One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to fandom/media interpretation in general is that seemingly whenever something tries to explore the emotion of love in a nuanced or non-straightforward manner everyone and their mother jumps to the conclusion that it’s inherently romantic in nature. I don’t know if this is my aroace brain speaking, but it’s something I’ve never understood when clearly the author doesn’t mean it in a romantic sense. The two examples I’m thinking of are Violet Evergarden and Ancient Magus Bride.
Violet Evergarden is about a child soldier, Violet post-war trying to discover what emotions are, so that she can better understand the major who sacrificed his life for her. She’s specifically fixated on the notion of love, because the major told her once that he loved her and she’s struggled to understand what he meant by that. As the show goes on, she begins to discover just what these emotions mean, both to other people and to herself. Now, it needs to be said again that she was a child soldier, the major was around 30 if I remember correctly. Either way very much an established adult when he found Violet when she was like 8-10. Naturally he meant that he loves her in a familial way, everything the show does supports this interpretation, the only obscurity comes from Violet’s perspective because she doesn’t understand his meaning at first. Take a big fat guess as to half the posts I saw about their relationship framed it. Yep, “oh how gross he was in love with a child,” “this show is gross,” “its so sad how he was in love but now they can never be together T-T.” Like. What the fuck y’all. What the actual fuck. Did we watch the same show????? It’s legitimately baffling that just because the word love is used that is the assumption made in direct contradiction to what canon is saying.
Ancient Magus Bride has it much, much worse unfortunately, because it’s a much more,,, morally suspect look at what love is, or more specifically, the nature of human relationships. Chise and Elias have a bond that cannot be easily summed up in a few words (which is the entire point), and they see a lot of various twists and turns in their dynamic as they learn not only to live with each other but come into their own and grow. Now, a lot of people assume Ancient Magus Bride is a romance because of how it starts out, with Elias stating that he bought Chise to be his bride. However, as you read further, specifically into the 40′s, Elias reveals that he only said the word bride because he understood it to be people who spend their lives together, and wanted to cut corners by making his student and bride the same thing. Elias, as an inhuman creature, does not have the capability for empathy or understanding emotions/concepts as humans do, which is what leads to a lot of the suspect situations in the beginning of the story because he doesn’t get the implications of what he’s doing.The author herself has even mentioned in official interviews that she doesn’t see their relationship as romantic (not that it stopped anyone), along with the entire story rejecting such an interpretation because shoving Chise and Elias into such a box goes against what it’s saying about the messy nature of relationships. Additionally, much like Violet Evergarden but worse, Chise is 16 while Elias is a being 100s of years old (although without the emotional intelligence to match). Either way though, their dynamic for the beginning of the show is very much of Elias trying to control Chise. He withholds information from her, manipulates her into trusting him more easily, does things behind her back that he knows she wouldn’t approve of. And that is important, I appreciate that aspect being there because it’s all completely necessary to show just what kind of person Elias is, and how his standards are vastly different compared to human ones. But a lot of the whole “EliasxChise is soooo good” hype came from anime only watchers- and is that really the dynamic yall wanted? Really? Especially when the anime watered down the resolution to that conflict? More importantly, imagine being braindead and also having no taste at all simultaneously. You take so many interesting aspects of their dynamic by just going “and theyre in love UwU” because you ignore their complexities. On top of being really fucking gross in my opinion.
And these two aren’t the only example of this. In general I think plenty of relationships would be far better off being explored as the nuanced, complex things that they are without slapping an “in love” label on them. (Jayce and Viktor from Arcane come to mind for me, what they have going on as friends and the importance the narrative places on that friendships is so much more valuable to me then any shipping). And again, I’m left wondering if this is an aroace thing, bc talking with a friend who is also aroace about her experiences in researching romance literature and what allo people find rewarding about a romance is like reading about an alien species. Do yall just live like this???? It’s so sad you are missing out on so much
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while i fully agree with the thesis of your gay best friend mei post (she is often pushed aside in fanworks and her friendship with red son is undersold) but i think you might have gone too far in the opposite direction regarding mk and red sons dynamic?
obviously they dont have as much plot-relevant screentime as mei and red but mk is still important to red son. even disregarding their s1 nemesis dynamic, red son still regularly brings up mk in his conversations with mei during the s3 special, announces his entrance to mk in the mech, and asks about him on meis stream in 401, all of these feel like intentional writing choices to imply he cares about mk (and mei, but thats more implicit with him saying her name and such) more than he lets on
that is to say, i dont think shipping mk and red means someone doesnt value mei and reds dynamic or think its unimportant, just like shipping red and mei doesnt mean disregarding mei and mks bond
i hope this doesnt seem like im trying to pick a fight or anything, i just wanted to put in my 2 cents :v (also tumblr is being shit so sorry if this sent twice)
MK and Red Son are definitely friends, not denying that, but the show doesn't have an interest in developing their specific relationship further past like... halfway through Revenge of the Spider Queen. MK says they should trust him, and from there on out the two banter or work together sometimes, but nothing between them really gets going or more intense
Because after that the majority of the time is spent developing Mei and Red Son's dynamic (which was already starting in S1, 1x08 in particular I'd argue, but it was still minor then).
Her and Red Son constantly get paired up onscreen together in RotSQ, both on the main quest and then in like... every shot possible. The piggyback ride thing is actually a romance trope as well, btw. 3x06 involves everyone, but it's Mei who Red Son touches and has the Samadhi Fire connection with, and even then it's Mei who interacts with Red Son before they leave and she leaves her plushie, and then -insert the special here-. MK comes up in their conversations, as Mei comes up in MK's conversations with Red Son, so that segment's even to me, but then the Samadhi Fire ending is kinda like. Man. That's unique to Mei and Red Son and it got build up. That's something intimate and between just them
Don't get me wrong, I don't think shipping Has to be about who a character values most, because my arospec ass doesn't think that there has to be a One person put above all else. But it often comes across that way in shipping. I guess a fic doesn't have to include people who aren't in the pairing, but it does feel like it skews Mei's importance to MK and Red Son.
TBH, entertaining my own idea of a Most important person, even liking Red Son and Mei together, I think think that MK is more important to Mei than Red Son is, if she had to choose. Frankly I also think both of the boys would pick Mei before each other if they were in a situation where they had to choose, MK as Mei's best friend and Red Son, to me, having Mei as his anchor to the group considering how S3 went. They all matter to each other, but in different ways.
So sure, I don't think shipping automatically means that a dynamic is skewed to exclude or devalue a character, but it sure comes across that way when paired with seemingly ignoring all Red Son and Mei do get together, as well as how often I see people trying to give the Samadhi Fire to anyone but Mei. This is also a fandom where it seems like Lady Bone Demon's nameless male sidekick gets the same amount of content she does, which makes me scratch my head
Like, if Drag-onfruit was m/m, would Red Son and Mei be the rarer pair? Would ppl keep trying to give the fire to anyone else? For me it does read as fandom sexism with a gay hat slapped on. At the very least it's MK/main character bias, even though Mei is the female lead
No one Has to ship anything to be clear, Drag-onfruit isn't canon, but maybe it's because I watched the series all in one go that hitting the end of S3 and imagining going, "Who do I think Red Son is most likely in love with/has the most compelling relationship with? -insert anyone but Mei-" baffles me
I certainly prefer Drag-onfruit where MK is deeply important to both of them, even as a sort of platonic third (1x05 shot down MK and Mei or chimera faster and harder than any other ship known to man for me lmao) and to be fair I rarely engage with Red Son and MK shipping because it isn't my thing for multiple reasons, so maybe there is a lot of stuff out there where she's really given the love and place in their lives that she canonly has and I just don't know it, but the Mei treatment that I see in fandom does seem to be a side effect of said fanon favorite ship which is how I landed on the original post I made about her getting shoved aside to be the sassy bff who's conveniently fanonly a lesbian (for reasons I don't get) so people don't have to consider that she could have a relationship MK doesn't get to have
Maybe I'm a pessimist but this is how I've perceived it. TLDR they're a delightful trio regardless
Thank you for being polite btw, I know this got long winded but I appreciate being able to discuss!
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Bouncing off my bi ryuji awakening post, im gonna add these tags from it: (separated to make it easier to read)
[#anyway. akira is the guy ever. and ryuji is exploding#‘i have died. badly’#i like thinking of akira like this; hes ryujis first exposure to nb ppl and gnc adjacent stuff#even if akira is p masc by most standards hes still got a bit of. aloofness. about his gender stuffs#ryuji is just really into the way akira carries himself#and it takes him a while to go oh. oh i think its cause i like this dude#um.#😳.
#also i wanted to clarify#but ryujis mom just doesnt know Who akira is in that picture#and in my head hes like. looking down at mona and petting him (while sitting)#(AND hes with ann and theyre both kind of a distance away from the camera)#so at a quick glance; hes just Some Girl#and even though shes wrong; it kicks off the mental chaos olympics in ryujis head#‘what hes not a girl’ to ‘where would she even get that from’ to ‘well akira said himself he didnt rlly care what ppl thought about it’#to ‘well. where DID she get that from?’ to lookin at what his homie does a little closer to ‘aw fuck. man.’#but i love that for him
#ALSO. RYU/GORO IN TAGS…..#but ryuji going oh my GOD oh my godddd 😨😓😓😓 when something clicks in his head about goro#his voice is so practiced and naturally softspoken and his public facing persona is very demure#and once he gets past the initial anger over goro being a pompous prick who shittalks about the thieves. hes like. god fucking dammit.#There Is A Pattern and A Type He Has and Its Killing Him To Realize it.#hes literally sitting in his room w his head in his hands]
Ryuji definitely finds Conventionally Attractive Girls pretty, but he realizes around postgame that he genuinely formed crushes on THREE people; Akira, Makoto, and Goro. And all three of them are people who carry themselves as a bit Soft and Delicate (akira and makoto w their personality and mannerisms, goro w his appearance) while also being deceptively strong. Yusuke WOULD fit into this but hes only strong in the metaverse. Also if u tried to argue that he still finds yusuke pretty, Ryuji would just say ‘yeah duh? Of course???’ and would not elaborate further.
I just think. Its cute 👉🏾👈🏾 Ryuji loves someone whos pretty and capable of knocking him flat on his ass lmao He LOVES a challenge and he likes that they can all challenge him in different ways.
Akira is way stronger than he looks; hes very toned and he used to be quite active before being shipped off to tokyo. And after fighting in the metaverse, hes gotten way better at using an enemies mass and momentum against them. Yeah he can properly knock someone down, but its way easier to let Ryuji charge him and use that momentum to sweep and pin. Which Ryuji remembers vividly for Weeks. Akira is not allowed to spar w him and Makoto for awhile after that.
Makoto is just strong as hell. But shes very defensive, and extremely patient. ‘Ill wait and see before I decide What to do’. Shes got good reaction timing and its hard to catch her offguard. Its very difficult to disorient her so oftentimes, his spars w her are more about endurance. And if he ASKS her to do so, she’ll actually fight him back. He never wins 😭 but she is very patient w him and she doesnt treat him like an idiot. She likes to give him tips and redirect his strengths to make up for his weaknesses and it makes him a bit warm in this chest
Spars w Goro are just fun. Theyre fun! Goro is way more aggressive and reckless than Makoto and Akira. He is looking for openings near constantly and Ryuji has to either keep up or tank hits. Its very. Engaging. For him. Sometimes he loses and Goro is giving him a look so smug, Ryuji wishes he could kick him in his fucking teeth (something he clearly couldnt do bc hes already been knocked flat on his ass). And sometimes he wins, and hes so shocked and HAPPY about it; he doesnt miss the way Goro looks away from him pouting like a brat (‘no fucking way are u POUTING man, what a sore loser 😭’). Goro and his uptight personality is thrown out the window completely and its so fun and refreshing to see. Hes tall and imposing w broad shoulders and toned arms and if Ryuji is staring, he finds himself immediately distracted when Goros cheerful, softspoken voice asks if hes willing to go another round.
I love it 👉🏾👈🏾 Ryujis got a complicated relationship w violence but it helps to have people he trusts engage with it in a way that doesnt make him feel like some brute. Theyre all kind of itching to beat the shit out of things for multiple reasons, but instead of taking that out on each other, they spend time training one another so that they can beat the shit out of OTHER things better. Its an efficient system 😊
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Skepticism
Summary: Jamil (probably) doesn't have any ulterior motives, but Jack is not so quick to trust that.
Word count: 900+
A/N: I literally started writing this as soon as I got out of dance class today so do not expect it to be good 😭 I just thought it would be so funny if Jack judged Yu's taste in guys. He's always looking out for his friends and keeping an eye out for those who might be unsavory so, you know;; lol. Just wanted to write a little bit of silliness to make up for... everything I've posted in the past few days lol. Enjoy!
~
“There’s this friend of yours,” Jamil murmurs, eyes darting aside as he hands a plastic container to Yu. It seems this time he’s foregone the excuse that he happened to make extras the night before. “Jack, was it?”
(The container is nice and warm, and there’s faint sparkles that indicate it’s been enchanted to stay that way. How sweet.)
Yu tilts his head. “What about Jack?”
“He… I don’t mean to sound paranoid”—“Cute attempt, even if you kind of do”— “but he always seems to become excessively alert when I’m around you. Hostile, even.”
Even someone as unobservant as Yu can immediately recall what Jamil’s talking about—Jack isn’t very good at hiding his body language, so it’s easy to notice when he does subconscious things like raising his tail or stiffening his ears upwards. Or when his fur stands on end, making him look somehow sharper and dangerous. And—
“Oh yeah, didn’t he growl at you once when you clapped me on the shoulder?”
“What did he think I was going to do, punch you?” Jamil asks exasperatedly. “I can keep my hands relatively to myself.”
“But not your eyes,” Yu mutters. “If he knew about winter break, he’d probably kill you.”
Jamil grimaces.
“…that was a joke,” quickly adds Yu.
“If he keeps baring his canines at me, it won’t seem like one.” Jamil rubs his temples. “I’d ask what I’m doing wrong, but I know for a fact everything I do for you is harmless.”
Yu smiles, a little apologetically. “Well, sometimes he doesn’t notice his own behavior, but it’s because he cares so much.”
“That doesn’t make me feel more reassured.”
“Maybe you should spend more time around us. He’ll warm up to you.” At Jamil’s skeptical little eye roll, Yu continues with a growing smirk. “I mean, even if it looks like he doesn’t, it’s not like he’s gonna do anything to you if you don’t do anything crazy. He’s a biiig softie, it’s the only reason he hasn’t beaten Ace up yet.”
Jamil scoffs. “Soft or not, I’d rather be on decent terms with him so it’s easier for me to…” He trails off all of a sudden, leaving Yu to abruptly notice the heavy footsteps behind him.
“So it’s easier for you to do what?” asks Jack in his usual low, rumbling voice—with a distinct tone of warning. Although he towers over the both of them, Yu doesn’t feel threatened with how Jack stands right behind him; it feels like having a big guardian puppy around.
While Yu waves to his friend, Jamil says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “For me to be friends with Yu. I’m not sure what I’ve done to offend you, but I can tell you for certain that I don’t have any intentions to hurt him.”
Maybe the way it sounds so smooth and practiced is more suspicious to Jack. “Uh-huh. You’d better be able to prove it with more than just words. Yu, can I have that container?”
“Yeah, just don’t toss it or anything. Jamil works diligently to prepare meals, you know.” When Jack nods reluctantly, Yu hands it over without complaint.
As the resident poison-tester, Jamil settles for a resigned look on his face as Jack sniffs for signs of unsavory magic or ingredients.
The beastman seems satisfied after a solid half a minute of inspection, at least until— “Wait, haven’t you been eating stuff marked with the same magic for the past few weeks? Was it all from this guy?”
It’s comical how Jamil sputters. “So I’ve been reduced to ‘this guy’? And how come you only start sniffing it out once you know I gave it to Yu?”
“‘Cause I have no clue what your real intentions are,” Jack argues, ears pointing up with tension. “You used to fade into the background but all of a sudden you start getting buddy-buddy with Yu, of course I’m gonna think there’s something up with that—”
“Jack, it’s fine,” Yu interrupts. “Jamil can be a douche”—“Excuse you?”—“but he won’t try anything. You, well, you smelled it for yourself, he didn’t put anything in the food and I haven’t been acting weird since I started eating it.”
“Except for trusting him…”
Jamil gives them both a Look™. “Have I not been proving myself trustworthy?”
The way Jack narrows his eyes slightly at Jamil and vice versa feels like something straight out of a manga. Yu can practically see the black background effects of hostility. “You have, and that’s why I’m giving you a chance…” He trails off, seeing Jack’s fur stand on end. “Guys, this is getting ridiculous. You ever think there’s a reason why Crewel calls you ‘unruly pups’?”
“I’m not being unruly in the least,” Jamil says coolly, not disengaging from whatever the hell is going on.
“You’re not helping your case,” Jack grumbles, crossing his arms and glaring even more fiercely.
Yu closes his eyes. “You guys, seriously—”
The ten-minute warning bell rings, and Yu has never been more grateful for a glorified “hurry the fuck up and get to first period” message.
Jack backs down right away, mumbling something about not wanting to be late for Trein’s class. As soon as he’s out of earshot, all 190+ centimeters of him disappearing down the hallway, Jamil turns to Yu.
“So… what was that about him being a ‘softie’?”
Yu rolls his eyes. “You skeptic. I mean, me too, but—c’mon. I’m sure he’ll warm up to you someday.”
“...Uh-huh.” Jamil sounds unconvinced. “We’ll see how soon that day comes, then.”
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work on chainsaw man si (gabi) lore so I can post it and have people enjoy the work I've tirelessly slaved over for ~2 years ❌️
make another gabi variant 🥰✅️✅️✅️✅️
anyway gabi variant whose a reality traveller like wishi. she travels the same way wishi does (through portals but sometimes they kinda just phase in and out bc it's funny) except she's also able to dream-walk through realities.
(no super real visual differences between her and the usual csm gabi's. she just doesn't have the abnormal traits (ahoge, eye rings, and the line down her spine. though i'm contemplating letting her keep the ahoge bc it's cute. visual difference is because this gabi never needed wishi to give her powers, she kinda just spawned in with them 🙇🏽♀️)
she has a silly "meet-cute" kind of thing w/ denji after accidentally going into his dream while she slept normally. they meet each other more often in his dreams and they start falling in love w/ one another; denji thinks she's literally his dream girl (but also in a metaphorical sense because she is, in a way, his dream girl) while gabi knows the truth and just doesn't correct him. 🔽🔽
they do end up meeting irl after gabi actually travels to his reality while trying to escape something else. she kinda just gets spit out via portal into his kitchen in the middle of breakfast lowkey and denji goes "omg it's my dream gf !!! whaght is she doing in my kitchen ..." and she goes "...." cause she hit her head on the counter so she's outta there @-@
ermm other stuff happen I guesssss but that's unimportant !!! the real importance is the fact that they're actually together now in REAL life !!!! no need for gabi to hijack his dreams to see his cute ass face when she can kiss it in the waking world 😋✌🏽!!!
tho they still do sleep 2gether 100%. they gotta !!! but this time they actually get to rest because they know they'll see each other in the waking world 🫶🏽
(queued post bc it is like 6:21 am rn and I'm not gonna wake up early enough to post at a good time T□T)
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