#whether romantically or not. I really like the dynamics of the ships 😭😭

[vicciouxs]

thank u sm for tagging @veone & @elderwisp <33 ilysm 😭🫶

💓 FAVORITE THREE SHIPS:

as difficult as it may seem, I don't have many ships that I like 😭😭 and more than the ship, most of the time what I like is the dynamics they have, like satoru and suguru or megumi and yuuji relationship from jjk; kaveh and alhaitham from genshin impact. I'm sorry but I'm not thinking about others right now.

🎧 LAST SONG:

🎬 LAST MOVIE:

I'm always watching movies, so I don't remember exactly which one it was, but the last ones I have seen have been"the mask of zorro", "morbius" and "blade runner" the 1982 one.

📖 CURRENTLY READING:

"letters from the underground" by fiódor dostoyevski

🌶 CRAVING:

I don't have much time because of studies, but I've been thinking about cheesecake and tea with almond milk and cinnamon for weeks 😭😭

👯‍♀️ RELATIONSHIP STATUS:

single 🌞👍 and for a long time because it's not my biggest concern right now.

🪷 LAST THING I GOOGLED:

sofonisba anguissola, an italian renaissance painter 🌞🫶

💫 CURRENT OBSESSION:

it will always be my ocs 😭😭 I have been thinking for days about each of the situations and decisions that kannon and eiran have made to get to each of the photos I have taken. I have also written many n&e dialogues, and I'm obsessed with audrey's confession to knox, I'm on this )( to publish it even if there are no photos 😩

tagging: @machinegrl @minimooberry @wldestluv-rs @rottengurlz @ezra-trait @yuyulie @bibliosims and I don't know who hasn't done it, but ignore this if you want or do it, love y'all 😭💐

[ura-niia]

Yknow, on a retrospective, it is interesting how the COTL fandom puts Narilamb as a devoted and hateful relationship.

In other words, I would actually love to know why we love this ship so much.

I’d love to know your point of view!

I finally have time to answer this!! I am SO GLAD that you asked.

I was extremely interested about the dynamic of this ship, you could watch it from all angles and it would still be a lovable duo; whether it be comedic, overly toxic, unrequited love/devotion, requited romance/devotion, it would still be enjoyable for everyone in the fandom. I believe that there's no bad version on how anyone portrays their relationship!

It's kinda difficult for me to see them in a light-hearted angle. Other people in the fandom have shown this kind of dynamic very well and they have all my applause.

How I portray my vision of narilamb, I still haven't fully fleshed out their story, but basically when Narinder was still a god, Lamb's devotion is for him entirely because they truly thought that The One Who Waits was their saviour and shining grace, handing them down a chance to live once more and avenge their kind. Narinder didn't pay this no mind, then plays the lamb around like a tool, speaking of honeyed words to keep the lamb up on their feet.

And by the time when Narinder told the lamb that he was just using them for his freedom and they'd just die once they surrender the crown to him, everything just came crumbling down to them. The dawning realization that there will be no hope for lamb kind, and that filled them with so much intense emotions they ended up killing Narinder along with his disciples.

Time has passed, Lamb became the new god of Death and continued to serve for their cult. Though they still pray as if there's still any other god be because that's kinda how they cope with all the change. Unaware of the forces that were trying to come back up. Narinder has used up every last drop of his divine magic to resurrect himself with the intention of killing the lamb by his hand and take the crown, but that ended up being a fail so...

Now that Narinder was in the lamb's cult, they feel obligated to watch over him. They think it's really pathetic that the former god is ultimately struggling in the mortal life. One time Narinder tried to run away from the cult and got himself in danger during it so Lamb has to swoop in to save his ass.

“It seems like that you are still in need of me." They said, but there's no smugness in the tone, it's pure disgust and malice. “You don't get to pull the strings anymore, my lord, you're under my domain now.”

I'll make this one very quick bc this is becoming long 😭 So anyway, Narinder (begrudgingly) stayed in the cult because he didn't know how to stay alive in a mortal body, and the more Lamb took care of him, the more dependent he became of them(albeit extremely pissed about that realization and acted aggressively at first then came acceptance that he's hopeless without them), the lamb was aware of this, however thought that this was just another tactic of him to get their guard down, so they pulled the strings so they wouldn't get attached again.

Soon the lamb decided to let themselves get close to him while still being wary, then suddenly became "lovers". Narinder had thought that it was the right course considering how much time they spent with eachother, though hadn't acted on romantic actions. However Lamb thinks that this is just another one of their lovers they have to deal with, so it was still very unrequited.

Then by time it became a requited relationship, unknowingly truly falling for eachother in the process. They somehow know that they're terrible for eachother, but they still work on it. Their devotion for eachother became a devotee to genuine lovers.

[skygemspeaks]

episode 3 thoughts let's go:

i love that we get to see more of kaya! the dynamic between her and usopp is very very sweet, and it makes their friendship that much more believable. her conversation with nami is also a really good one! when kaya asks nami if she's ever lost anyone close to her and then nami says no...and kaya says she's jealous....😭i think it's really so interesting how your experience watching this series can be entirely different based on whether or not you follow the manga/anime.

similarly, the conversation between luffy, zoro, and usopp was lots of fun! i've said it before and i'll say it again, but iñaki's performance as luffy is absolutely flawless. i really like how he played the scene where luffy realizes that he knows usopp's dad. also...usopp's heartbroken expression when he realizes that luffy knows and got to hang out with his dad....ouch

sham's a woman. huh. that's an interesting little change. i don't particularly feel either way about it. i'm wondering why they made her hair blue instead of green though

we knew already that kaya was going to be a shipyard heiress in this series, but i still think it was an absolutely phenomenal writing choice. we finally have a reason for where she gets her money from, as well as a good reason for why she has a ship like the merry anyways. luffy's little speech about how a ship is also a member of the crew and how it's a home...you could really tell it touched her. she's exactly the kind of romantic person who'd fall for that kind of passion

i feel like usopp is just a lot more likable in the live action than in the manga? maybe it's because his character is a little more grounded, maybe it's jacob's absolutely amazing performance, but either way, i am totally here for it. you could really hear the desperation at the end of the episode when he was running through town screaming that the pirates are here, but no one was believing him. you know it's his own damn fault, but when he's sobbing and asking why no one will believe him, you can't help but feel bad for him.

then!!! when the marines suddenly show up surrounding him, and he looks up to see koby standing over him. and koby says "i believe you." chills, man. i think this is one of the few times where i actually felt relief when the marines showed up? which is a weird thought. i wonder what part they're going to play next episode and how the straw hats are going to get away.

[comradeboyhalo]

I know I've said this so many times before, but it is just so comforting to see your posts about love and other people agreeing. Because I thought I was weird for almost immediately wanting to put a fic down when the romance was there, with labels of "boyfriend, girlfriend, husband." It’s like I don’t understand how the other qsmp ships work 😭 But the fact that skephalo just seems to always be there... It was just natural that they could go against the world together without anyone pushing a label on it. All that mattered was their unfailing love for the other and their natural friendship that went above that. In the qsmp they already have a history together! They've been with each other for centuries and know they have been together in past lives. Bad adores Skeppy.

For me, I don't really know how I feel about 4halo? I liked it a lot in the beginning because Forever was one of the few people that had the same views on the eggs that Bad did. But it just doesn't feel like it’s going to work? Bad and Forever have such different goals, and especially with Bad... I don’t think either will change. I like starhalo because they're just fighters, both to attack and protect. It just seems a lot softer than 4halo, I guess, but that's only because that ship got sucked into political drama. 4halo has the AMAZING jealously that I love, but it’s just missing something; like both characters know it will end up being a fling. But Etoiles has been so kind to Bad throughout his memory loss, teaching him to fight again, being patient... Idk, it’s strange. I almost miss it when there was no other Bad ship but Skeppy, I didn’t realize how narrow of a box Bad sat in o_o

(also sorry for the long ask. Just adding that I feel like if Bad killed Forever, that might be a schism in their relationship, while Etoiles would just admire it. But I don’t know, I haven't followed 4halo very well)

thank you for the long ask :D also disclaimer: everything i talk about here is more about viability in canon rather than enjoyment of ships. two different things! obviously i enjoy all q!bad ships through both a shipper lens and an analyst lens.

unlabeled relationships resonates so strongly with q!bad, especially given both his species and his aromanticism, which makes everyone pushing him towards a "typical" romance feel off (i wrote an analysis a bit ago on how qbad's aromanticism is treated on the server opposed to cbad, even if its a bit dated).

4halo's dynamic changes a lot, and it's hard to predict where they'll end up, and that makes them fun (happy pills 4halo is my favorite). there definitely is a certain type of inevitable "doom" with them, though. they'll never end up wholeheartedly trusting each other, but they'll love each other regardless. this ask was sent before yesterday's stream, where forever took care of bad, which goes to show how unpredictable they can be. they really do have a soft side, its just that they always seem to fail to fundamentally understand each other. and when all of q!bad's relationships are "tiered" in some way, this makes a committed relationship, whether platonic or romantic, difficult. forever has such a big heart and bad is so guarded. their relationship does come off of uneven in these unbalanced values, while a relationship like aypierre/bbh does not because pierre simply doesn't mind how paranoid and distrustful bad is. (but, again: that's what makes 4halo more compelling. q!bad is sick in the head obsessed yet is still so restrained around him.)

i really enjoy starhalo, but i cant really see bad striking up a committed, trusted relationship with etoiles. they're both warriors, but they're values are different. etoiles is honorable: he defends the weak, he likes fair fight. bad is a bit more desperate, a bit more brutal. he fights to survive and he takes delight in killing. he likes to win. he needs to win. etoiles obviously enjoys seeing this side of bad come out (in a way many islanders do not, like you said) but i cant help but wonder what would happen when these interests come into conflict. etoiles is to bend his morals to save friendships, but bad won't do the same in return.

and there's the issue with q!bad ships: bad is willing to cut everyone off if it means saving those he holds closest to his heart. and so every ship with him will inevitably crumble because he will choose if they're not up there. he would choose dapper over skeppy, even. and if skeppy comes second to the eggs, then how does it feel to be third on his list? fourth? fifth? how many people can stomach being in a relationship with someone who already knows how expendable you are to them?

again i love shipping im a huge shipper, i love romantic q!bad ships a lot. but there's a reason he fits into an us-against-the-world, unshakeable, all-consuming, unlabeled love, as opposed to the more typical romance progressions you see from fitpac/bagina/spiderbit. there's a reason all q!bad ships have some level of toxicity, while many ships without him do not. he's an all or nothing person, and finding someone who will wholly give him his heart, and wholly receive his heart back, will take a lot. so far, the closest is still presumably q!skeppy (which could still change if he were ever on the island), and that is due to thousands of years and lifetimes together. to have someone else take that place...well, we would have certainly known by now.

[suffarustuffaru]

so @alderamiin said subaru for the ask…. yes your ask was the one i deleted on accident whoops 😭😭 BUT HERE WE GO I MADE SURE TO REMEMBER TO DO YOURS WKDNDN (and i LOVE subaru fr i simply could not skip over him also) (pls expect my usual chaotic rambling im so sorry i really am overusing the caps button 😳😭😭)

Sexuality Headcanon: bisexual 👍 subaru being somewhere on the ace spectrum isnt a super strong headcanon of mine compared to the bisexual hc but i am still fond of it <33 bc i do tend to just hc him as bisexual but i suppose i could kind of see it <33 :DD !!

Gender Headcanon: subaru is literally, as we’ve all discussed, like EVERY letter of lgbtq+ i swear. like natsumi EXPLICITLY being stated to be his ideal self….. what cisgender boy has his ideal version of himself be a woman…. come on….. and hes been like. dressing and trying to pass as a girl for his crossdressing pre-isekai too. like subarus Practiced A Lot at this. subaru clearly enjoys doing this and he was crushed when he couldnt pass bc of his voice pre-isekai :(( AND LIKE subaru and his complex relationship to masculinity and feeling insecure in his own skin like……………… and then natsumi being his ideal self…… natsumi being the Heroine……….. and its like. subaru clearly has a case of “do i want to be them or be With Them” when it comes to men hes attracted to (most notably julius.) so like. it could apply to women too. like. and then the way subaru reacts to felix’s presentation too………. i just think it says a lot. i dont care what tappei says but he wrote all this shit in the text fr!!! and also in general. natsuki subaru being a gender neutral name…. same with natsumi schwartz… so yes genderqueer subaru for the win. i personally hc subaru as genderfluid or bigender!! and also like. subaru being Very LGBTQ+ is so in line with rezero’s themes of self love and self improvement and self discovery and Identity. i think it hits so much harder if subaru Is lgbtq+ versus if he was just insecure straight cis man. like no wonder subaru was struggling Even More. hes so so far in the closet and struggling with like the internal homophobia and shit fr :(((

that and 1. subaru being lgbt is such a great subversion of what you would think when you first meet his character. and also a subversion of ur typical isekai protag which ADDS to rezeros subversion of isekai in general and 2. i love making Certain People mad with these hcs. like its so supported by the text the only thing missing is explicit confirmation. which. i have my doubts with tappei on that but iirc he DID say he nearly wrote a lust if with the guys…. tappei. come on. you already explicitly said that natsumi is subarus ideal self.

A ship I have with said character: im very open to most subaru ships!!! i just love a lot of them—reinsuba, ottosuba, emisuba, remsuba, julisuba… i just like how each kind of dynamic with subaru has so much range like even in just main route alone?? and then you factor in the ifs and it gets So Interesting. theres so much history with each pairing and so much to explore, whether its platonic or romantic. and subaru has a LOT of love in his heart.

i just like each pairing for different reasons hah—like ok ive talked a lot about reinsuba and emisuba already in other asks so. i DO like remsuba okay. not in the sense that i want it to be the endgame ship in main route bc thats very much not happening and i would prefer The Most Detailed emisuba development of all time. which would be more thematically relevant <3 but i DO ADORE remsubas relationship in general. like its so so complicated??? like. yeah theres the conflict in arc 2. theres the conflict in arc 7 with her waking up and being different and being so mean to him about natsumi :((( theres her “youre my hero” versus “youre not a hero” WHICH. URHGHF ITS SO GOOD….. and like yeah remsuba really do be. iffy. in terms of how healthy it is. but its so complicated bc you also have rem being like—she was like the first person, narratively, to be willing to DIE to save subaru the exact way he does for other people (including rem). and then the famous from zero scene in season one which is a MASTERPIECE but i hate how people fixate on “i love emilia” LIKE REM IS HAPPY FOR SUBARU. SHE IS HAPPY AS LONG AS HE IS. EVEN IF HE DOESNT LIKE HER BACK. but also he did like her back romantically for a time. and also of course rem had her fixation on subaru :(( subaru had his own obsession for emilia while rem had hers for subaru pre-being gluttonyed?? :(( yeah like. remsuba being so complicated is so interesting to me. like she and subaru are very passionate people yes. but also they do need to learn to tone it down sometimes you know? REM ESPECIALLY TOO BECAUSE EVEN AFTER SHE STOPS BEING MURDERY TOWARDS HIM… FOR EXAMPLE IN SEASON ONE SHE WOULD CANONICALLY GO TO HIS ROOM IN THE MORNING AND WAIT FOR HIM TO WAKE UP…. like she'd just sit there at his bedside and Stare at him... like girl chill a bit its okay T^T i havent read sloth if. but it seems like they learned to mellow out and have a happy life T^T apart from. a shit ton of people dying in the background and also subaru dying of old age and resetting back to arc 3. i am interested to see if we’ll get further remsuba closure in arc 8 yes. but also im bonking subaru on the head in arc 7 for saying even REM TORTURING HIM was a fond memory. pls let this be addressed again later i swear sodndn.

ok also julisuba and ottosuba. i am no expert on julisuba but on the other hand i have analyzed Too Much Ottosuba so perhaps i am an expert there wodndn. but YEAH i love those ships. they have so much history and moments between them and they are. definitely the more Explicit evidence of subaru being bi (between subarus Interest in julius and reid calling julisuba boyfriends and SUBARUS INTEREST IN JULIUS... vs ottosuba repeatedly being like “omg do you Like Like me?” “NO I DONT SHUT UP” and also their continued divorce arc dynamics yep). but also i will say i really like ottosuba because specifically they are the subaru pairing where theyre like. Very Much Closer To Being Equals. if theyre not already equals in something. like in terms of power levels and intellect and their very loving families and previous inability to fit in or be believed by people and also their status in the narrative as Being Just A Guy in comparison to everyone else. and yet ottosuba are the MOST important members to their camp for their jobs—subaru keeps everyone alive, and otto handles All the politics, which we see over and over again. they are literally THE power duo. otto is so so important too as the second person to die FOR subaru the same way subarus died for others. like the paralleling of otto pushing subaru out of the way when the white whale drove otto insane (and later otto tried to go back for subaru once he regained his senses ;-;;;) versus otto pushing subaru out of the way so he didnt get killed by garf ;-;;;;;. and otto being the second person after rem to also give subaru an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT speech to him (otto-rem parallels...???) <33 except ottosuba also foil a lot bc of their Different Morals. but theyre both stubborn as hell and have a tendency to go off and do shit they think is best without telling anyone bc theyre too deadset (hah) on what THEY think. (OTTO. SPENDING A WHOLE YEAR SECRETLY GETTING THE BOOK OF WISDOM AND HAVING IT RESTORED?? HELLO???) anyway yeah ill stop right here bc i have So Much ottosuba posts on this damn blog wkdndn but i really do think the appeal of ottosuba is that they Are on a more even playing ground. and their morality flipflops sometimes. ottos issues are just more lowkey than subarus widndnd. i am. however. nervous about all the ottosuba and vincent-chisha parallels in arc 8 bc………. possible otto perma death on the horizon??? 😭😭😭😭 itd CRUSH subaru.

also of course the similar flavors of julisuba and ottosuba….. u can have ur tsundere x tsundere ships in TWO DIFFERENT FONTS. anyway ill become a julius lore expert someday i promise.

A BROTP I have with said character: BROTP ottosuba and ramsuba are so so funny and great wofndn but special shoutout to garf and subaru in particular!!! i think its interesting how far their relationship has come bc they had a VERY rough start and its like. 1. im sure garf would immediately regret going into a rage and killing a shit ton of people in that One Failed Loop and 2. we learn garf is a traumatized fourteen year old whos been trying so hard to take care of the demihumans inside sanctuary while his sister and mom left him, one way or another, and hes very afraid of the outside world. and its like YEAH now your behavior makes sense. and its so good to see garfs growth and also his growth in his relationship with subaru (and otto) bc he looks up to subaru sm!!! subaru helped garf so much T^T theyre brothers guys 😭😭 i think its so adorable and so sweet. ill defend garf all day everyday. garf 🤝 subaru with their DAMN hero complexes while otto tries to keep them both on a leash so they dont do stupid shit. subaru IS a good role model for garf though ill say that. subaru tries so hard to be a good role model wkdndn. and yes i always laugh when garf teases subaru for drawing doodles and writing encouraging things for emilia in the temple.

A NOTP I have with said character: okay so. maybe i will spill some tea here. hah so i went over in ram’s ask how i think ramsuba in wrath if is actually super interesting widndns but otherwise ramsuba to me is bland. which. i also just feel like subaru/crusch and subaru/ana and subaru/priscilla are also bland. like. i dont think theyll ever feel interesting to me akdndn. like theres not. as much to work off of imo. like i just dont think theyre a good match romantically at all. like At All. priscilla especially LMAO…. and im tired of people reducing women in the story to just boobs and being fucked by subaru 😭😭😭 like i dont have anything against those subaru ships, my biggest notp is just seeing a bunch of characters be butchered just to have subaru have sex with various women. 😭😭 obviously not everyone in the fandom does that but i see this happens the most with priscilla fr. pls. shes more than just boobs :(((

anyway. my other notp is like. echidna/subaru but like. i feel similarly to ram/roswaal on this where its like. theres a potential there to show a nuanced complex toxic relationship bc THAT IS what echidna/subaru are. even more so in greed if. like theyve spent an UNGODLY amount of time together like their relationship is so fucked. like god the amount of details that were added to their dynamic in the greed if ln makes me go INSANE….. like you know how echidna said that subaru could use her body with this contract?? what she ALSO really meant was HEY SUBARU YOU CAN KILL ME IF YOU WANT. ILL JUST COME BACK BC WE ALWAYS MEET IN A DREAM WORLD AND THERES NO CONSEQUENCES BUT ITLL FEEL REAL TO YOU. LIKE HOLY FUCK FR 😭😭 and like in generally reading through greed if ln is a Trip alright. like “no yeah duh of course it is, suffaru, its GREED IF” but LISTEN……. echidna being subarus weird mother figure and then like. idk there are obvious implications i feel from like the body fluid tea and then echidna being like “you can use my body” and then theres a moment where she puts his hand on her chest and yeah its to feel her heart but LIKE…. SOMETHING ABOUT THAT SCENE FELT LIKE. SOMETHING. TO ME. AND THEN SHES SO OBSESSED WITH HIM AND HES DEPENDENT ON HER LIKE JESUS ITS A MESS. ITS LIKE HOW SHE WAS WITH OG ROSWAAL. GOD. *puts my head in my hands*

anyway my real notp is like. depicting echidna/subaru like it is a Healthy Thing like no it is not 😭😭😭😭 it never was healthy and it literally never will be unless ur changing echidnas character drastically. if ur gonna show off echidna/subaru then they are gonna be SO RANCID in like every way possible there is no other correct way to write them. she is terrible for him. she literally saw him and went “i can make him worse” and then it happened. bc greed if subaru is a Terrible Person. like. its not even a question. the biggest example i can think of rn other than obvious Rbd use is KEEPING MEILI. A CHILD. HOSTAGE AND LOCKED UP IN ORDER TO USE ELSA. HER OLDER SISTER FIGURE. JEEZ. my biggest notp of all time is treating unhealthy relationships as if they Arent unhealthy.

MY OTHER BIGGEST NOTP OF ALL TIME FOR ANYTHING IS SHIPPING A CHILD AND AN OLDER PERSON TOGETHER. subaru/petra SHOULD BE AN OBVIOUS NOTP BUT SURE DOESNT FEEL LIKE IT SOMETIMES….. guys she is a child. come on. hes seventeen and shes TWELVE. GUYS…. and then theres tappei making iirc an ACTUAL petra if????? and idk what the content in petra if is exactly but i worry given tappeis track record with the child characters sometimes 😭😭 AND THEN PETRA BEING IN LUST IF. TAPPEI…… N-NOTHING HAPPENS, RIGHT? *EXPLODES WITH RAGE*. even if petra and subaru get together later when theyre Older Adults in some AU or something its like. subaru knew her when she was a young child. and she had a crush on him then. um. personally idk if im fully comfortable with that hah T^T

A random headcanon: GONNA TALK ABOUT WRATH IF. anyway so the wrath if divergence point is that subaru gets beatrice to teleport him away and ram chases him down, ram tries to strangle him to death but fails, he smashes her head with a rock. yes. BUT OKAY when u watch the anime. beatrice comes for his aid AFTER subaru gets to the cliff and tries to psych himself up to like. jump off to save rem and stuff. THEREFORE wrath if subaru still considered trying to rbd via jumping off that cliff. he just decided not to and agreed to have beatrice teleport him away. this is something not many people seem to mention or maybe even notice (??) but I THINK ABOUT IT A LOT…. :((

General Opinion over said character: i LOVE SUBARU WITH MY WHOLE BEING. he is my absolute favorite anime character of all time. his character arc is so chaotic and complicated and i think the way he Does like still struggle with the same Inner Conflicts is so so much more realistic. recovery and self improvement are NOT linear and he shows that perfectly. and i hate how much people misread subaru T^T the whole chadbaru trend in fandom of how he should get harems or how he should leave everyone or be terrible to emilia for *insert a long list of Terrible reasons here* is so. like did we all read and watch the same damn story or what hah. the whole point of rezero is LOVE ITSELF….. and subaru ultimately has a lot of love for so many people around him. though of course i do worry for how rbd reveal is going to be handled, and im not entirely sure how to feel about subarus arc 7 development atm. rbd reveal is gonna have catastrophic consequences for Everyone. like everyone hes ever been close to finding out hes died a shit ton of times to save him?? that so many of them have like. maimed and killed him or at least Tried To Do That? like HOW are we gonna get a happy ending out of all of this—hows tappei gonna handle this?? 😭😭 i worry sometimes that when rbd reveal happens it wont be nuanced or itll gloss over certain things or it just. wont be so satisfying. bc u have arc 7 subaru out here with SUICIDE PILLS……. ARC 7 SUBARU IN REPEATED INSANE DEATH LOOPS AS A CHILD….. how are we gonna come back from this?? 😭😭 i have my doubts sometimes but tappei loves insane character development for subaru so i suppose i will hope. i just wish for all the trauma to be seen and addressed akdndn and the fact that rbd is so. complicated. it makes subaru and his relationships with everyone else so complicated. and rbd is inherently unfair in a lot of ways to both subaru and everyone hes close to. i cant wait for more subaru development but i also think after arc 8 he NEEDS a break or like otherwise, personally i think subarus gonna snap for good and not be able to return from it 😭😭 or ill just have to suspend my uhh disbelief. i suppose. but yes i do love subaru a lot!!! his hair is a Pain in the ass to draw but ill endure the pain just for him. <33

but regarding all of subarus loved ones maiming and killing him a lot—i think its fascinating how the if routes prove he is JUST as capable of ruining all their lives. like i feel like people forget that sometimes in favor of woaaah cool what if routes where subaru becomes “badass”…. but LIKE…. hes SO SO CAPABLE of so much destruction. he is choice itself. he is capable of changing the entire world and everyone around him. he is capable of causing the deaths and trauma for SO MANY PEOPLE… and like i think rezero itself and subarus relationships are like an extreme version of hedgehog’s dilemma, u know? like u get close to people to love and be loved, but ur also very vulnerable to getting hurt. and rezero is About love. and part of close relationships are that ur so close u Can be hurt. maybe you Will be hurt. but u will also Love….. unless ur one of the ifbarus then fuck u for making the wrong decisions ig wodndndn. im telling u guys that subaru is LITERALLY an eldritch being at this rate. todd is so right.

and. okay one last thing im gonna be real for a second. im a little eh on subaru being a child, honestly. like i DO like the trope of turning characters back into their child selves in order to explore their psychology that way!! but like. idk i feel like the childbaru arc is kinda too similar to the whole amnesiabaru arc in arc 6. it feels Extraneous. it doesnt feel different enough for me personally. (emphasis on personally. this is all my opinion hah.) and then he is STILL A CHILD IN ARC 8 EVEN THOUGH THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT GOT TURNED INTO KIDS ARE NOW BACK TO NORMAL…… LIKE…. im sorry but the childbaru has overstayed its welcome by the time we get to arc 8 imo 😭😭

[calc1fers]

TRYING TO SORT OUT MY THOUGHTS ABOUT LILY SHIPS BC LIFE AS A MULTISHIPPER IS HARD

jily

o.g. i love them an inordinate amount

so yummy; @maluceh’s art made me feel things

i really really love them like a lot

i’m better at writing wlw ships that straight ships but for them i might try 🗣️🗣️

marylily

friends to lovers otp

the angst is insane 🫢

the jily to marylily to order of the phoenix drama to dead jily to obliviated mary pipeline

don’t know how to explain but they’re both so fiery with strong personalities. neither of them would back down when protecting their interests

lily would trade her life to save the wizarding world, mary would trade the wizarding world to save her life

right person wrong time :(

redpanda

SO CUTE 💌 pandora and lily study buddies

need to read more about them but they’re so cute (pls rec me fics if u have any)

there is potential for angst — jily and xenodora to redpanda, lily’s death, pan’s search for horcruxes with regulus, her death as well

idk yet. we will see

dorlily

been getting into this one recently

ACADEMIC RIVALS TO LOVERS

tbh i’ve always been more of a dorlene fan but they’re kind of addictive to read about

marlily (lilylene?)

it’s ok but there are better lily ships out there imo

might change my mind if i read more about them

jegulily

beautiful bc they’re all in love

good solution to people who aren’t sure whether to ship jily or jegulus or regulily

need to read more about them and figure out their dynamic but from what i’ve heard.. very good

regulily

not sure? i feel like regulus and lily are compatible but they also need james in the mix

if not romantic, they’d definitely be platonic soulmates

regulus and lily lend each other their poetry/philosophy books with little annotations ❤️‍🩹

narlily

i’m intrigued by this one and need to read more about it

they seem cute!!

mary/marlene/lily

idk their ship name

personally a no.. they are all best friends this is kind of incestuous

snily

i’m sorry snape went thru allat but i don’t think they’d be good for each other

snape was kind of obsessive and by the time he had a redemption arc i’m pretty sure lily was already six feet under 😭😭

relily

…nah

they’re strictly platonic

maybe. MAYBE dated for a few months but def not endgame

and i would just like to say:

fuck jkr; i do not support her bigoted views and i never will. i know my platform is very small, but i will continue to try my best at creating a safe space for the lgbtq+ community here :)

these are just my views! i’m still figuring out lots about character dynamics and trying to form my own opinions on them. everyone’s allowed to have their own views which are valid if they aren’t pedophilic or have some other disturbing power dynamic.

[swiftllama]

I had shared this story about in a discord but I want others people to know.

So I have funny story when I started shipping Ianthony. For some reason, I actually never seen a video from smosh.

it was in 2014. So my first impression of seeing Ian and Anthony was on a YouTuber react by fine bros.

I genuinely thought that Anthony and Ian were a couple.

It was literally my first thought when I seen them. Like “awe, what a cute couple”.

It didn’t help that Anthony “heart eyes” Padilla was like making that first impression stronger. 🫣

Thank goodness, I had double check Wikipedia before saying something on YouTube comments. When I found out they were just best friends. I was sad. 😭

The second thing I did was checked what was their ship name in google search.

My question:

is when did you start shipping ianthony?

I don’t blame you anon for mistaking them as a couple 😅

I think I must’ve started shipping them in 2014, the year I created this tumblr and found the fandom. I obviously knew what shipping was but hadn’t really shipped anything myself, no ships ever quite grabbed my attention until Ianthony. It’s always came down to the dynamic between them as to why I do, their friendship and clear love for one another is palpable. I fell in love with the relationship between them and that’s still the case to this day. Whether that’s from the platonic side of things, or having a bit of fun imagining the romantic side of things. I’m here for it all! ☀️🔍

[septemberrie]

I have come into your inbox to rant and ramble after being blown away. I specifically ship your version/characterization of saulxandreas and romantic or platonic!saulxfarah/saul&farah, where the two dynamics are a foil for one another. Your fic, it was just red, is a masterpiece. It perfectly encapsulates the way that Andreas’s “feelings” for Saul would likely manifest, not as a healthy romantic attraction but as a twisted combination of attraction, jealousy of someone more popular and better than him (“good, kind, stupid Saul”), the desire to dominate, and the homophobic/toxicly masculine idea of owning/besting someone by fucking them. That sort of dynamic unfortunately often culminates in sexual violence, whether it be rape by deception or straight up assault. Which is made all the more heartbreaking by saul’s devotion towards Andreas and their early friendship. The contrast between Andreas being too narcissistic and insecure to love properly (“I did love you, you know,”) and the real love between Saul and his fairy, Farrah, and his other friends, made me cry.

I also ship saulxhealing because he puts on this image of even tempered mentor/guardian for the sake of his son and students, but he has got to be internally shattered, the most broken and traumatized character in the whole series, especially after season 2. Pretty much everyone he’s known and loved died violently. throughout his life, two people he trusted (Andreas and Sebastian) treated him like dirt by trying to kill him. He must have a very damaged sense of self worth and internalized guilt at being one of the last ones standing. Maybe he could find solace in being a father to sky, although i wonder how their relationship was affected by sky killing his biological father to save Saul on top of the previous trust issues that were not resolved.

Have you ever thought about writing another fic in light of all the compelling saulxandreas moments from season 2? Ken duken really amped up the tension between them, every time they appear on screen Andreas looks at Saul with such a creepy intense look that’s hard to ignore. And there’s the introduction of Sebastian, who definitely had a crush on Saul (“following saul around like a puppy”) The potential for Sebastian’s jealousy and hatred toward Andreas during their school years, and andreas being possessive of saul would be interesting. I could see your characterization of andreas continuing beautifully in a post s2 fic, with his viciousness showing in the way he relentlessly bullied Sebastian to mark his territory and because he could.

Also, it’s a testament to your writing that canon s2 Andreas pretty much acted in accordance with the Andreas in your fic! There’s always the possibility of canon work completely going against a fic, but s2 Andreas was every bit as bloodthirsty and aggressive as you wrote him (not Ben asking saul if sky inherited Andreas’s bloodlust 😭) Burning saul’s house down in jealousy, pushing students around and making sparring more violent, being emotionally unavailable towards his son, and insulting silva’s masculinity, (“did he wear an apron?”) it was amazing how you basically extrapolated his character so accurately from just a few scenes in s1.

Basically, thank you for writing it was just red, and the way you wrote it makes me yearn and wonder if you’ve ever thought about writing something post s2. The past and present structure for it was just red would be perfect in explaining the sheer depths of Sebastian’s hatred of Andreas (with Saul at the root of it all,) and the way Saul/Andreas’s scenes were so intense, culminating in Andreas sacrificing himself to save Saul, makes me wonder what kind of relationship they had in the past even if it was an unhealthy one. The show also glossed over saul’s imprisonment after he was caught returning to see sky, and the way you wrote his imprisonment in i.w.j.r. Makes me think you’d write that part wonderfully. The saul&sky&andreas conflict and dynamic (“you’re already starting to sound like him.”) was also teased but not explored in canon, and the way you described that in the last fic (“he’s in my DNA” “he’s in my bones.”) chills. I’d kill to see your exploration of that dynamic post s2. And they also didn’t include any grieving scenes for Saul after his fairy died!

Anyways, I’ll end this here. It was just red. was amazing, literally one of the best fics I’ve read and definitely the best when it comes to comparing the quality of canon to fic. You have a gift for fully fleshing out the motivations and psychology of characters, your writing is technically skilled, and you included themes beyond just shipping (about love, war, trauma, growth, and disillusionment) that I didn’t expect but were really impactful to read. I would die of happiness if you were considering writing another post s2 saundreas fic but that’s not to induce any pressure because I am already forever greatful for the fics you’ve already written. Wishing you all the best in life. Also, is it okay to send you more asks/messages about fate? This has gotten ridiculously long but I’d love to discuss more saundreas/saulbastian/saulrah things down the line with you if you’re interested.

okay anon, I hope you know this is the best ask I've ever received, my ego will never be the same after this 😅💕

I love the points you brought up in your 2nd paragraph, re: Saul x Healing. The man has been through it ALL, although I always have a hard time reconciling what he's actually been through with the mechanical way the writers had him deal with everything in S2. It's absolutely criminal we got little to no fallout from what went down in the lodge because you're so right, Sky and Saul's relationship is fundamentally changed now that Sky murdered his bio father to save his real father!! Plus Sky and Saul have both now lost their fairies, they've both killed their own fathers, their home burned down… like they have so much loss together (makes you wonder what's left to repair if they both lost so much).

I have actually started a "S2 from Saul's POV" that tries to both build on what specks of light they gave us (Ken rocking tf out of angsty Andreas, references to Sebastian and Andreas' crushes on Saul, wtf was going on that week when both Saul and Andreas were teachers at Alfea when they have this history together????) and also tries to bridge some of the gaps (where tf is the emotion? any of it? About Farah? Sky killing Andreas? Siding with Roz???)

And I'm toasting you to kingdom come, anon, for the praise re: Andreas' characterization in my fic. If you had told me when I was writing it that we were going to get as much fucked up Andreas in S2 as we did I would not have believed you. It was a dream come true--my only wish is that they hadn't killed him off so early. He was SUCH a great rogue/lesser villain. I really don't remember what happens much in s2 after Episode 4 lol that's basically It for me. I'm framing your sentence "the best quen it comes to comparing the quality of canon to fic" because ??? excuse me this is the most fantastic compliment because that's exactly what I was going for/hoping for and!!! thank you!!!!

Back to my S2 "rewrite" fic. I hadn't considered as much your particular angle, like what if Sebastian being Sebastian and not just any old blood witch was part of the reason for Andreas' sacrifice? Extra baggage between the three of them? I'm curious what you mean about "the past and present structure of IWJR would be perfect in explaining the sheer depth…" are you just referring to IWJR or are you talking about the proposed post-s2 fic you would like to see me write? Sorry I'm just curious!!

Anyway anyway anyway PHEW you are incredible for sending such a kind and gushing message and THANK YOU!!! I literally had to sit on it for a few hours bc it was like staring at the sun lol it is so bright and makes me so happy. You are ALWAYS welcome to come chat about anything Fate, on anon or off! We are a friendly bunch and love talking about our silly 13 episode fairy show!! Thank you again!!

[skullgirrl]

Thoughts on Kat x Dante and Kat x Vergil

I'm suffering through major writers block recently so to try and push myself out of this I'm going to write down my thoughts and hope that they are semi-coherent.💀

I adore a good love triangle.

I see Kat/Vergil and Kat/Dante as two different ship dynamics

Kat/Vergil - right person, wrong time

Kat/Dante - soulmates (whether platonic or romantic)

I am more preferential to Kat/Dante only because we see him actually begin to care for her more than Vergil seems to over the course of the game (if you've seen my blog you know the amount of Kante propaganda I post💀)

The events of the game:

In the beginning of the game, straight off the bat, it's clear Vergil and Kat are very close or "tight" as Dante so eloquently observes😂 Kat and Vergil work as a team. Kat is indebted to Vergil because he helped her out of a tough childhood. Vergil is indebted to Kat because she acts as his right hand. Although, there aren't many scenes in the game where Kat and Vergil are in the same room (much less, hold a conversation together) but we can still assume they're a team and generally like each other. Kat's closer to Vergil than any other member of The Order. Nice, okay...

But then, through the events of the game Kat and Dante have more scenes together. They talk, they trauma bond, and even though at the beginning Dante was weary of trusting Vergil or Kat, he seems to slowly come out of his shell with Kat and trusts them both because of it.

But the siege of The Order's headquarters is really when we get to fully see the "flip":

up until this point, Vergil seemed closer to Kat than Dante was (and perhaps Kat liked Vergil more as well) but the scales have slowly been tipping, increments of weight being adding in Dante's favor.

And then Vergil leaves Kat in the server room😭

the thing most striking to me about this scene imo is that Kat just seems to accept her fate. She accepts that there's no way out for her and accepts her martyrdom for Vergil's cause because Vergil had so easily accepted it too... but Dante doesn't.

He stays with her. He tells her what to do and how to appear the least threatening to the feds. He assures her that he will be back for her even if no one else is.

He shows her a kindness, a thoughtfulness and it humanizes him in this scene.

Dante has to argue with Vergil to go back and save Kat. Dante changes their whole plan because he doesn't want to let this one human girl die. A far cry from the beginning of the game where he brushed them off and said he "preferred to work alone"...

After all this, even after Vergil reveals his plan to rule over the humans, Vergil still seems surprised (or regretful?) that Kat doesn't back him up, but now Kat knows that she can't support him anymore. Vergil is too far gone, too different from the man who saved her from her foster father.

I also just realized that we can see this somewhat mirrored in the framing of the cutscenes:

In most of her scenes with Vergil, Kat is pushed to the back. She's out of focus and otherwise not the main draw of the scene. In fact, it's very easy to overlook her in the shadows.

Whereas in most of her scenes with Dante, Kat takes up as much space on the screen as he does. She's harder to overlook now paired with that fact that she actually has lines in her scenes with Dante. (although this may just be confirmation bias given she has so many more scenes with Dante💀 I think it's a nice parallel)

Closing thoughts, I like both pairings although I feel that the game devs planed for Dante to be endgame. I still like the idea of a love triangle between the three; Dante and Kat close after Vergil's betrayal, Vergil and Kat as old friends turned sour (past crushes? the one who got away possibly?), and Dante and Vergil being brothers but also vying for Kat's attention (blood is thicker than water).

Anyways thanks for reading (or skimming) take this as a treat:

[lyranova]

Fruity question attack! 🍒🍑🫐 🥰💖

Yay, thank you for the attack Erika 🥰💕!!!

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

I love the “Calm character/Gremlin-Bratty” character dynamic XD! Like, one character is calm and logical while the other is wild and ‘crazy’! Because in a way they balance each other out, and they influence each other a bit. The calm one slowly becomes a bit more wild, and the wild one becomes a bit more calm in certain situations.

(Pretty much the Zerilliam dynamic 😆)!

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

Ooo…the biggest connection I can see between Yuno and Final Fantasy Vii would be his dynamic/friendship with Asta! I’m gonna go on a bit of a rant here so please forgive me (also I apologize if it makes very little sense XD):

Okay, the frienship dynamic between Asta and Yuno is *super* similar to Zack and Clouds! You have the sunshine, super positive, ball of energy (Zack and Asta) and you have the calm, sometimes negative, ocassionally unsure of himself but hides it under a cocky façade while greatly admiring the sunshine ball of energy (Cloud and Yuno) who you wouldn’t think would be great friends but really are.

You also have the “I want to be like you” aspect with them (Cloud wanting to be like Zack and Sephiroth, and Yuno wanting to be like Asta and Julius), and you also have the “trauma made me change my personality” but a bit…differently. Yuno’s trauma of being to weak to protect himself or Asta made him shove down his emotions and made him think he needed to have a tough personality in order to be strong.

Clouds personality changed because his mind was so broken from watching his hero destroy his village and killing his mother, the expirements done on him for 4 years, and from watching his friend die protecting him that he built an entire persona to try and protect himself (also there may or may not be alien influence when it comes to that too 😅).

As for how it would work, I talked about this on the server before, but I can see Yuno and Asta growing up together like they do in BC but either in Gongaga or Nibelheim (Gongaga is more like a jungle, and Nibelheim is more mountainous). After seeing the hero Sephiroth/Julius win the war in Wutai they would travel all the way to Midgar and train to become SOLDIERs so that they could become heros like him! But after learning about the truth of the company they would have to make a very tough decision…

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

Hm…I’m not actually sure? I always feel like OC’s and their ships are underrated, or are “rebuffed” over canon ships and Xreaders, which is quite baffling to me, but I don’t think that’s an option 😅. But I guess for a trope…maybe unreliable narrator? I don’t really know I’m sorry 😭!!

[sanerontheinside]

🍓, 🍒, and 🍑, please?

🍓 What’s a fic you’ve written you feel is underrated?

*looks @ 99 works on ao3* bold of u to think i remember them all 😭

no but this is a very difficult question. I don't think sorting by stats is going to help here, either—I start overanalysing, like 'this fic interests a different group of people' etc etc etc. I've written a number of shorter, smutty fics. how am I supposed to compare the period fics, the qui&obi gen stories, and larger romances and very not-sw au's to that?

I will say this, however: I love how Ancient Manor Houses is doing.

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

I'd say QuiObi but that would be the easy way out, I guess 🤭 but it's tricky to do otherwise because they're the only dynamic I've ever really finished a fic for. or multiple. but I do have a weakness for extremely competent people, potentially with a history of one mentoring the other, watching each other grow.

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

well. @severeannoyance said 'Hornblower series be upon ye' and won, so yes, I'd love to put Ben Kenobi on an early 19th century ship in the middle of the Napoleonic wars.

though speaking of fusions, I do have a dormant Highlander/The Mummy fusion that might happen someday.

the emem | the aks box

[byler-alarmist]

Hellcheer

Okay, I'll level with you -- in any other show, I probably would've loved it.

I love a cutesy/sunshine partner with a darker/edgier partner. The relationship often brings out fun, surprising depths to their respective characters. I totally get this trope!

However, I just can't ship it romantically in Stranger Things.

For one, I lean towards Eddie being gay. He is extremely queer-coded and heavily paralleled to Will. I guess it's technically possible he could be bisexual though, and if he is, then perhaps he could've liked Chrissy that way.

But I don't think he took her to his trailer with any romantic intentions at all, I think he was just trying to finish his drug deal and get paid, and also thought she was nice/wanted to help her out.

Either way, as a super-senior, Eddie's a little too old for her within the canon of the show having her still in high school. Obviously this wouldn't stop many guys, but it just wouldn't sit right with me.

All that said, I thought their scene in the woods was very cute! They had a good rapport and the thought of Chrissy enjoying Corroded Coffin is just 🤌🤌

I love that he insinuates that she is a covert "freak"! This show has always been about the nerds and outcasts, but S4 starts dropping several seeds suggesting that even some of the normie people who are looked upon as popular, attractive, rich, etc may not be as "normal" as they let on.

It could even be subtly suggesting that Chrissy was some flavor of queer, too, since Hellfire/Corroded Coffin/Eddie in general seem to represent queerness and/or 'alternative" lifestyles.

I saw somebody say that the tragedy of Eddie and Chrissy was that they had all the potential to be friends if not for their rigid social stations.

I actually agree and like to think that they could've become great friends in another setting.

Personally, I love the thought of "Platonic with a Capital P" Hellcheer!!

I saw an absolutely hilarious fanart that was a swapped version of Stobin in the Boobies scene, except it was Chrissy arguing with Eddie in the car and they were debating whether his guy crush was into dick or not 😹😭 it was great and I'd love that dynamic for them hahahshsha

I also saw another really cute fanart of the two of them as DnD characters! Like if she had joined Hellfire or something. They had made her a kind of dancer lady and he was some kind of bard with his lute. It was really sweet and I'd love that for them too, in a platonic way

Conclusion: I think Eddie and Chrissy had cute friend potential, though it would be hard for their characters in a place like Hawkins. Maybe if they had lived, after they graduated and got out of Hawkins, they'd have a better shot at being real friends.

[andorerso]

Sissi, please satiate my very academic curiosity about your two OCs Dani and Elijah because I've seen you tag them on some very omg-thats-my-jam dynamics.

Like I need details. Whats their story? Do they hate each other and then oh-shit-regrettably-its-u hate-fuck in some Boston bar? Like I already have headcanons for them, we neeed moore 🥺

me seeing this ask in the morning

they're honestly one of my favorite OC ships, like top three AT LEAST. and honestly? hooking up in some Boston bar is not unimaginable! like you're not very far off at all and I love it 🥰 please tell me more headcanons *chin in hands*

you might regret asking me though because I have a looooooot to say! so much to say. too much, you might think 😭 but they have a long story, and I couldn't give them justice if I condensed it, so I think I'm gonna put this under a read-more

okay, so important context first: the setting is urban fantasy with magic and different sorts of monsters but the twist that it's all out in the open and the world has known about the existence of these paranormal things for a long while now.

Dani's in her mid-20s (around 25-27 at the start) and she has this the devil may care attitude with some serious abandonment issues (because her family situation is complicated and not the greatest). She's very rarely had real connections with anyone, whether platonic or romantic, so it makes her very lonely and basically the only person she's close to is her brother. She will pretend she likes it that way but I mean... she clearly does not. She's also a licensed monster hunter, but while most of her family on her mother's side, including her brother, were/are witches, she's got no magic of her own. So it makes her kind of an outsider even in her own family.

And Elijah isn't human. In fact, he comes from a different dimension altogether so he's a something but no one knows what yet because his kind hasn't really been seen ever before and people just don't have a name for it. He's a couple hundred years old which is old in the human sense, but not so much for their kind. Kinda early 30s in appearance. Elijah technically isn't even his real name but it's his human name and what he goes by for the entire story. His dimension is sort of splintering apart at the seams and his kind are dying by the millions so many of them started seeking refuge in other worlds, including our world. Of course they all have different attitudes towards humans, some think they should be peaceful and co-exist, some think they should just take over and subjugate humans, and some think that co-existence IS optimal but they don't think very high of humans regardless and don't really want to interact much. Basically like "you're just a small ant and I'm better than you in every way but I don't hate you so I guess you can stay." Elijah falls more into that category at the start, although he's actually curious about humans, but he's following his mentor's lead who's kinda like a father figure and the person who leads the group he came over with.

So anyway, Dani gets tangled up in this whole situation as she's one of the first person to actually see and interact with one of the others. You could kinda say they're enemies because Elijah's super loyal to his own people, and Dani's very skeptical and distrustful of them. But most of all, she really doesn't trust Elijah's mentor and that obviously creates some tension between them. So they start off on the wrong foot and they really can't stand each other first. It's a lot of unfair assumptions and prejudices basically, and they're both guilty of it. But they also clash simply because of their personalities.

Elijah's calm, collected, reserved, a bit cold some would say, he doesn't show much emotion and is entirely too serious for his own sake. Dani's more laidback and fun and likes to hide her pain with stupid jokes. She's also very much ruled by her emotions so she's hot-tempered and prone to make hasty decisions that often result in bad consequences and Elijah just. does not vibe with that. At all. There's definitely attraction from the start tbh but it's a "fuck, why them, I cannot stand them" kind of attraction. The "I think you're hot and I'm annoyed about it" kind of attraction.

They do become friendlier as time goes on and they find common ground and realize that they may not be so different after all. During this stage, only a few months after meeting, they actually end up sleeping together at a low point in both of their lives. It's one of those "you're here, I'm here, let's just make each other feel alive" kind of things. But because this is absolutely a slowburn, the next morning Dani's like "you know that was just a one night sort of thing, right?" because she does fool around with people often so it's nothing new to her but Elijah does not, isn't used to this, so he's like "uhm... yeah of course." But internally he's kinda spiraling about it. They don't talk about it, but ofc they're thinking about it.

So as time goes on, they end up becoming really close as friends and literally everyone's shocked about this development but they just... see each other, you know? They get each other in an instinctive way that no one else does. Elijah's absolutely in love with Dani at this point but doesn't really understand what he's feeling so he never does anything about it, just pines from afar, and Dani's sort of still in the denial phase (plus you know, the whole "he's my best friend and I don't really have a lot of people I'm close to so I can't lose him"). Dumb shit, obviously.

There's a jealousy sideplot at some point because I like them but it's not a love triangle because I hate those. It's basically just more of Elijah pining to be honest. Lots of angst because that's just how I roll. Over time, there's like 2 or 3 incidents when they actually kiss (I could even see another one night stand at some point, it depends) but they always pull back or change their minds or something happens outside of their control and it just never ever goes anywhere. At this point, Elijah loves her and realized it, but he's actually kinda content to be just her friend. He's okay with loving her from afar because he doesn't really think it possible to be with her for real, and it's very sad.

Dani, on the other hand, is the opposite. She has also accepted the fact that she loves him and she does not want to be just friends. At some point, they have one of those heated arguments that end with Dani, finally too frustrated with this thing between them, blurting out that she loves him, and Elijah for his own reasons (he has a lot of shit going on) pretty much ignores it and pulls away from her. It's like "this is best for both of us, I'm trying to protect you" blablabla, it's stupid and although they technically remain friends, their relationship is very obviously strained because Dani doesn't forgive him for it. Like the girl can absolutely hold a grudge, but also this is probably the time he hurts her the most, so understandable. I mean you gotta know that this is the first time she said those words to anyone that isn't her brother, and she feels rejected, feels like doesn't love or want her, feels kinda worthless because he's an immortal being from a different dimension, ofc he doesn't want her, why would he, and she feels incredibly angry that she still loves him despite all that. It’s a cycle of self-hatred and resentment, and then all that, along with some other things, pushes Dani into spiraling and she has a brief evil arc, and that's another thing preventing them from being together. (She's pretty mean to him during this era but he's also one of the things that brings her back to herself so you know... fun stuff!)

Anyway, they do get together eventually. I'm undecided on this part because idk what works better yet. One possibility is that one of them, probably Elijah, shows up at her door before a big battle that's gonna happen and confesses and they spend the night together knowing it might be their last night alive. The other possibility is that one of them, probably Dani gets hurt during the battle and Elijah confesses while she's bleeding out in his arms. Either way, they don't expect to survive so they finally come clean, and then... they survive. So now they gotta actually confront this for once.

They decide to give a relationship a try, but it doesn't end well the first time. Sure, they're happy and disgustingly in love for a while but neither knows how to be in a relationship because neither have experience. So as soon as something comes along to shake their foundations a bit, the whole thing crumbles. The following crash and burn might even be the angstiest part of the story, idk. I'm gonna be honest, the end does get a little fuzzy, I haven't fleshed out everything yet. I know I want there to be a temporary character death at some point because I know it's cheap but I live for that stuff. So Elijah dies, probably while they're still broken up, and Dani definitely goes a little feral and sets out on an impossible path to bring him back. The good stuff. He comes back, they reunite, etc. I don't wanna say everything's perfect after that because they still gotta work on their issues, but they have a happy ending and that's what matters.

Tropes include but not limited to: slowburn, mutual pining, it was always you, battle couple, hot-headed & level-headed, unhealthy codependency/mutual obsession, soulmate coded, opposite sides of the same coin, not even death can defeat us, anguished declarations of love, sad people growing an intense connection from shared trauma, grumpy character who only smiles for love interest

Songs that remind me of them: 

Remember to Remember Me by Isak Danielson - this one is pretty angsty, but it really fits a certain period in their story and every single time I hear it, it makes me think of them

An Evening I Will Not Forget by Dermot Kennedy

Evermore by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver

The Alcott by Taylor Swift ft. The National

Love Like Ghost by Lord Huron

Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler

(Dani also has a playlist that she made for him even when they were just friends and it's super secret and she's kinda embarrassed about it but she does end up sharing it with him later when they get together. Fun fact, I did actually make that playlist on Spotify.)

Other trivia tidbit that I like but couldn't fit into elsewhere: Dani's full name is Danielle and she HATES when people call her that. Her parents used to do it when they were angry, and her brother still does it to mess with her or when he's disappointed with her. So no thank you. Except if it's Elijah. Other people say it in anger or admonition but Elijah says it out of sheer devotion, and she's very into it.

I could also like... make moodboards if anyone's interested? Or even if no one's interested...

[shsl-roomba]

idk if weve talked about them yet but im curious what your thoughts on naegiri are

no we haven’t talked abt them yet, I’m open to though!

I think they’re really cute!<3

I don’t have the biggest opinion on it but I do like the relationship that they display throughout the series.

Fuck dr3 for making Makoto ‘5’3’ Naegi taller than Kyoko, he only grew one cm😭

I don’t really define whether a ship is romantic or platonic, they’re just two people that mean the world to each other and that’s really cute!

they have such a cute dynamic tho

[menstits]

The whole "x is just a short adult" thing is so ridiculous sometimes bc like. Speaking as an adult that could easily be mistaken for a high schooler, it's really obvious when people are just reaching for a reason to feel better about shipping something. And I don't think it's that hard to distinguish when a character is meant to be a young looking adult (in most cases) as opposed to a teen if people would stop focusing on ships for a moment.

Take Venti for example. His narrative pretty clearly is about the unveiling of a facade and how his playfulness hides maturity and grief, as opposed to filling the shoes of a predecessor or coming to age/power. He's also on equal footing with other adults such as Jean, Kaeya, and Diluc, and can drink which as you've said is a pretty big marker in genshin if a character is an adult.

Characters like Noelle and Fischl on the other hand I understand being a little confusing. Noelle is clearly an independent but she also is marked immature and often subordinated. Fischl is close to other characters that more obviously read as teens, like Bennett and Razor, and she has 8th grader syndrome, but she's also respected in her job and treated like an equal by characters like Mona who seem to be older.

Still, for characters like Noelle, Fischl, Xiangling, Xinyan, Lyney, and Lynette, Furina, and maybe even Hu Tao, I think it's pretty clear that if they are adults they are freshly adults, like 18/19 maybe 20 at most, and it's a bit off (to put it lightly) to be pairing them off with characters that are in their late 20s at the youngest estimate. Like I'm not willing to die on a hill arguing about whether Xianyun/Yun Jin or Yun Jin/Shenhe is creepy because it'd be reasonable to guess Yun Jin is probably somewhere between Xinyan and Shenhe's age and could be argued either way, but it also doesn't take a genius to guess Zhongli, Ayato, and Neuvillette are older because of how their age is contrasted to Hu Tao, Ayaka, and Furina's.

When you factor in different relationships it makes things a lot clearer. Freminet for example is pretty obviously a teenager, and the twins are older than him but probably not by a huge margin considering their closeness.

I dunno it's just like. Maybe if people stopped worrying about ships for a sec they could analyze characterization and relationships with a lot less bias. And recognize that these relationships are incredibly interesting outside a romantic context and they don't need to be smooching for it to be enjoyed.

Yeah honestly like 😭 i feel like the game gives you plenty enough context to guess the age range of most characters ESPECIALLY if you take into account how they act around each other and what their lifestyle is like. My guess for Fischl specifically is that she's definitely a teen because of her overall demeanor coupled with the fact that she lives with her parents & the fact that she's besties with razor and bennett, so I'd place her in a high schooler age range. In all honesty her dynamic with mona feels a lot like a college aged girl who has a cringe high schooler friend that she hangs out with considering how she tends to act pretty fed up with her theatrics. But yeah in general i agree with pretty much everything you said like i do have some kind of chart in my mind for the age range of each character and it's really not THAT hard to guess when someone is intended to be in a younger teen vs older teen vs short adult age range... Like for example Freminet and Collei are obviously younger teens while Lyney and Lynette are older teens and Wanderer or Amber are short adults

[wttcsms]

Amber, I'm back to yell at you!!!! I'm literally dying over Most Noble what?! Its sooo good, i literally took a deep breath while my eyes watered cause of that ending! Oh to be in love with Sir Nanami 😍 He really is too much, the way he wants the mc so much, it gives off enemy to lovers vibes, with a lot of slow burn! Its so good the way I gasped when i read it on AO3 cause it said chapters 1/1 😭 No, its too good, YOU'RE the reason i even love Nanami so I refuse to believe thats it for them. But also thank you for that, it was such a good read the pining got me right in the feels i had to take a moment for myself to calm down. Please don't say its over 😭

Moving on lols, the way I read Balancing Act this morning! I wanted to scream, and I'm in no way a morning person but that one woke me up! Gojo being so self assured, I love that for him. The way you wrote the whole crew working for Gojo and Getou! Nanami saying that Getou is just like Gojo but would give himself 6 months instead KILLED ME!!!! Also just Nanami, and his whole work is shit rang through my head when you said he left then came back 😭 Just the way you wrote them all is soo good, the interaction between Gojo and Mc oooomph absolute genius! Utahime and Gojo friendship! Personally that little bit got me hook line and sinker cause i dont ship them 🫠 Finally that flashback of them as teenagers in high school!!! Yes queen him falling in love and not realizing it but also i loved that the mc ruined what i assumed would be his year of just fucking around! Its god tier I know im going to add this to my list of comfort fics!!!

hi hi, i was waiting til when i was less busy so that way i could give this lovely msg a proper response!!! as always, i love love love hearing ur thoughts and seeing u in my notifs makes me so happy, like kicking my feet and giggling happy because ur such an amazing reader and i love hearing ur thoughts on my work.

first of all, even w/out me, u would have fallen for nanami bc that's just the type of man he is. most noble was so fun to write purely bc i didn't have a set plot line in place, i just let the word vomit spew all over my docs and clicked post on tumblr. that being saidddddd, i am always open to revisiting our princess and sir nanami bc the fun part in writing mutual pining is the eventual getting together. like all fairytales, they are so gonna have a happy ending <3

im so happy you've read balancing act because for me, it's such a fun project and a way for me to not so subtly vent out any pent up feelings i had towards my experience in working in banking in nyc BAHAHAHA. i think workplace dynamics are so fun to write as well & i really wanted to incorporate just how blurry boundaries are within the field but also how close knit they truly are because most of the time, you see your coworkers more than your family and your significant other and it's hard not to become friends or something more (it's either that, or u all hate each other's guts LOL). geto and gojo would not be besties if they weren't both absolute menaces, i stand by that. utahime + gojo are lowkey MY dramione HAHA, and so i always like to write them in some type of relationship, whether that be platonic or romantic. they def squabble like siblings in this fic + it's going to be so much fun writing them in a diff light than i normally do (what's up for debate is whether or not i hint towards nanami x utahime :O) nanami found out that working in academia is JUST AS TOXIC as industry, so he's back bc, hey, at least he gets paid hella money, but we'll explore more nanami lore in balancing act once i decide on his exact role in the fic muahahaha.

thank you for always reaching out with your thoughts on my writing and just to chat in general, it means the world to me <3