Anime Trash Can

THIS IS A RANFUKU BLOG FYI

[flaresanimedump]

Fukuzawa and Ranpo romantic themes essay **Updated May 2025**

ALRIGHT here we go

The story thus far:

Well HERE IT COMES.

First off y'all are focusing too much on Fukuzawa. Sorry but if you look to Fukuzawa only Fukuzawa/cats has merit. Even with FukuMori it's Mori we get 90% of the ship content from (silver fox?? Can you not hit on him for FIVE SECONDS MORI-)

You have to look at RANPO. And so we will, mostly, in this response.

Now I did say "themes" first so you're all gonna have to deal with me doing both. I’m just gonna lead with the thing that I see the behavior in the og tweet with the most:

Antis almost never fail to say "father and son" in their captions when they post screenshots of this anthology chapter.

As the translator of this anthology I will tell you it's not father and son. It's tsundere boyfriend.

How is this tsundere?!: “I’m not worried about you, baka, I just don’t ever want to see you sick—play sick nurse for you again!! So take better care of yourself!! Here’s a snack!! Feel better or else!!” + this phrase "I never thought I'd hear such caring words from you" is your basic tsundere trope template in JP.

Why does that mean it’s romantic?!: Tsundere behavior is mostly reserved for love interests – particularly this bit.

He’s just offering him a snack!!: Look at the shojo background in every panel. Look at the sparkles. Look at them setting the fluffy lovey-dovey mood. Look at Fukuzawa’s saying he’ll take them to his heart. You can hear the “Kyaaaa, Yukichi-kun was so close!!!” if you listen carefully.

But- but- FATHER AND SON!!: you may now see why it took a Fukuran shipper to translate this 4 years after it was released, despite the scanlation boom over covid ;)

But that’s an anthology! It’s not really canon!

Moving right along then, this is Bones only, but:

Seeing color because you meet someone is literally the basis of an entire subset of soulmate AUs.

I bookmarked two romance quotes in the last 6 hours that center on romantic love bringing color into someone’s life. This is an extremely common romantic trope and I still can’t believe Bones went there in Origins. a. “But Nova!” they cry, “lots of parents say their children bring color into their lives!!” True!! And you’ve just said why this isn’t the same! Fukuzawa brought color to RANPO’s life, not the other way around. This is why I say to look to Ranpo for this ship!

Well Bones sucks!

There are about 104 examples of “Unbroken Vigil” on TV tropes. Exactly two of them are children waiting by their parents, and they’re both from live action film. This trope, across all categories of media, is absolutely owned by romantic couples. Notably in the anime and fanon sections there are no examples of family members doing this. I won’t say there aren’t any anywhere, though. JJK exists. But that’s a good example of how different Ranpo’s reaction is from the usual “caretaker is in the hospital” mood – sure Yuuji’s sad when his grandpa dies, but he’s gonna be ok. Ranpo is, as Yosano says, devastated. Ranpo’s devastation fits squarely in the romantic box for this one boys.

Point of reference: Fukuzawa

I’m gonna hit two points at once in this section:

Ranpo’s kneeling to Fukuchi here but he has no loyalty to Fukuchi. He’s kneeling out of loyalty to Fukuzawa, so in truth he’s kneeling to Fukuzawa’s will. He’s acting as Fukuzawa’s knight. Even if we pretend King and Lionheart wasn’t a fandom phenomena for years, this isn’t a parent-child thing. Ranpo is steadfastly faithful to his king.

But lo?? Ranpo’s a lying liar. He’ll face away from the president under exactly one condition: Fukuzawa’s life is hanging in the balance. Then he’ll go against the only thing he himself has said he’s willing to stand for. This is not how the parent-child trope works. The parent says “live for me, I’ll die for the greater good” and the child cries and the parent dies. It’s like. The most common movie plotline in the universe when adults' parents are in movies.

Instead Ranpo actually does something that another stated romantic couple in this series does.

Goes apeshit on the threat.

Then later he’s not even remorseful. He tells Fukuzawa they did it and eats a bunch of cake without a care in the world after. He’d do it again and we know it.* So his moral compass isn’t to follow the president, it’s actually to follow him up to his own good and then burn the entire city down if it’ll keep him alive. This is really the most damning of Ranpo behaviors that screams of something more than familial affection.

Fukuzawa’s lines when he's poisoned are “we must not fight the port mafia. My life isn't important, protect this city (from the inevitable damage the fighting will do).”

Ranpo’s argument to disobey him is that the port mafia will start taking their families hostage to get them to give Fukuzawa up. “And if that happens, even the detective agency will be forced to give in.” His argument isn’t even “our friends will be in danger,” it’s “if we don’t fight we'll have let them kill President Fukuzawa.” Which, you know, Fukuzawa already said was preferable to fighting.

So this whole argument is literally that ship meme: “I will sacrifice myself to save everyone.” / “I will sacrifice anyone to save you.”

*Ranpo’s near-complete lack of punishment for this is a subtle sign of Fukuzawa’s bias too but this is already too long.

Shirushi

Or the 4th season's opening song. This has not been easy I tell you WHAT most of the translations for this song’s lyrics leave something to be desired and song lyrics are hard to understand. Anyway, we have Shirushi, which Luck Life's vocalist said was about Ranpo and Fukuzawa. And it’s. Well I wouldn’t exactly call it a love song because it’s bigger with “you gave me a reason to live” as one of the recurring lyrics. But the song’s got more lyrics about wanting/wishing/pleading to stay together: “I want to stay here // please, let’s just stay here // I want you and I to continue” and them being together, the “here” in question, is called “the place where [my] heart belongs.” It’s so sweet aaaaaa and it most definitely sounds like a love song.

"I will be his shield"

Here we have the rare Fukuzawa point.

Ok can I skip explaining this it’s very very obvious and I already went over one of these things.

Normal thought process: I should keep an eye on this kid. Fukuzawa thought process: I will become his shield, his sword, his shelter, to allow his magnificent mind freedom to work its magic--

Two halves of one whole

This is a weak ass point but I always found it thematically contradictory to the father/son interpretation, particularly when it comes right on the heels of a certain line fancops like to reference.

At the beginning of Origins Fukuzawa literally parkours across a room, backflips and everything, shocking the guy with all the papers with his mad skills. And Fukuzawa thinks “What? Why? That wasn’t impressive.”

He’s hinted to be the physical counterpart of Ranpo’s hyper competence. I.E., Ranpo is the one-of-a-kind mind and Fukuzawa is the one-of-a-kind body. Together they become unstoppable.

This implies a bond that won’t end?? But parent & child plotlines always have a theme of the child growing up and moving on. Atsushi and the orphanage director, though they’re fucked up, personified it. But they’ve clearly established that Fukuzawa and Ranpo are two halves of one whole and neither of them are planning to separate at any point. What’s Ranpo gonna do, go become a regular cop?? This just doesn’t suit a father and son dynamic.

Jealousy

Alright this next part will take some effort but FIRST we must all agree there’s romantic tension between Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. When I initially drafted this the finale had not come out, but we STILL had this going on:

Ok, so we also have the finale and we know Fukuzawa has some Strong Feelings for Fukuchi too. And Ranpo friggin' hates it.

I don’t aim to eradicate the platonic reading of Fukuran or anything, Fukuzawa and Ranpo are cute together no matter what! So this does smack of a teenager mad about having a stepdad taking all their mom’s time. But I cycle back to what Fukuchi cites as the focal point of Ranpo’s jealousy for the other easy interpretation.

The only time in my life I’ve thought “Aw I wish we’d met sooner :/” and felt a little envy towards someone's high school friends was with someone I was dating. I’d never think anything to this effect about a family member, certainly not enough to get violently jealous of their old friends or, heaven forbid, significant others.

What Ranpo is wishing for here is to have known Fukuzawa longer than Fukuchi, which could not happen if he was Fukuzawa's son. Fukuzawa was too young to have children when he met Fukuchi. So Ranpo's jealousy doesn't seem strictly platonic.

Praise

I will never understand how anyone sees the praise scene and thinks it’s normal father-son behavior. Teenagers wouldn't wouldn’t be caught dead doing this. Adults are far beyond it. Ranpo’s 26. Yes he likes candy and can’t ride the train, but the trains in Japan are WORSE than driving and neither of these behaviors mean he's a literal child. He has a driver’s license and investigates corpses for a living. He’s an adult.

This is a textbook praise kink.

Update: We got NEW STUFF WHOO

First I need to explain all of Japanese to you! Kidding, but we are gonna talk about second person pronouns. If you're not already aware, Japanese has well over 15 words for "I." Similarly, there are also 10+ words for "you." That being said, "you" is often seen as too direct and therefore all of these words can be seen as rude (you're supposed to use the other person's name with an honorific or their title, i.e. Fukuzawa-san, Shachou). You can use "you" for advertisements where the "you" is very general, OR with friends/lovers/etc.

OK we're gonna look at 2 of these pronouns now:

あなた(Anata) is a common second-person pronoun. This is the one that comes up in advertisements. It's semi-formal, though rude in certain contexts. As already stated, Anata is mostly used with people you're already close or familiar with (some examples in BSD include Kyoka to Atsushi and Akutagawa, between Haruno and Naomi, and Ango to Dazai) but can be used with strangers you're not close with and/or people you're a little irritated by (examples: Atsushi to Kouyou and Fitzgerald, Poe to Yosano). You are NOT supposed to use Anata with superiors. Historically, however, Anata once had another use: as a term of endearment between married couples. Generally the wife might call her husband this. This doesn't happen much though!! Only in certain contexts, which I'll get into. Don't go telling people Anata is a romantic pronoun because of this essay, it's not. Mostly.

お前(Omae) is rude! Ok it's not that rude, but it's a tough guy "you." This is often used when people are annoyed with the "you" in question, i.e. Kunikida scolding Dazai for drowning/being broke, "Dazai! Omae-" like that. Like Anata, this can be used by guys who know each other well/are good friends. Also like Anata, historically, it once had another use: as a term of endearment between married couples. Generally the husband might call his wife this. This is older than the endearment use of Anata and far less common now. It was explained to me as being a bit like saying "my woman." But once again this is rare!! It doesn't mean that now! Don't go expecting it to be romantic all the time because it almost never is!! Except--

Except that Fukuzawa uses very old language, because he's named after a guy whose heyday was the 1860s. That's plenty long enough ago to use Omae as a term of endearment. In fact there are only two characters who he calls Omae, one of whom is Fukuchi:

HOWEVER, while this proves Fukuzawa only uses it with people he's extremely close to, Fukuchi uses Omae back. I could make a joke about the two dudes who would be gay if they could just work out which one should bottom but this is a Fukuran essay so you can use your imagination for that. I'll move on to the other person he uses Omae with:

Ranpo, of course! But you see... Ranpo rarely calls Fukuzawa anything other than Fukuzawa-san or Shachou. Except he did at the end of the anime:

WE GOT AN ANATA FOLKS. Ranpo doesn't call anybody else Anata. He goes for Kimi mainly. Yet here he whips out Anata for Fukuzawa who, if he was looking at Fukuzawa as his superior, he should never refer to as Anata. So not only do we get confirmation that their relationship isn't just boss and employee, we get THE OMAE+ANATA SET. This isn't definitive cannonizing content of course - as I've said multiple times, these both mean something different now - but it's strongly suggestive. And speaking of suggestive,

Word of god

If you were ever worried that Asagiri might frown on the ship, or that he doesn't know about it, or that he didn't intend for a shippy interpretation at all, you can put all those fears to rest. In January 2024 Asagiri held a panel at the Kochi Museum of Literature and the Fukuran fans were WELL FED. Asagiri was asked half a dozen questions about Ranpo and Fukuzawa, but the most fun answer was when he was asked about Ranpo and Fukuchi. Rough translation below:

Q. Can you expand on the relationship between Ranpo and Fukuchi?

A. To put it in a slightly misleading way, Ranpo views Fukuchi as his rival in love*. They are enemies in a love triangle. Fukuchi doesn't agree.

*YES this word means romantic love.

Yes it's a joke but it's basically carte blanch to ship it to your heart's content, Asagiri knows you're there and winks at you in his interviews. AND it's also Kafka Asagiri saying that Ranpo sees himself in a love triangle with Fukuchi and Fukuzawa. So. You know. Just a small (major) win for the Fukuran fans there!

--End of 2024 new info--

But what about-

Now, I did mention the line I know all the antis are getting ready to comment with, and I just don’t think this would be complete without the inflammatory “well actually” section. There have been many a tweet saying “Fukuzawa says he sees Ranpo as his son!”

Actually, he never does. They're explicitly called partners/buddies, however.

NOVA IT’S RIGHT HERE!!

Bad news kids: this isn’t an exact translation. It’s very sweet and all but that’s not what the Japanese actually says.

This line is closer to “I have a child in my care for my own reasons, too.” He didn’t say Ranpo was HIS child, there’s no possessive grammar here (heh no の). I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone argue that Fukuzawa didn’t see him as a child when he was, you know, a child, but the series doesn’t take place when Ranpo is a child. Also I don’t see how that has anything to do with Ranpo’s feelings at the time.

Well that’s semantics, Fukuchi says it too!! See??

This 1) is Fukuchi who has about 1000 reasons to be a fukuran anti that have nothing to do with ages and 2) isn’t a direct translation of the Japanese text either. It says “little favorite” in Japanese, and that’s it! “Little favorite” just sounds weird in English so the translators used a common phrase that people generally DON’T and SHOULDN’T use for their own kids (imagine if everyone knew you liked one of your actual kids better than the rest D:).

I have it on good authority that the official Italian doesn’t say “favorite son” and I know the Japanese doesn’t, so this line is not cannon.

All that aside, this argument was so absurd to me I struggled to articulate just why it made no sense to use it as "canonical proof" that Fukuzawa and Ranpo's relationship was definitively familial. Until today.

"Favorite son" doesn't mean "favorite son" in English, either.

Well how about this!!!

I’m not really sure why this is referenced when it’s clearly the center of the chapter’s joke – the point is that Ranpo ISN’T 5, he just acts that way.

Plus I can throw this panel back from the same Wan chapter as an argument:

“Ranpo’s grown so handsome” or if you prefer, “Ranpo looks so virile now...” – rare simp Fukuzawa.

Well you can’t possibly deny this!!!

Congratulations, this is the only one with any merit! What it fails to do is prove Fukuzawa said it or remove any of the stuff already mentioned here. Ranpo could very much be in love with Fukuzawa. This line in origins is narration, not dialogue or thought, and it isn’t carried through in the narrative so it’s relatively easy to view it as a joke. The same book christens them “Tantei [Sou]jin,” same sou as in “[sou]koku,” with kanji meaning “Detective duo/detective twins/double detectives/detective partners” though I’ve also found it to mean something very near “equals.” The kanji are ‘subtitled’ as "Detective buddies” in English (katakana) in the Japanese book. All this throws multiple wrenches in the idea that they’re broadly viewed as parent and child or even as having a significant power imbalance between them.

Update for pride month 2025:

But if they were, that would makes it more likely that Asagiri intended it to be romantic from Ranpo's side 😏

In 2013 Bungo Stray Dogs author Kafka Asagiri had two manga releasing at the same time: Bungo Stray Dogs and Ayane Shionomiya Never Makes an Error.

It's amusingly clear they're by the same author if only for how he reuses powers: the main bad guy is "the strongest ghost wielder" and has the power to control forces (you know, like gravity), the heroine faces down ability ghost users with the same powers as Nikolai and Tachihara, and her sister eventually [spoiler] gets the ghost power to nullify enemy ghosts.

The timeline is a little fuzzy - despite the fact that Ayane Shionomiya's first volume released 7 months after BSD's first volume in November of 2013, Asagiri says in a note that Ayane Shionomiya was his first work as a commercial manga composer. Either way, they were written around the same time, meaning his tastes around chapter 10 of BSD (which contains the infamous Praise Scene) and throughout Ayane Shionomiya wouldn't have had time to change. Why does this matter? Because 1, Ayane Shionomiya is basically Ranpo:

And she's unarguably romantically and sexually interested in her biological father, something he arguably reciprocates:

And what does Asagiri have to say for himself?

Translation:

So. I mean. Honestly? This is a point in the father and son argument's favor, but only because Asagiri is really into incest. Love that for him.

Japanese fandom, or: People who can read the series better than anyone here

I made a statistics post once about the overwhelming number of Fukuran fanworks on Pixiv, but unfortunately I discovered I'd missed adding ChuuAtsu to the charts and deleted it out of shame. You can find complete results from 2024 on twitter, but the May 2025 breakdown for Ranpo and Fukuzawa romantic ship results is thus:

Fukuran: 2324

DaR*n: 1762

Ranpos*no: 864

FukuM*ri: 848

RanP*e: 800

Chu*Ran: 233

FukuF*ku: 118

Fukuran has 500 more works than FukuM*ri, RanP*e, and FukuF*ku combined. When all top/bottom tags are combined, Fukuran (inclusive) is the 8th most popular ship in Japanese BSD fandom. Still don't believe me? Try to find more than one Japanese-native artist who's drawn Fukuzawa and Ranpo platonically more than once a year and doesn't use the romantic ship tag on Pixiv and/or follow a bunch of romantic ship accounts. I can tell you the only one you'll find: Samejiro_3 on Twitter. Compare and contrast to the hundreds of romantic Fukuran artists I know of.

I'm inclined to believe the unanimous support for the ship by native speakers shores up every bit of romantic-leaning Japanese in this essay. Of course, they are just fans. They're probably just picking up on Asagiri's barely-concealed fetish.

Which (sort of) brings me to my final point: none of this proves anything definitively! There’s plenty of material for both interpretations. The entire point of engaging with media is to develop your own interpretation and have fun with it. But freaking out and screaming your headcanon when a scene hits you as slightly different than that headcanon is very much screaming at the sky. Lord knows I’ve seen these four arguments enough times that if they were going to convince me of anything they already would have, and Asagiri sure can’t hear you.

I think everyone who doesn’t think this could be romantic at least from Ranpo’s side expects that romantic imagery/themes for this ship can only appear from Fukuzawa, and only if it’s predatory? Like as long as I don’t whip out a canon image like this

they’ll say “I would definitely do that with my parent” to every argument even if in reality they never, ever would.

I did recently see someone saying "why would Ranpo even like Fukuzawa, he's 30!" and listen, I can't help you there. I've had crushes on actors twice my age since I was 10, it's ingrained in my wiring. A sexy badboy bodyguard who declares himself to be at your service AND buys you food will never not be hot to me.

"What's attractive about Fukuzawa" requires another essay, however, so this is where I leave it. Obviously much of this is open to interpretation, but I don’t see people making skk posts that just say “BESTIES BESTIES BESTIES” or “BOYFRIENDS BOYFRIENDS BOYFRIENDS” ya feel. It’s always on panels like the ones I brought up, because people do recognize a romantic slant when they see one. You don’t learn to detect that from media, you learn it from living long before you start caring about morality politics in shipping. Thus I interpret the screaming very much as LALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU-

P.S. actually I do want to add one final note because I know what the fancops will say even if they take all this at face value: Grooming refers to “actions deliberately undertaken to befriend and establish an emotional connection with a child, to lower the child’s inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity.”

Dating someone you knew when you were underage does not equal grooming. Grooming is a purposeful crime. “Even if they’re dating now that’s grooming!” incorrect! Please do not only listen to your friends about the law, they may also tell you a cop has to tell you if they're a cop (they do not) or any number of other very wrong things. Google is free.

[voxpopulidei]

Why Vox Wouldn't Do It

This is an OOC post and it has been born out of @elsa-fogen dark and amazing Incompatiable Frequencies (18+) AU , where Vox will (judging by the warnings) take Alastor by force and against his will, and this comment:

There are a few reasons of why I'm 99% positive that canon Vox wouldn't take Alastor by force, and I'm gonna yap about them in a minute.

The funny thing is, though, that Alastor himself was likely pretty sure that Vox COULD do that to him... for the entire first day and night of his capture. That's why he looked so done with everything, so stressed and tense, especially at the moment where Vox got out of bed after having sex with Valentino that Alastor had to witness.

He probably thought he'd be next - before Vox got dressed and dragged him to his desk instead.

After that Alastor realized that Vox wouldn't cross certain lines, and became his usual bratty confident self.

So what are the signs that Vox wouldn't do it?

1. Vox's handsiness and his attitude towards other's touches. Vox is a handsy loudmouth bother. That's for sure.

He touches people constantly. His allies, his foes, strangers. And he doesn't seem to pay much attention to their discomfort (as a handsy loudmouth bother that he is).

But it's not a one-way street with Vox.

If you really pay attention, Vox never moves away from other's touches, even if they make him uncomfortable or happen at the wrong time. For him, tactile contact is so natural that it looks like it never occurs to him that one can simply reject it.

He's handsy, but he's also very open to touch himself. He never really minds it, despite the emotions or the situation. He almost never moves away from someone else's hands. That's how his brain and body operate.

(Off topic, it might be the reason of why they work so well with Val: Vox has no issue when Val pushes his boundaries a little, just as he has no issue with his physical violence.

First of all, because Vox knows that Val is no real threat to him, he can handle everything; second of all, because Val always lowkey has his consent, as Vox has his).

2. Vox's attitude towards tactile contact with Alastor in particular.

Oh boy, where do I start.

It's already majorly defined by fandom, that Alastor mostly uses touch himself to intimidate or influence people around him. Or to toy with them. Even then, he avoids excessive touching.

Vox is a VERY tactile person. He uses touch for intimidation, influence, affection, out of excitement, when seeking relief, to attract attention, but also just because that's the way he is. Vox doesn't even register half of the gestures and touches he makes (hence his incredulous expression at Alastor's "creep" claim).

He even hugs himself when emotional. What's there to add.

Anyways, throughout season 2 (before Vox had a full meltdown at the Lilith's might incident) we can see that Vox, in fact, is very responsive to Alastor's touches and reactions. It's funny and sad at the same time, how easy it is for Alastor to move him.

In a fight, Vox holds Alastor up by his throat to the wall. He believes himself a winner. Alastor is in no position to call the shots. But it takes this one touch for Vox to release Alastor and move away.

Alastor can pull him by the collar to get his full attention and Vox just... lets him. He could at least slap him on the wrist to make him let go. But he doesn't. It feels like in Vox's mind, Alastor is entitled to that touch.

Yet when Alastor moves away, and really SHOWS it with his body language, Vox pulls away himself. Though he really doesn't have to, does he? He's in control, he's just dragged Alastor all around his room. Vox can electrocute him, can reopen the angelic wound, can threaten him and prop his chin up to make him look at himself, but this is where he pulls away?

Ah. But everything else is a mutual game to Vox. The fights are mutual. Their right to touch each other is mutual (in his mind, lol, Alastor doesn't think so at all). Their right to hurt each other is mutual.

Even before the very end, when Alastor already revealed his plan and his real motives, when he calls Vox an idiot and an amateur and predictable, Vox, angry and shocked, allows him to twist his wire around his wrist - and then rip it away. What was that hesitation? Why did he allow him to catch the wire? Why is he so fucking responsive to every Alastor's touch, even when he consciously understands that something is wrong?

In Alastor's words, he's too easy.

Wrapped around Alastor's little finger until his total meltdown.

The entire Don't You Forget (Reprise) Alastor tried to show that even when he's tied up, he's a menace (which is true). And Vox bought it, despite all the "bottomest bitch" insults.

Because Alastor, even when weakened, is someone only Lucifer could take out (in the words of the other Overlords). Alastor can be a threat even in a spinny chair. Alastor, in Vox's mind, is so fucking high on a pedestal, that no matter how you hurt him, he doesn't really get hurt.

It's fun to annoy him, to overpower him, to show off to him, but there's one thing Vox is absolutely unable to do till the very end, when nothing matters to him at all.

To completely lose Radio demon's approval.

3. The need of Alastor's approval.

Some say that in this scene Vox is embarrassed mostly because he forgot about Val.

I call bullshit. That's not the only reason.

I think Vox also felt called out on his desire, and this desire isn't something he's willing to confess to anyone. Especially to Alastor.

Look how annoyed Alastor looks at Val's proposal. How he's annoyed at the very dumb thought of something occurring between him and Vox.

He would be so repulsed if he knew that Vox really wouldn't mind sleeping with him. He would look at Vox with such contempt that Vox wouldn't be able to bear it.

That would be it. Alastor would n e v e r approve of him again. He would never forgive him.

No, no, no. Vox is higher than that. Better than that. He is a fucking perfection. Sharper, brighter, newer, and therefore not dirty in the least. He never even had those thoughts in the first place, he swears. He would fucking never. Al should chill out, of course he's safe. Them together, fucking? What a dumb idea, ha-ha. So stupid. Val should cut it out.

Vox is a sadist and he gets high on power, but with his partners, with the subjects of his love or infatuation? With people he deems close or important without calling them that?

He definitely separates his relationships and his sadistic games.

Unlike to Valentino, mutuality matters to him. Vox is both a narcissist and a people pleaser. We don't know if his hypnosis canonically works on Alastor (probably not, because he never used it once - or maybe it's one of the lines he doesn't dare to cross). If it worked, he could make Alastor say anything. Make him behave in any way.

But Vox needs a sign. Needs fucking permission. He needs real Alastor to tell him, that he can proceed, before he can proceed, because otherwise Alastor will hate him - not like he hates him right now, but for real. Irreversibly. Because then he wouldn't get any approval.

Because he wouldn't be wanted in return, and being wanted in return is something Vox desperately needs. He craves adoration, he craves attention, he craves approval - and when it comes to Alastor, a single person he deemed higher than himself, there is no fucking way Vox goes against his wishes and initiates unwanted sex.

He wants Alastor to approve him and want him back first. He wants Alastor to be impressed. Without that, sex has no meaning.

Valentino doesn't get it, and he doesn't get why the fuck cannot Vox just take what he obviously wants and be done with that. For him consent is very optional.

For Vox, it's a guarantee of mutuality that he seeks.

He can be handsy and tactile, because most of his own touches fly over his radar, but sex is another thing. Not because Vox is so much more noble than Val. No, it's because of his own triggers and needs.

And after a full day of capture Alastor probably realized that about Vox as well.

[pangur-and-grim]

I've read a few recently published books, and there's this recurring pattern where if anyone does anything bad and interesting, they have to later talk about it in a way that makes it clear that it was a misunderstanding/ justified/ not their fault, so they're still a good person. and if they have a disagreement with another character, they have to therapy talk it out, regardless of their background. it doesn't matter if this is a street urchin with three teeth who just stabbed and kidnapped someone, you will get eloquent sterile therapy speak that will smooth out any possible emotional tension. and everyone asks for permission before they kiss, and waits for a clear enthusiastic yes. again, doesn't matter the character's background or situation, they will ask "can I please kiss you," because if they didn't, that could get all yucky and uncertain, couldn't it? and if a character is from a rich family, they will hate being in a rich family, and hate wealth signifiers, and actually be all for class equality. and everyone is casually queer, without thought being put into how that would mesh with the society that is being described. like yes, this is violent class-based system obsessed with inheritance, but no, it's not actually a problem that the child they've coldly groomed to take on the family mantle is unwilling to beget an heir because of gay. the parents might be terrible, cruel and fascistic, but they're not homophobic! I don't know, it just seems like EVERYTHING that could actually be messy gets sanded and sanded until it's smooth as a shark, but the Fun Violence is allowed to stay, because bloodshed doesn't actually bother anyone or have any consequence apart from your rogue character shrugging and going oops, was that me? the rogue is still a good person though. if you think they're not, just wait for the two solid pages of introspection. and yes they started the book by slitting two throats, but that was fine. they will ask permission before hugging you.

[pangur-and-grim]

[whumperofworlds]

The last time I saw my old psychiatrist before they had to leave their job for reasons after 10+ years seeing them, they mentioned how they read my fics here and on AO3.

Yes, this includes the whump fics.

They said, and I quote, "Writing that kind of thing doesn't make you a bad person."

They're right.

So remember folks. Just because you write whump, you're not a bad person. If it helps you or you enjoy it, keep doing it :)

[forthetaintedsorrow-whump]

Exactly.

Just remember if it did make you a bad person then George R R Martin is a bad person, so are the people who stared in Game of Thrones, because they're complicit, Alien, horror movies, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Steven King, all the actors in all their movies, etc etc every writer and every actor there ever was is a bad person because at the heart of EVERY story is the whump of some hero.

Even the stories that aren't focused on horror and gore.

So all of humanity are bad people.

Or, maybe it's just that the purity police and adult superstition has entered your mind and made you believe lies.

Whump is just a genre of writing. That's it. It's simply the deeper, technical exploration of emotions and behavior under strenuous circumstances. Yeah, you can get enjoyment out of it. Doesn't change what it is. People get enjoyment out of eating super hot peppers. Doesn't change that it also hurts.

[giulia-lo-art]

A chit-chat (epilogue)

[anisecandy]

Chat, I think he might be stupid

[lace-hazbin]

Vox and Alastor go to couples therapy

[ashlikesnow2]

Alastor Flirting with Vincent (Murdermedia AU)

[koyo8]

I didn't plan to draw any radiostatic/murdermedia stuff, but Static by @mak3morn is SOO INCREDIBLY GOOD that I just couldn’t resist sketching a scene inspired by it. I think about this story every single day, thank you for keeping me alive!!

[boogbug]

Do you think it's time I stopped?

[cherry-blitz]

Al experimenting with how long can he touch Vincent until it triggers his touch repulsion.

[anisecandy]

Enemies to lovers is great... but enemies and lovers is lovely too!

(Also Charlie wishes she and Vaggie had what they have 😤)

[lovelastart]

Late post for Fukuzawa's birthday!! Their outfits are from Adachi-sensei's Untold Origins art on new year 💖

[bsd-confessions-blog]

Okay I was scrolling thru a tag and found Fukuran and it made me think... like, how do ppl actually ship that?

Fukuzawa met with Ranpo when Ranpo was a vulnerable minor who was homeless and struggling. Fukuzawa already holds more power in that situation.

Besides, the age gap is over 20 years, and like... is it not one of those ships that feels illegal? If its an AU with different ages, fine. If they had met when Ranpo was 26 and Fukuzawa was 45? Fine. But in canon, they met when Ranpo was a vulnerable minor and Fukuzawa was an adult with money and a home.

If Fukuzawa fell in love 'at first sight' that's fucking pedophilia to matter how you spin it. If Ranpo fell in love gradually with Fukuzawa, that could be interpreted as Fukuzawa unintentionally grooming Ranpo. Like???? I get if you want to ship it, but at LEAST make them both full grown 25+ adults when they meet for the first time, not 16 and 45!!! 25 is the age your brain is fully finished developing!! If you want to ship Ranpo with, IDK, Dazai, thats okay because both are in the same age range! The age gap is 20 years with Fukuran! 20 years! Ranpo's brain was still developing when he met Fukuzawa. HE WAS A MINOR.

The only time I have read a Fukuran fic was when it was appropriately tagged and titled 'BSD Dead Dove Smut-shots (or smth like that. IDK it was 4am don't judge me)'.

LIKE. FUKURAN IS A DEAD DOVE SHIP. Just like Morichuu or Morizai. I HONESTLY DONT SEE WHY THE FANDOM TREATS THEM DIFFERENTLY. Yes, Mori in these ships is (usually) emotionally or physically manipulative or abusive. Yes, in most of the time, Fukuzawa is a kind and more caring lover to Ranpo. I understand they are different. BUT IT IS THE SAME AGE RANGE FOR BOTH. IT IS DISGUSTING THAT PEOPLE SHIP IT.

IT IS DEAD DOVE AND SHOULD BE LABELED AS SUCH. If they love each other PLATONICALLY as FATHER-SON I am okay with that. It makes sense honestly, if they care for each other so much after the years. Ranpo has basically followed Fukuzawa around like a duckling since day 1. Fukuzawa started the entire agency for Ranpo. Them having a platonic, loving relationship, just makes sense. Them having a romantic relationship disgusts me.

People can ship what they want to ship. I am not attacking people who ship differently than me. I just hate that people don't treat this ship like dead dove when it really should be treated as such. (If I didn't do this anon ISTG I'd be terrifying of asking it but whatever)

ʚїɞ

[flaresanimedump]

Little kids I beg you do your math homework instead of worrying about this 😂

[boogbug]

Do you think it's time I stopped?

[queer-scots-geordie-dyke]

So many so called progressives obsessed with policing consenting adults sex lives might as well be puritanical Christians.

“It’s problematic.” Just say sinful, you know you want to.

A 25 year old and a 50 year old want to fuck? None of your business. A couple wishes to roleplay different power dynamic scenarios? None of your business. Someone has a rape/dubcon fantasy they wish to play out in a safe, consensual setting? None of your business. Someone wishes to participate in group sex with 20 other people at the same time? None of your business.

Literally none of your fucking business what consenting adults do to each other in the privacy of their own spaces.

[frozencakey-deactivated20251115]

I see my favourite characters and my mind immediately goes "De-age them! De-age them!"