#i think i finally understand that post about having a platonic crush on someone very intensely 😭😭😭

[lildepressyy]

i feel stupid and weird and awkward and wrong nothing happened there were no bad consequences but i hate the way i acted that was too vulnerable it shouldn't be like that i shouldn't have said that acted like that

[tumblingghosts]

persephone & sejanus soulmate au

i saw this post by @hauntedcomputernut about headcanons on sejanus and persephone friendship headcanons and it reminded me of a (platonic) soulmate au i was thinking about a while back-

persephone is five when she learns about the name on her wrist and what it’s supposed to mean. she doesn’t recognize the name, but she likes dreaming about meeting him, right up until the war takes up her life. she holds the name close like a comfort, and when the war finally ends and her soulmate transfers to the capitol, she jumps at the chance to befriend him.

it’s a lot harder than she expects it to be. many of her classmates are not accepting of someone from the districts, and being kids, that project that on persephone too upon learning they were soulmates. persephone had shared it to try to show that sejanus was like them, but it had ended up backfiring. sejanus feels really guilty for “ruining her other friendships” but persephone insists it isn’t his fault. she does rekindle some of her friendships (like festus) over the years.

sejanus and coriolanus are sort-of friends here, but he’s put off by the way that coriolanus looks at persephone when he thinks no one is looking. it makes a lot more sense when sejanus learns about the maid and nero price, but sejanus doesn’t understand how coriolanus could project those feelings of disgust onto persephone when it’s not her fault (it’s trauma), and it turns into an argument that only ends to keep the info from getting out to their other classmates. still, it puts a strain on their friendship.

sejanus and persephone stay close friends- spending time at each other’s houses and growing up. as they get a bit older, they try to make a romantic relationship work, but it just doesn’t. neither of them really had those kind of feelings for each other, and it had mostly been because of the belief that soulmates were inherently romantic. they go back to being friends and both are pretty happy about that.

sejanus nudges persephone towards festus upon learning of her crush. the issue is that festus is currently being a disaster over his feelings because his soulmate is felix & he has very confusing emotions over both of them. cue drama between persephone and felix that probably involves festus metaphorically putting his foot in his mouth multiple times.

anyway, they’re a cute duo & should have been friends 🥺🥺

[crystaiskiess]

Okay, it’s me, the person rereading OAFK to find where Arthur falls in love with Merlin.  This is very long because I may have gotten a bit carried away.  I’m so sorry, but I wanted to cover all the bases (and then just got really into it because I love this fic).  Although I want confirmation if I’m right, you don’t have to publicly post this or anything, because, once again, this is long and you may not want people to know.

So, I think Arthur’s feelings start when he meets Merlin, which may sound so soon and may be very wrong.  But in chapter one, when they meet for the second time, there are several lines that I feel like radiate the idea of “I have a slight instant crush on this guy, but I’d never know for multiple reasons.  First thing is their banter about the dungeons (honestly, love that part, it’s so cute/funny).  Then there’s the paragraph about Arthur having fun, which I feel screams “instant attraction.”

Arthur blinks, unable to stop himself from smiling.  A thrill runs through him like a surging wave, starting at his toes and ending in the tips of his fingers.  Excitement.  He finally identifies what is so entertaining about Merlin, why he feels this pull to torment him, this desire to goad him into action.  For the first time in years Arthur is having fun.

Arthur, as a character, just isn’t the type of find interest in things that are the same thing he deals with every day.  There’s literally an example of that at the beginning of that scene where he’s like “yeah, let me figure out where I’m supposed to respond because I am so bored right now.” I think the excitement Merlin brings immediately forms a sense of attraction to him (which makes sense because in real life, we tend to be attracted to the people we desire to have in our lives).  In canon, he starts showing attraction to Gwen when she speaks against him (not like Merlin does, but a variation, you know?), which fits into the idea that Arthur wants excitement in his life and he wants people who will create it.  I think half of this doesn’t make sense, but it’s important to have for my next thing.

Going back to OAFK; in chapter two, Arthur thinks about how he doesn’t know if he wants Merlin to change and become a proper servant.  While that’s explicitly said, you go into why he feels like that.  He finds Merlin entertaining and like no one else he’s ever met before, and that Merlin’s rudeness enthralls Arthur.  However, he’s like “yeah, but he’s also infuriating.” I feel like this goes into Arthur not really having someone speak out against him (or friends), so he’s unable to properly navigate how he feels about this.  This back and forth on who he wants Merlin to be is realistic and I very much love it.  Also, yes, he could just see Merlin in a platonic light at this point (anything is possible), but I just think about the scene where Arthur trusts Merlin about Valiant.  Yeah, that’s a canon scene, but it adds to later where it’s like “An odd part of Arthur warms at the sight of Merlin’s slight smile.” Arthur has feelings for Merlin, even if they’re platonic or romantic.  They’re strong, but he’s just a bit unaware.

Now, to where I think he falls in love with Merlin.  This could be too soon, but the amount of passages from it that just make sense he loves Merlin is in The Poisoned Chalice.  I have like 20 highlighted areas that I feel like capture that Arthur loves Merlin.  I will obviously not share all of them because that’s a lot.  The first line is, “a man who understands that Arthur needs Merlin around.  Merlin matters to him.” I adore this line so much, like I think about it a lot because it captures to me how much Arthur’s feeling have grown over the last bit (I don’t remember your timeline off the top of my head, sorry) they’ve known each other.  I am a big believer in that Arthur feels fear, but it’s not exhibited the same way nor is it easy for him to feel it because of how he was raised, but oh my God, the moment where it’s like “He can hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel it in his throat, he’s never felt fear like this,” just hit so hard.  The amount of love and care he has for Merlin makes his situation terrify him. (Also, that entire paragraph containing that sentence and the paragraph above just capture Arthur so well.)

So, this could be debated like slightly of it’s in Arthur’s character, but I’m not entirely sure.  The line “They both hear the words that go unspoken.  If it were just my life, I would risk it in a heartbeat.” Some could say that that’s just how Arthur is.  (Him thinking about how he wishes he could feed everyone and guarantee their safety in The Moment of Truth.) In this situation, I feel like it being Merlin has a big part in this (Also, in The Moment of Truth of why Arthur goes to begin with).

So, to wrap this up before it gets to be over 1,000 words, Arthur starts liking Merlin the second time they meet (or the realization he doesn’t understand is there), but he starts (realizes but doesn't realize?) he loves Merlin in The Poisoned Chalice.

I’m so sorry for how long this is and that parts may not be coherent.  I do want to say that I love this fic and it’s always a pleasure to reread it.

OAFK SPOILERS AHEAD

also now that it’s been quite a while since chapter 28 was posted here is a moment of deep appreciation for this incredible person who got arthur’s feelings revelation so INSANELY spot on that i actually couldn’t post his analysis bc it’s basically spoilers

like incredible, immaculate, i still reread this often just to be in awe

[everyneji]

Bouncing off this post here, I want to talk a little about Neji and romantic relationships beyond just my shipping preferences. Though I wouldn't call this very exact meta either, as there's nothing to really go off of.

The truth is, Neji died before his love life was relevant. I know a lot of people think that he and Tenten would have ended up together but I'm not so sure. I believe he would have stayed uncoupled like his teammates in canon. Team Gai are Team Comic Relief and have genuinely had the most wholly platonic team-centric content of any of the Konoha 12 and the only crush we see from any of them is Lee's on Sakura, which was never gonna happen. I doubt Kishimoto would leave only Lee uncoupled of the team. At most, I think Neji would end the series with an implied off-screen Hyūga wife and a kid.

To add to this, as far as spin-off/AU/filler content goes, we only see 'Neji is a perv' 'Neji has a sister complex' 'Hinata considers Neji a romantic rival' 'Neji is unaffected by Sexy no Jutsu', none of which are a serious attempt to answer the question of 'What does Neji want?'

I also wonder if Neji could even marry out of the Hyūga clan, not just because of his caste status, but because he's a nobleman. He's not likely to be taking someone else's name. Historically speaking, men tend to be the only ones who can start a new branch clan, but in canon the equivalent of this is Hizashi being sealed. Hyūga seem to keep to themselves; Himawari and Boruto imply that the white eyes are a recessive trait. Hinata marrying out is an exception because she was already effectively disowned and she's marrying the Ninja Saviour.

(Of course, if Kishimoto wanted it to happen it would, the Hyūga entering the modern world and changing, but I'm working within the understanding of what we have.)

Narratively speaking, Neji is also far more intertwined with the destiny of the Hyūga clan than Hinata, whose story has centered her feelings for Naruto from the jump. I have a hard time seeing him leaving his family behind for love. Though he's had some very valid issues with his family, he's also fully embraced their techniques and their name; he just wants the respect and equal treatment he's owed within that.

With no canon evidence of romantic interest to go on, I personally focus on how Neji is like Gaara, that is, such a Naruto fanboy that it becomes its own beast of the headiest affectionate feelings we see displayed from them. Neji smiling so genuinely at what could be his final moments because he's thinking of how Naruto saved him is pretty intense.

'Hope is a thing with feathers, that perches in the soul ...'

I've touched on it in another post, but I also think it's sincerely amusing that when Hinata sacrifices herself in the Pain Invasion Neji goes "Why'd she do that?" His own dad sacrificed himself for love! And he has to know of her feelings for Naruto. He even asks if she wants to see Naruto off at the end of part one and hears of how the mere sight of Naruto gives Hinata the vapours. Yet he just doesn't get it ... until you fast forward a bit and put him on that battlefield with Naruto and Hinata in danger, and suddenly Neji's taking the bullet. As he dies in Naruto's arms, he says, "Naruto, Hinata-sama is willing to die for you. So remember you hold more than one life in your hands. And it seems that my life too may have been one of them." He directly parallels himself to Hinata (who sacrificed herself for love of Naruto) and says Naruto holds his life too. I mean, alright!

I'm not saying Kishimoto deliberately wrote Neji in love with Naruto but I think so long as Neji and Hinata are foils to each other who are both moved by the same man, you can derive interesting interpretations from that.

To return to 'what would Neji want' my personal answer is 'Someone able to offer perspectives he had not considered.' It's not just about being challenged -- the person needs to have a real point to make that they can back up. This suggests the person in question would need a certain strength of character, intuition, and likely the power to influence the world around them. This is generally what I go with when writing, but of course, it remains all headcanon.

I hope people forgive me for this very speculative post, I just ... got carried away writing it so hey. Here ya go! 👋

[captainschaos]

hello hello tis I the person who made the hermit relationships post and I would like to say yes you absolutely should make a post with your thoughts I wanna see 👀

EEEEE yknow what this is exactly the enabling I needed to finally make this post!!! primarily, I have a very queerplatonic, very aro, very difficult to label polycule that I loveeee to think about, and have a lot of headcanons surrounding them <3 I definitely have more reaching outside this group, but for the moment I just wanna talk about them!!

here's my veryvery rough hewn (and slightly outdated) map of it <3 but I'm gonna put detailed descriptions below the cut for anyone (particularly other aros) who might be interested in queer/platonic relationships that are very much not sibling-like, so step right up!!! I'd love to share <3

[I also have this fic that gets into some of the relationships below!]

overall qppolycule name btw: SHALESTEP >> (lizzie ld)shadow(lady) + zombie(cleo, rot related) + (etho)slab = some kind of dark, crumbling stone: SHALE >> tango(tek) + (joel) small(ishbeans) + (b)double(o100) = a little, repetitive part of dance: STEP

>> bdubs + cleo: queerplatonic marriage I mean just go watch third life. they're married <3 queerplatonically <3 yay!!

>> cleo + etho: queerplatonic partners they are a very subtle and slow kind of partnership, but consider each other partners, even if they aren't very vocal about it!

>> etho + bdubs: queerplatonic dating/partners ethubs will never be normal about each other yeah they're absolutely queerplatonic

>> joel + lizzie: married, joel is aro but the relationship is romantic I headcanon joel as aro, but lizzie allo, and think joel is very romance positive in terms of enjoying doing things that he knows lizzie likes, like giving kisses and dates and stuff ! even if he gets happiness from those through more of a giving satisfaction than anything romantic

>> lizzie + cleo: mutually crushing shadowrot pining is real, and I think they both vaguely know, but I kinda headcanon cleo as maybe greyromantic or lithromantic so I don't think they have any desire to go further than glancing at each other and blushing <3

>> joel + etho: queerplatonic behavior but no label the fucking freaks. I actually really think about their relationship in unique ways because I think dl soulbound would have given them both an ""excuse"" to be casually intimate with someone in a way they both struggle with walls around, and so they keep it up

>> etho + tango: unlabeled and weird about each other tangtho I will forever see as a pair of bros who will be going about their business, have an outrageously gay queerplatonic homoerotic moment, and then go back to acting like nothing happened while everyone else is ?????? and they will continue to happily never talk about it!!! ^_^

>> tango + cleo: platonic dating they're solidly, securely friends, but will go on dates, get each other gifts, hold hands, lots of dating type activities! and they've been jokingly called girlfriends enough times that they use the term in a platonic sense

>> lizzie + bdubs: casual romance my beloved rarepair shadubs. ily. I do headcanon bdubs as transfem so they're very much yuri YAYY but I just think they'd have a lot of fun with fluffy romantic feelings, and they have their own marriages so they feel no pressure to go deeper than that!! and they have fun kissing in the garden and having tea parties and pretty stuff <3

>> bdubs + tango: metamours they love to yell at each other and can't seem to get away from each other (just watch early trafficlife stuff these two in 3l/ll rule my fucking brain) but are tied together by mutual partnerships and actually understand each other incredibly well through it

>> joel + bdubs: metamours they're just too similar. like wayyyy too similar. they get in fights that seem like a mirror getting mad and have fun about ganging up on etho <3

>> lizzie + etho: metamours I just think they're niceeee and would do nice stuff togetherrr :] they have really interesting passing interactions canonically and I think when put in the same household, they'd get along really well

(the below are relationships in this grouping I hadn't really thought about in depth before, but this is a good opportunity to write a bit about em! they're all ofc technically metamours but I just think might not interact as much as those listed above)

>> lizzie + tango to be Quite honest I think this pairing is maybe the most dangerous out of any of them. something is going to explode and it's absolutely not going to be what they were trying to blow up it's probably the kitchen

>> tango + joel they Think they're the most dangerous pairing but they are cartoon characters. incredibly entertaining for the rest of the house tho <3

>> joel + cleo oh they'd have funnnn tbh I think they'd actually be reallyreally chill together, they'd probably do crafts in mutually happy silence (armor stands prolly)

[my-strange-attraction]

Hi I hope you’re doing well! I just wanted to ask for some advice/sorta rant since it’s been bugging me for awhile. I’m aroace and my best friend is ace and in a committed relationship, and she knows I’m aro but keeps bothering me about trying dating and talking about how great romance is. And whenever I mention my platonic crushes, while repeating that they’re platonic, she keeps treating them as if they’re romantic. I’ve already had conversations with her a few times about not talking as much about romance to me and not treating my platonic crushes as romantic ones, and she’s made some changes but now it’s just more implied? She’s a great friend otherwise it’s mainly ignorance and not understanding, I’m just not sure whether to wait for her to understand and mature (we’re still in high school and this is her first relationship) or continue talking to her? sorry I know there probably isn’t much advice you can give, it’s just kind of a thing

Thank you, hope you have a nice day!

Hi! Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, college has been kicking my butt, but now I'm finally on break so thank god.

I think what you've been doing is really all you can do in this situation. Open and honest communication is really key in most situations, and I think you've got a pretty realistic outlook. Considering the fact that you're both in high school and that it's her first relationship (also compounded with the fact that she's ace which imo makes her even more susceptible than most allos to place extra emphasis on romantic relationships) I do think part of the problem is definitely something that can be solved just by time passing and maturing.

The most important thing to remember, no matter what decision you make on what to do, is to prioritize your own mental well-being. If you can just wait for her to mature and it won't take a toll on your mental health, sure go for it. If you can have an honest and deep conversation with her without expending a detrimental amount of emotional energy, that's also a good course of action. If you can solve this without hurting yourself for the sake of someone who's not treating you with the respect you deserve, that's great. Make sure to just check in with yourself, though, because if it ends up having mental health ramifications for you, that's when you would want to consider leaving the friendship. It doesn't sound like it's gotten to that point, but I just want to make sure that's a factor you're always considering because it's very important.

I hope this was helpful, and thanks for asking! As always, anyone else with advice can add onto this post if they would like to, and help out anon.

[mnoxsk]

“True Elegance” (!Platonic Anya + Henry x Male!Reader)

Note: This story will be related to this post so if you haven’t seen it I suggest you read it or you might understand nothing! Another is that this will also be platonic between you and Henry!

Genre: Fluff/Scenario/Headcannons

Warnings: Mentions of blood, pedo being crushed to death, kidnapping corrupt politician, thoughts of torturing, and using their blood for artwork

Summary: During a parent teacher conference you were given the responsibility by Loid and Yor to be their substitute (since they were both busy with “work). “Coincidentally” meeting Henry Henderson as the teacher.

- Once you meet up with this man, expect him to keep his calm when he’s absolutely screaming inside from how elegant you are in person! You wern’t present during the interview for Anya however from every family getting a background check he was shocked that you were the uncle of Anya! “This man, who creates the most elegant of glass sculptures and paintings, is this kid’s uncle?!” YES SIR :)

-WILL MOST DEFINITELY SWITCH OUT WITH ANY TEACHER THAT ANYA WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET YOU (and Anya even knew who the teacher was going to be since Loid made her work hard to learn how to please that specific teacher) SO WHEN SHE SEES IT’S HIM SHE’S SHOCKED AND NERVOUS! 

-During the teacher conference another thing to expect is THIS MAN WILL TALK NON-STOP ABOUT YOUR WORK AND HOW ELEGANT IT IS THAN THE DAMN CHILD, WHICH THIS WHOLE CONFERENCE ABOUT! You’d have to tell this man to get back to the whole point of this meeting for him to actually talk about how Anya is doing! 

“The one that had the four stages of growth of an eagle, I found so very elegant!” He said while beaming. “Ah yes that one. I worked very hard on that one yet not many seem to like it alot so hearing that pleases me.” You said while smiling yet Anya, hiding her shock in what she hears from your thought. “The glass making was easy. The hard part was catching that pedo and killing him. For someone who’d love to prey on boys and girls for a long time, he’s speedy for when he’s the one getting preyed on. At least his blood was a pretty color to use for the final touch of the work.” You smiled to Henry, disguising that you were really smiling that you remember the screams and cries of that pathetic man while he was hopelessly crushed to bits.

-Expect Anya to never want her to be brought to any place or occasion that had any relation to your work. She just wishes her uncle wouldn’t try to think about how you make the “paint” every time it’s mentioned. And Anya will accept it, Uncle is worse than Mama when they think about their line of work and talk gruesome about it! AND EVEN HER TEACHER IS PRAISING YOU OF YOUR WORK IN FRONT OF YOU??? She’s rather having the worst time of her life and would rather prefer her being talked trash!

-After that expect that man try to reach out to you in any way possible! He’ll ask Anya how you’re doing, what kind of work you may be working on, for Anya to tell or ask you something,saying it’s from him, ANYTHING (and keep in mind Anya will most definitely be annoyed)! He found you so elegant the first time you met and want you to stay with him (platonically) so the presence you give with him will surely be 10 times more elegant!

-At that point Anya would just give you your address to him or inform him where you’ll be at a certain place or time so he’ll “coincidentally” meet you!  You take morning jogs and drink tea? ELEGANT! You don’t accept violence unless it’s considered justice? ELEGANT! You’re elegant yourself? HOW ELEGANT! Man is a king of praising you for things you’d consider small! Another thing he will do is call you, talking about plans for meeting up on a certain day while you’re busy killing a gross man and having to cancel plans on that day since you plan on burning him once you’re done collecting the man’s blood that same day!

“So what do you say, elegant sir? A trip to a golf course on Sunday?” He asks you through the phone. “Ah sorry, I probably can’t do it on that day. I’m still busy with making my painting for the next gallery and can’t spare for any breaks.” You say with a slightly mopey voice. “Your next painting will be truely elegant for sure! I’ll be sure to see when it’s released!” He raises his voice in confidence. As he says that he hears in the background, far but slightly well through the phone, screams and cries for help. “Is there anything going on at your home? I’m not so sure but I hear screaming.” You had that man who was a soon to be corrupted politician in your basement so that he wouldn’t try anything but never knew he could hit quite high vocal chords, slightly chuckling to yourself. “Ah that’s my air conditioning. I recently got it installed in my mansion however I learned after that the company made corrupted trash, unfortunately.” “How unfortunate indeed. If you want I could recommend you a rather more elegant brand and see for ourselves together once your done with your work?” He asks. “Sounds good. I’ll see you than after I’m done with my work!” You say cheerfully and before the politican could scream any more louder for help, through the basement, you hung up. As you put on your black leather gloves, covered in blood. You smile insanely crazy on your way to the basement, ready to make that politician wish he didn’t use his dirty tongue and throat of his.

That’s all there is for this scenario! If you want to request more click here or want to see more of my spy x family scenario’s then click here! Have a elegant day!

[mcfuckity]

you are so right about lumity being every where. sometimes i want to see posts about luz and eda or luz and her friends because i think those relationships trump any ship. but i’m always drowned in lumity everything and it’s nice to see someone else whose tired of that ship being forced down everyone else’s throats especially when they want to enjoy other dynamics involving luz

Understandable. Imma have to keep it a stack,,,, lumity just feels like starco to me. It’s just a huge chunk of why people watch toh to begin with. I don’t really like lumity though.

Amity has only changed to impress Luz. She definitely didn’t feel bad about her actions to Willow until Luz showed up and even then, she never truly cared about her friendships, just what Luz thought. She was perfectly fine being mean and saying rude comments and if she didn’t crush on Luz, she probably wouldn’t have changed. There wasn’t any real glimpse of Amity having a facade because it was truly her. What made her change? Not the fact that she probably missed Willow, not the realization of the harm from her actions, not even a second regular moral thought of “hey, this is wrong”. She did it because she was caught burning Willow’s memories by Luz and was forced to fix it. Nobody held Amity accountable because all her blame fell onto her parents.

I’m tired of the nice characters always liking bullies. Like, she didn’t bully Luz but she bullied Willow for years and it’s never acknowledged. They also just don’t really compliment each other in my opinion.

I’m biased though, because I do like Willuz but that’s because i think they’d fit in the context of the overall theme of the show. I believe that Luz and Willow could’ve been a cute happy couple being the first to offer each other kindness, in their times of need. People love to bring up that Luz is a bi afro latina so why not have her in a relationship with Willow who is blasian? Why does every relationship involving a poc have to have a white person instead of just 2 pocs. They also parallel each other with being rejects from their own worlds.

Even platonically, I love to see her interact with Gus because they’re such a chaotic duo. I enjoyed the dynamic of 2 bundles of chaos and their wildcard voice of reason. Willow, Luz, and Gus had a very natural friendship dynamic with all of them looking as if they were finally allowed to be themselves with each other.

I was also interested in seeing Eda start to consider Willow and Gus as her own. She already adopted Luz so seeing her react and care for more kids than she thought cared about her would’ve been heartwarming and interesting. Add that with having Lilith also realize what family she really tried to take Eda from. I feel like theres so many more relationships could’ve happened and been explored with all of the characters instead.

[ciasquare]

You might be aromantic if

I realised that the original post by the anagnori tumblr can no longer be located... This resource has been invaluable to me for years and I feel like it should be preserved. I’m glad that I copy pasted this list many years ago and I hope to continue to keep this resource available for all who need it.

This is a list of some common experiences that aromantic people share and is by no means a checklist that decides if you’re aromantic or not. Your sexual/romantic orientation is only your business and only you can decide how you identify. This list is just meant to help and nothing more!

When you discovered the word “aromantic,” it felt like something finally clicked into place for you.

Identifying as aromantic makes you feel relieved, free, happy, or more like yourself.

When you discovered the concept of a “squish” suddenly a lot of things made more sense to you.

You have trouble telling the difference between romantic and friendly feelings.

You’ve never had a crush on someone, or fallen in love.

You’re not sure if you’ve ever had a crush on someone or fallen in love.

You have trouble telling the difference between a crush and a squish, or between romantic and aesthetic/sexual/sensual attraction.

You have doubted whether crushes or love really exist, or if they’re just cultural constructs.

You find romance boring, annoying or upsetting when it appears in fiction, even if it’s written well.

You once thought that having a crush on someone meant you admired them or really wanted to be their friend.

You thought crushes were something you consciously decided to have, and selected an acquaintance or celebrity to be your crush, because everyone else was doing it.

You forgot which acquaintance or celebrity you were supposed to have a crush on.

If you’re not asexual, a “friends with benefits” relationship sounds ideal to you.

You have trouble relating, or feeling involved, when your friends discuss their romantic relationships or romantic feelings.

Falling in love doesn’t seem very exciting to you.

You don’t understand why other people make such a big deal out of having crushes or falling in love.

You don’t understand why people do ridiculous, irrational or over-the-top things in the name of love.

You don’t understand why finding someone sexually/aesthetically attractive would lead you to want a committed relationship with them.

Or, maybe you sort of understand those things in an abstract way, but you can’t really relate to them.

You have never had a romantic relationship - not because you couldn’t get one, but because you just never really bothered to try, or you liked being single better.

When a romantic relationship gets serious, it makes you feel cold, distant or uncomfortable.

Getting a romantic partner feels more like fulfilling an obligation, or something you’re supposed to do, than something you’re really enthusiastic about.

Your romantic partners always seem to be way more into the lovey-dovey stuff than you are.

A likable person suggests having a romantic relationship with you, and you’re indifferent to it - you’re open to trying it, but you won’t get disappointed without it. Other people may find your indifference bizarre or think you’re giving off mixed messages.

You have felt guilty about not loving your romantic partner as much as they loved you, even though you sincerely cared about them and wanted to love them back.

You have felt suffocated, repressed or tense in a romantic relationship, even though you really liked your partner and they hadn’t done anything wrong.

When your last romantic relationship ended, you felt relieved and free more than you felt sad, even if your partner broke it off, and even if you liked them very much as a person.

You’re more excited by making a new best friend than by falling in love.

You wouldn’t mind marrying your best friend and spending your life with them, even though you’re not in love with them.

You’d rather spend Friday night having a sleepover party with your buddies than going out on a date.

You want a best friend much more than you want a romantic relationship.

It’s not so much the idea of being single forever that bothers you, so much as being alone or unwanted.

You are either oblivious to other people flirting with you, or feel uncomfortable or threatened by it.

You are sometimes perceived as flirtatious when you only meant to be friendly.

You live in a large community and see or meet hundreds of people around your age every year, but none of them have ever stirred romantic feelings in you.

You recognize whether something is romantic or not by comparing it to other gestures, words and signals that your culture has taught you are romantic, rather than “feeling” the romance of it intuitively.

When you say or do romantic things, it feels like you’re following a script or copying romantic things you’ve seen elsewhere, rather than something spontaneous and natural to you.

When thinking about what sort of person you’d want to date, your criteria are identical to what you would want from a best friend.

The main benefit you get from a romantic relationship is either platonic, sensual, sexual, or a combination of those; the romantic aspect is okay but it’s not really the part you like most.

You have trouble imagining romantic activities that you would enjoy, unless those activities are also fun or interesting for you on a platonic or intellectual level.

You feel like your closest friends and/or queerplatonic partners are better at fulfilling your emotional needs than romantic partners would be.

You would rather be huggy, cuddly or emotionally intimate with all of your friends instead of reserving your intimacy for just one person.

You would rather have a queerplatonic relationship than a typical romantic relationship.

You don’t feel as if you’re missing anything in your life right now; having a romantic partner might be nice, but you don’t need it or seek it out.

The idea of being single forever sounds awesome to you.

You enjoy gestures and activities that are traditionally labeled “romantic,” but at no point during them do you actually feel attracted to whoever you’re with.

You don’t enoy gestures and activities that are traditionally labeled romantic, either because the romance aspect bothers you, or because all of them are just plain unappealing to you.

You avoid going places where people are likely to flirt with you, such as bars, parties, nightclubs, and concerts.

You’re not sure why other people enjoy romantic stories; you usually just find the lead characters to be annoying, boring or dysfunctional.

You like the idea of having a big wedding celebration more than the idea of actually marrying someone.

[carpisuns]

maryssa please post all of your marichat hot takes i need them for health reasons

please handle these absolutely scalding takes with care, miss mcwizzy. dont want u to hurt urself. also there are a lot of them so double warning aljsfasjldf

Carpisuns's Hot Marichat Takes That No One Asked For

omg WAIT.... for once someone actually DID ask for them SLKJFDJ ok scratch that

Carpisuns's Super Hot Marichat Takes That, Surprisingly, Someone Did Actually Ask For!! (And Will Probably Regret Asking for as Soon as They Click the Read More djdjdkdm)

marichat tropes are not any more tired/cringey than tropes for any other side of the square. like, what is the real difference between “princess” and “my lady” or a balcony date and a rooftop date lol. they’re all cute and also all have the potential to be overdone fjlaksdlj

the bell is immovable :) zipper is just for show

“chat noir” and “marinette” are not their “true selves.” and “adrien” and “ladybug” are not false/inauthentic versions of themselves. they are themselves all the time, but like any human their behavior changes depending on the situation. there isn’t like a separate list of “chat noir” traits and “adrien” traits or “marinette” traits and “ladybug” traits—all of their traits belong to them at all times whether they are suited up or not, and they are more than just the sum of their parts. they tend to be pretty comfortable interacting as marichat NOT because “they can finally show the real them” but because they both already know each other in another dynamic and there are no crushes or past rejections adding any pressure or uneasiness

marichat is not inherently sexist. yes, adrien wants to protect marinette, but that's not sexism; that's called being a caring friend. and marinette giving comfort to chat noir is not automatically playing into sexist gender roles. that is also being a caring friend. like in any good relationship, there is a healthy give and take. they protect and support and comfort each other. this how it is on all the sides which is why the love square is so great!

on a related note, there is no unhealthy power dynamic between marinette and chat noir. he doesn't think he's better than her because he's a superhero and she's "just a civilian"; he values her intelligence, creativity, skill, talent, strength, and leadership and would never consider her weak or look down on her in any way. and i wouldn’t really consider either of them the “leader” in this dynamic. outside of an active akuma situation they’re on pretty equal ground and i mean what is the power dynamic of two friends chillin’ lol

they take turns being the big/little spoon C:

marinette is not mad that chat likes her as “perfect ladybug” and not as “weak, clumsy marinette.” she has moments of insecurity when she is stressed but in general she has a pretty strong self-esteem and does not seek out or depend on chat noir’s affection for validation

stanning marichat does not mean hating ladrien!! ladrien is a dang good ship and if u don’t like it it then there is something sadly lacking in your understanding/appreciation of the love square—including marichat. also you are depriving yourself of something truly wonderful :(((

same if u hate marichat. most people have a favorite side of the square and that’s a-okay! but i fail to see how you can be a love square stan or a stan of any one side if you don’t enjoy and support all the other sides as well ??

ok but seriously for the love of everything please stop commenting on ladrien fics/art just to say “ladrien sucks, marichat supremacy!!1!!” -_- fun fact that actually makes everyone hate marichat/marichat stans lol and as a marichat stan myself i find the association with that toxicity very exhausting and frustrating !!

marichat is a slowburn friends-to-lovers ship. so if there is no slowburn or u skip friends and go straight to lovers then that is a different dynamic than what is presented in the show. i mean you can call it marichat because it still involves marinette and chat noir but i would not consider it like Official Brand™️ marichat tbh. i don’t wanna sound gatekeepery but also. that is my hot take lol

they’re not sexy,, they’re just very stupid and soft. i am continually confused and frustrated by the fact that marichat is still branded the Sin Ship™️ when canonically they could barely look each other in the eye after doing the traditional cheek kiss greeting lmao

yes there is Bad marichat out there that plays into the things i talked about above but there is also a lot of Good marichat and it is really not that hard to find. so when people say “i like canon marichat but i hate fanon marichat” i just like. don’t really know what that means? lol. like, you hate...all fan-created marichat content ? i assume you just dislike the Sin Ship and the true selves trope and whatnot but there is a lot more than that ?? and it’s sad to see it all get lumped together with the not-so-great stuff and branded Bad Fanon: Do Not Eat lol

marichat cannot exist in isolation. its very existence depends on being part of the square. this might seem like a weird thing to state explicitly but i’ve seen people get mad that there was too much adrienette/ladynoir in a marichat fic and that it wasn’t really “marichat” and i mean….what? lol. because it’s a civilian/hero combo, you have to show how it affects ladynoir and adrienette. u cant just have marichat be dating and then pretend like the other sides of the square don’t exist ? flsjadjk

totally platonic marichat....godly

romantic marichat developed from platonic marichat.....also godly

they would eat dirt and it would be weirdly cute and i have proof

even if marinette and chat noir fell for each other, they'd never just forget OG crush over even fully "get over" them imo. adrien and ladybug will always hold a special place in their heart and they will always love them in some way!

there’s no such thing as post-reveal marichat. if they know each other’s identities then the dynamic has changed and the square has all been absorbed into like Adrienette 2.0 lol

and for the hottest take of all:

marichat good

thank you for your time. please take a goodie bag on the way out

[startanewdream]

Five Stages of Starflower

Summary: James is oblivious, Lily is mostly okay with her unrequited love and Sirius has a few plans about this situation. For @keepingupwithpotters,@sunshine-marauders, @cellularphoneexplosion and @zephyrcove who all gave me the most Jily prompt of all time (“Are you flirting with me?” “You finally noticed?”) and for @magixbeans (“I refuse to stop irritating you until you give me attention.”). Thanks for helping me celebrate this day ❤

Warning only for a few f-words every now and then (Lily curses when she is upset).

Sirius knows it.

Sirius fucking Black knows it.

Lily had been careful ever since last semester when she started to realize the signs of those things. She’d tried to back away, to avoid more contact despite the fact they had exchanged letters through Summer (just normal conversation, talking about what was going on and their families and discussing their friends – it didn’t mean anything), and that they had seen each other (they just happened to be on Diagon Alley on the same day to shopping, which was smarter and safer—and also didn’t mean anything), and Lily had convinced herself that her feelings for him were entirely friendly and would remain so—if only they hadn’t become Heads together.

There was no way her feelings could remain amicable when she was required to stay together with James Potter for hours at a time, alone in the Prefects Room as they worked and planned, their hands brushing against each other sometimes; or when they would run away to share a hot chocolate at the kitchen, enjoying the fact that as Head Boy and Head Girl they could ignore a little more the curfew, and he’d make her laugh and would help her wipe off the chocolate out of the corner of her mouth.

Lily had fancied someone before, and she knew how to identify the signs, as pale as those previous signs seemed when it came to James. Still, she knew what meant the way she would shiver whenever he’d touched her, or how her heart would skip a beat when their eyes met without planning and he would grin deviously at her or how she would sit closer to him than she needed, just to catch a sniff more of that wonderful scent.

She was falling for James Potter and the worst part was that she’d totally missed the timing in which he fancied her back.

Because all those signs she saw in herself were unfortunately absent from him. James had apparently mastered the art of considering her as nothing more than his friend, because when he’d touched the corner of her mouth—and she had blinked to him, she really had, a blink that said we are alone now and you are touching my mouth can you just kiss me?—James had done nothing but smile nicely, friendly, drawing away.

And she absolutely knew he was treating her as just his friend when the very next week he’d asked her if she didn’t mind changing her Friday patrol rounds with Leanne Diggory. Fridays were the day they patrolled together until late in the night. Fridays were the days where they would go to the kitchen and share a drink and talk about life and it was their moment.

‘Sure,' she had said, acting as if she didn’t understand what his request meant for them. ‘Any particular reason?’

James had flushed then, his hand automatically flying to his hair like he did when he was nervous and after a moment he glanced at Leanne across the Prefects Room. Lily had followed the direction of his gaze; Leanne was smiling back at James and Lily understood even more.

‘Well,’ she said then, keeping her voice carefully light even as a crushing weight had taken residence in her chest. ‘It’s a pretty reason.'

She couldn’t fault James for not being interested in her anymore, but she couldn’t also just stop feeling that thing for him, not since there was no way for her to avoid him completely. So she resigned herself to having a platonic crush on James Potter, one that she administered very well until the day of the first Quidditch game of the season.

Lily had been so diligent that none of her friends had noticed her feelings for him—and she knew that because there was no way Mary or Dorcas would keep it silent if they suspected. She had been careful not to gasp when they were on the grounds and James had been dropped at the lake by Sirius, stepping out of the water and taking off his shirt to dry himself (but she had taken that memory to her heart and lost herself in dreams about him); she had not frowned when she saw James leaving his group at the last Hogsmeade trip to go talk with Leanne, flashing that dangerous grin of his to her (but she had punched her pillow in anger lately, wishing James had come to her).

And then there was the first Quidditch match and Gryffindor had won and in the post-game euphoria, Lily had made the tiny mistake of hugging James and keeping that guilty longing smile on her face when they had broken apart.

That’s when her gaze had met Sirius, and he had widened his eyes in surprise, taking in all that her smile meant—by the time Lily had rearranged her face into a normal expression, Sirius was smirking knowingly, that moron.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He knows. Lily knows he knows. Sirius knows Lily knows he knows.

It could be worse if it were any of other James’ friends, she reasons dismayingly. Remus would have come to talk to her and urge her to share her feelings with James; Peter would spill the word to James, unable to keep a secret from him.

But it doesn’t look like any of these other scenarios is really worse as she sees Sirius’ eyes shining with a predatory look, like a wolf that knows it got his prey.

She considers running away. But Lily is no coward, there is no place for her to go permanently and she believes in keeping her enemies closer, if Sirius could be considered as one, at any chance. That’s why she keeps her ground, pretending everything is nice and not at all bothered when she sees James is near the fireplace talking with Leanne Diggory.

It won’t fool Sirius, but Lily can keep her dignity at least.

And remaining alone at the drinks table allows for him to get closer to her, which is important for her to check how much damage she did today.

‘Enjoying the party, Evans?’

Lily nearly sighs. Nearly one year of friendship with the Marauders told her they only call her by the last name when they are in full teasing mode.

James calls her a lot by Evans, though, but it sounds nice and she rather likes it.

‘Same as always. Nice party.'

‘Oh, I thought you’d be feeling… too crowded.' Sirius throws a glance towards the fireplace and Lily doesn’t need to follow the direction of his gaze to know what he is talking about. ‘Maybe you wish you were at one of those Head meetings.'

Lily pretends to be amused. ‘Heads can enjoy parties too.'

‘One of the Heads is certainly enjoying the party if the party is happening back at the throat of Leanne Diggory—’

She can control her eyes enough to not look in their direction to confirm how literal Sirius is being right now, but she cannot stop the grimace on her face fast enough; it is a spasm of hurt and anger and jealousy, and it becomes obvious that Sirius saw all these emotions when his grin just increases.

Well, too late to still save her dignity.

‘Good for him. Now, if you excuse me—’

‘Oh, I don’t,’ he replies gladly. ‘Why, you seem a little green to me, Evans.'

‘It’s my eyes, maybe you didn’t notice their colour before.'

‘Well, I never particularly cared, but I remember a young bloke reciting that your eyes were pure emerald bestowing grace upon that poor bloke’s heart.'

‘Jade,’ she corrects before she can think better of it. ‘He compared them to jades.'

Sirius’ grin is criminal now. At least, it’s making her want to murder him.

‘My, Evans, for someone that threw a hex at him you seem to have memorized his words.'

‘He kneeled to recite that poem to me in the middle of the Common Room, what else could I do?’

‘Snogged him?’ Sirius suggests, arching one eyebrow when Lily shakes her head. ‘Just imagine, if you had snogged him back then, he might not be snogging someone else right now.'

It’s a fair assumption, but this time Lily doesn’t have to disguise any particular emotion. She doesn’t regret not going out with James before; they were far too different back then. He matured a lot since those days when he would ask her out when he would be so infatuated with her that it was annoying mostly…

Unfortunately, in the list of things he changed since growing up, his feelings for her were included.

That makes her frown.

‘He is free to do whatever he wants,’ she says, a safe mid-term.

‘Or whoever he wants.’

She closes her fists, wanting to punch something; most likely Sirius’ face, though she will settle for her pillow too.

‘Are you here for any reason or you just want to piss me, Black?’

‘Mentioning that James’ hands are all over Diggory’s bum would piss you?’

‘Ah, fuck off, Sirius,’ she says, not bothering anymore to pretend anything.

He laughs—a loud carefree sound that seems like a dog’s bark to warn that something is happening; in this case, that Lily Evans is making a fool of herself.

‘I will leave you alone—if you just admit it.’

‘Admit what?’

'Are we really playing this game, Evans? Let's not go through the five stages of Lily Evans' acceptance of her undying love for James Potter, shall we?'

Lily blinks, fighting not to splurge over her drink.

'I have no idea what you are talking about, Sirius.'

'Have it your way then. I just thought you should know, I was kidding. James' tongue is carefully kept inside his mouth.'

And he indicates the fireplace. Lily looks at it now and, sure enough, though James is still talking to Leanne, he is fairly apart from her, hands untouching, in a friendly stance.

When she looks back, Sirius is not there anymore, but wherever he is she knows he is smirking, that prat. Continue reading on AO3 :)

[druigswhores]

what died didn’t stay dead

(originally posted by vormirjumper)

dedicated to @starsvck and @artipotter hope u enjoy this <333

summary: the last thing you remember was fainting in wakanda thinking you saw your own fingertips turn to dust only to wake up in a world where natasha romanoff no longer existed. inspired by marjorie by taylor swift

content warning: natasha romanoff x fem!reader, set after endgame, angst, mentions of death, trauma, their relationship ending on a bad note, trust issues & previous steve x nat, (WANDAVISION SPOILERS AT THE END)

‘моя любовь’ = ‘my love’ in russian <3

REQUESTS ARE OPEN! (please lmk if anyone written something similar to this! & if you want more nat content lmk!)

masterlist

PART TWO

You forced your eyes open.

Pulling yourself up from the ground you glanced at your arms in confusion. You swore you saw your own hands turn to dust before fainting. You glanced around to take in your surroundings eyes widening in shock as you saw the hundreds of Wakandan's you fought beside minutes ago appearing out of dust. You stared speechless as you watched people materialise out of thin air, the dust forming into fingers, then a whole hand and eventually becoming a person who's mirroring your exact reaction.

You felt guilty about the first thought that came across your mind.

'Is Nat okay?' You panicked while rushing to look around, ignoring how you spent the last few years loathing her to hide your heartbreak.

You were an avenger since the beginning. The two of you were on the same team during the airport fight which wasn't surprising due to your history together. Despite the slight age difference between the two of you, your personalities worked well together which is why you got along well, so well in fact that those platonic feelings you thought you had for her developed into something more and somehow you found yourself in her bed many times in her arms with your bodies pressed against one another's, struggling to catch your breath, bliss written all over your face. Your legs were intertwined with hers as you embraced the warmth radiating off her. You refused to acknowledge the unspoken tension in the atmosphere due to the fear of speaking out about your feelings and end up ruining what you had. You couldn't help but let the insecurities build up as you gently caressed her cheek, her eyes met yours back in adoration, full of what could've been love.

But you knew she once looked at him in the same way.

"I love holding you in my arms моя любовь." She muttered, as she stroked your hair gently, you hummed in response, not trusting your own voice. What you both had felt right, you didn't want to ruin it, you didn't want to label what you had together due to the job you both have. Being an avenger doesn't exactly mean stability, anything could happen.

You remember the panic you felt when Ultron took her, the chance of losing her filled you with dread, but you also had faith. You knew how strong Natasha was. Your faith gave you strength and it kept you alive, Nat admired that about you.

The two of you fit together well, whether it was on the field or outside of the field. You could predict each other's moves and although telepathy isn't either of your powers, you know what the other was thinking. You made her better. You helped her wipe out the red in her ledger and when everyone's files was exposed to the globe you were right there by her side comforting her as she feared the reaction from everyone. You were there for her when nobody was and you stood by her side no matter what. Those feelings were reciprocated, you knew Natasha would've done anything for you.

She would even sacrifice herself for the possibility of you coming back.

Then the Accords happened and Nat betrayed the Accords, ending up on the run with Steve, Sam, Wanda and Vision. You were left alone at the compound with an injured Rhodey.

"How could you do this?" You spat out, voice full of hatred as you watched Natasha let Steve and Bucky get away. Your pistol shook in the palm of your hands, pointed directly at Natasha who lowered her own onto the ground, allowing herself to be defenceless.

"It's not that easy моя любовь, you out of all people should understand that." She explained, and you scoffed in response. The pet-name which once caused a flutter in your stomach now fuelling the fire that's building up. All the insecurities you felt during your relationship suddenly turned to hatred. You should've expected this, you should've expected that after all this time she would've chosen Steve over you.

"I guess you'll never change." You responded flatly, admitting defeat. You silently walked passed her and climbed out of the rubble that was created, allowing a wall to be in between the two of you not knowing you tore a piece of her heart as you did so.

That was two years ago.

You thought you'd never have to see her for a long time. You hoped you wouldn't have to see her. Clearly things never go the way you wanted it to go as you found yourself staring back at the person who once owned your heart.

"Well, you guys look like crap." Rhodey teased, wrapping the fellow avengers in his arms as you stood to the side, awkwardly watching the scene in front of you while fidgeting with your fingers. The atmosphere in the compound was comforting, it's been a long time since you've heard so much laughter in one room despite the war that's brewing.

Natasha, who was now blonde but as gorgeous as ever, hesitantly approached you. The two of you stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the next move.

"Romanoff." You nodded, greeting her before moving away to greet the other Avengers, missing the way she muttered the now bittersweet name she specifically picked you.

"моя любовь..."

Did she really love you? Or was it just for revenge? You believed that love blinded you, you managed to convince yourself that your love wasn't enough for her and that's why she left you. Your relationship with her died. It was over. You thought you buried it all, all your feelings. But you were wrong, when your eyes met her green eyes all those feelings came back to life, flowing through your veins.

After all this time you still loved her.

But your feelings for her weren't the only thing you couldn't bury.

Within an hour of reuniting with the Avengers, the team found themselves on the quinjet travelling to Wakanda. You wouldn't have said this out loud but you had faith that everything would be okay, Nat was finally by your side after all these years.

You felt as though nothing could go wrong.

That was a couple hours ago you estimated, you glance at Wanda who appeared a couple feet away from you the tears were evident on her face.

"Where is he?" Wanda cries out, clenching her fists, you saw the scarlet red energy glowing around her. You knew she must've been talking about Vsision who should've been on the ground next to her. "Wha- why does everything look different?" You realised, noticing the damages caused by the battle has disappeared. The grass was greener as ever. The corpses of the creatures you fought were no longer on the ground.

It looked as though the battle never took place.

You ran over to Wanda, helping her up from the ground when you hear someone call your name out. "That sounds like Sam." Wanda points out as the two of you held each other up.

"Wanda!" Sam called out.

"Come on, we gotta go! They need us! The fights not over yet!" He shouts from a distance, the two of you made your way to the direction you heard his voice come from, you saw all the superheroes surrounding him and a man in a red cloak. "What about Nat? Or Rhodey?" You questioned, looking for them in the crowd. You missed the sympathetic glance the man shot you before waving his hands up in the air, creating a yellow ring in the air that transformed into a portal.

"We're going to fight beside them right now." Sam confirms before flying through the portal.

The compound was completely destroyed. Your home was crumbling apart. Thor looked completely different, Tony had grey hair and Natasha was nowhere to be seen.

You wanted to finally tell her, tell her that you loved her with all of your heart.

You fought beside hundreds of Avengers that day, but you couldn't help searching for one specific Avenger. You ran over to Clint who was on the ground struggling to fight off a bunch of creatures, saving him within moments.

"Thanks kid." He pant, out of breath from all of the fighting. You smiled at him in response, reaching your hand out for him to take which he gratefully took, lifting himself up. "Have you bumped into Nat on the battlefield yet?" You asked, hopeful. There were hundreds of people fighting so you didn't expect to find her easily. The smile on Clint's face fell.

In that moment he relieved everything that happened moments ago. Flying to Vormir with Natasha, climbing the cliff with her, reminiscing about Budapest. And the way he witnessed her body hit the ground, the crack echoing so loudly he managed to hear it more than just once. He glanced down the cliff and saw her lifeless body faced towards his.

His closest friend. The person he trusted with his entire life. The person he named his son after. The Godmother of his kids.

Gone.

Just like that.

"I need to do this for her Clint, she's моя любовь." Nat whispered to him before smiling back at the oldest friend she had, pushing away from the cliff and inevitably falling to her death.

You found out what happened to Natasha, hours after.

The Avengers won, but at the cost of the lives of the people you cared the most about, the person you'd do anything for and the person who owned your heart the minute you met them. Clint broke the news to you, he felt as though you deserved to hear it from him.

"She loved you till the very end." He finished after explaining what happened on Vormir. You felt as though you couldn't breathe, like your soul was crushed and pulled away from you.

Natasha Romanoff was dead and there was nothing you could do about it.

She never got to hear that you felt the same towards her.

"I didn't think the ending to be so soon." You struggled to hold back a sob, holding the letter Clint gave you tightly in your arms. Scott somehow found a letter on the ground while trying to save Clint, it was slightly damp and covered in mud. But it was written for you in Natasha's handwriting.

You couldn't bring yourself to read the letter even nine days after the blip. You had to live in a world without her, a world where people drag her name through the mud even though she is the reason they're still standing. You adjust to a world without Natasha Romanoff and reading a letter she wrote for you months ago wouldn't help.

You regretted everything. You regret spending those last few years in anger, you should've stayed with her, you could've told her how much she meant to you. You could've told her you loved her, you could've held her in your arms once more. You would do anything to have her in your arms once again.

Sometimes it felt as though she was still there, laughing at something she saw on the TV. You always felt her presence around you after she passed away, it felt as though she never died. It felt as though a part of her lives through you.

You sat in the passenger seat of Wanda's car, staring at the Sword logo plastered on the side of the building, you could feel the letter in your back pocket, dying to be read. Wanda made her way back to the car, face flared in anger, tears threatening to spill.

"Wanda?" You called out as she got into the car, turning on the ignition but not pulling out of the car park. She sniffled quietly, wiping her eyes before glancing back to you. "I saw him." She responded, her eyes glancing to the folded paper on the backseat of the car, she could see the faint colour of red that was in the shape of a heart. "But they're not letting him have a funeral." You realised, looking back at your friend, heartbroken. "I figured at least one of them deserved a funeral, it's not fair. It's not fair that the world can just go on like nothing happened and we don't get to mourn the people we lost." Wanda rants, pulling out of the parking lot and beginning to drive.

"They both deserve a funeral." You agreed solemnly, remembering the fact that Natasha's body is at the bottom of a cliff in space in 2014.

"Where are we going now?" You asked, wanting to distract yourself from that thought. You felt as though you and Wanda were left to mourn your loved ones alone as the rest of the avengers scattered across the country.

"To the only thing I have left of him."

The two of you sat in silence as Wanda drove, you stared at the shrubbery outside the window before closing your eyes and resting your head on the window, allowing yourself to drift off.

It felt like it was only seconds later when you felt the car turn harshly, you opened your eyes and glanced around in confusion when you saw that you pulled into a quaint town, you had only just missed the town sign plastered with the words "West View." You watched the pedestrians walking by, noticing how some of them sat on their own with no one to comfort them similarly to you and Wanda.

The two of you pulled up to a plot of land with the foundation of a house on the ground, it looked at though the house never had the chance to get completed.

"Stay in the car, I won't take long." Wanda reassured you before reaching towards the back of the car to grab the folded up sheet of paper and getting out of the car. You nodded, staring at the built house next to the plot of land.

Your mind wanders as you stare at the home. You think about Natasha. You think about the future you could've had with her, living together in a quaint home like the one in front of you. No stress about being an avenger, just the two of you and your family. You softly smile as you imagine Natasha's reaction to wanting to adopt 5 cats, knowing she was more of cat person. You imagine holding her hand while walking down the street and watching movies with her in your shared bed. You wanting to stay in for the day and watch movies to ignore the real world outside and her letting you.

You think about what could've been.

A heart wrenching scream snaps you out of your thoughts, you rush out of the car and look for Wanda but is blinded by a scarlet red light that knocks you unconscious.

Your eyes open on command.

The room you stood in was black and white. It was a nicely decorated living room with a dining room connected to it, you couldn't pinpoint which decade the interior was from, too preoccupied by the woman standing in front of you.

Although the lack of colour in them, you could recognise those eyes from anywhere, that smile that you've wished to see was right in front of you. The dress she wore matched the decade and decor of the room, her hair curled up neatly. Natasha stood in front of you, reaching her hand out towards you waiting for you to take it.

You hesitantly reach out towards her, happiness flooding your emotions. She pulls you closer to her, welcoming you into a hug. The palm of her hands are warm as they rested on your back, you could feel her heartbeat as you laid your head on her chest, melting in her arms.

"Welcome home моя любовь."

[gilly-bj]

1: This is not a “why Levi will end up with Mikasa”, at all. I’m not trying to boost our confidence in RM because I don’t want us to get hurt again, okay? Fine. Always remember that those 10 pages might be even worse than 139 but we will never stop shipping RM . Always remember the 138 beautiful chapters and ignore the shitty one.

2: looong post. 

3: Constructive hmhmh no criticism to Erem*ka. Now let’s start.

No one ever asked me why I think Levi is the right man for Mikasa (and viceversa); when I interact with non rivamikas, they are too busy hating on me and my ship to show a bit of respect and interest towards my opinions and thoughts. I wrote this post because I think that this question needs to be answered, especially after 139. These are six reasons why I think that Levi deserves to be Mikasa’s man.

(I’m doing Levi version first because Mikasa is the one who’s in a toxic “relationship” with a possessive “man”)

i) He helped her with her development.

Since Season 1, Levi has always helped Mikasa to grow as a person. In fact, Levi was the first one who made her realize that her actions have consequences that sometimes are not very pleasant. She understood that, even if Eren is in danger, the other people around her exist and they might get hurt because of her reckless behaviors. Talking about Eren, only with Levi, Mikasa stopped being Eren’s obsessive mother and became an independent woman, which is exactly the opposite of what she’s now with her “love” Eren. I think that Levi will help Mikasa to move on from Eren once he will return to Paradise, and I also think that she will find someone to love. I remember Armin’s words in 139:

The fact that three years have passed and Mikasa is still single makes me realize that probably this “someone” is a man from her group of friends. They left her alone for three years (clap clap 👏 good job, you too Levi 😒), and she hasn’t fallen in love during those years, so maybe once they will return to Paradise she will meet again this “someone” and they will finally fall in love. Now, we have three candidates for this role:

Jean

Levi

Connie yes im serious

I know that Jean had a crush on Mikasa but, I think that he doesn’t love her anymore. To me, Jean realized that his feelings were not returned so He decided to give up on her, if he had feelings for her, he would have followed her to Paradise, don’t you think? And I think that Jean deserves more; I believe that you shouldn’t wait your crush for years, if you both fall in love then fine but if one of the two as a crush on the other for more than 5 years but the other doesn’t return his/her feelings then the other should say bye 👋🏻

Then we have Levi, and Connie yes I’m serious. I have already said why I think that Levi will help Mika to move on so I repeat myself. And I ship Conkasa 🙃🙂 nahhh im joking but they are cute.

ii) He respects her.

It was confirmed various times trough the story that Levi respects Mikasa, and viceversa. Respect is one of the “rudiments” of a relationship. Yesterday, I was reading this article online about why respect is important in a relationship, and the first point got me in a particular way: 

“1. Respect sees through the good and learns to accept the bad. When you are in love with someone, all you see are their best qualities, both inside and out. At the same time, you set aside their flaws and weaknesses, to tolerate these as much as you can. Respect doesn’t work that way.

When you have respect for the person you chose to be in a relationship with, you come to accept the person’s beauty and flaws, the bitter and sweet, and good and the bad. And from the acceptance, you both learn to adjust to each other’s systems and come up with a compromise that you can live with. Toppled with love, respect serves as the fuel to keep any relationship moving” 

The last part reminds me of Rivamika; Levi and Mikasa both know that the other has his own beauty and flaws, and they accept each other that way. They don’t set those flaws aside to tolerate each other more, they just accept them and they love each other the way they are. With Eren instead, Mikasa has always set aside his flaws because she didn’t want to see them and she always misinterpreted his actions. I want to see an independent woman and not a girl who doesn’t want to accept that her crush is not perfect. Mikasa has to understand that it’s okay if she says “fuck you” for once. Wake up girl.

iii) He cares for her.

Levi has always cared for Mikasa since Season 1, even if I think that in the beginning, he cared for her just as a simple soldier since they didn’t know each other that much. After their first meeting, things changed on Levi’s side and on Mikasa’s as well; she learned to respect him, and Levi started to understand that gloomy brat, to the point that she became special to him; indeed, the way Levi treats Mikasa is very different from the way he treats everyone else, even the other women (Petra, Hisu, Hanji, Sasha) Please my Mika wake up. It’s sad that many think it’s just simple affection because “oh they are cousins he loves her just like a sister bla bla bla”. Sorry to tell you but I don’t have that much tension with my brother 😏😏 and some blind people still say that he hates when he:

Broke his ankle to save her

Always reminds her to calm down and to not be reckless because she can hurt the others but also herself

Always looks at her from afar to check if she’s okay

Literally cried when she was having one of her headaches (138)

Blind people 😏

iiii) He understands her.

Levi understands Mikasa’s feelings; they are very similar, and Mikasa found herself in situations Levi had already lived, from loosing her friends and family to the awakening of their power. And that’s also why Levi plays a big part in her development; remember in Season 1 when Annie kidnapped Eren and Mikasa lost her mind? Okay so when Levi saw her like that, he reminded of his younger self’s reaction to Isabel and Farlan’s death, and that’s why he acted in a soft way towards her; he already knew that in that situation, she wouldn’t have even looked at him if he didn’t act in a soft way. He knew she was lost so he took control of the situation.

Screenshot from: chapter 30.

iiiii) He’s a real man.

In my personal vocabulary, 139 Eren doesn’t fit the definition of man. Someone that treats a woman like that doesn’t deserve to be called “man” (same with women obviously). To me, a man is someone that’s able to respect his lover, that doesn’t treat her like an object and that thinks about her happiness first (that’s literally what love means lmao) (and more). Saying “I want her to be happy” is not enough when he wrapped the scarf around her again, knowing that she was suffering and she was not able to set herself free. If Eren really loved her, he wouldn’t wrapped the scarf around her again. Levi instead fits my definition of “man”, I’d say perfectly. He has always respected her, and he wants the best for Mikasa. He showed to love her, at least platonically, numerous times, he showed care about her physical and mental well-being. I think that Levi could make Mikasa feel loved, what her “lover” Eren has never done since he always treated her badly. Mikasa doesn’t know much about relationships, and Levi too, but with Levi she would understand what a real relationship looks like. And personally, I don’t want Mikasa to end up with someone like 139 Eren.

iiiiii) He his her ideal type and they share the same life goals.

Two months ago, I wrote this post named “How much are Mikasa and Levi compatible?”. There I listed all the reasons why I believe that Levi and Mikasa are each other’s ideal type. I’m not going to repeat myself, so if you want to read it, click here. Anyway, they share the same life goals, that are: a peaceful life in the middle of nature and a family since they both have a soft spot on children.

What do you think? Do you have other reasons why you think that Levi is perfect for Mikasa? I hope you liked this post and feel free to share your opinions!

[thickness-protection-program]

Dear TPP,

I'll try to keep this as short as possible, I can ramble pretty bad. So I have a long distance friend, m/m both of us in early 30s, that I've know for a couple years. We mostly interact in a group dynamic (he's a casual small streamer and the regulars have become a group of friends).  Anyway it began as a normal "ooo cute stranger" crush, but now we've known each other for quite a while and my feelings have certainly grown. And I really think he has some very similar feelings for me (I have several points to think this but brevity).  And here is where the problems begin.

Both of us are more on the reserved/shy side and pretty much refuse to plainly say how we feel. So of course the solution is to just take the leap and say "boy I have strong feelings for you and what about it?" And I get that. And I'm working on trying to get that courage. BUT (here's the next problem) our relationship has a bit of an imbalance. I know what he looks like, since he does stream (on twitch) and the occasional selfie, and the most of myself he has ever seen is a couple "new haircut" pics that were only eyeballs and up, bcus that's the only part of myself I'm not afraid to show others. This is bcus I'm a midwestern 2-3 on a good day, and I have many times over had the app experience of "having a good conversation with a guy, then I finally send them my pics and get instantly blocked". Therefore I tend to refrain from sharing or even taking selfies. So I have an incredible fear of if I take the leap to express my true feelings, then I will of course have to show him who I am literally. And as I said above it's not a great presentation. I would I be able to continue to maintain the friendship if all the sudden things change after he sees me? And I know he's not enough of an asshole to just outright block and ghost me when he realizes I'm ugly so that will just leave us both in a terrible and awkward place.

Now on top of all of that if miraculously the feelings are reciprocated, and somehow he doesn't find me too ugly (since I know ppl always think of themselves as way uglier than other ppl think of them but I'm legit pretty bottom barrel) then we have our final major problem. That being I have so many problems and aspects that are often just flat out "deal breakers" for ppl. I think him getting involved with me is a huge mistake and for his own good I would not want to pull him into my abyss of issues or go through my laundry list of possible deal breakers.

All in all that basically sums it up. And I do apologize for dumping this on you (I just saw your post that said something like TPP advice is open), and I don't like discussing my personal matters with ppl in my immediacy (another problem of mine haha) so I have been wanting to discuss this with a third party. In a way I feel like I know what I need to do, but I just want to bounce it off someone for idea, and maybe what order to proceed and see if maybe I really am just THAT insane and I should just go live in a cave.

Sincerely,

Neurotic Sword

Hmm ok. First off I wanna say there is no such thing as being ugly and anybody who treats you poorly based off of how they perceive you is a reflection on THEM not you. And how you perceive yourself is much more important than how anybody else perceives you, so don't let anybody make you feel bad for taking selfies and loving yourself.

As for this specific situation, I can understand where you're coming from. I do think it is important though that whoever you're wanting to pursue any sort or platonic or romantic relationship with knows what you look like. Obviously you don't have to like send a picture every day or anything but I feel like knowing what you look like builds a base layer of trust since you know for sure who you're talking to. You don't necessarily have to outright be like "hey I like you" just yet but eventually he would have to see you. And if he responds negatively then babe you dodged a bullet bc everybody deserves respect no matter what you look like. I don't know any specifics but I do feel like if you guys have been talking for this long then the relationship shouldn't be broken by a face reveal.

Also, babe, it's not good to yourself to bring yourself down like this. Yes all your feelings and emotions are valid but you are not this horrible person you think you are. Getting with you is NOT a mistake but a blessing. But again I don't know the specifics so I can't really say anything in detail but ultimately you have to do what's best for YOU not what's best for anybody else. And trust me I know what it's like being shy but shyness has to take a backseat when it comes to doing what's best for your own happiness

I'm not sure if any of this helps or is useful but if you have anything else to say I'm here

[glassesandswords]

Rate: Jean x Mikasa, Reiner x Bertholdt, Levi x Eren, Levi x Mikasa, Kenny x Uri

Oof, okay, there's a lot to unload there.

Disclaimer: These ratings are my personal, biased opinions, and are purely for entertainment purposes. 1. Jeankasa: To be very honest, I like this ship better than Eremika. I think it makes a lot of sense. Jean always had a crush on Mikasa and was jealous of Eren but he had never even once let it affect their teamwork. He had also saved Mikasa and kept a look out for her safety many times. I think they grew closer post time-skip and Mikasa eventually warmed up to him. After the events in the manga, I can't think of anyone better than Jean for Mikasa to grow old with. After all, he knows exactly what she has been through. The only thing this ship lacks is more canon evidence that Mikasa cared about Jean, although personally, I believe she did. Favourite moment: "No, it's not okay. Tell me how he hurt her." (season 4) Canon rating: 8/10 AU rating: 9/10 2. ReiBert: Good ship. I really cannot think of a time when the two of them haven't been together or were thinking of each other until season 4. I have a feeling that Bert did not get enough closure like the way that JeanMarco did. This is the best ship I can think of for both of these characters. Their introvert-extrovert chemistry is unmatched. Reiner kept pushing the shy Berty forward, urged him to take initiative, and gave him the boost of confidence that he needed all the time. Bert acted as Reiner's anchor, pulling him back from his split-personality disorder and being extremely understanding of his trauma. Bert was the only one who was kind and gentle to Reiner throughout. I love the chemistry they have together and I just wish that Reiner thought more about him in season 4, especially during the final arc. Favorite moment: When Bert let go of the opportunity to blow everyone up during the Shiganshina arc, choosing instead to go check on Reiner after seeing his head blown off by the Thunder Spears. Canon rating: 9.5/10 AU rating: 10/10 3. Ereri: I will be looking at their chemistry from a dad-son perspective than a romantic one. Eren used to admire Levi a lot, and I think he still did even at the end of the manga. When Levi first kicked the hell out of Eren, I was scandalized, but it soon became apparent as to how much he cared about him. Since the whole series was just Eren getting kidnapped and Levi trying to save him, and then Eren trying to destroy the world and Levi trying to stop him, they were separated for more time than they were together in the canonical events. Levi himself admitted that he had looked at Eren as the 'hope of humanity' and was crushed to know that Eren betrayed them in the end. I think Levi might have understood why Eren did what he did without Eren having to explain himself to him, but I don't think he would ever forgive him for doing that. Favourite moment: "Eren, I'm sorry for doing this again to you, but choose what you want to do." (in the Reiss Chapel during Season 3) Canon Rating: 4/10 AU rating: 7/10 4. Rivamika: Another ship I'll be looking at from a rather platonic perspective. Levi and Mikasa have always seemed very similar to me. They have the same sense of strong loyalty, but the two of them started on a very rocky relationship at first due to Levi's stunt at the courtroom. Mikasa is the only person from the 104th who did not put Levi in a pedestal and was not afraid to call him out for not protecting Eren in the Forest of the Giant Trees. I like how Levi still risked his life to save Mikasa, breaking his ankle in the process and how and how Mikasa felt guilty and responsible for putting Levi out of action during the entirety of Season 2. She slowly grew to respect him and obey his orders instead of holding grudges and it was satisfying to see their trust build up as the series progressed. However, they barely had any interactions apart from giving and taking orders after season three. Favourite moment: "You distract her, I'll cut her up." (female titan fight) Canon rating: 4/10 AU rating: 6/10 5. KenUri: This is a ship I really don't think of much, but now that I am thinking of it, it is pretty solid. It is

usually the same story with all the Ackermans- they are in their lowest point in their lives, then they meet someone who changes their perception of the entire world, and they get really attached to that person. What I really like about this ship is that it does not diminish Kenny's personality in any way and Kenny still pursues his own ambitions after his death. Kenny wanted to get the chance to look at the world the same way that Uri did. Uri's values and perception of peace intrigued him enough to consider that way of living, even if he couldn't imagine it no matter how much he tried to. Still, he had a huge amount of respect for him and thought about him during his last minutes. Uri gave Kenny something worthy enough to be drunk on. It is a very subtle ship, but one that made a huge impact on the story. Kenny's words to Levi reflecting on his life affected Levi's major decisions later in the story as well. Favourite moment: Uri bowing to Kenny to ask for forgiveness for the Ackerman prosecution. Canon Rating: 7.5/10 AU rating: 8.5/10

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: March 30th, 2021- Part 1

We’ve been really focused on getting the Step 3 DLC done and keeping up with asks kind of got away from me, aha. Thank you for waiting for a reply! We’re still definitely behind, but here’s a good chunk of responses!

I love Our Life so much but if the release of the step 3 dlc is in April, please don't "release" it on April 1, my poor heart can't take that prank 😭

Don’t worry! I’m horrible at pranks, haha. When we do post something specifically for April Fool’s it’s always to pretend it’s a joke when in reality it’s something we’re actually planning to do. But we don’t have anything like that arranged for this year. Any posts on April 1st will just be like normal.

Omigod, can you end the game in love with Cove but not in a relationship? My character stayed calm at the restaurant and Cove slept over at her home and I think I may have missed it. I'm delirious if I did, may never stop laughing. The children are idiots 

Haha, yes, it is possible to be in love and still not get into an actual relationship. There’s no forced ending where the two are made to confess their feelings and accept, it’s all optional/avoidable.

How can you see the new main character cut-in images? I'm not trying to be rude, but, all of my playthroughs, but I haven't seen them yet. (I know you can go through an entire game without seeing them, but I have went through multiple games.) 

It’s a bit of a spoiler to say here, but you can check out the guide we posted on Steam HERE!

Is it possible to win first place in the library quiz with Lizzy (Step 1 DLC) 

Yep, it is! Someone made a guide for the answers HERE (it’s also on Steam). We probably shouldn’t have required a perfect score to win a children quiz, but oh well, haha.

Hello!

In the future (in step 4) can you marry Cove even if you are friends? I would love to have a platonic wedding with him!

I’m afraid not. As much as he cares for the MC when they’re besties, Cove would only really want an official marriage if it’s based on romance.

Hello! I bumped into Our Life randomly last month, and it is one of the best coincidences I have ever laid on. I love how the choices and little details in the story changes throughout the game, and I'm excited to keep supporting you! I'm absolutely in love with Cove and would like to ask what keeps him to be especially interested in the MC? Other than how you can choose what fondness level you have with him, what ultimately leads him to be in sync with us? Sorry if it's a little much & thank u! 

Cove likes the MC because, regardless of the different personality traits you can give the MC, they meet him on his level, listen to him, understand him (even if you’re indifferent and not really close the MC still gets where he’s coming from), and if you’re fond/crush/love than you’re there for him. He finds the MC someone he can respect, trust, and, if they’re close, feel safe with. I’m glad you enjoyed the game!

hi there! for xoxo droplets i see the that female pronouns are used in the description, in the actual game can you change the pronouns or are they stuck as female? i'm aware the game is free, but i have a bad habit of buying dlc's before playing the game so it would be helpful to know before i spend money on it. if anything i'll save that money for more our life dlcs when they come out :D

XOXO Droplets does have a set MC. It’s the story of a specific person rather than a game about making your own story. All of our games prior to Our Life were about exploring MCs that were fully fleshed out people in their own right, so you can’t get the OL experience from what we did before. But we do plan to do more custom-style MCs going forward from here!

For the our life nsfw dlc, will you have to be in the patron to have it or  will there be another way for people who really support the game but can't pay to get it? 

I’m afraid not. We might put it up for sale somewhere other than Patreon someday (though never on Steam or Itch) since we know not everyone can use that site, but it will still cost money on any other hosting page we use. It’s unfortunately not a piece of content we can give away for free.

Hello! I finally got to play Xoxo Blood Droplets and it mentioned about a DLC coming out soon. Is it already out or are you still planning it?

We are still planning to finish it when we can, we just had to put it on hold because 2020 was a tough year and we needed to put all our focus on Our Life. There’s some of the extra DLC stories available for beta testing on the Patreon.

Is there a link to the soundtrack for Xoxo Blood Droplets? I really like the music in this game! 

That’s not available yet, but we’ll probably put it up for sale once the rest of the stories are done.

Would there be any chance for XOXO Droplets OSTs to be released in the future? (Please take my money-) 

We might! There are some things we wanna do and fix before we really start advertising XOXO Droplets things again, but hopefully it all comes together.

Why does Cove dislike Shiloh so much despite all of Shiloh's efforts to get along? I can understand his dislike for Lizzie, but why Shiloh? 

They met under bad terms (with an arranged play date he had no choice in), Shiloh’s sort of pushy himself when it comes to trying to get along, and Cove thinks he’s just kind of unusual in how he interacts/reacts with people. They don’t click, basically.

Is there a way to have your character be a tsundere? And have Cove toughened up a bit due to that? Sorry if the is a stupid question! ^^;

Maybe? The options in the game aren’t based on those types of personality tropes and I don’t know them well enough to say if you can accurately find a way to make it work with the available options. But it’s not a stupid question, I’m sure plenty of other people have considered something similar c:

do voiced names work only with their exact spelling? cause my mc is called Sophia and one of the voiced names is Soffia so i was wondering but if only works like that it's fine (sorry if i made any mistakes, english isn't my first language) 

“Voice” and “text” are separate! You can pick the “voice” you want and then type in whatever “text” you prefer. And your English is really good.

Will OL:NF be based on a season/break like the first game? Or some other type of setting? 

Our Life: Now & Forever takes place over the full course of Autumn. So, the start of school and then into the fall holiday season type of time period.

Will we ever see a jealous cove😭😭 please im begging u- 

Only in small ways, really. Sadly, I’m just not someone who enjoys jealousy in stories and therefore I don’t know how to implement it in a way that feels enjoyable. Maybe I’ll figure out a angle I can work with in future projects.

Do you have any plans with Our Life once step 4 has been released along with step 3's DLCs? 

After the Step 3 DLCs and Step 4 we’ll be releasing the Cove wedding DLC, the Derek romance DLC, and then the Baxter romance DLC. The project will likely be considered fully complete at that point.

Hello, I just needed to first of all sat how amazed I was when I discovered this game. I thought I would be disappointed by the lack of love interests, but you worked so hard to make sure Cove is the Best Boy for so many different people!! It really has been my comfort game for a while now, and I think all the different choices you allow make it the best romance game I’ve played in my life. The only problem is now my expectations for love are Cove level, and no one can live up to that. You’ve put so much consideration to make this game super inclusive and I think it’s amazing. If I can ask, for the exclusive NSFW Patreon dlc, will it only be available for the month it comes out? Or could I become a patron months later and still be able to download it. I just don’t have a job right now otherwise I would LOVE to subscribe to your Patreon and definitely will once I have the money again!! Thank you so so much for making such a lovely game that’s brought me so much joy.

&

Hiya! I'm so sorry for sounding like a complete degenerate for asking, but will the nsfw moment on patreon still be available even if i'm not a patron of the month it comes out? (e.g. i didnt pay/join the necessary tier before the moment is released) Thank you for your hard work on OL, I really connected with Cove in a way I never anticipated.

Thank you very much for such kind words! The Patreon DLC will be up for download on the Patreon indefinitely once it’s done. Just like the normal DLCs, you can pay to get it whenever you like but it won’t be up for sale until it’s finished. So take all the time you need.

Sorry to bother you guys, but there was an earlier ask detailing the OL LI's love languages and I was just wondering- Would that be for them personally, as in what they do, or the love language they enjoy receiving the most? Because I know for some people it's different for both on giving and receiving and was a bit confused, haha. Sorry for the trouble, your games are really nice!

For Cove and Derek it’s what they like to receive and what they give. For Baxter, it’s what he likes to get. What he gives is tailored to his partner. He’s flexible that way~ And it’s no trouble.

asking (and also fanning... fanboying? fangirling? fanpersoning? screw it- from a distance) anonymously because my confidence is nonexistent.

will you be doing a kickstarter for our life: now and forever? i know it's probably been asked and mentioned before, but will you be doing a kickstarter akin to the one done for our life: beginnings and always? if so, will you be doing similar tier rewards? (if you guys do so, i will [politely] throw my money at you).

now, to the fan.. personing? FAN. uhm. to the part where this anonymous agender idiot will begin to act as the fan they are.

THE GAME IS SO. SO NICE. IT'S CUSTOMIZABLE. I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT PART. AAAAA I ALSO ENJOY THAT YOU GAVE US THE OPTION TO JUST STAY BEST FRIENDS OR SOMETHING A8DBAIHEW- AND YOU INCLUDED AROS AND ACES IN THAT SEXUALITY CHOOSING PART- aaaAAA AND YOU MADE ELIZABETH FILIPINO- THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR CREATING SUCH AN INCLUSIVE GAME!!!

to summarize; will you be doing a kickstarter? and thank you for creating such a nice game. i, and likely the majority if not all of those who have played the game, am thankful.

Aw, thanks <3! I’m so happy it was such a nice experience for you. We are planning on having a Kickstarter for Our Life: Now & Forever. It’ll have similar rewards to the Our Life: O&A Kickstarter, but some changes will have to be made. Like, we’ll definitely need to increase the rate for getting a voiced name. Originally it was $3USD, which was super low for how much work it really took to add in a customized piece of voice acting, aha. Live and learn.

So sorry if you've already answered this, I looked but I couldn't find anything. Is the 18+ DLC coming out alongside the Step 3 DLC, or do they have different development timelines entirely? I'm so excited for all the DLC coming out in the future, and even though the release dates aren't out, I'm already counting down the days. :)

They have different development times and will come out separately. Despite taking place in the same Step period, they’re disconnected pieces of content and making progress on one doesn’t mean the other is closer to being finished. The normal Step 3 DLC is releasing first. It’s great to hear you’re looking forward to them!

Hey!! I'm absolutely LOVING Our Life! I have been pondering on one question though, what's Cove's ethnicity, if there is a set one? Or is it something we can Headcanon? 

&

hi hi! i wanted to say first of all that i absolutely adore our life. it's one of my favourite games of 2020, and i think it was just the perfect dose of positivity we all needed, even if you didn't intend to release it during such a hectic year lol! secondly, i wanted to say: if it's alright to ask, what ethnicity is cove? :-0 and what about his parents? i was just curious about it ^^)/ thank you!!

Cove’s mom, Kyra, is white. But his dad’s, Cliff’s, race doesn’t come up and players are able to headcanon it. So Cove is half white and half whatever you prefer Cliff to be! 

hello! there was a post on the patreon where you can run your fingers down cove's chest in errands - how do you get that scene? ♥ 

That was an old mistake on my part- you can only get that scene in the Ending rather Errands. You have to leave the big family dinner at the restaurant to go into the car, be dating Cove for a while, have Cove come see you there, and then mention using your hands when Cove makes a joke about hands.

in baxter’s dlc, is there any point where you can tell him about the previous renters of the condo? 

You can talk to him about that in the normal Step 3 DLC!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you for all the interest in our games everybody :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog