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prying-pandora666 · 8 months

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On Alucard and Maria

Are there actually fans advocating for Alucard to be written as Maria’s father figure in the new season of Nocturne? Like that would be a good thing and not infinitely creepier? I don’t think they’ve thought this through.

Alucard is the single most popular character in the franchise. He’s also probably the most shipped character. And yet he has only had one canon love interest in the decades since he’s existed. It’s Maria. And you’re telling me that you think that because he’s 300+ and she’s 17-18 when they started living together in the games, that it would be grooming. However, somehow him inserting himself into her life at age 16 when she’s just lost both her parents wouldn’t come off like grooming!?

Does this man look like he should be picking up random children!? He’s literally terrified of his own cursed blood. Maybe LISTEN TO HIM.

I’m convinced fandoms have forgotten what that word means. Grooming has specific features. It doesn’t just mean “older guy and younger girl.” A relationship with an age gap or an uneven power dynamic can be exploitative or abusive without being a case of grooming. Grooming specifically refers to the process of forming a relationship with a child with the intention of leveraging that relationship and trust to train and prepare (aka brainwash) your victim for the harmful activities the groomer wants to normalize. The relationship Alucard and Maria have in the games is in no way grooming. You know what would be grooming though?

Coming into a 16 year old’s life when she’s vulnerable, traumatized, and recently orphaned only to insinuate yourself as a new father figure. This is so highly inappropriate and a huge red flag. Consider what you’re actually asking for here. These characters do not exist in a a vacuum. They have a long history together as each other’s only canon love interests. You cannot fully extract them from the games, art, interviews, audio dramas, animations, and more where they’re depicted as a couple. There are decades of this precedent and you are asking Netflix to knowingly take the characters with an established romantic dynamic that the audience is already primed to see as romantic and instead portray their meeting as him trying to be her new daddy?

“Oh look! Alucard and his… daughter? Yikes.” This is an official advertisement btw.

THAT is grooming! Think about the optics of this! It would be abysmal! No it would NOT fix the problem of their age gap to make him act like a groomer and get in good with her as a dad. You just cannot completely extract them from the legacy of their relationship in the source materials. It will be incredibly creepy and textbook grooming if you get your way.

Is this really what you want to associate with an “adoptive father Alucard”? Because the art we create doesn’t exist in a vacuum. All the old content—official and fanmade—is still going to exist.

What is so objectionable about the original dynamic anyway? It’s a pretty fun subversion of the tired and problematic vampire trope of “vampire man stalks teen girl and coerces her into being his”. Instead in their original relationship, Maria is the one who pursues Alucard! It’s the young woman who takes initiative and is given the agency to go after what she wants. She courts and woos him. That’s part of the fun!

Yes, Alucard is 300+. He’s also a fictional creature that doesn’t actually exist IRL and stays eternally young. There are no actual people who will ever have his problem of staying 20 forever so it’s rather silly to say he can’t date any humans because of course he will have an age gap with any of them.

The only real problem I have seen people bring up is Maria’s age, but from what I can tell, the show’s already fixed this. Check it out.

In The Games

Rondo of Blood: Maria is 12. She and Alucard do not meet. Richter is a brother-figure and not romantic.

There is then a 5 year time skip.

Symphony of the Night: Maria is 17. She and Alucard meet to save Richter. At the end, Alucard says his goodbyes and intends to return to a life of solitude. Maria goes after him because she has developed feelings for him and doesn’t want him to suffer a life alone.

Maria is given agency to pursue what she wants and prove herself even against Alucard’s resistance and hesitance to let another person into his life.

They spend a year together before we get the audio drama.

Nocturne of Remembrance: Maria continues to try to get close to Alucard. They end up saving each other’s lives and in the end he finally confesses his romantic feelings for her. She is an adult and perfectly able to make her own choices. She chose him. He admits he returns her feelings.

How fandom can look at a story about a young woman subverting the trope and chasing the vampire to get what she wants—basically an anti-Bella Swan—and still find a way to disempower her just so they can pearl clutch? I couldn’t tell you.

So now let’s look at what the show did.

In The Show

Nocturne S1: Maria is 16. She’s been aged up from 12, probably to give her a more active and believable role. But this also means she’s within a normal age to start feeling attraction and expressing her wants. Within her society, she’s even considered of marriageable age. However we are spared the discomfort of our modern values clashing with her contemporaneous ones because Maria in this season isn’t interested in romance. She’s interested in revolution, equality, justice. They’ve portrayed her with so much love and strength. There is no indication they’d betray her by writing her as the child victim of a male suitor. In fact she only meets Alucard in the final few seconds of the season and the two do not even speak a single word to one another.

Now let’s remember the games had a five year time skip. The show only needs two years to get Maria to the adult age of 18, but assuming the follow through with the timeline and go for the full five?

Maria will be 21.

21.

Fan concept for adult Maria. Credit:@esp-art

Are you telling me a 21 year old woman is not old or mature enough to make her own decisions? How is this not a total infantilization of women? Do you think a 21 year old badass vampire hunter needs protection from the ace depressed dhampir boy who just wants to sleep and has in no way tried to pursue her until after she expressed consistent and persistent interest in him?

It is not “grooming” to meet someone when they were younger and then meet them again years later as an adult. That’s a thing that happens! In real life! Adults can still make decisions for themselves! It is only grooming if Alucard behaved in a way that would manipulate teen Maria and put her under his control and authority before she can consent. There is no indication that Alucard in the show is going to do this. And yet the fandom is basically demanding it by saying he should make her “his baby girl”?

And what of Maria’s feelings in all this? She just lost her mother and was betrayed by her father shortly after discovering he even existed. She has lived her whole life without a father. She is in no desperate need of a new one. And if she does need a family member, she already has one! Richter is 19 and is her trusted adoptive brother. Why wouldn’t she go to him over a total stranger she just met and who is half vampire - literally a predator creature that feeds on humans!?

Yeah, hi, Richter Belmont still exists. He and Maria consider each other family. Why would you want her relying on a strange man she just met as a “father figure” rather than her trusted and loving brother?

Have none of you even considered how Maria would feel if Alucard even tried to fill the paternal role? He’d have to force it on her through manipulation and coercion. No way she would want to view him that way. Especially considering she is 16 and likely to be as attracted to the sparkly 20 year old looking sculpted marble beauty as anyone else!

Don’t mind the beautiful eternally young man who looks made of pure porcelain and light. No teen girl has ever been attracted to this, right? No way it could be exploitative and creepy for him to present himself as her new daddy, giving himself authority and influence over her as his child to mold as he wishes, right? Oh yeah, this is MUCH better than Maria pursuing him of her own volition once she becomes an adult, right guys?

We are truly in the stupidest dark timeline.

Frankly, I don’t care if Netflix has them get together or not. They would work just fine as friends too. I just sure as hell hope they’ll ignore the fans clamoring for a creepy daddy/daughter dynamic. Dressing it up as “concern” won’t hide that for some it’s a fetish, and for others they’re just useful idiots who haven’t thought it through.

I implore you to think it through.

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #alucard #maria renard

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damianbugs · 5 months

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You need to tell us what you think of your favorite Bruce ships. Pls

i should preface by saying i usually prefer bruce (in my own works and others, including comics) to not be in a relationship at all because i can't think of a time he's like ever emotionally stable enough for that. like ever. THAT BEING SAID isn't that all the more reason to throw him into a ship? doomed tragic romance you will always be famous to me

and because i am insane, here are some comic recs to go with my fav bruce ships!!

>batcat

a classic favourite, batcat!!! i will admit i am not the biggest fan of their rebirth stories, and the whole wedding fiasco and most of what tom king wrote about them (and in general) was. not enjoyable. but pre crisis/golden age batcat? MY PARENTS. just. silver and bronze age batcat too. what a refreshing and entertaining couple. the thing that really makes them compelling is at the end of the day they have the same goal; protect the people of gotham. the ways they go about it can be different, and selina especially faces some serious mischaracterisation in order to make bruce look like the "hero" in the relationship, but at their core and simplest expression of love, they share the same dream, and they both know that. it's this selflessness that connects them deeply.

> "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne" (Batman the Brave and the Bold #197) is, in my opinion, essential batcat reading. a very bittersweet story!

> for a more modern read, "Only Takes a Night" (Catwoman #32) is a delightful read about how hopelessly in love they are. bruce is such a devoted loser.

> ghostbat

every character needs that one irreparably damaging young adult tragic romance that changed their life forever and that is what ghostbat is. khoa is the perfect foil to bruce, in that ultimately, they are two ends of the same spectrum. fiercely stubborn and confident in their own moral code but in the opposite way. this ship is particularly fascinating because even now, the respect and love they have for each other years later is so deeply consuming that it is prevalent in how they interact now. i don't think bruce would have been the person he is without his relationship with khoa pre-batman, in both a good and bad ways. i also really love the hc that khoa is bruce's first heartbreak (refer to: the Snow and Gun incident).

> "Batman The Knight" is like ghostbat religious text. this is all you need. let it destroy you.

> batlantern

no long paragraph about this one because its my silly guilty pleasure. sometimes u need a ship in which they just don't get along except for the times they do. hal brings out such an irritating (said fondly) side to bruce and its even funnier because it works mutually. i think another really wonderful thing about this pairing is that they are really not so different from each other (nothing says romance than being consumed by your guilt and stubbornness), but they both think otherwise, so they knock heads while also begrudgingly respecting about one another in a colleague-friend-crush way. they want to make out so bad it makes them look stupid.

> "Batman: Universe" is a great and short silly story that shows their dynamic really well. amused me greatly. not ship focused though hal is there for like. a single issue unfortunately. but fun!!

> i usually never recommend any new 52 books to get INTO a character, but if you're interested in this pairing and its most 'popular' fanon interation, then "Jutice League (2011)" is the best place to start. you can get to their better stuff afterwards! (there's also an animated movie about it!)

> brutalia

AND BEST TILL LAST. THE BRUCE SHIP OF ALL TIME. ruined my life. CHANGED my life. i wish i could explain how insanely important this relationship is in words. i love my pairings tragic and there is quite literally no other ship quiet as dramatic or poetic than brutalia. talia is often seen as bruce's "one true love" with great reason, and him hers, and despite that they will probably never actually get back together. in a wider lense, the al ghuls and bruce have an insanely complicated dynamic, and this inherent conflict about missions bigger than themselves makes brutalia's forbidden love drama all the more compelling. talia brings out the best in bruce, and bruce respects and loves talia in a way i don't think he does anyone else in his life.

to complain for a moment, it's no wonder that because their relationship (since it's very first introduction) was so irrevocably pure and consensual (they were both so ridiculously obsessed with each other), that Certain Writers had to pull out the most out of character and disgusting stories to make it clear the tone of batman was changing. talia is always a victim to racism, misogyny and just unbelievable ooc writing — most evidently in her stories with bruce, unfortunately.

AND YET. recent comics have realised how truly ridiculous it is to write her as anything but kind and strong, and bruce being anything but hopelessly infatuated. i think my favourite thing about brutalia is that bruce and talia is a relationship that has been separated for actual Decades and so both their characters have been developed to have their own tragic stories and growth. then when we get small moments that bring them back together and letting that past show through the cracks in their carefully constructed walls, it's all the more romantic.

beautiful heartbreaking ship. the kind of relationship historians would cry over. would have the romantic period publishing fifteen books over.

> "Batman: Son of the Demon" is ESSENTIAL brutalia reading. also, if you are insane and delusional enough, it can be the true origin of damian.

> the comic moment that inspired all romance the moment of forever the blueprint even is in the famous "Batman (1940) #244"

> for a more modern take, very recently in fact, is her appearances in Ram V's run of detective comics, starting from #1062. its not brutalia focused, but a great take on how natural and yearning their relationship is now.

#for a guy who is notoriously shit at relationships he sure does find himself in them constantly #but truly is there a single fail loser man that yearns as much as batman #bruce wayne #batcat #ghostbat #batlantern #brutalia #saki comic talks

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oceansssblue · 1 month

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I love Mermay! May I request a mer!reader x Sailor/Pirate!Fives? The reader is a siren and is technically supposed to be luring Fives and his friends to their deaths, but ends up not doing so after getting into a convo with him. When someone (Palpatine, Fox, random guy, whoever you want) does try to kill Fives, the reader is able to save him. Happy ending please!

Hi there! Yay! As I have said before, I will be writing all my requests, but MERMAY! requests have priority over others even though they have been requested on a later note!

Dear anon, ty for the request! We're def going for a "cruel" badass siren that will be to her surprise captivated with our charming pirate Fives. Palpatine is obviously the bad guy.

I don't know much about sailing and i'm trying to do a past era alternative universe thing, so ignore any incongruences and that.

I hope you like it!

Xx,

Sky.

"A CHANGE OF CURRENT"

FIVES/MER!FREADER 📩💔💖

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF DEATH, BLOOD, WOUNDS, CRUELTY, SIRENS KILLING/EATING HUMANS, BITES, SCARS. REFERENCES TO ECHO'S TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. DON'T GET SCARED. THIS IS MOSTLY FANTASY&MISTERY&FLUFF.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Being friends with the Captain doesn't allow you to lounge around, Fives" a voice almost identical to his teases him at his back.

The man in question turns around and grins. Echo has a half-fond, half-exasperated tiny little smile on his face. He's dressed in a similar way to him; thin linnen shirt with a deep opened v-neck and rolled up-pants, just in different tones of blue.

"Actually, it allows me to do exactly that" Fives retorts cheekily. Before Echo has a chance to put him into place, always the responsible of the two twins, he adds. "And I'll let you know lounging is a very important task on the "79's".

Echo arches an eyebrow. He crosses his arms in front of his chest; his hook just grazing the still pale skin of his left peck. Too much time spent trapped away from the sun.

"Is that so?" His brother humours him. The sun is hovering right upon them, bringing darker shades on Echo's already angular face. He's slowly filling out a bit, though, and for that Fives is glad. "How does that work, exactly?"

Fives tilts his head to the side. Echo always thought one of his twin's radiant smiles could iluminate any ship at the darkest of nights. That's the way he could eventually find the way back home, back to the 79's; Fives.

"Keeping a good mood is crutial to a ship's crew" his twin continues, going on one of his tangents. "It makes everyone work better, faster. Reduces fatigue and dangerous thoughts like plotting a mutiny".

Sometimes Echo wonders if Fives has all of this little stupid dialogues planned in his head just because, waiting for their chance to come up. The silliness of his twin's mind never ceases to surprise him; even after so many years of living together travelling through the seven seas.

"Like any of us would ever plot something of the sorts against Rex" Echo rolls his eyes, amused.

Fives shrugs, big smile still in his tanned face. They used to look so similar, Fives and him, before the accident. Now there are just... resemblances. Similarities. Probably the thing he hates the most about what happened –besides loosing his limbs–; how they had visually differentiated him so much of his twin, of his other half. For all Fives could be tiring and obnoxious, Echo knows he couldn't live without him. Even though getting used to his new body has been incredibly hard, he's glad for this second chance with him.

"I dunno' " Fives voice quickly brings him back to present time. He mimicks something dropping onto his head with his hands. "I think I'd look great with Captain Rex's hat".

Fives imitates the Captain's fierce expression and seriousness, still holding onto his imaginary pirate hat; and Echo can't keep the chuckles inside.

"You're a jokester, Fives".

His twin grins again.

"Don't make me repeat why that's important, now".

Echo smiles. Softly, this time.

Around them, at this time of the early afternoon, right after lunch, the crew of the 79' is surprisingly quiet and calm. The sea is peaceful today as well; nothing like the day before or the previous night. They're delving into dangerous waters, now. Places that don't quite appear on the map.

"What were you doing here anyways, all alone?" Echo asks.

Fives hums distractedly and glances in front of him again, at the sea; one leg staying inside the ship and the other dangling over board. The two of them have always been a little reckless like that; specially Fives.

"Thought I heard something" he whispers, then turns back to his twin again. His eyes suddenly look innocently young again, and his twin is suddenly reminded of past memories, of the two of them enlisting in the 79' when they were barely kids. "Do you think sirens really exist, brother?"

Echo sighs. They have all heard stories; but no one on board has ever personally seen one. He doesn't really know what to believe; could they be truly real, or are they just stories invented by lonely men that live by the sea?

"I don't know, Fives" he answers, going for honesty.

Fives hums, scanning the waters again; looking for something it's not quite there.

"If they do, do you think they're truly evil, like the stories tell?"

Echo stays quiet for some minutes. Then, he glances down at his hook; at the wood that replaces his legs. The skin that stays in contact with them feels sore and pained; he really should get some rest. He sighs, tired.

"I don't think so. If they do exist, and they do have something against us, I guess they'd just want to kill us directly, eliminate what they consider a danger and threat for their waters" he pauses and breathes in deeply. "I don't think they'd slowly torture us like humans do. We're the cruelest beings on land or not".

Fives golden eyes silently travel back to Echo's. He reads between the lines. He understands his point.

"You're probably right" he quietly answers, the moment unexpectedly delicate now. He shakes his head and smiles. Softer, gentle, now. "Come on. Let's go shut some eye".

Fives stands up with renewed energy, abandoning heavy feelings behind; and pats Echo's back affectionately. His twin nods knowingly, and follows him through the ship. Even though it doesn't mean he doesn't feel just as deeply –Maker knows he does–, Fives has never been one to hold up emotional conversations for too much time. They weigh heavy in his heart.

Echo takes his space on the thin cot –if you could call a bunch of old shredded clothes and blankets pushed together that– beside him and closes his eyes. Both of them, that night, dream of sirens and mermaids and all those stories the sailors spread around. They aren't aware how close they are to see some of those stories become alive.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You've been following them for two days now. Your job is to patrol the very limits of your world with the human's sea; and you were instantly alerted of their presence when they arrived, that enourmous ship of them difficult to miss.

It's not the biggest one you've seen. You had a fight with another one once, years ago; it's wood almost a dark black and it's sails a vibrant red. You still remember its name; Death Star. An aproppiate name for such an evil captain, such an evil ship. That fight was the main reason you had been assigned to keep all humans out of this waters; they just take and take, leaving nothing but destruction behind. You're not about to lose anyone else; not to the unforgiving, beautiful, yet terrifying sea, and definitively not to one of them.

This humans don't really seem to be looking for anything in particular. You had waited patiently, trying to find out their needs and wants; but reached no logical conclusion. They just seem to be... Wandering. Exploring. Ah, perhaps they're the curious ones. Many humans seem to be, just in the way young sirens are in their first years; wanting to swim through every single corner of the sea. See the world with their own eyes, and not through what elders tell them. You had been like that as well, in the past.

Mm. No matter. You're not putting the lifes of your people at risk just because these ones are looking fairly innocent. You know how quickly the tide can change directions, how surprising and dangerous the currents can be; and you're not going to let yourself be dragged by it. You'll do what you have to do; observe, wait patiently, and at night, lure them in. Your tongue wraps delicately around your sharp canines, excitement running through your veins.

You swim deeper into the sea below the ship. You almost feel impatient to play with them.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You curse under your breath, quickly hiding underwater when he almost catches sight of you while scanning the sea. You've seen this particular human before; often staring at the water or the horizon, a contemplative look on his face. He's a dreamer, this one; sometimes looking younger than you suppose he really is, others quickly snapping back to reality and jumping to his work with surprising skill. He's handsome as humans go; bronze skin looking smooth under the unforgiving sun and trained muscles peaking under his semi-transparent shirt. He has a strong jaw and nose, expressive eyebrows and golden eyes; a trait that somehow seems common with his fellow soldiers, maybe sharing the same origin, perhaps even some of them being family.

Watching him carefully under the distortion of the dark blue water, you're developed hearing catch a second voice entering the scene; and the human turns around in his precarious position on the border of the ship. This one is named "79's". It must be a reference to something you can't quite place; or perhaps a year of relevance to them.

Human tongue is quite easy to learn, contrary to your native Mando'a; so you have no trouble following the conversation even underwater. Both men hold affection clear in their voice; indicating a closer kind of relationship than two normal sailors on the same ship would have. The second voice sounds more mature to you; perhaps simply because this first human –Fives, you learn, what a curious name for a person– doesn't seem to take life very seriously. But then his voice drops, quietly asking something that makes your heart beat faster inside your chest; if your people are real.

It's a common thing to ponder between sailors. Humans like the tingling excitement of being a bit afraid; of imagining situations that may never end up happening in their heads. But no, this one doesn't sound at all afraid; just curious, cautious. When he asks his brother –you confirm– if he thinks stories about sirens are real, of what they do to humans, anger spreads like a fire inside of you. Oh, yes, because they don't do anything of the sorts to other creatures on this earth. The second voice –Echo's– answers in a quiet, delicate way; and you have to swim closer to surface just to take a look at him. You suddenly put things together; something horribly traumatic must have happened to his human, for him to look like that. You can't imagine living without your tail. It saddens you, inevitably; he's still handsome even like this, he would have been even prettier without his injuries. He would look like... Fives.

You blink, a bit confused at the direction of your own thoughts. Fives own voice tinges with understanding and fondness. He pats his brother affectionately, and then forgets about the sea; both of them quietly retiring for now, their steps echoing against the wood as they wook away.

You're left with a weird feeling inside of you. This two seemed... Kind. It isn't a word you usually associate with humans; but here you are.

You shake your head, mumbling to yourself. You won't let them fool you. Humans still carry all that darkness inside of them; that evil. You want none of that in your home, your sea.

Tomorrow, you say to yourself.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives smiles fondly at the sight of little 'Soka staring at the full moon in front of them. It's as big as they've ever seen it; very close to the sea, iluminating a silvery path towards the 79's in the otherwise dark night.

Ashoka is pure energy. The girl is hiperactive even at hours like this, were most of the crew has already gone to sleep; too excited to lay still in bed in the cabin she shares with Rex. The Captain of the 79's had adopted her many years ago, accepted her in his ship with a blink of an eye after finding out Ashoka had been abandoned in land by Captain Windu no less –an ex-friend and current enemy of Rex–; the small girl quickly falling under his wing like his own daughter. Fives can't understand how anyone could leave behind a kid like that; Ashoka is the only girl aboard, but she is like their own personal ray of sunlight. Hope. She's a special kid; has a perfect eye on when to pursue their enemies and when to abandon or change routes, an innate pirate even as young as she is. Fives can only try to imagine what things she would be able to do with more age and experience.

For now, though, 'Soka's just a kid. And kids do silly things; like playfully sticking out her tongue and precariously balancing her steps in the baupress of the 79's. Fives rolles his eyes good-naturatedly. He isn't too hard on the kid; he had been fearless and oblivious to danger once too. Hell, he still is, sometimes. It's just his way of being; free. He doesn't want to die by Rex hands if something happened to her, though, so he motions down with a flick of his hand.

"Get your feet down here, m' lady" he jokes, then extends his hand to hers in a courteous offer.

'Soka laughs, a sound that echoes softly in the silence of the night.

"Mm. I don't know if I shall accept such proposition, good sir" she answers, standing up in the thin baupress as if it is nothing.

Her dark black hair, looking almost blue, flies freely with the wind even with her white bandana wrapped around it. Her skin is as tanned as his, freckles tracing the outlines of the white scars that mark her otherwise perfect face. Like Fives and Echo, she has basically grown up on a moving ship.

"I'd like to keep my head, my lady, if you'd be so kind to help me" Fives insists, eyes turning to a gentle warning.

Ashoka rolls her big blue eyes.

"Okay..." she grumbles, then, abandoning the theatricality.

She turns her direction with flowless agility and starts her careful way back to him.

The ship rocks dangerously in the water –the sea not completely peaceful today–, and Ashoka stops in surprise and fear, holding her balance as best as she can. Fives also holds his breath. The 79's stops moving and they both sigh in relief, staring at each other well aware of the risks.

The girl chuckles nervously.

"Welp, that was a close one." She guiltily admits, restarting her way towards him. "I keep forgetting this waters are dangerous and not exactly what we're used to, huh?"

Fives doesn't tear his eyes from her.

"Yeah" he agrees. "Maybe you should leave your acrobatics for when we're back on the GAR sea..."

Big, angry waves splashes against the botton of the ship again; a sudden move that disestabilises Ashoka for a second time. It all happens too fast; the girl's right feet steps just on the edge of the baupress, losing balance, and her weight leans too much over one side with a terrified gasp. By the time Fives has rushed forward in a desperate attempt to catch her hand, Ashoka has already been devoured by the dark see with a dooming splash.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You smirk darkly when the sound of a body hitting the surface of the water is transmitted under the waves. You almost want to laugh at the way the small human desperately moves his legs to try to stay afloat; the sea isn't looking good for creatures without fins tonight, and it is obvious that this female doesn't even know how to properly swim even in calm circumstances. Maybe it's just because she's small, you're not sure.

You strike at her –harshly tugging her leg down and sinking her under the surface– right when another body drops into the sea. You snarl, irritated by the interuption, and turn around, scanning the water around you. Just five or six meters away, there he is; the human named Fives, the dreamer, the one who almost discovered you ahead of time.

This one does now how to swim. Even though his eyes are clearly pannicked, searching for her fellow human companion among the darkness of the black waves, his legs calmly move just enough to keep him afloat; conserving very much needed energy. His clothes are stuck to his body; both humans look so utterly small in the openness of the water...

The small female human screams, terrified, still not grasping her new reality; and the man shouts her name in a hoarse voice, squinting and desperately trying to find her. The girl goes to shout again; and your clawed hand quickly reaches up to close around her throat –not to really cut her breathing of, but as a warning–. You're not known for your patience, and you really can't stand creatures screeching.

Fives golden eyes, still having a shine to them with the moonlight, finally turns to your direction; and his whole face morphs into wonder, fear and shock, quickly taking in your claws and sharp teeth, the gills on the side of your neck and the dangerous swoosh of the powerful tail behind you. The small girl trembles in your strong arms; you glance down at her, bored but curious at the same time. She really is the smallest human you have crossed pass with. Are those marks that shine white on her face scars?

"Please" Fives voice barely picks up with the sounds of the waves and the wind. "You don't want to hurt her".

His words and his firm stare stuns you for a second. Then, you laugh out loud, the sound being carried away by the howling wind.

You haven't used the human tongue for so long... Since that fight. You'd be kind to humour this human for now. Perhaps getting to know them for a bit before eliminating them would help you understand them better and kill them easier in the future. For as small as humans are, they do make interesting big weapons.

"Don't I?" You smirk, tongue wrapping teasingly around your rigth canine. You caress the girl's hair with the hand that is not carefully holding her against her throat. You push your nose up to her neck and smell; then tilt your face back to the male. "Mm. Perhaps not hurt her. Just quickly kill her, no pain".

Fives trembles in the cold of the sea. The girl too. You grin.

"Why?" Is his pained answer. He's trying to remain calm, you can see that, even if his insides live in complete turmoil. "To eat her?"

You make a face.

"No. Human is not my favorite kind of dish" you inmediately answer, then shrug desinterested. "You kill us, I kill you first. It's the sea's law, sailor".

Fives frowns.

"We kill you? I didn't even know you truly existed until now" he points out.

Ah, humans are such natural spokesperson. Always finding an argument no matter their cause.

"You're people" you correct, drawing a claw down the girls face, not enough to draw blood from it, just a distracted caress.

Fives face... Pouts.

"That's pretty unfair, if I may say so. You can't blame a whole species in the name of a few".

You let your gaze find his eyes again. He's so determined it's entertaining to watch.

"You claim you're different?" You ask, observing him.

He nods.

You can see the fatigue starting to creep onto him. You're holding the freezing girl with your own strength, but he's on his own. You wonder how much longer would he be able to stay afloat. Maybe you should just wait and watch him sink.

"See those scars on Ashoka's face?" His words pull your attention back at her white marks. She tries to stay still while you study her. "They were made by bad people. Cruel humans. My brother Echo suffered by others as well. And yet here we are. I love Ashoka as if she were my own sister. I love my twin. I'd do everything to protect them. I don't want to cause pain to them".

You huf.

"That's easy. No one wants to hurt people that are dear to them. What about other's that aren't? Would you care?"

Fives is stubborn. You'll give him that.

"I wouldn't purposedly hurt others for the sake of doing so. Or if there's any other way. Look, there... Must be some bad sirens too. People who just enjoy killing and hunting indefense creatures just because they feel joy watching them suffer; not a matter of protecting their home or territory. And there must be good ones" he breathes raggedly. "It's the same with humans. There is evil and kindness in every living being. If you'd only gave us a chance, you'd be able to see it".

You hum. He makes a point. The excitement melts down. Your curiosity doesn't. Are all humans this interesting?

"What is your Captain looking for in this waters, Fives?"

His mouth opens in surprise.

"You..."

"Know you?" You chuckle, moving your tail slowly. "Mm. I've been studying you for days, I know some things. The answer, sailor?"

Fives forces himself to push through his shock and confussion to answer you.

"We've been paid handsomely to explore this part of the Unkown Seas. We have a cartographer aboard, he's been working nonstop since we crossed the GAR frontier."

You hum, recalling those maps the humans use to sail the seas without getting too lost of their way.

"So there's nothing you want from us?" You insist.

To your shock, Fives smiles; a small, almost cheeky tug of lips.

"Well, I do have a lot of questions about sirens now that I've seen you, but no, not really. Like I said, we didn't even know you truly existed. We just want to make our trip and return to land safely".

You observe him in silence. You feel the girls energy draining too; blinking heavily.

"Mm" you hum, pushing her against his arms in a second. Fives stares at you, wide eyed, not expecting you to move that fast. "You can call for your human friends to help, sailor. I've decided I will just keep an eye on your ship for now".

Then, before Fives has the chance to answer, you tear your hands away from the girl and dissapear under the sea.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives receives the reprimand of his life at Rex's personal delivery. He's task with leaving the ship shiny up and down; Ashoka also punished along him. If there's something the Captain of the 79's doesn't show, it's mercy. Oh, he's polite and gentle enough, if the situation calls for it; but he doesn't let things slip by. He's always aware, always scanning his crew with his amber eyes; and even though both 'Soka and Fives had tried to make the incident sound less of a danger, just an unimportant accident, there's really no way going around the fact that they had had a very close, dangerous encounter with a Siren.

Rex doesn't believe them at first. But then he sees the light marks on Ashoka's neck; there's nothing deep or worrying, but they're definitely shaped like some kind of claws, and he know's his fair number of fish and sharks to know they can't have done anything of the sort. Fives is guilty, yes, but he seems honest when he retells the experience. Ashoka too, a pleading look of forgiveness in her big blue eyes. Rex has no other option than to accept the story as truth.

Everyone on board of the 79's has the chance to see said siren with their own eyes a pair of days later. It's at night, so no one really sees her for quite some time; til Ashoka suddenly gasps and points out towards the see with wonder –and a sliver of fear– in her eyes. Rex quickly squints and stares in surprise. Well, that's a siren all right. The Captain and his men only have time to observe her for a minute before she smirks and plunges down into the water, her tail a silent goodbye.

Fives grins and elbows Echo.

"See? What a stalker. I think she likes me" he jokes, and Echo rolls his eyes pushing him with an exasperated smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Morning, dear siren" Fives greets you, carefully using the ropes to lower himself with his feet against the outside of the ship's structure, still on his shining the 79's duty. "How has sleep being under there?"

You splash him with your tail in irritation. There's no peace with the sailor around; and he has developed the annoying habit of periodically coming to talk to you.

Fives gasps with the cold water drenching his clothes; but his face quickly morphs from surprise to cheerful amusement.

"Why, thank you. I did notice I had started to smell too" he then smirks and studies your body up and down in a way that makes you as mad as nervous. "Darling, if you just wanted to see me wet, though... There's better ways we can enjoy together."

Even though there's a blush fighting it's way through your face, you keep your expresion neutral and narrow your eyes at him.

"You're the most annoying human I've ever met".

Five grins; as if your words were a personal compliment for him.

"You're magnificent company as well, dear siren" he retorts, unbothered.

You tilt your head, glancing up at him. It's both funny and irritating the way this human talks to you. He should fear you; you could jump up right now and kill him in a blink, and yet he's always like this around you. Curious, awed, and cautious while being impossibly and purposedly irritating as well. You wonder if it's his weird human way of making friends.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fives reintroduces a wary Ashoka to you. It's only sensitive for her to be cautious; after all, you did have your claws around her neck not so long ago. After Fives' reassurance and a few patient words on your part, though, she quickly leaves the past behind; and watches Fives' careless and friendly interaction with you with bright eyes.

You grow fond of her as the days pass. It surprises you the way the girl seems atuned to other creatures of the sea; smaller ones like rain-fishes and seahorses always curiously coming up to meet her. You've heard of people like her before; humans with a special conection to the sea, with an instinctual understanding of it. Your people believe humans too came from the sea; and some just happen to conserve traits of their real origins more than others. If so, Ashoka is definitively one of them; and perhaps any of these sailors that seem for some reason persistent on spending more time at sea than in true land.

One late afternoon you ask Fives of this; of his will of travelling through the seas. You ask him wether he misses land, other human civilizations and things; but Fives shruggs with a smile. He tells you he likes it here, aboard on the 79's with his brothers, his family; and opens up about his own past as well. You listen to him mesmerised; feeling again like a kid whose being told interesting stories of lands far away.

After Fives finishes his and Echo's story –their misfortune making a strong feeling of protectiveness soar inside of you–, he glances at you with a tilt of his head, suddenly quiet and pensive.

"Plus" he continues, voice barely a whisper. "There's a certain peace you can't find anywhere else but the sea".

Even though his words are carefully soft and his demeanour almost shy –very uncharasteristal of him–, his bright eyes are full of heavy emotions; almost wanting to tell you a story different than what his words tell you. Almost whispering to you there's something more to his words than what they say.

You sink under the surface of the sea so only your eyes are peaking above the waves; needing the comfort of the water to hold his stare, this sudden shift on the atmosphere.

Fives hums, and you take a last look at him before dissapearing under the sea, running away from the human who's starting to make you feel things you haven't –and shouldn't– felt before.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Rutine makes you complacent. You get so relaxed at the knowledge that the 79's is no risk to you or your species you forget to stay vigilant; forget that they're not the only possible danger at the sea.

It happens at night; when your senses are dulled by sleep, your body curled in a tight space between the rocks at the bottom of the sea. Your return to consciousnes is a slow and lazy process. You open your mouth wide before momentarily clenching your teeth; the rest of your body muscles tensing and relaxing as well with your tiny stretch. Your eyes open and you focus on your surroundings; it doesn't feel like you've slept more than a pair of hours, and you usually don't have a problem to shut the eye throughout the whole night. Something must have awaken you subsconciously. You've long learned to trust your instintcs, so you decide to explore the sea around your little safe spot for the night before trying to get some more sleep. Maybe there's a predator around here.

It's when you swim away from the rocks you've hid in when you inmediately notice what's wrong; your too far away from the surface for the water to feel agitated here, but when you glance up, you see the usually dark ocean lit up in orange and red. The inmediate thought of the humans –of Ashoka and Fives– being in danger crosses your mind; and you're swimming up, up, up, before you're able to realise it yourself.

Your head peaks through the surface of the water and you can't help but gasp, eyes widenned in fear. The 79's wrecked. Besides it... So is the Death Star. Both ships have been fighting for who knows how long and you were peacefully asleep. It fills you with a dangerous wave of guilt; and unstopable anger. This is the ship that cost you the live of some of your best friends. This is the reason your people is no longer friendly towards humans; the pain of the past reflected on scars and lost ones. Some part of you is afraid –terrified– of facing said captain and crew again; the other part of you feels ravenous. This is your chance of revenge.

You sink under the water and sing. It's a song every siren child is taught by their elders; a call for help no one ever ignores. Sirens will stop at nothing for their people, their pods. Your voice carries easily through the water; and you hear a distant echo answering you. You know it's only a matter of time your people arrive. You'll help however you can in the mean time.

Your trained eyes and senses zoom in the fight aboard of the 79's. The men of the Death Star are dressed in black, like a bad omen; the colourful splashes belonging to Captain Rex' men. Both ships aren't the only battlefield; some are even fighting in the water, perhaps after pushing each other over board, some swinging their blades on top of smaller life-boats and lost planks of woods. The repair for what's left of both ships would be slow and costly.

You sink under the waves and move fast; jumping and dragging the 79's enemies with you underwater, drowning them or sinking your claws in their vulnerable throats, their screams futile under the water.

You can't see Fives or Ashoka yet; but just as the first of your fellow sirens arrive, you see Palpatine and Rex. They're fighting on the Death Star; blades swinging at each other while they expertly balance on the edge of the ship. You stop right below them and stare intently upwards; trying to catch the Captain's attention.

You do. Rex' eyes flicker downwards; making contact with yours. He quickly goes back to fighting against Captain Palpatine –how such an old man can move that fast you'll never know– and you wait patiently, licking your lips. You know Rex has catched on your idea and you only need to give him some time to bring him to you.

It's not a difficult move. With the knowledge that you'll be there to push him again back to safety and simultaneously kill his enemy, Rex throws his own body weight against Palpatine with all his strength and they both fall into the sea.

You almost see it happening in slow motion, such is your desire to claw your way through him. You're closing your hand around his throat in a blink, as soon as his body crashes against the waves; eyes shining and jaw opening to show your teeth while you push your face close to his. You want him to have a good look at you before you kill him.

"This is for Qui, Plo and Aayla" you tell him, eyes burning in hatred and vengance, his pathetic tugs at your hands only fueling your resolve. "And for those you'll never be able to hurt again".

You don't let him speak his last words. He doesn't deserve it; and he's not going to rat his way out of this. You snarl and sink your sharp teeth in his neck, closing your jaw before vicously pulling back and tearing his throat open mercilessly.

The carcass of his body floats away in the sea.

You turn to Captain Rex, scarlet blood dripping down your chin. He's not scared; but almost proud and relieved as he nods at you. You nod back and quickly help him get to the 79's again, reuniting with your people and organizising the counter-attack.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Once Palpatine is out of the way, the rest of his forces crumbles easily. In a matter of an hour, the few survivors of the Death Star scramble away in the remaning of their ship. You chuckle darkly. You know it's all for the enjoyment of your people; they'll do a slow hunt over the next couple of days, kill them one by one. Take their own personal revenge.

There's a conmotion up on the 79's. Rex is there, and so is Echo and Ashoka, the last two leaning down on the floor next to... Fives.

"What's wrong?" You quickly voice up from your place on the sea. "Is he okay?"

Captain Rex glances down at you worriedly.

"Blade sunk into his liver. He's loosing a lot of blood very quickly" he turns to look back to Echo and Ashoka. His expression saddens. "I... Don't think he has much time left".

Your heart starts beating out of your chest.

Fives, even gravely injured, lets out a wet laugh and jokes about it.

"I always thought you were a tad dramatic, sir".

Echo snaps at him, still squeezing his hand. You understand the sentiment. Now is not the time.

"Shut the fuck up, Fives".

You know he's scared. Everyone is scared. Echo, Ashoka, Fives, Rex... Even yourself. You've never felt this scared.

"B-bring him down" you whisper, then clear your voice and repeat yourself. "Maybe I can do something to help him".

"What can you do to help him?" Echo laughs, the kind of maniac sounding laugh that comes from a place of pure panic and terror from losing a loved one. "You're what, going to sing a song and magically cure him?"

It would be surprising to know that yes, that's...

"Something like that, yeah" you whisper, lost in your own feelings and thoughts.

You feel some of the other sirens splashing and moving their tails underwater hesitantly, wary. Nervously.

"Sister..." the voice of your friend Kid calls you from somewhere at your back.

You glance back at him. You know what he's going to tell you. You take a deep breath.

"I want to do it" you answer him, and everyone else.

They stay in silence, acepting your decission. It's a sacred thing for your species; for all sirens. The air feels heavy with understanding and expectations.

"Bring him down" you ask again, in the quietness of the night, and Rex gently squeezes Echo's shoulder before putting his faith on you and carefully laying Fives down in the last life-boat.

His brothers slowly lower it down til it softly contacts with the surface of the water and the small boat floats peacefully with the small waves. Two sirens quickly move to take a carefull hold of it so it doesn't drift away.

Fives turns his head to the side to look at you; hovering besides the boat with your claws lightly grassping the wood at the sides of it, head peaking over the water just enough to be able to look at him.

"Hey there, gorgeous" he smiles, and such brightness sends another painful dart to your heart. "Here to give me a goodbye kiss?"

Your own smile is wet with tears. It makes you let out a wet chuckle too. You haven't cried in... So many years.

"You should have thought of this strategy before" you decide to indulge him in his joke.

You know he's scared even if he doesn't want it to show. It males your decision easier; to know he's such a good person he doesn't want to make this more difficult for the people that woud be forced to watch him go.

Even though you feel almost eager for it, the need crawling up your throat, you're still afraid yourself. You've only got one chance for this. What if... It doesn't work?

You feel Kid's hand gently dropping on your shoulder, giving you the strength you need for this. You nod to yourself. The rest of the sirens form a circle around you; as tradition tells. They'll make sure nothing interrupts this sacred moment between you and Fives. Your hands tremble as you carefully place them on top of Fives' stomach wound. He makes a whimpered sound of pain and trembles, scared confused eyes quickly searching yours.

You look at him, soft.

"Trust me" you whisper. "And don't stop looking at me".

Fives doesn't understand what's happening, what's going to happen, but relaxes and nods. He can feel the exhaustion creeping in on him, the tempting feeling to close his eyes and surrender to the darkness. He focuses on you with the last of his strength.

You stop holding yourself back and let your voice sing your Song. You have never practiced it before; it's something that simply can't be, as it's not written before the moment arrives without announcement. It's instinctual, as simple and easy as breathing, and yet sounds so magical to all of those who hear it.

The first notes echoes in the silence of the night. It starts very quiet, almost a hum between your pressed lips, that slowly and unhurriesly turns into a whisper full of longing and melancholy. Fives is a human and you're a siren. It's not going to be easy. You have a feeling he won't care.

The Song fills with some softer, happier notes; lively and changing, more rythmical than the soft melody from before. A tiny smile makes it over to your face.

Fives is still looking at you. He wouldn't have been able to tear his eyes from you even if he tried. You're raw magic; raw beauty. And the sounds leaving your lips... He had never listened to anything so breathtaking in his life. He's hooked up in you.

Your gaze turns soft. You see his wound closing and healing by its self with just the corner of your eyes; and a warming relief spreads through your body, along with something sweet and gentle, painfully raw, longing and understanding. It's love.

The Song reflects those feelings; growing quieter as you keep staring into Fives' soul. You feel the notes slowing, your mind and heart finally wrapping around your feelings, accepting them, making them part of your own; and a last hum leaves your lips before the night is silent again, only interrupted by Fives' heavy breathing. Even if the Song is finished, he keeps looking at you like there's nothing else.

"That was beautiful" he whispers, dizziness still numbing his body and mind even if he's completely healed, now. He'll take some time to adjust. "Thank you".

You smile softly.

This is not your ending, Fives. But you need to...

The sailor squeezes his eyes shut. A painful headache stars at the side of his temple. He can barely concentrate in his surroundings now.

"Rest, Fives" you tell him, and he finally falls into unconsciousness almost instantly.

You glance up, noticing the wowed stares of the crew of the 79'.

"What was that?" Ashoka whispers in wonder.

You make Captain Rex a sign to let him now they can pull the small boat back up. You smile at the girl.

"My Song" you answer, misteriously. You glance at Echo, anxiously curved forward as if in a try to reach Fives quicker. You try to soothe his worries before dipping under the waves. "He'll be okay, just needs some hours of rest. I'll come back tomorrow".

With that, you nod to your pod and you slowly swim away. Your soul tries to tug you back towards him, but you comfort yourself thinking you'll be back to talk with him after some very much needed rest.

Patience.

You feel like a baby Siren again.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Care to explain to me what kind of voodo magic you did to me to turn me from a corpse to my handsome self again?" is what Fives first chirps at you upon seing you arrive the next morning, him waiting patiently for you in the small boat again, this time a bit further away from the 79's.

You smirk and place your folded arms over the border of the boat, resting your right cheek on top of them.

"I already told Ashoka" you answer playfully. "It's my Song".

Fives snorts and carefully pushes himself closer to you. You track the movement, distracted.

"Yeah, your song" he repeats, squinting and tilting his head in questioning. "Echo told me the other Sirens acted as if we were getting married or something".

You laugh freely, Fives smiling unconsciously.

"Well, singing your song to another holds pretty much the same meaning for my people. Your circumstances pushed me to do it way earlier than I would have prefered but... It's okay. You're okay".

Fives eyes turn soft.

"I know you love being all sexy and misterious. But tell me what has really happened, please?" His voice is also gentle and full of warmth.

He should know.

"All Sirens have a special personal Song. It's something instinctual that can't be repeated or prepared; born of raw feelings, desires and needs. It's different to other songs we sing. We don't use our normal vocal cords for this; it comes from somewhere within, deep in your soul. Sirens believe our kind are made of magic and music combined into one, and protected by a physical body shape; that of a predator so it can defend the pureness it holds. This Song... Can only be sung once, to just one other being, and it will create a special bond no-one but the two of them would be able to break. From that day on, this two beings will always be linked to each other, perhaps even able to feel or hear the other; and the Siren won't be able to sing in this kind of way to anyone else, ever again".

You grow quiet; waiting, patient. Expectant. Fives barely blinks.

You're not afraid to him not corresponding your feelings now. If it were that way, your Song wouldn't have worked the night before. A Song can't be an impossed thing; it must be accepted by the other's soul. Fives has subsconciously done that already; if his present mind needs more time to process it, nevertheless, you're willing to give him that.

Fives finally takes a deep breath in, noding in quiet understanding, before showing you his own signature smirk and closing the distances between your faces so that your nose is barely grazing his.

"Well. I think I'm definitively finally winning a kiss" he tempts you, eyes shining with mirth.

Your small laugh is pure unadulterated happiness. With your soul almost vibrating inside your chest, you cup his strong jaw and close the insignificant distance between you.

You kiss him –passionately, then gently– and Fives smiles against your lips.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I'm sorry this took me ages to write! I got a bit blocked on how I was going to put Fives in danger and I also started with my finals.

I'm aware there are some errors in this but I prioriticed publishing it as soon as possible over having a second read to correct them. Sorry!

I hope you've liked it, dear. Second Mermay fic done, go check Tech's first one on my profile! (It's on: sw masterlist> 2 part of requests > Blue dreams).

Got requests closed cause finals and already a few of them in the line. I'll prob reopen in a month. If you want to you can still send them, just notice I'm not gonna be able to write it anytime soon.

Lots of things to come, stay tunned!

Xx,

Sky.

Back to masterlist here:

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ichinoue · 10 months

Note

I just finished watching bleach, and I'm not much of a shipper, as in I didn't care for the ships. But ichihime just didn't make sense to me, I have no problem with renruki but ichihime just didn't do it. So like I'm genuinely curious as to how they stuck out for people like you who absolutely adore it, I've also seen alot of hate towards it so once again I'm curious. Is there any reason that you personally always loved the ship? Be it their chemistry? Or interactions?I don't know I just want to see the appeal

Well, for starters, if you've only watched the anime, I think that can definitely taint your perception of IH because the animators butchered it so much compared to how it actually is in the manga, especially in the early arcs. I made a post on the very first IH moment in the anime vs. the manga here although it's pretty old so the links I used as references are probably broken now. But I definitely recommend reading the manga to get a true sense of what their dynamic is like!

Honestly it's hard to sum up why I love this ship so much without pulling out a bunch of manga pages and turning this into a full blown essay of things I've already said a million times before (but I'll attach a bunch of links to some of those posts below lol).

But I just love the sweetness of IchiHime. The mutual respect. The selfless care and consideration they have for each other. How dorky they are together. The way they make each other better, and stronger. The way Orihime can pull so many passionate, emotional reactions out of Ichigo--the way he softens around her, the blind rage when his enemies use her to taunt him, the way he flies off the handle in a panic when he thinks she's in danger, the depression he fell into when she was gone, the relief he feels when he realizes she's okay. The puppy dog eyes he gives her. The way everyone else kicks him in the head or punches him to lift his spirits, but Orihime--she only has to use gentle words. The vow to protect, the rising up from the dead to keep that vow. Not even death could keep them apart. Orihime wanting to love Ichigo in every lifetime she lives, she would choose him every single time. And yet she never expected him to love her back--he just did. All on his own. He was pining for her, they were pining for each other. It was mutual long before they even knew it.

And I think Kubo did so well writing for the IchiHime relationship. It's got cute, heartfelt moments, angsty teenager moments, silly, comedic relief moments, and dramatic, life-or-death moments. You can see their development from one arc to the next, see the clear-cut changes and growth in their dynamic from beginning to end. They never stopped changing, and growing closer over time. Which created a nice, long slow-burn for me to sink my teeth into over the course of Bleach's 15 year run.

Anyway, here's some links of posts that explain different aspects that I love about this pairing:

I have an extremely long masterpost about IchiHime here, which mostly goes into detail about why I think it was obvious for canon, but it covers almost every single IH moment in detail and my love for the pairing and reasons for shipping it are pretty much woven into the fabric of this post lol.

The chemistry of IchiHime.

My top 3 favorite IchiHime moments.

Masterpost of moments where Ichigo and Orihime protect each other.

IchiHime implications of the lust arc.

Ichigo being teased about Orihime.

Ichigo's vow to protect Orihime.

Ichigo and Orihime's growing feelings for each other.

Orihime consistently being singled out to target Ichigo's heart.

Orihime loving Ichigo's kindness.

Ichigo being receptive to Orihime's feelings.

And these are some posts made by other people that I like:

A post about Ichigo's feelings for Orihime.

This one is an image post that basically combines almost every single IchiHime moment from the first to last chapter, as a visual reference.

A response my friend gave when asked the reasons that they ship IchiHime that I wholeheartedly agree with.

And another list of reasons.

I also just really love this post.

#IchiHime #fav

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winterxgardener · 3 months

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What makes Shourtney stand out to me (as a possible couple) is that despite all the LA influences and insane talent, they kinda seem like two people you could see hanging out in your neighborhood. They are so special but normal at the same time if that makes sense.

I also feel that neither of them are particularly great at hiding their true feelings about people and things around them - and I love that about them. I'm sure they do a loooooot of self-censoring but at the same time, have hard time maintaining a proper poker face.

Actually, there are some 2019-2020 videos where Courtney and Shayne start acting silly/flirty together, and the other person in the room (usually Ian and Damien) has a slightly amused but uncomfortable "here we go again" expression on their face. The expression is so relatable 'cause I've been in similar situations myself at the workplace and kept thinking "you guys really need to do something about this romantic tension 'cause we have a meeting with the boss in two minutes and she might have some questions". So awkward but hilarious at the same time.

Similarly to the previous anon, I also wish we could hear their own experience at some point since what we discuss here in Tumblr, is mainly just speculation/interpretation. Even if it turns out that Shourtney never happened and we shippers have been living in delulu, I'd still love to hear what their shared journey has been (bts) since it feels like they rarely talk about their friendship/something-else-ship anymore. Ian and Anthony discuss their friendship frequently in videos, Shayne and Damien make references to their shared past experiences from time to time, and I've even heard Amanda and Angela commenting on how close friends they are. But I can not remember the last time Shayne and Courtney had even a brief discussion about them as a duo, despite being one of the more iconic ones.

I actually think that it was the contradiction between their non-verbal language and verbal treatment of each other that led me to speculate (1-2 years ago) that something is going on bts. For me their "heart eyes" alone are not really a proof of anything since they keep looking at half the cast with similar endearment. However, I found it weird that they would look at each other so lovingly (at least in brief moments) but rarely ever say anything friend-like directly to each other or even act politely, like normal coworkers. Some people will explain that with their long friendship but they are close with Damien and Ian as well and rarely act in the same contradictory way with them. I just can't explain that with anything else but "something's going on".

As a background info: I started my Smosh journey with videos from 2022 and 2023, and initially, knew nothing about the Shourtney shipping that happened in late 2010s. Despite this (or because of it?) I sensed something between them and was not surprised to hear that they might be more than just coworkers. However, I def understand why shippers got a bad rep in Defy era because I can not sense the same chemistry between them in older videos and would have needed a fair amount of delulu to convince myself that they are together. Nowadays, it's the other way around: you need to make a lot of mental acrobics to explain why they are most probably just friends.

Btw, sorry for a long, not-so-cohesive ramble on this. I'm writing this in a sleepy mode, and am not sure myself what is the red thread of this anymore. :D

I am speechless while reading this. What do you mean by 'not cohesive'? This is a well-structured narrative. 🤯🤯

I agree that between 2019 and 2021, Shourtney appeared different, especially during their Twitch streams since they were unedited, unlike now, where they can easily censor or edit some of their moments.

Regarding their chemistry, from 2015 to 2018, it was just full-blown flirting as friends. (I don't know if I'm just being delusional), but something changed in 2019.🙉🙈

#shourtney #shartney #satire #i am delusional #dont mind it

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crushedsweets · 2 months

Text

ANSWERING ASKS PT 4?

ok this is like 30+ asks LOL its mostly stuff about me/my art with a little crp sprinkled in im sorry... ill make a post thats actually answering the crp asks with real answers that arent "ILL DO IT EVENTUALLY I SWEAR" lololol

YOURE BOTH SO SWEET i havent been this passionate about smth in so long so hopefully im here for a while... thank u guys for indulging me. it makes me happy to post LOL

with love pls dont call me that buuuut. ninakate. ticciwork. ninatoby. ticcijack. ninajack. notice how its all in the same group...

hiii i dont plan to anytime soon! IF I WERE TO, cody and rouge are probably 'next in line' to being put in my AU, but i have no plans to actually commit to that

omg ok its funny cuz rn i HAVE ONE but its just me in it cuz im too lazy to organize all the bots and verification and whatnot. im also nervous about making a server cuz of some online occurrences that happened after u sent this HAHA so i'm kinda putting it off... but i reblogged tombs server and im sometimes active in there if u wanna join that one!

ffrhrughagahhhh

no ur right theyre such a power couple. i know we joke about toby being useless bf and clocky being badass gf but they're both really cool together.

I FORGOT I MADE THE TWILIGHT COMMENT LMFAAAOOOOOO I NEED i need. i need toby to find a random twilight shirt at a thrift and snag it for kate.

ME TOOOO its so delightful. i have so much fun playing with them like barbies.. making them kiss n whatever. LMFAOOOO so silly but yk

JEFF STANS ARE SO FUNNYYYYYYYYY i like you guys. laughing jack stans scare me but thats cuz that damn clown scares me... nothing that yall have done. youre just braver than me. LOL

i will not do this...

no literally its really bad. i hold horrible grudges BAHAHA but im working on it. im getting over my purple beef

omg. i listened to it and that was really cool. i like that thank u sm for sharing

IDK WHAT POST UR REFERING TO BUT YOURE RIGHT. LMAOOOOO

IM SORRYYYY im so sorry. i feel like this fandom is so small and most of the fans dont really ship in general so it suuuucks shipping here.. but i love them..

oh my god i need to i keep forgetting. the nina art i jus tposted of her holding th eknife was kinda.. kinda referencing her behaviors..

i do too!!! ive been neglecting them so bad im so sorry..

like the IEPFB tea party scene

I NEVER DID IT ANON IM SO SORRY IM GOING TO HELL

is this a song

i have not! i havent read alot of stories actually... i kinda like doing my own thing with them HAHA

omfg i had a clocknina drawing but i ended up privating but i think i should unprivate it...

ok actually im sorry i just am bad at requests omfg LMFAOO IM SORRY im so focused on nina ... forgive me...

THANK YOUUUU youre very sweet i appreciate you!!! <3

YEAH he's...one of the more tragic people. 100%. all loss

WHAT IS LIUJONJACK LOL WHOS JON??? ALSO LIUOTPS IS FUNNY

wdym ? !

LMFAOOOOO HEY ITS NOT A BAD COMBO THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING A NINAKATE SHIPPER........

THANK YOU CUPCAKE i really like nina.. or my version i gues si dunno.. i like everyone else's nina too. i like this nina we got going on together

ok i keep grouping these together but also making them seperate im so bad at organizing these asks but HAHA I LOVE THEM TOO i swear ill try to get some ticciwork stuff out soon!!! my spring semester is almost over so hopefullyyy..

this is how you know i suck ass cuz this was christmas time and im replying NOW. im so sorry. i initially planned to draw them hanging around a tree but i didnt get around to it then got embarassed and never replied.... but i agree it would have been cute. ha di notfailed. LOL

#asks

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tumb1rprincess · 5 months

Text

Been thinking lately about how Jak 3 just randomly makes a 180 when it comes to shipping and suddenly slaps Jak and Ashelin together. I didn't like it when I was young and I still don't like it a whole lot now. And I feel like a major reason for that is that Jak/Keira and Torn/Ashelin have a long history when it comes to their relationships, whether it's outright stated or up to fan speculation.

Like, even before Jak and Keira kind of get together at the end of the first game, you can tell they've known each other for a while. And it makes me wonder how they met, how they became friends, when did they first start falling for each other. Like, I'm guessing they were childhood friends, and the two of them and Daxter were almost like a Ed/Winry/Alphonse from FMAB type of situation. And then Jak II happens and suddenly, Jak is not the silly, happy kid Keira used to know, and you can see she kind of doesn't know how to feel about that, let alone process that. I wish Jak II could have delved more in to that, but I guess that leaves us fans to fill in the blanks. Did Keira learn the details of what Jak had to go through? Did she find out Errol was behind half of it? But with them together in Jak X, I feel like it kind of shows that they worked past that, and while Jak will never be the same as he was, they flirt and play around with each other almost like they did when they were younger.

Torn/Ashelin are kind of the same in a way. They've known each other for a while before the start of Jak II and it makes me wonder how they met. Was it when Torn was a Krimzon guard? Did Ashelin have any role to play in him quitting? She did say she's always wished Haven City was better ever since she was a kid. Did she encourage him to join the Underground, or did he find it first and she decided to use her position as Praxis's daughter to help? And while Torn refers to her as a friend in Jak II, he's probably already fallen for her at that point. He gets so touchy when Jak goes "Did you say 'she'?" and even more defensive when he asks later on about Torn's connection with her after finding out she was Praxis's daughter. Hell, he pretty much betrays the Underground in order to keep her safe when Praxis threatens to kill her. And if that doesn't scream love, I don't know what does. And does Ashelin ever find out what he did for her sake? Also, I'm just a sucker for the "knight/ruler" kind of ship dynamic. Like, Torn serves under Ashelin not just because it's his job, but because he loves her, and she's the only one to get past his "tough guy" exterior.

I just have a lot of feeling about these couples and I'm glad Jak X finally made things right and got them back together.

#jak and daxter #jak #keira #ashelin #torn #baron praxis #errol #daxter #jak II #jak X #jak 3

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lasthaysileeshipper · 11 days

Text

sunrise on the reaping and preserving fandom history

if you couldn't already tell from my onslaught of previous posts about sunrise on the reaping, I am a bit wary and really hope this book isn't told from the pov of a 12. there are a few reasons for this—and I'll be the first to admit that a couple of them may be a bit selfish.

first and foremost, however, I simply don't think we need this to be from a 12's pov. we've seen enough of them. I don't think we need haymitch's pov at all and I'd prefer not to have maysilee's either, but I'd take her pov over his. if I had to pick a 12 to be a pov character for this book, it would be mrs. undersee (if this doesn't happen in canon, I probably will write a dual pov qq2 fic from the povs of each of the twins... in addition to my planned dual pov qq2 fic between haymitch and the victor of qq1... I care about this era a lot, can you tell?).

second, and perhaps more selfishly, I've been writing the d12 qq2 era characters for quite a while and am kinda attached to my hcs as a result. I know canon compliance ultimately doesn't matter but having canon info about this era kinda makes me uneasy, for reasons I'll get to next.

third, I worry that if we get more canon information about 12 in this period, that so many iconic pieces of qq2 era fanworks will be overshadowed by canon compliant works. I will thus be leaving links to my favorite pieces of qq2 era fan work below the cut (just because this post is getting long as is).

I encourage anyone who sees this post to make your own post with a link/s to a piece of qq2 era fan work/s that you love with the tag "2qq fanworks preservation project". these works can involve any canon or fanmade characters, any ships, can be in any medium (videos, art, fic, edits, etc), so long as it takes place either slightly before, during, or slightly after qq2. I'm also including any piece of fan work that includes maysilee in some way (even if she is being referred to in the past tense), since she's so closely linked with the time period.

caring about fandom history may sound silly, but I have a strong passion for media preservation and a long cherished history with this fandom. thank you all so much for reading! be sure to look below the cut for my personal contributions to this project!

p.s: if what you are posting is a fic, please leave a synopsis and age rating! regardless of what you chose to share, give credit to the original creator (and go show them some love!).

as promised, here are some qq2 era fanworks I cherish (a lot will be haysilee fics, but what y'all submit doesn't have to be):

second quarter quell short film by mainstay pro

I don't feel like I need to say anything other than this is an iconic piece of thg fandom history. if nothing else, please watch this.

2. that's what this is by fandomfatale (rated t)

For him she is as beautiful and as dangerous as anything in the arena. His sense of self-preservation is the only part of him that pushes her away. [Haymitch’s thoughts after he and Maysilee part ways in the arena.]

one of my favorite haysilee fanfics ever

3. what a shameful thing by dance_elle_dance (rated t)

She's dying - right here, right now. This isn't what was supposed to happen. Haymitch wasn't supposed to develop any sort of feelings for the tributes, especially not like this. Especially not for her. (Originally posted on 9/6/11.)

another one of my favorite haysilee fics

haymitch's pov as maysilee is dying

4. brace yourself by ibbonray (rated t)

The Fiftieth Annual Hunger Games, as experienced by Maysilee Donner and a certain Haymitch Abernathy.

a longer qq2 fic

told from maysilee's pov up until the very end

chapters are framed with poems

haysilee

5. immortals by lori_s21 (rated t)

This is the Quarter Quell and the story of the girl behind the Mockingjay pin. A tale of loves, passions, hopes and a fight for survival. Maysilee/Haymitch UST (or is it…?). Slight spoilers for Catching Fire.

another long form qq2 fic told from maysilee's pov until the very end

haysilee

6. a song that has no words by weasleytook (rated g)

A different time, a different games, but Haymitch and Mrs. Everdeen have always been connected.

haymitch/mrs everdeen this time

in which they have a short-lived, whirlwind romance after his games

immediately post-qq2 (which is why I'm counting it)

viola (mrs everdeen)'s pov

this fic is where my obsession with this ship began haha

7. enticing artifice by lineycantdance (rated t)

Sundown pales the ribbon-blue sky streaked with spun-candy clouds. The shades of peach and mauve that stain their wispy edges are muted in comparison to the arena’s artificially intense hues. At least this sunset isn’t an illusion. We’re enclosed but not encased.

“We haven’t seen another soul in three days,” Haymitch tells me.

“There’s only eight of us left,” I say, “and these woods have plenty of hiding spots.”

He marvels at the watercolor sky through the treeline. “In a place like this, it’s not hard to imagine that it’s just you and me. The first man and first woman.”

I can imagine it, too. And isn’t that part of the cruel joke the Gamemakers are playing on us?

“Watch out for the forbidden fruit,” I say drily. He gives me a mischievous look. “Actually, I was thinking of a different story about the first man and first woman.”

When Haymitch Abernathy and Maysilee Donner are reaped as tributes in the Second Quarter Quell and thrown together in a deceptively beautiful arena, they must face untold horrors therein—and what they mean to each other.

an in-progress qq2 fic

haymitch and maysilee dual pov

haysilee

8. savor the moment by the.goal.is.greatness (rated t)

You don't know how lucky you are to be loved.

haymitch reminiscing over his and maysilee's relationship post-canon and finding solace that katniss and peeta got to have what he and maysilee didn't

haysilee/everlark parallels

haymitch pov

9. forget by aimmyarrowshigh (rated t)

Forget. Haymitch drinks and drinks and drinks. And still, the memories of Maysilee remain.

drabble

haysilee

haymitch pov

10. symbol of a guardian angel by lineycantdance (rated t)

Upon meeting District 12’s tributes for the 74th Hunger Games, Haymitch can’t help but feel like fate is twisting the knife. Year after year, he’s had to accompany his classmates, neighbors, and, in more recent years, their children to their certain deaths, helpless to save them. This year’s pair somehow seems more tragic given what little he knows about their families. However, what unsettles him most of all is that the girl appears to be donning the token of the ally he couldn’t save.

haymitch pov

haymitch sees katniss wearing maysilee's pin on the train and it all comes flooding back

honestly this is a scene I always meant to write but never got around to

11. forty-six by embersandash (rated t)

Haymitch is struggling with the prospect of sobering up before the 74th annual hunger games after 23 years of dead children.

Why Haymitch picked Katniss.

Implied Haymitch/Maysilee.

haymitch sees katniss wearing maysilee's pin and it inspiring him to get her home (a headcanon which I adore and wholeheartedly believe)

12. blackbird singing in the dead of night by pasalubong

Most of the Capitol is left in the dark about what happened to the famed games stylist, Tigris.

Her name fades into a distant memory. Other stylists best her work. The Capitol forgets.

Haymitch doesn’t.

Or: Tigris is Haymitch’s stylist during the Quarter Quell.

okay so maybeeeee this was written post sotr announcement... but it's before release so I'm counting it

and also I am just in love with the entire concept

I hope tigris being haymitch's stylist is canon and if it's not it will be in my heart

#sunrise on the reaping #sotr #the hunger games #thg #haymitch abernathy #maysilee donner #thg fanfic #thg fanart #thg edits #2qq fanworks preservation project #long post

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olderthannetfic · 10 months

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Hi, Olderthannetfic - I'm just sort of reaching out through the blogosphere to see if anyone in the larger proship community has any suggestions for where a community could move if not on discord. (CW for discussion of underage content and Black Butler Spoilers)

So I run a discord server for Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) but I'm also in several writing discords including one that caters to dead dove content creators. Today they posted some rule changes, due to changes in Discord's community guidelines. Any illustrations for nsfw of obviously underage characters are now banned, and written content has to be vague and not state ages of underage participants. That prompted me to read through it: And, I gotta say, its pretty bad: https://discord.com/safety/child-safety-policy-explainer Hoping the community can offer some insight on what to do since the policy is incredibly broad. Either a new platform, or what we could even reasonably do beyond our current system of gating the server heavily to avoid issues like reporting/brigading. The meat of the policy is right here, for those who want to read it:

You may not post or share the following types of content, such as [sensitive language content warning]

Portrayals of minors engaging in sex acts, or in sexually explicit or suggestive poses

Sexual comments about or desires for real or fictitious minors

Links to websites containing material that sexualizes minors

Photos or videos of non-nude minors in a sexualized or fetishistic context

Statements expressing intent to obtain materials of child abuse or engage in child sexual abuse

Promotion, encouragement or normalization of pedophilia or sexual attraction to children

Photos, videos, or drawings of nude or sexualized minors, such as “lolicon” or “shotacon”

Photos, videos or illustrations of naked or sexualized anthropomorphized minors (sometimes referred to as “cub porn”)

Also of note from their guidelines: > Given the high-harm nature of this content, we will also consider off-platform evidence as explained in our Off-Platform Behaviors Policy when reviewing content under this policy.

This is pretty horrifying for me, since under these terms, even if we weren't writing smutty fanfiction and laughing about silly nsfw headcannons, discussion even of the source material of Kuro would be completely off limits. I mean, this is a panel from the arc that was recently announced to be animated for release in 2024:

I think even on tumblr just mentioning that this looks like an intro to a porno would be flagged.

This is particularly frustrating since this is a series that is literally sold at like, Barnes and Noble. It's one of the most popular mangas in the world. Even the numerous, incredibly obnoxious antis who run this fandom on tiktok/reddit/twitter and don't ship the "evil" Sebaciel like I do would probably be forbidden from even discussing many of the canon elements under these terms, including: * The many plot points in several arcs during which it is implied that an adult character is sexually attracted to Ciel (I was going to list them all but this honestly happens at least once per arc) * Discussion of Ciel's trauma - the inciting incident of the manga (also portrayed in flashbacks) where he is sexually assaulted alongside his brother * The Green Witch Arc plot where Sieglinde interprets the situation to be that Sebastian/Ciel have invited her to a three way to take her virginity. * The many canon depictions of Ciel in various states of undress that are clearly intended to be titillating in some manner. I mean... "Photos or videos of non-nude minors in a sexualized or fetishistic context" is basically just. The entire series. In fact, even just linking to where you could read or purchase this manga legally at Barnes and Noble could technically be considered a violation under these guidelines considering how incredibly broad they are. Much has already been said on your blog and elsewhere about how this type of policy harms queer people and CSA survivors (both terms I identify with) and how censorship like this also targets books like Speak (incidentally one of my favorite books from when i was younger) so I won't rehash that here but... its disappointing to say the least.

I assume that most of this is just covering their ass due to legislation and/or the usual pressure from payment processors. Its also possible I'm overreacting entirely and this is a paranoid reading of this policy. Nonetheless, I'd appreciate any insight you or the community might have on what our options might be.

Sorry for the massive ask in your inbox :P Just don't know what we'd do if the worst happened and we got reported.

A lot hinges on how many of those instances of "minors" they think imply "real or fictitious" and how many they're interpreting as real only. They're explicitly banning some types of fictitious material like loli/shota and cub porn, but they aren't explicit about all of the items on this list.

Will discord use these rules punitively against shit they shouldn't without warning? Almost certainly yes. But as for why they're making them, it's because discord is apparently one of the current favorite places for the distribution of actual abuse images of actual children, and they need to cover their asses.

Still, it's worth exploring your options early.

If you want to host explicit shota fan art, you're looking at a very limited selection of sites. I think a lot of people went to certain Mastodon instances.

If you want to discuss Black Butler in peace... IDK... Maybe check out how Bobaboard is doing? It's going to depend on what features you need. The more you're just making a community on someone else's site, the less liability you personally have. The more you're running your own thing, the more you have to be in charge of legal compliance stuff.

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beanghostprincess · 8 months

Note

Wait do you also spam posts on the Zolu and Lusan tags as well? I haven't been on those so idk haha. And I know you said don't ask buuut why do you ship Lusan? 😅 I ship every other character together easily but I can't see the appeal between those two. Except for like post time skip. I'm trying to understand it.

mmm i wouldn't say i spam posts on those tags, but i do post a lot about them?? i think i just post more sanuso and zolu. more sanuso, probably. or maybe it's just that there are fewer people posting there and it makes my posts stand out more. we need more sanuso shippers, besties!!!

and you're asking me why i ship lusan but the true question here is why wouldn't i.

they're so romeo and juliet!!! so poetic!!! so love story by taylor swift!!!

it's not only because of whole cake island (that does help a lot, though) but their relationship dynamic and story as a whole. sanji grew up with a family that made him believe he was worthless and undeserving of love, and suddenly this silly guy appears out of nowhere saying that he wants him to come with him on an adventure because he believes he's the best cook ever (complimenting something his family constantly told him it was a weakness). he tells luffy about the all blue, opening up his heart and dreams to him in such a beautiful way that luffy can't help but say "yeah. this is the one. this is my cook now". they both share the same hopes and dreams!!!! reaching for the stars!!! fighting for their beliefs that everybody told them they wouldn't be able to follow!!! it's so so beautiful.

also, for luffy, food is something really important. not only referring to the comedic relief side of it, but also on a character level. food is what gives him strength, and it's also his love language (he's selfish when it comes to eating, but offers food to the ones he loves and cares about). and for sanji... well, food is his whole world. he won't let anyone starve, no matter who it is. it's the perfect dynamic. for luffy, food is important, not only bc he loves it, but because it's what makes him keep going (he literally needs to eat more than twice a normal person would because his power requires it). and for sanji that's!!! his perfect person!!!

whole cake island showing luffy refusing to eat until sanji comes back is so,,, i can't put it into words. but it's majestic. poetry. such a devotion to his cook it hurts. and sanji can't let him starve!!! it's so kzsdbjkasdbjkab i'm weak. crying. sobbing. luffy literally can't become the king of the pirates without him. he said it himself.

and also: luffy sees through sanji. we know luffy is like, the most empathetic character ever because he has this perception of people that's always so so accurate. he sees them as an open book. crystal clear. i mean, not really that crystal clear all the time but he knows when somebody is lying to themselves or him. and he knows that sanji is lying to himself in whole cake island the same way he's been aware of his insecurities ever since they met. and it's SO good.

the passion and devotion a cook and his constantly hungry captain have for each other is so intimate... luffy is curious by nature and wants to know more and more about the world and sanji. and sanji could just settle for cooking for him and finding the all blue, but luffy brings out that dreamy nature in him. luffy helps him ask for help and be himself.

sanji is selfless. luffy wants him to be selfish.

and it's!! so good!! so so romantic!!!

also don't get me started on luffy's speech to him because that's literally pride and prejudice mixed with romeo and juliet and a hint of corpse bride.

and yeah, you were talking about not getting the appeal pre time skip? well, let me tell you:

it might not be as romantic as post time skip, but it still is beautiful. sanji follows luffy to this adventure because he wants to find the all blue, but also because luffy has a dream even crazier than his. after being told countless times that his dream is a lie and impossible to achieve, seeing somebody as reckless and impulsive as luffy wanting something like being the king of the pirates does something to sanji. once again, as i was saying, luffy makes him want to be selfish. sanji doesn't want to leave the baratie because he feels like he owes zeff his life. that's his home, but also where his father and savior is. he wants to leave. he just doesn't know how to without feeling guilty. both luffy and zeff help him realize that he needs to go after his dream.

also, sanji's obsession with women goes beyond, you know, anything. but his devotion to luffy is stronger!! when you leave the comedic gags aside, of course.

besides, their dynamic is extremely funny. sanji is calm and mature and luffy is a menace to society. but... are they, really? because their dynamic is always funny like that, but also... it's kind of the other way around. luffy might seem immature and impulsive (he is) but when it comes to other people's feelings he's always the first one to understand. sanji, on the other hand, seems to have everything under control but once stuff like wci happens, we see that he's actually pretending to be like that. he's just a kid. he's scared and insecure and trauma suddenly hit him like a fucking truck without him expecting it and luffy is the one that needs to save him.

!!!!! lusan is GREAT. not only bc their "love cook x insatiable eater" dynamic, but because of their understanding and love for each other.

look, sanji is a damsel in distress and luffy is his knight in shining armor. except that they're actually a cook with an abusive family and an intense captain with a lot of love for food and his cook.

also they're very cutie patootie and they act very silly goofy together. i love when they're calm and laughing and nobody has to go through intense trauma for them to be happy in the end.

just look at them and tell me they aren't in love (although i see them more like in a queer platonic relationship but that's for another day):

that's sanji's ray of sunshine right there!!!!! and luffy's damaged wet cat!!!!! they're so!!!!! luffy can't be the king of the pirates without his cook and sanji can't find the all blue without his captain!!!

#uhhh am i too intense #maybe #i love them so much #i think it's just the fact that i'm currently watching wci and i'm crazy about these two #lusan #monkey d luffy #black leg sanji #one piece #luffy x sanji #sanlu

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tuktukpodfics · 9 months

Note

Hi! I'm thinking about making a podfic of one of my favorite fics and I wanted to ask for a couple of tips because I adore your podfics and I have run into a couple problems very early on.

how do you do deeper voices? my voice is fairly high (I'm a soprano that can occasionally deep down into lower alto) and most of the voices in the fic are male. I also always sound about twelve in recordings lol

how do you make distinct voices? again, I have a lot of different voices (probably 5-7 that talk the most, with many many other reoccurring characters).

pacing of reading. I tend to speak/read very quick and in my practice recordings, it sounds like I'm talking much faster than I felt I was. any tips on that?

what recording programs are best? currently I'm using voice memos on my phone. which. is clearly not going to give me the best sound, regardless of the app I use, but I don't have many options.

I am living in a dorm right now and live in fear of my suite mates hearing me (my roommate not quite as much as she likes to dub and does a lot in our room--though she does it in mandarin so I cant understand it). not to mention background noise of doors opening and whatnot. if you have any tips on that as well, that would be great!

I love your podfic, you put so much soul into them, and I hope that I could do that too!

Hello fellow podfic-er! I’m so excited for you to make a podfic!

The nice thing about podfics is that I usually don’t have to create characters from scratch, they already exist in the TV show. If I’m struggling with a character, I just rewatch some clips of them talking and imitate it!

Deep voices: I, too, have a high, childish voice and struggle with deep, Manly Men. I guess the main tip I have is to...give up. What I mean is focus less on pitch and more on tone. If you speak too low, it’ll be less expressive and will probably hurt your throat. It can work for minor, 2D characters, but don’t do it for main characters that have a wide range of emotions (you may notice that my Mighty Oaks Fire Sage Zuko voice swings higher when he’s emotional oops). Instead, use your normal pitch, and make a character sound adult by using an authoritative tone. Another thing I do is play up the childish and feminine voices. We might not be able to make the adults sound adult, but we can make the kids sound extra kiddish by comparison.

Distinct voices: I’m a tactile learner, so for me, it’s all about the physicality. Every time I do Azula’s voice, I make a pinched face like I’m eating a lemon. When I record Ozai, I sneer. For Sokka, I jut out my chin and flail my arms. It looks silly, but no one is around to see. There’s lots of YouTube tutorials about how to make different voices by varying speed and tone and nasal quality, but I get kinda lost in the sauce with those theory lessons. The only way I can really get myself to do different voices is if I’m working off of a reference. I just watch videos of other cartoons and live actors and then copy them.

Pacing: Pacing is hard. I especially struggle with the editing and often end up cutting things wonkily. Audiobooks tend to be slow because you’re less likely to get tongue tied that way. If I have a big hunk of text that I find myself racing through, I slow myself down with physicality again. I’ll lean in on important words or mime out the actions. For example, on the line, “Zuko turns, grabs the bar at the side of the ship, and throws himself back over,” I'll turn my body on the word “turn,” grab an imaginary bar on the word “grab” and then lurch forward on the word “throw.” Adding in movement can bring variation to those big blocks of text.

What recording programs are best: I don’t know! I use Audacity because it’s free. Adobe Audition is great too, but it’s expensive. I am very lazy with the podfics. I don’t have a professional set-up. Basically, I make a comfortable nest of pillows in bed or my closet, use an iPhone VoiceMemos app to record straight into the phone mic, send the audio file to my computer, convert the audio to a WAV file, put it in Audacity, add a Noise Reduction effect, and then cut it down. Once I’m done editing it, I export the Audacity file as an mp3, upload it to archive.org and Spotify, and then embed those links into Ao3. Feel free to DM me if you have other tech questions. I am not particularly savvy, but we can Google it together? If any voice actors on Tumblr have professional advice, please chime in.

Silence and privacy: Background noise is a big headache for me too. I live in a noisy area with lots of planes and a squeaky elevator. I usually record now in my closet surrounded by pillows and blankets, so it’s fairly soundproof. If there’s a noise, I usually wait for the sound to stop, record the line again, then edit out the mistake in post. At the end of the day, though, sounds will slip in. It’s just a podfic; we’re doing this for fun not professionally, so it doesn’t need to be polished. I think most listeners’ attitudes is that something is better than nothing. If you’re in a school dorm, there might be music practice rooms, a radio recording booth, or empty classrooms you can use instead.

Storage: Something I didn’t realize going in was how much storage the audio clips take up. Make sure you save and delete projects as you go. One time I finished editing an Audacity project, but it wouldn’t let me save it because I ran out of storage and I had to start over.

I’m so glad you like the podfics I’ve done and that it could help inspire you to make one too! I started making podfics because I fell in love with @pixieinthesky’s fantastic Salvage podfic (it's an absolute gem). Keep the chain going!

Have fun!

#podfic #how to podfic

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tennessoui · 7 months

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You know when I read the background characters AU, I totally thought you were going to go in a different direction.

Like Anakin and Obi-Wan are reoccurring background characters who are paired often together and decide to practice their acting skills(and flirting). So they act out their scenes. Slowly over the course of the season their characters meet, flirt, start dating, have arguments, break up, stare at each other in regret, then get back together.

Eventually when the show comes out and is noticed by fans and becomes a rare pair that eventually takes the Number #1 ship in this fandom. (Honestly the main show isn't as entertaining as these two)

(in reference to this au)

oooo this is so sweet in its own way i love them being recurring characters that totally steal the show cause tbh that was me watching aotc and rots anyway lol

what i really liked about them just being one-time extras is like...the almost of it all. they have such a great connection and they're having so much fun the entire time during filming, but they really only have a few days together maximum. probably only one 12 hour shift, and then their paths diverge....but it's not like they really forgot each other ever, they were just idiots and had some fun without getting contact details. they didn't realize they would sort of remember the other one for a really really long time

like it's such a good mix of stupid and silly and smitten

but i think there DEFINITELY is an element of them becoming a social media favorite, once they're both actors in like separate franchises, separate genres etc and fans are baying for like. anakin to guest star in an episode of obi-wan's show or obi-wan to have a small part in one of anakin's movies after like. a video clip of all of their moments being extra(s) gets released on twitter

#asks #obikin #extras au #did i make this au just because i thought of the 'being extra'/'being extras' thing #maybe maybe no comment no comment #but i just really love the idea of them meeting when anakin is like 19 and obi-wan is 35 and then not again for like 4 more years #the almost of it all!!!!!#the almost!!!#but i can absolutely appreciate what you're saying here too tho #they would dominate any scene theyre in together #totally by accident #director hardly notices that they're going through like a serious relationship in the background of every scene #until suddenly all of the online feedback is basically 'more of old guy with red hair and young twunk'

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ask-missparker · 13 days

Text

—Reality meet fiction… / Marvel x Fairytale AU Fic ✨🍎💜⚔️

Platonic Pairing: Liane Felton & Amelia Snow

Summary: What happens when a fan gets hit with knowledge of another universe where her dreams existed…

Setting: Avengers Tower

Note: Who’s to blame for this little accident? Was it Cole or Cassie? 🤔

Characters mentioned: The Young Avengers, King Alexander, Alex Summers and etc

+++

It was a early Tuesday night.

Some people were eating going out for dinner.

Others were lucky enough to have plans with friends.

Today Liane was just glad she could stay home at The Tower, watch Netflix and eat some popcorn.

Rochelle and Michelle were out on a double date with Luna and Rick. Cole was hanging out with Mia. Rei decided to go see a certain guy he had his eye on for a while, and Ethan was still out at the mall with his sister. He promised he would get his girlfriend a pretty necklace as a gift and needed his sister’s advice.

Thank heavens The Mall was opened 24 hours.

So Liane had the place all to herself, for the most part. Some of the gang members were still at the tower, either in their rooms, in the kitchen or outside on the balcony.

In result, Liane looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was coming in to use the TV, and grinned. She pressed play on Netflix’s Once Upon A Time. It was a little guilty pleasure of hers, she wasn’t ever ashamed to reference the series with friends and family, but she would never tell anyone in particular at a party about the shows she watches.

Yes, the show was good but it wasn’t ashamed to be a little silly and intriguing with its characters or plot-lines. Plus she adored the ships very much!She was in the middle of episode 3 of season 4. Aka The Frozen season, when she heard it.

A little crash and stumbling action in the hallway.

She assumed it was probably Melissa being clumsy or maybe Petra who accidentally trying those two high heels.

She shrugged not assuming much.

After a couple of minutes, she paused Netflix after finishing the episode, switched to checking any notifications from her social media feed. She hoped that Rick did not post any embarrassing photos from last Friday’s party.

“Liane?”

She looked up hearing her name, seeing the short brunette with long brown locks, a blushing reddish lip, and wearing a dusty rosey pink jacket and pants. Hell, she saw the girl wearing flats too. It wasn’t uncommon for Mia to wear something colorful, but she wasn’t seen in pink very often unless she brought a certain shade of pink with jeans to match. But she was more of a casual red wearer.

Honestly if Liane had to be honest, she looked pretty good. Maybe she had a date or some unexpected event coming up tonight? Oh my god was she supposed to be getting ready for a party?! Oh my—

“Liane?” She repeated.

The blonde looked up, “Huh? Yeah, what? Oh hey Mia!”

“Hi? Um what happened?”

“What do you mean? Oh god don’t tell me I forgot about a party! Don’t worry give me 5 minutes to change and get my purple heels ready!”

“Wha..no? We’re not scheduled to go to Grandpa’s Diner with Roch or the girls until Thursday I think.”

“Grandpa’s Diner? Is that a new fast food restaurant that I remember signing us up for?”

“No? That’s the dinner Bruce owns?”

“Bruce?! As in our Bruce? Rick’s dad Bruce Banner!”

“Uh yes, why do you sound so surprised?”

Mia looked around seeing the view, of the area she was in. She was only ever once in front of Liane’s house, everyone usually goes to her home or somewhere where to hang out. She looked at the photos on the walls and such, not recognizing much, noticing how Liane was acting so surprised. She wondered if she was under a memory spell or something.

Maybe she was drinking?

Then she saw something that seemed more than odd to her.

A photograph selfie of the gang wearing clothes she doesn’t seem to remember seeing them in. She looked out the window noticing the view of town but instead she saw the clear view of the city—New York City?! They don’t live in a city!

“Where am I? Where was i accidentally sent to?” Amelia asked.

Liane raised an eyebrow, “Mia you’re home in New York City. In the living room, aren’t you supposed to be out or something?”

“No, I was in Cassie’s shop as she was using something of Cole’s to update her transformation spells. Using wands, magical items and other things.”

“Wands? Cassie’s shop? Mia have you been drinking? Girl, I told you not to drink too much lately.”

“No I was not drinking! I was eating some fries and drinking a soda.”

“Okay, Mia, I think you’ve been not quite ready to go take a nap yet..”

“No, no naps. I slept well and it’s not like I am taking a forced nap again…remember what happened last time..”

“What happened last time?”

Mia groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, “A year ago, you were in the fire room after falling under a sleeping curse, it was our only way to communicate while you were in the forest..that wasn’t pretty. You didn’t sleep well..neither did I after a while.”

“Sleeping curse..? Fire room post-sleeping curse..?” Liane said, looking at her tv screen and back at her friend, not wanting to get excited or worried about anything just yet.

“Yeah..it was wild. But we’re fine now because they’re all together again, especially you and Ethan! It took everybody a while, weird times…weird times..”

“Me and Ethan? Sleeping curse..? Forest?…oh my gosh! No freaking way! Wait, no it can’t be right? I mean we have seen crazy stuff in our lives..and the alternative universe thing exists..but that’s wildly different..o holy cow! M-Mia, where do you think you are right now?”

Mia raised an eyebrow and pointed at the room, “Not in your house that’s for sure. I am clearly in New York City and you’re not remotely acting like yourself..like I asked before, Liane where am I?”

“You’re in New York City, in Avengers Tower. I know it’s weird but you will be fine.” Liane said, trying to hold back a squeal but failed, “This is so cool! I mean not cool for you, wait wait um..are you from Storybrooke or something?”

“By that question, you’re not my Liane, huh? Okay weird but I can handle it. And no, I am from Fighter Town. Knowing that this is a spell, sometimes will use magic and pop me back to my original home..”

“Original home? Oh my god! You said that I’m not your Liane? Wait what do you mean? And how are not weird about this?”

“Since my whole life was turn upside down years ago, and I’ve been to a few places unexpectedly before. But it’s wild, The Avengers exist here…hehe my nephew is gonna flip knowing that.”

“Nephew? Okay, better that i don’t know. What about me?”

That’s when Mia actually smiled and chuckled, “Now you sound like my Liane. My Liane is smart, a little slow at times, clever about her surroundings and quick to following along or firing up her skills. And she’s always asking questions about things.”

“Huh? Kinda weird but sounds like me.” She repiled lightly chuckling, curious about this particular thing.

“And she gets herself into trouble a lot.”

“Now that definitely sounds like me! Woah, even in another land I am getting myself into trouble..”

“Haha but we forgive you for it. Not everyone in the world forgives you or gives you a chance to prove yourself, but they eventually warm up to you.“

“Aww! That sound sweet, okay I’mma cut to the chance cause I think I know what universe your from..”

Amelia sat down on the couch curious about this hearing Liane point out her outfit, hair, what she heard about her talking about the land and how she might have a good guess onto who she is. Liane even talked about her universe too.

“Fairytales? Like the Disney movies?” Mia asked, grinning.

“Well yeah, I mean, I could be wrong—wait you know about the Disney stuff?” Liane asked, curious about that part.

“I mean yeah, our kids are pretty smart and well educated on things, hell we have them package at the store in our town…wait a minute, in my world you guys are just comic books and movies…I’m movies and children stories..”

“What story are you from?”

“Guess!”

Liane was silent, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one came in and looked back at Mia. She looked over her clothing closely, trying to remember her knowledge of her favorite series, what she heard Mia said eariler and what types of fairytales could she be referring to.

“Umm, sleeping beauty?” Liane said taking a wild guess.

She shook her head, “No, but I do know her and so do you, in our land. Try again.”

“You said sleeping curse? Am I sleeping beauty?…wait unless somebody else got hit with a curse too?”

“No..but you did have a hand in creating sleeping beauty.”

“I—what?! Wait wait wait what princess has had a sleeping problem?”

“Hint, lips as red as blood and skin soft as..”

“Snow! Your Snow White!”

“Well it’s Amara Snow..but people like to add the white part.”

“Damn who cursed you?”

“My brother in law.”

“Brother in law?!”

Liane took a moment to reflect on her words and glanced down at Amelia’s hands by accident, as her eyes caught onto a darling ring, as she gasped. She looked at her friend from the other side and squealed.

“Snow White married Prince Charming! Oh my god that’s so cute! Who’s your prince? Wait wait I know…Nikolai! Aww he saved you. Wait how?” Liane said, rambling trying to comprehend this new information.

Amelia chuckled, “It’s a long story but Nikolai is the brother of a king, so he’s the prince of light. And we both saved each other..well it was months after our first meeting.”

“Aw he hung you by a tree after you stole his jewelry?”

“How did you—? Never mind. Well no, it’s the opposite actually. He stole from me and I hung him by the tree.”

“Oooh a plot twist! How about me? Who am I? You said me and Ethan are a thing, or at least I assume we are.”

Amelia laughed feeling better about her surroundings at the moment, felt nice not to be chanced by an ice monster or a giant for a while, and no evil people in her presence at the time being.

“Well you’re Maleficent, but you’re actually a really good person! Your a fairy in my land who’s more or less human, you had stuff happened to you and whatnot.” Amelia started to explain, “You were upset and made a deal with King Alexander to help you curse a princess due to her father’s crimes against your forest.”

Liane connected the dots and nodded, “But the sleeping curse didn’t stop true loves kiss from breaking it. I see, I know the whole tale, and it’s smart plot point. What happened next?”

“The bad King Alexander saw how your spell didn’t work out like it was intended to and that deal was flipped on its head, as you were made to live out your days as a purple dragon, guarding a crystal item he stole from Cole years before.”

“Oh geez…how was I so foolish? I mean I get it was upset and heartbroken about something, so I wasn’t thinking straight but still!”

“Hey, you were hurt and people tend to do things differently when they’re not in the right mindset. But you were saved, twice in one month.”

“Really? How? Tell me, I like where this is going.”

“Well Nik—Nikolai was on a quest to look for an special item that belonged to Cole, so he searched until he entered the castle and fought his brother, King Alexander, there he found you as a dragon…and instead of slaying the dragon, he decided to help from the kindest in his heart. Once he unchained you, you turned back into human.”

“Liane grinned, “Awww! I was saved by my future friend! Let me guess we escaped and I got to live in a castle with you guys?”

“Not yet, Lia.” Mia chuckled, “Haha, um, if my memory serves me right, after your escape, the two of you parted ways. Nikolai went to return the item to Cole and return a little jew to help finish his quest. You decide to head home and live your days in your old castle, you were sad..but then a certain Prince or Knight from Wonderland arrived..”

“A knight from Wonderland..? But that doesn’t add up?…ohhh I get it now! I think?”

“The knight was Ethan, he was originally on a journey to find a dragon that lived there and bring it back to his homeland..but when he arrived at the castle he saw his childhood best friend there instead, as you two looked at each other, sparks flew once again..”

“And we lived happily ever after! Hehe he saved me!”

Liane just sat there squealing and gushing over how she imagined that tale to go, mentioned how she hoped they lived together in a beautiful house with a lovely view of the mountains and flowers too, and how she pictured them riding horses then visiting wonderland.

Amelia just sat there giggling and smiling at her reaction, she was willing to tell the blonde more but she rather wait for another time.

Then the brunette took her moment to ask about life here in Liane’s world. She read some Marvel comic books and binged watching the stuff she found on Netflix, with her friends and family. Hell, her red headed nephew adored them. Liane then explained things here and there, how The Avengers saved the day, how their lives are, who’s dating who, the missions they been on and etc.

It was all very interesting to the young brunette as she asked questions about things she wondered.

Soon enough they were both chatting with one another on the couch, not realizing the time went by.

Liane went to use the restroom and once she returned Mia was nowhere to be found. She looked around the living room, glanced at the hallway and kitchen, even called out for her brunette friend.

She sighed and huffed, noticing when she returned to living room, there were sparkling specks of green dust in the air, it was almost magic. One dust of the shimmering dust was left on the couch where Amelia last sat. Her eyes fell onto a small note that was left on the coffee table.

She picked it up.

‘Thank you for the wonderful gift of spending time with a friend. Sorry I had to go I was fading into green sparks, realizing it was Cole and Cassie’s magic bringing me back home. But don’t worry, you’ll see a verison of that tale i told you in your dreams tonight.’ ~ A.S. ♥️

Liane smiled finishing off the small reading, gushing to tell her friends about what happened as squealed hoping to dream about fairytales once again…

~~~

Ahhh! I couldn’t resist not doing this short story!

Please let me know what you guys think! 💭

Tags: @missstrawbs2001 @gcthvile @gaminggirlsstuff @cherrysft @meiramel @rickb-chaos @unicornempress606 @thecavalrywife

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