#queer ships are always full of drama

[mieczyhale]

s2 of shadow & bone is great for a lot of reasons, but a big one imo is that by the end of it... all of the hetero couples are separated in some way for some reason (like travel or death).

the gay couples however?? happy, together, stupidly in love

when does that ever fucking happen in shows or movies??

no gays dead no gay relationships broken no gays sad, miserable, and alone

jesper & wylan and nadia & tamar live, laugh, loving out here while all the straight ships are in ruin and it’s damn near delightful. as much as i love some of the other ships and didn’t want them to get separated, i’m more amazed and giggly over the gays fuckin Making It. Together. christ alive

[bidisastersanji]

Was talking with @anniilaugh about would be the funniest/stupidest reality tv shows for Sanji and Zoro to meet at so here’s a few ideas and please feel free to add your own lol

The Bachelor: hopeless romantic Sanji as the bachelor being courted by Gin, Pudding, Ace, Pedro, Violet, Katakuri, etc (all the other ships) as well as a debt-ridden Zoro who was pushed by Nami to sign up to try and get prize money (in this instance you can get a lot of prize money if you’re chosen by the bachelor and leave, or you split with him if you stay or something?) the ANGST as Zoro gets a very bad first impression but fights to stay on (for the money) and tries to charm his way into Sanji’s heart, only to start falling for him too . Sanji would struggle SO much deciding who to give roses to lol. pudding would be sweet and kind to him but calculating/ manufacturing drama behind the scenes.

Survivor- now you’ll tell me how dare you put Sanji on an island to starve again and to that I say- this time he’s prepared and he’ll forage and fish and is doing it to prove to himself he can/that he’s over his trauma . He and Zoro are on opposing teams at first and then get to know each other at reunification

A baking/cooking show for non-professionals, with Zoro as a contestant and Sanji as a chef judge . Alternatively, Sanji as a contestant on a pro one and Zoro is a celebrity guest with the difficult palate they need to please

Fort Boyard: Sanji freaking out with the bugs and spiders, the team losing their mind because all the instructions they scream at Zoro through the door are being carried out in the exact opposite manner, both parties impressing the other with their feats. Fort boyard is a show for half-famous people so it could be fun if they’d heard of each other before/are each others celebrity crushes

Mister Universe- mister France and mister Japan meet and fall in love Ehehe

The bi life/any dating by the pool type dating show: Sanji is a hopeless romantic and Zoro got signed up by Perona. They butt heads at first

The Amazing Race: established relationship ZSZ , fan favourites, always arguing and getting lost because of Zoro, the underdogs

Love on the spectrum: Zoro, swords and sword fighting special interest guy meets Sanji, romcoms and cooking special interests guy

Too hot to handle : Demi!Zoro signs up thinking it’ll be a piece of cake since there’s no way he’ll develop feelings for superficial people like the ones that usually come into that show, he’ll manage to stay celibate no problem and get away with the prize money easy . Enter Sanji, and all his plans go to hell

Queer eye: zoro is the « hero of the week » and Sanji is the food and wine expert, need i say more?

L’amour est dans le pré(love is in the field)/Farmer wants a wife husband: farmer zoro and city boy Sanji

Naked attraction: this would actually be super hilarious if for some reason one of them didn’t fully read or understand the concept of the show being full frontal nudity as the basis for selecting a partner

My mind is going wild with the possibilities but you get it lol- what shows did I miss ??

[farm-witches-fic-recs]

Our farm witch friends really delivered with their faves last month and we're here this week to share the last of that list. Thank you to everyone who responded to pass along the fics you love and help keep this fandom reading (and writing)!

Check these community fave works out and leave the authors some love!

=========

Bound by symmetry (barelypink) “I am and always will be a sucker for a slow burn. This one is a diamond.”

Goodwill (@spiders-hth-is-an-outlier) “I don't know why I love this as much as I do. It's really sad, but also really joyful. It unfolds so beautifully. I love all the introspection. And the socks. I'll always love the socks.” 

If not now (MoreHuman, swat117) “There is no truer test of a relationship than all the time in the world.”

If you say run, I’ll run with you (upbeat) “Wonderful, different take on the wedding.”

Language of Love (pandorasdaydream) “This series takes the 22 min tv episodes and fills in the moments we don’t see. David and Patrick are fleshed out, while staying true to Dan Levy’s characters. The series is beautifully written and developed.”

Left unsaid (@treepyful) “A very detailed day in the life of a rare pair in the Fandom. Like, so so detailed. But every word is glorious and intentional, and somehow, though there's only like 6 words of dialog in the entire fic, so much gets said. Also, there's one of the most incredible descriptions of a thunderstorm that I've ever read.”

Neither snow, nor rain (middyblue) “Christmas slow-burn.”

Post hoc ergo propter hoc (various) “I love all of the installments in this political AU because I liked the West Wing a lot but it was never queer enough. This series has all the humor and dialogue and romance and Queer Feelings (tm) you might ever wish for in a beltway workplace drama, plus President Johnny Rose and Stevie Budd as his (eventual) chief of staff.” 

Prismatic (thetrustytaco) **WIP**  “You only see b&w until you get close to your soulmate! Gah! Not finished but so good so far!!”

Sleepless (@wellschitt) “This fic is funny, sexy, and full of heart, and at just over 10k, it's the perfect length for a reread (or in my case many, many rereads) when you need a quick pick me up on a stressful day.”

Time until the end of time (@ships-to-sail, yourbuttervoicedbeau (@kiwiana-writes)) “I've been into the idea of a waiting room on the way to the after life for a long time, and this piece totally does our characters justice. If you have an ache in your life, it will knead it and might even heal you a bit.”

Value added (theMaura) “Short. Hilarious.”

Vampires Are People Too! (@petrodobreva) “It's a rare thing indeed for a fic author to create a unique, fully realized alternative world while still holding on to the spirit of the canon work that we all know and love, but that's exactly what petrodobreva manages to pull off in this teen vampire AU.” 

Winning the Game (@ladyflowdi) “One of the most hilarious laugh-out-loud fics in the fandom.” 

[chawarin-panich]

I just can’t scream enough about post season 5 Hilson from the beloved early 2000s drama House MD and how it straight up no homo’d it’s way straight into queer representation????

Or like was it actually vice versa???

What did they WANT? Were they upset that people shipped them together in the first 5 seasons that they HAD to change something about the neighboring offices and frequent visits…so they MOVED THEM INTO THE SAME HOUSE???

Or was it what they’d wanted all along - the gayness that is because let me there you there is BARELY any context. House is in a psychiatric hospital and then he’s living with Wilson because that’s the only way he can emotionally heal????

But then there’s the constant no- homoing except it always just comes full circle back to their codependency so all the self aware no-homoing comes off as defensive blithering whereas they’re being gay as ever over Wilson’s dead girlfriend??? Why is Wilson talking to his dead girlfriend about his worries about House??

?????what is going on?????

[nights-at-crystarium]

January 9 is Vivi’s birthday \;w;/ The date’s cheeky, it’s when I reached ShB on him ingame. A year ago. JUST A YEAR. No other oc of mine had such an intense development process. I wanted to try writing a disaster, and, well....

Lemme have today as an excuse to ramble about his influences. Of course I didn’t merely lump these together, I kept realizing the likeness as time went on.

The concentration of unhinged blondies and literal idols is past the critical level, take cover, it’s gonna blow.

Spoiler warning for everything.

Anarchy Panty

Because his full name’s Vivien Fucksalot Rell x’D A good number of their tropes match perfectly.

This speech could as well be copypasted into his final battle with Emet:

Panty: You're right, I'm just a little bitch and I'm proud of it. But guess what, douchebag? That's not the point. News flash, I don't need special fucking powers to beat the shit out of you. You know why? Because I'm a bitch who doesn't give a fuck. You and your half-dead face can preach about hymens and demons and other weird words that supposedly mean shit, but that doesn't change the fact that if any of you fuckers get in my way, I'm gonna kick some twisted-ass ass. You hear me dick? I'm a hot bitch angel named Panty. And no matter what anyone says, I DO WHAT I FUCKING WANT!

Princess Ai

An edgy fashion icon that I'm still in love with. Brainstorming the visual styles for Vivi, I simply decided to indulge as hard as I can.

Howl

Howl gets his redemption arc, Vivi, uh.... Surprise, the entire ShB part of Fragments is his redemption arc of sorts. But he exists outside ShB as well. He’s not meant to be a goody two shoes. But hey, his drama queen moments are entertaining to watch.

Raha has a lot of Howl in his character too. With Vivi, he’s basically this, except he doesn’t swallow him.. Okay he does but in a different way *kicked*

Arataka Reigen

Because I’m physically incapable of writing a classic hero.

Vivi has a complicated relationship with his career and a pragmatic approach to most things in life. He also prefers words to violence, will fight only if that fails.

When confidence and persuasion carry so hard you don’t really need anything else. Vivi firmly believes in everything he says and does. He doesn’t derive any fucked up joy from being right, but he knows as a fact that he IS right.

Sakuma Ryuichi

Duality my beloved \o/ And dorkiness. Other than that, Ryuichi doesn’t have as much influence on his character, but the visuals?

I mean I literally use this shirt and necklace as an easter egg/homage. Gravitation triggered my queer awakening in the faraway 2006, might as well give it the acknowledgement it deserves.

And, lastly, the he.

What else do you expect from a character tailored for a ship \o/

Short. Sassy. Dorky. Gremlin. All of their direct likeness stems from ARR, while the more subtle parallels and extreme opposite values form later.

If Raha’s eccentric, Vivi takes that just a tad bit further, simply because he’s always been allowed to.

What Raha keeps repressed, buried deep down, Vivi embraces in full. He’s an unruly, effervescent spark of life, he’s meant to be Raha’s “manic pixie dream boy” according to tvtropes, to slowly lure him out of his shell and teach him confidence, the joy of living, and find a way to stop him from killing himself over and over again.

Words of praise and affirmation have no effect on them. Both are competent in some field, but never brag about it. While Raha has a severe imposter syndrome, Vivi knows he’s cool as a fact, which still doesn't mean he loves or values himself as he should. He just acknowledges and uses his status for his own benefit as openly as the world keeps using himself.

Destiny (affectionate) and destiny (derogatory).

Raha’s The Adult (tm) Vivi needs to stay somewhat stable. This’s the reason they don’t quite get along in ARR yet, Raha must go through that century of suffering that, despite all common sense, refines him into something delightful, Vivi must go through HW-SB to realize his priorities in life and frankly get fucked up enough to form a perfect chemistry with Exarch.

Raha has a moral compass that he may adjust at will, Vivi has none at all. How much more questionable would they be if they weren’t cute and charismatic :’D

They’re feisty and competitive towards each other, Raha especially so. Vivi has a red cloth effect on him. Forever wrestling for that imaginary control (yep, in bed too). On the emotional side, it’s forever “you matter, I don’t”. They’re mirrors of each other, reflecting some parts as they are, twisting others in most peculiar ways.

Vivi literally wouldn’t exist without Raha, both ic and ooc. So I daresay Raha has the most influence on his character, at the same time he’s his own guy enough to stay interesting. I’m so proud of him. I’m holding him by the scruff and helplessly shaking him in the air.

[sophieinwonderland]

this is absolutely random but ( takes a rl breath )

what is with some people who insist tulpa is cultural appropriation insists it shouldn't be used ya know the whole mess

who also insist the definition of fujoshi is fetishist of gay people and actively fight that 'it doesn't matter that it is a japanese word actively still used there and that isn't it means in japanese that's what it means in english', ignores the history, uses it as an insult, sometimes even using it in the anti-trans dogwhistle way, etc etc

tulpa isn't even the same word as any actively used, barely has a history inside the language compared to outside it yet gets so much more defense that it to be dropped

it's actually way too common at least on my part of tumblr and discord

I don't know how many times I've walked into a server or got recommended posts of anti-tulpa term users bastardizing fujoshi i heavily block and it still happens so often

are you defending languages or only doing what's useful to you

could that subset of anti-tulpa be any more obvious?

I totally get if you neeeever post this because even mentioning fujoshi brings up a whole new can of hate that I'd understand wanting to avoid. I mean that's why I'm even sending this as an ask to someone instead of posting myself the last thing I need is the combined hate wave

just kinda wanted to scream it to someone who might get it that it get so shallow so fast because today was another heavy anti-tulpa anti-fujo day

Ah, tumblr. Always introducing me to brand new drama to get myself involved in!

I had a hard time parsing this originally just because I had no idea what a Fujoshi was.

Having gotten caught up a bit, let me see if I'm getting all of this right...

Fujoshi was coined as an insult to Japanese girls and women who consumed yaoi content...

It was reclaimed by that same community and became a self-identifier.

The term spread to the West and was used by yaoi fans the same way as the reclaimed version.

Anti-shippers started saying the word referred to "straight women who fetishize gay men."

Anti-shippers started spreading the narrative that the Fujoshi community was homophobic and using Fujoshi as an insult.

TERFs and transphobes also were involved in popularizing this use?

Japanese people have called out the word being twisted by antis in this way.

Yeah, that's incredibly problematic.

Anyway, since I'm dipping into this discourse, I might as well take the full plunge and say that anti-Fujoshi and anti-yaoi movements are actively harmful and dangerous to the LGBTQ community.

More works featuring LGBTQ content is a good thing. People consuming that content helps support it and ensure that more content of that nature will be created in the future. Maybe you don't like that most of the content is being made by straight people, but the content made by straight people will normalize it for queer creators as well.

A rising tide raises all ships. And the reverse is also true.

When your rhetoric results in queer people asking if it's morally acceptable to consume queer content, you are actively harming the LGBTQ community.

[sapphicsparkles]

r u a pro shipper

deep sigh I know this is bait, with all the effort of not even typing out full words. But hey, here's my chance to rant about how stupid anti/purity culture is. As far as I understand it "proship" has two major slang definitions: 1) supporting romantically/sexually shipping fictional characters together in general 2) supporting romantically/sexually shipping "problematic" fictional characters together I take it this ask is about the 2nd definition. There is ofc the wave of "PROSHIP DNI" on social profiles, especially young queer folks on social media, which I find highly disappointing because here is the thing: what do you consider "problematic?" In what context? And why the hell are we applying these broadly to the exploration and experimentation of fictional space as a qualifier for someone's moral standing? Why are you so adherent to what is considered institutionally approved as safe, good, and squeaky clean. Especially as a queer person who exist outside and in contradiction to cishet heteropatriarchal standards. Oh and now we've come to it: the fear of queerness being associated with things like incest and age gaps and what have you--things people generally deem problematic in shipping. The desire for queerness to be clean and wholesome and fucking acceptable. Model minority thinking if you will. Let queerness in fiction and media be soft and wholesome and healing, let it be deplorable and unforgivable, let it be wretched, let it be mean, let it struggle and grow and evolve. Let it have the breadth and humanity that cishet characters and stories are readily given. Please stop shooting yourself in the foot with this "good representation" thing. No level of internet drama and ship warring will make them want to kill any of us any less. The line for what institutionally acceptable queerness is will always move, it will always constrain and choke and kill and put us back into little boxes fit for consumption by the power structure. On the one hand, if you have things that ick you and you don't want to see, curating your online space is a good thing. That's what muting and blocking and tagging is for. But to me the "prosoship dni"/anti that I've witnessed for the most part is either model minority thinking, a false association with fictional enjoyment as irl condoning and morality, moral grandstanding, or some sort of wack performative tribalism. (Don't even get me started on the purity culture social panopticon we're living in.) Or some combination of the above. This rise of anti sentiment and the fall of media literacy is a correlation that I fear cannot be a coincidence. You can enjoy things in media that you wouldn't actually condone or even enjoy in reality, you can consume and enjoy media while also actively being aware and critiquing it for its flaws, issues, and the context it was created in. Build your critical thinking skills folks. Sometimes it's even good to encounter things you don't like to understand the world and yourself better--to understand why you don't like it and what it is connected to. Build your self awareness folks. In summary: please chill the fuck out y'all and hold grace for others.

[silviakundera]

I'm nervous about all of these upcoming dramas that chronicle the life of a female character like legend of jewelry and flourished peony I left like blossoms of adversity could've used more episodes most of the great shows that depict this kind of story like Story of Ming lan and Story of Yanxi palace are 70 plus episodes because you need the room to slowly build up your story and characters but now every cdrama has to be 40 eps or less and that's really not how you do art you can't just confine every single story into a specific number of episodes the writing/pace/development will always suffer

I think we are right to be very concerned about dramas already filmed that now have to be edited down to 40 episodes. When done with due care, I think they can still be very worth watching (it's the supporting characters that will suffer but likely not the story of the female lead; they'll slice down the secondary couple and SML.) But if the production team isn't preoccupied with quality and/or isn't given the budget for a good editor to invest the time to get it right... 🙈

For the dramas not yet filmed, I honestly am fairly confident. Competent directors and screenwriters can certainly draw on their creativity to tell a full & satisfying story in 40 forty-five minute episodes. We have seen how cdrama artists can still flourish despite constraints. Short dramas like Butterflied Lover and Provoke, which created compelling stories with little budget & screentime. Censored queer dramas that tell a second story between the lines.

There are 2 common set ups for tv production:

[1] the multi season storytelling style that plots a portion of the story bit by bit. You get the beginning arc - maybe the story continues; maybe it's cancelled. You get another arc - maybe the story continues; maybe a major actor doesn't renew so their character suddenly is eliminated from the narrative; maybe it's cancelled. You get another arc... You maybe get an ending?? (prayers up!) Which often doesn't resemble the writer's original vision, because of casting changes or because another show aired their idea first, or because the writer's opinion on a ship or character changed due to interactions with fans (positive or negative).

[2] a complete story is filmed, with a beginning-middle-end, and it's released as a whole 22 or 34 or 40 episodes.

I'll be honest, after many years of experiencing type 1... I am so, so over it. I will take some annoying limitations and a constraint of 40 episodes any damn day if you can deliver me a coherent narrative that delivers an arc that is solidly closed - where I actually get to experience the complete vision. That's my personal preference for how to do art as television.

I think it's wonderful that in the last few years, through kdramas and cdramas, I've been able to enjoy so many complete stories centered around the growth of a strong female character. And I don't take that for granted. So let's think positive, my anon friend. Bring it on!

[just-antithings]

If you want to know how vicious antis can be, let me tell you the story of a queer disabled trauma survivor who had their childhood dream of becoming a professional animator in the industry destroyed by antis

Their name is Ang Vondra (handsomehugs). Many of you probably heard the accusations that they’re a pedophile, probably because they were and still are targeted by blatant misinformation both online (mainly twitter, an artists beware post on Facebook and kiwi farms) AND in real life. I’ll try to summarize it as best as I can but it’s a long story

The reason Ang is called out is because they drew taboo art (invader Zim porn) on a different adults only platform under an Alias. They have always tried to keep their account on tumblr/twitter separate from the adult platform one but it was found and the images shared between their then boss Kyle Karozza (mighty magiswords) and their coworkers.

On top of that they made friends with people who have a very negative fixation on them and who are antis. The names are jeraspat, jay goldstein (truebuggy) and holly meadow disch. These people have stalked them and doxxed them for 2+ years because they made Ang a scapegoat of drama they have absolutely nothing to do with.

Because they wanted to move on from a toxic friend group, they made new accounts and started shipping two characters from the previously mentioned cartoon until their old friend group (mainly jera) recognized the art style and began calling them out for “manipulating everyone” both online and offline

At first Ang tried to ignore this but because the people I mentioned actually have some influence in the animation industry, their spread of misinformation was actually successful. They were isolated both online and offline, had multiple kiwi farms stalkers, moved across states just to get away from their stalkers, are in a huge financial debt and even though they cut all ties to the animation industry and people in it, they still hound Ang TO THIS DAY

I’ve watched drama unfold because Ang made a post and it reached a person who hasn’t blocked them. The post WASNT even about them but they still went and made false accusations about Ang harassing them. They are actually GLAD even that Ang was black listed from the industry because scummy people decided to spread misinformation

All over fictional nsfw. Stuff the animation industry is actually known for. But they saw Ang as an easy victim because unlike them Ang had no power and is a queer trauma survivor

So if this reaches anyone, I’d love if this could be spread for awareness. ANTIS DESTROY LIFE CAREERS. AND they get away with it without repercussion!

I Hope tumblr doesn’t eat this but here’s the full google doc that explains their situation

document/d/1XdfUJyVYhmaahTfbxLNU0W0yVz80hmptNrCQv7KSL6o/edit#heading=h.99egf9yzeyma

And here’s a link to their gofundme

/f/help-me-rebuild-my-life-after-careerending-abuse

I can’t get the links to work

[vanadisvalentine]

It's All About the Bees, Baby

Well, now that I'm done crying and laughing and screaming, I can finally take a moment to relax and put all of my thoughts about today's episode in one place. Full disclosure that I'm not going to be talking about fandom drama or anything because I have negative interest in engaging with that sort of discussion. This post is about what the bees mean to me and to others, as well as why the big scene today was so beautiful.

To start off on a personal note, I've been watching RWBY since I was twelve, so coming up on a decade now. I remember seeing a ton of fanart and memes for volume one as it was airing and decided to give it a shot a few weeks before volume two started airing. I dropped it in the first episode because the sound mixing was awful (apparently I've always been an audio snob), but decided to give it another go based on the recommendation of one of my long time friends, and that was when I realized it was basically the perfect show for little twelve year old Valentine. Great character designs, awesome music, I dug the humor, but more than anything, there was a particular character who I could not get out of my head.

Yang Xiao Long.

Yang is still to this day very much my type. Brash, bold, boisterous, blonde, brawler. I have loved this girl since the day I first laid eyes on her and I will love her to the day I die. As you can probably guess, being twelve years old is often a pretty rough period in a baby sapphic's life. I knew I liked girls, but outwardly admitting it to myself was something that took a long time, and Yang sort of galvanized that process, which really kicked off after Burning the Candle aired.

This is the moment that made me go "Oh. Oh, she's like me, isn't she?"

And it was all downhill from there.

I don't think I need to stress how prevalent shipping is in the RWBY fandom. For a show that doesn't focus much on romance (there are romantic relationships in the show that get significant attention and one of those ships was sunk six volumes ago), it might be one of the most notable aspects of the fandom. If two characters exist, even if one of them was dead before the series even started, there's a good chance there's a ship name for them...be they family or not. Looking at you, Enabler. That being said, Bumbleby--great ship name by the way, you guys--has been the most prominent basically since the start, with White Rose/Ice Flower following closely behind. This isn't really surprising. They're half of the main four girls and Blake specifically went out of her way to choose Yang as her partner, so them becoming a popular ship is a no-brainer, but the reasons as to why it's truly something special didn't become clear until the audience had learned more about these two as characters. Their backstories, what they strive towards, what motivates them, what scares them, all of that. They might seem like oil and water at first glance, but really, they're made for each other.

Alright, let's head in another direction before this just turns into a post about what makes their relationship great. Bumbleby is a relationship that is important to people for a lot of reasons, chief among those reasons being that people see themselves in these girls who have been through so much, both together and separately.

Blake Belladonna is, for all intents and purposes, an abuse victim, something that is unfortunately all too common (especially among the queer community). She managed to escape that relationship for a time and found family in her team, but her relationship with Yang has always taken center stage. I don't think it's lost on most Bumbleby fans that on the surface, Yang and Adam are similar. Semblances aside, they're both prone to bouts of anger, but one of the (many) differences between the two is while Adam was attracted to Blake for what he wants her to be--another violent revolutionary to take on the world with him--Yang likes Blake for who she is. She cares about her, truly, evident by the fact that she's the one who knocks Blake out of her self-destructive spiral in volume two. For so many victims of abuse, the notion of finding someone who will love you for you and won't treat you the way your last partner did is almost like a fairy tale, so to see Blake move on from Adam and overcome her trauma with Yang by her side resonates with a lot of people.

On the other side of things, there's Yang. She has abandonment issues, of course, which is something that doesn't really mesh well with Blake "My Problems Can't Hurt Me If I Just Run From Them" Belladonna. Come on, her semblance literally leaves behind copies of herself to take damage for her, but the show spells it out for you during Mountain Glenn, so you don't need my analysis here. The difference between Blake and Raven, though, is that Blake came back. Because she cares, and even if she made a mistake, she tries so hard to make it up to Yang. For a lot of people who have been abandoned or tossed aside in their lives, seeing someone who left a loved one behind not only come back for them but earnestly try and make amends is moving because it's something they think they'll never have, or it's something they've longed for but never got.

Now, onto the big scene from today's episode, Confessions Within Cumulonimbus Clouds. First of all, the fact that the Ever After itself said "You two have been making goo-goo eyes at each other since forever, go and work it out"? Gorgeous. Beautiful. You love to see it. What's nice about the framing of the scene is that Blake and Yang are put into a situation where in order to progress, they have to...well, progress. "Take the next step", which is to, of course, confess already. And how do they take those steps? They have to open up, say how it is they truly feel about each other instead of awkwardly flirting and making Weiss want to pull her hair out. And the more they progress, the more solid the rickety bridge becomes, symbolizing that they're getting closer and closer to finally clicking.

Even then, there's a contrast between the two of them. Blake, while nervous, is ready to take the next step. She's ready to finally say what they've needed to say to each other for ages. Yang, though? She's scared. Scared that she'll mess it up, scared that Blake won't feel the same, scared that she'll fall.

But in the end, even if she's nervous, she knows it's Blake. Her best friend, her partner, her soulmate. And Blake urges her to say it, and it's the push she needs to take that next step.

Part of what makes this scene so special to so many people is that when it comes to fandom and queer shipping, so much of it is implicit. Even for something that is obviously gay, like Madoka Magica, Homura never says that she is romantically in love with Madoka, and the unfortunate reality is that without that, queer relationships are often just written off as bait. Hell, just this last season of anime we were given The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, a show that was commonly called bait even though the main characters makes it clear at several points that she is a lesbian who is attracted to the love interest. If there's no confession, it's bait. If there's no kiss, it's bait. So the fact that today, we were given both? It's so incredibly refreshing, because it is just not something that happens a lot in anime/anime adjacent media, especially not one as widespread as RWBY is, so people who mainly consume that type of art are left scrambling for crumbs, grasping at every glance or touch or smile, sustaining themselves off of fanart and fanfiction. You've got to understand that a lot of queer people--sapphics in particular--just...aren't used to this.

People have been clamoring over these two for a decade now. The hiatus between volumes eight and nine beat our asses, and we've been hyping ourselves up with "Bees kiss, bees kiss, bees kiss" since the trailer for this volume dropped, so to have it? To have it be real, be tangible, be undeniable? It feels good. It feels good to prove the weird ass homophobes who for some reason still watch this show wrong. It feels good to be vindicated. It feels good to be able to feel this joy.

We won, babes. We won. We can celebrate that, we can cherish that, and no one can take that from us.

[ashton-slashton]

motion, stillness, and alternate for lily!

Ooo this will be fun!!

Motion: How Lily moves depends entirely on mood, dress, and occasion. Despite his bulky appearance, Lily is a very energetic man who likes to keep moving when he's not too busy brooding about something or another. He also moves as a man who perhaps isn't entirely aware of his strength. I've taken this directly from Claude Rains himself, in how he moved in his films and how he was described in his biography. Apparently, he was outstandingly strong, and had impeccable posture. When in uniform, of course, his movement is a bit stilted, but he always moves with a certain poise and drama, at least when he's not actually working (in which case it's all fast fast fast and a lot of muscle!)

Stillness: Even though he likes to keep in motion, Lily does often find himself in the stillness of his cabin, or at the dinner table, in which his motion is limited. However, he's got to have something in his hands at all times or else he'll explode. Whether it's a glass or a cigarette, or his own hands clasped together, he's got to have something! He's prone to fidgeting. Claude Rains would sometimes fidget with his fingers and hands as a means of timing himself, it helped him to remember his lines. He also speaks with his hands, gestures and motions. Even in stillness, there is motion! Sometimes he can get carried away though, lost in his brooding...

Alternate: Given that putting Lily in The Terror WAS the alternative to his original story (one that I honestly may never finish, but it's a pleasant thought), this is sort of a funny question! But even so, I have put Lily in SO many scenarios. He's been a scared, agoraphobic single father trying to find love in the 1980s after a vicious divorce scandal. He's been a vampire who adopted young victims of vampirism, giving them a place to coalesce in their illness. He's been a lonely lighthouse keeper, disgraced by the navy for the crime of being queer. He's been the captain of a tramp trade ship in the late 1960s, in love with one of his crew. He's been an actor, a musician, a businessman, a teacher, a sailor. He's even been a space pirate! He tends to dress similarly in all these stories, big coats and nice but antiquated suits. Scarves and windswept hair that he can't seem to tame. He's always fundamentally the same each time: an anxious man full of love for life but too scared to live it fully. He needs the extra push from an outside source. Or maybe he just needs love.

(Picture here from about 2018)

[redvanillabee]

Thank you @daniel-sousas-blue-shirt for the tag!

First ship:

I probably rooted for some pairs before I even consciously knew what 'shipping' was, and it was most likely some...random local TV drama couple. I also was very mildly rooting for some H*rry P*tter couples back when I read the books as a kid. But generally speaking, I didn't care too much about romance subplots or ships (#signs that should have told me i was aro)

Once I learnt about shipping, my first 'real' ship was I think...US/UK from Hetalia.

Three ships:

You can't just ask a multishipper that! Um...

JackDaniels (Agent Carter)

Klaine (Glee) will always have a special place in my heart

Third place is probably just a tie between my other MCU ships

Last (current) song: China Reggaeton—Namewee

Last Movie: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania! :)

Currently Reading: I'm slowly making my way through several non-fiction. I don't have the same focus needed to read actual books as I used to.

Currently consuming: ...a protein shake

Currently craving: as in food or things in general? I would like a week off. But if we're talking about food...nothing really. I'm feeling quite full.

Tagging: @3friesshortofahappymeal @likea-black-widow-baby @the-invisible-queer @dnptheinfinity @sadieb798

[sherlock-is-ace]

we all know that representation is important... but i'm always amazed by how my brain is not really used to it yet

like i've just finished ofmd right? and i went into it knowing full well about the canon queer representation in it. I had seen screenshots, i had seen gifsets, the show is a "romantic comedy", i've heard the cast talk about it. Like I knew. Plus during the entire show it's pretty obvious that ed and stede have feelings for each other, it's not subtle...

but i got to the kiss scene and then the "his name is ed" scene and i went "oh it's canon cannon". Like throught the entire of my watch (knowing full well how the story went), I was still doubting it, thinking that i might be reading into things, and just shipping them, because i'm so used to that. I'm so used to inventing my own queer stories because otherwise i'd have nothing, or seeing the potential fall short because nobody ever delivers... Specially in a show that isn't a teen drama (not that there's anything wrong with that kind of rep but it's the most common one). In a show like this, with he avarege age of the characters not being 16, we don't usually get main queer protagonists, we might get a mention in passing, or a background character, or even a secondary one but not the main (that's why Pete and Lucius weren't a big shock to me personlly, I was ready to accept them).

Don't even get me started on Jim, like the fact that everyone immediately respected their pronouns and name? Even Hands, when threatening their life, it would have been so easy to misgender Jim in that moment but he didn't, because that's good writing y'all!!

anyways i'm late to the party, I know, I always am. But this show is a blessing, and now i finally have a good reason to be excited about season 2 lol

[parallel-play-fanfic]

What is this?

This is a Danganronpa, self-ship fanfic and retelling of SDR2: Goodbye Despair written by @my-gf-is-kazuichi-soda.

Full Title: Sensitive Hearts in Parallel Play

Quick summary: Autistic/Adhd queer kids form a friendship and eventual wlw romance despite being in a killing game. Non-despair au, mutual pining slowburn romance, humor, hurt/comfort, eventual OC x (trans girl) Kazuichi Soda,

Long version of the summary, and long notes/reoccurring themes/potential triggers for this story at the bottom (I will also mention any triggers in the story at the top of posts for every time of relevance, so it's okay to skip this post as long as you heed the trigger warnings on the top of each part of the story)

---

Zoey Parker, the Ultimate Cartoonist with a superhero complex, wakes up with the rest of her class on a deserted island and is told to make friends with everybody. She realizes quickly that her autism and adhd might make this difficult, so she decides to enlist the help of a neurotypical student who can be a guide to help her make all the friends, navigate confusing social situations, and understand what is happening around her. For this guide, she chooses none other than...Kazuichi Soda.

Despite Kazuichi not exactly being the expert in normal socializing (or perhaps because of this) the two end up forming the start of a friendship: right on time for Monokuma to show up and turn the "heart-throbbing school trip" into his signature killing game!

...Though, Monokuma is forced to skirt around an annoying new rule that he can't punish the Blackened with violence or death. But Monokuma insists that the killing game is still on! He continues to torment the students, specifically two promising Blackeneds-in-the-making: Mahiru Koizumi and Zoey Parker, who both have big secrets, their lives on the line, and a potential to kill.

But Zoey fights to keep herself alive as she clings onto her friendship (and budding crush) on Kazuichi.

Meanwhile, Kazuichi's friendship with Zoey leads to some realizations about...herself. Not quite ready to come out as a trans girl, Kazuichi constantly flip-flops between her newfound queer identity she can express with her also-queer friend Zoey, and the tough guy act that she puts on for everyone else. And she's not sure where her obsession with Sonia Nevermind is supposed to fit in with all of this. Because she obviously has a crush on Sonia Nevermind (she thinks?), but, she also might have a crush on Zoey? Why does everything have to be confusing?

---

Other Important Notes in the story, this has some plot details but I think it's relevant for triggers and knowing what the fanfic gets into:

The fanfic is mostly humor (a lot of cringe comedy), but there are some reoccurring themes that get heavy...

Zoey is depressed/has intrusive thoughts/is suicidal (I will always give bold warnings on the top of the posts where this is relevant to the scenes and make relevant tags, you will not be thrown into anything triggering without warning, I promise.)

(Self-harm mention!) While Zoey doesn't cut herself, she does things like neglect her needs (e.g. letting herself get too hungry) and sometimes act recklessly knowing something could kill her, and that can be disturbing. I'll always give warnings for this stuff being in posts as well.

This oc is my self-insert. I was depressed/suicidal as a teenager, but I am no longer depressed/suicidal and my intrusive thoughts are fewer and more manageable. You don't have to worry about me bc of this fanfic. I chose to process the feelings (not based on real events, but just feelings of loneliness and trouble making friends as a neurodivergent teen) through this fanfic.

No family drama in this fic: not that it didn't exist, more like I don't wanna write about it, so it may get mentioned if relevant but no flashbacks/long stories about it and it's mostly irrelevant to the fanfic. This goes for both Kazuichi's and Zoey's families. I don't even want to see Kazuichi's dad, let alone draw him.

Kazuichi is in the closet for most of this fanfic (and doesn't know she can be a girl in the beginning) so expect a lot of he/him pronouns/misgenderings bc she's still in the closet. She is still named Kazuichi and likes her name. I'll give warnings for any transphobia, though I don't have any plans for characters being transphobic. Most of them are either accepting or Fuyuhiko (hella confused but too awkward to make a confrontation about it, but he comes around).

This fic does have a lot of internalized transphobia though, for both Kazuichi and Zoey (who is bigender, she/her pronouns)

Zoey and Kazuichi character growth and long conversations and just hanging out together fluff.

Teruteru is a recurring character and I write him as sort of a bastard (/affectionate). Actually writing him as a "lovable pervert" compelled me. So he is kind of a mom friend and a sexual harasser at the same time. The characters are put off by him but I find him funny.

Mahiru is sort of an antagonist because when I first played the game I found her annoying and sexist. Still, I try to write her in-character, and I've come to like her better through writing this fic and forcing her to confront the past, so I believe in character growth for her (and Nagito too!) To be fair, Zoey also has her annoying moments here, and most of them are around her (sometimes ridiculous) conflicts with Mahiru. For one thing, Zoey thinks Mahiru taught Hiyoko to be a bully. This is how Zoey misunderstands the situation but is still a character calling Mahiru out on some stuff other characters let her get away with.

Mahiru and Nagito friendship.

Lot of "will they or won't they" with Zoey and Kazuichi even though it is obvious as hell where it's all going. It's like they are eternally in a contest to see who can be more obvious about their crush and who can be more oblivious to the other's crush. They're both winning (which means losing) for like half the fanfic, maybe more than half?

Boob focus in the humor and the gender dysphoria (Zoey has a character development arc about her chest. You can laugh, it's meant to be funny, though keep in mind the author actually does have chest dysphoria).

I like writing "cringe comedy", ridiculous conversations/scenarios, characters (and their conversations) leading the plot, and foreshadowing.

This fanfic gets fucking bonkers and please let me know what moments made you go "Wait, what the fuck?!"

[freedkenna]

♡ independent. private. highly selective. independent Scottish selkie oc blog.♡

♡ pinterest ♡

♡ affiliated with:

hello, I'm Wrennly. I'm 25 years old, American, & taken. I go by she/they pronouns as well. I am pagan, practice witchcraft, & own many animals. these are the rules & basic muse bio below.

♡ there will be no comparisons to deities, whether that's ic or ooc.

♡ relationship depreciation does not apply here, & let me explain. "whether I talk to you in a day, or in a year. I'll see you when I see you; until then, take care."

♡ I am neurodivergent; I have PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety, & Depression. I work full-time as well as have a life outside of tumblr. I'm in a committed relationship, & that takes up a lot of my time.

♡ I also follow a lot of people, so I may forget your alias/pronouns/muses! I always try to reread everything before contacting people, but sometimes I am a forgetful bean! please offer me grace!

♡ I am a shipping whore and prioritize bonds held with other people & their characters. friends receive favoritism over strangers, but I try to play fair! I want to write & ship with people I'm comfortable with & who know me very well!

♡ muses are written at an age-range. meaning, some may be underage in one thread scenario, but of age in another. always look at tags for extra information. most times, consider adult ages as default.

♡ NSFW and other content will appear on the blog, which includes but are not limited to NSFW: smut, mentions of rape, explorations of human psyche, religious mentions, drug usage, sex work, abuse, pregnancy issues, abortion / miscarriage, sexuality, and so many more. do not follow if under 20+.

♡ blog is drama-free, will never post roleplay drama or politics drama. life updates will be periodically given based on how often I'm promising to be online, but cannot for any reason.

TOXICITY CLAUSE. I used to be a shitty rp partner & friend! I never committed bigoted acts like racism or sexism, but I'd have the tendency to collect ships or participate in drama etc. my past aliases include Sam, Sammi, Stormi, Peaches, & now Wrennly. all problems have been fixed.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬

full name: Mairi Rose Kenna nickname: Mai, Ri gender: CIS female height: 5 foot 9 inches age ( verse dependent ): 17 - 25 zodiac: March 21st; Aries species: selkie

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥

hair color: dark brunette eye color: hazel skin: fair body type: thin, but curvy dominant hand: left scars: on her hands, arms, and thighs most noticeable feature(s): her eyes

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝

place of birth: Scotland siblings: none parents: unknown ( mother - escaped, father - alive )

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

occupation: jobless current residence: homeless close friends: none relationship status: multiship financial status: poor criminal record: nonexistent vices: stealing, but she's not good at it ( but she's never been caught )

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

sexual orientation: biromantic bisexual preferred sexual role: submissive | dominant | switch | top | bottom | vers. libido: medium turn on's: prefers making love turn off's: quick sex relationship tendencies: relationship unsure

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

theme song: honey and glass - Peyton Cardoza mental illnesses: PTSD, anxiety physical illnesses: athsma phobias: drowning self confidence level: medium vulnerabilities: her fur

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Mairi is on the shyer part of the spectrum, she means well whenever she's talking to others. Mairi has a unique sense of justice ( where stealing to survive is alright ). she is supportive of the communities she's part of, and identifies as a queer woman. Mairi enjoys cooking.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲

Mairi's childhood was spent indoors where she wasn't allowed to play. her father was a domineering man who would force Mairi into aligning with his pre-concieved notions of what a daughter should be like. one day, her mother found her fur and escapes, never to be seen again. Mairi mourned the loss of her mother for a long time, and her father equipped a more extensive measure to keep Mairi under his control.

eventually, Mairi found her sealskin and escapes as well, abandoning her father.

-- • ₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗ 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

species ability: selkie - ability to turn into a seal special ability: Mairi also aligns herself as a witch so she has powers of witchcraft

[qqueenofhades]

I always saw Obi-Wan as an asexual kind of guy. Maybe that's because I'm old enough to remember when we only had the OT and he was already old. And dead for most of it. Anyway, part of why I love Star Wars is the emphasis on friendships and how strong and rewarding they can be without romantic feelings (although Han/Leia was my first ship). May we all have such people in our lives. All interpretations are valid of course and people love what they love, just wanted to share another point of view!

I mean, that's basically how I also envision him: my "Obi-Wan Kenobi as queer text" meta described my personal headcanon of him as biromantic asexual, and that's what the other post seemed to be hinting at in: re whatever they put in the book. After all, remember kids, ignore the exclusionists: asexuality is a full and complete queer identity on its own, and doesn't need other modifiers or qualifiers to be considered legitimate. So yeah. But as I said, he has radiated such intense bisexual sass disaster energy for the longest time, and I am frankly shocked that the Disney overlords allowed even a single sentence in a YA book that might hint at confirming this. To be honest, I don't care one way or another what the Mouse says about anything, particularly SW canon, since I reject what they have done with most of it. But hey. It's nice to have anyway.

As I also mentioned in the tags, Obi-Wan is a particularly formative character for me as a queer adult, since some of my first-ever forays into fandom, fic, and slash came as a result of reading TPM-era fics with him back in the dark days, with badly designed Web pages and SLASH!! content warnings. I imprinted on him as queer long before I knew what that was either for him or for me, and so I have a certain nostalgic perspective on it. (Also, nobody could read the Revenge of the Sith novelization in 2005, come out totally emotionally destroyed, and go, "yeah, Obi-Wan is totally straight." Even if I didn't, again, actually consciously realize this at the time.)

Likewise, Obi-Wan's appearance in the original trilogy has always fit the "celibate or asexual wise-old-mentor" stereotype, who exists mostly to guide the hero but doesn't have particular passions or motivations of his own. Then they cast Ewan McGregor as the younger version of him, and Ewan McGregor is likewise very attractive. But then in prequel-verse, all of Obi-Wan's most formative and important emotional relationships were with men (Qui-Gon, Bail Organa, etc) and then, of course, Anakin and the "it's a love story" Obi-Wan Kenobi series. So the more canon we got past just Alec Guinness, the more intensely Obi-Wan read as queer to me. The man cannot even sit straight (see his pose in the Council seat in ROTS), drops his cloaks with utter drama, sasses people, and is the utter opposite of toxic masculinity. He just has Big Queer Energy, in other words, and I felt it for a long time before I was able to properly name it in either him or myself.

Indeed, Obi-Wan would read pretty clearly as gay to me, except for the fact that they apparently added in some pseudo-girlfriend in the Clone Wars animated series and other assorted female interests in the expanded-universe books. Which, quite frankly, can't help but sound like "welp, this famous and beloved character is TOO queer-coded, better add in some comphet to tone that down." However, aside from my personal attachment to queer Obi-Wan, there's another aspect to it which I think is touching and important, and that is the fact that Luke is also often headcanoned as queer/gay/bi of some description (which Mark Hamill has enthusiastically supported). Considering that the original trilogy came out in the late '70s and early '80s, just as we were losing what should have been our entire generation of gay/queer ancestors to AIDS, I would find it very lovely if Luke, a queer man, was being mentored by Obi-Wan, his queer elder, in a way that we were so often denied the chance to have in reality. So yes. There are a lot of layers to it, in my view, and as I said, I don't care whether they bother to put one sentence in an EU book or not. The heart knows what it knows. Ahem. ;)