#i’m happy to see poly rep obviously

[magnusthepuppet]

hey guys. i’m back. and i’m a changed man. i will never be the same again. words cannot describe how amazing those episodes were to me. the symbolism. the tragedy. the pain. but most importantly, the hope. the hope that people can grow and change and love.

i knew they’d end episode three with some sort of cliffhanger, but jesus christ this was so much better then i could’ve ever imagined.

[blazewatergem]

Thoughts on poly representation? what is done wrong, how to do it well, stuffs like that. (only if you wanna, of course :D)

Obviously I love polyam representation, it’s always awesome to see myself in characters, it just also sucks because every time I see it...I know it won’t last. I shouldn’t feel that way, but I swear every time I think it’ll work out, it doesn’t.

Pardon my rant here, but I’m dragging up a show I straight up abandoned over this. Freeform’s Sirens was a show that held out for three seasons, and I freaking loved it. The sirens had serious design work put in, the town had lore built up to withstand any questioning, but the main couple was PERFECT. They had our main siren fall in love with both girlfriend and boyfriend! And she was in love all right! Cuddles in bed, met the parents over dinner, it was amazing. I was so happy to see it.

Then in the final season, they cut out the human girlfriend. Suddenly our main siren was only interested in the guy, and I literally cannot tell you what happened because I am still not sure what happened. Even if the blame could be put on the show being canceled, it would’ve been so easy to just let the three be happy.

The best part of polyam rep is there’s multiple ways to do it, a very versatile trope if you will. You can do the classic V where two people date one person but not each other, a triangle which is the connected version, or just...go feral. Communication is key, but other than that as long as everyone is talking - there you go! Representation! There’s so many different ways, you’d think it would almost be easier for show writers to make these relationships, yknow, last.

To sum all this up, I just want to see some polyam rep that doesn’t fall apart. Too often do I see it where one partner dies, or break up, or for some reason just happily goes into monogamy.

I want one time to see a happily ever after, polyamorous edition.

[ziracona]

claud/jake/dwight anon here! maybe i’ll just go by wisteria since i’ll be popping up in your askbox from time to time :D

shippy hcs would be wonderful! i was referring to them as an established poly relationship post fic; i actually saw the comment where you were talking about how claudette can fit into different relationships and thought that was so fitting (and such a testament to the beauty of her character, but thats another long winded ask to send another day). once again, thanks for putting out ILM into this world. it’s a joy to read, reread, and treasure <3

Alrighty Wisteria! 

Also I’m glad because I initially read it that way and was halfway to answering when I was like ‘wait,’ but my instincts were correct haha.

Claudette/Jake/Dwight is an interesting poly ship. It’s funny, because obviously both of them love her and she loves both of them. Just, I don’t think her priority has ever been having a romantic relationship, and neither has theirs. I also think it just kind of...wouldn’t occur to Dwight or Jake that that was a thing. Like, they know about polyamoury, they know it exists. But I feel like straight up there’d like, be an escape anniversary party or something, and she gives them both super heart felt gifts she clearly loved to make, and they’re both touched, give hugs, pass her their own sweetly made things, last little group hug, she’s like “Love you guys” and as she runs off to go give out other gifts to other loved ones, Jake’s super sincerely like “You too,” and Dwight’s like *looks at him, looks at her, smiles* “Yeah. Love you.” and she’s gone, and someone who they were chatting with before (probably Meg, Nea, or Ace) would joke something like “Why didn’t you two just also marry Claudette? You’d be such a happy trio” casually offhand, and they’d be like “Haha yeah!  ... ... ... haha...yeah.... ? (O_O);” type thing that would have to happen, because otherwise they just like, wouldn’t think about it. 

Once they did, though, I feel like it would definitely be the same event that clued them both in, so they’d both be like “Hmmm” at the same time, and pick up on that, and talk first, and be like “...Yeah, I mean. Maybe? But would she even be comfortable with that? Is it weird?” And Jake, who has the most secure identity in this area, would not really have any issue from the get-go and would mostly be like “Boy am I stupid for this never occurring to me once”. Dwight would need more time to think and talk stuff through and figure himself out, but is a lot more comfortable than he was. Claudette would be the last one. They’d both approach her at some point, and it would be incredibly awkward and kind of a disaster despite the fact they practiced and thought they had a gameplan, and she’s just like, “What? ...What?” and confused, and she’s a very worry-prone person, so she’d be like “Oh no, did I do something? Is this bad? Do they just feel bad for me? Since I’m not dating and they want me to feel included? Is this a bad idea? What do I even actually want?” and since she’s got the least experience dating, she’d take the longest to think things through. Would talk to Meg, and Quentin, and Philip, and her parents, and Ace. And they’d all help, but Meg would be the most help. Because Meg’s simple. She’d just say, “Well, do you want to be dating them both?” and Claudette would be like, “Well. I don’t know. I love them. And it might be nice to have a romantic relationship with someone I love someday. But I don’t know if this is how I want that, or if it would be good, because I have no idea what this would look or feel like,” and Meg would be like, “Well then why don’t you just like, go on a few dates/hangs like you’re dating, and see if it’s fun and good, or uncomfortable and bad, and if you three all feel like it fits and makes life even better, go for it, and if it turns out to be a mistake like that time Jake and I really thought we’d get some hella traction making out, then say ‘Well that was awful lol. Friends it is!’ and Susie and I will take all of you for drunk lazer-tag.”

And that works, because well, it’s more sensible than any amount of introspection without experience, or thinking, or worrying is. So they give it a go for like a week, and it’s awkward as hell for like the first fifteen minutes, but this is a trio of people who’ve known each other so long and been so fundamentally entrenched in each others’ lives for years, and love and trust each other so completely and deeply, it really can’t be that awkawrd, and everyone has prepped best they can, and kind of laugh at themselves, and just like, spend the day at theme park, and get food, and laugh and talk about life like always, but just this time with a kind of romantic shade, and it’s nice. And there’s a lot of days like that--not all so big, more just, at home, hanging out, doing whatever. And it is weird, because none of them has done this before, but. It’s also fun. And none of them have any weird kind of favoritism insecurities, because they were already pretty well and equally entrenched in each others’ lives before, and it’s fun. Jake is strategic because he’s kind of the planning mind behind this, and gets advice from Meg, and they marathon a lot of Leverage with only Jake knowing this is a sneaky ploy to help the other two get more comfortable, because there’s just not a ton of good filmic poly trio rep, but damn if that show hasn’t got a great one. 

I think the trial period just kind of hits the end of it’s week and Jake and Dwight are like “So do you want to keep going?” and she’s like “...Yeah. : ) “ and so they do, and it’s like that for a while. They all move at their own paces, and in their own clearly discussed (and, as well as they know each other, usually already mostly known) comfort zones, and it’s fun, and nice. It also helps that everyone else is not just supportive and chill, but most of them are like, goofily into it.

They’ve been dating for like, four months before any of them explicitly calls it that officially. But it’s cute. Jake wants it to be official so he gets people anniversary gifts and then is kind of embarrassed but more pleased with himself, and it’s very cute and goes over well.

Everyone puts in work to figuring out how to keep this healthy and good, since none of them had a lot of preexisting knowledge for being with multiple people. They all do that their own way. Claudette spends hours and hours doing research online and checking for tips from people online, and really works hard to be a good girlfriend, and it’s very sweet. Meg and especially Quentin both have no real idea how to help her, but clock a lot of hours trying and doing pretty good. So secondarily do Nancy and Susie.

I’m pretty sure eventually they’d have another wedding, legally official or not--and not because any of them really feel a need to, but because they think it would be fun and Claudette should get to dress up too, and tbh it would be cute. I feel like Meg, Ace, and Susie are major factors pushing for this. 

All of their parents think it’s a little weird, but their kids were missing for like 4 years getting tortured in hell, and they’re all reasonable people; they don’t say shit. Also, they all like all the other parties involved, so they’re like “Rat’s don’t understand these things” (this is a Muppet Christmas Carol inside joke I use all the time even though only like 4 people get it but I hope it makes some sense from context lol), but figure they don’t really have to to be happy their kids are happy and loved and doing well.

Meg is like “Fuck why didn’t we think of this. Why have I been supporting it when I could have nabbed her for me and Susie?” and Quentin doesn’t say shit but he thinks very loudly, “I know, right? Nancy and me are over here like ‘same hat’ fml,” but genuinely they’re very happy for the three of them and with the relationships they have. There’s just a lot of love to go around.

While there’s probably some kind a wedding eventually, definitely about as soon as they start dating, Jake and Dwight start calling her their wife. She’s flustered and like “But I’m note! I’m just your girlfriend.” and Dwight’s like “Yeah, but that makes it sound weirdly unbalanced,” and Jake who looked this up for this moment is like, “Well, by Quebec common law marriage standards, you actually are our wife--we cohabitated for over three years in the realm, so,” and Dwight’s like “whoa for real?” and she’s just like : o   But it kinda helps and she accepts it. The downside is Nea hears the story and tells Meg and together they start just fuckin calling all their realm friends their spouses goofily 24/7 when they want shit like “David, my wonderful strong husband, can you pleeeeease get me a sodie from the fridge? : D <3″ and it’s very funny but it’s also pure chaos. Like, so much more than usual.

[aucatgirl]

For the meme thingy: I wanted to be cliche and say Kacxa 👀👀👀...but can I also say Zezor? They're canon yet a bit rare to see...

Kacxa

When I started shipping them: I‘ve always been super super invested in their dynamic, but it took me a super long time to realize and admit “yea this is shipping I ship them”, so I guess it’s when I saw Acxa’s character card for the first time. i realized that she was a perfect foil to Keith and became extremely determined that their arcs were gonna collide and Acxa was going to get redeemed. Obviously S7 made me feel like a god

My thoughts: great in fanon, a total sandbox ship so you can speculate how they’d interact in most situations. In canon.. I love their petty fights in arc 2, and was super happy that they fought next to each other in s7. But I’m a bit alienated from most kacxa shippers because I didn’t want them to be canon, mostly because I lost faith in the writers in s7 and didn’t want their dynamic to be spoiled by bad writing choices or Acxa becoming a love interest

What makes me happy about them: again, SANDBOX SHIP!! And Acxa is a tall gf, look!

What makes me sad about them: how much the fandom hates this ship and how misogynistic they are towards Acxa, christ. You know what also makes me sad? People holding on to the sibling theory in 2020 when it’s been debunked like five times

Things I look for in fanfic: I.. don’t. read kacxa fic. I mostly read gen fic, tbh the only ship fic ill read fanfic of at all is heith

Who I’d be comfortable then ending up with, if not for each other: heiths my otp so it’s already my default Keith ship, i also like kallura, and veracxa is a big fave

My happily ever after for them: them going on fun missions together. them going to therapy together

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: Acxa big spoon 100% I mean I drew fan art of it

What is their favorite non-sexual activity: missions. hanging out with zethor. talking about their different cultural upbringings. therapy sessions

Zezor

When I started shipping them: Four o’clock in the morning on august 10th when Zethrid said “that’s my girl”

My thoughts: WIVES!!! I was so surprised but so so happy they’re canon, I genuinely didn’t think we would get a lesbian couple and I want to thank the person that pushed it into the show

What makes me happy about them: they really are a great dynamic and had on-screen development even though they’re minor characters, they’re really fun and take up the whole room with their personality. also they’re canon, I think that’s really neat

What makes me sad about them: That Ezor wasn’t originally gonna make it :( but I’m glad the execs read the room and put her back in. Plus people really showed how much more they cared about their ship being canon than lgbt rep when they were made canon lmao

Things I look for in fanfic: again, I don’t really read ship fic

Who I’d be comfortable then ending up with, if not for each other: Acxa/Ezor/Zethrid is one of my few poly ships so Acxa for either of them, Zethllura is also good

My happily ever after for them: mending their relationship, renewing their marriage

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: Zethrid big spoon, Ezor likes the security it gives her and Zethrid likes holding onto Ezor

What is their favorite non-sexual activity: shenanigans. always shenanigans

[gumceline]

another massive bubbline shipper here too say i got mad respect for this blog. as much as i stand by my ship 1000%, i also stand by the fact its totally okay too ship them with other people. i admit the bubbline fandom can be pretty toxic, but alot of us will stand by you. not only are you being super respectful even when you get hate, but you arent straight washing. also the way you looked at the negative parts of our community with understanding in last post, that was real great

oh i appreciate it! I prefer never to judge an entire fanbase by one dude because EVERY fanbase has THOSE people, no fanbase is ever perfect.

I really wished my experience with bubbline shippers had been better, it really was unfortunate to have countless hate, to have people make posts mocking me, to be put on “Lists to block”, not to mention that i legit had supportive friends who were bubbline shippers, but they pretty much turned their back on me, abandoned me, and called me a “Homophobic uncaring asshole”.

It really broke my heart dealing with the stuff i did, and i wasn’t perfect either, but i still don’t think i deserved what that was. I was a kid at the time, and was still having fun and i REALLY wanted to be a part of the fanbase because i love the series and loved the characters, but the fandom just....hated me.

Because i was a multishipper and had different opinions on the characters.

It really didn’t matter to them that i also shipped the characters with other female characters, or i said myself i don’t consider them straight. Because the fandom didn’t really care, they took one look and decided nothing i said mattered.

Being in the star fandom is widely different because the biggest ship there is Starco, a MXF (Which i personally don’t really like but that’s just me), and my favorite ship was...and still is Tom and Marco, because i love their chemistry so much and i genuinely consider them to be a much more believable relationship then the romance they wrote for star and marco.

And trust me, it’s always annoying if you don’t ship the most popular ship and like another pairing more but are succumbed to it everywhere regardless of the characters themselves.

But me not shipping star and marco didn’t make me someone who hated straight people, so i don’t think it’s collectively fair to tell anyone who may of liked marcy or bonnie with finn or maybe they ship them with a male oc of theirs....hate lesbians or were just homophobic.

it’s Like if i took finn out of his (Maybe) relationship with huntress and shipped him with....Tiffany (Who is a male character)...that wouldn’t mean i suddenly hated all straight couples and think finntress should burn.

That’s still a huge leap to jump to and extremely dangerous because you’re collectively accusing someone of something serious without really knowing much more about them then “They like this ship”.

Without any knowledge of them outside of that.

You could effectively damage their rep and make their time in the fandom a living hell out of something minor or something you just assumed, i would know.

I welcome progress, i am quite happy for the bubbline shippers who got their ship, heck...i’m STILL mad that we didn’t get poly tom x marco x star on star vs and felt VERY baited by the crew on that.

but even though i am happy for those people, i don’t think it’s validation to beat up on other shippers either, it does nothing for anyone’s case to do that. If the people are actual bigots who are actively acting terrible and throwing around nasty words and doing terrible stuff, then by all means, call them out.

But people who are just causally shipping stuff for fun? In a way it just feels like using them being a gay ship as a weapon against everyone else, because if they disagree with you and have a different opinion you can effectively boil them down to a bigot and no one might question it...especially when it’s the vast majority.

And that should not be acceptable to do, i ended up hearing from a friend of mine that this fandom actively started purging out other creators for having opinions people didn’t like, and now people are starting to regret that they shunned out so many members of the fandom based on things that were probably incredibly trivial in the long run.

And i get it, it’s an important ship, but it’s important as a rep of that ship to be respectful to others, because if not what you’ll end up doing is turn people away. I would like to be more celebratory of your success in getting the ship canon, but it makes it harder if i’m getting several messages asking when i’m deleting my “Hateful” blog because bubbline was now canon.

I’d like to get along with and support these people, but they don’t want to try and support me and have almost just decided to hate me and it sucks, and there’s not much i can do. That’s why i am thankful for those who don’t just immediately decided to judge me and want to know more about my views on the characters. 

This of course does not apply to the community as a whole, not everyone is acting like this, but it is a problem and it has consequences and i hope the fandom does work on it in the future. Please do better in the future.

Now when it comes to shipping, I have my limits personally, like if the characters have canon sexualities i tend to stick to those sexualities, i for one, have a oc that’s gay. I effectively tell others if they make fanart with him for fun that’s great and i love it, but i want his sexuality respected if ships are involved.

Since the AT ones are left in the air, it means i am left to come up with my own ideas, so that’s what i do. I think everyone should be allowed in that regard to have their own interpretations, marcy could be bi, lesbian, ace,pan, ect and all of those are perfectly acceptable headcanons.

i don’t think one should be held superior over another.

I’ve never looked at Marcy or PG and said “Oh yeah, these two are so obviously straight”, they’re about as straight as a bent nail. XD The people who say this stuff clearly don’t follow me to know that they’re not treated as straight here and i think that’s just frustrating because it’s attacking for completely incorrect information.

And the main problem i think i have, like the biggest issue, is i see the F&C characters differently.

Because i know where the fandom is getting this impression people who these other pairings are homophobic is coming from, it’s because most of the fandom doesn’t really see those characters as much more then well...GB characters.

If i saw tomco, and one was turned to a girl to avoid them both being boys, i would be annoyed, i would, i wouldn’t assume the person was homophobic without other evidence but i’d be annoyed. (I mean for all i know it could be an au and i could be mistaking the situation entirely)

What makes this different for me, is because for one, these aren’t fan-characters, the fans didn’t make a genderbent world and design these characters for fun or anything. These were show characters, that were in episodes and have their own comics and all that.

The way the show approached them for me, makes me feel like they’re kinda misjudged, and people don’t have to agree with me on that fact. But i just feel like between them being fanfiction characters ice king made up, the fact their canon is different, the fact the characters do things the F&J characters don’t do, i just can’t help but feel like treating them as if they were something fans did for fun and have no difference outside of their gender is not the right approach for them.

(I mean ice queen died in one comic and has her own unique origin story which is apparently tied to cake’s, flame prince apparently speaks cat and is the most nervous and awkward cutie I've ever seen, gumball is apparently a card wars superfan and legit takes it WAY too seriously, i just can’t really look at these characters and say “Oh, these are all just Ice King, Flame Princess, and Princess Bubblegum but the opposite gender”).

I feel like the show does enough with them,and had a unique enough approach, that i feel like they should be judged as different characters. Like the redraws of regular episodes with the F&C characters are cute but they’re for fun and probably not what ice king wrote for them in his weird stories.

Like i can’t imagine ice king knew PB so well he made sure gumball had her entire backstory and motivations.

And i feel like the people who do enjoy these ships, heck, ALL FOUR of these ships, feel the same way i do. I’m sure some could def be shipping them for the wrong reasons, but i can’t help but think it’s less about their gender and more that other people recognize they’re different and have considered the different dynamics...like they would if they were shipping any other pairing.

And people don’t have to agree with any of us on that, but i don’t think the alternative should be to accuse us of something so heavily either.

These days i have newer friends who like bubbline who are chill with me, and yeah that’s cool, and i personally don’t really draw the ship myself because i’m still not too comfortable in the AT fandom or with the community right now....the situation with it never leaves me feeling safe frankly.

But we get along, they’re lovely, and the shippers who like bubbline but support the blog are also lovely people and i adore them.

At the end of the day i just want to have fun, i’m fine being in a small subsection of the fanbase and who knows, maybe i have gotten people to think about the F&C characters in a new light, i’m not sure.

But i hope maybe at some point the fandom can chill down and we can support each other without turning it into...whatever that entire situation is. Because i don’t want to be fighting with that community and would prefer to get along with them, but only time will tell.

But thanks for the support! I wish you the best ! I sometimes still have a lot to learn but i hope throughout this whole thing I've gone about it as respectful as possible.

I love the show and all the characters and the fun ships and relationships, i hope someday in the future i can be comfortable enough to get back into the fandom as much as i used to be! ^-^

[seasonofthegeek]

Love Keeps You Warm, Part 8

Today’s chapter is dedicated to @rebeccaravenroth to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY month! I hope the best things come your way. <3

Parts 1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8:

“Adrien Agreste calling for Emilie Agreste please.” Adrien walked alongside the hotel pool as the sun set overhead. He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear and kicked off his shoes and sat down at the edge of the pool. He rolled the ends of his pants up as far as he could manage and dipped his feet in the cool water. He wished Alya were with him; she loved swimming.

The day had been exhausting. He’d attempted to find some time to himself after breakfast but Nathalie caught him going out the door and assigned him the task of approving some of his photos for a final design. He had to get ready for the meeting not long after that and he’d barely escaped afterwards but he wanted to be alone for a few minutes. He needed time to think.

“Transferring you to her mobile, Mr. Agreste,” an assistant said over the line and there was a clicking sound and then he heard his mother’s voice.

“Adrien, darling, I’ve been hoping to hear from you. How are you?”

“Hey, Mom. I’m fine. How are you?”

“Busy but what else is new?” She laughed and there was the sound of rustling paper and a low murmuring voice, most likely another assistant. “The agency poached the top five models from Giovanni this week so I have agents scrambling to take their accounts.”

“Sounds hectic.” Adrien kicked his foot up and sent droplets of pool water flying across the surface.

“It is but it’ll be worth it, I think. Have you given any more consideration to my offer, dear?”

“I’m still thinking about it. I was hoping maybe we could talk about something else?”

There was a pause. “I don’t have much time but I have a few minutes. Is something the matter?”

“Yeah, uh…” Adrien moved his feet through the water. “How did you know you wanted to be a parent?”

There was a longer pause this time and the rustling of papers over the line stopped. “I didn’t, not at first. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“You sound more than curious.”

Adrien took in a deep breath. “My girlfriend’s pregnant.”

“Ah.”

“And I don’t know if I’m ready for a baby.”

“Well, there are ways to take care of that, darling. If your father isn’t willing to help, know that when you sign with my agency, I’ll have someone handle the entire affair. I have three PR reps who literally only do that. We’ll make sure it’s all kept under wraps.”

Any hope that Adrien had in finding answers from his mother evaporated in an instant.  “Sure, thanks.”

“I’ve got to go now, but call me when you’re ready to sign the contract. Love you.”

The line went dead before he could respond and Adrien dropped the phone to the ground beside him. The temptation to throw it in the pool was great but he tried to reign himself in. He was angry and frustrated and confused and hurt. On some level, he believed his parents cared about him but it got so lost in the politics that it hardly mattered. He was their son and this baby could possibly be their grandchild. Shouldn’t they care?

And why did he care if they cared? He didn’t even want the baby.

At least he didn’t think he did.

He swallowed hard and glared at the smooth water. Night had fallen and the pool lights lit up around him. He was glad he’d managed an odd time without any other guests around. He didn’t think he could bear talking to anyone in that moment.

He thought about Nino’s grandmother taking him in and treating him like another Lahiffe child without hesitation. He thought about Tom and Sabine offering him seconds and thirds at dinner and hugging him goodbye every time he visited. He knew they weren’t exactly comfortable with the poly situation but they’d never treated him with anything else than kindness and respect. Alya’s family was just as amazing and even Nora had come around after a time.

Maybe his parents and family dynamic was the outlier. Things didn’t have to be like that for his child because Marinette and Alya and Nino would be there. They were full of love and goodness and they would never make the baby feel neglected. They’d never let Adrien feel that way.

Mostly.

He looked down at his phone and had the sudden urge to call Marinette. He wasn’t sure what he would say. He wanted to apologize but he didn’t know exactly what for. He also wanted her to apologize but that desire didn’t feel quite as strong. He really just wanted to hear her voice. It had been sixty-three days. Before he left, he’d never gone an entire day without talking to her since they’d all started dating and now…

Maybe it was too late. He’d probably screwed things up by leaving. He thought if he could come back to his old life that he could figure out what was wrong with him but all he’d done is fallen back into old habits.

A small voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Nino pointed out that he hadn’t fallen back into all his old habits and that was progress.

He supposed that was true. He obviously hadn’t slept with anyone since he’d been gone. And while he had an occasional drink and had toed the line of getting drunk more than once, he’d never gone past his limit. Old Adrien slept around and drank heavily. He wasn’t that guy anymore. Being in love had changed him. He wanted to be different than before.

He thought he loved Nino for years and that’s what hurt so bad but he had no idea what love could really feel like. It was worth any pain he had to go through to get to the three of them. He had to call and make things right. He needed to go home.  He couldn’t lose the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had no idea how much falling in love with Nino, Alya, and Marinette was going to change him for the better. Who was to say that this baby wasn’t going to do the same?

Adrien reached for his phone and stopped himself. None of that changed the fact that he would be a bad father. He was broken and selfish and he’d probably screw Marinette’s baby up more than his parents screwed him up. Tears stung his eyes and he ignored them. His hands curled into fists at his side and felt his fingernails dig into the skin of his palms.

He should just let them be happy together. They didn’t need him. They would be fine. The baby would be fine— better even— if he wasn’t around to do damage.

His phone began to buzz and vibrate against the concrete beside him and it made him jump. He looked down to see a picture of a smiling Marinette lighting up his screen and he felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and picked the phone up with shaking hands and accepted the call.

“Marinette?”

There was a surprised breathy sound and Adrien felt himself crumple under the weight of it.

“Hi,” Marinette answered and her voice held a shy quality to it. “How are you?”

“I…” He was at a loss for how to reply. “How are you? Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel like I’m the size of a house but other than that I’m okay.” She laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know what time it is for you now. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Adrien blinked. “What time it is…we’re in the same time zone right now. Did you not know that?” He hugged himself with one arm while he held the phone. “How far away did you think I was?”

Her voice was quiet. “I don’t know. It feels really far.”

“I’m about a three hour drive, I think. Give or take. We’ve been traveling a lot but we’re here for another few days.”

“Three hours. That’s…that’s not a lot at all. If I left now, I could see you before midnight.”

Adrien froze. “You want to see me?” he whispered. There was a gasping sob and his heart broke into a million pieces. “Please don’t cry, Mari. Please. Do you want me to come there? I’ll come home. I’ll come home right now.” He was already pulling his legs up out of the water and standing. He looked around frantically for his shoes even though they were where he’d left them at the edge of the pool.

“I’m sorry. I’m okay,” she sniffled. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“I’m not. I’m going to be on my way. I’ve just gotta…” He trailed off and looked around the pool area. “Okay, well, I need to find a driver that will make the three hour drive but then… I think it’s too late to get a flight but I can check. I don’t know if that will be any quicker though. I guess I could go to—“

“Adrien.”

“Please let me come home,” he pleaded. “Please tell me I can come home, Marinette. Please let me come see you.”

“Wait! Just…um, okay, wait, let me think for a minute,” she stammered.

Adrien slumped down on the end of a patio chair. “You don’t want me to come home.”

“It’s not that! I just…” She made a frustrated sound. “Things have changed a little and I feel like you need to know before you come home because I don’t want it to spook you.”

“Okay…” he replied cautiously.

“Right, so, um, we are turning the second bedroom into the nursery. Nino and Alya are painting it right now actually. We had to put the king bed in storage but we’ve got a full bed wedged into the office now because that’s what would fit.”

“That’s…that makes sense,” he nodded.

“Yeah. I mean, we still needed a second bed. It’s just not so easy to share but we’ll make do. I’ve been having bad insomnia so I use it a lot right now. Um, okay, and then I look really different, so there’s that.”

Adrien tried to picture Marinette like other pregnant women he’d seen but the visual wouldn’t come to him. “That’s what supposed to happen, isn’t it?”

She laughed in surprise and it did his heart good to hear the sound. “Well, yeah, I guess. I’m not super huge yet but I’m only going to keep getting bigger which is terrifying.”

“I’m sure you’re beautiful.”

“You haven’t seen me craving Cheetos from that American grocery store down the block at three in the morning like an angry junk food-fueled gremlin. It’s not a pretty picture. I’ve been sneaking sodas every once in the while too so don’t tell Nino, okay? He’s sure the baby is going to be born with like four arms if I’m not careful about what I eat.”

Adrien stretched out on the chair and smiled as he looked up at the stars beginning to come out. “Has he been a nervous wreck?”

“I think he’s the worst of all, although Alya’s giving him a run for his money. She thought it would be a good idea to look up possible birth defects. Sometimes I hear the two of them whispering back and forth about how doomed our baby is.”

He grimaced. “Is that stressing you out?”

Marinette let out a short laugh followed by a sigh. “Actually, I think them being so stressed helps me relax. What could I possibly find to worry about with the baby that they don’t already have covered?”

“It sounds like you guys are doing really great,” he said softly.

“We miss you,” she responded, her voice just as low. “It feels so weird without you at home. I’m…” Her voice cracked and there was the sound of sniffling over the line again. “I’m so sorry, Adrien. I never meant for things to happen like this.”

He wanted to melt down to the slime he felt like and drip between the slats on the patio chair. “No, Mari, I’m sorry. I was a jerk about the whole thing.”

“I was a jerk too!”

He chuckled. “Fine, we were both jerks.”

“Yeah,” she sniffled again.

“Please don’t cry over me anymore. I’m not worth it.”

“Shut up. That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about, butthead.” She still sounded teary but there was an edge of humor to her voice. “How much longer is your trip?”

“I still have a few weeks left on my contract. I can try to break it though.”

“Will you get in trouble?”

“Probably,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t put it past Gabriel to sue me for it.”

“Then you can’t leave yet.”

“Don’t say that,” he groaned. “Tell me to come home.”

“Would you get in trouble for coming to visit for the night? Or…or maybe we could meet halfway and get a room or something?”

Adrien bolted upright. “Really? Are you up to that?”

“I doubt I’ll get away with being able to come alone unless I just leave right now and then I’ll be the one in trouble, but if you don’t mind seeing us…”

“Go home and pack for the night and I’ll find us a nice place to meet in the middle and call you as soon as I have it booked and I’m on my way,” he promised as he stood and hurried back towards his room.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He stopped to unlock his room and heard her take in a shaky breath. “I love you,” he promised.

“I love you too.”

[bunnieplott]

Voltron and LGBT+ rep.

So I am one of those people who jumped for joy when the news came out (lol) that SHIRO was our LGBT+ rep. This made me happy on so many levels!! As well as kinda worried for how the show’s going to continue in varying levels of awesome. All below the cut cause... this got long.

Things that made me HAPPY!!

1) That they actually followed through a gave us a rep at all! And not a side character!

2) That it’s SHIRO! Shiro. The poc, ptsd, superman-ly, everyone looks up to him Leader of Voltron who could be said is the driving force behind the vast majority of the plot. SO Many things happen in this show because of him. The only other person who could pull as much “main character”ness is probably PRINCESS Allura.

3) That and, according to the few clips I’ve seen from s7e1, they actually manage to bring his sexuality up in a really organic way. Again going off clips here, but it really looks like they manage to go for a show not tell approach. Everyone is talking about going back to earth. This leads Shiro to think about things that happened before he left, which brings us to Adam. Then through their conversation we see that Adam and Shiro are together.... and breaking up... but! They had a romantic relationship nonetheless.

This took 7 seasons to come up and honestly it times out perfectly. This is the first time since the beginning that the Paladins have really talked about earth. Likely story is that they’ve been trying really hard to avoid even thinking about their home, knowing that they might not ever get back.

Now they’re headed back, and are all probably thinking about their families. We just SEE Shiro doing it.

4) .......This honestly surprised me. I totally thought our LGBT+ rep was going to be Keith. Though I did have the head canon that they were going to get back to earth, Keith was going to see a male former classmate and go “Quiznack that’s my ex! Hide ME!!” and be all awkward. ...... So I was kinda right? In a way?

So yes very happy! But kinda worried about how it’s going to play out going forward....

Awesomeness levels of LGBT+ness of possible future events as predicted by Bunnie! (DISCLAIMER!; I order ships in levels of probability according to MY own thoughts. Please don’t take offense)

Great) Shiro is obviously still gay, still has interactions with his former boyfriend Adam. (This is all pretty much a given considering spoilers given by the cast/reviewers) However, they either don’t get back together or worse one of them dies.... anyway they don’t actually continue their relationship on screen. This is kinda the level most progressive shows are at right now. They either have LGBT+ character who’s out and proud in some way but not in a relationship, or they get two characters of the same gender together.... at the very end of the show and we don’t actually see the gay. So great! but not yet awesome.

Awesome) Adashi/Shadam do get back together, we have excellent, real on screen interactions of the romantic kind. Definitely a kiss, maybe a wedding..... This does rank kinda low, though, ‘cause it would mean that though a main character is LGBT+, they got him with a guy who was kinda.... invented to be the gay lover? I mean I’m sure that Adam will wind up playing a larger roll than that but... this is how he’s introduced.

REALLY AWESOME) They don’t get Adam and Shiro back together.... HERE ME OUT! They don’t get back together BUT, Shiro does get into a relationship with one of the other male main characters. Probability levels go Keith>Lance>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hunk (really don’t see much of possiblity of that last one sorry Shunk shippers). Not including Coran cause..... that pings my ick senses a little. (again sorry to anyone who does ship them)

Keith and Shiro are one kiss away from going from “family of choice,” to “family cause we’re married.” (Really strange how those two things are REALLY different feelings but look so similar from the outside....) Lance was really broken up at the end of season 6 about almost losing Shiro, referred to him as his hero on more than one occasion and is in that picture with Shiro’s arm around him as they hold up the LGBT+ sign. ....... Can’t really think of anything for Hunk.

This would mean that not one but TWO of our beloved main cast are in fact LGBT+. Bonus point’s if it’s Lance cause he would most definitely be Bi where Shiro has been revealed (I think) to be Gay. That’s two characters and two letters of the alphabet soup of pride.

MEGA AWESOME!!!!!!!) They do get the Shadam going again it’s as beautiful as we hoped AND two of the other main characters are ALSO in a LGBT+ relationship!! So this would mean 3!! main characters are LGBT+. 

Now possibilities for this would likely include Lance as he’s the character who has been talked about the most for having a romantic endgame. Soooo.... Klance>Hance>Plance with Pidge being Trans and/or Ace. Non Lance ships.... kinda swim around on similar levels of probability for me. Romelle or Krolia in any LGBT+ ship would kinda be a step down in awesome simply because of when they were introduced, they’d fall close in line with Adam for the “introduced nearly entirely for this purpose”ness....

MIND BLOWN IN A RAINBOW EXPLOSION OF SHEER AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!) Everyone is LGBT+!!!!! Personal preferences of most awesome include. Gay!Shiro+Gay!Adam, Gay!Keith+Bi!Lance, Bi!Allura+Lesbian!Romelle, Pan!Hunk+NonBinary!AlienYetToBeInroduced,  Ace!Pidge+technology and finally past Coran+Alfor+Allura’sMom as a wonderful poly!ship.

......Unfortunately the likely hood of being cannon is inversely proportionate to awesomeness level.... This is a cartoon made to be child friendly. A scifi space adventure which is traditionally content aimed at a masculine audience.  From a LGBT+ standpoint it’s already great, and can very easily be awesome. Don’t give up hope on it being even more though. And Hey, even if it doesn’t reach peak awesome levels...... that’s what fanfiction is for. =P

[cowboybuckleys]

So many people are being all butthurt over the kala/wolfgang/rajan poly because it isn't the kalagang they wanted. And tbh before I had watched the finale I was kinda dissapointed to hear they went that route, but they really made it work! Like they actually made Rajan more than just the wet wipe he was in the regular seasons. And if they had gotten a full season they would've had the chance to give it some more depth. But I do really like this solution and the 3 of them so there's that :)

lmao they’re seriously butthurt over that?? i mean the movie/finale/whatever we’re calling it wasn’t perfect and i still wish for another season and i wasn’t Rajan’s world’s biggest fan during the seasons, but he was GOLD during the movie and it redeemed a LOT of issues I had with his character (not just the poly thing but like personality-wise and character-wise). he showed more growth than any other character did! i just.. seriously??? i’m so confused lol

we so rarely (if ever!) get poly rep on TV or in any form of media. any time i mention poly ships or poly rep i get approximately 2 fuckbags in my inbox telling me to go watch some stupid polygamy show and realize the “errors of my disgusting ways.” like, we needed that, and sense8 came through if not for rounding out Kala’s narrative and not fucking over any of the characters, but because we as humans apparently still have more to learn. and i know we’re not gonna get a whole season exploring their relationship like I want, but just the few minutes we got was fucking amazing. more than i’ve ever gotten from any other tv show. and it was the happiest ending we’re gonna get!

bleh, but yes god it was such a good solution cos i was like obviously they have to end with Kala and Wolfie, but then my brain was like “but what about Rajan???” and i had hope!! so much hope!! and then @robertisbisexual messaged me and was all OT3!!!! without context and for a second i thought maybe?? they?? did it??? and i was so so so SO happy to see that it was Kala/Wolfie/Rajan. they deserve that happily ever after considering the shit they went through over the last season.

[greeblingyaoza]

I might get shit for this, but I’m going to express my opinion here anyways. In regards to headcanons involving Ling’s sexuality/gender identity. This gets kind of long, and is also me analyzing why I feel a certain way about these things and whether I should think differently... Also some of my feelings/opinions may be problematic. 

I dislike headcanons for Ling being gay (as in 100% gay, ONLY interested in guys), a trans-woman, and even a trans-man. 

Before I go on, I will say that I’m not saying people shouldn’t have these headcanons. Have whatever headcanons you like. However, I’m only expressing my personal opinions on them, and I have nothing against someone who has these headcanons. 

My reason for disliking gay Ling headcanons: If Ling was gay, that would destroy the Lingfan ship, one of few ships I genuinely care about. It also destroys my self-ship with him, since I’m a heterosexual girl who has a huge crush on him. I know he’s not real, and I don’t own him, and can never be with him anyways, so him being gay would really change nothing for me. It would just mean I couldn’t self-ship with him without erasing his sexuality, so I’d likely have to force myself to get over him. 

Reason for disliking trans-girl Ling headcanons: Again, I’m a straight girl with a crush on him, so it doesn’t work for me at all. Also, I don’t exactly get the point of the headcanon because he obviously considers himself male, so hc-ing him as a trans-male would make more sense. I get people like to project onto their favorite charactesr, so if someone is a trans-girl, they want their favorite male characters to be trans-girls as well. But I feel like it would make more sense to headcanon the already female characters as trans women. 

Reason for disliking trans-male Ling headcanons: Okay, this is what I might really get shit for. I’ll be honest. I’m not sure if I’d be willing to date a trans-guy. Well, if I’d be willing to date ANYONE to even begin with (I’m only interested in fictional characters) I feel like I probably have a preference for cis guys. I know that’s considered transphobic. Because this implies I wouldn’t see him as a man. I do consider trans people as the gender they identify as. Let me get that straight. But I’m not sure if I could date someone trans due to anatomical reasons. I know that’s probably awful. I don’t know if this makes me a bad person or not. I like to think that it’s okay to have preferences as long as you aren’t shaming people for not fitting their preferences. Like....I rarely ever shave my legs. I realize a lot of guys don’t like that. I think they’re allowed to have a preference for shaven legs...but I would take issue if they put me down for not shaving my legs. I know that’s not the same as gender identity, but, that’s just how I feel about it. I’ll just say it, I prefer cis Ling. Also while I don’t consider fictional characters confirmed straight until proven otherwise, in my mind, I think of characters as cis unless proven otherwise by the creator. I never have trans headcanons. But this is also because I’m a cis person who doesn’t need representation. 

Would Ling being any of these above things be good rep? Yeah, sure. However, if I had the choice between...Ling becomes canonically gay and trans and people are happy for the representation, OR Ling is cishet and I get to continue shipping myself with him and shipping him with a girl, I’d choose for him to be cishet. Because I’m a selfish person. 

The headcanons I’m cool with for Ling is...straight Ling, bi/pan Ling, asexual Ling, cis Ling...that’s about it. Because those would still work with what I personally want. 

Non-binary Ling? Eh....it’s okay I guess. Aromantic Ling? Ehhhh...I’m not really aro or ace (though I may be demisexual at the most, because other than someone I feel very strongly for, I’m kind of put off by sex and sexual things)....but I’m definitely not aromantic so...wouldn’t really work for me. 

I’m cool with bi Ling because I 100% ship him with Lan Fan and I casually ship him with Greed on the side, but I’m not as serious about it. But that’s it. And if I ship him with Greed, I prefer him to have feelings for Lan Fan as well. Like I can’t see Lingfan not being a thing, but this is also because I’m suuuppper biased. 

And there’s on more thing...Poly Ling. I have mixed feelings on that. I don’t believe I’m polyamorous. I’ve never been in a relationship in my life, but I definitely would prefer a relationship between me and the one person I love, and I wouldn’t be comfy with them dating other people if they ended up being poly. However, I currently have romantic feelings for both Greed and Ling. Normally my feelings only focus on one character at a time, so this situation is a bit unusual. I feel like if they were real, I’d be willing to try to be in a relationship with them both, as long as they were cool with it, and I’d even be okay if they were together as well. I also can enjoy LingGreedFan as an ot3 even though poly ships aren’t really my thing. However, bring anyone else into the mix? Nope. Can’t do it. However, would this relationship work if they weren’t poly? Would me wanting to be with both of them make me poly? 

Thing is I could also see Greed being polyamorous. I mean we see him with two women at one point in the manga. I could do some reaching and say that maybe he was filling the lonely void in his heart with multiple sexual partners just like he was with other things, such as money and desire for world domination, and that post-Greed-admitting-to-only-wanting-friends would be totally willing to settle for a monogamous relationship with the right person. But of course, let’s say he was real...I would never be able to handle a relationship with him or Ling if they wanted to date other people as well. If they wouldn’t be happy in a monogamous relationship, I’d just let them go. Same with anyone I would happen to have feelings for. Some people may say it’s abusive/toxic to not let your poly partner date other people if they want to...so best thing to do would be to not date a poly person myself. 

I think the thing about the poly headcanons is that I still have this idea ingrained into me that monogamous relationships >>> everything else. I grew up with the idea is that it’s taboo and wanting to be with a lot of people or sleep with a lot of people is inherently bad. Which I know is wrong...poly relationships can be just as valid. And if people want to sleep with a lot of people, that’s not a crime as long as it’s consensual and honest. I guess I just can’t relate, so it makes it harder for me to be completely open to it. 

Also I do tend to ship mostly het ships. Which may be bad? Idk. But I think the reason for that is that I usually don’t give two hecks about a ship unless it 1) involves a character I have a crush on and 2) involves another character with the previous character that I can project onto and imagine myself in the place of. And since I’m a heterosexual girl...well...naturally my preferred ships end up being het. 

Also, this is the same reason that leads to me feeling uncomfortable about Edl/ing. But why is it that I’m okay with greed x ling but not Ling x Ed? I think the reason is...I have a crush on both Ling and Greed, so I can get behind it. Ed...I don’t have any attraction to, nor can I self-project onto him, so it doesn’t work at all. It makes me kind of sad, because that ship is getting so popular lately (probably more popular than Lingfan, which makes me feel...somewhat salty...I mean just the number of new edl/ing posts on the daily compared to the lower number of lingfan seems to show that edl/ing is more popular now. (sometimes I worry that it’s because people think Lingfan is bad/problematic/unhealthy and shouldn’t be shipped :/ ) I mean a lot of people are just sick of het stuff, so maybe that’s why so few people seem to care about my otp anymore...I guess that’s valid. Again, can’t relate. Sometimes it makes me sad. Sometimes I try to force myself to like the ship. Sometimes I see art that’s objectively good and cute and I would have shared it...had it been Lingfan instead. I feel bad about not sharing it. I feel hateful. Sometimes I get angry whenever I see the ship. OR people talking about how great it is...and how “canon” it is, like I just don’t see it. If someone wants to try to convince me why it’s good, they can. I’m open to hearing other opinions, but I just prefer them as friends only. 

I know that’s so immature. I really dislike all these headcanons and that one ship because it gets in the way of MY ship and MY romantic feelings. Which is stupid because...none of these headcanons, mine nor theirs, are canon. Lingfan isn’t canon, no matter the implications. Greed x Ling...not canon. The ship I can’t get into...also not canon, therefore it’s not really threatening me at all??

Okay so, if anyone wants to give my constructive criticism on this and say that some of my feelings here are problematic and harmful to others, you can. I’m willing to have civil discussions on the matter. 

Also another thing, is I realize I’m probably unhealthily obsessed with my fictional crushes, and I need to seek professional help for it, along with my many other issues. It’s not healthy that I feel so saddened by a ship involving my fictional crush that I feel like it invalidates all my feelings and headcanons and essentially ruins my whole day, and leads me to not be able to focus on anything else. 

Sometimes I HATE having romantic feelings at all, because this is how I get, with every single character I fall for, every single time.