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#If you're into one of those ships at all because you love their actual relationship and how it came to be
stardustedknuckles · 1 year
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Sometimes I see someone trying to draw an audience to a show by comparing it to something known and beloved and I'm like. The only thing they have in common is two girls kissing. Which is fine, but please don't tell me these two pieces of media are similar and if you liked one you'll like the other when quite literally nothing else about them matches up.
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scarrletmoon · 8 months
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okay i know the Discourse™️ has been going on for way too long at this point, but
i think some people outside of the OFMD fandom don’t actually get why we’re particularly annoying about this show
OFMD is not the first queer show to ever exist. if anything, it's a late entry in decades of queer media. over a year and a half since the first few episodes aired, everyone knows that OFMD is queer. that doesn't make it particularly special
but back in March? this is the trailer that dropped in February of 2022, 2 weeks before the premier. if you're used to seeing queer chemistry in shows that aren't intended to be queer, you might see the hints between Ed and Stede here. but to most people? it's just a silly little pirate comedy. just guys being dudes. the trailer doesn't even hint at the other 2 canonical queer relationships in the show -- the closest it gets suggesting romance is the music and the pink in the poster
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so when people watched this show in March 2022, they went into it expecting subtext and nothing else. to them, it was like watching Sherlock or Supernatural or Merlin in the 2010s. if you were in any of those fandoms -- especially Sherlock and Supernatural -- you know what it was like; constant jokes at our expense, being mocked for creating explicit fanwork, made fun of by the creators and within the show itself. if we saw queer subtext, that was our problem. this was a time when you pretended NOT to be in fandom, for fear of ridicule. we kept our fanwork to ourselves, we DID NOT share it with the cast, and we accepted that our favourite ships would probably never be canon. maybe one day, if we were lucky, we'd have a show where the subtext wasn't mockery as much as deliberate foreshadowing -- but that had to be YEARS away
right?
OFMD was never billed as a queer show, not in the beginning. there was no LGBTQ+ tag on (HBO) Max, it wasn't on anyone's list of upcoming queer shows in 2022, it flew under the radar through most of its first season. this was a show about pirates, and sure, some of them were queer. but not the LEADS. if you think they're romantically involved, that's must be fandom brain poisoning
except the 9th episode aired, and they kissed. and the show said "you're not crazy for thinking they have chemistry because they really do. it's been a romance this whole time". and in the 10th episode, Stede realizes that he's in love
(not mandating you watch this clip if you don't care for the show, but there's something that feels particularly earth shattering about no one saying the word gay but knowing that Stede's realizing he is, that it's completely unambiguous and explicit in a way that only straight romances are usually allowed to be)
this is why people freaked out about this show. no one knew. even the creator, David Jenkins, was surprised when WE were surprised that it was gay for real -- he set out to write a love story, using all the tried and true beats of a rom com. he'd never even heard of the term queerbaiting. he looked at historical Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet and thought "oh, there's something here" and just...wrote that, with very little fanfare, like it was inevitable. like it was obvious. of course Jim and Pam end up together. of course Buttercup and Westley end up together. what kind of disappointing ending would it be if You've Got Mail ended with the main characters just going their separate ways?
so of course Ed and Stede are in love
look, i get it. we're annoying and won't shut the fuck up about this show that seems mediocre at best. i watched the whole thing back in march, thought "huh, that was cool" and was sure that i'd forget about it in a few days
an hour after looking at fanart on twitter, i was lost in the fucking sauce
there's just so much to unpack from a mere 10 episodes. it covers racism, toxic masculinity, gender expression, sexuality, trauma and abuse. and i don't think we should overlook the fact that the non-white characters in this show get to be fully human in a way i haven't seen in my favourite shows in recent memory
additionally, most OFMD are 25 or older. we're not people who've been spoiled by queer rep, who don't get how hard it used to be, how you'd have to grovel for scraps, how shipping and fanfiction was a way to find queer rep where we thought there never would be. we've been here. we're annoying about this show because for a lot of us, it's the first time we've been treated like our queerness isn't an anomaly that needs to be relegated to its own section, that needs to be praised for the bare minimum of acknowledging that we exist. it's not pulling punches to avoid scaring away a straight audience. it just is.
OFMD for me is like when i watched Black Panther for the first time and realized that this is what white people felt all the time. have there been other black superhero movies? of course! does Disney fucking suck? BOY does it. but that was the first time i got to sit in a movie theater and watch a mainstream film that looked at Africa and said "look at how beautiful you are, exactly as you are"
and idk. i think that's really cool
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barblaz-arts · 3 months
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I think people have been accustomed to couples being in that honeymoon phase when they’re shown onscreen together. We ALWAYS see that with newly-established couples in pretty much any type of media… But that’s not Chaggie.
Charlie and Vaggie have been together for years. Their honeymoon phase has long past. They’re not doing outlandish displays of affection. They’re just, comfortable. Doesn’t mean they love each other any less, just that those sappy moments aren’t as common anymore
Yes! also the way a lot of people are surprised that charlie and vaggie aren't only best friends is such a good example of the double standards wlw ships get. thinking they aren't dating is understandable. Overlooking that Vaggie and Charlie were meant to at least be shipped together is INSANE.
If i never knew they were dating already, i and so many other sapphic ship lovers would be eyeing tf out of Vaggie and Charlie's relationship. Lookit some of the things that happened/are established before the "she's my girlfriend" line in ep 5
- the newcaster lady made a homophobic comment towards Charlie, saying she "doesn't touch the gays" when Charlie tried to give her a handshake
- THIS
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- just all the times Vaggie would soften up as soon as she sees Charlie smiling or being her dorky self despite being previously upset/angry
- Vaggie's whole friggin verse in Whatever It Takes is very obviously meant to be romantic
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- Charlie being worried about Angel Dust while Vaggie gives her the most "i love you and im sad that you're upset but i love that you're upset over something like this because it shows how amazing of a person you are" look at Charlie as she tucks her hair behind her ear
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- Angel: I think this belongs to you *hands Charlie over to Vaggie*
- just all the casual touches they do that would totally be read as shipping fuel AT LEAST if it happened between a male/female duo or two men
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- the fact Vaggie woke up?? Looking beside her to find Charlie?? To show that they sleep in the same bed?????
- Vaggie offering her hand unprompted when Charlie was having a stressful phone call with her dad and Charlie readily accepting it
And I'm sure there are people who'd go "But it's always shown from Vaggie's end! It looks so one-sided!" So? Aren't there tons of ships out there that seem one-sided but yall are perfectly fine shipping? And it's harder to see Charlie's love for Vaggie because Charlie at her core is a very loving and affectionate person. Of course it's gonna be more obvious for Vaggie since she's so prickly towards anyone else.
If all these things still happened without any of us knowing that they were actually girlfriends, we'd have a certain section of the fandom shipping it hoping they DO become canon while others would be claiming we'd be ruining a perfectly good platonic friendship by making it gay. They'd say we're reading too much into things.
But they ARE a couple. we aren't reading too much into things because it was meant to be read as romantic. And yet we're still the delusional ones for thinking an already established sapphic couple is "cute and interesting" because now they're claiming they simply dont have chemistry. It's frustrating.
Of course I have my criticisms too. The show could portray more of how Vaggie is more special to Charlie than anyone else, have them flirting more overtly or something. But any argument that they're "so boring i thought it was het" is invalid to me because i damn well know if at least one them was a dude a lot of them would be saying otherwise.
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spicyrottingbrains · 4 months
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You know the argument where people are like buck and eddie are straight and they're best friends and nothing more and that we should healthy male friendships in media without ship etc. etc.?? Well forgetting about every argument i have against all of of this and IF we were to consider that they are nothing but best friends then you know what would still make the most sense in regards to their storylines (together and individual)??? Not shoving random love interests for them into the plot and instead having them actually be two best friends who just raise a kid together without the need for anything else. Because no matter if you ship buddie or not I don't think there is a universe or a person who can counteract the fact that Evan buckley and Edmundo Diaz are soulmates. Stop having buck look for love in these doomed relationships and stop having eddie go out with these random people just because others are pressuring him to. People can be happy without relationships and if buddie won't be canon in a romantic sense then it would make so much sense for them to be happy with their family, because you gotta agree Buckk, Eddie and Chris, they are a family. Those three will always be there for each other and they will always put each other first. Those two are soulmates in every sense and they'd do anything for each other. Christopher comes first for both of them but right next to Chris is their best friend and that will not change. Their little family (+extended firefam) will always come first and no love interest could ever change that. It makes no sense for them to ignore the person who has had their back through so much fucking pain and heartbreak for someone who just came along into their lives to become top priority. Hell they're miserable without each other as is evident in the lawsuit Arc, the eddie leaving Arc, etc ect. They've been through too much for that. The firefam is the family they need and have. And they have each other (in whatever way that may be). It's like Ravi (my baby I love him so much I need more of him in s7) said its about having each others backs. And that is the entire premise of buddie since the very beginning, having each others back through thick and thin through joy and heartbreak, to never stop fighting for their family, that is the very essence that both Buck and Eddie's characters were built on. I did not go through 5 seasons of "there is no one I trust more with my son more than you","no one will fight for my son harder than you", "you can have my back any day.....or you could have mine", "isn't that what love is....knowing you have each other back", "when you're at your worst and they're at their worst and you have every reason to give up and you still decide you want to try", "what are you afraid of" buck showing up at Eddie's during the lightning aftermath, buck crawling under a freaking firetruck to get to eddie, Christopher running to buck at any point of distress, and so many more times where those three have always been what they need for anyone to disregard the fact that the buckley-diaz family are meant to be.
Ok I'm done.
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brigdh · 8 months
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I want to talk about Izzy's rant to Ed in episode 10, the one that brings out the Kraken. I've seen a lot of different descriptions of what is going on in this scene – death threat, homophobic slurs, etc – and I don't think either of those are what's actually what's happening.
Let's look at it closely, line by line, and the way Ed reacts, from the very beginning of the scene.
Ed: Well, feels nice to tidy up a little. Can't believe I was living like this. Can you, Iz? Izzy? Izzy: I'm going to speak plainly. Ed: Wonderful. You know we share our thoughts on this ship.
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Izzy, cont: This, whatever it is that you've become... is a fate worse than death.
Okay. So there we've got what some have interpreted as a death threat. But does Ed seem threatened? He's startled, certainly, put on his back foot – literally – but he doesn't look afraid or alarmed to me. He draws in a slow breath, assessing the situation, but overall seems more confused than frightened.
In fact he laughs it off with his next line:
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Izzy then escalates the level of aggression in the conversation:
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But Ed, again, looks more confused than anything. Check out that furrowed brow, that head tilt! This is a man going "what is your deal?", not a man thinking "uh-oh, you might kill me!".
Extremely noticeably, even when Izzy storms right up into his face, Ed holds steady. He doesn't run, doesn't lean back, doesn't hunch his shoulders or drop eye contact – there is no vulnerability or defensiveness in Ed's body language at all. Ed is in supreme control of this confrontation – look at the slow way he deigns to turn back to the paper Izzy's holding! As though he's making the point that he chooses when to turn, not Izzy:
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Then we have the "homophobic slur". But watch closely:
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Ed does not react to "namby-pamby", "silk gown", or "pining" at all. He doesn't even blink. He barely seems like he's hearing Izzy. His entire attention is on the picture.
Ed's body language and behavior changes at one word and one word only, and that is "boyfriend". As soon as Izzy says it, Ed's furious:
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(It's even easier to notice when you actually watch the scene instead of using gifs, because Izzy really draws out 'piiiiiiining', putting a lot of time between the first half of the sentence and 'boyfriend'.)
Why is the use of the word 'boyfriend' so important?
Well, what has Ed been doing all episode? He's been crying in a blanket fort and singing sad songs, yes, but he's been keeping a careful level of mystique about why he's doing it. Ed often uses distanced circumlocutions instead of directly acknowledging his emotions, but he's doing it in this episode even more so than usual:
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Here are the lyrics to his song:
(Version one, with Lucius) Hanging on By a thread Hanging on Shouldn't let go If I let go, all will fall Fingers bleeding down to the bone now Can't let go Nothing makes sense Hold on Hold on Hold... on
(Version two, performed for the whole crew) Just let go Make yourself let go Make it go away Away, away today Life's a hard sad death And then you're Deaaad
Notice something? There is no mention of Stede, or love, or break-ups, or abandonments, or relationships in general. All Ed discusses is a vague life-sucks attitude, which could apply to basically anyone under any circumstances. He seems pretty okay with people knowing that Blackbeard is having some sort of weird emotional breakdown as long as he convinces himself that no one knows it's specifically from having his heart broken
This is true of everything Ed says and does for this entire episode. He never once even mentions Stede's name, unless "Farewell, Bonnet's playthings" at the very end counts. The only thing Ed openly admits to feeling bad about is a fictional character who's having a hard time "holding on" (holding on to what? he never says). There are no allusions to heartbreak or romance anywhere in his dialogue.
Now, Ed's not stupid. I'm sure he knows Izzy and Lucius and the rest of the crew can connect the dots and realize that something bad happened with Stede, even if Ed doesn't fill them in on the details. But Ed is also traumatized, and has a whole host of coping mechanisms set up to help him avoiding thinking about things that he doesn't want to think about. If he's not a murderer because "technically the fire killed those guys", then no one knows he's heartbroken because technically he hasn't acknowledged it.
Until Izzy says the word 'boyfriend'. Suddenly the secret is out, and Ed can't handle it. Izzy knows his weakness. That's why this word effects Ed more than anything else Izzy says in the whole scene.
At the end of the confrontation, he hears the crew calling for another song. Look at Ed here. He looks as haunted, as disturbed, in this moment as he does at any point in Izzy's rant.
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This is an important part of the scene, not just a closing note. Because if Izzy (the Caribbean's most emotionally constipated man) can see through him, obviously the whole crew can too.
Obviously Lucius – who advised Ed on his and Stede's relationship, who played along with Ed's 'fictional character' claim, who wrote down Ed's lyrics – can do so most of all.
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There's a direct emotional logic to Ed killing Lucius because he had a fight with Izzy, and it doesn't involve Ed having been threatened or hate crime'd at all. Ed doesn't deal well with his own feelings (from Stede), so he chooses to become Blackbeard/the Kraken and gets rid of all the witnesses who saw otherwise.
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stainedglassthreads · 7 months
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I feel like the four leads of Deltarune--Kris, Susie, Ralsei, and Noelle-are just. Somehow two different levels of queer-coded.
(Edit: Just to be clear: not saying any of this to disparage or insult shippers of Kralsei, Suselle, or Kriselle, I've just seen a lot of cool analysis about tropes, romance, and lack of choice in Deltarune and wanted to chime in with some of my own thoughts. If you ship any of those ships in Deltarune--fantastic! May you find a lot of content precisely to your taste.)
Like. On the one hand, if you're looking at tropes, they are very neatly set up into two romantic partnerships. Noelle is very blatantly interested in Susie, and Ralsei's feelings for Kris are often portrayed similarly. On a surface level, both pairings appear very clear. Noelle is a girl in love with another girl, while Ralsei is a very effeminate boy in love with a teen who doesn't appear to use pronouns. And a big deal isn't made of either pairing, there's nothing really in the way of Suselle or Kralsei on a societal level we've encountered so far. At least in terms of gender and sexuality. But if you look a little closer, it's kind of...'these are a very straight idea of queer ships', y'know?
Noelle and Susie are both girls, but one is very effeminately coded, anxious, uses magic, and is more traditionally cute, while they other is crass, crude, intimidating, and physically strong. Ralsei and Kris are gender-noncomforming, but Ralsei is a sweet pacifistic healer who bakes cakes while Kris uses a sword, and keeps being mistaken for a boy by much of Youtube and Reddit. The active one and the passive one, the fighter and the mage, the one with cute hobbies and the one who eats moss, the one in pants and the one in a dress.
And here, I start thinking of some posts I've seen analyzing how, in Deltarune, romance is used to explore how Kris doesn't really get choices. Kris has been cast as the leader and knight, and Ralsei has been cast as the healer and Princess, even if he is a boy. The leader often ends up with the healer. The knight often gets the princess as a happy ending. But Kris doesn't seem to like this! Their reactions to Ralsei are constantly lukewarm at best, and that's not getting into how Ralsei seems to be in love with his idea of Kris, while being very. Asriel-coded, who the game describes often as Kris' brother, in sharp contrast to how ambiguous Chara and Frisk's relationships with the Dreemurrs were.
If we and Kris reject Ralsei as a love interest, we can a different romantic partner in Noelle...but this choice has a bodycount, traumatizes Noelle, doesn't seem to leave Kris any happier, and it's still a kind of straight-coded ship. Now it's the knight being paired up with the apocalypse maiden, for the doomed codepedent toxic tragedy lovers out there. But it kinda makes sense too, right? If Kralsei is the expected RPG romance, then Kriselle would be the expected romance if there were no Dark World and Ralsei weren't an option. They're childhood friends and neighbors in a small town, their families used to be very close, Rudy is still very fond of Kris. They're even extremely angel/devil coded.
But the most interesting part is. It's implied that there IS someone that Kris is very interested in, either platonically or romantically. It's Susie. Kris never seems frightened by Susie when they're bullied by her, and rejects Noelle's offers to switch seats. They seek comfort from Susie rather than Ralsei after the Spamton fight, they call her their friend when Toriel calls, they share moss with her, they refuse to think about her during Snowgrave when Ralsei prompts them, they make it clear that out of all the people they COULD go to the Carnival with, Susie is the one they'd ACTUALLY want to choose.
And this is the part that drives me crazy. Because while Kris is so tightly controlled by genre and narrative, and those things would usually push them towards Ralsei or Noelle, and Ralsei keeps encouraging Kris to stick to the narrative. Susie is the one who refuses to be bound to the narrative. Susie is the character of Deltarune who is most unapologetically herself--and isn't that a very queer thing, refusing to be anyone but yourself despite everything? She says no thanks to the prophecy, until she comes around to it on her own terms! She makes herself and Ralsei learn to take their own actions, and drags Ralsei off to have fun with him instead of letting Kris choose who to with! She doesn't stay in her box of the damage-dealing fighter, she insists on learning Healing magic, even if she's not particularly skilled at it at first! Even Ralsei is forced to admit that it's wonderful that Susie is Susie, and not anyone else!
I think Kris likes Susie a lot. And part of it may be admiration. That while Kris is controlled by the player and the narrative and the prophecy and humanity and divorce and a dozen things outside their control, Susie refuses to ever be bound by anything. And Kris and Susie together happen to be the two more masculinely-coded party members, the two melee fighters, the two troublemakers. It honestly makes me wonder a little if Susie and Kris might be able to make their own ending beyond the bounds of gender expectations and romance expectations together? It would be cool. And I think it would make Kris very happy to break free like that.
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babyleostuff · 10 months
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Can you do a SVT reactions to when svt and their s/o gets shipped online
tbh, i didn't have an idea how to write this :< still, i hope this is good enough!
seventeen when they get shipped with their s/o | ot13
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CHOI SEUNGCHEOL 
𓆩♡𓆪  Hell yeah, that's how it should be. You are the most amazing person in the universe and the fact that other people think you go well together???  There's literally nothing better for him. But deep down, is so so relieved to see how much people love to see you together and support you (and he is quick to shut down the haters if any appear:)))
YOON JEONGHAN 
𓆩♡𓆪 You spend hours on going through edits and you love every second of it. It's so heartwarming how people show you support and he cannot help but smile anytime he comes across pictures of you together. You always have this look (full of love) when looking at him, but he can't quite pinpoint what is so special about it (because he doesn't realise how much you love him).
HONG JOSHUA 
𓆩♡𓆪 Unless you don't tell him, he's actually not aware that you're being shipped online. He couldn't really care less though. As long as you're happy and people do not bother you, it's all good. He is happy to see that other people like seeing you together, but it's not the most important thing to him.
WEN JUNHUI 
𓆩♡𓆪 Blushes anytime he comes across pictures of you together, and definitely dies of cuteness at those compilations on TikTok. That is also when he notices all the small touches and unseen stares from you, which he finds so so adorable and he cannot wait for you to come home so he can smother you with love.
KWON SOONYOUNG 
𓆩♡𓆪 He definitely knows that people ship you, but isn't that keen on keeping up with it. Checks the fanpages from time to time, to save some cute pictures of you. Is very grateful that people do not mind you being together, but he doesn't like to focus on that. No matter whether people ship you or not, his feelings about you won't change.
JEON WONWOO
𓆩♡𓆪 Secretly loves the edits and he spends a lot of his time melting over how sweet and lovely you are. Especially when he's away, because he misses you :((( He usually doesn't notice how gentle you're being with each other and how many small and reassuring touches you exchange, but the edits show it all. And even he can't deny the love that fills his eyes every time he looks at you.
LEE JIHOON
𓆩♡𓆪  Similarly to Joshua and Soonyoung, does not really care. No matter whether people would ship you or not, he loves you for you. So as long as there are no "fan wars'' or drama surrounding your relationship, he's fine with that. But the second he sees people fighting about something concerning your relationship, he's quick to shut the whole situation down.
LEE SEOKMIN 
𓆩♡𓆪 Giggles over the photos and comments on twitter. Probably has a secret account from which he comments on the edits and your "top 10 cutest moments” threads. Randomly sends you screenshots of something he found particularly funny or sweet. He could not be happier to see how much people like you being together and the content that comes with it is just *chefs kiss*.
KIM MINGYU  
𓆩♡𓆪 I'm not sure about this one. Because on one side I can totally see him freaking out about the edits, photos and comments, gushing how good you two look together and that you're the visual couple. But on the other side, I feel like he couldn't really care less. Of course, he appreciates the content that is being created, but he would rather focus on you, than what is going on online.
XU MINGHAO 
𓆩♡𓆪 Is fine with it, but to an extent. As long as there is no drama and no hate targeted towards you, it's all good. But the second he sees hateful comments, he goes on Weverse to remind people about boundaries and how he does not appreciate hate towards his partner whatsoever. Is very transparent about it, does not care if people hate him for that.
BOO SEUNGKWAN 
𓆩♡𓆪 You laugh about the "Seungkwan and his s/o bantering for 10 minutes straight", because you genuinely do not realise how much and how often you bicker with each other (and how funny it is from others' pov). It also puts him more at ease to know that people do not mind you two being together.
CHWE VERNON
𓆩♡𓆪 You love the memes more than anything. You have probably exchanged hundreds of those. You have tens of "reaction pictures" ready to use, depending on the context. You appreciate the good part of the shipping and try no to focus on the bad one. And if you see any hate, he just takes your phone away to reassure you how much he cares about you.
LEE CHAN 
𓆩♡𓆪 Another one that would love love love the edits, he'd have a whole folder dedicated to them. He never thought he'd be able to see his relationship from other people's perspective, but thanks to the shipping and people making content of it, he was. And he would never forget the first time he saw how in love you two looked.
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lazyjellyfish300 · 4 months
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Fortune Cookies 🥠🖤
Miguel O'Hara x Reader s/o
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Gif credits to @miguelo-hara
Just more pure domestic Miguel fluff in your established relationship with him. 😇🤧 No mention of readers gender but he does use the feminine form of precioso at the end. Enjoy 🖤 word count 1.1k
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You let out a little belch after you took a generous swig of your Dr. Pepper, relishing in the biting sweetness it left in your mouth. You pushed away the takeout container of lo mein noodles and orange chicken slightly away from you on the coffee table. 
"Oh God...I can't. I'm so freakin full..." 
Miguel glances over at you, sitting next to you on the couch with his Mongolian beef and broccoli. He smiles as you pull the hood from your oversized hoodie over your eyes and lean back on the couch with more overstuffed groans. 
"I told you to slow down a little." Miguel says, spearing a broccoli head with his fork and popping it into his mouth. "You were hungry, huh?" he says slightly amused, trying to keep his mouth closed as he chews. 
"Yeah. Was..." You take a deep breath and sit up and reach for the white plastic grocery bag from the restaurant with bold red letters, looking inside. 
"Can't forget about these though." You wave three fortune cookies in your hand, setting one of them in Miguel's lap. 
Miguel raises an eyebrow. "You actually read those?" He closes his takeout container as well, setting it on top of yours. 
You look at him, "Whaaaat. You don't?" 
Miguel shakes his head. "Hell no. You realize they're usually the most generic phrases that some factory just mass prints and produces and ships out to random restaurants all over? I'll bet you mine says some corny shit like 'Live Laugh Love'." 
"Sir!" You give him a gentle elbow into his side and he gives a little sputter at you calling him "Sir."
"Must you absolutely shit all over every single little thing in life that I find absolutely the tiniest shred of joy in?"
Miguel chuckles and looks at you smug. "Yes." 
You roll your eyes. 
"I suppose you like Astrology too, huh?" He smirks. 
"You know, for a Libra, you're wayyy too logistical." 
Miguel groans. 
"Shush, mister. Let me have my stuff and I'll let you have yours." 
Miguel shakes his head and turns his attention to the fortune cookie you put in his lap, turning it in his fingers, his large hands dwarfing the small pastry. "I don't really care for sweets that much. If I open mine, you can eat the cookie part." 
You nod at his bargain and watch him open the crinkled plastic, a few crumbs spilling into his lap as he cracks the shell, his thumb running over the tiny scroll of paper that's partially folded on the inside. 
"😊Your charming smile is attracting everyone around you😊" 
The deadpan way he reads it out loud matched with his bored expression makes you cackle, giggling hysterically. 
"Very funny..." Miguel balls up the fortune and tosses it at your head. You snicker when it hits you. "The thing's bogus. I told you." He gets up and puts your leftover boxes in the fridge. 
"Nuh uh! Wait! We still gotta do mine!" 
You sit up and tear the soft plastic from your cookie and split it in half with an easy crack. You pop one half of the wafer in your mouth. Light vanilla, slightly stale, the sharp edges poke the roof of your mouth and you squint one of your eyes a little as you crunch down. You pick up your fortune scroll reading it while you crunch slowly. 
"A vivid and creative mind is just one of your many great attributes." 
You smile, "why THANK you, cookie! Hah!" You pop the other half in your mouth, triumphant. 
Miguel leans against the wall to the entrance of your kitchen, crossing his arms. "Hmph, clearly, they made that with you in mind. Told you those things are phony." 
You turn around, leaning your chin on the top of your couch, peering over at him leaning by the kitchen. "You're not gonna cancel fortune cookies just because they were slightly off on yours and they nailed mine?" 
Miguel chuckles a little and walks back to you, joining you again on the couch and slinging one of his strong arms around you. "I don't give a damn about what a vanilla wafer has to say about me." 
You smile and hold up the third cookie. "Well, that means we can see what this extra one says then, since you don't care." 
Miguel sighs but gives you a gentle look as he watches you eagerly unwrap the final cookie and snap it apart. 
"Your love life will soon be happy and harmonious." 
Miguel smiles. "I don't need a cookie to tell me that. Besides, it already is." He gives your shoulder a squeeze. 
"Awhhh, you!" You smile at him and cuddle a little closer, leaning into his shoulder. The warmth from his body in tandem with your satisfied belly creates a cozy feeling you could get used to. 
"I'm serious." He says, taking one of your hands in his, his fingers stretching out over the back of your hand then locking in between yours.
"I know..." you say softly, giving his hands a squeeze as though to emphasize your statement. Honestly, he was your best friend. You could never get sick of doing these seemingly mundane things with him. You knew you were both well on your way to build something much more serious together. You glanced at your vacant ring finger, trying to picture a ring he picked out just for you wrapped around it. He seems to be thinking the same thing, the way he gently lifts your hand, still locked under his, studying the pattern of your skin. 
Miguel doesn't say anything but just lets out a deep sigh, his heartbeat stirring quietly against your eardrums as you just hold him. 
"Can we watch a movie?" You ask him, running your fingertips along the soft dark hair on his arms. 
Miguel closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the soft way you're touching him. "Course we can." 
You smile. "I'm picking it this time. I'm sick of all those nature documentaries you like to watch." 
Miguel smiles, now drawing circles on your back with his fingers as you lean forward and grab the remote off the coffee table. "You just get upset because the cute little baby deer gets eaten by the wolves." 
"That shit is traumatizing!" You chastise him. 
"It's nature." He says with a smirk. 
"I don't care, I don't wanna see it." You pout. 
He presses a kiss into your forehead. "I know, baby. You're so cute. Your pick tonight." 
"Thanks baby." You smile and lean back into him as you click through a wide selection of movie titles on Netflix. 
"Always for you, preciosa."
-----
🖤
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ilys00ga · 6 months
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can i request a fluffy first kiss drabble with yoongi? like reader is inexperienced with dating and other stuff. Reader feels like this is gonna be disappointing for him and they get nervous whenever they're in close proximity with him. He's sweet and just trying to show his love. After some time he thinks maybe reader doesn't have an interest in him like he does with them. He asks directly if they think of him in a romantic and more intimate way at all. Everything turns out okay he understands and comforts the reader
pairing: yoongi x reader.
genre: fluff, just pure fluff with some silliness bcuz we all need to be silly.
warnings: this made me miss yoongi even more so, beware, in case you miss him just like I do.
A/N: thank u so much for this req! I just realised that it's slightly different than what you've requested, but I hope that's okay and that you enjoy reading regardless <3. You're very welcome if u wanna request more stuff or just reach out to me.
PS. English is not my first language, so u know the drill.
ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆。˚・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑
to a person whose only romantic experience was that in books and movies, meeting yoongi was like jumping off of 4 stairs at once as a child, scary but so damn exciting and fun. it was like picking up a book in a language you've been trying to learn for while, full of complex for a beginner like you.
it took you some time to get used to his presence in your life. to him. it's not like you didn't enjoy it, it was far away from that actually, but he was your first, after all.
the two of you hadn't been official for that long, though. after many moon cycles of pining and awkward, shy interactions, it all bloomed at once, and suddenly, you officially got your first boyfriend.
you were planning to go on a proper date, after the previous one had miserably failed (a tale to tell for another day), only for it to be met with a heavy rain storm. yoongi ended up apologizing, and offered you an indoors dinner, some cuddles and a movie for the night.
after finishing your meal, he held your hand in his and led you to the living room, where he had prepared a cozy setting with snacks and wine.
he noticed the way your body tensed every time he initiated any kind of physical connection between the two of you. at first, he didnt think much of it, assuming it was because just the beginning of your relationship. he was also well aware that you've never dated anyone before, so it was only natural for you to be awkward with that.
he really understood. after all, he himself wasn't a fan of skin ship and was extremely shy as well. he almost always tried to initiate it for you, because of how caring and loving you are towards him. you always took care of him, something he's very grateful for. and so, he made sure to remind himself to show you that he does with those little gestures of affection every now and then.
but then, he started noticing more frequently. everytime he attempted to hug you, hold your hand, peck your face, or even those two times he almost just leaned in to kiss your lips—but stopped halfway. and each time his worry reaches the tip of his toungue, waiting to be spilled in the form of a question, he always ends up letting it slip when you quickly brush it off and comply to whatever he wanted to do.
"thank you for the dinner, it was really good." you said, watching as yoongi's face lit up with a grin. his hand affectionately ruffled the top of your head, a habit of his that you've grown fond of the more often he did it. suddenly, he reached out for his phone, tapping a few buttons and a soft, slow beat rode the air of the room.
dropping his phone on the sofa, he put his left hand out and asked, "may I have a dance with you, darling?"
chuckling, you nodded and intertwined your fingers with his.
he pulled you in, chest flush against his with his free hand resting on your waist. then, he started swaying both of your bodies to the music.
"you're welcome, darling." he replied, kissing your cheek. he sensed your body tensing again, this time your fists tightening on top of his shoulders, and he hummed.
"I would very much like to kiss you right now."
eyes widening, you froze in your place when you heard his whisper. you felt your cheeks burning up. it took you off guard. your brain struggled to figure out what to say or do next, so you just stood there and stared at him. it's happening.
in books and movies, first kisses are that thing that everyone gets to experience at one point in their life, but not everyone gets to enjoy it. and right now, thinking about the possibility of yoongi not liking your first kiss is not helping calm your nervous system at all.
"can I..?" he pleaded, eyes never leaving yours with a tiny hint of a smirk appearing on his face.
"i- I've never done this before, I don't wanna ruin it for you and-" you stuttered nervously as you averted your eyes. the change of the atmosphere was starting to feel way too overwhelming for you, and all you could think about was how he'd feel like once he realises how bad you are at this.
"hey, look at me." once again, and with a very gentle voice, yoongi whispered. his finger gently rested under your chin and lifted your head. his eyes, ever so caring and tender, soothed your nerves down. you swallowed what remained stuck in your throat of concerns.
"it's okay if you've never experienced this before. and I'm not gonna force you to do it, now or any other time, if you don't want me to. but I really would like to show you just how amazing it feels, so please allow me to do so." he added.
you took a deep breathe in and slowly nodded. even though you've been together for just a couple of weeks, you love yoongi, and you trust him. you know he's never gonna do anything that's gonna end up hurting you in any possible way, and you've always been thankful for how respectful and thoughtful he is.
"o-okay..." you finally agreed, giving him his much desired green light.
"okay." he smiled, "let me ask again. Is it okay if I kiss you right here and now?"
"yes, please.."
like a kid that finally got permission to open his first birthday present of the day, yoongi leaned in and gently met your lips with his.
the first kiss was not like that of the movies, it was light and short. yoongi pulled back, eyes finding yours again as to make sure nothing went wrong. it took you a moment to regain your senses again, but you smiled sheepishly after a few heart beats, reassuring him that everything was fine, and he leaned in again. this time, he pulled your body closer to his, one hand gently holding your wasit and the other cupping your jaw.
he did all the work, and you just stood there with your eyes closed, focusing on the warmth of his skin against yours. he realised that you weren't sure where to put your hands when your balled up fists clenched on his sleeves, so he gently guided them to the back of his neck.
it all felt so new, so refreshing. your stomach felt so funny, and your heart beat so fast against your chest. the sound of heavy raindrops landing on the window, along with the music that's still playing in the room, was distant. all you could feel was his chest against yours, his lips pressing against yours. his hands gently holding your face and his fingers caressing your cheeks.
shortly after, you tapped his shoulder in panick as it started getting harder to hold your breath in.
yoongi pulled out, face inches away from yours, and panted, "I'm sorry. got caught up in the feeling of your honey lips."
looking at him up this close, he looked so pretty. red tinted cheeks and cherry plumped up lips. you suddenly really wanted to kiss him more. your face flushed a deep, rosy red at that thought.
chuckling, you hid your face in both of your hands and crouched down.
"hey, relax. it's okay." yoongi chuckled softly and crouched down next to you, running his hand down your back and lifting your face, "you're so red, are you alright?" he teased.
you whined and hugged his torso, hiding your face in his chest.
"was it that bad?" he continued to joke, giggling as he enjoyed your reaction.
"it was amazing, I loved it a lot." when you lifted your face and looked up at him, he saw your eyes sparkling with joy, and perhaps some gratitude. yoongi leaned down and kissed your forehead.
"how'd you like your first kiss, my lady?" he asked, and you hummed.
"thank you, you're literally the best. I don't deserve you."
"don't say that. you deserve the best. I cannot believe I've waited this long to kiss you."
you chuckled, "it's only been two weeks, yoongi."
"and what about it? have you seen yourself? your lips?!"
you slap his back playfully, giggling at his dramatic silliness before looking back up at him, "I can't believe I've been anxious about it this whole time." you pouted.
"it's okay, darling. it's all new to you. today, it's a kiss, tomorrow, something much better is coming your way." he chuckled.
"yoongi!" you slap him again. perhaps, this time with a little bit more of strength to emphasize your exclamation.
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antimony-medusa · 1 year
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This is verging on discourse, but I have to say, as someone aroace with the emphasis on the aro, it's a trifle disheartening to ever try to look for queerplatonic relationships that look like mine within this fandom. QPRs can cover a broad spectrum of experiences, and it always seems that within MCYT what a QPR looks like has calcified into this one depiction that is very close (but not actually crossing the line) to shipping, just without kissing or sex! With emotional connections that are very similar (but not quite) to romance, hitting many of the same beats. And that just doesn't reflect my experience at all. Personally, I have more fun reading about straight ahead romance than a qpr that hits almost all the same notes, but just doesn't quite go there, that never digs into an aro or ace experience that I recognize, and that is always what I seem to find when I go cruising the tags.
For one thing, QPRs are not just an ace thing, and they definitely don't have to be a sexless thing! You can be aroallo and in a QPR and have sex, or you can be ace and in a QPR and have sex for the sake of your partner, or just for fun! Sex is fun for a lot of ace people, including those in QPRs, and using QPR eternally to mean "sexless" cuts off a large swath of the population that DOES have sex, for whatever reason. And there are tons of ace people who are extremely fine with kissing, including people who are sex adverse, so using a QPR are a shorthand to mean "sexless and also kissless" is only depicting a very narrow slice of the experience.
And QPRs in practice often look very different from romance, including with people who are romance-adverse, and who don't want any of the trappings that normally come with romance (marriage, specific terms like "love" or "darling", metaphors or positioning like "half of my heart" or "soulmate"), and I just never get to see that. A QPR can be two people who sleep in seperate rooms co-parenting a kid! (Or more than two people!) A QPR can be people married together and sharing a bed and holding hands at the movies and calling each other "darling", or it can be people who signed legal paperwork together who call each other "bro", and those are BOTH valid QPRs. But I only ever get to see the one that looks so close to romance that it's alienating to me, while people tell me that I should be happy to be depicted. (I'm not depicted.)
And I'm also frustrated because I have read QPRs that are sharing all the same hallmarks-of-romance-but-no-sex that I would theoretically have a problem with, but they also ring as true to me because people actually talk about what the relationship is and isn't to them, and I go Yes! Not me but I am on a similar wavelength! But so many people just go "QPR" but never unpack the actual ace/aro/aroace experience, so again I'm left with something that is using all the romance and affection tropes that I've come to expect over decades of living in an amonormative society, just slapping a "but it's platonic" on it at the very end. Where's people making assumptions about your relationship that you have to consider whether to correct or not? Where's the inside jokes? Where's the intimacy negotiations and teasing each other about what you want in terms of touch+? Where's the doing life together in a non-romantic way? Where's the epic friendship? Where's the aro experience? (If we're mutuals, you probably write all of these things, and I'm not complaining about you, you're good.)
And it's hard to escape the feeling that at least some of these people are writing QPR because they're afraid of shipping, as I see the tags scroll endlessly by, not because they actually want to depict the a-spec experience.
Some of it is just people not used to writing affection outside of the romance tropes in our society, and some of it is that so many guestures of affection in our society get romance-coded when like, holding hands is not inherently romantic, I know. But sometimes, man, I want to tell people that it's okay to romantically ship, they don't have to keep it platonic, if they're going to write something that is so similar to shipping but has a giant "don't worry, these guys don't fuck" stamped on it.
I don't know, maybe there are even less people like me than I thought. Or maybe the people like me aren't writing fanfiction (lol).
I don't know. QPRs are more varied than they get depicted, and the a-spec experience is special to me and I wish it got written in its diversity. It's frustrating to see only ever one type of QPR, one that is exclusionary to me. I wish I could see the tag and not know exactly what that relationship looked like, or saw something that I felt was strongly influenced by what the characters are, instead of the same sort of sexless romance-lite every time.
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theminecraftbee · 1 month
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Just out of curiosity, do you know any alternative ways of showing types of relationships that could be used on ao3? I find the & and / method to be very constraining, especially with ambiguous or multi-dimensional relationships. & for platonic and / for romantic does not allow for a proper representation of nonstandard relationships, for example an enemy/loathing or polyamorous relationship. (Homestuck quadrants are their own thing and are not what I am asking for/about.)
answer that answers your question:
yes and no. if you just want another category of markers to exist, i know you said no homestuck quadrants, but those are probably most commonly used, although they're all synned to the / tag. i've seen some exchanges that want to differentiate use /& together, i've seen ? be used, and i've seen some invent their own tag (largely exchanges use these for matching purposes and it's rare but i HAVE seen it). however, there's no unifying convention, and ao3 will eventually syn all of these to either the / or & tag (usually the / unless the wranglers have a very good reason to think it's the & tbh). so know that even if you use your own symbol, it will show up in the relationship tag it ends up synned to.
one of the most common solutions to this is to use the symbol closest to what you want--personally i tend to just use the & unless there's fic content i think gen fans would really hate, since & is the tag that covers the much wider spectrum of relationships in my head, although some people will differ--and use freeform tags to disambiguate. for example, last days has the & tag for joe and cleo, along with a "queerplatonic relationships" tag! i believe "ambiguous relationships" is also a canonical tag, and you don't have to use canonicals if you can't find the one you like! the world is your oyster.
(here i'll also note: the & doesn't require them be like... friends. it just requires the fic be about their relationship in some way, and for this relationship to not be romantic or sexual. enemies is absolutely covered here, as is like, weird coworkers, or even tags like "hero & the public".)
(similarly, the / tag doesn't require they like each other, it just requires it to be a "ship"; enemies who have a ton of sexual tension goes under this, as do things like abusive romantic or sexual relationships; just make sure you're using your warnings and additional tags appropriately!)
the other most common solution is to tag both the / and & tag and use a tag like the "ambiguous relationships" or "this can be read as either" or "queerplatonic relationships" or whatever other disambiguating tag you think it needs. this is less common in the mcyt fandom because of the mcyt fandom's history of being SUPER WEIRD about shipping, but it's often the most common solution in fandoms that aren't this one.
"i want ao3 to have a ship tag that is neither & nor /, and is not considered synonymous with either" unfortunately this doesn't exist and isn't going to. like i'd love to say there's a way to make it exist but it Won't because of how ao3 was designed to work on a backend level and also ao3 does NOT change quickly, for better or for worse. you're going to have to pick between "make up a symbol and it will probably be synned to /", "use the tag you think you like best", or "use both". i wish there was another option too, if it helps, but the additional tags are really useful here!
"use no relationship tag" is also always an option; the relationship tag is not a required tag!
answer that answers your two examples, neither of which really fit the question as i understand it, hence me separating them out:
a fic about the relationship between two enemies is either the & tag if you just want the one that is actually meant to be used or the / tag if you mean for it to be like, the kind of enemies that have sexual tension. use additional tags to additionally disambiguate (example: just put in the tags the canonical tag "enemies" and you're good to go). the & tag is for ANY kind of platonic relationship, it does not require the two characters like each other, only that the fic is about their relationship! you can use the homestuck <3< if you REALLY wanna make it clear but that's synned to /, so like, up to you. if you're super worried someone will misunderstand the & tag you can also just not tag a relationship, relationships aren't mandatory tags.
i have no idea why you're asking about polyamory because that has a solution that's entirely unrelated to the problem you propose: you just tag the ship. ship tags with more than two names in them are legal tags, as long as it doesn't go over ao3's tag character limit you're good. if you do hit the limit, just use more than one tag! this is totally fine and follows ao3 conventions, don't worry. if it's the kind of polyamorous relationship with metamours, where not everyone is dating everyone, this is where more than one overlapping relationship tag REALLY helps. plus: you can mix / and & tags! not all of them will be canonical yet, but that's true of ANY ship tag you're originating! i have seen the form of "character/character & character" in many fandoms before, it's totally valid and will disambiguate! (also, the ensemble tags may help you here if you're doing like, a polyhermits thing; "hermitcraft ensemble/hermitcraft ensemble" is a legal tag and i think what polyhermits is probably synned to.)
so yeah, hopefully this helps some! good luck out there!
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teeny-tiny-revenge · 1 year
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We don't talk about the insane amount of chemistry Stede and Ed have enough. Like, anytime they're on screen together they just fit. Honestly that's what sold me on this ship, like, immediately. I was late to the party; I knew they were a romantic pairing when I started watching. I'm also very ace, and romance in shows often just loses me, because they like to focus on how attracted the characters are and nothing else and it makes my brain bluescreen. But this? Have you fucking seen them? From their first actual conversation in Episode 4 on, they just click. They have so much chemistry. It bowled me right the fuck over. "Oh, it's this type of relationship, one of those magical times when you meet someone and you're just on the same wavelength." Two puzzle pieces slotting right into place. From the get go, they just bounce off each other. They compliment each other just right.
I love the way they had Mary describe love to Stede at the end of the season, because, yeah, that's it, but also, that's been what they were written and acted as all the way from the beginning. Mary's speech clicks with Stede because that's exactly what his relationship with Ed was from the start. We've seen several episodes of them representing this description perfectly. They understand each other, find things about each other charming and interesting that turn other people in their acquaintance away. They enjoy a lot of the same things, yes, but they also just... enjoy things in the same manner. That's part of what I mean by they're on the same wavelength. They are delighted by Stede's model ship and his fancy fabrics and his hidden closet, and by the theatrics of a good fuckery. They have fun together, and they have fun because the other one has fun. This is a couple who genuinely enjoy each other, who can just hang out and talk for hours about inane things and weirdly specific niche interests, and that's my jam right there. You can just see them enjoying spending time together in all areas of life, and that's so rare to see?
It also makes me more optimistic for whatever will happen in season two, because yeah, things look bleak right now, and yes, they hurt each other and they'll have to heal and regrow their trust and all that, but this foundation of just being so good together, this two perfect puzzle pieces chemistry, that's still there, and they'll find that again once they move a bit past the hurt. It's very very difficult to stay mad with someone who is this much on your frequency, who finishes your thoughts and sentences and almost effortlessly just gets you.
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itsybitsylemonsqueezy · 3 months
Text
You know what, fuck it: Baldur's Gate 3 Thoughts.
(The world is so so bad right now, can't even name all the bad things, so fuck it, no more bad feels, just some nice garbage right now)
I really love that the big 3 pairings all kinda arrive together:
Lae'zel and Shadowheart are already trapped on the ship together, like they are both trapped by their beliefs. They both know more about what's happening than anyone else and are also perhaps the most frightened.
Astarion and Gale show up stuck and as potential bait. They're both concealing some pretty big problems. The only way to succeed with them is to trust them despite this. And they both badly need to bond with others so they can survive their ordeals.
Karlach and Wyll actually already have a relationship, just one founded on misunderstanding. They can each empathize with each other in ways the others can't and adjust quickly to thinking of a previous adversary as a friend. They both have so much going on that when they arrive on the Sword Coast, they just resettle into business as usual. They've both been misused by those with control over them and seek to break that control, even if that doesn't fix everything, even if it means more loss.
They're all good ships, I love them. And all the other combos are good too, there are no bad options here, but I'm a bit of a sucker for these. Honestly, really appreciate having an entire party of bisexuals. I love that so much <3
Gale and I are the same person ha ha ha FUCK
I do have fic ideas, potentially for Gale & Astarion and Lae'zel & Shadowheart (spoilers below)
Like, I actually have a lot of feelings about Shadowheart being a complete dick to Lae'zel while she goes through a crisis of faith, only to eat pigeon pie later when she gets a crisis of her own.
And I'm obsessed with the idea of Lae'zel learning how to be comforting as she watches Shadowheart crumble apart, as she loses all sense of identity. Because at least Lae'zel has that. Lae'zel lost a lot in parting from Vlaakith, but she didn't lose who she was. Indeed, she left in defense of who she was, in defense of what she knew to be right. Shadowheart doesn't even have that. And it's a wild thing that comes over you, to feel like you've fucked up and lost and to find someone you can actually help. I think it would be a really cool and beautiful thing to see, Lae'zel helping Shadowheart find the pieces of herself. That would just be really, really good.
And then there's Problematic Old Man Yaoi over here
Maybe what I love best about Gale and Astarion is how much fucking WOULD NOT solve it
Like, some people just need to fuck it out and then it's all good, you fixed the issue
And 100% fucking would not solve their shit. Like, it would help, or it certainly wouldn't not help. But it'd only help like... max 20% The rest has to be solved by Talking, Using Your Words, Talking To Other People No Not The Imaginary Conversations, and Admitting When You're Wrong.
I also love that this is true no matter where you think they get together.
Like, let's take Act I: I cannot IMAGINE how Astarion could talk Gale into bed that early. Gale "Never Nude" Dekarios who's never had a crush on anyone who wasn't Mystra. He'd be shaking and fumbling just trying to ask Astarion on a date. And Mr. Emotionally Available over here, who is not ready to be vulnerable in any sense, who uses sex as a crutch because it's so familiar and so easy to dissociate from... yikes, what a combo. Poor Gale would be sent reeling by the hot-cold of it, he'd act insane those first few days after sex as he tries to make sense of how Astarion said yes to everything, but didn't mean it, but also he did? So should he pursue that or leave it be? Is the best choice to let Astarion thaw in his own good time or obsessively work on cracking this because Astarion clearly needs help and just doesn't want to ask for it? Stupid question, OBVIOUSLY the second! I... instant explosion. God, it would go so bad. Honestly, the good version is Gale resists the invitations and instead Astarion sulks for a few days over his blue balls or just fucks someone else, thus giving Gale a new case of mixed signals to obsess over. Jesus, we're just never going to escape that are we? Wizards gotta fixate.
Act II: In which Astarion chooses to ignore his own problems by instead arguing with Gale about his. Not because he's invested, merely because Gale is clearly being an idiot. Gale at first demurs, refusing to be argued out of his guilt, but then when Astarion becomes more insistent, counters with why Astarion cares so much? This would inevitably erupt in some kind of sexual encounter, but the fighting wouldn't stop because despite getting laid, Gale is still sure he's right and Astarion is still sure he's right. Dick actually can't solve this today. The camp mournful of ever finding a solution, they would like to sleep peacefully again someday.
Act III: Make or break time. Both Gale and Astarion escalate as the threat of death or destruction looms ever nearer. Gale now just as dead set on stopping Astarion from destroying himself as Astarion is on stopping Gale from destroying himself. Same threat, very different outcomes. Gale keeps looking at him with those damn puppy eyes and whining about "he'll regret it instantly" and "hate who he becomes" and "I can't stand to see that happen to you" or whatever. Obnoxious. And Astarion keeps trying to convince him that Mystra was wrong, that she "manipulated and groomed" him and "didn't even give an explanation" which he's owed, or some such nonsense. As if an inhuman, all-powerful goddess was out of line for being afraid of mortal actions... wait, was that a logical inconsistency? Damn. I think Gale would convince Astarion first. I think deep down Astarion would hate to be a full vampire too much, I think they both know it, and when Gale promises to stand by him, to take care of him, to always protect him... As much as Astarion doesn't want to trust, knows he's a fool for trusting, he agrees. He won't do it. He won't take the power. Because, damn him, he believes Gale. And what would suck is Gale would go "Cool! I'mma become a god, I can protect you way better then!" like entirely missing the point. And Astarion would be galled, deservedly so, by the hypocrisy. But Gale's so caught up in how sure he's right and how sure he's wrong, he's not even listening. I think it'd piss Astarion off so much, he'd convince the whole camp to kidnap Gale so he can't go sacrifice himself, full "He won't get the chance to kill himself because I'll do it first!" Until we finally get to the Nether Brain and... Astarion lets him go. Because that's the point. Trust isn't real if there isn't a choice. And as much as he hates the fact that Gale might choose what he doesn't want, he has to let him do it on his own. And I think that'd finally break through. That simple act of trust and sacrifice and playing willing to lose would finally make Gale go "Oh... oh god, what was I thinking? This isn't right." The fact that Astarion loves him more for the flawed and fallible person he is than for the heartless god he could become... That would finally make Gale see, Mystra was wrong all along and she never loved you because she can't really love. Not like that. Yeah. That's a personal favorite of mine.
But there's also a lot to be said for post-end, Astarion with nowhere to go and Gale going "You know... I've heard of spells that allow creatures form the Underdark to safely experience sunlight. We could try some of those, I don't see why they shouldn't work on you." and Astarion being floored and not even having the words for everything he feels at that offer. And then the raw sexual tension of living in his tower together as "friends" as Astarion mercilessly pines and Gale blissfully carries on, unaware until Tara finally goes "That's it! I can't take it any more! I'm going to live with your mother until you two sort this out!" and flies off. Leaving Gale to go "Huh... wonder what she meant by that?" Meanwhile, Astarion can hardly stand to be in the same room with Gale because he ends up basically drooling and yet, he can hardly stay away, staring obsessively from the shadows, creeping around wherever he is, looking exactly like the jealous lover he longs to be. Also, Astarion and Gale's mother! Oh, I can't wait! Too funny!
Oh, tower days with Astarion would be so good as he tries to adjust to having a life again. A slow, painful process, but very deserved. He'd need an occupation, he can't have nothing to do. Maybe he can look into magistrating again?
Anyway, there's some thoughts. I haven't finished Act III yet, but I'm close so I guess careful with those Act III spoilers.
Also, for anyone still reading, if you want to do me a solid: There exists somewhere a Bloodweave fic where Astarion walks in on Gale with a construct of himself only there's a twist... and the author is Very Correct about this twist. if you know, you know. But I can't find this fic anywhere! Please help a girl out if you've read the one I'm thinking of.
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rifari2037 · 22 days
Text
10. Do you have any other A:TLA ships?
Yes, I have another ships. Is not like I ship them like I ship Zutara, but they are my favourite. It would be long answer, but here my thought about them.
Sokka and Suki (Sukka)
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In my opinion, Sukka is the best written canon couple. They have conflicts in their journey and resolved all of those very well.
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When they met at the first time, Sokka was misogynistic and Suki taught him a lesson. Sokka finally understood his mistakes, learned from it, and throwed away his ego. After judging women badly, he humbly asked to be taught by a woman.
In the end, Sokka also said sorry after thinking she was 'just a woman'. Then she told him that she was a warrior but also a woman. It was very good way to resolve their conflict.
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I'm not sure who Sokka's first love was, Suki or Yue? But, it doesn't matter, because Suki and Yue were important characters for Sokka.
When Sokka and Suki met again in The Serpent's Pass episode, Sokka still felt guilty and lost over Yue's sacrifice. Sokka became overprotective to Suki because of his guilt.
When they almost kissed in front of the moon, Sokka stopped it. That's as it should be because you shouldn't kiss someone when you're thinking about someone else. And again, in the end they resolve their conflict and kissed. Sokka could finally move on.
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They not only looked good together, but also accept each other. Sokka was so funny that he could always cheer up Suki. Sokka always did efforts to Suki too - even it turned out very ugly - and Suki appreciated him. They show a healthy relationship more than other canon couples.
It really disappointed me that I didn't see Suki and Sokka together in TLOK. I read a headcanon that Suyin was Sokka's daughter, but then what happened with Sukka? Because, I really hope Sokka and Suki were actually happily together.
Also, even though I don't considering the comic ever exist, but I do know some people ship Suki with Zuko based on it. I got some of their moments, maybe there are more.
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I don't mind with the shipper, but I don't understand the writers. Like why? I know the writers hate how well-written Zutara than their canon ship and they ruined Zutara potential in ATLA. But why the writers had to bother Sukka in the comic, the only well-written canon couple, to gave another love potential to Zuko?
But, well, whatever their relationship was, I don't read the comic anyway.
Toph and Aang (Taang)
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Yes, I love Zutara, but it doesn't mean I hate Aang. I just don't think he's a good match for Katara for many reasons, there's a lot of meta and analysis about it - and it makes sense to me.
Meanwhile, Toph and Aang have more potential than canon. Their arc is actually interesting if only the author would dig deeper and not be too obsessed with 'the hero gets the girl'.
Just like fire and water, air and earth are the opposite element. They are different, but they need each other.
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Air is the element of freedom. In fact, Aang was Toph's first friend and he was also the one who offered her freedom, something she really wanted and needed.
Earth people are persistent. Aang wasn't weak, he was strong, but he was too soft. While Katara kept Aang in his comfort zone, Toph was the one who taught him to be tougher and stand his ground.
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Aang has a connection with Toph, because he saw a vision of her before they met in person. While Sokka and Katara saw visions of their past, Aang saw visions of his future.
What if at that time Aang was actually seeing a vision of his future and his past?
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Because in his dream, he saw Toph had no face, it parallels with his past life (Avatar Kuruk) that lost his lover when Koh stole her face.
It wasn't my original thought, I read this meta from a fanfic and I was stunned with this potential!
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I learned that earth was an element that Aang often used in battle after mastering it, even though it was a difficult element for him at first.
Not only that, earth was the element that re-opened his chakra and made him enter the Avatar State. Maybe it's a coincidence, but it still shows that Aang has a connection with his opposite element.
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But I think I know why they didn't plan on making Aang and Toph canon even though it would've been a great arc.
Like, no way the writer's inserting-self end up with character who originally a muscular sixteen-years-old boy.
Zuko and Katara (Zutara forever)
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I know the question is about ships other than Zutara, but I couldn't help myself to include them on the list.😅 Zutara is too addictive to be missed. 💙❤️
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maxphilippa · 3 months
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i'm genuinely just saying that the ii fandom should try to not put their ships on basic dynamics because when you watch the media itself you realize that they're wayyyy more complex than that, and that the content that gets made off it feels one dimensional and like people don't really get why their dynamic/friendship works at all, or simplify their attributes completely disregarding the other relationships the characters in said ship have.
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nickloon works because of suitcase mattering so much to both of them. now this is something that most of the fandom doesn't get because they don't get nickel's character at all and often portray him as an gay asshole, but i've made a lot of analysis on his behaviour, so you can check my posts on him if you're interesed to learn why suitcase is so important to him too. however they're so much more than just "a weird gay thing", they're an story of growth and realizing that you were wrong, how much love they have and how you can learn and change for the better, as someone who went through that same thing and now i have a best friend thanks to that, seeing how people only put them on one dynamic disregarding completely the reason as to WHY they're like that is pretty boring. they work because had so many issues at hand and needed communication in order to work through it. their care towards one person (suitcase) is what made them be so angry at eachother and what ultimately made them become friends as well, but the way they genuinely ended up wanting to be friends and caring so deeply for eachother is what speaks the most. sure, nickel cared about baseball and all, but balloon was ultimately the reason as to why he lets go of the rough attitude, and decides that he does want to fix what he has done, that he wants to become a better person and friend.
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lightbrush works as an POST canon ship, not as one that happens on s2, nor should people ignore the fact that paintbrush was often angered/stressed by lightbulb's behaviour for most of the show. it works because ultimately they're both struggling to come to terms with themselves, and lightbulb gets to finally understand why she was messing up so much and genuinely showed care for paintbrush, who was ultimately struggling with themselves, you know, coming out and all that. what people don't get by making their relationship just an "silly random fella x hot headed person" is that they're both so much more than that. lightbulb has depression and her terrible copying mechanisms are what made her suck so much as a team captain, and paintbrush wanted stability and for someone to actually listen to them for once. lightbulb gets to learn that life is much more complicated and that she has to be there for people if she wants genuine connections with others, and she helped paintbrush on such a complicated moment, showing that they can work on an actual friendship post show, and that they do care about eachotther after all.
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fantube is so much more complicated and emotional from what the fandom usually portrays. downgrading them to just an "girlboss x malewife" feels like they're not getting their characters at all and also like it's missing the point of their arcs being entwined by still making them act like their s2 pre-ep 14 selfs. both fan and test tube had severe issues with social interaction and grasping on what's real and what not, emotional communication often being their biggest struggle, and constantly got on arguments with others thanks to the fact that they couldn't "fit in". test tube shows to generally struggle understanding people and their feelings, meanwhile fan is more so aware of those, he still struggles with understanding that the game is very real and that he can't keep running away from the fact that change IS very real. they both made eachother grow because fan made test tube aware of feelings, and test tube made fan aware of growing and learning. they're both pretty equal on their own terms and they had bad copying mechanisms through s2 as a whole, except for their elimination of course, where they make amends and start over. they trust eachother and are pretty much partners, whether romantic or not, they are a team. a duo. they're just trying their best after all, and still struggle a lot with feelings at times. but that's why they work it through talking: the thing that they couldn't do at all before.
i really like/enjoy these ships on their own and i kinda hope that the fandom starts to actually get the characters and understand them properly, i would've also talked about silvercandle, but that is a whole can of worms and after iii 18, i have an overall more negative/neutral stance on the fandom perception of them.
this is just a recollection of thoughts, too.
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astrojulia · 1 year
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Pick a Pile:
Wheel of Life Reading
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Disclaimer: These general free readings are made in good faith for entertainment purpose. Warnings:There are piles that contain more personal subjects such as sexuality.
Hello Siren, how are you?
This reading is an overview of your life, it addresses the following subjects: Relationships, Career, Finances, Spirituality, Your Physical, Your Intellectual and a General Advice. To make the reading broader, you can choose your option in each area, totaling 21 options (3 for each). I hope you like it!!
How to pick a pile
When you have different cards to choose from in pile 1,2,3… look at each of those cards. Wait until someone reminds you of a memory. Perhaps a character’s outfit resembles one of your own. It is this pile that has its message. What if they all remind me of something? Go for the one with the strongest memory, one might look like her earring but another might be the favorite candy you got from your grandma when you vacationed at her house. But what if none reminds me of something? Take a deep breath and wait a little longer, without charging yourself or creating worries. Relax, some will awaken some memory in you, I promise! .
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Relationships
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Clover - Ship - Letter
Currently, relationships are just a desire, but not something close to you. You don't have a romantic partner or love interest in your daily life. It doesn't mean that you don't want this to happen, but it seems that lately, you haven't had any luck with that. You can't seem to find your ideal romantic partner due to several obstacles. It seems that you always have a rival, or your job takes up most of your time. When you finally find someone that you're interested in, that person is already in a relationship. Don't worry; the deck says it's your destiny to have a good relationship someday. Maybe you'll meet your ideal match at the beginning of your Saturn Return (around the age of 30), and you two will be people from far away places, but you'll communicate a lot. So depending on your age, your relationships are about to blossom or you're going to have to wait a long time.
Pile 2
Clover - Moon - Cloud
In relationships, you feel uncertain, but you are serene about the situation. It is not something that worries you, and you let it happen naturally. You know that many of our relationships are fleeting, and sometimes they are intense, while other times they simply do not exist. You are also not someone who has never been in a relationship, and you know that they can often be abusive, trapping and hurting you, just as you also have the ability to hurt others. Everything has both sides. At the moment, you're contemplating the opportunities of a relationship more than actually engaging in one. It seems like you enjoy reading novels more than living one. Changes may come in your love life, but they will come naturally over time. There's no point in forcing it.
Pile 3
Rider - Dog - Moon
You already have someone in mind when talking about love; someone you already talk to and interact with. Your insecurity now is that nothing changes. The same things are happening all the time, and you even moved away because nothing interesting is happening anymore. This person is your partner, and they certainly have feelings for you (I just can't say if they're loving; maybe they're more about friendship anyway). Well, if you just want to be friends and companions, that's great. If you want to change something, you will need to be a little more mysterious and play with this person. Make a charm. As things are now, it's great for a friendship, but for a love relationship, it will need some changes.
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Career
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Sun - Scythe - Stars
Your career is draining more energy from you than you'd like. It takes a lot of effort, perhaps due to the repetitive movements, standing for long hours, or any other activity that, even though it's easy, stresses you out repeatedly. However, this time is about to end, but for that to happen, you need to ask for help from someone you can trust in the company. Seek advice from someone who has already been through this situation and can give you some tips that will make your work easier. Know that what you are going through now is something cyclical, and it will end sooner or later, and you will reap the fruits of your labor later.
Pile 2
Man - Garden - Child
This pile can follow two very different paths, so if it's not one, it's another. Your career involves working with people or in a company with customer service. If you are handing out resumes, look for companies that have customer service positions available. Your career today involves a lot of communication and involvement with children, games, toys, cute clothes, and everything that pleases the children's universe and kawaii. If you want to expand your business, focus on this path and steer clear of everything that is classified as masculine. To succeed in your career, you need to network in all kinds of ways, without fear of being judged or ignored. Don't be discouraged by negative experiences, renew yourself and try again. If you are secure in your career but are in doubt about quitting to take care of children, know that it may be a very risky decision because your partner may not be able to provide the necessary support. If you have a mother or grandmother who can help you in this situation, it may be safer to seek their assistance.
Pile 3
House - Fish - Whip
You are blessed in the area of your career, as the path you want to pursue will work out for you. I'm not saying it's ready and waiting for you, but rather that whatever you decide to do, it will lead to success. Your professional life is abundant with opportunities, but your fears are holding you back. You are afraid of failure and are too proud to humble yourself to achieve your goals. However, you need to realize that your potential is endless, and you can become an authority in whatever you choose. You just need to let go of your fear of the unknown and take control of your life.
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Finances
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Clouds - Book - Lilies
It's time to study economics. Your doubts about money and how to solve your bills won't go away if you work more or do more overtime. You need to pause and examine how you got to this point, and explore your options to find logical solutions. Perhaps taking out a loan from the bank is the best option for you, instead of overworking yourself. Your current situation is causing confusion, stress, and affecting your mental health. What you need right now is peace, so seek out smart solutions. Sometimes working harder and trying harder won't solve the problem. If you have the financial means, consider investing in your education. I've noticed that many people enjoy fields like medicine and therapy.
Pile 2
Book - Whip - Mice
I'd like to put this more gently, but it seems that you are wasting your money. The good news is that everything can be sorted out, just like how Cinderella's mice helped her with everything she needed. The only problem is that you're spending too much. I do believe that you are investing your money in your studies and taking professional courses, which can be expensive. However, there are also small expenses, such as those ranging from $1 to $10, that are slowly draining your finances. I suggest that you only spend on what you really need for now. Once you finish your studies and cover the major expenses, you can start making those small purchases again. But for now, it's best to hold back a little.
Pile 3
Man - Snake - Sun
You are spending your hard-earned money on the wrong things. Perhaps you are using your money to impress someone by attending events they like, buying clothes they prefer, or trying to get closer to them. Unfortunately, this won't help if that person has no interest in you. If you are not interested in anyone, you can channel your money towards a sport or a new hobby. I'm not suggesting that you abandon your interests, but rather that you can simplify your approach and not spend so much money on them. For instance, you don't need 10 pairs of pants and t-shirts. Instead, you can have three t-shirts and two pants and still make a lot of combinations, which is much cheaper.
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Spirituality
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Bear - Birds - Whip
You have spiritual connections that are more focused on your protection and well-being than on other matters such as love or finances. You enjoy spiritual protection, which can sometimes be overwhelming because it may seem like there aren't any good opportunities coming your way. However, the truth is that better things are being worked on for you, and you just need to be patient and wait for them. Additionally, you should practice your spiritual obligations, and prayer is the most effective way to do this. Someone who prays for their guardian spirits every day has much more power than someone who simply makes a potion during the Moon of Strawberry and expects everything to be resolved.
Pile 2
Rider - Stork - Birds
You are someone who has a hard time listening to your spirituality. They can send you a billboard saying they are there, or better yet, an SMS answering your questions, and even then, you doubt any and all messages that your spirituality tries to send you. Yes, they are close to you. They have been with you since your birth. I can even say that they have been with you in past lives. Be wiser, trust your intuition more, believe in nature and the future. This is what your spirituality wants to tell you.
Pile 3
Ring - Birds - Clouds
You have a connection with spirituality that is strongly linked to the air element. You feel drawn to clouds, birds, feathers, incense, fairies, and other symbols of the air element. Perhaps you communicate with your guides through the air or have been told that this is the best way for you to do so. However, the problem is your lack of commitment. If you want to follow a spiritual path, make sure it is something you truly believe in and want to commit to. Remember that every spiritual contract you make is eternal and cannot be undone by simply changing your mind. Therefore, it's important to know that your spirituality and your guides are always with you and ready to guide and protect you. However, they need your commitment and willingness to work with them. They will be there for you in both good times and bad, but you must be willing to help them guide you on your path.
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Your Physical
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Stork - Child - Cross
If you do not want to have children now, it's important to take extra precautions. However, if you are ready for it, this may be a good time. I've noticed that it has been a while since you have engaged in a pleasurable physical activity. While you may be exercising and eating healthy out of responsibility and care for your health, it's also important to enjoy what you do. You are a responsible person when it comes to your health, but I want to remind you that you can be both healthy and have fun. You have been doing the same things for a while and haven't tried any new activities or dishes, and it may be beneficial for you to expand your horizons. There are many wonderful things out there for you to try and enjoy.
Pile 2
Bouquet - Crossroads - House
Stop looking for easy solutions to your physical problems, whether it's your weight, a chronic illness, or anything else that limits your choices and affects your daily life. I know you hate dealing with these issues, and no one enjoys being sick, but it's important for you to take steps that you know will work, even if it means a slower path to progress. The easier paths may seem tempting, but they often come with rebound effects that set you back to square one. So, focus on the long-term results and commit to the right approach, even if it requires more effort and patience.
Pile 3
Fox - Tower - Mountain
You see your physique as a major problem that you're not sure how to solve, but deep down you know that there is a solution out there for you (you're just not sure which one to pursue). I've noticed that many people struggle with skin problems such as dermatitis, as well as issues with their hair. If you've been dealing with these problems for years, it's understandable that you may feel discouraged and uncertain about finding a solution. While I can't personally offer a solution to your problem - that's the job of a qualified professional - I want you to know that there are experts out there who can help you. Don't be afraid to seek out other professionals and explore different treatment options. After all, you're investing your time and money in this, so it's important that you find the best possible care.
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Your Intellectual
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Tower - Moon - Anchor
You are undoubtedly a highly intelligent person, but it's important to remember that intelligence is more than just rationality. While you excel at navigating the logical world, you struggle to manage your emotions, which often seem like a boat in a storm. To become even better, smarter, and more confident, you need to strengthen your emotional side. Fortunately, you are fully capable of doing so, despite previous difficulties. It's worth investing time and effort into studying techniques and strategies for understanding and managing your emotions.
Pile 2
Snake - Woman - Stars
You know that you are an intellectual and that you have spent most of your life being oriented towards intellectual pursuits. However, be careful not to fall into traps because of this. Even if you have studied for many years, you are not necessarily better than anyone else, just more knowledgeable about the subject. Be more humble in your approach. Remember that there will always be someone who can teach and guide you, and that there is always room for new people. If someone new arrives in your academic environment, embrace them, because you can learn a lot from them.
Pile 3
Woman - Crossroads - Child
You're already debating your own capabilities, and now I have two paths to suggest, so if one doesn't fit, try the other. The first relates to your sexuality - if you're uncertain and struggling to fit into one of the 30+ classifications society offers, remember that you don't have to conform to anyone else's idea of who you are. Instead, focus on what feels true and right for you.The second option is to embrace your femininity rather than trying to detach from it. Viewing femininity as negative or useless can be limiting and prevent you from fully embracing all aspects of yourself. Instead of trying to fit into gender norms, focus on simply doing what needs to be done without worrying about what is considered masculine or feminine.
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General Advice
Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3
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Pile 1
Bouquet - Mice - Snake (Man)
It's time to stop settling for less and start striving for something better. You may be afraid of taking risks, but in reality, you have far more opportunities and possibilities than you realize. Instead of waiting for life to happen to you or for a sign from above, take control of your own journey. Remember, your path is unique and belongs to you alone. So don't be afraid to chase after what you truly want and create the life you desire.
Pile 2
Letter - Dog - Fish (Scythe
You have distanced yourself from your friends, but it's important to remember that you made that decision. It's time to have more confidence in yourself, not just in your relationships but in all aspects of your life. Not everything is about loss and conquering; sometimes good things come into our lives without any effort on our part. Instead of focusing on numbers and what you can show to others, start paying attention to what you feel inside. Trust your instincts and acknowledge what is real to you, even if you can't confirm it to others.
Pile 3
Cross - Clover - Lilies (Ship)
At my religious center, I heard a phrase that goes, "There are more secrets between heaven and earth than death itself". I think of this phrase because it seems that you are seeking a reason for what is happening in your life right now, but the truth is that there may not be a reason or a motive. Sometimes, things just happen, and it's up to us to trust in fate and move forward. Remember, you are luckier than you think, and it's important to simplify things rather than making them more complicated. Trust in the journey and have faith that things will work out in the end.
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