something clear here. Satoshi's problem is not that he is a sore loser. I'm not arguing that's not a contributing factor, or that he's not upset about the loss (particularly in the world championships), He's still bitter about the lost part, but the root of the problem is not losing, he's been shown to be fine with losing (if not a bit more motivated to win now) in prior episodes.

Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are getting hurt, because they're losing battles. Satoshi's problem is that his pokemon are losing battles because he's not training them well enough. And to clarify, that's not my viewpoint, it's his. Satoshi's problem is that he's not good enough for himself, and he feels that that's something he has to fix on his own.

So how do we help him?

Our weather event in question is introduced in separate points in the episodes, but I'll cover them both now.

In xy, it's this snowstorm, which conveniently becomes a problem directly after Serena returns to the Pokemon Centre.

In journeys, it's a sandstorm! That's in near direct contrast to a snowstorm! Incredible.

Heading back to xy Satoshi, things aren't going great in the forest. Luckily, Serena's run off to find him.

I think it's of note here that Serena runs off with the best intentions, she wants to help Satoshi, plain and simple. It just sort of goes wrong along the way.

It's worth noting that Xy Satoshi tries to bring himself out of being sad by the tried and true method of "stop being sad"

Despite telling himself this, he doesn't get anywhere. Which makes sense, because it's not getting the the root of the problem. It's not even addressing it at all. He's just trying to 'be better', which isn't even a battle strategy. However, it is something I can see him saying, so this isn't a critique of Satoshi's thought process, but me pointing out that this isn't really effective. Which is supported by the narrative, because again, he doesn't get anywhere, he doesn't even move.

I can't show it in screencaps but the lights in Satoshi's eyes are shaking here, something that they consistently do throughout the series when he's feeling a particularly strong emotion. Keep that in mind. It couples well with another trait of his, and that's his hat!

And by that I mean how he hides his eyes with the brim of it when upset, something he does exactly as Serena shows up and calls out to him. Now, he's not upset that Serena is here. He's upset about the pokemon stuff still. He's trying to hide the fact that he's upset from Serena.

Serena starts off with her speech well, trying to appeal to Satoshi to let her in and talk things out. And maybe it's because he wasn't ready for it yet, or because of the way she phrases it (a lot of 'i' and 'me' language which can be helpful but can also come across as though she's making it about her. not her intent i don't think, but a possible interpretation.), it's not her fault for how Satoshi reacts regardless.

But how Satoshi reacts is not good.

Now it's really interesting to note that before this, Serena was standing while Satoshi was sitting, putting her above him in terms of active power, when it comes to how the shot is presented, but when Satoshi stands up, the camera tilts with the movement so that they're on equal level. Neat!

And Serena yells in return, scolding Satoshi for not talking about it. Not the best move, since pushing someone to talk about something that's upsetting them isn't really productive, but she's trying here and she's frustrated.

Satoshi continues to withdraw and self isolate, claiming it is his problem and that he wants to be left be. Now, this is the mindset of a clearly upset person and isolation may not be the best option, but he did make the explicit request to be left alone here.

He's clearly upset as he turns away from Serena's eye and slumps over a little.

And then Serena throws a snowball at him.

Angry as he is, you can see Satoshi's expression change when he sees Serena's reaction.

Serena tells Satoshi that she's not like the Satoshi she knows, who is always full of energy and positive and a leader, and a bunch of other positive traits. The problem here, is that Serena's looking at an idealized version of Satoshi. And while the intent here was probably meant to be something more like "you have so many wonderful traits about you I know you can do this", coupled with the snowballs and the phrasing, it seems as though Serena is scolding Satoshi for being sad.

Or rather, being angry with him for not living up to her idealized version of him, and not wanting him to express any negitave emotions.

Which is sort of a really bad mindset.

The snowballs continue, never once does Satoshi fight back. In fact, he stops arguing entirely after the first one. Serena knocks him off his feet and tells him he's not being himself, before running off. (In the english dub, Serena claims that Satoshi isn't being "the real satoshi" and then demands that the real Satoshi be "given back", so it could be worse)

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up. Something like this just isn't like him. He's just gotta stop being sad!

Now personally, I really disagree with the idea that "being upset" isn't "like a person". That's because based off of my own experiences, I know it can be really damaging to hold the mindset that any negative emotions you feel aren't a part of you and that you shouldn't be upset because you're usually a positive and happy person. Not the case with every person, but I personally really have a problem with shows telling children that they just shouldn't be upset instead of processing their emotions in a meaningful way. (The journeys episode doesn't do an outstanding job of it either, but this is a bit of a tangent anyway. A show that does do this right is "OK KO! Let's be Heroes" which actually deals with this problem in greater depth and does a fantastic job of it.)

But the snowball scene ends here. Now I'll get back to Journeys in a moment, but since Serena has finished her part of the comparison for the most part, I'm going to summarize a bit more of the xy episode.

Satoshi decides to literally run his problems away, because it will help him reach some kind of conclusion, and immediately trips and falls down a large hill. No, I'm not making that up.

The snowstorm kicks in, Serena get back annoyed, then similarly groans and yells, and the whole xy gang + pokemon go running off in search of Satoshi. Pikachu appears the most concerned.

Now Serena tells the others she lost her cool and said something horrible to Satoshi, but explains its because Satoshi is someone she admires. Cool motive, I get it, still kinda bad.

and in the end, it's not Serena's words that get he message across to Satoshi. The solution to this problem was Satoshi finding a way to reaffirm his abilities and instinct.

In the xy episode, he helps some pokemon out of the tree, and when his very cool frog friend shows up, they're able to work together with their bond to save this one from falling off a cliff.

Here's the point. Satoshi learns by doing, by actions. He needs to see first hand that there are ways of getting past his problems, and that it's worth having the courage to keep going. The lesson is about valuing pokemon as equals and partners, and specifically that trying to be better as the trainer alone isn't going to help.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am and I'm not sleeping until this is finished so we gotta keep things moving.

This was no doubt Serena's intent to get a similar point, but she goes about it the wrong way. She tries to convey this with words, as conversation and motivational words have helped her in the past (Elle's words of praise stick with her, Satoshi's words from when they were kids, etc). It's a good idea, but their different ways of learning and growing from a similar situation are incompatible, and that's why things don't work out in Serena's favour. There's also still the problem of "pulling yourself together" not being helpful in this case.

There's also a very similar line in this scene to the one at the end of the journeys episode, as Satoshi says to his frog that they should start over from scratch. It's essentially the same phrase with different wording. It's great. The Storm ends as he realizes this as well! Wonderful in terms of pathetic fallacy.

The gang all reunites, its nice. Satoshi thanks Serena for what she said after apologizing to everyone, which contradicts what he said earlier but I've already established that I dislike this message here so I won't go over it too much. I guess he's right in a literal sense in that in response to her words he went and ran until he tripped off a cliff but the emotional growth here was because of his own actions (and the frogs), not Serena's. Sorry Serena, you'll get em next time.

This is essentially where this plot line ends, team rocket is there for a bit as well but as much as i love them they're not relevant here, and some fun stuff with the league, love it not important right now its like 3am as I write this so we gotta keep things moving.

So. What about Goh?

Well...

(Part Two here on account of image limit!!)

[helenaus]

HELENAUS: an independent multi-muse blog centered around the experience of womanhood through history. featuring HELEN OF SPARTA from greek mythology and HELAENA TARGARYEN from house of the dragon -- plus several other helenas who were given different names at birth. penned by ed, she/her, 30, brazil. minors, personals and members of the roleplay purity police, DNI.

muses | memes

rules below the cut.

001. I will not write with people under the age of 21, regardless of the content. 002. I am juggling a lot in real life and I can be slow with replies, please be patient. 003. Dead dove content will be found here. However, since ASOIAF has incest all over it, I have made a post listing what ships may be featured in this blog that you might want to blacklist. You can access it here. 004. I don't care who you are. Where you're from. What you did. 🎶 As long as you don't bring drama to my dash 🎶 I am blacklisting vague cw, drama cw and negativity cw. I WILL softblock for untagged drama. Settling your differences privately is highly recommended! There is also a strong chance that I might soft or hard block for posting or reblogging call outs, with or without tags. This sort of behavior is a major red flag to me, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. I will also not block people for defending themselves from these public accusations. PS: Except in cases involving minors lying about their age or adults harassing minors. In that case, I find call outs absolutely necessary. 005. The memes I reblog have no expiration date. Feel free to send them anytime! I also welcome shippy memes to test the waters, even if we're not shipping yet. I am liberal with shipping, but ships are based on how our individual interpretations of our characters come together far more than whether or not that ship is canon. 006. As this blog is mutuals only, I tend to unfollow after a while of not getting a follow back. If I happened to follow you more than once in such cases, please block me. It's not me trying to push for mutuals, this is me not remembering I followed you before. 007. I prefer plotted threads, particularly when we build our muses' dynamics from early on and see how it grows! While I don't mind winging things from time to time, these stories tend to die quicker if you don't contribute to the creation of the narrative. 008. I am 100% duplicate-friendly! I don't love the idea of writing the same muses together in the same thread (because we're writing the same person but of course we'll read them differently) but there's a lot of possible combinations on my list for your muses that are duplicate with mine! 009. A lot of my muses are voice test muses. They are just as open to interaction as any other, but I'm still figuring out my portrayal of them as I go. A lot of those fandoms have varied and/or conflicting sources (greek mythology, fire&blood), so my views on the dynamics between my muses and the others in their canon environment will rely a lot on my partner's interpretation as well. 010. When sending a meme, liking a starter call, a plotting call or an inbox call, please specify which of my muses you want. if you're a multi, specify yours too. 011. I will not do exclusivity, but I might have mains. They will be the go-to reference for my muses' relationship with theirs and will get preference in replies, but duplicates are always welcome here. 012. All the gif and/oricons you may see in my replies are made by me. Don't steal. That said, I am going iconless for the time being.

[tsukidrama]

so glad i’ve found other people who agree annie is a lesbian, it’s been a headcanon of mine since i started the show and finding out she ends up with a man (nevertheless one of my least favourite characters) is very upsetting

...except they don't. there's literally no evidence that a romantic relationship between them is canon. i don't understand why people seem to assume this. because she's looking at him? because she's talking to him? if that's all it takes to "get together" with someone then i guess i've been cheating on my wife for a while now (sarcasm, if you couldn't tell). don't try and drag me into the delusion lads.

this post has been a long time coming, and i know it's salty as fuck. but i've never voiced these opinions before and i've gotten an increasing number of asks concerning my opinion of Annie and a certain popular ship involving her.

so... if you ship Annie with Armin, this is your warning: you're not gonna like what i have to say and you should keep scrolling. if you choose to read anyway and get mad then don't argue on my post or i'll block you.

first and foremost: i agree with you all the way. that ship is sacrilege beyond words, and armin is also my least favorite character. by a lot honestly, but everyone always wants to talk about him like he's wittle uwu baby so i just keep my mouth shut most of the time. but i could make a whole post about it. he does some really dark shit, and especially post-Shiganshina.

i've never liked him but my hate solidified and festered during the scene where Armin tells Bertholdt and Reiner that Annie is awake and being tortured (lies, but still). how can you watch him graphically describe her suffering with a grin and then turn around and be like like "well he's just so gentle and sweet to her" ...lmao are y'all good? get help.

aight now i'm gonna talk about the scene in 131. at the time of its release it was the harbinger of my misery and the worst thing that's ever happened to me.

but it always felt kind of off to me. he's so distracted, and much less empathetic than usual. which is ?? seeing as anyone who is into Annie would know that she rarely opens up like that. until 139 i thought i was in denial and just looking for things to pick apart, but then we got the reveal that this conversation took place directly after Armin talked to Eren for the last time.

and it makes the scene feel different. go back and read the 131 scene after you read the one in 139. Eren's words are too fresh in his mind for Armin to even focus, and you'll see how much his conversation with Annie has to do with him coming to terms with Eren's death.

"I still want to believe there's a world we don't know about yet out there beyond the walls."

it says a lot to me that Armin's face while talking to Annie looks the way it does, meanwhile just minutes ago he was looking at Eren like this with stars in his eyes:

this turned more pro-eremin than i meant for it to but regardless of the nature of that relationship, it's canon that Eren is more important to Armin in every capacity. from the way he looks at him, to the way he speaks to him.

we've seen how Isayama addresses canon relationships. attack on titan is one of those shows that has very, very few romantic relationships. and the ones that are canon, are pretty fuckin explicitly stated.

like sorry but "i did it because i wanted to see you" doesn't even come close to "marry me when all of this is over" or "i'll wrap [the scarf] around you as many times as you want"

i'm not putting the screenshots or i may vomit but i suppose it's understandable why people interpreted the blushing in a flirty way. but the fact that they DON'T get together by the end of the series combined with the fact that he's thinking about Eren the whole time during the "confession scene" leads me to think uh, not so much.

and even with the blushing shit. there's that one scene in chapter 108, on the railroad car where they're all arguing about who will inherit the attack titan and everyone was blushing because they loved each other. yet i don't see anyone jumping to say that all the 104th graduates were in a 6-way romantic relationship.

people are allowed to have love for their friends, and Annie does like him. first he told her that she could have agency by choosing to be a good person, and he did talk to her in the crystal. later they bond over feeling like they were forced to become monsters. they have the same shared trauma that all the titan shifters have.

i've been watching attack on titan for a very long time, and in all my years when the question "is Annie a lesbian?" has been posed, everybody who has met a gay person in real life has said "um, duh."

my point: it's out of character for Annie to date a man. it really is, and we all know it. she and Armin are both gay as fuck and that's why they're close. in my opinion/experience anyone that thinks otherwise is either heteronormative at best and homophobic at worst.

other than having really bad taste, over the years i've noticed that everyone who ships aruani can fit into one of the following categories: 1) thinks Ymir and Historia are "close friends" 2) painfully heterosexual OR 3) unable to accept the fact that they're gay and backed so far into the closet that it's actually sad.

and to respond to the point of this ask! which is that if you think Annie is a lesbian then you're in the right place. i adore that woman and i definitely have a lot planned for her with my writing ♡♡♡

[ancientevangelions]

I need you: Asushin and how it impacted my relationship

Summary: Asushin, my relationship and initial reactions to spoilers/ Evangelion final

I wrote this to sort out some feelings so... have fun! 

WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR EVANGELION FINAL 3.0 + 1.0

As many of you know I like to ship. Shipping is complicated and means many things to many different people. Some people take it very seriously, others don’t. There are random ships and ships based on evidence, ships as stand in for thoughts and feelings, and sometimes there is a lack of shipping/ no ship. Sometimes it is casual and always for fun, but some ships run deeper than others. For me most shipping is just a fun byproduct of fandom, but I do have an important ship. For me my primary and most important ship is Asuka Langley Soryu and Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. A series that ran in 1995/96 with a movie in 1997, it is heartbreaking and visually pleasing, full of depression troupes. The characters are messy and awful, but also real and interesting. To me they are more than just fictional characters that I love and enjoy drawing together, they are also a representation of myself and Roachor and the relationship we share.

Let me back up a bit, a lot of you aren’t going to understand what’s going on with me without a bit of context and some history. Roachor and I started dating in October of 2009, and Roachor introduced me to Evangelion and the Rebuild series soon after we started dating. Later I would go on to watch NGE and EoE and fall in love hardcore with those but first came a few episodes of NGE and Rebuild 1.0 and 2.0 (if I remember correctly). Now the rebuilds have always been love/hate for me with regards to the direction and how Asuka is handled (Rebuilds is Asuka Langley Shikinami not Soryu and she is very different but that’s another rant). NGE/EoE are my loves and what I always come back to, especially because of the Soryu/Ikari dynamic. I related to Asuka, especially the younger versions of me. She’s fiery, tough, speaks her mind and she has many issues, but she is also kind and brave and 14. Asuka to me was therapeutic to watch, it was interesting for me discovering I had depression/anxiety at 22 to see a teenager going through a lot of the same thoughts and feelings I had at the time and in high school. I can’t speak for Roachor’s experiences, but I know he relates to Shinji Ikari because he told me so. In this way I started to see the both of us in them and eventually their relationship as relatable to our relationship. Some of you may yell “BUT ASUSHIN IS TOXIC/ABUSIVE”, and yes well it is unhealthy at times but again this is my story not yours. I see Asuka and Shinji as the endgame ship/couple of NGE/EoE, damaged people that relate to each other and can understand each other with some work and effort. That’s how I felt when I was younger, damaged and looking for someone to understand me. Roachor and I had arguments, fights, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and many other things we had to overcome on our own and together. Just because our relationship isn’t perfect and smooth all the time doesn’t make it less meaningful/valid. To me a relationship that grows and struggles is meaningful and relatable. Yes, Shinji makes some very, very bad mistakes and Asuka isn’t always kind and caring, but I still see the potential in the little moments, the exchanged glances, the message of “I’m the same as you”. Soryu/Ikari is something I will always love.

Never

Now for the Rebuilds. I know Anno said they would be different and he would destroy Evangelion but maybe I never believed him? I find that I still thought Asuka and Shinji would be endgame, maybe I was misled because so many other spin-offs and the manga end with him coming back to/ finding Asuka, maybe I was projecting too much and wanted to believe something that wasn’t likely. Ultimately it doesn’t matter. I had my heart broken by the Rebuilds if the spoilers for 3.0 + 1.0 are true. “Don’t ship anyone in Evangelion, they are all terrible/ you’re gunna be disappointed” things I have said before/heard and yet here I was, hoping desperately for Shinji and Asuka to connect yet again, enjoying the romantic tension in 2.0/ the hints of remaining love in 3.0. And then the Final came out yesterday and the spoilers were shocking. Shinji chooses to leave for the real world with Mari, Asuka stays behind to rebuild her world with the others, Asuka and Shinji confess their love for one another and then decide “but it would never work out”.

“It would never work out”

Wow… how final and heartbreaking. We are too different now, we grew apart, we’re not the same as 14 years ago, I am more mature, we are different people. My 10 years with Roachor suddenly felt like it was being shattered and tested by a Japanese show I have yet to view or experience. The relationship I had hoped for was being yanked away from me. Something I related to was being stated to NEVER work.  How could Anno betray me like that?! How could he say something so cruel. They are mine, not his! How can he just take away the beautiful ambiguity and decide that fans aren’t allowed to have this? Mari endgame? HAH and yet… the spoilers keep coming in and it doesn’t seem to be changing. Mari as Anno’s wife? Shinji is Anno? How could he do this? How could he change the direction and the people involved? WHY!!! Asuka and Shinji are supposed to come back together always. But then I remembered “Shikinami” not Soryu not Asuka Langley Soryu, daughter of Kyoko and her unnamed father, not college graduate and Miss Piggy-esq personality.

  Shikinami… she’s not MY Asuka. That’s not MY Shinji.

I am reminded of the idea that a different you exists in the minds of others, there are many versions of Asuka, Shinji, Sigma, Roachor. This isn’t my Asuka, this is Shikinami, this is a new Asuka, this is a new Anno. This isn’t mine… So… It’s not mine, not for me but for Anno and how it ends and the journey is his and he is sharing it with us. But where does that leave me? Will I like this new movie? Will it rip my heart into pieces? Does it even matter anymore?

It’s okay to be sad, but don’t let it destroy you. No I won’t let it destroy me. And yet… I lost? No, no one lost, there is only change and a differing message. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, I still have my relationship with Roachor. I still have Soryu and Ikari (regardless of anything others or Rebuilds may say). I have my merch, fanart and other fan made items. I have a lot to confirm what I love and know. It’s okay, it’s not my story, it’s not my ending, but that’s okay.

Edited at 3:07 PM

After thinking a while I think I will be okay with this/ it is okay that Evangelion and everyone is moving on. I think we all need to move forward in the end. Also it sounds like it was less harsh of a scene and more just two people acknowledging they grew up and changed and not being all ARGH TOXIC. That seems to be interpretation not intent.

[chameshida]

Your idea of a LN musical is great! It inspired me and now I’ve got some ideas for the little nightmares musical au/concept you were talking about .

Like I have some ideas for the types of songs Mono and The thin man could sing and I think Six would mostly hum her music box song (maybe before/during the first time she meets Mono) and she would probably accompany/sing along with some of Mono’s songs as they become friends, while the Thin man could sing the opening of the musical with songs similar to “Into the unknown”. “Lullaby in frog land” and “wayward souls” from Over the garden wall.

I imagine Thin man’s songs would get transmitted mostly by and through the TVs and initially his songs would have a very comforting, warm and alluring tone to them at least till the Thin man gets Mono to free him and takes Six, then when he starts chasing Mono then The thin man could sing a more villain-like and/or sinister song until Mono is able to defeats him (something similar to “wayward souls”) and because the mechanic of the game has us/Mono copy the Thin man’s movements during his fight maybe in the musical they could have Mono need to echo/recite the song The thin man is singing for him to be able to defeat him/until he is able to defeat him.

Now with Six I don’t personally think she should get a villain song, I imagine she wouldn’t sing that much on her own except as a support or accompaniment of Mono’s songs who would mostly take the Lead till the end of the musical. Although I’d like to imagine she would be the one to initiate the song they sing when they both meet for the very first time.

Maybe Mono would try to sing a song similar to the one they sang when they first met after rescuing Six from the city tower (maybe about how glad he is that she is Ok and that now everything will get back to normal) yet Six does not follow his song’s lead this time and/or doesn’t respond nor echoes his melody, she would only do that when they are about to reach the exit when she turns back to catch Mono’s hand just like she does the game, then she stops singing and then the betrayal happens and that’s when Six starts humming (just the melody) of her music box once again.

Mono could sing a lament song about the loss of his friend maybe regretting and thinking it was somehow his fault and wondering what he did wrong, then the melody could start taking a darker tone and start sounding like the “villain song” or the “Intro” of the Thin man, till Mono starts to grow up into the Thin man and the last song he sings could be something like “Into the unknown” finishing the song that was featured at the start of the musical to show that all this time they were either the same person and that the story is repeating or that Mono was always meant to take The thin man’s mantle (just like in the game)

If dreams can't come true, then why not pretend?

Oh how the gentle wind

Beckons through the leaves

As autumn colors fall

Dancing in a swirl

Of golden memories

The loveliest lies of all

The loveliest lies of all

I can imagine the musical playing with concepts of the TVs, old nostalgic memories and with the music as a form of escapism, by illustrating how the melodies/songs have a great power behind them which are able to affect the people surrounding them, just like in the game in which the TVs and the programs/music were able to hypnotize the viewers.

And because many theorize that the game is a loop, I think the musical could play with this concept by starting the musical with a song similar to “into the unknown” from over the garden wall and then at the end of the musical they could close it by having the intro being completed and/or repeated.

This concept was done with musical of Hadestown in which the story in universe is said to be a very old song/story which is being implied to be sang/repeated over and over with the last notes of the musical being the intro implying it’s gonna start/going to be sung over again.

I really want to try to develop this concept. (It seems great and I like it a lot!) it also seems fun to try to interpret a mostly silent game through other medium.

From my LN musical post

Oh wow that's the long one! It gets me really happy when I get long response like these for my ideas! Sorry it took me a while before I response

Yeah! LN (2 especially) did really remind me of OTGW too!

Having Thin man sing the opening song is the interesting idea, something I haven't considered. It works well if you want the musical to be the perfect loop. Although if it's to capture the OTGW feels of it I also feel like the Eyes would be the good candidate. Regardless, whoever singing the opening number is going to give off the very difference feels. I also kinda still want the kids singing. Maybe like Beauty and the Beast it can happening all at once, The town folks(Kid, establishing the universe) Belle (Mono, I want song) Gaston (Thin man, Villain song)...not as in having the eye/thinman singing like Gaston but as in part of their song being feature in the opening number. Maybe they could be the one to start, the kids being the chorus, Mono juxposition the mood.

I agree that Six wouldn't sing a lot or have her stand alone song in any of the LN2 duration. I can even imagine her voice to not like...how should I put it,...doesn't sound like a singer. She'd only sing along with Mono and it mostly sound more like a talk than a singing (at least at the start. She will get more into it as the story progress) so when she does eventually have her own stand alone song it feels special and people'd grew on her voice. As for the humming, I'd have her hum the same way in game with the scene she's only shown humming in(with exception for the last scene) as in it's isn't really the add in musical element as it is just happen organicly....FOR THE SEQUEL/LN1 however. Imagine if her song has that humming we're so familar as part of it.

(I also should clarify for my original post that Six doesn't have the villain song. at least not in LN2 and even if it's for LN1 it's still arguable if it counts as villain song since she’s the main protagonist in that one. Her last song (or her I want song as I put it) is still being sung together with Mono. I don’t know what’s the musical term for it but it’s kinda like they’re screaming on top of each other until eventually Six’s winning. Kinda like for the first time in forever reprise or Evelyn Evelyn. In this musical version Six would be explicite about the reason of why she drops Mono, a major changes in adaptation)

There are some scene I wasn't sure about like how the musical element is incoperate into the scene I wasn't sure if it should be musical , like when Six and Mono first met. I think for my version I'd like to keep it as it is with them not singing like how it happens in game but the imaginary of Mono bursting into Song at hopes of finding friend then get shove aside by Six is pretty funny to me. I think most of my song, with some exception like the letting go scene all happening in the period that can be extend/expane upon or has extra scene to it like Mono and Six first together song wbeing sing on the raft. Thin man and Mono song though I wasn't sure myself. I think they should have a sing off or song together like you mention but will it happening as Mono is killing Thin man or seperately I wasn't sure. (They could sing right before they fight maybe but the fight itself is mostly action)

(For me the song that most similar to Like ship happens similary to Like ship; the love song happens in the middle of the story)

Oh  and now that you point it out For some reason in my version I completely forgot that Mono turned into the Thin man--I mean I didn’t forget that he is thin man but my version it just end without showing him turning into Thin man XD. Maybe that’s why I haven’t consider having him singing the opening number. If we follow the game and keep the scene and play fully into the concept of the loop then yeah your idea is really spot on. I think for mine since it end with him as the kid, the song is only hint in similarity of thin man without the song fully turn into his song. and the concept of loop is more of the musical element of First song and last song being the same song more than he play of actual loop.

But we do have similar idea of having the repeat song even if it happens differently XD Mono singing to Monster Six call back to their early song and Six song as she letting go is the twisted version of that same song too...Mono last song call back to his first song etc.

But yeah our version could be seperate and totally different! That’d be fun to have various intrepetation of how the musical would turn out to be. Mine is very disney-esque  and steven universe-y lightheart compare to the original material but yours would be closer to that and Over the garden wall. One thing to keep in mind though is that Animated (movie? series?) with musical element in it and Musical theather is also a very different meduim and my idea is made with animated musical in mind since why I do still want a lot of scene without song in it. If it’s for musical theather then I can totally see Six and Mono sing as they meet or Mono and Thin man sing as they fight. Mybe your idea and my idea will be like the total different version/take on this

You (and anyone else who’d interest) are allow to play and tinker with this concept however you like! I’d love to see it!

[interdimensionalspaceworm]

this isn’t a malicious ask, but i’m just genuinely curious what your take on crankiplier is when you take into consideration that

1) ethan has given his fans explicit permission to ship him with people and write fanfiction as long as they don’t harass him with it

2) mark has reblogged a piece of crankiplier fanart

3) they’ve flirted or interacted in a way suggesting they’re attracted to each other purposefully for the fandom’s response,

exhibit a) when they called one of their bits “queerbaiting for charity” (mark petting ethan + calling him a good boy + feeding him fruit snacks + eskimo kissing for donations on a charity stream)

exhibit b) mark saying he thought about kissing ethan onstage during tour (i assume because the fangirls would’ve gone nuts)

exhibit c) in general, knowing that jokes about getting married, dating, implying a sexual relationship, etc. would cause fan speculation but proceeding to include them in videos regardless

i’m not big on shipping real people either, and we should all certainly do our best to keep that part of the fandom low-key, but like. the circumstances here are much different than septiplier. i wouldn’t shame anyone for this one

Ok so as I said, I’ll try to address each of your points. Thank you for being willing to talk with me, I hope you’ll take into consideration the points I’m going to make. 

1) I’ve seen those posts, and while it is true that Ethan has said these things, it was (correct me if I’m wrong) a while ago and his position on this may have changed since then. I know that isn’t a real convincing point, but you also have to agree that Ethan in particular is generally very permissive towards his fandom. But his permissiveness should not be taken as a free pass to ship him whenever you want. If a parent says you can go out with friends, that doesn’t mean you can go to Junkie Jimmy’s house party. Just because you have been given permission to do something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, or that you should.

2) Again, correct me if I’m wrong (because I haven’t seen the post), but a lot of ship fanart (especially controversial ship fanart) tends to be pretty ambiguous due to the nature of shipping. Unless said fanart was undeniably ship art, it’s very possible that Mark simply saw a cool piece of fanart and decided to reblog it without checking the context of it. If anyone knows what post this is, please tell me so I can figure out if that might have been the case.

3) This is probably the biggest point I’m going to make here, so I’m going to put it in bold. It’s never ok to ‘speculate’ on real people’s lives with regard to their interpersonal relationships. Ever. Full stop. It is not the job of content creators to tailor their content to leave out parts that would ‘cause fan speculation’. They’re real people, not characters whose every interaction is available for debate. They’re not ‘suggesting’ anything. They’re just people who live their lives and are comfortable in their friendship with each other. People do that. And it’s not the job of anyone who doesn’t know them to decide their relationship. You don’t know them. None of the shippers here or anywhere else know them. And using them for your own fulfillment, sexualizing them into lovey-dovey caricatures of themselves, is truly and simply morally repugnant. 

Your points rely on suggesting that Mark and Ethan are purposely ‘riling up’ the fanbase by making content that ‘suggests’ crankiplier, but the truth is that either a. it’s a joke between friends (your own friends probably mess around with each other in the same way. I know mine sure do) or b. the shippers are reading way too far into simple interaction.

I’m not trying to be a stickler about these things, but when it comes to real people shipping, it’s not about saying ‘ohh you can’t ship that’ just because you can. I’m not saying it just to ruin anyone’s fun, or to be ableist towards people with hyperfixations (I have ADHD. I know neurodivergent people can still be ableist, but that’s beside the point), or anything like that. I’m against crankiplier, and all rpf ships, because they rely on sexualizing and purposely misconstruing interactions between people. Real people, with lives, and thoughts, and relationships with their loved ones. Real people with boundaries that must be respected. 

And it’s no coincidence that most of these ships tend to be mlm. It’s a symptom of toxic masculinity that people can look at a healthy friendship between two men and say ‘they can’t be that close without being gay’. It’s not your place to interpret that. 

So here’s my message to rpf shippers: leave them alone. Ironically, by being gross about their relationships, you only drive these people farther apart because they begin to believe that anything they do will be sexualized by shippers. I saw it happen 4 years ago. It can, and will, happen again.

To those with hyperfixations: I hear you. I was there, once. I learned to change my trajectory a little bit to focus only on fictional characters (by zealously reading YA novels about dragons. If it works, it works.). I know that’s waaaay easier said than done, but if you make a real commitment to yourself, you can find a way. And maybe, in a few months, your old ships won’t be so enticing anymore.

And to those who choose to harass and send death threats, on either side of the argument: stop. You’re not helping anyone. One day, the fandom will come together and say that there is no place for rpf shipping here. But every aggressive comment pushes us farther apart. 

I know this sounds ironic, coming from me, but I don’t have any hate towards those who rpf ship. You are not a bad person. What you are participating in, however, is ethically wrong. You must know that. The only people in this entire circumstance that I harbor any ill will towards are the people who continue to insist that rpf shipping is right. That somehow they, as fans, get to ‘speculate’ on the relationships between others. They who continue to show disrespect towards the very content creators they claim to support so much. And I refuse to support that.

Thank you for sending this ask and allowing me to elaborate on my stance on these things. I know this is unlikely to change anyone’s minds about it, but it’s all worth it if even one person can realize that they’re supporting something they shouldn’t be supporting. And to those people: it’s ok. Trust me, we’ve all been there.

[sullustangin]

Satele and Theron: "Not Mother” and Son

Note:  As always, fan fiction is everyone’s sandbox. I may disagree or critique them, but it’s not personal.  I’ve been through ship wars, characterization debates, and ‘author intent’ arguments since the days before AOL and IRC chatrooms. I’ve seen a lot, and I tend to take a detached view toward fandom.  It’s not my intent to kill anyone’s joy. 

**

Sometimes, when I think about SWTOR fandom and pro/anti Satele factions, I can’t help but remember this reddit thread:

I got a girl pregnant and she wanted to get an abortion but I didn't want that. She ended up not getting one but now she is not involved at all

Shorter version on upworthy for TL;DR.

Basically, Dad is resentful of child he wanted because, after requesting that the mother not get an abortion, she gave up all custodial and parenting rights to him.  Now he doesn’t like being a single parent and refers to her as a “deadbeat mom” because she’s not involved with the kid....even though she told him up front she wasn’t going to be involved and didn’t wish to be involved. Satele is sometimes villainized because she made this decision -- and stuck with it.  

I don’t think Satele is a good mother or a bad mother.  She didn’t want to be a mother at all, so I won’t label her that way.  Biological fact: yes, she is a mother.  However, that’s not the role she has chosen to fulfill for Theron; she opted out on Day 1. 

Based on what we read in Annihilation, Satele gave up Theron at birth.  Zho became his father.  She never had any intent of raising this kid.  Satele did not wish to become a mother, but as a Jedi, from the second she felt his presence in the Force (because all life has a Force, whether or not they can sense it or use it), she felt obligated to have him.  I don’t know what, if any, canon references are made about voluntary termination of pregnancies in the SWTOR universe.  Maybe more people  than just the Jedi hold the belief that termination is unacceptable, maybe not.  I don’t know.  That said, Satele made her choice at Theron’s birth not to be a mother.  She did visit him until he was six months old (Lost Suns comic), which might be interpreted in a few different ways.

Is it regret? Thinking about changing her mind?  Or is it that continued obligation?  I might speculate that she was sending/bringing breast milk, since for the first six months, children rely on their mothers’ immunities until they can get vaccinated; it’s part of why it’s recommended to try to breastfeed if it’s possible for the mother.  This is SWTOR so for all we know, sci fi space magic means that babies can be vaccinated once they pop out.  Then again, maybe it is like it is in our world.  Still, Satele can be a decent human being and not want to be a mother at all. 

Also, just because she wasn’t pregnant anymore doesn’t mean that the symptoms magically disappeared; even if a child is a stillbirth, the mother still produces milk.  Often, they are suppliers for hospital milk banks because they still have milk production even if they don’t have a baby.  Satele likely had to cope with this and avoid being detected by the Jedi Order; it had to go somewhere!  Satele was ultimately unwavering in her belief that giving up Theron was the best decision for him and her.

Remember too that Satele’s mother Tarsiele got pregnant with no publicly known father.  There are good odds that Satele doesn’t know who her father is, and it didn’t bother her.  So she didn’t tell Theron or Zho who Theron’s father is, because she assumed Theron would be Force-sensitive and join the Jedi order.  Satele wouldn’t have wanted him to have the connections to Jace since that would complicate his Jedi training; it’s ok to know who your Jedi parent is, since you both exist in the Jedi order with limited attachments -- you’re both on the same page.  Adding a non-Jedi father to the mix complicates things and feelings, especially given Satele’s concerns about Jace falling to the Dark Side -- and potentially dragging a Force-Sensitive child with him.

The only thing I think I can fault Satele for is not informing him or Jace, after finding out Theron was not Force-sensitive (which she knew after the kid was left at Haashimut).  Theron totally struggled with his identities when younger: he was raised to be a Jedi like his mother before him, but it turns out he’s like that nameless Force-null father.  Whoops.

But Satele made her choice not to parent this child.  She may have felt that coming back to tell him about Jace would be meddling or giving Theron false hope that one or both parents would swoop in and save him.  We’ll get back to that in a second.

Cut here so it doesn’t eat a dashboard: below is some critique/analysis about the padawan system and how it may have fed into Theron’s expectations of a relationship with his mother before he was found to be not Force-sensitive and after.

As for Satele and her padawans, I’ve never been a huge fan of her being a “surrogate mother” or “cool aunt” in fan fic. It’s not my cup of tea, personally.  In part, it’s because I stick to the idea that Jedi don’t want people getting attached and hesitating about doing the right thing; that includes masters and padawans.  Masters don’t raise padawans like children. Based on what we see in the films, they’re raised in the creche with other younglings. It’s like boarding school or an orphanage in the sense that there are staff and people who care for the kids, but they are not parents; they don’t form those connections.  The Master then picks the padawan when they’re ready.  We don’t have apprenticeships in the modern world like we did in the pre-modern world, but when someone was apprenticed to someone else as a blacksmith or a tailor, they knew they weren’t their kids.  There was a relationship there.  There was a care system there.  But that didn’t replace a parent-child relationship, nor did it supply the attachments in such a relationship. In terms of masters and padawans, sometimes attachments and relationships happen, and we hear about a Master falling to the Dark Side and taking all their students with them.  Ideally, attachments and inappropriate relationships do not happen.

This ties back to Theron’s hopes for a relationship with Satele and what they were/are/will be.  Theron probably hoped to become her padawan one day or encounter her as a fellow Jedi; not being Force-sensitive killed that dream.  If Satele had gone to him after Haashimut, she would be adding insult to injury by meeting him or writing a letter to him, telling him about Jace... and then walking back out and going radio silent, not taking him home with her. 

If she had told him, that might lead to Jace being the dorky dad we all love to imagine, but what if he didn’t?  I love Jace!Dad headcanon, but that’s all it is -- headcanon.  He might have ‘noped’ out of the situation.  He might have said “Here’s a trust fund, I’m busy.”  I want Jace to be Super!Dad and I’ll write him that way when it comes to grandkids and stuff....but I won’t ignore the other possibilities that exist (and may exist in fics that are not mine!).  Given Satele’s original thoughts about telling Jace about Theron and vice versa, she may have considered this too. Also, telling Theron about Jace may have been the equivalent of dumping a baby on his doorstep with no escape route -- that’s not fair to Jace, no matter how much we like to believe Jace would have been “w00t!!” over it.

Theron and Satele worked together several times.  Theron told Satele and Jace and the Pub player in SWTOR that he understands her choice, and he’s not angry.  He’s dedicated his life to SIS and the people of the Republic; personal stuff comes second (which is why he’s the emotional disaster we know and love, but also one of the best agents the Republic has).

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t worry about her or care about her.  Feelings are hard to deal with for Theron, but he still has them. That was evident from his reaction to the Tython raid (because he did not know that she was not on Tython at the time).  Also, his first impulse thereafter was to give her a Holo call; the player walked in on the end of that on Pub side Forged Alliances.  Theron Shan cares about people; he’ll do a lot for them even if they don’t like him back, as we see with Teff’ith and (pending game choices) the player character. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s clamoring for a full-fledged relationship with Satele as mother and son.

Rather, Theron is bothered by the fact that Satele never acknowledges him; we saw that on Rishi and Yavin, especially on Imp side.  He’s "her agent.”  Even Jace acknowledged Theron on Iokath, as unhappy as Theron was about the staging of that proclamation. He does seem bothered by Satele’s disappearing act after Eternal Fleet with no notice to him (and still no word nearly 10 years after that event in-game). 

I don’t think Theron, who is now approaching 40, wants a parent-child relationship with Satele; that ship sailed.  He just wants to be acknowledged as meaning something -anything - to her. It’s not unlike adult adopted children finding their birth parents and wanting some acknowledgement of existence and connection, even if they had the best adoptive parents in the world and neither party wants to be besties. That sort of acknowledgement would have eventually come if he had been her coworker as a Jedi or padawan...if he was Force-sensitive.  

That twist of fate affects Theron more than his lack of relationship with either parent; he got dumped by “his father” Zho for that.  His bio parents didn’t do anything to “punish” him for turning out the way he was -- Jace didn’t know, and Satele already made her choice, regardless of how Theron was going to turn out.  She hoped and predicted he’d be a Jedi.  She didn’t change course, because she accepted the consequences of her decisions made 14 years before.

As a result of this, I don’t write Satele  as a cold or cruel human being. I’m more inclined to go on a “wtf Master Zho” crusade; Theron calls him his father and hopes he would be proud of him, but I blame Zho for Theron’s attachment and emotional issues (whatever labels you assign him; I go for avoidant). Satele made her choice and stuck to her guns.  She never wanted to be a mother, and she’s never pretended to be otherwise.  Satele never offered Theron false hope about their relationship.  She can’t be a deadbeat mom if she never committed to being a mother at all; she gave him up.  She gave up the relationship.  That did not exclude the possibility of becoming colleagues or friends as adults, which we saw progress toward.  The relationship between a mother and child compared to that of colleagues/friends is not the same. 

Satele’s departure after Eternal Fleet hurt Theron, because as adults, they did have a relationship, as professional as it might have been.  People feel awful when they get ghosted, no matter how brief or deep the relationship was; from what we can tell from his mail,  Theron referred to it as caf and lunch a few times. Theron still experienced a feeling of loss when she was gone, evidenced by the cantina scene on Odessen, and concern for her well-being after that camping trip in KotFE Ch. 12.

That did not mean Theron mourned her like a child who lost his mother; it may have simply been the death of another dream of a relationship, not unlike the alienation from Jace and (pending headcanon and in-game choices) the loss of the player’s character after Eternal Fleet.  We’ll see how Bioware continues/finishes that relationship between Theron and his “not mother”, likely at the player’s choice (just like the relationship with Jace on Iokath and with the player).