Ahh ur bleak primmadona fic reignited my old DOS feelings...since im assuming boruto is a thing how IS hinata dealing with this nasty fallout? Does boruto sense the Tension but kinda dismiss it?
**rubs my hands together in a cartoony villainous way** Yessss, good, yesss come wallow in the bleak primadonna AU with me, sociallinkmax. But also, I recently felt nostalgic for DoS, too, and just had so many feelings! Unfortunately, bleak politically flavored feelings, but feelings nonetheless! Join meeeee
To preface: I still haven’t consumed any Boruto, so what I do know is limited to whatever I glean from the wiki, but even before when I was doing future fic I did try to incorporate as much Boruto canon as possible—in that, canon kids will still exist biologically, even if their familial arrangements aren’t the same (primary case in point is Sarada. Like, whether or not Sakako (my ShikakoxSasuke OC) exists, and because I don’t think DoS Sakura and DoS Sasuke would end up together naturally, Sarada can still exist because of surrogacy and maybe the repopulation program intending to revive the Sharingan? I try not to think about it too hard even though my brain was the one who came up with it)
Anyways, all that said: as with Indelible, this particular AU is not great for Hinata… I don’t mean to keep going on tangents with these questions, but it kind of relates to how Neji feels about the whole situation.
And, like, don’t get me wrong, obviously Hinata’s opinions are independent of Neji’s but the consequences she has to deal with relate to how Neji (and the Branch House of the Hyuuga in general) react to Shikako 1) doing something reminiscent of what happened to Hizashi but also 2) leaving her career as a shinobi behind to become an actress.
Because on the one hand, probably Neji doesn’t feel great about Shikako’s extra judicial execution of foreign prisoners sent to prevent war—even though it’s not an exact one-to-one situation of what happened with his father, and, like, maybe even part of him approves of it because if his uncle had gotten revenge when HIS twin brother was killed for political reasons then at least Neji would have known he cared WAY sooner than the half-assed “let’s train now that you’ve proven yourself a genius” bullshit.
But on the other hand, except for TenTen—who I imagine, as his teammate, has known about the Caged Bird Seal since they were genin and has probably made several attempts to do something about it—the only Seal Master Konoha has is Shikako. So the Branch House’s current hope of removing the seal would be her. So, like… O_O … not great that she seems to have left it all behind her. And who knows when there will be a Seal Master again? They appear MAYBE once or twice in a generation. And even with the Nara clan doing sealing seminars, true mastery involves a level of innovation and ingenuity that isn’t common. (This also is after Danzo has been dealt with, which means that ROOT has been dealt with, which probably means that Shikako would have had to deactivate/remove the ROOT seals on all of those agents, so by this point the implication is that she could do it, the only thing stopping her is Hyuuga clan autonomy/laws)
All of this is assuming that Neji is alive in DoS future fic—which I think he is, because Shikako has made a lot of changes at this point to make everyone stronger, but also she’s been going through a rough patch in which a lot of her actions have taken a turn for the worse (ie an Orochimaru-traumatized Ino and one-arm-down-Shikamaru and Hot Springs/Aoba and War with Cloud) so she could use a win. But even if he isn’t, as far as I can tell from the wiki, even though Boruto and Himawari are both Hyuuga clan members (while having the Uzumaki name?) and seem to have a good relationship with their grandfather, there is ZERO talk about Neji or even the Branch House in general or, like, the whole… CAGED BIRD SEAL WHICH IS PRETTY IMPORTANT. (And, again, I haven’t seen Boruto, so maybe I’m very wrong about this. In which case, my bad.)
A generous reading would be that it was dealt with before the events of Boruto… but a petty/bleak interpretation would be that… of course it’s not going to show up in Boruto: he’s part of the Main House. And—if we’re getting real political about it—while Hinata isn’t clan heiress, she also doesn’t have the seal. And while Hanabi IS clan heiress, she doesn’t have any kids. So theoretically, the line of succession for Hyuuga clan leadership goes: Hiashi -> Hanabi -> either Boruto or Himawari, depending on how much of an “official clan” the Uzumaki are.
What I’m saying is… the ANY clans could poach the Branch House out from under the Main House by either implying or actually offering to remove the Caged Bird Seal if they were to go through with the secession.
All of that to say: Hinata is on Naruto’s side, of course, and not just by default—she also isn’t fond of killing in general and the situation, again, is weirdly reminiscent of the Cloud Incident--which means Hinata’s friendships are not doing so hot considering the queen bee nature/social capital that is the one-two punch of Ino and Shikako. Obviously Shikako is out being Kako Heijo, so it’s not like she’s doing anything to Hinata’s social situation, but considering the whole divide/secret civil war is Shikako vs Naruto it’s pretty obvious that whoever internally sides with Shikako is not going to be particularly fond of Konoha's First Lady. And Ino doesn’t even have to be active—like with Indelible, if she just ignores Hinata’s existence except for coldly professional interactions, a lot of others are going to follow, kunoichi especially.
Which would orient Hinata more towards socializing with her family. But, again, the whole Branch House and Caged Bird Seal situation. Because there’s an additional… hm, how do I phrase this... so, this isn’t intentional on Naruto’s part, but this does go back into the problem of him as the Hokage not learning/respecting clan laws but also, seemingly hypocritically, favoring his own personal interests. I’m getting real convoluted, but from the outside (by which I mean, Ino-and-Chouji-being-coldly-furious POVs) it looks like Naruto did not respect that the councilors from Sand were meant to be a wergild type thing to the Nara clan as an apology for Shikamaru’s assassination. So what should have been an internal clan matter—of the Nara clan meting out vengeance on behalf of their lost head/heir—became a village wide thing when Naruto didn’t turn the prisoners over to the Nara clan.
So that’s not great, but unfortunately it gets worse. (Lolololol, come wallow with me! :D)
BECAUSE it would be one thing if this were just a general movement towards decreasing clan autonomy in exchange for a more uniform treatment across the village. Which, I’ll admit, is needed (the clan system is literally nepotism or, at the very least, contributes to it. Like. Shikako literally offered to introduce Sakura to her aunt who worked in the hospital. She even admitted that was the route she would have taken if she hadn’t been put on a viable genin team. The fact that Sakura succeeded without that is a credit to her own merits, of course, but the hook up was still available to her)
BUT the fact that members of the Hyuuga Branch House still have a slavery/torture seal on them (presumably, if we’re being petty/bleak, which we are) and THAT clan autonomy is seemingly protected by Naruto… is not great. So, again, from an outside/cynical POV, it looks like Naruto is favoring the Hyuuga clan getting to keep their (fucked up) traditions but withheld the Nara clan’s right to the apology offering of the councilors from Sand.
Obviously, I’m not saying Naruto intended for this to happen—but from a cynical outsider’s POV it looks like he denied the clan rights and legitimate revenge of his teammate who happens to be:
1) the only person who can undo the Caged Bird Seal, which would radically decrease his wife/children’s position in the clan with Konoha’s major blood limit (there might be a Sharingan revival program happening, but that’ll take generations before its viable if at all)
2) a more qualified alternative for Hokage
So it could be misconstrued as Naruto tricking Shikako into committing a—pretty egregious—crime in order to keep power for himself/his family.
… I think I got extremely off track from your questions which… uh…
I guess it depends how much of a secret Neji (and the Branch House as a whole) are keeping their “will secede from Konoha with the ANY clans as soon as this fucking seal is off our forehead” plan. Because. Well. It doesn’t look good that there isn’t much mention of the Branch House in Boruto. And how fucking galling it must be to see Hiashi being a doting grandfather with Boruto and Himawari when there are Branch House members their age (or younger! I think Neji was younger than Himawari when the Main House put the seal on him?) with the Caged Bird Seal.
Like, if it’s taken this long to address it (and also, again, from a pessimist’s POV it looks like Hinata’s husband pseudo-banished their one hope) Neji may just assume neither Hinata nor Hanabi can be trusted to follow through on abolishing the seal, much less taking steps to remove the ones that already exist. But, as the in-law of the Hokage, he can’t exactly be seen conspiring with the other side of the cold civil war, which probably leads to his frustration being pointed at the Main House (which it should.) So… it’s not great for Hinata on the family side either.
As for Boruto… I don’t think he would catch all of it. Similar to Shikadai, he does feel the vibes from his parents that they’re uneasy around the ANY clans and vice versa. And also similar to Shikadai he’s kind of a double prince (son of Hokage and in direct line/Main Family of the Hyuuga clan, again, the biggest blood limit of Konoha) but it’s a lot easier for him; he gets more privileges and less responsibility. (Versus Shikadai’s double prince situation being the opposite where he HAS to learn/be ready to be the Nara clan heir—either Shikaku who really ought to be enjoying his retirement by now, or Kino who actually wants to be Kasuga’s heir, are the ones running the clan currently, but they are basically waiting for Shikadai to be old enough. Also, there are still no other options but him for Kazekage after Kankurou... and there’s the whole Magnetic Release thing. He’s a stressed lad.)
Weirdly enough, I like the idea that Boruto figures out a lot of what’s going on because he pays so much attention to Shikadai. Like… there might be a one-sided rivalry since Shikadai is probably Top Student in their class. He, like Shikako, is one of the rare Nara who is just always motivated and he has the intelligence, power, skill, and work ethic to back it up. And from what I’ve gleaned of Boruto’s character, while he is also intelligent, powerful, and skilled, he’s more about instant gratification/the easy way out. It’s a more balanced rivalry than what canon Naruto and Sasuke had going on, that’s for sure, but because they’re on different genin teams (and the deliciously bleak politics in this AU) it doesn’t lend itself into friendship as easily.
The vibe is, if Boruto were to ever approach his generation of Ino-Shika-Chou, it would go like thus:
1) Chouchou overtly glaring at/being hostile to Boruto because her dad, who likes basically everyone and is super chill, very clearly goes stony faced whenever the Hokage comes up. As if he is getting ready to protect people from the Hokage at all times. She may not know why, but she feels it for sure, and I think it’s something that she would subconsciously (or just straight up consciously) mimic with Boruto. Also, depending on how far along the ANY clans are in actually going through with their secession, of her generation she would be the one who has the most idea of it. In the sense that as clan heiress (or third in line if Chouza is still acting as clan head and so Chouji is still clan heir) she knows there’s a lot of large scale construction happening on Akimichi property outside the village. Definitely bigger than all three clan compounds combined, maybe almost rivaling one of the smaller hidden villages?
2) Inojin does not meet his eyes. I wouldn’t say Inojin is scared of Boruto, but what he gleaned from his parents is that the Hokage did something that causes them to choose their words carefully. That he did something that led to them being deprived of someone they love. And considering who his dad is… while it’s not exactly classic bedtime story material, I think there would have been a straightforward yet gently phrased explanation of what Sai went through as a child. Which wouldn’t exactly instill Inojin with faith in the Hokage—a single figure with that much political power is not to be trusted--and then, also, the ROOT seal to Caged Bird Seal comparison not looking great for Boruto either considering his confusing but privileged status in the Hyuuga Main House. Inojin understandably is nervous around Boruto who seems to have access to so much social and/or political power but isn’t mindful of it.
3) Shikadai is TOO BUSY AND STRESSED (and, in a way, grieving both of his parents—the father he never met who his existence seems to remind everyone of constantly, and his mother who he has only ever known post heartbreak of losing a brother, a husband, and her love for her home). He does not have time to care about what Boruto is doing unless it is an immediate threat.
All of which is to say, Boruto does notice some kind of tension but mostly because he’s trying to get Shikadai to notice him. And also because Chouchou hates his guts for seemingly no reason, lol.
Hm… I know I’ve said that Sakako doesn’t exist in this, but I really feel like this AU could benefit from a teen Branch House Hyuuga—I don’t want them to be Neji’s kid, necessarily, just an “average” Branch House Hyuuga teen will do—mostly because it would highlight some of the above mentioned issues. And it would also, on the one hand, be funny if the only thing Shikadai was a normal kid about was having a crush on an attractive older teen (which infuriates Boruto, lol.) But it would be another clue for Boruto to catch onto something weird happening if Chouchou and Inojin also have no problems with that teen, in that the ANY clans don’t have a problem with the ENTIRE Hyuuga clan (just the Main House, aka the part that Naruto is directly connected to)
… and that concludes my rambling villainous monologue that only vaguely answers your questions. :D
Some Wordplay with Resolve is very much up there rn. i also have fondness over No Martydom Allowed but its very bittersweet concidering uhhhhh voltron. Not to mention how it .........ended
I’m so glad you like Wordplay with Resolve because I’m always really proud of that one, even if it’s not the most popular of my fics. Side effect of writing for a Tales game from 2011
ALSO YEAH... LMAO... I was so hopeful for hunk and allura having characterful and impactful moments that showed off their strengths as characters and friends. and then voltron was the way it was. very sad
Please imagine me just delivering these on a platter to ur sickbed: akira, minako, ochako, iida, (tries to think of a marvel comic person) uhh flash
thank you, thank you. who needs cough medicine when you have shipping.
(edit: i’m 99% healthy. it took me that long to finish this mess.)
AKIRA: okay, i think i remember telling you how i was pretty chill with akira ships. like, if done right, i don’t mind any of them, except for futaba (because they’re siblings, fu). besides our collective issues with atlus and their inability to not be weird when it comes to the girls. also, i feel like what makes the p5 kids feel the most like actual friends is also what makes it harder for me to fully invest in any individual dynamic - they all meet throughout the course of the game (even ann and ryuji aren’t close friends beforehand, and there’s definitely no drama between them) and they help each other heal and get past their abusers so that they can have a fresh start and feel free to be normal teenagers. so there’s little to actually grab onto when searching for….anything layered? like, compared to the p3 kids who have so much inner turmoil that they take out on each other - or the p4 kids, who can’t be completely truthful to themselves or each other. the p5 kids do have baggage, but not with each other. which makes for healthier bonds but also more boring ship dynamics lmao. all very cute and fluffy, but not a lot of substance.
point is, i don’t really have much to say? like akira/yusuke is fun and silly. akira is eccentric and cool enough to go along with yusuke’s antics, and even though p5 always gives us an option to be mean, i can’t imagine akira ACTUALLY thinking that kind of stuff? like, he’s a weirdo too so he just. gets it. yusuke basically takes akira out on dates during his social link. they lend themselves well to model/artist headcanons and aus. they don’t realize they’re dating until a few months into their relationship - one of the others had to point it out and yusuke’s like ‘oh? is that what this is??’ and akira’s like ‘thank god’ bc he was too awkward to bring it up himself. futaba makes fun of them a lot.
akira and ryuji are cute too. i’ve gotten a bit fond of the boner squad (br)ot3 too. just ann/ryuji/akira being dumbasses. or ann/shiho+ryuji/akira being dumbasses while going on double dates. there’s also not really much to it - just the usual persona teen boy ‘no-homo-bromo-but-it’s-actually-homo’ fare. ryuji’s less possessive and repressed about it than yosuke is, though. which is good (ie more healthy) bc it’s more like akira found himself a human puppy jock boyfriend, and it’s cute! ryuji instantly decided he liked akira and started planning their secret handshake and selecting their cool delinquent hangout spot. and akira just smiles through it all bc he’s charmed. morgana gives akira the most judgemental stare ever when he finds out though.
i like akira/haru bc she’s who i dated in my playthrough. they’re soft and sweet and i think a slow relationship built on patience is good for both of them. and they have the most obvious phantom thief couple aesthetic, tbh. they also have the ‘demure wallflower by day, trigger-happy hellion by night’ thing going on. i love the idea of them opening up a coffee place together (their futures align! this is the SO that sojiro approves the fastest lbr!) and akira being haru’s trophy husband (let this man be someone’s trophy husband).
akira/goro’s the one with the most depth lmao as our boy akechi gets the short end of the stick re: what everyone else got - to defeat their abuser and come out the other side a new and improved person. INSTEAD, it’s all about deep-rooted envy and what-ifs. when i replayed p5 for my friend’s benefit, she kept being like ‘wow ok akechi’s got….the most obvious crush on mc. why is he always here? why does he talk like that? omg?’ and my sentiments exactly. AKIRA’S thoughts exactly, tbh, bc what else is he supposed to get out of some of the things that come out of goro’s mouth. but it’s like….he DOES like akira, but he also resents his existence because akira gets to have real bonds and happiness despite the crappy hand dealt to him. and their own bond is based on careful lies and observing each other for any cracks in their armour. but there’s that undertone of wishing that they’d met in other circumstances, where they COULD have a normal relationship and get to know each other in a way that’s not ‘we levelled up our relationship when you shot me in the face with the intent of murdering me and framing me for my own death but really, i tricked you and you didn’t actually kill me & now we can defeat you and your dad! ha! checkmate!!’ but i love that that’s actually part of the dynamic so lmao.
MINAKO: you know, despite minako and minato being considerably different (both their external personality/appearances > emo boy/preppy girl - and the changes in their dialogue choices > again, minako is a lot more confrontational and energetic), i pretty much just ship them with the same people?
the only exceptions of this being i ship minako with shinjiro and yukari but can’t really fathom either of them with minato. (it’s bc yukari is a lesbian and shinji does not deal well with sullen people. like, what’s he supposed to do? pat minato on the back?)
i will also warn that it’s been….forever since p3 so i’m kinda fuzzy on details.
anywhoooooo, AIGIS. main protag ship is aigis. idc which protag, but i must give atlus my once-in-a-blue-moon compliment because they kept aigis’ social link and her blatantly romantic feelings for the protag the exact same in portable. so minako/aigis is just as canon as minato/aigis, buahaha. anyway. robot girlfriend who starts off being somehow programmed to feel protective/indebted to minako but then starts developing real genuine feelings as she explores her humanity, minako wanting to show aigis how to enjoy herself while putting the emphasis on aigis’ feelings and opinions but also being so amazed and grateful for aigis’ love and attention. also, the difference between protags here being that while minato is silently intimate, minako is loudly loving. the utter tragedy that is aigis not being able to save the person she cares about, the imagery of minako’s head in her lap while they wait for the end is….A Lot. i think in a lot of tragic robot/human romance fiction, the robot gives up its life for their human partner so i like the reverse here - with aigis having to experience the emotions of loss and depression and overcoming that because she truly loved mina(k/t)o and now they’re gone. it’s heavy! it’s a lot! i just remembered i never finished the p3 movies! i should do that!
there’s ryouji. again, don’t care which protag - just like the idea of our mc flirting with death. literally flirting with the avatar of death. the double sides of the ship: goofy teenage flirting vs warning of impending doom. ryouji just being like ‘yeah just kill me it’s for the best i’m actually here to destroy the world or w/e’ to his gf (or bf) out of nowhere on christmas eve lmao. it’s fun, idk.
yukari! honestly, taking out all the forced hetero ship teasing made me ship her with minako more lmao their social link was just better! no offense! and their personalities mesh better too - i feel like yukari would get way too frustrated with a closed-off partner and i love concept of: the huffy takes-no-shits girl being soft for her cheerful outgoing gf. also, i spent way too long imagining the answer with minako - the aigis/minako/yukari would be heartwrenching and we deserve it.
shinjiro! can i start off by saying it’s a good thing shinji was in p3, which did the best job of showing the characters apart from the protagonist and main plot (prob bc on the other hand, it did the worst job with social links seeing as none of the guys had them) - i feel like in p4 or p5, we wouldn’t have gotten to know him nearly as well before he died. anyway, his social link with minako is really sweet and a romance between them hits my ‘tsundere/flustered boy not knowing how to deal with affection from pretty girl he respects a lot’ checkpoints. and i need to talk about this: i feel like the decision to make him comatose instead of dead if you romance him was a double edged sword disguised as a blessing lol. because he was still DYING before he got shot, and also he wakes up just in time to find out his girlfriend died! fhdhfgdjd!
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uraraka……okay: i ship her with tsuyu, bakugou, iida, mina and toga.
oh, here’s a story. before i got into bnha, i stumbled on a bunch of deku/uraraka amvs and they were so precious. like, really, deku and ochako are the cutest goddamn things in this series. seeing them side by side makes me want to channel my inner grandmother and pinch their cheeks. it was, like, the only thing i knew about bnha at first, so i just figured i’d end up shipping it whenever i eventually got to watching it bc i’m easy to please like that. but ha. nah. it’s sad bc i love their dynamic when it’s focusing on their actual friendship but then the actual romantic hints made me want to roll my eyes so hard. it’s so BORING if you take it at face-value, and i’m so boggled by it if you look deeper bc i don’t understand what hori’s planning here. it’s irritating bc even uraraka admits that her borderline obsession (and that’s what it is, since it’s compared to TOGA’S CRUSHES…y’know, our resident yandere serial killer?) is detrimental to her growth as a hero. and i know it’s partially bc she’s a teenager but its blown so out of proportion. it’s a crush!! relax!!! like, compare to deku’s crush on uraraka where after he got over his initial anxiety of talking to girls, he - at most - just blushes a little when she stands too close or dresses extra-cute. every other time, he treats her no differently than any of his other friends. but then uraraka’s crush is treated like. this weirdly twisted admiration she doesn’t even WANT. she relates to a villain’s desire to imitate and become the person they like, she gets ridiculously jealous every time he looks at another girl, she keeps fucking up because she focuses too much on him and how to be like him. it’s weird. idk. typical fiction tropes lead me to believe i’m supposed to root for them to get together (and bnha will end with an epilogue where they have a child named after a food) but the story i’m being told makes me want to root for uraraka to succeed at getting over those feelings! idfk!!!
also, i have to laugh at the way horikoshi decided to tell us and uraraka herself that these feelings were romantic. by having aoyama just be like ‘oh you were thinking what would izuku midoriya do? could it be you love him?’ when we see multiple male friends of deku’s (iida and todo, in particular - hell, even aoyama himself) have similar WWMD thoughts and he, in turn, instantly imitates bakugou whenever he hits a roadblock (taking inspiration from to downright copying bakugou’s moves, trash talking his opponents, etc). am i supposed to see only uraraka’s feelings as romantic? why? because she’s a girl and deku’s a guy?
i like it better when iida’s involved. both iida and uraraka are so sweet and enthusiastic to counter deku’s more nervous personality, and they’re a very good trio! i tend to prefer them as a brot3 but as i said, i do ship iida/uraraka seperately! i don’t have any big reasons for it except i enjoy how contagiously energetic and silly they are around each other? dramatic too - remember the ‘REACH FOR MY HAND’ scene when all the UA students were freaking out? it’s just a simple best friend dynamic like what they have with deku but there’s no weird one-sided jealousy/competitiveness involved (luckily, iida got over it after the stain arc haha). they don’t end up feeling bad or unworthy of the praise they get from the other - which is great, because they’re very complimentary towards each other! iida is so understanding (his immediate reaction to uraraka being self-conscious about her reason for pursuing heroism) & uraraka is usually the one who vocalizes how cool and talented iida is (while also giggling her ass off whenever he gets all extra-dramatic)! tbh, curse their aborted moment after iida’s match with mei! let them praise each other!!! i like that their seats are so close to each other too - i wonder how horikoshi decided on the seating plan. but uraraka’s tendency to shake iida by the shoulders is precious & i bet you he breaks his staunch ‘follow-every-rule’ mentality when it comes to uraraka writing him little notes in class. also, maybe uraraka just deserves a sweet+rich boyfriend. it’s that easy. lmao.
i already talked about bakugou/uraraka. it’s great, dripping with potential, needs more canon interaction. i only trust a portion of its fanbase to do them properly. but this is the case for almost every big ship. (where’s that one fandom meme where one of the questions was like ‘what do you hate seeing in fanfic/content for them’ bc NOW THAT I’M ACTUALLY READING FANFIC AGAIN, LEMME TELL YOU. BEING A MULTISHIPPER IS HARD.)
tsuyu and uraraka are just genuinely a good match? i like the contrast between uraraka - who is emotional and upbeat - and tsuyu - who is calm and rational. but they’re both very perceptive? their first night at the dorms is a good indicator of how their dynamic works. the others are quick to accept that tsuyu doesn’t want to play along with the room competition, but uraraka both provides the excuse and lingers behind with worry. she probably had to convince tsuyu that it was okay for her to vocalize her feelings to the bakugou rescue squad, and volunteered to be with her during said confrontation. compare to the forest where tsuyu sweetly and calmly offers uraraka her hand because she sees her friend is scared, without actually needing to say anything else. they’re sweethearts. i absolutely adore them. oh, and i dig their earth/sky + pink/green aesthetic clash.
uraraka and mina are based on two things: 1) they’re always hugging and hanging out in official art/sketches (mina even has a selfie of them hanging on her wall of pics in her room) so i can only assume they’re super-close gal pals that should kiss, 2) i love shipping silly idiots together and it’s hard to find ships like this that are f/f but these two fit that specific chaotic mold!!! and 3) AESTHETIC DREAM!!! PINK SPACE GIRLS!!!! DO I NEED ANY OTHER REASONS? NO. NO, I DO NOT.
HOLY SHIT, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S OFFICIALLY CANON THAT TOGA HAS A ROMANTIC CRUSH ON URARAKA? again, i could write an essay on coding and how frustrating it is for characters like toga to usually be bi/pan. but no one’s claiming this a win for rep. and i’m FASCINATED by this dynamic. toga loves stain-sama for his ideals and how that enables her nature to kill. she loves deku-kun out of curiousity for his ideals and the fact they met when he was beaten to a pulp lmao. and she loves ochako-chan because she sees herself in her - she thinks that they share ideals. again, i have no idea what the long-term meaning for this development is but it’s clearly pitting them against each other? and adding a romantic element to that is hmmmmmmmmm. we’ll see, we’ll see. and like i mentioned above, it’s shocking and worrying and makes me ship uraraka and toga more that uraraka ALSO sees the similarity between her and toga. she’s horrified by the implications of it but she hears toga’s spiel and tries to fruitlessly deny that ‘yeah, she’s right. that’s how i am. we’re the same.’ if i were to ever write a traitor!uraraka fanfic (which i would if i could ever FINISH a writing project), it’d be uraraka/toga and uraraka trying to convince herself she’s better than toga, that she still has a moral code and her reasons for joining the league have more weight to it, and she doesn’t!!! care!!! what toga thinks of her!!! and expecting a rivalry but toga doesn’t meet that head-on because instead, toga wants to be close and connected to uraraka. toga has this kind of mature soft side we’ve seen before (with twice) that shows how she can see you at your core (her fight w/ uraraka also showed that) and i want to see uraraka to be on the end when she thinks she doesn’t deserve it and doesn’t trust toga and just being frustrated and confused over it all.
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iida…….i think deku, todoroki, uraraka and aoyama are my biggest ships for him. also, i don’t ship it myself but momo/iida/todoroki’s rich kid squad is A REALLY FUN DYNAMIC AND OT3.
LET’S BE REAL: IIDA/DEKU IS SO UNDERAPPRECIATED IN THIS FANDOM. ALL IIDA SHIPS ARE BUT….IIDA/DEKU. iida’s goddamn….tucked deku into bed. threw his hat in the ring of rivals. there’s official art of iida giving deku a shoulder ride. he punched him to make him see how his actions are affecting him - “haven’t you thought about how *I* feel [about you putting yourself in peril]?!” like. bro. okaaaay. i still laugh that they got on the wrong foot initially - deku was so scared of iida sjfhhf like he was equally worried he’d be stuck in the same class as iida as he was about kacchan. thankfully, iida’s a sweetheart who cares with all his heart, and he sees all that there is to admire about deku, so they became instant friends after that. and iida means SO MUCH to deku. i pay a lot of attention to how future!deku talks in his narration, because he normally interrupts the narrative to move the story along - by talking about minor time skips, the movement of the villains, etc. but he also tends to wax a bit poetic about his friends. like when he interrupted everything to give us a side-story about how and aoyama became bffs. so we can assume that aoyama’s friendship means a lot to adult izuku. or how comforting and important it is to me that even as an adult, he refuses to stop calling bakugou ‘kacchan’. it’s sweet. in that same vein, it strikes me that deku still holds an amount of guilt for not supporting iida better during the whole ingenium-stain debacle. it ended….much better than it could have, and that experience was what strengthened iida/deku/todo’s relationship. yet as an adult, deku still wishes he could have done more. offered iida the help he needed before he went rushing in. hoo. but anyway, yeah, they’re cute! wholesome nerd boys! cute height difference! also yeah, i’m glad that iida got over his sports-festival-era feelings of inferiority towards deku. deku loves competition, but you can tell that he didn’t want that out of his relationship with iida (compare to how he outright covets a rivalry with bakugou and accepted it from todoroki w/ his head held high). it wasn’t based on healthy feelings and they’re so much better as supportive bfs.
iida and todoroki have a lot of stuff in common as legacy heroes who were trained from childhood to be heroes - with the major difference that todoroki faced horrifying abuse that prevented him from having a close relationship with his siblings and made him want to reject his legacy, while the iidas are good folk and iida’s brother means the world to him and he’s so far one of the only heroes we know to reuse a superhero identity based on legacy. and even the painful bullshit (like the ‘take out your muffler and a new, stronger one will grow in’ thing) was something that iida went through on his own accord and with warning. and todoroki’s words of encouragement during the stain arc were based on his own life lesson! they both come off as very serious and abrasive elites at first glance, but they’re actually dorky and socially awkward! but i think they get each other - i imagine they have a very calming friendship, no need for pretenses and judgement, and they deserve that! they probably think the other is hilarious too even though absolutely no one else gets the joke! they had a lot of cute moments recently since they were paired in the same 1A vs 1B match. like iida can just…tell the minute differences in todoroki’s expression and demeanour apart and knows when there’s something wrong. and they’re just so humble and sweet and can’t handle the other being self-deprecating. they’re good boys, brent.
already talked about iida/uraraka. they’re cute, i love them.
AOYAMA THOUGH. knight boys! they were so good during the exam! it really got me that aoyama didn’t even consider the idea that iida might not abandon him, might want to help him and win together instead of just use him to get ahead himself - and iida didn’t even really get the emotional realization aoyama went through there but he was still like ‘YEAH WE DID GOOD! I’M GLAD YOU FEEL BETTER! THUMBS UP! :D’ they’re both very dramatic and - i don’t know how to describe it….they pose a lot, talk with their limbs. they’re silly, is what i mean. and maybe aoyama ALSO deserves a loving, rich boyfriend. MAYBE IIDA SHOULD BE EVERYONE’S LOVING RICH BOYFRIEND. but in this case, aoyama’s boyfriend who will carry him bridal-style everywhere, much to aoyama’s glee lol. except when he’s dragging him along via his cape. whatever works.
also, side note, i find it kinda interesting that fandom pairs him up with girls like mei and camie - when i just….feel like he’d be so out of his element and sooo overwhelmed? i’m wincing just thinking about it lol poor iida.
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i’m glad you specified marvel bc if you’d just said ‘comic’, i would have assumed you meant THE flash and i would be forced to sit here and think of every dc speedster ship…..well, it wouldn’t be as bad as spidey ships (honestly i’m very basic with speedsters - it’s just like ‘speedster/their spouse’ with the adults (even wally - linda or bust, tbh) and ‘speedster/their best friends’ with the teens), but we’d be here longer.
BUT FLASH THOMPSON? i already mentioned my two big ones, with venom and peter but i’m def willing to talk more about them.
flash/venom, a man and his gooey alien husband. i love that it’s a relationship based on self-growth and healing from past hurt and stopping destructive habits and cycles (both that cause self-harm and harm onto others). one of my favourite panels is still where flash pleads with peter to not let his anger seep into venom because venom’s gotten past all that. he’s a better person (being. alien. thing.) now and doesn’t want to turn to feeding on rage ever again. and that’s true for flash (a victim of child abuse who bottled up all that sadness and rage and took his aggression out on other kids) as well. it’s just so….nice. and venom credits all this to flash. and a thing i find about venom is that its unhealthy dynamics are all about control - you’re just its host, it possesses you against your will, you become an out-of-control villain. but with flash, venom sees a partner and home - they need and belong with each other, they communicate and cooperate, they became a superhero. also i love how they’re seriously affectionate and intimate - that’s just kind of a given with venom, i think, because you have to invite & accept it as part of yourself. but flash is so soft with venom - while he’s not as….hm, vocal about it as eddie ‘ooh my love my darling~’ brock is (he’s also a bit less obsessive haha sorry eddie), he’s so protective and likes giving venom headscratches and kissy faces to the point others react to it like they would witnessing PDA. i just want flash to be all cute and smooch his husband when they’re not like. one singular entity. CAN YOU BELIEVE THE HEALTHIEST DYNAMIC FOR FLASH TO BE IN IS WITH A SYMBIOTIC ALIEN GOO CREATURE? I CAN. AND I’M THANKFUL FOR IT.
i also ot3 them with eddie for the sake of my peace of mind where everyone’s happy. where venom’s not torn between two loves, and eddie doesn’t feel the need to think things like ‘it’s tough being someone’s second best’ and ‘i’d like to think he’d do the same for me but part of me knows that would be a lie. it’ll always be flash.’ and having those thoughts because he literally FEELS that pull towards flash? like he inherited those feelings, he KNOWS what it’s like to love flash thompson. LIKE, YO????? GIVE ME THAT SYMBIOT3.
then there’s flash/peter, the funniest super/civvie id love triangle in the world. flash having the biggest hero crush on spider-man in high school - so many superheroes to choose from but spidey is the best, because he’s an underdog, because he gets pushed down and refuses to give up, because he’s SO GODDAMN COOL - while simultaneously thinking peter is frankly, the worst? but in that terrible way where he fixates on peter even when he’s not part of the conversation. waiting for him to leave school so he can be mean to him, feeling frustrated whenever he tries to be nice to the guy and peter either ignores, rejects or insults him in return. peter just being like ‘Sigh’ whenever flash insults him by gushing about spidey, but that’s also why he can’t dislike flash no matter how bad their relationship is. how can he hate spidey’s biggest fan? and also he probably gets a good amount of pleasure out of flash’s gf liz allen having a crush on him. peter also does this to johnny and his gf, dorrie evans - they’re frienemies in high school and kind of obsessed with each other,,,,’heRE’S MY LIST OF 500 REASONS WHY I HATE THE HUMAN TORCH’ OK PETE RELAX. so yeah, peter, despite having genuine feelings for betty brant, hits on liz and dorrie whenever they cross paths and lets them use him to make their hot blond boyfriends jealous. (peter, maybe you ARE the worst. stop it.) and then when they get to college and end up in the same friend group, flash slowly realizes that peter is like. hot now? and like, kind of a cool dude who went through a lot! like, he thought peter was a jerk in HS but he’s actually really nice when he wants to be and is always in your corner! ‘wow, i really like and respect pete! i’m proud to be his friend!’ flash thinks while staring at peter’s biceps. meanwhile, peter has no idea what’s going on because he keeps expecting flash to turn back into a dick (and steal one of his girlfriends lmao) but instead, he just keeps proving he’s a great guy! and keeps confiding in him! and uh, complimenting him a lot? and still fanboys over spidey and that’s really endearing! and oh, he’s really gonna miss him whenever he’s on tour and the idea of flash dying is unthinkable and he really likes being his roommate and he’s who he wants to be his best man and he doesn’t get why flash doesn’t seem to realize how great he is, and welp, he just punched captain america in the face for not telling him flash was agent venom. anyway, bottom line: i like dynamics that are very….long-term and constantly changing? so i tend to fall for the enemies/rivals to friends to lovers thing. or friends to enemies to lovers. but this is a former situation for sure.
also, i’m convinced every corner of the college crew pentagon happened. flash and harry MUST have at least made out once and neither was sure how to deal with the aftermath of that for a couple of months. he’s kissed and casually dated gwen AND mj - but i find it interesting that it seems like neither girl really ever considered him a contender. gwen cares about him but sees him as a shoulder to vent to about her issues with peter, and mj has a lot of fun with him but also considers him the male version of her (outgoing and bright but unwilling to commit and act serious). and he interestingly backs down quickly when peter decides to make a move on the girls. like, compared to his love triangle with liz and peter where i feel he was pretty resistant to letting her go - especially to someone like puny parker, he responds to peter’s accusations re: gwen and mj with ‘hey, relax. it’s not like that. i wouldn’t do that to you.’ i take it as him growing up and not feeling the need to overcompensate to impress his dad and also maybe the fact that he’s a bit more aware of how closeted he is. but it’s weirdly different with harry (*cough* cause it’s the first dude aside from peter he had any romantic interaction with *cough*) so he just……..dances around those feelings (on top of both of their feelings for peter) until harry starts dating liz (BECAUSE EVERYONE DATES EVERYONE IN PETER’S CIRCLE OF PALS, I GUESS) and he’s just like ‘???????????? well okay then’.
i like his dynamic with felicia as much it also pains me - that felicia went into it thinking she could use flash to hurt peter (’i’ll break your heart like he broke mine!’) but then ended up legitimately falling for him and started hoping for a normal life with him. also that they liked hanging out in terrible workout clothes. nerds. (alas, it didn’t last bc….FLASH, BUD….BUDDY….I CAN’T BELIEVE MARVEL HAD FLASH SAY THAT AND THEN PROBABLY SAT BACK AND THOUGHT ‘YUP PETE’S BEST BUD FLASH IS TOTALLY STR8′) and i need to read more of him and betty to get a handle of that but. what i’ve gotten from the panels i’ve seen that it’s very dependant on the writer and has the same problem flash’s relationships with liz, gwen, mj and felicia had where there’s a lot of love there but the actual romantic element is….lacking? falls short? fizzles out? where he seeks out a connection to peter(/spidey) through his romantic relationship with a woman peter used to be involved with and pushes said woman away when she starts getting in too deep?
anyway, that just turned into an essay about how flash thompson has been gay since his conception and only like, 20% (maybe less) of writers in charge of writing him have actually realized it.
