#whatever other ship I can't think of in this moment that is gay

[nakedmonkey]

I never found a prompt list I liked, but if you guys want, as a V Day gift, you can leave me a line of dialogue & a ship in my ask box, and I’ll write a little ficlet :) fluffy, funny, angsty, smutty. Whatever you want. 

[nobody-nexus]

What your fav TADC ship says about you- UPDATED!

-> Note: these are for fun! Do not take any of this seriously<-

Edit: Don't tell me if I missed any ships I'm not updating this

Pomni x Caine: You love the inherent romanticism of being too aware at all times x Being completely unaware of everything at all times

Pomni x Ragatha: You love the idea of someone being so pathetically devoted to another that you can't see them with anyone else

Pomni x Jax: You think the way to someone's heart is insulting before sharing a kiss and a cigarette

Pomni x Gangle: You knew the moment that Pomni was indirectly the reason for Gangle's mask breaking that it was love

Pomni x Zooble: You believe in the inherent romanticism of just not giving a flying fuck anymore but together

Pomni x Loolilalu: You haven't seen episode 2 yet. That or you just want all of the sapphic ships

Pomni x Gummigoo: You are very much into the idea of THE fruitiest straight passing couple of all time

Pomni x Kaufmo: You took that one fact that they would've actually gotten along with each other and ran with it

Pomni x Exit: You came from the Danganronpa fandom

Pomni x Sun: You are into swap AUs. We know the scene. And we know what you are

Ragatha x Jax: I dunno which one you wanna bang, but all I know is that you wanna bang ONE of them

Ragatha x Gangle: You just want them to be happy for ONCE dammit! Also you're probably anhopeless romantic

Ragatha x Loolilalu: You do not CARE if they only had 20 seconds of screen time together, you WANT THEM TO KISS

Ragatha x Kaufmo: You most likely know a couple in real life where one makes jokes and the other is sick of it

Jax x Gangle: You were told that the bully had a crush on you and you still have not recovered from it

Jax x Zooble: You just want a couple who can and will do hijinx together whether they like it or not

Jax x Caine: I got no idea what you're into, but it is one of the straightest gay things I've seen

Jax x Gummigoo: You love the idea of an asshole twink being put in his place. Also you ship Montgomery with Bonnie

Jax x Kaufmo: You believe in the inherent romanticism of two pranksters causing complete mayhem together

Jax x The Fudge: You either are a HUGE crack shipper OR you are into a very SPECIFIC thing and I am judging

Jax x Bubble: There is no way you ship this in a genuine way. You are the master of crack shipping

Gangle x Zooble: There is at least a 70% chance that you have at least one mood board on Pinterest

Gangle x Caine: Apparently, you exist

Gangle x Loolilalu: Oh you definitely have NOT seen episode 2 yet

Kinger x Queenie: Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment. This is the closest to canon y'all are gonna get

Kinger x Caine: You are into yaoi, but like the wholesome kind instead of the super sex kind

Kinger x Gloink Queen: You are a MONSTER FUCKER

Kinger x Kaufmo: You decided that old man yaoi was the true answer to solve abstraction

Caine x Moon: There's a 90% chance that you know and love the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Caine x Loolilalu: Your love for any canon interaction is overweighed by the need to fuck GOD

Caine x Gummigoo: You are purely in this community for the bara NSFW. I've seen it all... I KNOW

Sun x Moon: You like Steven Universe

Jax x Pomni x Ragatha: You either couldn't choose which one to ship, or you just wanna be Pomni

Jax x Pomni x Gummigoo: Same as the previous, but the chances of you being straight are way higher

Ragatha x Pomni x Loolilalu: Same as the last two, but the chances of you being a lesbian are way higher

Ragatha x Pomni x Gangle: You love the inherent romanticism of having one big group therapy session

Caine x Pomni x Ragatha: You don't actually ship Caine and Ragatha, you just want Pomni to top em both

Gangle x Jax x Zooble: You are @inkyprism

Sun x Moon x Caine: You just want Caine to have rizz.... He doesn't but whatever floats your boat

Jax x Airplane: You.... Are WAY too deep into this fandom

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/15/2024 Crew Recap

Hey all, today has been a very very very long day. I’m typing this with my eyeballs glazed over and half open. However, so much has happened in such a little amount of time I wanted share a few things before I pass out I know a lot of you are in different timezones, are busy with life, and taking a break, so maybe this will help with parsing through some of the crazy stuff the crew has been up to.

The petition hit 50K, and is at 52.5K at the moment

Fundraisers: I didn’t even realize there were two different fundraisers for Palestine/Gaza going on but we blew both out of the water. (Note: the second picture is from a November campaign but I think its just as important to highlight— ty for the correction anon!)

The Emmys hashtag turn out was great tonight. There was some pretty amazing and creative stuff going on across all the platforms. Some can be seen on IG, but if you wanna see the majority of it, check out twitter #SaveOFMD #75thEmmys

---We have new ways of protesting and advocating for our show, see here for the thread on tumblr (from twitter):---

And to support that @saltpepperbeard was kind enough to put together a wonderful guide on how to Call It Through as a Crew: Alleviating Some Phone Anxiety which as someone who is socially anxious and sometimes verbally vomits on people when on the phone, is AMAZING and thank you so much for doing that to help.

-- > There is also this new thread on some new places to call into. Don't quote me on that being an official thing we should do, I'm sure @renewasacrew and others will have more in the AM, I just wanted to share it so people could follow if they wanted to.

------------------

New Articles!

Our Flag Means Death: Here’s why season three deserves to be aired

Petition to save BBC show with rare Rotten Tomatoes score gets 50,000 signatures

------------------

There's so much more that's happened today-- but I can't write it all down because my brain is couscous.

<---So instead, I'm going to use this last part to gush over you all and your amazing contributions in all your unique ways. The community support the last few days has been SO INCREDIBLY UPLIFTING.-->

I saw (and experienced) people reblogging asks where random followers, anons, and mutuals just reached out and sent love because they could tell people were struggling.

I've seen comments all over the place on Tumblr, IG, Twitter, and Facebook where each and every person is encouraging each other to speak their mind, or complimenting their artwork, encouraging them if they were feeling uncomfortable with things outside their comfort zones, coming up with new and exciting ways to fight back, people reaching out to the cast/crew just to say hi and remind them we love them.

I've seen Self-Care checkpoints all over, reminding people to drink water, take a break, block your notifications for a while, not engaging in negative behavior.

I've seen people being so nice on instagram posts that the people who were being dicks about all our comments turned around and decided to watch OFMD!

I saw so many people doing new analysis of scenes and characters, and having really deep and friendly discussions that make everyone think in new ways.

I saw people digging through old tumblrs to bring life back to old posts and artwork.

I saw so much NEW artwork, new FICS! New GIFS! So much new art and love!

I could literally go on and on, but I've just...I had to dump this out of my brain otherwise I'd explode. I've just seen so much today that continues to make me so proud of our little safe space ship and so happy to be apart of this community.

You all continue to be the best of the best of humans, and I am so very grateful to get to witness and be apart of it. Rest up lovelies and have a good day / night, wherever you may be. May you dream of sexy middle-aged gay men kissing, or hugging, or whatever else you want them to be getting into.

[weirdqueerleftistunity]

I was trying to forget about those people that think Leftist Unity is a weird ship because, "Tankie is a fatherly figure to Ancom" but I accidentally stumbled across a reply in the comments that reads,

Also jreg: Portrays tankie as a father figure to ancom directly before this song

..and it just baffles me. I've always found the flashback to be such an exaggerated portrayal of Ancom's naivety that I see it as a reflection of Commie's own flaws more than seeing it as an accurate portrayal of their relationship. When looking back on the dialogue of their break up, I see the pattern of Commie wanting to assert his ideology and his reality over the other, to "educate" Ancom who CLEARLY doesn't know what qi's talking about.

Commie: Come, take my hand. You are not thinking straight. Ancom: Nah, I'm thinking just fine. Actually a lot more clear than I've been thinking in the past. [...] Commie: Is this about all the times I killed all the anarchists? Come on! We were fighting capitalism and fascism. We had no time for anarchy! Ancom: Yeah, we were definitely never cool on that front. Commie: Clearly you have brain damage. More brain damage than usual. Ancom: Nah, actually, I feel like a lot more clear-headed. And come to think of it, this whole leftist unity thing was always a way of tankies to just control all leftist discourse. I'm kind of sick of that shit [...]

Ancom may be under the effects of nihilism, but qi didn't suddenly fabricate a dismissive, demeaning, infantilising Commie - it's just that under the slightest pressure, the slightest change of perspective, Ancom realises qi doesn't want to stay with Commie anymore. And what reason does qi have to stay when even Commie can't come up with a convincing argument for qim?

Commie: But… but the centrists. The… the extremists! [...] Commie: What do you want me to do? Represent the entire left? What do we do without the gays? Who's going to represent the gays? Commie: What do I do without you? What do I do without him? Ancom: Oh tankie, one last thing. It's quee/quem.

^^ That's the expression of someone who's realising that through their own behaviour, they've pushed the one they love away. You could say that up until this point, Commie has felt he provides guidance and purpose to Ancom; but really it was Commie who was the one deriving purpose from being Ancom's superior. With no purpose, a void that needs to be filled, it's no wonder that Commie is taken by Auth-Right's narrative that he's a part of a greater political war.. But back to my point.

Having the flashback where Commie is reminiscing about a version of Ancom that must think of Commie as a "teacher" being sandwiched between the break up (Ancom asserting that qi is tired of constantly being used and disrespected) and the duet (Commie reflecting and coming to realise he needs to treat Ancom as an equal if he wants qim to come back) - to me, this is obviously a tool of contrast. If you're taking the flashback literally as to see Commie as Ancom's parent rather than the exaggeration of the flaw that Commie infantilises the other then.. Idk what to say other than, do you REALLY think Ancom would say, "you're so smart, I'll do whatever you say"? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like this is a fictitious version of Ancom that idolises Commie: an illusion that was shattered the moment Ancom left and showed Commie that qi doesn't need him as much as he needs Ancom to feel whole.

This contrast is what helps the song Leftist Unity absolutely slam dunk my feelings every time, because you watch Commie go from yearning for this inaccurate memory of Ancom to having an argument with Ancom where qi is framed in a way where qi is equal to the other. Like I'm not someone who's great at deciphering imagery, but I think it's quite blatant that musically and visually there is not a superior side. Though Ancom does turn grey and fade into the background, this more signals how Commie has been left behind to mourn the loss of the other now that qi's gone.

And after this we get the interaction between Auth-Right and Commie where Auth-Right takes advantage of this beautiful butch lesbian's heartbreak; where Commie is on the brink of making a meaningful change before experiencing some character regression as Auth-Right convinces the other that he doesn't need to change.

Auth-Right: What, are you still sulking about that degenerate? Commie: I just… I just don't know who I am without Anarkiddy. [...] Commie: I don't know, [Auth-Right]. I have been reading about left communism, and- Auth-Right: Commie, listen to me. [...] The left versus the right. The far left versus the far right. Everything falls into place around us. And I wouldn't give that up for anything. [...] Commie: This is the kind of authoritarian unity I always wanted. Auth-Right: Well, now that the degenerate's gone, we can finally have it.

Commie obviously isn't perfect here. Change can be rocky, so he still calls Ancom "Anarkiddy" here but he IS trying to learn more about Ancom's ideology (once again, it is just tragic that Auth-Right takes advantage of this beautiful butch at his lowest)... And I want to point out Commie READING qis theory to highlight the fact that Ancom isn't an idiot who needs to be educated on every little thing, Ancom isn't a child, Ancom just knows qis OWN ideology's theory better that Commie's. If you quizzed Commie on Ancom's ideology, Commie likely wouldn't know nearly as much a Ancom does, but because Ancom doesn't talk like an "intellectual" people seem to think that Ancom doesn't know anything. Like Ancom LITERALLY brings up Kropotkin and Bookchin in episode 3- do I have to point out that Ancom can read or what? Again, it makes it weird to see the flashback taken literally because of COURSE Ancom is going to be viewed as childish if you don't have any respect for Ancom's ideology - which is exactly what Commie did.

This post could likely be more polished to better explain my point, but basically, I will always take issue with people who assert that Leftist Unity is a father-son dynamic when I think the text is trying to communicate a narrative of Ancom being treated in a demeaning manner - which makes it even MORE insulting when you do the exact same thing (infantilising Ancom) the narrative is communicating was WRONG.. Of course, you can interpret the text whichever way you want, but don't jump on shippers as if we don't know what we're talking about. We have seen the text, we just don't think it says what YOU think it's saying.

Also, they canonically play tropey romantic music when Ancom and Commie reunite so I think maybe the editor might understand the text better than you- Sorry, who said that? (This is just a petty remark to be funny. I'm just being opinionated, you honestly can interpret them as father and son if you want.)

[justxtalking]

my thoughts on this hxh ABCD mess

Being a Togashi fan is such a roller-coaster of emotions. I think I went through all the stages of grief in only one day.

Half of me believes he's trolling.

To be honest, it's better to just take it with a light heart. Togashi is known for joking around about himself, his health and his own story. (I wasn't in the fandom at that moment, but I wonder how everyone reacted when he said everyone was going to die). I consider ending D to be so uncharacteristically him for so many reasons I could talk for hours about it. I find it ironic how he gave a stereotypical-shonen-like ending when he talked several times (even in this interview) about how he likes to surprise himself (and his readers) when he writes. Some other times he explained he likes to play with these shonen stereotypes and just do something different. I mean, he's been doing it since the beginning of his career.

And I'll be honest, ending D sounds like a mockery of shounen.

(And I feel a bit dumb taking this so seriously if he's joking.)

(Though, this also may be the case of "the boy who cried wolf" and he's actually saying the truth this time.)

The other half of me thinks he's being honest.

If he is actually giving us a back-up ending, I find it incredibly sad. Not only because of his health, but also because he felt pressured enough to give us an ending, no matter its form and no matter if it's an ending he doesn't even consider anymore. He shouldn't have been on that position.

It is important to take into account that this is not an ending he wants or even considers anymore, it is an ending we can take if he's not able to finish HunterXHunter. We need to realize there's a lot of circumstances we don't know about or may not be considering for him to give us this ending as an option at that moment. And what type of ending too.

I seriously want for him to be able to finish Hunter X Hunter the way he truly wants, not worrying about anything else. He's thinking about three plausible scenarios that may see the light of day or not. And no matter what he ends up choosing, he should choose whatever he wants. It's his story, no ours. And it may even be his last story (I know it's sad, I want him to keep on writing forever, but it's true). Honestly, a part of me wants him to choose the A scenario because that's where seems to be less drama, but actually I want him to choose the C scenario. Even if that ending is Gon married to a lizard with beautiful lizard-babies in the Dark Continent. And that's because that ending is what he would actually want to do with the story.

(I really am curious about it, though. I know I wouldn't be able to guess even in a million years, but I'm still curious. And I so want to read the whole interview and see the whole episode, since there were more questions about other things.)

For the shippers

I know this feels like a punch in the gut or something even worst. I felt it too. And it's totally valid to feel like we do and not agreeing with ending D. Even as a non-shipper because what do you mean, Gon did what?

Everyone who follows me knows I'm a proud Killugon and Leopika shipper. And I will keep on being one even if Hunter X Hunter transforms into Boruto and I have to see Grandpa Gon (the more I say it, the more it sounds like a joke).

Honestly, I always considered the gay ships were never going to be explicitly canon.(Kishimoto traumatized me). Not because of lack of material, but because there's a whole context and a lot of external circumstances we sometimes forget about (and Kishimoto traumatized me). There was a reason why Togashi couldn't make his queer manga in the 90s, which, I'm sorry, I don't consider it to be that long ago. And there is a reason why he can't explicitly say that characters like Pouf or Hisoka are gay (despite being totally obvious and them being villains).

I still find it admirable how Togashi included so many queer elements in his stories and got away with it. And he's a mangaka that does shonen. And not just any shonen, a battle manga in Shonen Jump. (He included a trans man in Level E and made him transition. The way Togashi explains some things about this character may be a bit problematic, but Togashi still did this). And those queer elements are still there and are still as canon as when he wrote it the first time. Pouf is as gay as he is dramatic. And Ging and Pariston still have that sexual tension (and I'm 100% sure they fucked or they are going to fuck in the near future or both). And Killua is still the queerest boy I've seen in the longest time.

Sometimes, I think there's a possibility of Killugon being canon. But only because of Togashi's history and tastes. He may feel a bit rebellious and just go with it, he's so unpredictable that I'm always expecting anything and everything from him (I mean, he did what he did with Hisoka and Illumi and so many other things). However, he's an introvert, I'm not sure if he actually wants the attention he would get if he actually goes with it. And that is something we should also respect. (I do think the most plausible option is Killugon to be as ambiguous as they are now.)

In relation to ending D, I don't think we should worry that much. At the end of the day, it is an ending he doesn't consider anymore. (At least we can sleep well knowing that the ending he wants to do doesn't have to do with Grandpa Gon). What's important is what he writes and does in the manga. That is what speaks louder than anything.

Though, I do think it's going to be a pain in the ass interacting with other fans. I'm not looking forward to it. (At least they are going to stop saying that Kurapika will die, I hope!). What I'm looking forward to is the new Killugon content in the fandom.

My personal take

Gon =/= Ging. I could say a lot about this, since one of the things I love the most about Hunter X Hunter is what he did with these two and Gon's arc, but I think this is clear enough.

So!

After saying all of this, I think the only thing we should consider as canon is the manga. If he doesn't write it, it didn't happen.

If he's saying the truth, he may be thinking about how to finish Hunter X Hunter sooner or later. Even though so many fans say that they want an ending, I feel like we are not ready. Not even for Gon marrying a lizard and having beautiful lizard-babies in the Dark Continent.

I hope I was coherent enough. I have no answers, only thoughts and thoughts! I feel like we can only speculate and ending D is so confusing because how did we even get there?

I may be going through all the stages of grief again tomorrow, but I wanted to share my thoughts (at least partially). I may erase it if I feel too uncomfortable, but yeah!

Conclusion: Let's just take it with a light heart and wait to see what happens! (I know it's hard).

[ronancecats]

My opinions on EVERY romantic stranger things ship (at least the ones I could think of, if I missed a ship you care about let me know and ill tell you what i think)

And of course, these are my OPINIONS and aren't that serious 🙏🙏 you can ship whatever the hell you want as long as it's not illegal.

I love making posts like these and sharing my opinions so please keep it respectful even if I don't like your ship, thank you :)

Mileven (Mike x Eleven): solid 8/10. I think they're cute in the 1st season and they have their moments, but their chemistry is definitely feeling more forced recently and I just don't see them working out.

Byler (Will x Mike): definitely a 10/10, it just makes sense. Byler proof is so thick and it's so obvious to anyone who actually cares to look. I'm not a hardcore shipper or anything but they're happening.

Willel (Will x Eleven): get this shit out of here bro, -10/10. Like Will is gay and they're practically siblings 😭

Wheelson (Dustin x Mike): there's nothing wrong with this ship, I just don't see it and I haven't seen enough content to base my opinion off of that so 0/10.

Wheelclair (Mike x Lucas): again, just don't see it and haven't seen enough content. So 0/10, however, I feel like their dynamic could be cute in both a romantic and platonic sense.

Byclair (Will x Lucas): I don't see it ever happening but oh my lord y'all the fan art and content for them is so cute so they get a solid 3/10 purely for the cuteness.

Byson (Will x Dustin): I've never seen any content for this. Like at all. I don't think anyone ships this. 0/10 only because I haven't seen anything to make me want to ship this.

Henclair (Lucas x Dustin): y'all... they're so cute. Here me out, the fics, the fan art, the dynamics, it's amazing. They get a 5/10.

Lumax (Lucas x Max): 10/10, angel babies, would die for them. I need them to have a happy ending and if they don't, I won't have a happy ending

Elmax (Eleven x Max): they're so stinking cute, 9/10. As much as I love lumax, I think the dynamics of this ship and just the thought of it is perfection.

Madwheeler (Max x Mike): eh...no. 0/10. They are like the same person and would kill each other in any other scenario. However, platonically? Yes please!

Henfield (Max x Dustin): 4/10. They have potential but they both have such better ships.

Duzie (Dustin x Suzie): 9/10. I am a SUCKER for nerd x nerd ships and I need them to have at least one scene together. Just one. Like please duffers, I need to see them just once.

Jancy (Jonathan x Nancy): 1000/10 YES YES YES YES. MY BABIES, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. PLEASE DUFFERS, MAKE UP ALL THAT FUCKERY IN S4 AND GIVE THEM A HAPPY ENDING!!

Stancy aka Stanky (Steve x Nancy): -10/10. I hate this ship so much. Nancy "I don't think my parents ever loved each other. My mom was younger and my dad was older with a cushy job and made good money. So they got married and bought a house at the end of a cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family" Wheeler would EVER settle down with 6 kids. Ever. There was 0 reason to bring back the love triangle. Let Steve move on and let Nancy be happy, Jesus 😭

Ronance (Nancy x Robin): 100/10. There's a reason this page is called ronancecats. I love them so much and even though they will never happen, it's fun to think about. Every piece of ronance fan art is gorgeous and the fics are everything to me. Plus, Natalia is like the president of the ronance shipping club. "All hail Natalia Dyer," we all say in unison.

Rockie/Rovickie (Robin x Vickie): 6/10. They're cute but they literally made Vickie an exact carbon copy of Robin and it's boring. I really hope they build on Vickie's character next season because they are boring and lack depth.

Stobin (Steve x Robin): absolutely not. Get out. -100000000/10. Robin. Is. A. Lesbian. She. Likes. Boobies. Not. Greasy. Men. They. Are. Platonic. Soulmates.

Steddie (Steve x Eddie): 4/10. Their fan art is cool and the dynamic I like, but I just can't get past it. I don't like them all that much.

Harringgrove (Steve x Billy): no thank you, no toxic ships here. 0/10.

Stonathan (Jonathan x Steve): hell yes. 9/10. I'm not even sure why but they are just perfect in my mind. The dynamics are there and the fan art is perfection, plus I just think the idea of them fighting over Nancy but then turning to each other is kinda cute.

Jargyle (Jonathan x Argyle) 8/10. I don't think about them much but whenever I do I love it. They're idiots but two idiots that are better together idk about y'all.

Neddie (Nancy x Eddie): Eddie can NOT handle all that (but I can) 0/10.

Reddie (Robin x Eddie): 0/10. Both these bitches are gay so get out.

Hellcheer (Eddie x Chrissy): gives me the ick. I'm not ever sure why but they do and all their scenes just feel like there's no romantic undertones, at least to me. So 2/10.

Buckingham (Chrissy x Robin): this is what I'm talking about. A popular cheerleader having an existential crisis when she realizes she's a lesbian and not only that but realizes she's in love with the social outcast? Hell yes. 9/10. Give it to me.

Bancy (Nancy x Barb): 6/10. They are tragic.

Jopper (Joyce x Hopper): 10/10. My parents fr, they raised me. Everything about them makes me happy and I love them.

Boyce (Bob x Joyce): 7/10. Cuties and it's so obvious Bob cared about her and the kids. Jopper will forever be better but I can't ignore their cuteness.

Jaren (Joyce x Karen): okay y'all, hear me out...8/10. I love the idea of this so much and every single fic I've read is so well written and incredible. Lesbian Karen Wheeler truthers unite.

Murlexi (Murray x Alexi) 7/10. I like the idea of them and I will support any content I see of them even though I'm not a hardcore shipper.

Murray x Joyce (what are they called?): 0/10. Nope, nope, nope on a rope.

Okay, anyway y'all those are my opinions on a bunch of stranger things ships that I've seen. Please be respectful even if you don't agree, these are literally opinions about a FICTIONAL show and FICTIONAL relationships with FICTIONAL characters and aren't that deep.

[prince-liest]

Don't mind me getting on my soapbox for a moment... a lot of this musing is admittedly for the sake of my own processing of this topic, re: aroaceness. Read at your own peril! <3

I'm generally a very "ship and let ship" kind of person, but I think I would definitely append a little caveat of, like, "As long as you're not being actively invalidating and detrimental to others" to that. Which is a delightfully vague statement that can be interpreted practically any way, I know, hahaha.

In the case of this particular post I've just been thinking about how, like... seeing an aroace character like Alastor get written into dozens upon dozens of PWPs (including ones that don't even touch on the subject of his aceness at all) is really not something that I personally find to be hurtful or offensive. It's just smut for the sake of smut, of a character people want to see awful, sexy things done to (or doing). Valid! I vibe with you! More people should just write the PWPs they want to see in the world!

But on the other hand, I've several times seen this very particular type of art (usually it's a comic, but admittedly I haven't been reading very many Hazbin Hotel fics so maybe it's there, too) where Alastor is slotted into the "methinks the lady doth protest too much" trope. As in, he's expressing strong feelings about a character (usually Vox or Lucifer, sometimes Angel Dust) to someone, probably Rosie, and the person he's confiding to is some variant of, "Oh, silly Alastor, you're obviously in love!" And then he denies it, says that the very idea disgusts him, and the character titters to themselves about how he's so naive in the matters of romance or whatever.

And it's, like.

The "strong feelings" in question are almost always frustration/annoyance/disgust, and him being like, "Nnnno, I just hate his person" is treated like a silly and naive misunderstanding of his own feelings because obviously he's in love. Please imagine that Alastor was a female character who was established to be a lesbian. Now examine how that suddenly makes this scene feel.

(Also, Rosie being the go-to for this is a little frustrating when she's the one who, in canon, explicitly says that she wouldn't make that assumption of him.)

There's such a chasm of difference between how I see people wanting to ship Alastor for reasons of "I just want to!" vs folks who engage with him being aroace in ways that are infantilizing and invalidating. There are so many people out there - not just aro/ace people, but anyone who's not exclusively into the standard type of person they should be into at the time society deems they should be into them, which is most queer people and even many cishet folks - that have been told that exact kind of thing in real life. It reads like something out of a compulsory heterosexuality guidebook, and it actively makes it harder to leave the closet or even realize that you're in one at all.

So I guess it just feels frustrating to see it get made into a punchline, especially by folks who are shipping queer ships. I genuinely can't wait until fandom society advances to the point of consistently treating aro/acespec folks as queer instead of Queer Lite (TM), because let me tell you, ime the comphet experience and the amato/allonormativity experience are in fact nigh-identical except for how they're treated within online communities. There's a reason the pan -> gay -> ace pipeline is a thing.

But, hey! We're already doing way better than we were in 2012!

[amberinn]

okay thoughts 👏

not a lot of emotionally charged moments

love the little davwhit and charwhit interactions

Whit is actually SOSOSOSO smart and I'm so thrilled to the core as a Whit fan that his thinking process is shown

Like he is SO UNDERSTANDING and good and amazing I love it

Levi is a psychopath 100%

I made a rant about Whit being a sociopath, but he doesn't fit that criteria because he lacks in exploitation behaviours/anger

I'm SURE he has some sort of hidden disorder (Whit) we haven't yet really talked about

im not a psychologist though

let's leave it to that one person headcanon diagnosing Veronika with asocial personality disorder or whatever I do NOT know what that is!

I fucking love this cast, but it's so mentally ill to the core.

Like so many of those fuckers have something wrong with them I can't stand it (affectionate)

Arei and David interaction??? Let's go

They could've been such good friends and Arei is so sweet forreal.

Eden with the fucking fork.

Fucking hell, oh my GOD.

I love the transitions in scrum debate, they're scrumbtastic and I fucking love and hate how they represent things like, hanging, getting thrown and then breaking your neck, the swinging... fuck it makes me sick

Areden could have been so real

Arei's friends being David and Eden... yeah

It could have been good

I hate the parallels between how David got extended that hand to take--- Xander, Arei.

I've an animation idea between the three od them and this is just slipping so well into my understanding of their dynamic (I'm not really analyzing it too deeply thinking of it though... I guess I should)

I'll get to know the real you, I love you, I will be your friend.

I know you for who you are, it makes me relieved, I guess we're both bad humans huh?

But does a good person really exist?

We'll look out for each other... I could be your friend.

Like fuck drdt is David Chiem nightmare especially that "only someone so fucking naive, stupid, jdk, jekcus could have fallen for such an obvious trap" feels like grief

he's just lost another fucking friend of his

scratch that your outburst is reasonable, or maybe I misremember shit

I would also go insane if anyone who was ever willing to love me got murdered one by one

All you ever do is gain and lose people, just like in "Therefore you and me"

As a result of acquiring as a result of losing, huh David Chiem?

It makes sense for him to want to extinguish that

Everyone looks forward to seeing tomorrow, but what are you gaining by it?

Friends you're losing

Maybe it's even harder for him, because Whit has a friend (Charles) he gets to keep, while David keeps on seeing his get murdered over and over again.

It never ends.

That fucked up little glint when Teruko told her secret >>>>>>>>>

ALSOOOO ALSO

whatever drama was going on between Ace and Levi

Levi IS an insanely fucked up person, and I keep thinking over and over about how for me at least there is not one person I could ship Ace with

like damn mf 🙏 he alone af

I want to give Ace Markey such a big hug, like he is a bitch and has teeth which cut through you every 3 seconds, but girl.

girl you DO NOT DESERVE ALL OF THAT 😭😭😭😭

any of that

Ace Markey is like, subtly circling upwards on my favouritism lists he's my wet kitten you don't get him like I do

He's had a friend before who was a guy

something something---

The fact that I even considered thinking of anyone over here as my friend really just tarnishes his image.

He cares about his friend SO MUCH.

It might be STUPID for me, but this reads as gay.

Ok just trust me in on this I'm a boykisser with a similar situation at hand.

girl lover as well, how do you THINK one person figures out that?

I just feel like Ace Markey might've discovered his homosexuality via that friend

that best friend one might say which makes me sososoo insanely CURIOUS about who it was

yk why

bcs id finally get an Ace ship I actually fw

hell ya let's go homies

also I need to add---

I feel like something has REALLY happened with his friend

might be a bit stupid, but I feel like that friend is dead

"tarnishes his image" huh Ace? Ace what does that mean, why would that image be able to be tarnished

did you say had Ace or am I not remembering it?

are you so afraid of everything, because your best friend is dead Ace?

it's kinda a stretch still though, a leap of faith on a suggestion I'm willing to argue about

[kilfeur]

La représentation LGBT dans ML (The lgbt representation in ML)

Avec Zoe qui a été confirmé comme perso lgbt pour la série. Certains doivent se demander pourquoi Julerose ou bien Marcaniel n'ont pas été confirmés en tant que couple officiel. Disons que l'envers du décor c'est compliqué, bien qu'on commence à voir des ships gays c'est souvent des perso très secondaires et pas souvent des perso principaux. Rare sont les romances lgbt soient mise en avant, il y a bien Korra x Asami dans la légende de Korra ou bien Steven Universe ou bien She Ra. Sauf que dans l'envers du décor, les créateurs ont dû se battre avec les producteurs pour pouvoir diffuser ça.

On a majoritairement des couples de femmes mis en avant mais peu de couples d'hommes dans les séries occidentales. On voudrait qu'il y a plus de représentation diversifié mais dans l'envers du décor c'est compliqué pour les créateurs qui aimeraient mettre des perso lgbt en avant mais ne peuvent pas pour x raison. Par exemple Julerose aurait pu être confirmé avant mais malheureusement certains n'accepteront pas que le couple soit canon. Et souvent ce sera soit les producteurs ou bien la chaîne qui les diffuse par exemple l'épisode où Marc se fait akumatisé à cause de Nathaniel, beaucoup voyaient dans ces deux là une romance gay. Et on sait que Thomas Astruc s'est inspiré d'un de ses amis pour créer le perso de Marc Anciel d'ailleurs si on enlève le M de Marc ça donne "Arc Anciel" probablement en référence avec le drapeau lgbt qui est un arc en ciel.

Et devinez quoi ? Cette épisode a apparemment été interdit de diffusion dans certains pays alors qu'à aucun moment Marc confesse ses sentiments envers Nathaniel et ainsi de suite. Pareil pour Julerose, où c'est vraiment du sous texte et dans le doublage français c'est assez évident que c'est un couple. Mais pas de baiser ou que ce soit pour le confirmer. Je pense que l'équipe aimerait confirmer ces deux couples mais malheureusement ceux au dessus d'eux ne sont pas du même avis. Ce qui est dommage en soi, car souvent les fans aiment voir des histoires gays. J'imagine que pour Zoe, ils ont dû aussi convaincre ceux d'en haut aussi que la chaîne pour les laisser diffuser cette épisode. Mais bon la représentation lgbt c'est compliqué même dans une série destiné à des enfants.

With Zoe confirmed as a lgbt character for the series. Some may wonder why Julerose or Marcaniel haven't been confirmed as an official couple. Let's just say that the other side of the coin is complicated: although we're starting to see gay ships, they're often very secondary characters and not often main characters. There's Korra x Asami in The Legend of Korra, Steven Universe or She Ra. Except that behind the scenes, the creators had to fight with the producers to get it on the air.

Most Western series feature female couples, but few male couples. We'd like to see more diverse representation, but behind the scenes, it's complicated for creators who'd like to feature lgbt characters but can't, for whatever reason. For example, Julerose could have been confirmed earlier, but unfortunately some people won't accept that the couple is canon. And often it's either the producers or the network that broadcasts them - for example, the episode where Marc gets akumatized because of Nathaniel, many saw in these two a gay romance. And we know that Thomas Astruc was inspired by one of his friends to create the character of Marc Anciel. In fact, if you remove the M from Marc, you get "Arc Anciel", probably in reference to the lgbt flag, which is a rainbow.

And guess what? This episode has apparently been banned from airing in certain countries, while at no point does Marc confess his feelings towards Nathaniel and so on. The same goes for Julerose, where it's really subtext and in the French dub it's pretty obvious that they're a couple. But there's no kiss or anything to confirm it. I think the team would like to confirm these two couples, but unfortunately those above them are not of the same opinion. Which is a shame in itself, because often fans like to see gay stories. I imagine that for Zoe, they also had to convince those above them as well as the network to let them air this episode. But lgbt representation is complicated, even in a show aimed at children.

[nocreativityfornames]

whats your opinion on the whole shipping alastor thing?

I'm not TOO bothered by it?

I mean, as long as you're not a bigoted asshole purposely dismissing this part of his identity because you don't respect the sexuality and the community and wish the writers had written him differently, I don't think it's THAT big of a deal.

Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a bit icky to do it even with no harmful intent. Similarly to how I think it's icky and eyebrow-raising to make a gay character straight for your amusement or to make a POC character white for the same reasons, even if you didn't mean any harm.

But at the end of the day people are going to do whatever they want whenever they want, what a portion of a fandom is doing isn't going to have an impact on the original work, these characters will maintain their intended identities in canon, and I don't have the energy to be arguing with people who'll probably dismiss all I have to say.

I mean, they're already doing that. Because I've seen way too many instances of people yapping "It's fiction, relax!" or "It's a spectrum, just because a person is aroace doesn't mean that they don't have sex/can't date!" whenever an aroace person gives an opinion on this topic that isn't "I'm okay with this and I actually ship aroace characters too."

Anyway, my conclusion is: you wanna take an aroace character and ship them with another character, write x reader fanfiction, etc? Go ahead, it's your life, do your thing. But at least be respectful of that sexuality and the community? Don't be a jerk if an aroace person expresses discomfort with what you're doing or simply disagrees with you, be understanding. 

And to my fellow aroace people and the allies who are out there trying to educate the fandom on our sexuality and express a view of this that isn't the "I'm completely fine with this" one and are being met with the same annoying and repetitive invalidating replies or straight up aro/ace-phobia, just don't engage. For your own sake, just block them. Don't stress yourself out.

But yeah, it's not necessarily the shipping that bothers me, it's the disrespect coming from some people who are into the shipping. It's just... tiring. And I could write a whole essay on how frustrating it is that people don't value platonic relationships as much as romantic ones and how aroace people are just always being dismissed.

But not to end this on a negative note: I loooove that Alastor is aroace and the weirdo has a special place in my heart.

I love his interactions with Lucifer (my 2° fave :^), they're funny as hell and I wanna see more of their friendly rivalry next season. I can see them being that kind of chaotic besties that argue and bicker with each other all the time but are there for one another when shit goes down and I'm so here for it.

He and Rosie are also a delight. Love them with all my heart, I had an amazing time whenever they appeared on the screen together and those were for sure some of my favorite moments.

Also, Vox's being tragically in love with Alastor and not being reciprocated AT ALL it's just funny to me. I don't like TV man, make him suffer. 

Anyway, Alastor is the best character in this goddamn show and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise, thank you for coming to my ted-talk :))))))

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Before you complain about the picture: I asked people to send in better pictures of Grif and Simmons and NOBODY DID

Submission message for Janis: Mean Girls  - Janis + Person who submitted Janis here. Yes, I meant the movie. The whole time it is implied she's a lesbian only for her to end up with a dude lol

Submission message for Grif and Simmons: Hi! I’m submitting Grif and Simmons from Red vs. Blue. I think they’re the worst personally because I’ve spent a third of my life being queerbaited by someone’s fucking halo ocs.

Additional propaganda: Meanwhile Janis from Mean Girls IS queerbaiting:

    She’s presented as a lesbian throughout the film

    She gets very emotionally attached to girls and tries to sabotage them after they ‘betray’ her and become more interested in boys/popularity (Regina in the past, Cady during the film)

    Proudly declares herself a “big lesbo” to half the school during her trust-fall scene

    Wears a suit to Prom and kisses her gay best friend Damien, they both show complete disgust afterwards

    But in the LITERAL LAST SCENE OF THE FILM, she’s shown dating a guy and kissing him.

((I also haven’t seen the musical yet, so I can’t comment there))

Vote Janis, she’s the only right answer.

this ain't enough information about Grif and Simmons; these two are literally the intro character for the entire series. The first conversation they had became a running joke and repeating theme to the point that, years later, it was used in a dramatic moment so Grif could identify Simmons while fight an evil look-alike. When one of them got injured, the other donated various body parts, including skin and organs, and then became a cyborg, thus having the metaphor of "becoming part of each other" and "you have my heart". They still bicker constantly and and trade insults. They've been glued at the hip for more than a decade. The one time they were split up, it was treated like a devastating divorce, with one of them using the line "I quit you". They then both proceeded to have mutual pining and emotional withdrawl from being apart because they're just THAT codependent. They've been forced to share living space, and immediately devolved into having old-married-couple situations. During a planet-wide sex party, they fooled around in a closet, everybody knows this happened, but they refuse to fully acknowledge it. The VA for Grif even plainly stated that "Grif is in love with Simmons". Simmons once mentioned that he and Grif carved their initials into a tree. When we see the "inner worlds" of their minds, Grif's is almost empty except for a tiny Simmons that runs around to annoy him, and Simmons imagines a Grif that has to do whatever he says, but STILL insults him because Grif can't stop being Grif.They had a talk show together and even called themselves their ship-name "Grimmons". They've been having one long conversation for 2 decades. They're slow-burning like a tire fire. They're married, but they'll never properly get together. IT'S BEEN 2 DECADES

Let's not forget Tucker's actually-in-the-show commentary when he's spying on them over the radio of "I've only been listening to them for five minutes but I can tell they're really in love. Why can't they see it?”

It's literally been two decades.

[soutsuji]

To me soutsuji is genuinely one of the dynamics of all time. But like, who knows what they have going on. It's not a ship but it's not NOT a ship either. It's not romantic but not really platonic either and I'm choosing to ignore whatever sexual undertones there are by shoving it under the "I know my boy and he wouldn't say that" carpet but I also don't deny it happened because it definitely did. There's just definitely Something going on between them. I feel a lot of people are mistaken about the feelings being one-sided on Tsujimura's part. Just look at Ayatsuji. That man is absolutely HOPELESS. He cares about Tsujimura so much but he'd rather die than ever admit it and probably also gets nauseous whenever he thinks about her too long. Loser, frankly. Tsujimura's just so deep in denial that she has no idea what's going on. They're somehow also gay for each other. I can't explain it. I think their ideal future is just being stuck with each other forever but never progressing past a partnership, whatever that word means to them. Because that's what they are. Partners. In work, but also sort of in life, even though they don't see each other THAT often. Their hands touched once and Tsujimura blinked in confusion while Ayatsuji blacked out for a second, then freaked out internally and insulted her for no reason and then stalked off into a dark corner. Tsujimura went on paid leave for a couple weeks once and Ayatsuji spent the whole time on the verge of going insane. When Kyougoku's apparition proposed the idea that maybe he missed her, Ayatsuji's hands twitched with the urge to strangle him, and then he stormed off to his doll basement to sit in his armchair with his head in his hands. There's a small cardboard box sitting at the back of the basement containing an unopened bag of teal doll hair. Ayatsuji dares not touch it and regrets impulsively ordering it in the first place. He hopes no one ever finds it. On the other hand, Tsujimura genuinely thinks he dislikes her but tolerates her anyway, and she tolerates him as well, and refuses to think about all the quiet moments of peace they had where they just sat in silence and did their own things in each other's company. She trusts him in a way she's never trusted anyone before. She will never admit that to herself. She gets weirdly uneasy around him and doesn't know why. As time passes, it gets harder and harder for her to justify still being Ayatsuji's surveillant because clearly he won't reveal any more information about her mother. Just. Gahhhh. Do you even get it

[lai-mar]

Can't wait till this blog is old enough so posts start showing in main tags, but for now, a salty lil rant

Shipping aside, I'm surprised by how Laios + Marcille even as friends doesn't get as much fan attention as I expected considering how heavily the series focuses on their development? I consider Laios to be the protag and Marcille to be the secondary protag but I can see the argument for the two of them being dual protags especially starting from around Thistle's house arc / Marcille becoming the dungeon lord. The protagonists are party members who bond over losing and finding a loved one. They save each other multiple times and live with each other in the end. They get copious amounts of screentime together and separate. They clearly care for each other and love each other (in whatever way). And there's no forced romance.

Before I read the manga, I saw all the yuri on my TL and was like YESSSSSS I'M READING THIS FOR THE YURI WOOOOOO and finished the Red Dragon anime episodes like "wow that was soooo good and gay. Let me go on Tumblr to see what people are talking about— people are shipping Marcille and LAIOS??? Probably annoying straight people who cannot conceptualize a friendship between a man and woman 🙄". So I started out with a squick for the ship. I think the fan perception made me believe F/M is canon and anything else would be like queer erasure? Except I later learned no ship is canon and was genuinely confused when the manga started giving us L/M crumbs (like the succubus chapter) because I thought the shippers were pulling this ship from thin air lmao.

The more I read, the more I was like.... "okay.... why are they kinda... okay I get it now... why am I.... oh shit... I'm really in it now" and I apologise because I really get it now 😭 and it baffles me to see people who have seemingly finished the manga going "Laios and Marcille have NO CHEMISTRY their only line of connection is through Falin". Like, okay, maybe that was how they were at the beginning (but I would argue they have chemistry even from the first few chapters), but that's the POINT and we get to see them evolve and get closer because they both love and miss Falin. Laios moves on from being "Falin's brother" and Marcille moves on from being "Falin's friend". L+M know about each other's deepest, subconscious desires. Marcille lives with the siblings at the end. No matter the bond, they are the two most precious people to her.

I was still squicky about romantic L/M even at the succubus chapter (which I know is probably the starting point for a lot of shippers) but THEN THE RABBIT CHAPTER. And after that when the Canaries found Marcille and she immediately jumped onto Laios I was like "Oh fuck. I'm really in this now fuck fuck FUCK". (Nothing makes me get into a dynamic more than having an initially squicky reaction because I'll need to have a strong enough conviction to overcome the squick LOL)

Anyways. Seeing people being annoying and pissy about L/M only made me like L/M more 🤡 because at least the shippers appreciate their bond. I'm a little desperate here. Even their platonic bond is kind of a rarepair in the English fandom 💀

I'm so glad the anime is going at the pace it is now because this is only the beginning of the L+M development!!!! The anime onlies will understand later!!! I made the same mistake and judged too early and I'm sorry!!!! So many anime L+M moments and panels and crumbs yet to be seen 🥺

Anyways. Laios and Marcille's bond is absolutely central to the plot and character development. But I wouldn't have guessed that if I didn't read the manga and just based it off fan attention.

[snailchasers-den]

What about Tigerclaw x Spottedleaf has made you like the ship so much? I don't dislike it but I don't quite understand it either.

Well, the thing that kicked off my initial interest was the scene they had together in the first book, which I read as some type of flirty banter as a kid, and it later on snowballed from there the more I thought about it nowadays, I think LMAO Since then it's been like, my all time biggest ship in warriors, and I think about them all the time, even if I can't post about them a ton, I check the tag regularly and kinda just rotate them in my brain LMAO

It's customary at this point to mention I'm writing this while extremely tired, as I do most of my asks, so fair warning if any of this is kinda clunky. Other people have explained it WAY more eloquently than me, so if you're curious, I recommend looking in the SpottedTiger tag, cause others explain it in way more concise and understandable ways. I write most shit like I'm a madman at a whiteboard, but if that's your jam, you've asked the perfect person.

It's really a mixed bag why I started liking it-? A whole lot of things added up and got me hooked.

The difference in demeanors is fun, with Tigerclaw being threatening and ambitious and dramatic, while Spottedleaf is sweet and compassionate, yet extremely sassy, I feel like they'd play off of eachother nicely even in just comedic, non-romantic scenes.

Depending on how you want things to play out, you can basically sway how they effect eachother in however many different ways you want- Want an evil Spottedleaf AU? Tiger manages to convince her to join his side and we have a fun evil medicine cat. Want a however good Tigerclaw and a fluffier AU? Spotted is what he needs to soften him up just enough to not go feral and try taking over the clans. Want to tear them apart and have it be super tragic and kinda fucked up? Tiger still gets Clawface to kill her because he knows he can't bring himself to do it and knows she's his weak point. Something more canon-compliant? They were had a secret relationship before she died, and he sees her in Tawnypelt (I have a fic based on that idea, I love it. Obsessed with Tawnypelt resembling Spottedleaf by coincidence.) They're super flexible in that you can basically tweak and twist their story in so many different ways depending on how much you adjust the scenarios or their actions.

Make them mushy and sweet! Make them a badass medic/leader villain couple! Make them divorce eachother 3 different times and be bitter exes who throw snark and cold one liners! Make them be a tragic failed love story! Make them somehow make it work? Make them gay toms! Make them lesbians! Make them polyamorous with a cat of your choice! They're so versatile, and I love seeing anything people do with them.

I also like to throw a lot of religious/Starclan related things into the mix personally, because in different ways they both have connections with it in ways a lot of cats don't, and it can be both a good connecting point, and make it have an extra air of tragedy which I play VERY hard into in my False Prophecy AU. LMAO Spoilers for the AU that aren't really spoilers since I've drawn it before, but Tigerclaw doesn't actually commit a lot of his atrocities in that AU (Hence why I don't call him Tigerstar) and still goes to the Dark forest primarily due to literally lying about Starclan's word when they already wanted him dead from the moment he was born and 'corrupting a medicine cat', (And whatever else they could get him on, probably him being a bad mentor or having bad thoughts. They just wanted him in hell.) meanwhile, Spottedleaf, the golden girl of Starclan, despite being the one who ACTUALLY directly lied about their word and broke the code, is given a second chance and let in because 'She only loved too much'. (Because if they're going to say that line for someone like ASHFUR, I can twist it and use it for my AU in a more sinister manner, since Starclan is morally questionable here.) The ending of the AU's story also heavily relies on the afterlives, and though I won't go into it here since that's not what this ask is about and I genuinely do want to write it someday, I think it's a really fun way to twist things for them. It has such a poignant, vivid energy it carries with it, and I don't think it would feel the same with really any other pairing.

They're closer in age than most ships with them seperately, which is super nice, and makes it really fun to imagine them interacting as apprentices and their feelings building from those times into adulthood-

If you want to consider Spottedleaf's Heart, that could actually add to it too, seeing as they were both victims of Thistleclaw, likely even around the same time, and could seek solace in eachother over it- They're the only ones that truly understand, and that could drive them to want to protect eachother from other threats because they know they've been hurt in similar ways and don't want that to happen again.

I tend to imagine Tigerclaw to be a big ass Maine Coon while Spottedleaf is fairly small, and that just adds to it for me, since I think it makes the fluff between them 10 times better. My favorite warriors ship dynamic is when one of them is very, very fluffy and the other can basically just. Sink into their fur like a pillow. Hence why I also like MothCrow. I'm both unpredictable and incredibly predictable.

I also just don't really like a lot of Spottedleaf ships? She's one of my favorite characters, but I don't like basically any of the other pairings I've ever seen for her. Definitely don't like SpottedFire and never did, I see Mousefur as very very aromantic and relate to that, so SpottedMouse is very much not my jam- Anything else tends to be a rarepair or just something I don't really vibe with- She's not shipped with as many people as you'd expect. SpottedTiger was like striking gold for me- (Though Spottedleaf/Runningnose is also a nice one I think about from time to time, and is where I got Snailchaser as a character from LMAO)

Tigerclaw has always stood out to me and registered in my mind as being a romantic in a way too? It's a unique trait for a villain, especially in warriors, so I love emphasizing it, since god knows the Erins don't and won't. I know a lot of people like to joke about him kinda sleeping around or being a womanizer with him having two mates, but I love taking his multiple mates and interpreting it in more of a romantic sense- (And also I headcanon him as Polyamorous, but that's just me) He wasn't a good partner at all in canon, but something about imagining if he was makes him 10 times more compelling to me. He's a romantic! He's a family man! And he's a sadistic wanna-be dictator with the ambition needed to wreak havok and take over Shadowclan! Those traits 100% clash and that's the point. Putting him with Spottedleaf further complicates that by pairing him with a compassionate medic who does not at all share his lust for power. (Or might deep down, who knows! It's up to the writer!) I think it'd be fun to see internal battles and how the actual good traits he has fuck with his plans.

Though, if you know me at all, I'm also just really weird and love rarepairs and crack ships for Warriors. Hell, I basically made up the MothCrow tag on here by cautiously posting about Mothwing x Crowfeather- Even if my stuff's not completely canon accurate, I write in much more 'what if' scenarios and heavy AU usage. It's more fun and interesting to me to write in a more speculative "I love the version of this character that exists only in my brain" way, and out comes the stuff I make.

[riversofmars]

So I've finally finished listening to Echoes (yes I had this boxset preordered since it was announced, and yes I was incredibly slow to listen to it) and how do Liv/Helen shippers keep winning even when we've already lost (coz Liv returning to Tania at the end of Stranded)??

From episode 2: "Helen - she's my...she's everything I have left"???? I screamed??

Episode 3 where Helen went and got Liv's stuff from the TARDIS but also got her a book in case she can't sleep and a bottle of water and an apple???

Every boxset since Stranded has had Liv be ferally gay over Helen (and has obviously confirmed our favourite lesbian is in fact a lesbian ofc)

And I'm so confused by what Big Finish is doing playing with our hearts like this - but I will also gleefully, and gayfully accept whatever Liv/Helen we can get. Thoughts?

Honestly, I have no idea what Big Finish are thinking other than

Who knows, maybe they have realised that Liv/Helen sells??? And that they made a mistake with the Stranded ending??

But seriously... I hope there is a point to it all. It really does feel like they're doing it on purpose, it's SO SHIPPY! Albie's Angels was just... HELEN CHENKA?! Come on. And you're so right. How easy would it have been to have Liv say "Helen is my best friend!". Having her break off mid-sentence is a conscious choice and you can't tell me otherwise. And that scene where Helen brings Liv all that stuff and then offers to go back? ADORABLE. They're everything.

Now the way I see it... For the ending of Stranded to make sense, it can only be one of two things really. Either Liv and Helen get together and Helen dies... and Liv returns to Tania cause she can't face being with the Doctor without Helen and she tries to bury her grief that way. It would be horrible and unfair, but it would make at least a little bit of sense, because why else would Liv Chenka, brilliant med-tech from the 30th century, want to be in 21st century London where she will be bored out of her mind and never see her sister again?? It just doesn't make sense for her character unless something fundamentally changed her like the death of the woman she loved. BUT LET'S NOT THINK LIKE THAT OR I'LL CRY.

The other option, and I'll hold on to this, is that maybe they all get a happy ending and there are two Livs somehow. We already know from the end of The Robots that there is a Liv duplicate out there. While that duplicate would only have the memories of up to Escape From Kaldor, that doesn't mean that something like that couldn't happen again. This is Doctor Who after all! Think of Rose getting her personal Doctor. Maybe they send a duplicate back to Tania so she gets to be happy too (and the Stranded ending that BF may have realised was silly will still work) and Liv and Helen stay together.

Honestly, who knows! But I will also hang on every scrap BF throw us. The Liv/Helen ship is sailing strong as ever and I think BF may have noticed and decided to cater to it.

I imagine it will be a while for another set for them (though I am curious as to Hattie's role in the Time War one, that will be interesting!) and I don't know if we will ever get a resolution for them, but in the meantime, I say let's be vocal about the ship on socials, hoping BF continue to take notice and give us everything we want. It seems to be working at the moment :D

[alisaint]

Bravery is literally one of will's core traits, so your side trying to erase that and make him into some powerless, delicate, dainty crybaby is genuinely depressing. Will stans are constantly in the trenches to rescue Will from these unfair boxes, and it's like your taking all the things will haters believe about will and then saying, "actually, you're right," instead of challenging those assumptions/stereotypes.

But of course, Will can't be brave and also be the eternally vulnerable feminine damsel in distress y'all clearly want him to be, so you erase Will's canonical bravery in favor of exaggerating Mike's bravery. They both have shown bravery, and they both have shown fear as well.

Why would you even ship byler if you believe will is eternally helpless and wimpy and mike has to step in and save him all the time??? If that was actually their dynamic, that would be weird and lopsided. But that's just... not what happens in the show?

They both are equals. Within the canon of Stranger Things.

It's not about making the characters into "yaoi" whatever, nor is it about buff byers or anything like that. It's about actively making Will out to inherently be cowardly, equating sensitivity with weakness, and then claiming you're following canon, when no? You're viewing things through an incredibly biased filter. And it's very backwards.

have you ever interacted with someone in the real physical world? for extended periods of time? perhaps even through turmoil? do you remember what school was like and the other kids you went to school with? have you ever looked at the world, the horrors that occur in it, and how that changes people? have you ever gone to a nursing home or an assisted living center? have you ever met someone with a disability? have you ever met multiple kinds of gay people, including the ones that fit stereotypes? have you ever looked at gay history and the people that made it up, many of whom are what we based stereotypes off of? my final question was going to be, have you experienced enough growth and development to understand this thing called nuance?, but i can see by your elementary, defensive, and frankly unrealistic way of thinking, not to mention the "sides" comment lol, that the answer to that question is no.

will is a crybaby, because he cries a lot. why is that a bad thing? is it because he's a boy? his life fucking sucks. of course he's going to cry a lot.

he *is* mostly powerless. he can't defend himself against bullies or monsters or vecna. he always needs help and that's okay.

he is delicate. he requires careful handling which is why everyone approaches him differently than they do others. this isn't the same as babying him, it's just having tact. he's also a sensitive kid. emphasis on sensitive, and emphasis on the fact that he's still a kid. also, he is liable to break. he's gay in a small town and feels alone and scared and is in love with someone he not only thinks he'll never have a chance with but who is in love with his sister/other friend. he's in a very vulnerable position to be approached again by vecna, not even counting the other reasons like ptsd, abuse, etc.

no one is erasing will's bravery. in my rb i even mentioned that i think fans were voting will bc they were thinking of his ability to persevere. still, that's different and the poll asks who's bravER. as in who is more brave. and i think that mike is more brave, because even when it comes to stuff like internal struggles... you still need to pry that shit out of will and he only comes clean at the last possible moment when he can no longer keep it to himself without hurting someone.

like i said, he chickened out of telling mike. he didn't want to believe or trust himself in s3 and only said smth when it could no longer be denied without people possibly getting hurt. in s2 he keeps it to himself until joyce makes him talk by telling him she already knows. etc etc.

will is brave. he's brave for wanting to get his truth off his chest even though he can't. he's brave for telling mike that yes he did want to spend forever with him n bringing it up again a year later. he's brave for saying WHO CARESSSSSS abt your relationship problems. he's brave for sticking up to the shadow monster. he's brave for running to the shed to load that gun as a last resort. he was brave to spy back on the shadow monster. but that does not mean he was able to see that bravery through all the way every single time. and you know who does? mike.

also, it is possible to be brave and be a damsel in distress. remember when will told them to close the gate? he was in trouble and he was still willing to go down if it meant saving everyone else. it's almost like your black and white thinking is nonsensical, not even canon-based, and not at all what i've ever argued.

mike's bravery doesn't need to be exaggerated either. it speaks for itself. i and everyone else defending mike in those tags just stated point blank what he did. we didn't need to exaggerate anything lol. but hey it's kinda funny and cool for him that you think just listing his accomplishments is a brag in and of itself lmaoooo

will and mike are complementary, and it's their complementary matching puzzle piece parts that once put together make them equal. i mean, obviously they're equal human beings on their own. but they have qualities that balance each other out and work off of each other in ways that make them a formidable duo. that's why will is so in love with him and even aside from the romance trusts mike more than anyone, and why mike feels at home with will by his side, most himself when with will, and why he can't make it work with el.

also, you sound like a dumbass insinuating that i believe sensitivity is weakness. you're talking to a damn war vet lmao that's why i couldn't tell if you were mocking me with your first message. i've been yelling for yearsssss that will's sensitivity that is perceived as a weakness by antagonists in canon is precisely his strength and what has saved his life.

you sound like a dumbass in general by acting like any of these "negative" traits are bad. newsflash dude everyone has moments when they're cowardly! not everyone in the world is a fighter! sometimes people have ptsd and other disorders that make them freeze up! some people, including boys/men, cry a lot! sometimes people are more brave than others! that's just life!!!!!!! i literally don't know what to tell you. these things make will more real. they make mike more real too. i don't know why you think they're such bad things.