As someone who grew up in a household where men were never allowed to show affection, let alone to another man, from fear of being seen as weak.............
These forehead touches between friends/bros are so healing to me. Please, we need more of this. Platonic affection between men is beautiful, and I wish I had grown up with it.
started going wall climbing with my brother recently and it's so much fun! i used to do it as a kid but stopped because i was super short, dunno why i never picked it up again...
anyway i kind of imagine these two would do that too, like a fun date, especially in a human au scenario, although i drew them as trolls because i've realized i haven't drawn them much at all
I think a lot about how common it is for Raph to be the one to have direct focus put on him when Leo gets into all his near death experiences.
Like, when Leo is thrown off a building, it’s Raph who’s right there jumping after him, not even thinking about the consequences to himself when he does. When Leo almost gets skewered by the Krang, Raph’s right there to take the blow and send Leo to safety without a second thought. When Leo’s being strangled to near death, it’s a Krangified Raph doing the job, doing exactly what Raph would never, ever want to do. When Leo is telling Casey Jr to close the portal, it’s Raph who tries desperately to convince Leo otherwise.
Likewise, Leo is consistently very single minded when Raph gets forcibly separated from them. Both when in the sewers and by the Krang, Leo is dead set on finding Raph first and foremost.
I also think it’s interesting that during each of Leo’s near death experiences, the lightheartedness of his words during them goes directly hand in hand with both how close Raph is to him physically and how much danger Raph is also in in that moment. From a literal “I told you so” as Leo’s falling away from Raph to a soft joke about how “hero moves” are Raph’s style - both of these are on the more morbidly carefree side and both of these notably take Leo farther away from Raph and, in turn, have Raph not in immediate danger.
On the other side of things is the apology from Leo, heedless of the danger he himself is in as he seriously and genuinely speaks to a Krangified Raph face to face. Then there’s Leo’s freezing and desperation as Raph takes a hit meant for him and sends just Leo to safety, leaving Raph himself behind. Both of these involve much closer proximity and Raph being directly harmed - these together make Leo much more vulnerable in his words and actions, something not even the threat of death can make him.
These two care about each other so much, and they’re way too much alike for their own good.
it's crazy to me that Spies Are Forever, a musical which has a jewish guy playing a nazi with a Hitler puppet on his hand and glitter in his pockets... also somehow has a scene between the lead character and his ex-friend now great enemy, which reveals for certain that they used to be gay lovers, that goes "what about our secret? the moments we shared, the feelings we had... for each other" "that secret died the night you left me for dead" to a quiet smoke filled stage, before the lead character shoots his ex dead, like... what?
Yeah sky and time's relationship is a whole mess over the master sword
but can we talk about sky and wild's view of the sword
Because it's just a lot of contradictions
Sky loves the sword. Sky loves Fi. Sky openly admits she can hurt them. Sky knows she has best interests at heart. Sky is dying for someone to care about the sword. Sky is pissed that wild broke the sword. Sky still handed her back to him.
Wild loves the sword. The sword tried to kill Wild and he's a little bitter about that. Wild worked to earn the sword. Wild doesn't feel worthy of the sword. Wild breaks the sword. The sword always comes back.
.
Wild is the only one who openly invites Sky to talk about the sword- how he forged it, and the voice inside. There is a lot of negativity around Wild and the sword. And the sword is a major bonding point with Sky. He's dying for someone to care about her too, but at the end of the day Wild is the one who actually talks to him about her.
Ace notices little details of people’s appearances more often than he’d like to admit.
It’s easy on the Grandline – Ace has seen and met and fought more people in a year than he has in his entire childhood on Dawn. There’s all different sorts of people to meet, to avoid, to just be around it almost makes him dizzy.
It takes a while before he catches onto what he’s doing.
He stares a little too long at blond men and women, watching the sunlight catch into their hair, watching the moonlight make the strands glitter. He stares at certain shades of blue too long – blue ribbons and waistcoats and denim and eyes. But especially the ocean. He has to shake himself awake from a trance somedays, staring out at the waves that can be so bright they mirror the sky, staring out at indigo waves only illuminated by moonlight.
The Spades noticed after a while and eventually the Whitebeards do too.
How his eyes would linger on top hats and hair that would curl just so and how sometimes, he would go quiet and watch the waves from the highest point on deck, thumb rubbing across the embroidery of an old but well kept handkerchief. They notice how on certain days Ace is too loud or too quiet, staring out into the ocean at random moments, fingers unconsciously pressed against the ‘S’ in his tattoo.
When Luffy’s first wanted poster comes out, instead of saying ‘my little brother,’ Ace will sometimes say ‘our little brother.’
Before Ace leaves Luffy near Alabasta to continue his hunt for Blackbeard, he tells him, “We’re proud of you,” easy and automatic. Luffy’s quick “I know,” comes out just as easy.
They both freeze for a moment before Luffy smiles at him, wide and sunny. “I know you guys are.”