#could be read as romantic too

[turtledotjpeg]

melody leorio and kurapika somehow find a chance to take a break and Chill together (I don't know how or when, but I want it for them lol)

for a vday exchange in discord!! this was right up my alley hehe, was very excited to draw these three again ^_^

#was lazy and got the floor texture from an unsplash photo ^^; #btw it's probably not worth the time to decipher but kurapika is reading a real life book. some important literature #may or may not have put a bit too much effort into converting it from english to japanese to hunter text (wikipedia helped thanks wikipedia #hunter x hunter #hxh #leorio paladiknight #melody hxh #senritsu #kurapika #leomelopika #leokurasen #<- prompt was for queerplatonic gen romantic or otherwise & i think this could be interpreted as any one of those as you prefer!

[gremnda]

Could you draw Etho and Bdubs or Scar and Bdubs?? :oo

Please don't separate

i really wanted to draw Etho and Bdubs hugging but i decided to go the angst route- don't worry they're okay (mostly)

#gremnda art #ethubs #trafficshipping #? #could be read as /platonic too but if im honest i made it with /romantic in mind #ethoslab #bdoubleo100

[crystallizsch]

these valentines day cards for scarabia got me blushing, giggling, and kicking my feet fr (also featuring me unnecessarily analyzing them) (i really hope the cards are in the right order i think they are or else everything that i say here will look incredibly silly)

━━━━━━━━━━━━✦ kalim al-asim:

To my dear friend— Thanks for the present! What colorful and sparkly sweets. They look delicious! I just had an idea! How about we eat them together after school? Gifts like this taste better when shared, after all. I'll pick out a good tea to go with them. Can't wait to see you later! ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

To my dear friend— Thanks for the gift! It's flattering to know you picked this out for me! I'll treat you to anything you like in return—food, live entertainment, an item you've been pining after... You just say the word. ...On second thought, no. I'll come up with something myself! Just like you came up with this gift to give me. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

Hey love, Thank you for that wonderful gift! Getting something like this from you just put a smile on my face! Let me throw you a feast to show my gratitude! After that, I'll take you on a magic carpet ride, it'll be really fun! ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

SO LET ME TALK ABOUT THE PROGRESSION BETWEEN THE CARDS???

on kalim's first card, it's really cute but it also feels just like his usual demeanor where he treats everyone as a friend.

but on to the second card, it looks like he's definitely feeling more strongly enough about you to think "hey let me get you something too!! let me be your genie of the lamp!" at least right before realizing it would be more meaningful to give you a surprise gift as well like you did.

his "dear friend" on the second card is more real this time.

BUT OMG THE WHIPLASH TO THE THIRD CARD

"HEY LOVE" ???? KALIM WHAT WHEN I TELL YOU MY HEART JUST WENT HFDSNSFHDJFDK PLSS HE CANT DO THIS TO ME 💀💀💀 THE "MY DEAR FRIEND" -> "HEY LOVE" PROGRESSION YOUR HONOR HE IS IN LOVE(???) NO IT’S PROBABLY JUST A REALLY AFFECTIONATE TERM OF ENDEARMENT CONSIDERING THAT IT’S KALIM (*denial* *denial* *denial*)

the closest ones (that are available) to doing something similar is jade who goes from "my good friend" -> "my dearest" and vil who goes from "dearest friend" to "my dear"

anyways, the third card is kalim finally wanting to go ALL OUT as a way to show you how he feels about you and how thankful he is. he's literally all about having fun with the person he cares about. making every moment memorable.

kalim's love language is also very much extravagant gifts since he's raised in a wealthy family where everything has been handed to him. that's probably how he got the mindset that gifts are the way to show love and affection because that's how his family did it for him. so the bigger the gift the better he can show you how he feels.

━━━━━━━━━━━━✦ jamil viper:

Hello— I was surprised to see you gifted me sweets. At first I wondered if you were hinting for me to make you something similar... But when I pulled the gift out of the bag, I saw all the details you put into it, right down to the ribbon. It's clear this was a heartfelt gesture. I'll treasure these treats as I eat them. Thank you. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

Hello— I'll admit it. I'm beyond surprised. I suppose a heartfelt "thank you" is in order. In fact, why don't we meet at the school store after class tomorrow? Hopefully I'll be able to find you something to return the favor. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

Dear friend, Thank you for the gift. To think I would receive something from you... Well, it caught me off guard. I'd like to give you something in return. Hmm... What should it be? What might you like? Why don't you come down to Scarabia sometime and we'll discuss over a cup of tea. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦

jamillll;;;

on the first card, he was suspicious of receiving a gift. at first he's like "are you just giving me something so i could give you something as well?" until he realized "oh this is legit" and that you’re not expecting anything back. and then he just enjoys it which is hella cute.

on the second card (unlike the last one) he's now like "let me get you something in return because i really appreciate the gesture". here i think he's still genuinely confused that you still decided to give him a gift. but at this point it feels like he's only offering to get you something in return because he feels like he has to just to show his gratitude. kinda like a fair transaction.

it seems that jamil is still like "why me". like, you cared enough to see and acknowledge him to even consider getting him a gift. which i believe is something he's not used to. so he just wants to "return the favor" by offering you to go find something you like :)

and the third card;;;

"DEAR FRIEND" GOT. MEEE. YOUR HONOR I LOVE HIMMMMM

i know for other people "friend" is not on the same level as the romantic "love" but i personally feel as strong with platonic relationships as with romantic ones (if not more) and this hit me HARD.

for the third one he's finally comfortable enough to consider you a friend. but he still sounds flabbergasted that you still even thought of him (and **you** specifically) (like he didn't imagine that you'd even give him a gift).

and now this is less of a transaction but more of like he *wants* to make sure that he gets you something that you'd really like. it's not simply just "hey let's go to the school store and see what's available as a thanks", this time it's "hey i really appreciate that you got me something so let's discuss what i can get you as well. i'll be your genie of the lamp, anything is possible (within reason)"

(original twitter thread with these cards)

#i might be reading too much into this tbh but #i am so obsessed with the progression of the relationship between character and the reader in between the cards #also another train of thought #i imagine jamil would be the type of who would not be focused on romantic relationships(?) #even if somehow the feels got to him #i mean the guy already seems to be iffy with who to consider a friend let alone a significant other #i wouldnt be surprised if he'd be more focused on being by himself than pursuing a partner #like his wish is to travel somewhere by himself where no one knows him so he could just *relax* (and as he should) #that's why the “dear friend” is making me lose it omg #hes showing affection your honor #[— #twisted wonderland #twst #scarabia #jamil viper #kalim al asim #★'-twst-rambles #—] #also ;;; please dont think that was an attack on romantic ships ;; #ship to your heart's content #that's the purpose of fanwork i do oc x canon myself 😭

[lumyl]

ehhahhrhrhehmmmm im so fucking normal about this silly silly book this didnt take me days wdymmm <3

:)

i just think its a bit haha, a bit chuckle worthy, a bit even perhaps funny

#100% worth the like week this took me lmao #the whole thing didnt take a week i just didnt work on it that much at a time lol #i havent finished the novel yet so idk how lore accurate this is but that dosent mattterrrrr what are you talking abbouttttt #orv kim dokja #orv #orv kdj #orv fanart #omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader #kim dokja #kdj #yoo jonghyuk #yjh #orv yjh #could be read as romantic ig?? idc i just love them sm and am way too emotionally attached to them <3

[yellowocaballero]

I said a little bit about this in a comment a few hours ago (hey kenny) and I actually really felt like saying more.

For all that gay people/Tumblr people/AO3 peope/waves hand are really, really into found family they are actually pretty allergic to conceptualizing familial relationships outside of nuclear family roles.

I see a billion posts on Tumblr about how friendships can be just as important as romantic relationships, if not more, but nobody ever actually writes the friendship as important as a romantic relationship. Or friendships are interpreted as romantic, or friendships are sidelined for the romantic relationship. It's always a weird disparity between what people say are important and people actually find important for me.

So when we do step out of romantic relationship and into gen relationships, we typically enter the trope world of #foundfamily. But the same kind of flattening of characters for the sake of shoving them into yaoi ghost archetypes honestly also really happens with family relationships.

There is always a dad. There's always a mom. There's always siblings (frequently the canon female love interest). Maybe an uncle? Ex-wife if we are feeling sexy that day.

I really rarely see people interested in #foundfamily relationships outside of those boxes. It is overwhelmingly, entirely American-centric. There's no recognition of the unbelievable diversity and breadth of human relationships, or the very many ways there are to love somebody. In fanfic, if there's a much older male character emotional close to younger characters, he's dad mode. And the relationship then follows the character and story beats of the father-child relationship intended to draw out those fuzzy family feelings. Damn, I read found family stuff to get away from the intense claustrophobia of the fandom's favorite ship, I'm not here to get family yaoi ghosted here too.

I think you can create a very unique and engaging relationship if you're wiling to engage with the unknown and uncomfortable. Make a path without the paint by numbers story beats and character arcs. Please stop letting tropes rule your writing instead of construct it.

Write stories about love. Write relationships about loving each other. Just start from there, and don't worry about anything else. Create a relationship that is its own. Let it breathe. It can stand on its own two feet. It'll be a richer relationship and a richer story.

#nothing in particular is sparking this it's just on my mind. #my writing #i can give a shitton of examples but I don't want to specify this too hard #didn't know i could get aro spectrum on main about gen fic but im capable of many beautiful things #the way that absolutely everybody does this makes a lot of star wars and batman fic extremely boring #oh and like im not even going into how turning relationships romantic can often really flatten a character and a relationship #that's obvious and we know. #also sw fandom got VERY WEIRD and very western centric to the point of being iffy #about how acknowledging a master&padawan as father&son is 'good end' and desirable #and that a master who will not/can not do that is abusive and obi-wan should be removed to a more traditional family enviornment w/mandos #weird. i read a lot of babywan. ppl are still freaks about quigon. anyway

[bluejayblueskies]

on the one hand i really enjoy romantic john/arthur esp. in nuanced ways where it explores like. what does romantic love mean for john, who maybe hasn't experienced it before? what does a romantic relationship look like when the two people involved share one body? what are arthur's feelings about being with another man, and how does the time period he grew up in influence those feelings?

but on the other hand, the fact that canonically john and arthur aren't in a romantic relationship and won't be in the future is very important to me (and i know a lot of other people as well). a large part of it is of course that as an aromantic person, it's so refreshing to have the main pairing in a piece of media be both a) extremely close and intimate with each other, as well as loving one another and b) not involved romantically. body sharing aside, relationships like john and arthur's are rare in media, and it's really nice to know that it's going to stay that way and isn't going to 'take the next step' [derogatory] into a romantic relationship at some future date.

even from a non-aromantic perspective (because i'm not trying to say that either john or arthur are canonically aromantic, just that it's nice that i can headcanon them that way and it fits into the canon narrative), a platonic relationship (and esp. one between two men!) being the main focus of malevolent is a choice i'm really glad harlan made. i'm not going to delve too much into this because his explanation is better than mine, but essentially, two male characters being vulnerable with one another and putting their trust in one another while not being romantically involved is something i definitely think we could use more of in media as a whole.

finally, i wanted to talk about the 'and yet you love him' 'i suppose so' dialogue between arthur and the king in ep. 20. (i think about this exchange a lot y'all--one of the best moments of the podcast imo.) 'love' is such a romantically charged word, especially when used in situations similar to this in other pieces of media. for complete transparency, the very first time i heard this scene, i thought it was meant to be romantic love because that's the kind of weight i ascribed to 'love confessions' based on the precedent set by other media and by real life as well. (i consider this moment a love confession because it's the first time arthur uses that word to describe his feelings toward john, even if he himself doesn't actually say it--literally a confession of love.)

finding out that it wasn't was a 'huh, interesting' moment for me, because i just hadn't really seen anything like it before! there was no precedent! hearing a love confession used in a context like this, where arthur's love for john is narratively important and something that can be used against him but is also platonic, not romantic, just ... it blows me away every single time i relisten to this episode.

in conclusion: i love them <3

#malevolent spoilers #malevolent #malevolent podcast #i am of course coming at this from the perspective of an aroace person so ymmv #but (without getting too discoursy) i can get a bit frustrated with people who complain about non-canonical romantic jarthur #i get it i do! queer rep is important and podcasts are my current choice of media in part because of the excellent queer rep #but also. aromantic and asexual people are queer and if john and arthur were canonically aro and in a qpp #it /would/ be a queer relationship #(i think we could actually argue that their canonical relationship /is/ queer already solely because of how non-standard it is #but that's a different post lol) #also if you are reading this and are like 'hey jay there's another piece of media that also has this kind of relationship dynamic!' #i am making grabby hands at you

[lynaferns]

Gave it a try to a dca x reader fic.

Thought it was pretty alright for my romance tolerance and got me engaged. Then I went to read people's comments on the fic and realized that I missed 94% of the romantic connotations.

I'm just processing the fact that I'm unable to see a romantic sign unless they throw it at my face.

#lyna rambles #it kind of makes me sad because now I'm going to be paranoid the whole read wondering #'is this a romantic gestures? was that romantic? *rereads* nah... *rerereads* it is? wait wha- that was weird- wait- nah- NO WAIT YES- NO-' #I could stop reading except no. I'm engaged to see what happens next even if I'm missing most of the main ship moments #but if it gets too much for me to handle then I'll stop reading

[dumb-teambucciarati-headcanons]

Mista and Narancia’s dumbass fun times:

- whenever they see a playground they yell “swings!” And run towards the swings, even when they are on a mission.

- Narancia is a sucker for those little bouncy balls that you can get in a gum ball machine, so he always buys a few whenever he sees them and he has like a fuck ton of bouncy balls in his funky little room. One time they both decided to bring a bunch of them with them on a mission and they ended up at a fancy restaurant, and Narancia dropped the bag full of the bouncy balls and they went everywhere.

- One time they asked Bruno if he could unzip both their heads so that they could trade heads with each other for the day. It resulted in them bumping into things a lot. They broke several glass things that day (which isn’t surprising though).

- One week they both decided that it was “spirit week” for their team (although the others weren’t as into it as they were). The themes were sadness Sunday, Mista Monday, twin Tuesday, worm Wednesday, tropical Thursday, Fuck you Friday and snoop dog Saturday.

- Despite the fact that they don’t have a curfew or anything, they (and Trish) will sneak out of their windows at night and walk around town and pretend that they (who are part of the mafia) are doing something super rebellious and fun. And Mista will do a funny little “sneaky walk” right after he sneaks out of his window. Like they won’t even break into any buildings or steal any cars (which they aren’t opposed to doing). They just chill. Sometimes they’ll go stargazing. Narancia always brings snacks.

-if they are both ever sent on a shopping trip together they always push each other around in the shopping cart.

#jjba part 5 #jjba #narancia ghirga #bruno buccellati #headcanons #guido mista #trish una #jojos bizarre adventure #bruno bucciarati #just some shenanigans I’ve been thinking about #i love when Trish has fun too #Narancia and Mista being funny idiots #the goofies #platonic but you could read these as romantic I’m not stopping you #the bouncy ball thing is based on a true story that happened to someone I know at a hospital

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

cozy creature time 🐶🐱

#the original file was too big so i had to resize it hopefully this looks alright #aged up ippiki au akitouya... 👍 #project sekai #prsk art #project sekai fanart #prsk fa #prsk bl #technically. i guess. nothing in ippiki au is explicitly romantic between vbs. but this could be read as romantic and im tagging it that wa #akito shinonome #touya aoyagi #toya aoyagi #akitouya #akitoya #ippiki au #w1f1 draws

[nemmet]

💌 - freddie w/daphne

hello and welcome to my dyed hair freddie agenda

emoji + character ask game

#the prompt said platonic or romantic partner #so i drew them in a way where you could perceive them as either :D #i ship them romantically the majority of the time but i love both readings of their relationship #they are so special to me 💙💜 #scooby doo #scooby doo fanart #fred jones #daphne blake #fraphne #nem art :) #scooby doo and nemmet too!

[parkercore-69]

thank you J.R.R. Tolkien for writing the most devastating romantic subplot in your lotr books without even realising it

#im talking about sam and frodo sorry everyone #guess who like watched all the extended films and cried #whether you intepret sam and frodo’s love platonically or romantically you have to understand that they are so entwined that it is #devastating nonetheless #the forehead kiss #im on the ground sobbing #dawgs it was such a real depiction of how trauma is irreversible and will change you entirely #frodo baggins #i love him so fucking much guys #i love those little hobbits #samwise gamgee #lord of the rings #i could and most likely will write an essay on this #samfro #dawg sometimes love can be both platonic and romantic as queer love is not to be constrained by heteronormative values #sorry did i read too far into the little fantasy story #dude i was not expecting a story about the horrific effects of war racism and power corrupt addiction when i sat down in front of the telly #jokes on the side frodo looking absolutely miserable at sam’s wedding is so fucking real #i get it’s because he knows he cant move on and he is forever changed by his trauma but also that hobbit gay #his wound from the witch king never healing being a symbolic representation of his trauma FUCKS ME UP #frodo you may have been a whiny bitch at times but like yeah that ring probably did weigh a fuck ton and i was worse on my dofe expedition #i may be fucking too hard with lotr #lotr #teehee

[cerise-on-top]

I love your writing so much, you really captured who the Cod Men are 💜💜

Can I request Rudy with an S/O who likes to steal their clothing? Like I just know this man has soft hoodies and nice button-up shirts that we can use

Thank you 💜

Thank you, I try to write a mix of what I think the requester wants and how the CoD people would genuinely react to something! It's not always easy, but I try! And that's a really cute request! Rodolfo's been getting quite some love as of late, which is nice!

Rodolfo with a Clothes-Thief!Reader

When thinking about the relationship he has with you, Rodolfo thinks about many things: Spoonfeeding you some of his sorbet, cuddling under the blankets while drinking hot cocoa on a cold winter evening, kissing each other on the forehead during soft moments. He doesn’t really consider the bad things a relationship could bring all that often, being fairly romantic and wanting to live those soft and sweet moments with you, as well as remembering them in as much detail as he can. This changes when he notices you, who could usually do no wrong, waltzing around in your home wearing one of his hoodies. And I agree with you, his hoodies are very soft and warm since the fabric is important to him. He also makes sure they stay soft and comfortable since he always thought he’d be the only one wearing them. You opened his eyes, you are a thief.

When he sees you washing the dishes wearing one of his gray hoodies, he’ll simply stare at you for a moment, thinking about whether or not it’s real. He completely forgot that he, too, could be a victim of a relationship and lose his beloved clothing to his beloved criminal. If it’s a chilly morning, then he’ll simply walk up to you and hug you from behind. If he’s feeling especially mischievous, then he’ll put his hands under his article of clothing and onto your tummy so you can feel his cold hands. But that is unlikely to happen. Still! You need to be considerate of your partner as well! If you’re cold he is cold, put him in a blanket burrito!

While he knows exactly who this hoodie or sweater belongs to, he will ask you where you got it from, claiming that you’ve got a nice taste in fashion with a gentle smile. You can then either tell the truth or lie to him. The truth will earn you a chuckle and a kiss to your temple. Lie to him and he’ll interrogate you where you got it from. But eventually he will also ask you if you like his clothing that much. If you do, then you’re more than welcome to take it if he doesn’t need it that day. That extends to things that aren’t just sweaters or hoodies as well. Granted, he isn’t the most fashionable guy, but if he likes something enough he’ll usually buy it and look good in it as well. If you like his shirts as well, then sure, go for it. If it fits, then you can wear it. His clothing is, for the most part, fairly neutral. Lots of grays and lots of blues, so he prefers colder colors over warmer ones. There aren’t many motifs on his shirts, maybe some white palm leaves, but that’s about it.

If he sees you’ve really taken a liking to his clothing, then he’ll buy some more things he thinks you might enjoy, wear them every once in a while, and leave the rest up to you. He sort of does like seeing you in his clothing, in all honesty. You look snug and comfortable in it, plus it gives him the feeling that you do really really like him. When the two of you are roughly the same size, he’ll wear a sweater of yours as well from time to time, just to get some revenge and maybe feel as though you’re with him at that moment. It’s got your scent on it, and what else could be more precious in your absence? In fact, he’ll even give your big pink sweater a try if he really feels like it. You make him feel more comfortable in his skin, so he might even wear stuff like a hot pink and walk up to you so you can see him. If he looks ridiculous to you, he’ll be a bit nervous but laugh alongside you, if you compliment him and coo over how cute he looks, he’ll be a bit flustered and give you a shy smile. So yeah, if the both of you have been with each other for long enough and are comfortable enough, then the clothes stealing will go both ways, if possible.

Rodolfo might try to buy an extra oversized sweater so he can see if the both of you can fit underneath it. Yes, he hides that sweater for quite some time as he’s afraid you’ll laugh at him, but he really does want to try it some time. Maybe it’ll be fun. Maybe it’ll be pleasant. And if it’s neither of those things you have another oversized sweater to call your own. Sometimes you might even go clothes shopping together, just to see which parts of your wardrobe you can share together.

#cod #cod x reader #rodolfo parra #rodolfo parra x reader #I think I've gotten so many requests with Rudy that I feel more comfortable with him #not in writing sense but more in an established relationship sort of sense #not everything feels scary and new with him now which is why my view of him is slowly changing #like he's more willing to be touchy with reader now than he was when I started writing him since that “relationship” has been #going on for a while now. does that make sense? probably not but it feels nice #like the “relationship” is slowly progressing with him and he feels more comfortable with reader these days #I think it's sort of similar with Ghost since those two characters do share similarities when it comes to touch in my eyes #it's sort of sweet to watch actually reader and Rudy have grown closer and started loving each other even more these days #I remember when most of what I wrote could have been read as platonic as well. that's probably why they were hesitant on touch #but most if not all of what I write these days is romantic so touch isn't a big issue anymore #it just makes more sense. same thing with Valeria too I think #as a writer you sort of do build a relationship with the characters as well which is also very sweet in my eyes #the characters are friends. they're lovers. they're enemies. and anything inbetween #I never really noticed such a thing before but I thought about it today. did that happen with off too? I don't remember #so yeah. my HCs are slowly changing for the sweeter and I think that's cute! more domestic stuff which I'm a sucker for!

[fauna-a]

VI The Lovers

¡Reincarnation AU! Who knows me knows I have a soft spot for these two.

Life has its own way to slam doors in your face. You lived for millennia and millennia, dodging death with virtuosity and grace; when your time came, you accepted the Dark Lady’s hand with the same grace, almost looking forward the upcoming rest.[1]

And instead, the universe had found a way to tell me one more time how incomparable and unique was my presence on Earth; and, if that wasn’t enough, had made me human.

Talk about good luck.

It was a very different Earth compared to the one I’d left: no magic, no spirits, no Other Place to my knowledge. In other ways, instead, it was sadly the same, see wars, violence, assorted spite.

In my other life, I had met humans who believed in reincarnation, but no one had ever applied the concept to spirits, maybe because no one thought we had a soul. And instead, look at this: until now, I had met only spirits transmuted (can’t find a better word) in humans.[2] Maybe things  were going like this: in the other world humans went on and beyond, while we had to do all the procedures. Bah.

The gust of wind preceding the metro coming distracted me; the train came, the doors opened, people came out… A girl bumped lightly into me with her shoulder; she had long dark hair gathered in cornrows whose tips were dyed green. That green made something spring in me, a recognition.

Without thinking twice, I turned around and followed her,[3] hoping to not receive some pepper spray (very much justified anyway).

«Excuse me!»

She turned around suddenly, and I recognised her without a doubt. Don’t ask me why or how, but I knew it was her.

«Queezle?»

«Bartimaeus!»

In my other life, I had never been used to hug people; it wasn’t something you did among spirits, that usually don’t have a body. And, well, it’s not I was going around hugging humans.[4]

But Queezle had always been particular, different; and I wasn’t surprised to find her in my arms. She was very thin: I could feel her shoulders’ bones under my hands.

«I was wondering when you’ll show up» she muttered; she had those stupid airpods on her ears, with a cascade of earrings. «You have to tell me everything».

«Nah» I shrugged. «Nothing much to say. Saved the world once or twice, dead, came here. Nothing more».

Her bony arms couldn’t let me go. «Idiot. I’ve missed you».

Hugs, huh. Maybe a thing that humans got right in all the world there was.

[1] Some humans believed there was a place after death, sort of reward (or punishment) because of your conduct during your life. I had never thought about it. But maybe it would be nice getting some rest in company of some old friends… Even if I doubted that spirits humans could end up in the same place, if it even existed.

[2] Yes, I had met Jabor. No, it hadn’t been pleasant. No, I won’t elaborate because we both were in a phase of a life when humans are barely sentient.

[3] I just had to go to work, after all. A human nonsense.

[4] Unless it was a way to stab them in the back.

#just fyi i'm watching the bear so i visualized queezle as ayo edebiri #and she'll be my ideal queezle for a while i think #just a silly idea... i want them to be happy okay? #you could read it as platonic romantic whatever #btw bart will find his humans too don't worry #bartprompts24 #bartimaeus prompt week 24 #bartimaeus trilogy #bartimaeus sequence #bartimaeus #queezle #reincarnation au #my fic #fanfiction #the lovers

[skania]

I keep seeing people saying "Aqua only wanted to date Akane because he couldn't date Kana", but I'm not convinced things are that white-and-black.

The thing is, I think a lot of us underestimate just how attached Aqua got to Akane. Sure, at first he wants to keep her near because of her intelligence and incredible insight, but that changes the moment Akane figures out his secret.

The Japanese side-text even gives us a helpful ただのビジネス、 カップルを越えて— telling us that they're becoming more than just a business couple.

This little moment right here pretty much disarms the guy. He gets a taste of what being understood is like, and he can't help himself after that. Suddenly he is letting down his walls and allowing Akane to watch his childhood videos, something that even takes Gotanda aback because Aqua doesn't let anyone watch those.

More importantly, he even goes as far as to confess his goal to Akane. It was a clear gamble to gauge just how honest she was to him when she told him that she would be his ally no matter what, and Akane gives him more than he bargained for.

Akane is the real deal. What she is offering him—unconditional understanding and support—is the real deal. And Aqua doesn't know how to react to that. His black star even reverts back to white!

However, we see just how important this was to him a few chapters later, when we get this gem:

"Did you think you finally found someone who understands you after meeting Akane Kurokawa?"

In hindsight, the fact that Goro is highlighting Akane's understanding of Aqua and putting her right up there with Kana completely sets-up the events that would follow.

Because, what happens after Aqua finds out that he's finally free?

He thinks of both, Kana and Akane. She has managed to get under his skin to the point he is genuinely considering her as a romantic option, something he said would never happen.

This is when things get pretty interesting, because Aqua began dating Akane just to use her, right? So he no longer has any reason to keep her around.

Except he wants to keep her around, and this time it's for entirely personal reasons. He knows his growing attachment to Akane will do her no good though, so he shoots that selfish thought down at once.

Akane is young and she has a bright future. I can't hold her back forever...

By his own admission, he thinks he is holding her back, so he decides to break up with her to set her free. He even says as much as they're walking to the bridge, almost like he's trying to convince himself it's the right thing to do.

I don't think... it's good for me to keep you tied down forever, Akane.

In other words, Aqua isn't breaking up with Akane because he isn't romantically interested in her. At the contrary, he even ends up admitting that he is attracted to her.

However, he doesn't seem to be entirely sure of what he feels for her and he is under the impression that Akane isn't romantically interested in him.

All this to say, Aqua mainly wanted to break up with Akane for her. Because he has been deceiving her and holding her back.

Case in point, a chapter later he goes on a date with Kana, who even asks him what he plans to do with Akane. You'd think that this would be the perfect moment for Aqua to confirm his romantic-disinterest in Akane by telling Kana something like:

I tried to break up with her but we got interrupted

I'm going to break up with her

Or any variation of those lines, since that's what he intended to do last time we saw him with Akane. He tells her this instead:

We talked about it the other day, but we got interrupted.

Oh, so breaking up actually isn't a done deal.

We'll probably get an answer... the next time we meet.

So, it isn't only Akane who is trying to figure out what Aqua is to her. Aqua himself is thinking about what Akane means to him.

Something about his conversation with Akane got to him, so he starts second-guessing whether he should break up with her or not even though it's "a little too late", since they talked about breaking up already.

If he were 100% intending to pursue Kana, why would he be telling her all this? Not to mention, why is he thinking carefully about his relationship with Akane instead of focusing on his relationship with Kana?

When it comes down to it, ever since Aqua found out that he is free to love someone, Akane and his relationship with her remain at the forefront of his mind. He even broaches the subject right after Akane finds his corpse, which was far and away not the time for that lol

Which of course leads us to the moment they get the answer Aqua alluded to earlier.

Akane finally understands what she feels for Aqua, and while she tries to keep a smile on for him, her true feelings come pouring through her tears.

Aqua wondered if Akane even harbored any romantic feelings for him. Those tears seem to be the answer to that question.

Which leaves us with: What does Aqua feel for Akane?

Aqua seems to realize it in very much the same way Akane did earlier. Through it all, they have been supporting each other, getting to know each other, understanding each other and having fun together.

Their relationship hasn't been a lie. Akane sincerely wanted to get close to him to help him. He sincerely wants to stay close to her to protect her.

Since Aqua had already resolved the question of 'should I fall in love?', that left him with two other questions to answer.

Can he fall in love with Akane?

Does he want to fall in love with her?

Going by this, he obviously decides that the answer to both questions is yes.

Now, this post isn't here to claim that he did fall for her or anything, he obviously still has unresolved feelings for Kana. What I'm 100% here to say though is that Aqua's feelings were way less set in stone than people make it sound, and that that the order of events clearly show that Aqua actually gave his feelings for Akane a whole lot of thought, even before he realized he should keep his distance from Kana.

#aqua hoshino #akane kurokawa #kurokawa akane #aquakane #me: onk #fandom: onk #my aquakane meta #I'm still new to this fandom so I hope mentioning the other ship is fine? #honestly I didn't think too hard about any of this during my first read #because the romantic endgame seems so obvious that it kind of discourages guessing lmao #but re-reading these chapters has made me appreciate Aqua's side of his bond with Akane a lot more #if you ask me I think aqua just figured that he could protect kana better by staying away #and that he could protect akane better by staying by her side #but his choice to do so while dating her was definitely motivated by his relationship with her #he'd have absolutely broken up with her if he had no feelings for her

[wright-phoenix]

. . . i'm too aro for this

#i saw someone talk about “obvious” romantic tension between phoenix/maya and athena/simon #and that the average cishet normie consumer would assume they were implied romantic #and i sat there for a full minute trying to process that #because literally all i got from these pairings was big sibling energy #and i realize everyone reads that differently but. #the level of being annoying and being annoyed between maya and phoenix.... #and the whole “i gotta be a big sister” and the whole. maya is mia's little sister so by extention kind of also #taken under phoenix's wing after mia's death #the way they constantly joke about maya being childish bc she likes steel samurai (she isn't. edgeworth also likes it #he's just too stuck up to admit it. also liking “childish” things doesnt make u childish but i digress) #but anyway the joke abt maya being childish vs phoenix being grown up #furthering the perception of the difference between them and maya as a sort of younger sibling figure #and then athena and simon.... #simon literally having been her babysitter somewhat. having played with her when she was younger #and when the Mom Murder Incident happened he cared for her and got her out of there #and took on the blame “for her” ..... #all of that screams older brother to me the way he carried her away from the scene. she was just a child #IDK IS IT REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE OBVIOUSLY ROMANTICALLY IMPLIED????????? #WHAT...... #i KNOW there are people who ship phoenix and maya or athena and simon and that's fine #but to me they were OBVIOUSLY sibling coded instead of OBVIOUSLY romance coded #😭😭😭 #help meeeee #cas.txt #i cant tell if the post i saw was an outlier and tinted by Fandom Perception #or if that's like. a big general consensus and i just don't see it bc i curate my online experience #bc it could go either way. i can see it being an outlier that found its way onto my dash #but i could also see it as a bigger agreed upon thing that just never crossed my dash bc i only interact with sibling content 😭 #either way it baffled me

[aq2003]

there comes a beautiful time in life where i have to ask myselg th question, "did i accidentally project too hard onto the character that i only relate to a little bit and in doing so hugely missed this one entire aspect/interpretation of the characters . am i stupid"

#ARE THEY STUPID! #dr who #this is about ten specifically his relationship w martha lmao #m being so serious i genuinely did not. see the 'ten was on purpose leading martha on to make her think her feelings were requited' angle #until going out into the wild and reading the tumblr posts. like i genuinely did not. at ALLLLLL. its like a brick hitting my head #bc the ENTIRE time s3 ten came off to me as 'doing stuff w no romantic intent behind it but would consistently get misinterpreted as such' #cuz IIIIIIIII have done this. IIIIIIII have run into this problem before. and it sucks so incredibly bad. #i actually do want to think my og interpretation still holds water cuz like. well i could gather all the evidence but #first one that comes 2 mind would be him going 'it's like when you fancy someone + they dont know you exist' to martha. in episode TWELVE #two routes; either ten is needlessly cruel and callous even after a season's worth of building up trust and friendship w her #or he is on super 'i dont think she has feelings for me and this is a very unhappy coincidence of a line' cocaine #Or the 'she fancied me' line in s4 to donna. either he is disregarding all the good and positive impact she did him. or the fact that this #went over his head the whole time made him look back on that time w discomfort <- I DID THIS. I MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROJECTING #THIS ONTO HIM. AM I STUPID.?.????? #you know how mikage rgu can either be read as an incel or a gay man lost so completely in the sauce #ten is like in this same ballpark. i think. of 'emotionally manipulative and disrespects women' or 'aroacespec and missed the cues' #funniest possible options to pick from. ten my brother how did you set yourself up like this #absolutely not denying that he was toxic and unhealthy during s3 in like 500 ways btw. but well. ths is the one concwpt that #flew over my head. so completely. and i can kind of see it now but i also still find it hard to incorporate into my belief system #bc its like. brother I'M aroace and missed the cues too lol #tangential note we can trace many problems down to a writer's room filled w white people not giving #martha's character the respect/agency she deserves for the existing narrative she has. bc they pulled this w mickey too both in series 1+2 #if they wanted to portray ten as manipulative then him and martha should've been given more screentime #together where martha (or anyone else) calls him the FUCK out on this. and ten would need to suffer narrative consequences of doing smth #as fucked up as that rather than his happy stable dynamic he has w donna. if they wanted to portray him as oblivious then marthas character #shouldn't have constantly been boiled down to an unrequited crush (particularly her dialogue in the s3 finale - there's a LOT more reasons #why she would choose to leave/why their dynamic was unhealthy besides ten not returning her feelings) #if you read all these tags you may be entitled 2 financial compensation #ten and martha #aspec doc tag