#considering popular headcanons they have a couple things in common

[secretsofthewilde]

There's something particularly frustrating about how academic fandom studies tend to talk about fandom spaces as being a place for inclusiveness and queer representation when there's still a very prominent misogyny problem throughout them. Even when these studies address issues of racism within fandom shipping dynamics, they still tend to perpetuate the idea that fandom is the rare place where queer ships tend to be more popular than straight ones, without really addressing the fact that this tends to only true when it comes to cis, white, m/m ships. If you want some kind of numerical evidence of this, you just need to look at the statistics on ao3 to see that f/f ships are the least popular kind of pairing on that site. And when you think of the stereotypical big name fandoms, most of them are well known for their m/m ships, with the f/f ships often being dismissed or treated as a joke.

I'm not of the opinion, nor trying to make an argument in support of the idea, that this is due to the stereotype of fangirls fetishising queer men. Instead, I think it's largely due to misogyny* - shocker, I know. I really do think that the stereotypical fangirl gravitates towards slash pairings due to both internalised misogyny and the general prominence of male oriented media over female oriented media (which will therefore have more male characters that are fleshed out with more engaging writing as opposed to their female supporting cast).

However, it's one thing for the abundance of male driven stories to generate more fan works exploring said characters, and another entirely for those same fans to then ignore when we do have media that gives us well written and enjoyable female characters. I think it's in part due to our internalised misogyny that fangirls have a tendency to gravitate towards their familiar male orientated shows and then fixate on the same familiar character types, rather than exploring and celebrating the breadth of female-centric media we have finally been getting produced in recent years. And this inability to allow ourselves to enjoy female characters the same way we do with male ones is what leads to an abundance of slash pairings being celebrated in fandom spaces, while femslash ones struggle to get recognition**. The fact that there's a common joke in fandom spaces about popular pairings developing between two characters who never interacted (or for only a brief scene) is all very well and good fun, but this is almost always referring to a m/m pairing.

As fans we should really reflect on why we might celebrate a male character for doing morally grey things, but then hate a female character for exhibiting those exact same traits. It's fine to genuinely not enjoy the writing of a female character (especially when sexist writing is often to blame), but we should consider how much more willing we seem to be to forgive poor writing when it comes to male characters than we are with female characters. If we can make a million headcanons and claim to love a poorly written male character, who is now viewed as something so far removed from the canon of the media he appears in its practically a different character entirely, why do so many of us seem unwilling to do the same for female characters?

We should be doing the same with our female characters - we should be putting more female characters into our favourite dynamics and tropes. I want to see more enemies to lovers headcanons with femslash pairings; I want nbc hannibal levels of art and meta posts about toxic femslash couples; I want johnlock levels of delusion posts about a femslash couple the story writers are claiming they didn't write the subtext for. I would just really love to log into tumblr and see a femslash pairings tag is trending more than once in a blue moon.

*note: obviously misogny is not the only contributing factor, and this initial argument I'm raising doesn't address the issues surrounding racial, gender-queer identities, and other inequalities within fandom. Please do not think I'm ignoring or downplaying them.

**Theres also an argument to be made here about fangirls projecting themselves onto male characters in order to explore queer relationships, without having to challenge their own internalised misogyny/homophobia, but I'll come back to that later (and this in general) and expand on it some other time I think.

[indignantlemur]

My dear Indi, I need your expertise !

Do you have any ideas or headcanons for Andorian outfits, from lighter to warmer? What would they look like in general, what texture is most appreciated or considered fashionable ?

Thanks ! 💙

Hello Zier! Let's see what I can do for you! Fair warning, this one is going to be image-heavy.

For the most part, Andorian fashion in my headcanons isn't unified. Different folks prefer to wear different things, same as Humans, but there are broader elements that are quite common.

Firstly, we know from ENT and subsequent appearances in the modern Treks that Andorians tend to wear a lot of leather, often embossed or tooled to have a particular sort of feel. The samples below from Discovery give me powerful 2009-2013 Gareth Pugh vibes.

Beyond that, the only other time we see Andorians is when they're in Imperial Guard or Starfleet uniforms, which mostly just gives an overall impression of leather, suede, and future-kevlar.

The Andorian ambassador in "Terra Prime" had a very different feel from these, of course, and that shiny outer robe ultimately inspired Thoris' official get-up.

By contrast, some super early screen tests and comic book depictions for everyday Andorians look rather different, however. We've got draping fabrics, robes, tunics, some thigh high boots, and what looks like bits of armoured studding and chainmail. That's quite the departure from the other depictions!

And then, of course, we have Shran's post-Imperial Guard coat. This one gets its own mention, because that coat is fabulous.

Honestly, this isn't a lot to work with. It's better than nothing, of course, but the different depictions feel very disjointed and all over the place. There's no sense of unity in the designs across the board.

So, from there I looked to real-world fashion to help me build a better idea of what I wanted my Andorians to actually look like outside of a uniform. As much as their depictions would lead us to believe that Andorians have an oddly prevalent leather kink, that's really not practical. Leather is a useful material, and certainly a heavily carnivorous population would end up with quite a lot of it, but surely that can't be everything they wear. So, I started looking around for things that felt like they fit the vague aesthetic we were given to work with.

Below are some samples from the ungodly huge pinterest board I keep for ideas and references for Andorian fashion. I think these mostly hit all the key notes for my headcanons.

A lot of these images are very bland in terms of colour, particularly by Andorian standards, but I think you should be able to see what I've drawn inspiration from.

What I ended up with was a combination of future-fashion elements, and influences from places like Japan and India - with a heavy slant towards using leather, silk, velvet and occasionally soft, drapey fabrics. Heavy ornamentation, such as embroidery, is very common but lacework on clothing is actually quite unusual. Andorians tend to find it catches on their chitin and tears too often to be worth the fuss.

In particular, I really like the idea of layers, off-set or asymmetrical necklines, and elements of structural/architectural fashion for Andorians. Tooled leather is very popular, as well.

Another detail about Andorian fashion that I've mentioned a few times in other posts is that they like to show off their chitin patterns. Often this is done using leather as the medium, but embroidery is also a perfectly acceptable option. Often times, these articles of clothing (usually outerwear but not always) will have a Clan sigil somewhere on it as well, but it's not at all a requirement. These practices accomplish a couple of different things:

Firstly, it offers prospective playmates a tantalising 'preview' of what's underneath. Andorians are not shy about these things, nor do they understand why aliens think they should be. Some Andorians find particular types of chitin patterns very attractive, while some are averse to partners with what they perceive to be too much or too little chitin - or worse, chitin patterns that are far too similar to their own, which would suggest a shared lineage somewhere.

Secondly, it shows off Clan affiliations, especially for Clan members who were not born with their Clan's 'typical' chitin pattern. (Married individuals will often wear things that show their affiliation to both their birth Clan and their marriage Clan, as well, though these are usually ornamental items such as jewellery or hair pieces.)

Thirdly, wearing one's Clan affiliations stamped on their sleeves can sometimes serve as a conflict deterrent. Some Clans are just not worth picking a fight with, and knowing who's who ahead of time instead of after someone says something spectacularly stupid tends to save lives. Since the Unification, the need for these sorts of deterrents has dropped substantially, but it's never entirely gone from Andorian society.

This is not to say that I imagine that all Andorians wear the same things. Being able to express individual preferences is very important, especially in a society where most other individualistic pursuits are seen as counter-productive to the harmony and unity of a community.

Shral, for example, deviates from the norm by preferring dark colours and minimal ornamentation. To other Andorians, his sartorial choices are almost conspicuously bland. On the other end of the spectrum, Thelen adores vivid colours - neon oranges, shocking yellows, acid greens - and fully embraces the bombastic colour palettes his people are known for. Thoris is doomed to be trapped in billowing robes he'd much rather burn in a steel drum behind the embassy under cover of darkness, but he prefers layered tunics, boots, and breeches that don't inhibit his movement. Vrath is in the middle of the road, favouring bold colours and practical clothing but never quite able to resist bits of ornamentation that give her wealthy Tha'an Clan allegiance away. Miraal, on the other hand, adore soft, draping fabrics and wears very little leather, or any other similarly heavy materials, and she prefers to wear minimal ornamentation so as not to distract from her wares.

In terms of seasonal clothing, Andorians can tolerate very broad rangers of temperatures, and they have thermal regulators built into much of their clothing. They can get away with quite a lot, in terms of weather, but a heavily cultivated sense of caution generally prevents them from wandering out into surface conditions wearing anything less than full winter gear - though, naturally, their idea of full winter gear is rather lighter than what a Human would go in for. In extreme heat, Andorians have no problem wearing as little as possible - often to the consternation of other species who do not share their total lack of nudity taboos.

Regarding colours, I headcanon that much like how Vulcans view green as a traditional mating colour owing to the hue of their blood, and Humans view red much the same way, so too do Andorians with the colour blue. Just wearing blue alone isn't an invitation for anything, but it is very noticeable and considered a very attractive colour. Wearing a particularly fetching shade of blue while lurking in a bar and being very noticeably single, however...

Andorian silk is a luxury item, and one in high demand. Made from cocoons harvested from a domesticated relative of the infamous Andorian ice borers, it's ten times stronger than Terran silk, rendering it resistant to slashing and piercing damage. It can be woven into heavy brocades or crafted into a diaphanous, organza-like material, or blended with other fibres. It almost always has a slight iridescent or even metallic shine to it, a highly coveted property, and it is ludicrously expensive.

Hope this helps! <3

[thrawns-backrest]

I was stressed today so I made a thing. I love fashion history and I have too many thoughts about Chiss fashion so enjoy a truckload of headcanons under the cut (with my lovely son Rhiuh’vek as model)

I’ve mentioned administrator robes in my fic a couple of times so I wanted to do a breakdown of that, going through all the layers and functions. These are subject to change btw.

A standard, traditional administrator outfit consists of underwear (plus any additional thermal underlayers), an underrobe, outerwrap robe, jacket (optional, decorative) and top robe or coat (not pictured) for more severe weather and outdoor activities.

The underwear layer includes breeches or more loose garments and an open-neck wrap robe of varying lengths depending on the season or climate. These are combined with stockings that usually reach above the knee and are held up by the breeches or garters.

The next layer consists of an underrobe with a high button collar and fitted sleeves. A slit beginning at the chest ends in the usual overlap pattern at the ankles. This hem is traditionally meant to be visible under the outerwrap robe and is heavily embroidered in most garments. Some more modern outerwrap robe styles have an integrated attached hem that covers the underrobe, allowing for a more casual style.

This garment can be used as lounge wear at home (sometimes accompanied by a lounge robe) or as an outer layer in warmer climates and casual settings, though it’s usually accompanied by accessories to make up for the plain design of its upper part.

Some underrobes, especially padded styles for colder weather, have a waist string to pull excess material in in preparation for the next layer.

The most common color for low ranking administration is red, symbolizing diligence and passion.

The outerwrap robe is the central and most important element of the ensemble: it’s tailored to the wearer and emphasizes strongly flared shapes. The shoulders are unstructured (structured shoulders and more elaborate collars are reserved for higher ranking officials) while the sleeves and hem are flared, displaying (usually) several rows of embroidery and filigree. The outermost edge of the robe is reserved for the wide band of trimming that symbolizes family allegiance.

(AN: Rhiuh’vek has no family allegiance so that’s not pictured oops)

The waist knot holding the garment closed is of special importance as it’s indicative of the wearer’s occupation with different styles corresponding to different positions. In case the knot is obscured by a decorative element (such as a jacket or collar piece), the item is required to have strings of its own where the knot can be displayed.

The waist area is left unembroidered so as to show off the weave of the fabric. More complex weaves incorporating more colors are a sign of prestige with the most complex designs being stiff in appearance and even uncomfortable to wear due to the thickness of the weave and the amount of thread used.

Some bunching around the waist/tie area is considered acceptable and aesthetically pleasing as it suggests a proper snug fit of the garment.

A popular decorative element is the jacket, an overgarment reaching no further than knee length, with a squarish body and sleeve design. Its construction is meant for the display of more thickly woven fabrics and doesn’t obscure the flared and embroidered parts of the garment underneath.

Jackets can have individual trims and even small lapels. Structured shoulders and wide lapels are improper as they’re reserved for upper level Aristocra. These jackets are often equipped with a string threaded around the collar. With proper tailoring, the string is meant to pull taut between the two sides of the jacket, the heavy fabric pulling it sideways. A sagging string is sign of an improper tie or tailoring.

This type of jacket is considered an impractical item as its decorative cut provides little insulation and it hinders the use of other overgarments like top robes and coats. Because of this it's either meant to be taken off or worn with cloak like outer layers.  

Other common accessories include scarves (often to cover the open neck area of the underrobe) and collar pieces draped over the wearer’s shoulders.

Some more modern modifications of the ensemble include hidden zippers for easier donning, false layering (allowing for more practical underlayers) and a wide variety of accessories and color combinations. Proper etiquette however requires for the overall traditional silhouette and main elements to be preserved.

[thesmollestsnek]

I’ve seen a lot of fics n headcanons where Dick Grayson has adhd, and I see you. But also. Consider: Tim Drake having (undiagnosed) adhd. As a certified adhd bitch myself, I have A Lot to say about this, so more under the cut.

Before we get into it, just a quick disclaimer: pretty much all of my dc knowledge is from fandom osmosis, so. If you see something that’s ooc or contradicts canon no you didn’t. Now with that out of the way, on to the main event!

Okay, so! First of all, let’s start at the very beginning. That’s right, I’m talking about Tim Drake’s “night photography”! Now I’m not gonna say neurotypical kids don’t get up to some dumb ass shit when left unsupervised for long periods of time, because they absolutely do. But. The complete disregard for the many, many dangers a young child alone in Gotham at night would face is still notable. And he doesn’t just ignore danger - he runs straight at it. That shows an impressive lack of impulse control, and inability to factor future consequences into current decisions, both of which are hallmarks of adhd. Plus, hyperfixation kinda… changes? How you perceive things. So if Tim was hyperfixated on getting the perfect shot whenever a major crime/fight happened near him, he may not have processed that he was danger at all during the part most likely to scare a neurotypical child away.

Next, we have the coffee. Yes, I know the coffee thing is super overblown by the fandom and not really supported by canon but ssshshhhhhh my world my rules Tim drinks lots of coffee. Now, this one’s kinda obvious, but caffeine is a stimulant and surprise surprise so are most adhd meds. I have seen firsthand how ppl with undiagnosed adhd will mainline caffeine as a form of self medication, whether they’re aware of it or not. Some people use soda or energy drinks, but coffee’s also a really popular choice for this kinda thing. So not only is it completely plausible for someone with undiagnosed adhd to self medicate by drinking a shitton of coffee, it’s extremely common.

Next up! We have the insomnia. Which, again, I think might be played up a lot in fic? But this is my world and you’re reading in it, so. Tim’s an insomniac. This is one of the less well known symptoms of adhd, but again I speak from firsthand experience when I say it’s a big one. Insomnia is extremely common among ppl with adhd, for a couple reasons. One is time blindness, which I’ll come back to in the next point. But also? It’s just really hard to turn your brain off. And if a large portion of Tim’s brain space is being devoted to casework, guess what. That inability to turn one’s brain off will manifest as late night case solving blitzes. Not to mention that hyperfixation, again, changes the way you perceive things. When I hyperfixate on something I often lose hours at a time, and bodily needs like hunger, tiredness, the bathroom, etc aren’t just unimportant they straight up don’t register. With the number of times I’ve come out of a hyperfocus to realize that I have a dehydration headache that’s been brewing for at least an hour, or have completely skipped a major meal, or desperately need to pee, I can 100% believe Tim not noticing any sleep deprivation symptoms until he’s finished whatever he was working on. And I, again, speak from experience when I say that if you happen to hyperfixate at something at the wrong time of night you will be staying up way later than is reasonable. Which brings me to my next point of…

Time blindness! My most favoritist thing in the whole wide world! (/sarcasm) This shit can and absolutely will fuck up your ability to be a functioning human if you let it. Having no internal clock causes more problems than the obvious losing track of time. It means your appetite is sporadic at best and you could very easily forget to eat. It means your sleep schedule has a tendency to just disintegrate if you don’t keep on it. It means being completely dependent on external clocks to know how long things are/should be taking, even for stupid shit like cooking food or brushing your teeth. It means that if you don’t set an alarm for something there is a very real possibility that something isn’t happening no matter how much you want or need it to. In short, it completely fucks up your ability to care for yourself without a lot of external regimented support. Now, who does that remind you of? Which member of the batfamily is known for neglecting his own health? I may not read many comics but the sheer number of “Tim Drake subsists solely on coffee and spite” jokes on ao3 and tumblr is very telling.

His brains. Tim is very, very smart. Have you ever heard the phrase “twice exceptional?” It describes Tim Drake to a t. Plus, I’m living proof of how you can be both smart of brain and dumb of ass. This may be more of a “my family who just so happens to consist entirely of twice exceptional adhd dumbasses” thing than something most ppl with adhd experience, but. You can be really smart and incredible at putting together complex plans, both ahead of time and on the fly, and still have. No common sense whatsoever. Which seems to be a lot of Tim’s characterization: incredibly smart while simultaneously being a complete dumbass. So make of that what you will.

And most compellingly? I think it’s funny. This kid is brothers with Dick Grayson and best friends with Bart Allen and especially next to those two people would never expect Tim to be the one with the quote unquote “cant sit still disorder”. Yknow what? Let’s take this a step further. Let’s make Bart autistic. (I don’t know enough about the flash family to say how accurate this is but for the sake of the joke let’s say he is). People see Impulse standing next to Red Robin and they think they know which one is adhd and which is autistic and they are Wrong. Tim n Bart are Completely unaware of this but the rest of their team finds it hilarious. There’s probably at least one running joke about it.

[various-things]

Enmeshed like, we're-a-group "polycule"-style dynamics can be really great but I would sure love to see more non-monogamous interpretations that are not that and are also not like, super hierarchical open-relationship style things. Sometimes (often) a metamour can be a person you're just acquainted with and you like them well enough because the person you care about likes them but neither of you have much interest in getting to know each other more, or y'know maybe you consider them friends but not like, we'd hang out 1:1 friends and both of you are chill with that, etc. etc, or maybe you're friends but the connections you have with this other person you're both involved with are just very separate and not really a thing that comes up much in the friendship you and the person who is your meta share with each other. This stuff is common! I get the appeal of like, a group where there is a variety of dynamics and fondness but I feel like there is so much uncovered ground between and away from popular polycule stuff and also away from like... super hierarchical open relationship things. If some of the above stuff that isn't polycule things or open relationship things isn't familiar to you and you want to explore it further in your fanworks or headcanons, a couple of other non-monogamy words and concepts worth putting into your search engine of choice are: solo polyamory, non-hierarchical polyamory, comets—those are just like a tiny selection of so many shapes non-monogamy can take but yeah!

[infestedguest]

I like ABBA as much as the next guy, but I kind of hate how in the Stranger Things fandom it’s become the go-to example of era-appropriate preppy pop music . They were huge in the 70s yeah, but their last major hit One Of Us came out in 1981 (a full two years before season one), and they became seen as incredibly uncool for the rest of the decade. According to an interview with The Guardian in 2021, they were so disliked by 1982 that Björn Ulvaeus thought they’d never get the group back together. It wouldnt be that weird to headcanon one of the older characters liking them, but headcanoning the younger ones enjoying them unironically and without shame, especially the ones characterized as being "hip" or up to date with whats cool (which is why it`s so odd that Steve of all characters is the one most often subjected to this phenomena).

I have literally never seen anyone in this fandom mention The Go-Gos. Ever. That is an actual crime. You are all going to jail. The closest I’ve heard y’all get is mentions of Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven Is A Place On Earth, which came out in 1987, a year off from season 4 and definitely way too late for the first three seasons. The Go-Gos were literally the most popular all female rock band of all time. Head Over Heels is the U.S. national anthem and anyone who says otherwise is a liar. That second part was a joke but the first one is true. Personally I’d headcanon Steve and El in particular liking them. Steve because I’m pretty sure the only artist we see him listening to in canon is Pat Benatar, so him liking another, albeit much peppier, female lead rock act doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. El because she deserves to have fun. If you want some song recommendations, my favorites from them are Head Over Heels, Turn To You, and Can’t Stop The World. Especially Turn To You, that song goes so goddamn hard.

Another band that I like and was popular at the time that I never see any mention of in this fandom is The Cars. I will admit though that that may be partially because the name “The Cars” is really hard to search for since both words in it are incredibly common. I also headcanon Steve liking them, he just seems like a The Cars kinda guy. Maybe Max as well (though I was a bit more confident in this headcanon before season 4). My song recommendations for them are Just What I Needed, Bye Bye Love, Let’s Go, and It’s All I Can Do (just note that these particular songs are actually from 1978-79, just because I happen to prefer their earlier work. It would probably still be considered pretty relevant, since there`s a world of difference between older songs by a band that is currently popular and older songs by a band that currently publicly disliked, but I thought I should address it anyway, since a lot of my argument hinges on relevancy. A couple songs that are more apropos are Drive and You Might Think, which are both from 1984).

I like a lot of other songs an artists from this time period and general genre, but these were the two that I thought were the most egregiously overlooked in the very, very specific context of the Stranger Things fandom, as well as being two of my favorites.

Sorry if this post came off as aggressive, you can headcanon literally anything you want (that’s kind of the point of headcanons lol), even in the face of historical inaccuracy, it’s just the ubiquity of that misconception in this fandom that bothers me a little, especially since it typically means overlooking other period and genre appropriate bands, especially ones I happen to like. Again, there’s nothing at all wrong with ABBA, or headcanoning ST characters liking ABBA. I especially liked WriterRose‘s (@wannabe-cartoonist on here I think) depiction of Steve liking ABBA in “Bah humbug” where the kids find one of their records in the player at his house and he tries to convince them it’s his mom’s. The music references in that entire fic series are great actually, you should go read it if you haven’t.

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Aphrodite

Favorite thing about them: She's a fascinating figure, full of potential for stories: a stunningly, irresistibly beautiful goddess who embodies romantic love and sexuality, who can be cruel and kind in equal measure, just like love itself. It's no wonder that she's captivated writers and artists for centuries.

Least favorite thing about them: As I said above, she can be cruel: for example, in her treatment of Psyche, and her role in starting the Trojan War. Of course this is true for most of the Greek gods and goddesses, not just her.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm passionate.

*I love romance (in stories, at least) and visual beauty.

*I can be hot-tempered and petty sometimes.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not irresistibly alluring to men.

*I don't take vicious offense when people consider other women more beautiful than I am.

*Unlike her traditional depiction, I'm not blonde.

Favorite line: I'd need to read through all the various mythology sources to find one.

brOTP: Her son Eros, when she's not abusing his future wife Psyche.

OTP: Her various famous lovers (Ares, Anchises, Adonis), and in some modern retellings, her husband Hephaestus.

nOTP: Any of her own children, or anyone she's put a curse on.

Random headcanon: If there's a place where the gods and goddesses of different cultures can meet, then when she visits that place, I'm sure she enjoys lording her fame over other love-goddesses like Inanna and Freya. None of them embody love and beauty throughout Western art and popular culture the way she does.

Unpopular opinion: I'm not sure how to feel about the traditional portrayal of her marriage to Hephaestus, or about revisionist versions thereof. On the one hand, I understand the urge to deconstruct the tradition of "beautiful goddess despises her ugly husband and has affairs willy-nilly with handsomer gods and men." By pure instinct, I like seeing them reimagined as a happily married couple. But at the same time, I think of all the discourse surrounding the Hades and Persephone myth, and apply the same thoughts here. Arguably, the fact that Aphrodite is forced into a loveless marriage reflects the experience of most women in ancient Greece, and the fact that she does have affairs willy-nilly – and that she's the goddess of love but not of marriage – reflects the separation between marriage and love in ancient Greek culture. Ultimately, I'm open to both types of retelling, just like I'm open both to "happily married Persephone" and "unhappily married Persephone" in portrayals of the Underworld.

Song I associate with them: None.

Favorite picture of them:

The Aphrodite of Knidos:

The Aphrodite of Milos, or as it's better known in pop culture, the Venus de Milo:

Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus:

Alexandre Cabanel's The Birth of Venus:

The Sleeping Venus by Giorgione and Titian:

Titian's Venus of Urbino, assuming she really is the goddess and not just a courtesan:

Titian's Venus with a Mirror:

Jacques-Louis David's Mars Being Disarmed by Venus:

William Blake Richmond's Venus and Anchises:

This illustration of her birth from D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths:

Marilee Heyer's illustration of her birth from Doris Orgel's book We Goddesses:

Aphrodite as she appears in Disney's Hercules – not high art, but she is cute:

[stormbabylore]

I wanted to figure out what Aeryn's favorite foods were, so like an insane person, I stood in front of the market board for an hour reading through all the meal options. And now I'm going to ramble about food lore/headcanons. In excess.

It doesn't take Aeryn long to adapt to infrequent meals and a lifestyle of grazing, when possible, as a result of her adventuring lifestyle. In early ARR, she is too uncomfortable in her own skin to eat in public places, let alone among company, unless forced. (I suspect Mother Miounne would have some concerns about her perceived lack of nourishment and might occasionally do something about it.) As such, she develops a habit of keeping various edible foodstuffs on hand so she can eat on-the-go when hungry - or when reminded by others that she needs to eat.

Things she would keep stocked, both at "home" and while traveling: teas and coffees, various breads, dried fruit, nuts, and cheese - when she can get it.

Despite this preference, however, she will never turn down a free meal when offered. Aeryn doesn't know anything about herself as of game start, and that includes her favorite foods! Everything is new to her, and part of her quiet desperation to "find" herself includes figuring such things out as quickly as possible. As such, she has tried many, many things in her travels, enough to pinpoint she is a fan of meat-based stews, curries, and other predominantly rice-based dishes - typically anything hearty, warming, and (preferably) mildly spicy. She also hasn't yet met a form of popoto she doesn't enjoy. None of these are things she takes the time to make for herself, but she considers it a treat when she is able to indulge in meals like this prepared by others.

(Though she doesn't know it, this preference comes directly from her past life: such dishes as potatoes and stews would have often been prepared in bulk and served aboard the ship.)

She is most weak to (and might overindulge in) the following: sweet breads and pastries, coffee in any form, and tea with milk or cream.

Some of her favorite in-game foods:

Honey Croissant/Almond Cream Croissant

A couple silly food headcanons that have latched onto my brain since I put them in fic: honeyed sweetbread is a popular holiday treat in Gridania; and spiced sweetbreads/pastries are common in parts of Thanalan. (The scent of spice and baking bread is something Aeryn associates very heavily with Vesper Bay.) There are myriad other bread/pastry foods in-game she would like, but these two most closely resemble those I'd already written about.

Espresso con Panna

Any coffee beverage would suffice, but I imagine the first time Aeryn has espresso con panna, she would be delighted by the richness of the bitter/sweet flavor meld.

Chilled Popoto Soup

She's generally not a fan of soup at all. (She would quietly argue it's a beverage, not a meal, and that it's wrong to drink something with chopped up bits of stuff in it.) But the cream-based soup and the mesh of leek and popoto, well pureed, just works for her. I like to think of Thancred as the soup-making scion, and I imagine he would smirk and be pleased as pie to win her over with this particular meal. It becomes one of her favorite comfort meals, and she would like it both hot and cold.

La Noscean Toast

I imagine Baderon suggested this to Aeryn at some point, and she gladly accepted, thinking it would just be simple toast - maybe with some citrus jam from nearby Summerford. When she instead experienced for the first time what amounts to the Eorzean equivalent of French Toast, she was immediately obsessed. She makes a point of having this whenever she can stick around long enough in Limsa, because she finds it doesn't taste right anywhere else but at the Drowning Wench. (Baderon actually makes sure the cooks add orange zest to hers, because he knows how much she loves all things citrus.)

Thavnairian Chai/Masala Chai

Any latte-style tea (including Steppe Tea) is a favorite, but she especially likes the blend of spices in chai and considers it a treat to indulge.

Baguette and/or any leavened bread

It is not abnormal to see a half-eaten baguette poking out of her chocobo's saddlebag when Aeryn is on the go. Likewise, there are various forms of leavened breads available across Eorzea (of note the Crumpet and the Ishgardian Muffin) that I assume she would pack for her journeys and nosh on while traveling.

And a few honorable mentions, if not favorites:

Coffee Biscuit

Aeryn prefers pastries to cookies, but she does still love all things coffee. I headcanon she can't get this one frequently. (Maybe they're only common in one specific area she doesn't visit as frequently.) She would also prefer a stronger coffee flavor in them compared to how they are usually made.

Papanasi

I had never heard of this, but the description sounds AMAZING, and I assume Aeryn would probably love it as it encompasses quite a few of her favorite things.

Walnut Bread

The perfect travel snack, packed with nuts and just a hint of sweetness. Again, my daughter is weak to her sweet carbs.

And just in case all of the above wasn't obsessive enough, I also skimmed through the ingredients list. A few favorite foodstuffs that are labeled as crafting ingredients include:

Cheese. Mostly those of a milder flavor that won't stink up her bag. She will pack wedges of cheese to enjoy with her bread and fruit and thankfully eats through it quickly enough that it doesn't spoil. A specific favorite would be cream cheese, which she would enjoy during brief periods of rest where she can acquire it.

Oranges. I do think Aeryn is more inclined to eating dried fruits, since they travel better and tend to be less messy. That said, I think she fell in love with the various citrus fruits she was first introduced to in La Noscea, and despite being messy, they travel a bit better than some other fruits. She would likely carry oranges with her when possible and would try other citrus along her journeys, like lemons, limes, and persimmons.

Nuts. I mentioned this above, and almonds are the only one I can think of that she might keep on hand and actually snack on. But she would try to ensure she always had some form of crunchy protein on hand.

That's it! That's the food lore. \o/

Thanks for reading!

[thebahwrites]

For the “an ask game ft niche questions i don’t see very often” I would like your thoughts on my all time favorite: Iceman!!!! I just love him so much

have I said today yet I love you? ❤️❤️❤️here are my objectively correct personal opinions on Iceman no one COME FOR ME

an ask game ft niche questions i don’t see v often (send me a character)

Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky (more under the cut so I don't bother anyone)

a song that reminds me of them the REASON it took me so long to answer this one is precisely because I am so picky with songs and it took me FOREVER to get to this one but I finally got the right one: Be Yourself - Audioslave Even when you've paid enough Been pulled apart Or been held up Every single memory of The good or bad, faces of love Don't lose any sleep tonight I'm sure everything will end up alright You may win or lose But to be yourself is all that you can do I actually love this song so much and the entire Out Of Exile album reads Iceman to me in different ways but this one? It's this one.

what they smell like I think it's a common kinda-canon/fanon thing with the coconut scented stuff because it shows up in the movie??? Won't say I don't subscribe to it but I'll add further: I think once my mans gets over smelling axe bodyspray or some random tropical shit because it was the easiest, closest available thing, I'll just say he favors the sweet-scented stuff. Coconut, pineapple, cinnamo, cardamom, orange if we go further but mostly remaining on the sweeter side of the aisle.

an otp Yeah we all know I'm down that IceMav train but I WILL say Iceman/Slider is almost right up there for me. Almost, though. Because I just love Icemav way too much. They're meant to be, your honor. They're rivals, they're insane, they're at each other's throats 36 years down the line and love each other so much. I WILL write about it.

a notp Don't think I've read anything with Ice that physically made me recoil but as per usual: Ice with the younger folks just is a no for me because ~I don't see it~. I've recently been presented with a couple of those possibilities and it wasn't for me!

favorite platonic/familial relationships Ice/Slider (when not a ship) OBVIOUSLY, that's his brother, that's his best buddy aside from Maverick, that's his sweet cheese, that's HIS BOY. Also Ice and Goose!!!! Everyone forgets they went to school together!!! They were friends!!!! And yet again I'll die on the Iceman/Hangman hill that no one want to hear from me but I WILL die on it.

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with oh boy. There's quite the handful of them but I think the most... like, how do I put it, it's just sort of a fanon consensus thing that Iceman is a full rule-abiding stickler/is somehow detached from things and I just. Disagree. I think Ice to ME reads as truly 'lawful neutral' - he follows codes and abides to things such as honor and respect but by HIS OWN STANDARDS. He also happens to have goals (i.e. rank climbing, etc) and knows what he needs to do to get there, so of course he's 'ice cold, no mistakes' when it comes to flying, because it makes him good. And he needles Maverick about being dangerous and leaving people behind but doesn't actually calls him out on his rule-following issues, he calls him out on behavior. I think people confuse those. So much so that in TGM Cyclone says Maverick wasn't even originally CONSIDERED for the list of whoever would teach the squad but Ice dragged him there because they needed someone who could: think outside the box & believe themselves able to pull off impossible features. No one, not even Ice, who flies within a strict ruleset could do it and that to me is the greatest strength between Iceman and Maverick. You've got Ice as a guy who allows himself to be limited by rules and regulations in a way because he has a goal and you got a guy who doesn't have the same goal so those same rules would limit him. And yes I rambled I THINK ABOUT THIS A LOT OKAY.

the position they sleep in On his stomach, a little curved, either hugging a pillow or someone. I will not elaborate. <3

a crossover au i’d love to see them in bro, SO MANY and I think I've cited them all already but I'll say it again: PACIFIC RIM. A PACIFIC RIM THING WITH THE '86 FOLKS, on my desk, RIGHT NOW. Though maybe some kind of western too because young Val as a cowboy has me-[GUNSHOT]

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn Ngl, the beach getup is slutty enough. But also he looked so damn good in the dress whites so, take ya pick.

[glorious-spoon]

Go forth and be salty: 8, 14, 23. Choose whatever fandom you want!

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I did one for Stranger Things, so for 9-1-1: the will was not a love confession. It wasn't really about Eddie and Buck's relationship at all; it was about Christopher. Also, Buck did not interpret it as Eddie saying that he could 'only' have a close relationship with Chris in the event of Eddie's death, he has not been miserably stewing and feeling rejected about that for the past 3 years, why is that such a popular headcanon.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

Another Stranger Things one: Robin and/or Eddie as the fount of all queer knowledge and culture. They're a couple of broke high schoolers in rural Indiana in the mid-1980s. They do not have the internet. Robin doesn't have a license or a car. Eddie is a vaguely plausible edge case for some things, but honestly, I feel like a lot of those interpretations rely on people reading up on urban queer scenes in the 1980s without really considering how likely it is that these kids in particular would have been exposed to them at this point.

23. ships you've unwillingly come around to

I don't know if I can actually think of any, at least for any of my more recent fandoms. I'm generally pretty open-minded about ships if I think there's an interesting story to be told; for me, it's much more down to how it's written. 

I guess maybe Robin/Chrissy? But it's not like I ever actively disliked it, it just hadn't really occurred to me until I read a few fics for it that I really enjoyed.

Buck/Lucy, I guess, also. But more as a wild fling than a long-term relationship, lol.

(choose violence ask meme)

[ohmygodshesinsane]

Do you think Lily and James had relationships before they started dating each other

Hi anon!

Personally, yes, I think so, but I know there are people who disgaree.

With Lily, she's described as charming, vivacious, popular, and beautiful, and we know that she became a talented enough witch to defy Voldemort three times. Two boys, James and Snape, are described as having romantic feelings for her at different points, and strong ones at that. I think it follows that there were probably other people who liked her too, and she may well have liked them back and gone out with them. She didn't have feelings for James until she was around ~17, so there's definitely time for her to have some romantic relationships before that. I've read a lot of fics where she has a steady Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff boyfriend through sixth year, usually a prefect, and that makes a lot of sense to me. In my own headcanon I tend to imagine her having a 'middle school' relationship or two when she's younger - going out with a boy for a couple of months in third or fourth year - and then a more serious, long-term relationship in sixth year before she gets with James. Honestly out of the two of them, I think she's more likely to have had a previous relationship.

With James, I can really see it going either way. Snape says 'everyone thinks...big quidditch hero', which might be an exaggeration, but there's probably a grain of truth to it that people admired him for his quidditch-playing ability. We also know he was a talented wizard, and got up to a fair bit of rule-breaking. So I'd guess there were probably a few people interested in him. However, we know that in his younger years he's described as arrogant, boastful, and could be considered a bully. Although he shows off to the girls at the lake, he's also very tied up with his friends and everything we know suggests he probably prioritised them over any romantic relationships at least until the end of his fifth year. We also don't get any descriptions of him being especially charismatic or charming, even if that's a common depiction in fic (and one I tend to use tbh), or handsome - iirc it's Sirius who has girls 'eyeing him hopefully' and has his good looks remarked upon repeatedly, although that could be a limit of having Harry as narrator. We also know that at the end of fith year at least he's doodling Lily's initials on his exam paper, and it's implied he's liked her for a while ('he always made a fool out of himself whenever Lily was around', or something to that effect is the quote). So at that point at least I don't think he had serious feelings for another girl. I've seen depictions where he has a string of casual girlfriends and some where he is devotedly loyal to Lily as soon as he starts to have feelings for her, and both can work really well depending on the rest of his characterisation. Personally, I think the 'big quidditch hero' thing and his devil-may-care attitude probably attracted a few girls to him and he had at least a few dates or short-term relationships, but that his relationship with Lily was his first serious one.

Thank you so much for the question anon! This was really fun to think about and put together an answer.

[mavspeed]

hi bestie <333 may i humbly ask 🥺, 🏆, 👀, 🤩, and 🧠 (maverick!!!) for the fic writer ask meme please 🙇🏼‍♀️🥰

HI BESTIE YES YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

the icemav hug in tgm gets me tbh like it really doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it every single time it comes across my dash I’m like florence pugh walking across midsommar field gif

also there’s one pic of goose and mav that really. it really Gets To Me. here it is

LOOK AT THEM. THEY WERE JUST BABIES. THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS COMING. *crying*

🏆 What's your most popular fic?

so I just went to ao3 to filter it by hits which I’ve never done before. and. extremely humiliated to say it’s this fic I wrote for wonder woman (2017). hell. (this is also strange bc it doesn’t have that many comments)

BUT I’m also surprised to note that the second and third most popular fics on there are fics I did NOT expect to see aka this cherik fic I wrote after discussing the idea w my bff (hey syd!!) and basically a cherik au of the mummy (ironic bc I’m a tommy enjoyer now) LMFJDJS THE MORE YOU KNOW I GUESS

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I have a couple bc one thing about me... I am absolute shit at finishing wips lmfjdjssn like I am awful at them absolutely awful. but anyway I do have one with civilian mav and mob boss ice for which a good bit is already written (also fun fact this fic has viper/jester which I consider fucking hilarious)

also there’s one (tentatively) which I haven’t started yet that’s basically a 5+1 with pennymav. they’re such an underrated ship and inspiration struck me one day so yeah that’s in the works too

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

this is funny because bruises of our failures is (mostly) mav pov but I love writing ice. idk he’s so repressed and constipated and awkward and hiding all that beneath indifference and apathy. *twirling hair* he just like me fr

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. (mav)

I feel like this is pretty obvious in the way I write but the one thing I love about him is that he isn’t just being reckless for reckless’ sake. like you’re not gonna see him pull off dangerous moves in the air if there’s no end goal, he does everything for a reason! it’s just that the way he goes about doing it is perhaps a little riskier than some might like but it’s for a reason. and this isn’t something that only developed in the sequel, it’s obvious in the first movie too- the narrative just put a much deeper focus on his recklessness. (this is why I’m a bit 👀 when people write mav just being.... reckless for no reason.... just doing shit bc he can.... because really?? really???)

and bc this was a pretty ordinary headcanon I’m gonna give you another one LMFJDJJD my second headcanon is much more dumb and it’s basically. mav likes romcoms. he fucking loves them. so sue him he’s a romantic at heart and he kinda likes it when they run towards each other in the end and kiss in the rain. I feel like after a day of dealing with idiots and flying in the air and nearly dying a total of ten times he’d want to watch people fall in love and sometimes goose joins him too.

also his favourite romcom is clueless. no I’m not taking objections thank you

[sainamoonshine]

I think the only thing funnier than the Autumn / Eltanin / Knight dynamic in Married to the Evil Wizard King is the version of their dynamic in the modern AU headcanon I have for them

Where Eltanin and Knight met at university like ten years ago. Eltanin was a biochem major stressed out of his gourd, Knight was some sports jock, they both ended up alone in the kitchen at the same party. Eltanin got brought there by his asshole popular brother and immediately fled to the kitchen, Knight was legit just in there because the party was thrown by his roommates therefore was happening in his house, he was in the kitchen looking for a snack when he met the goth twink obviously having a bad time. They get to talking, Eltanin mentions being stressed because of exams, Knight said maybe he can help, he knows a few tricks to alleviate stress.

Eltanin immediately goes on the defensive like « okay who hired you. Is this a prank? A bet? My brother’s doing, I imagine. »

And Knight is like ???

So Eltanin clarifies stiffly « no one hits on me without it being a trick. »

And Knight is like « oh sorry I wasn’t hitting on you, I was going to suggest yoga. But. Do you want me to hit on you because if that’s the case I’m down for it. »

And via this (humiliating, as far as Eltanin is concerned) misunderstanding is born a sort of friends with benefits arrangement that keeps them going thru uni. And then beyond. And before they know it they end up just sleeping with each other once a week whenever they’re both single, for like ten years. Neither of them consider this dating. They don’t even have much in common and aren’t close friends but they’re chill and they like the comforting reliability of their arrangement. If pressed, they’d admit they’re fond of each other.

Then one day Eltanin — who was wealthy to begin with but now is like CEO of a biomedical research firm and would be considered an eligible bachelor if he wasn’t such a notorious asshole — meets Autumn Veld. Who is also from a wealthy family and wants to get away from her asshole mom who keeps trying to push her into « advantageous » marriages with dudes who’d want her to be a stay at home socialite, which isn’t her speed at all. She wants to be a rebellious fashion designer.

Anyway she meets Eltanin and it is immediate fire between them. And they end up making a deal to get married, a deal which will be advantageous to both families economically, will be good for his public image, will assure her financial freedom and in which he promises that aside of requiring that she appears at public functions with him, he’ll let her do whatever.

Then he calls Knight to tell him that they need to stop their arrangement because he’d about to get engaged, of course. Knight is like « okay sure » but since he and Eltanin are still quote-unquote friends, he gets invited to a couple of social events. He immediately clicks with Autumn, but doesn’t make a move because he’s not an assole.

Coming up on the wedding, Eltanin and Autumn have a longer talk about expectations, and despite the FIZZLING sexual tension between then they both seem to think the other is not that into them and this is just a marriage of convenience?? So they agree to make this an open marriage, both are allowed affairs, no jealousy. Then Autumn mentions « even if I have an affair with someone you know? Like that hot friend Knight of yours? » and Eltanin is like « ……….. sure…… »

He gives a heads up of her intentions to Knight, who is like « huh. Is that… weird? » and Eltanin of course is like « why would it be weird? You and I never dated or anything. » so Knight is like « okay, sure sure. Just checking. »

So then Autumn and Knight end up having an affair. And ofc Autumn and Eltanin are also super into each other, and they even manage to figure it out at some point and start regularly banging. But meanwhile Eltanin and Knight low key miss each other because after ten years they had gotten used to their thing, damnit.

And then one day Autumn is casually wondering how Knight and Eltanin even met and the story comes out. And she’s just like « ……. Guys. Guys, I think we’re all just stupid. »

And THEN they become a triad.

[hearties-circus]

Had a realisation about my torture having tusks

[aro-and-tired]

Aromantic Experiences in Fandom: Survey Results

PART 1 - PART 2 - ANALYSIS: TIME IN FANDOM - ANALYSIS: AROALLOS VS AROACES

This survey was aimed at aromantic people, to share their experiences with fandom spaces, creating fancontent, and shipping. The survey got a total of 916 responses. The questions were split into various sections.

As the survey itself was quite long, the results will be discussed into two posts. This post will outline what the demographics of the respondents were and what their general experiences with fandom aree. The remaining sections, concerning content creators, shipping and additional comments, will be discussed in a separate post. Each post will have a summary at the end.

In addition, I plan on adding a couple posts discussing results split by certain variables, as I’m curious to see if different groups express different feelings regarding a few matters.

Demographic questions

Question 1: How old are you?

15 or younger - 14.7%

16-20 - 47.1% (largest group by age)

21-25 - 25.9%

26-30 - 8.3%

31-35 - 2.7%

36-40 - 1.1%

41-45 - 0.1 % (one person)

51-55 - 0.1% (one person)

Question 2: Which arospec identities to you identify with?

Considering the identities I had given as options, from most to least used:

Aromantic - 80.5%

Arospec - 28.7%

Questioning - 11.7%

Demiromantic - 11.1%

Greyromantic - 10.9%

Quoiromantic or WTFromantic - 7.2%

Aroflux - 4.3%

Cupioromantic - 4%

Aegoromantic - 3.9%

Aroqueer - 3.3%

Lithromantic or Akoiromantic - 2.8%

Nebularomantic - 1.9%

Apothiromantic - 1.2%

Arospike - 0.7% (6 people)

In addition, to these, most commonly added identities were Freyromantic, Belluromantic and Reciproromantic. Various over identities were added by various participants.

Question 3: Which of the following do you identify with?

Aroace - 51%

Aromantic Allosexual - 16.8%

Angled or Oriented Aroace - 12.9%

Questioning - 8.2%

Non-SAM Aro or Just Aro - 6.3%

I don’t identify any of these - 4.8%

General Fandom Questions

The first question in the fandom section was a check to see whether or not the participants were currently involved in fandom spaces. 96.6% (885) respondents said they are involved with fandom. 3.4% (31) respondents said they are not involved with fandom.

Involved in fandom: yes

Question 1: For how many years have you been involved in fandom?

1 or less - 4.1%

2-3 - 20.1%

4-5 - 26.8% (largest group by time spent in fandom)

6-7 - 19.7%

8-10 - 16.3%

11-15 - 8.5%

16 or more - 4.5%

Question 2: In general, would you say fandom spaces are aro-friendly?

Unsure - 45.9%

No - 43.6%

Yes - 10.5%

Question 3: If you answered no on the previous question, can you elaborate on why?

419 people offered a comment to this question. For starters, different people meant different things when they stated that fandom spaces aren’t aro-friendly. Some said that they feel fandom is not actively aro-unfriendly, but not friendly either - aro-tolerant, is how someone put it. Others instead found fandom spaces to be actively arophobic. Some people also specified that it depends on which fandoms one considers, with some fandoms being more friendly than others.

Almost everyone mentioned shipping as the first reason why fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. This ranged from people who enjoy shipping, but still feel that there is too much emphasis on it, from romance repulsed people who feel extremely alienated due to how common shipping is. The prevalence of shipping means that gen fics are rarer and receive less attentions. In general, it feels as if platonic relationships are seen as inferior to romantic ones and not worth of being explored.

It was also commented upon that some popular tropes can have arophobic connotations. Various participants mentioned soulmate AUs and Hanahaki disease as common tropes that some aros are very uncomfortable with, or that often have arophobic themes in the way they are used.

Many people also stated that they feel as if aromantic headcanons are less respected than other kinds of headcanons. They may receive less attention, especially from alloromantic fans, and at times even get rejected from fandom. Some aro people have reported having been accused of homophobia for headcanoning members of popular M/M or F/F ships are aromantic (or even just not shipping said ships), and accused of erasing gay people’s sexuality even when their aro headcanons concern characters with no canon sexuality.

On the flip side, the rare aromantic representation that exists is often not well respected by alloromantic fans. Many aros have said that it makes them uncomfortable to see allo fans ship aro characters, but their concerns are also often dismissed by allo fans as simple drama. Some people have even reported being themselves called arophobic by those same alloromantic shippers for being uncomfortable with shipping aro characters - the logic used being, that since some aromantic people enjoy dating, it is arophobic to be uncomfortable with aro characters being shipped. It is particularly hurtful that the same fans who get up in arms about respecting the sexualities of canon gay or lesbian characters and become very angry if someone ships them with a character of the other binary gender are often the same people who happily ship aro characters and ignore any argument made by aromantic fans.

Overall, many aromantic people feel that fandoms can be fairly amatonormative, if not straight up arophobic, and that their identities are often not respected and seeing as more trivial than shipping characters together.

Question 4: Do you think it's easy to find aromantic specific content in fandom?

No - 86.9%

Unsure - 7.2%

Yes - 5.9%

Question 5: Do you think alloromantic (non-aromantic) fans are in general respectful of aromantic interpretations of characters/media?

No - 56.7%

Unsure - 34.5%

Yes - 8.8%

Question 6: Have you ever received arophobic hate or harassment over something relating to fandom (aromantic headcanons, aromantic fancontent, etc.)?

No - 82.1%

Yes - 17.9%

Involved in fandom: no

Only 31 people stated that they are not currently involved in fandom spaces and answered the following questions. This is a fairly small sample. The answers here are reported, but it’s possible that they may not reflect actual trends.

Question 1: Have you ever been involved with fandom before?

Yes - 83.9%

No - 16.1%

Question 2: Is the fact that you are aromantic part of the reason you don't frequent fandom spaces? 

No - 58.1%

Yes - 41.9%

Question 3: From what you have seen, do you think fandom spaces in general are welcoming to aro people?

No - 48.4%

Unsure - 48.4%

Yes - 3.2% (one person)

Question 4: If you answered no to the previous question, can you elaborate on why? 

17 people answered this question. As a general rule, people here had stronger opinions regarding the prevalence of arophobia in fandom compared to those who are currently involved in fandom. Many of them said that they were either personally harassed for being aro when they were in fandom, or that they have witnessed this harassment from the outside. They also mentioned the prevalence of discourse in fandom spaces, with many exclusionists running fandom blogs.

One again, shipping was the most common reason given for fandom spaces being potentially alienating for aro fans, both its prevalence and the existence of things such as ship wars. A few people also mentioned having seen aro headcanons being called homophobic. Soulmate AU and Hanahaki disease were also mentioned as aro unfriendly tropes, and one person also brought up the matchmaker trope.

Someone also mentioned that in addition to aro unfriendly, fandom can also be ace unfriendly, and that asexual headcanons can receive the same backlash as aromantic headcanons. Another person said that while sexual content is common in fandom spaces, most of it is fundamentally alienating to romance repulsed aros, as sexual content almost always involves a romantic component.

Part 1 Summary

Overall, nearly half of aromantic respondents, both those involved and not involved in fandom, state that they feel fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. There’s also a fair number of people who are unsure, and only a minority feels that fandom spaces are friendly to aromantic fans. The amount of shipping that occurs in fandom spaces is mentioned as primary reason why aro fans feel alienated in fandom, especially romance repulsed aros. Many people also mentioned an attitude towards dismissing aro fans, if not straight up harassing them. Fandom arophobia has been remarked upon by various people, and in some occasions led to aro fans leaving fandom entirely.

The majority of fans agree that it’s hard to find aromantic specific content in fandom. A little more than half also states that alloromantic fans are not respectful of aromantic interpretations, with less than 10% of aro fans definitely stating that they believe alloromantic fans support their interpretations.

Lastly, a little less than one fifth of respondents stated that they received harassment due to aromantic headcanons, fancontent, or the likes.

Find Part 2 here

[entryno17]

hi! since you're a big gaster fan and know a lot about him, i was hoping you could explain something to me. a popular theory is the dadster idea, where he is the father to sans and papyrus. but i dont understand why him being related to them is such a common assumption. i cant recall anything in the game that implies they are related. i know there's a couple subtle hints that sans worked for him, but afaik theres nothing that shows papyrus and gaster knew each other at all. if they were closely related wouldnt they bring him up at some point, even in a small way (like papyrus telling you his dad made the core or smth like that)? plus gaster doesnt have a special reaction to their names in deltarune when he does for other characters, and its not hinted anywhere that he had a family. just seems like a pretty big detail for them to all ignore or never bring up. could there be something i am missing?

you’re right—there’s actually no evidence implying their relation (unless you wanna talk about grandpa semi but let’s not get into that lmao), so it’s nothing more than a popular headcanon. it’s really just based on the fact that sans and papyrus are two skeleton brothers that speak in special fonts, so unless all skeletons speak in weird fonts in the underground?—the conclusion most people draw is that they’re related in some way.

as for papyrus seemingly being unfamiliar with gaster—this is a part where it’s completely up to interpretation. there are a lot of potential factors regarding this, and there’s definitely no right answer (that we know of, anyway). i’ll try to break down a few different things i think are worth bringing up.

1. the extent of memory retained between timelines/resets is INCREDIBLY ambiguously specified. (this is under the assumption that gaster was forgotten/erased after his ‘death’, which i talked about here.) we don’t know how much sans remembers gaster either—we don’t even know if he remembers him at all, which is a very real possibility. sans doesn’t have a special power to remember things between resets and timelines, he’s only able to notice them due to 1. prior research on the topic, and 2. generally being a really perceptive guy (as we know from his judgements, his continual observation of the player throughout their journey, etc). he could know that something’s wrong or that there’s parts of his past that he can’t remember, but there’s a real chance that even sans doesn’t know who gaster is, only knowing vaguely that he existed. based on his “don’t forget” note and how you interpret it, retaining memory is clearly important to him—hence the reminder he wrote for himself.

the deja vu that characters show between resets is never really explained in full; it’s probably meant to be vague, and it’s something that every character seems to have. what it entails or what its extent is, we have no idea. maybe the memory that persists through it varies in some way, depending on circumstances? we have no clue. maybe sans has some vague memory of gaster, maybe he remembers way more; again, there’s no way to tell. he never directly mentions gaster either, after all.

taking all this into account, it’s possible papyrus doesn’t know anything at all. if he’s unaware of resets, maybe he doesn’t remember anything. but, if he IS aware of them...

2. papyrus is a liar. he’s incredibly secretive, and honestly more mysterious than gaster imo. we have no way of knowing how much or how little he knows about gaster or anything else; if he does know everything, he certainly wouldn’t give us any clues about it. there’s a lot of analysis on the weirder parts of papyrus, but i’ll bring up a few important bits of information.

the most important thing in my opinion is, of course, this:

which, uh...

... yeah! he has those too! what the fuck!

many people have also pointed out that papyrus seems to really hate hotland for some reason, which is where gaster presumably worked as the royal scientist. maybe there's some relation there? and before you enter the core, papyrus tells you that he won’t be able to call you anymore... which is kinda weird, because alphys calls you in the core. repeatedly. (and if you consider gaster’s weird association with phones, specifically with them not working... uhh??)

AND...!!!

we still don’t know what this means. i’m afraid to know what this means.

what i’m trying to say is that there is a wealth of strange gaster/papyrus connections. i couldn’t possibly go over all of them, but MAN. they are present.

3. gaster actually DOES react to sans and papyrus’s names in deltarune! here’s a list of all the names that get a special reaction:

notably he doesn’t react to any darkner names, but he does acknowledge sans and papyrus. so he definitely KNOWS them, at the very very least.

in conclusion, i forgot this post was supposed to be about dadster. oops. but yeah—there are far too many connections between the three skeletons to dismiss their relation, and though we don’t know how they’re related, familial relationship is a popular theory.

... they’re a font family. (rimshot)