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thencitytales · 7 months ago

Text

Non-stop Teasing - CYJ

🌷Pairing: Choi Yeonjun of TXT x fem!reader (3rd person used)

🌷 kinda enemies to lovers

🌷wc: 4.1k

🌷 Fluff? sort of angsty tho

🌷 warning: drinking, cussing, frat party, Yeonjun being kind of down bad

🌷There are a few other idols mentioned, some of them in a relationship with each other, I do not think these people are together nor do I ship them, I just felt like the story could have used these dort of relationships (ChaewonxWooyoung, KarinaxJeno)

🌷 Hey!! I am back because i felt like it. This fic is a fleeting idea i had a long time ago and was finally able to finish. In the beginning it was not meant for Yeonjun but it had mostly OC'S so if you see random names I'm sorry, I have yet to proofread it. Feel free to give me notes and feedback, as I appreciate it a lot!! 'Til next time <3

(not my GIF)

Yeonjun. Stupid, fucking Yeonjun.

Idiot, average-looking yet so stupidly attractive Yeonjun.

“If you really hate him you should stop staring at him, you know?” a blonde girl talked to her best friend, who shushed her in response.

“Shut up Chaewon, I’m not staring” Y/N retorted against her best friend.

Except she was, and she knew it.

Another person in the library was also very aware of Y/N and what she was doing, because he could feel her eyes pierce through his head.

And he loved it.

“Ask anybody here, they’ll say you’re staring,” Chaewon said in an amused tone, making Y/N’s eye twitch in frustration.

“Well, then it’s hate-staring, glaring if you will,” Y/N looked away from the boy and glared at her best friend, turning her head ever so slowly, as to recreate the scene in a horror movie.

“Just like I’m glaring at you right now.” Chaewon let out a laugh at her friend’s antics and shrugged it off.

“Sure thing, love. Keep telling yourself that.”Chaewon said. Y/N could only scoff before going back to look at her books.

Look was indeed the best word to describe what she was doing, the words on the page being read for the tenth time in as many minutes without understanding nor absorbing any of it. Biology sucked, and so did Y/N’s brain at that moment. So much so that after a couple of seconds she got distracted again.

“What is it with the stupid beanie anyway? Like what’s the deal with that? DO YOU THINK HE HAS A BALD SPOT?” Y/N whisper-screamed, making Chaewon almost spit out the water she was trying to drink after finally reaching the end of her chapter.

Suddenly the girls heard a louder voice coming from behind them.

“It’s actually for style-related purposes, no bald spot, though if you’re still in doubt you could always ask him. Also, Y/N, you were one hundred percent staring at Yeonjun, just FYI.” Wooyoung said whilst chuckling at the little jump the girls made upon hearing him. Y/N turned around, red in the face, a mixture of embarrassment for being caught and pure wrath, caused by Wooyoung’s presence.

“How long have you been here?” She said bitterly. The boy could sense she wanted to add something, the words dying in her throat a bit too fast. He assumed a “dickhead”, or “asshole” was missing, but he let it go, not teasing her any further.

“The whole time, love,” he said mocking what Chaewon had said to her friend just a few minutes prior. Then turned away and returned to his spot at the same table with Yeonjun, Soobin and Changbin.

Y/N looked warily at her surroundings to make sure no one else was around to eavesdrop on them.

“How in actual hell are you able to like that guy?” Her shocked expression clearly visible on her features.

Chaewon shrugged.

“He just likes to tease you, he’s actually very nice” She answered, her cheeks turning slightly pink before continuing.

“I mean it’s not like they’re the fuckboys group.” When Chaewon said that, Y/N was still looking at them and immediately turned around.

“No, they’re worse, at least the fuckboys are self-aware of how awful they are” she sighed.

“Oh my God you’re so dramatic,” Chaewon said rolling her eyes before going back to typing at her computer.

Y/N shut up and went back to try and drill a hole through Yeonjun’s head with her gaze, sadly, without any success.

As if on cue, the boy turned around, looked at her, smirked, and turned back to speak with Changbin, making her avert her gaze and awkwardly look around to find God knows what.

She couldn’t take it anymore, her heart pounding in her chest was beginning to feel like it was too much, she could literally hear it and the sensation made her shudder. She got up and headed to the bathroom searching for some quick fix to the sudden heat of her body.

As soon as she got there Y/N quickly splashed her face with some cold water to try and stop it from getting all red, failing miserably. She looked defeatedly at her reflection.

“This is a PSA for that tiny voice living at the back of my head, I am kindly asking you to shut up” She lightly hit her head with her hand in the process so that the point would go across.

“You understand me??” The girl sighed and took a step back from the sink to exit the bathroom, but as soon as she turned around a familiar face was standing leaning on the door frame.

“Try hitting it harder next time, that should work better.” He chuckled lightly before taking a step towards her.

“This is the girls’ bathroom, Yeonjun” Y/N backed up and glared at him for what was probably the thousandth time that day.

“Sorry, I was headed to the guys’ bathroom but something here caught my attention” he smirked once again.

Y/N was on the verge of breaking. That smirk. He had to know the effect it had on her. Or was it just a stupid habit of his?

It didn’t really matter. Either way, she wanted to kiss him so badly right now. And subsequently, run away, completely change identities, go to Peru, and start a potato plantation or something, to hopefully never be found again. She would never EVER admit to wanting to kiss that boy.

Frustrated even more than before, she ran back to the table where Chaewon was waiting for her, shoving Yeonjun in the process, and making him audibly laugh, clearly enjoying how easily he could fluster her.

“I gotta go, or I’m going to be late for the party,” Chaewon said the moment she saw her best friend enter her view.

“Again” Y/N added to Chaewon’s statement, knowing how long the blonde usually takes to get ready. The other girl got up and quickly added:

“Remember, I’ll be at your dorm around 10 pm, we’ll see what to do from there. Remind Ryujin too when you get home, please.” Chaewon said while collecting all of her stuff and messily throwing it in her bag.

“Sure thing, I’ll finish this chapter and go home too in a half-hour or so. Don’t worry about Ryujin, knowing her, she’ll be all dressed up already. You know who you should be worried about, though.” Y/N answered, looking up from her books.

“I already texted Karina, I told her I’d be at hers around 9:30 so she’ll hopefully be ready when we actually get there.” The girl chuckled at her best friend’s trickery and waved her goodbye, mumbling a “perfect” in the meanwhile.

On her way out Chaewon was stopped in her tracks by a slightly taller figure.

“Hey there,” he sweetly addressed the girl.

“Hi Wooyoung, I’d love to stop and chat with you but I really need to go.”

“See you at the party, then” Chaewon looked at him surprised.

“You should really stop eavesdropping other people’s conversations. Besides, you don’t even know which party we were talking about, there’s like 5 every Friday night without counting the ones outside of campus”

He gave her a playful smile and said “Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.” The girl laughed and answered “Good luck, darling” before going her way.

After that Wooyoung quickly got back to the guys’ table where all of his friends were sitting, trying to finish some sort of group project.

“Okay, talking about important things, what do you guys know about parties tonight?” Wooyoung said, sitting down.

“You mean here in the campus? or in general? Also like, frat houses or bars?” Soobin started throwing questions at him to try and narrow down the search.

“I don't know, man, Chaewon was talking to the Menace and they said they were going to a party tonight.” Wooyoung just answered him calmly.

As soon as he heard the words “Menace” and “party” together in a sentence Yeonjun’s interest was piqued. He looked at Wooyoung, completely ignoring the semi-blank document opened in front of him.

“Well I don’t think they’d go off campus, the Menace is too lazy for that, she’d want to be as close to the dorm as possible.” Soobin started the brainstorming session.

“That still leaves like at least five or six parties” Changbin pointed out, then turned to Wooyoung and asked:

“Is it just the two of them?” to which Wooyoung quickly added Ryujin and Karina to the mix.

As soon as Karina’s name came up Changbin and Soobin looked at each other and said: “Keystone Lodge.”

“Is there something I don’t know?” Wooyoung asked given how the boys answered the place of the party seemed obvious but he had no idea.

“Karina’s boyfriend, Jeno. He’s in the frat.” Soobin pointed out.

“Okay but aren’t parties at KL like, invitation-only or something like that?” Changbin quickly raised the question.

Yeonjun, who had just started fantasizing about what could’ve happened at the party and had no intentions of having his dreams ruined just like that, said: “don’t worry guys, be prepared, I’ll text you later.” and quickly got up and gathered his things before exiting the library.

“Does he have to do it every time?” Soobin asked.

“He got it from Mark, says it gives him the surprise effect later on and the mysterious effect right away.” Changbin answered rolling his eyes, to which the other two guys only answered almost in awe with an “Ooh.” probably thinking it was the best idea a man could have.

“Okay, how did you get us in Yeonjun?” Wooyoung asked, almost alarmed at how quickly and seemingly easily their friend acquired the invitations.

“I know Haechan, and he owed me. He still does.” the older boy simply stated, raising Wooyoung's alarm instead of calming him down.

“Now let’s get this party started” Yeonjun exclaimed walking up the stairs to Keystone’s Lodge with a smirk on his face.

“You’re going to try and make her life hell, aren’t you?” Changbin said clearly amused at how his friend was planning on being even more annoying to Y/N than he usually was.

“Just wait and see Changbin, just wait and see.” the smirk on Yeonjun’s face growing with every step to the door he knocked on, where they found a guy standing alone, waiting for proof of invitations.

Inside the Frat house, the music was blasting. The air felt damp and everything smelled like cheap alcohol, adding to the mix the group of smoking boys at the far end of the room anyone could imagine that the atmosphere was not very romantic. Which is exactly what they expected.

Changbin went straight for the bar, getting everybody something to drink as the other guys scanned the room for their targets.

Wooyoung quickly saw Chaewon sitting on the couch with her friends. They were talking to a few frat guys but they seemed nonthreatening enough to his ego. The Menace was sitting dangerously close to one of them, almost in his lap. Wooyoung could not recognize the guy though, no matter how much he squinted.

He nudged his friends and with a nod pointed the scene out, hoping they would get curious and approach them, so he could flirt with Chaewon once again.

As soon as he realized what was going on, Soobin turned to look at Yeonjun’s reaction, gesturing to Changbin to hurry over, so he could witness it too because despite what those two liked to admit, they had this tension between them that was almost romantic. They were definitely, on some level, attracted to each other but they would never admit it. That’s why Changbin Soobin and Wooyoung were now staring at Yeonjun, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever they had theorized.

Yeonjun’s brows furrowed. The night just started and everything had to be so simple already, not even a bit of a challenge. He sighed, took a drink from Changbin’s hands, and turned to Wooyoung.

“Let’s go say hi to your princess, shall we?” Yeonjun told his friend, who was very happy about the poor lighting, meaning the other boys were not made aware of his rosy cheeks prompted by Yeonjun's comment.

As they approached, Chaewon saw them and a big smile tugged on her lips. She raised a hand to say hi and the boys did the same.

“Well Well Well, I’m surprised to see little Sherlock actually did find us.” She chuckled looking at Wooyoung.

“I told you I could do it. I’m very resourceful” he winked and the girl lightly laughed.

Everybody then fell back into conversation, except Y/N and her mystery guy, who were so distracted by each other that they didn’t even say hi to the newcomers.

Yeonjun cleared his voice.

“I know you don’t like us Y/N but not saying hi is simply rude, even for you.” He smirked, knowing very well what it did to her.

The girl turned around, her surroundings didn’t make it easy to hear but she was sure she heard a voice talking to her.

From her sitting position she looked at the new figures that had joined the conversation. And then she saw his face. She simply rolled her eyes.

“Who even invited you here? Seriously, please tell me so I can avoid the lunatic all night long, people just become crazier and crazier by the day”

“Actually,” Yeonjun chuckled.

The guy whom Y/N was talking to gently removed his hands from her hips, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I think that might have been me,” He said.

Y/N looked at Haechan with a void expression.

“You’re his friend?” She asked, not believing it for a moment.

Haechan was slightly taken aback by the question, thinking the answer to be obvious, so he simply answered:

“Yeah?” at which Y/N glared at both the boys.

“That’s a shame, I really liked you.” And with that, she got up and went to the bar to pour herself yet another drink. The alcohol was probably what made her act so suddenly with that silly explanation but even sober her had no intention of being affiliated in any way with Yeonjun.

Seeing how Y/N was behaving, the boy thought that his mission was going to be such a delight with how simple she was making it.

Yeonjun followed her, leaving behind their friends absorbed in whatever conversation, and a very confused Haechan sitting on the couch.

As Y/N approached the bar, she bumped into a few people obstructing passages left and right and leaving her even more annoyed than she already was.

She took one of the red cups and poured herself some beer.

Not the ideal drink but it was the first thing her hands were able to grasp.

As she was about to take a sip, a hand snatched her drink.

“Thanks, I was very thirsty,” Yeonjun told her, earning a glare once again that day.

“How do you manage to be so annoying Yeonjun?” Y/N said while pouring another cup, this time she grabbed some gin, sensing she would need something stronger than a beer.

“I give it my best, just for you” he grinned.

Y/N couldn’t help but groan as she looked for the soda to mix her drink.

“What did I ever do to you? Have I offended you in any way? Are you holding a grudge from your past life?? Why do you like to annoy me so much??” She sighed in defeat.

“Woah,” Yeonjun said taken aback by the sudden seriousness of the question.

“Well, for starters I could ask you the same thing…” He answered calmly.

As she started to protest he shushed her.

“Buut, I am not going to lie, I do find you very cute when you’re frustrated” He chuckled.

“Are you hitting on me?” She asked, mouth agape.

“Do you want me to be hitting on you?” There it was again. The stupidest grin on the face of the earth. If there was a way to wipe it off instantly, Y/N would’ve gladly taken that chance. Thinking about it, there was a way, and to be honest she had reluctantly considered that way many times before, but always ended up avoiding it.

A kiss was not the solution, everything it could’ve done was only create more problems.

She was snapped back to reality by Yeonjun waving his hands in front of her eyes. She had been staring at the grin for god knows how long. A faint red was starting to tint her cheeks.

“You want to kiss me so badly,” Yeonjun told her, the grin never leaving his face.

She tried to play it as cool as possible, hoping the poor lighting of the room helped her conceive the blushing situation.

“Projecting much?” She smiled turning on her heels, determined to get out of the house for some fresh air.

As she walked away Yeonjun screamed over the music.

“I never said I wouldn’t like it” Y/N briefly stopped in her tracks, surprised by the sudden confession. Thinking it was just another way of getting under her skin she slowly reached the door and opened it, stepping out onto the backyard.

“You just love messing with her, don’t you?” Chaewon said as she approached Yeonjun, Wooyoung by her side, holding her waist.

“I have a tendency not to lie, actually. Everything I said is true. She’s just… compelling” he tried to find the best word to describe her.

“Compelling? You mean messing with her like that is compelling?” Chaewon said, a bit offended that Yeonjun enjoyed toying with her friend’s emotions like that.

“Tell me Chaewon, when have I ever done anything truly bad to her? All I do is tease, in her opinion, when in reality I was always simply…” Yeonjun said, meanwhile Chaewon tried to start a list of all the times he’s gotten you frustrated and quickly realized most times it was just his very annoying, twisted way of ...

“Flirting,” Chaewon said, shocked. She looked at him straight in the eyes, her expression painted with shock.

“Oh my God, you just flirt with her” Chaewon continued. She suddenly realized that every time Yeonjun ever talked to Y/N he was flirting, and that enraged her friend for some reason. He never actually DID anything bad to her. He never insulted her, let alone take action to actively ruin her day. The only times he did something of the sort she was always with a guy, like 10 minutes ago with Haechan. Yeonjun was always just… flirting with Y/N.

“I am very confused.” Wooyoung said looking at his two friends.

“You never admitted it to us and it takes you like three seconds to tell it to her best friend? I kinda hate you and I am not sure I would like to be friends with you anymore.” Wooyoung continued while watching Yeonjun's every move and acting offended.

“It’s not like you guys ever really asked, I thought it was obvious if I have to be honest. She’s pretty, she’s smart, she can be a pain in the ass but she’s one of the nicest and kindest people I ever met. Not with me, which I can not really comprehend, but if teasing her incessantly is the only way I can get her to interact with me I don’t think I will ever stop.” Yeonjun said earnestly to his friend. A small smile appeared on his features, almost sheepishly.

A voice behind him startled him right after.

“What did he just say??” it was Changbin, who basically screamed in his ear after he heard just half of the confession.

“I think he likes the Menace!!” Soobin screamed at Changbin (and in Yeonjun’s other ear) in hopes of being understood over the loud music.

Meanwhile, Y/N was outside, freezing because she forgot to bring a jacket.

Why did he have to always be so annoying, why did he always have something to say that would just make her heart beat at a worrying speed? Why did she have to like him so fucking much?

As her mind birthed the last few words she stopped pacing back and forth on the grass.

Of course, she liked him. It seemed as if every stupid decision she could make she would take and this was not even a conscious one.

It would explain why her fight or flight response would kick in every time he would even just look in her direction, and her choice was fight.

Thinking about kissing him all those times was not just a stupid silly thought.

Y/N was hopeless.

"So?" The question was raised suddenly by a voice she recognised immediately.

He was standing right there, in front of her, handing her her jacket.

She happily took it, silently thanking him with a smile before muttering.

"So what?" her eyes looking at him defeated. She liked him and he was just playing. He was just teasing, and look where all that teasing led her. A terrible position she never wanted to be in.

"Am I getting that kiss you so badly want to give me?" Here he goes again. Non-stop teasing.

This time Y/N did not find it in her to fight, not him nor the feelings she finally realized she had.

"You should be more careful with your words Yeonjun, one might think you actually want it, crave it even" she said calmly before chuckling lightly. She was now sitting down on the bench and her gaze was everywhere but the boy's figure.

"As I said when you were storming off, I do think I'd enjoy it" he slowly sat down beside her, surprised by her tone. This felt more like an actual conversation now. It didn't seem like she had any intention of fleeing this time around. Just them two, talking like normal people. It was new and he liked it. He liked it more than words could explain.

"Stop teasing me please, I honestly don't think I can take it anymore. I won't be bothering you again if you promise me you will leave me alone without uttering any other word that you don't mean" If someone were to pass by and listen very closely, the sound of Yeonjun's heart could be heard as it was cracking and falling apart like glass under extreme heat.

She didn't want to see him anymore, but what was worse is that she didn't think his words were honest. She thought he didn't mean it, ever.

He meant it from the first smile he flashed her, from the first hello he said. The first time he saw her he was struck by lightning and did not feel like himself anymore. All he could do was think about her, all he wanted to do was to speak with her. He did not care if it meant he had to endure rolling eyes and frustrated groans, at the very least he was interacting with you.

"So?" this time she asked the question. Her eyes showed how hurt she was and he could barely look at them.

As he turned to face her, Y/N noticed tears welling up in his eyes. She didn't understand.

"You really think I don't mean it? Y/N you consume my thoughts in the best and worst way ever. I think about you all the time. All I ever want to do is speak with you and I don't care if it means you'll hate me, I won't stop doing it because I am selfish like that. I don't want to feel miserable, and the only way I have to do that is if I speak to you. You can tell me you despise me a thousand times but I won't care as long as you're in front of me, addressing me, acknowledging my presence." As Yeonjun spoke Y/N could not believe his words.

If it was just minutes ago she would've joked about how "you're so obsessed with me, jeez" but at that moment the expression on Yeonjun's face was making her want to cry. It seemed like he meant it.

He did mean it.

"You like me?" she asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"I think like is a bit of an understatement at this point..." he chuckled looking into the distance, the palms of his hands rubbing against each other awkwardly.

Y/N moved closer to him. He did not register how close she got until she turned his head towards her with her hand.

They stared at each other, they are not sure for how long. It could have been mere seconds or hours on end. Then she moved closer and finally kissed him.

She tilted her head as he deepened the kiss.

Everything felt good. They were finally happy.

52 notes · View notes

minsungchronology · 7 months ago

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Hi! First of all, I want to say I really appreciate your videos - they have given us all such a newfound appreciation for minsung 😍

I have seen some theories floating around since the fan meeting about Lee Know and his friend who dressed as Leebit during the whole of the fanmeeting. We all know that Lee Know often jokes that people are his boyfriends (this friend, Han, even Hyunjin) so generally no one takes those comments seriously but some people have started wondering whether they are actually in a relationship and whether this is a soft launch of sorts (it seems the argument is that being in a mascot costume for hours over three days just seems like a lot for just a friend). It also would make sense Han knows him since Han (all things aside) is very close to LK. I’m curious whether you have any general views on this?

I have also always seen LK as the type to like to keep his personal emotions, feelings and life quite private. I have shipped Minsung for a while now but I am curious to hear from you what you think about the fact that they have become much more “obvious”/affectionate lately - do you think that could suggest they’re not actually in a relationship (since both LK and Han seem like the private type to me) or that it’s the company trying to push minsung or do you think something has changed that has made them more open to expressing themselves? I’m loving it personally but it was shy LK (the “do you like me in that way?” comment) that made me start shipping them so I guess I am just not sure what to do with the major escalation in minsung land over the past few months.

Thanks again!

I’ve seen the discourse around the whole friend thing and I have to giggle. I think a lot of fans misunderstood what LK said when talking about his friend. He said that he was the friend that took “boyfriend” photos of him which is a common term that's used to describe how a photo is taken, not that he was the guy who he jokingly called “boyfriend” in the vlog to get a reaction out of Han. Idk if its the same friend though (unless anyone else here knows lmao).

And about them being “open” I think there’s a huge difference between stuff meant to get the audience hyped up (i.e: the teleprompter stuff at the Japan concerts) and them just naturally gravitating towards each other, interacting, or laughing together at something (which is like 90% of the their moments we got during the fanmeet, outside of their duet during the first day, the quick WSB performance, and maybe the sign that Han answered to). Other duos I say were more blatant about things during those three days (For ex. LK and CB playfully fighting over HJ, 2min’s antics on stage, FeIix/LK almost kissing eo on stage, etc.)

I think many fans underestimate how private they actually are together. It’s just that every moment of theirs gets hyped up since they’re a popular duo, even if other duos are much more (open?) about things (i.e: JiIix pretending to kiss eo, CB playfully flirting with HJ all the time).

The members have said it during the 2022 kids room that they’re generally secretive about their bond and we see that even more in recent times. Remember when they went to France a couple of months back and fans saw each duo spend time together in their spare time? (The Maknaes, HyunIix, LK/Han, Chan/Changbin?) and then a week or so later we literally got a SKZ TaIker of vlogs of EVERY duo except LK/Han. The only thing we got was Han verbally saying that they spent time together.

And then there’s the 2kids show episode where they were very visibly nervous (during the first half especially), they would downplay their bond like, “I don’t know this guy!” “We don’t pay attention to eo!” “The only time we hang out is when the fans see us!” and LK quickly fumbling over the whole we don’t need to sneak out thing, etc. (before they eventually loosen up a bit and contradict themselves on some things). I think a lot of things from that episode cemented them being private about things. Cause if it was all jokes and sayings to get the fans hyped up I don’t think they would have been nervous at all. They would freely joke about things like FeIix/CB did, for example.

Outside of the stage (where all of the members seem to visibly relax and have fun), they seem very “gatekeepy” about a lot of things they do together, especially in recent times, compared to prior years.

Personal opinion: I also think because other members/duos are very visibly affectionate on camera (some even more than LK/Han) and have been so since forever, that would probably make them feel more comfortable to be so as well.

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clonehub · 11 months ago

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Hi, I saw your post about blonde hair and whiteness being associated with good and dark hair and poc features being associated with evil and I don’t know if it’s the same or derailing so I won’t reblog it with this addition but it kind of reminds me of a similar thing, where whiteness and lighter features are associated with femininity and darker ones and poc features with masculinity. And I know femininity isn’t inherently “good” nor masculinity “evil” but it’s something I’ve noticed that gets me upset. How female characters whether human or otherwise will often be lighter than their male counterparts, how most heterosexual interracial relationships will have the girl be lighter skinned or white, and the boy be darker skinned or a poc, and how most lesbian/sapphic couples will have the more feminine partner be lighter-skinned/white while the more masculine partner will be darker-skinned/poc, for example Lumity and Catradora and some other examples(and this is no shade to either of those ships because I like them both a lot but it is a trend that exists a lot). There are some exceptions such as Revolutionary Girl Utena and The Prom but they are rarer in comparison.

Stuff like this leads to woc and especially Black women, but ESPECIALLY those with darker skin being seen as less feminine than white women or nbwoc. In lots of Black media the Black women are all lighter skinned with looser curls and lighter eyes and are often played by biracial actresses(usually half-white), while the Black men are darker-skinned and played by fully-Black actors. Likewise, straight interracial relationships featuring a Black partner almost always have the male partner be Black. And if it’s a Black woman in a wlw ship the non-white partner will be more feminine than she is. A lot of Black femmes and other woc femmes with dark skin often don’t feel femme enough because the standards for femininity often bleed into the lesbian community where everyone’s prototypical idea of a femme lesbian is white and slim. I even saw some stories of young Black girls not being allowed to be the princess in a school play because “Black girls can’t be princesses” similar to how someone said that a Black girl couldn’t play an angel in a play but the white girls could. It’s as if the standard for femininity is whiteness which leads a lot of Black girls and women to feel like feminine enough because they are too dark and idk it is something to think about. I hope this isn’t missing the point of your og post or anything but I feel like it is worth mentioning. I’m sure they’re are lots of videos on it too. It’s so unfair.

No you're totally right! I think something that cis people like to do is ascribe morality to femininity and masculinity. and it's not always F = Good and M = Bad because obviously femininity in men and masculinity in women are punished extremely violently, but they do play into (feminine) innocence a lot while also playing into the colorist/racist idea that lightness equals morality. hence why often times when someone is described as angelic or the epitome of innocence, the character will be a blonde haire blue eyed girl, specifically. and other times when, even if she doesn't have that pheontype, she's still a girl.

you also see it in the conded (and sometimes not) "women and children = innocent" framing that people will use to draw sympathy for a terrible phenomena.

And like I said, there's lots of times where masculinity is the standard for morality and femininity isn't (like the masculine aloofness versus the feminine emotionality). but in America especially (where I am currently) how we view masculinity, femininity, gender neutrality, and everyhting in between is inextricably linked to race and white supremacy. what makes a manly man and a womanly woman and a deviant of these binary ideals has a lot to do with white christian views on sex, gender, and sexuality.

and i could talk about this for ages but we'd be here all day ksajhflsakj

#ask #its a lot its SO fucked #like being Black and nonbinary and XYZ other things in this hell state is so aksjhdflasjdfhla #screaming!

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thisismeracing · 11 months ago

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Wolff!reader and Mick thought:

I’ve always imagined that with a good team and the right support that Mick has just as much potential as Lewis and have my fingers crossed that when a seat a Mercedes opens Mick would be able to take it. And I can see Toto being conflicted about the relationship, worried about how it affects interpersonal relations in the company, but also the emotional/relationship stress that his daughter dating a driver would cause her (even though Mick is a sweet angel baby. I’m sure it’s still tough between the travel/distance and negativity from “fans”) which is exactly what happened when news leaks of their relationship and because I’m a sucker for the accidental pregnancy trope in a fic Little Wolff and Mick find out they’re expecting. And they keep it hidden. This is something they they’re not telling anyone. Not family not friends. This is a Mick/Little Wolff/Angie secret. And maybe Toto overhears them mention their baby. Assumes that they’re talking about Angie (they nearly gave him a heart attack the first time that they referred to the sweet doggo as such so he’s since learned to not jump to conclusions). Thankfully their due dates is during break. They have a beautiful healthy baby in Switzerland where they live. They invite Toto and the family up for a visit. They’re very insistent won’t take no for an answer. Toto is curious, he’s fully except to be told that Mick has finally popped the question. And while he would have liked if Mick spoke to him about the matter, he also knew that he had no say, but that was still his baby. So when they turn up and it’s Mick that meets them at the door, without Little Wolff and leads them into the master bedroom to see his little one hold a little one. Toto heart just stops. He’s too stunned to speak. While he kinda wants to smash another set of headphones just to help process his emotions, his little Wolff looks up with watery eyes and then holds out her hand and he’s just making these long strides to her bedside and kneeling down. 1st questions is if she’s okay. then the questions about if the baby is okay. then the questions of why they kept it a secret. they give the above mentioned reasons. And he’s just melting. Man is ready to retire on the spot. Doesn’t want to travel for Mercedes anymore. Wants a room in the house so he can stay with the two while Mick is away.

yes!!!!!! you just added a new layer to this hehehe you're convincing me to the accidental pregnancy trope though it's not my fav. I don't know if they would keep it a secret like that, I see wolff!reader and mick very much into their family, it's something important for them, and especially wolff reader, she would share a lot with her dad. So I think they would tell toto, susie, corinna and gina, and that's it. maybe keep it a secret for a couple of months, but not during the whole pregnancy cuz I think this would somehow hurt them, not have the opportunity to experience such an intimate and vulnerable moment of their lives.

Man is ready to retire on the spot. // omg yes hahaha grandpa wolff is ready!

(you described it with so many details that now I'm thinking about this scenario and how maaaaaaybe they would keep ti a secret indeed *eyes emoji*)

#wolff!reader #anon #ms47 #millies inbox #mick schumacher #f1 x reader #thots

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ratsoh-writes · 6 months ago

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How do monster stats work?

What would someone see if they "Checked" one of the skeletons?

Ehehehehe finally this question is getting answered!!!

Ok so when someone performs a “check”, they see five things: LV, HP, DF, AT and status

LV:

Level of love, or basically how many kills this monster has had. This stat will show as 0 for any monster/human who’s never killed, a first kill is set firmly at 1 and the number increases slowly with the more violence the monster/human has performed.

LV climbs slowly, so high numbers are a lot harder to achieve than you think. The majority of fell monsters only have an LV around 1-3, and the highest number in recorded history was Laios the Violent, a ruler in outerfell during the war between monsters and humans. His LV was said to be 35 before he finally died. Truly a beast.

The highest LV of all the skeletons would be coffee who has a solid 9. Next is butch who has a 8.7.

Monsters who are LV sick and past the controllable stages LV stat will change to a fuzzy unreadable blob instead of a number.

HP:

This stat reflects the status of the body, mind and souls health. For humans, their number rarely goes down for emotional damage except in moments of crisis, but for monsters who’s souls are directly connected to their bodies, strong emotional damage can read the same as actually being physically damaged

The average HP of a healthy human is between 500-800, and the average HP of a healthy monster is between 450- 600.

The base number of a humans/monsters HP can be increased or decreased based on how fit they are mentally and physically, so often a persons base number fluctuates over time.

Monsters with dimming never see their HP go past 100

Any monster who becomes a royal gets a massive boost to their HP through the ritual, putting them at average 1600-2200.

DF:

DF, or the defense stat, is a number describing how sturdy one is against magical attacks. Defense has nothing to do with actual physical armor and cannot be increased by any outside force.

The average DF for humans is very narrow, between 30-40. For monsters it’s a lot more flexible with any number between 1-100.

Through intense training of one’s magic, it is possible to increase DF, but it really doesn’t change too much. Masters at combat often report their stat only going up a couple points over their whole lifetime

AT:

AT describes the power behind a monsters magic attack, not their physical attacks or strength.

AT is a stat that only appears in humans who have access to their souls, so it only shows in witches. In a normal human, the spout where a check shows AT is left blank

AT can range anywhere between 1-100 for monsters, and for mages and witches that range increases to 1-130.

For royals, they get a boost of 35 to their AT in addition to whatever their base number was before

AT is directly related to HP so, when a healthy monster/witch trains and gets fitter, they can see their AT increase, as well as when they become sickly it decreases. Its rates of increase and decrease are much smaller than HP though.

The average monster will lie between 15-30 in AT, above average is 31-45 and anything beyond that is considered incredibly talented regardless of monster type

STATUS:

The status is a very brief summary of how that person is doing. It usually shows as a short sentence like “darling is craving something sugary” or “mister is anxious about his upcoming test”. It rarely goes into detail unless the monster being checked wants someone to see what they can’t say.

Here’s a little example of what you’d see in a check, using sans!

Sans Wingdings

LV: 0

HP: 380/380

DF: 9

AT: 12

STATUS: “yes he’s aware this raises more questions than answers”

And last but not least, a few more facts about checks

It’s considered very rude and invasive to perform a check without permission, one never does this to a stranger unless they’re sure they’ll win a fight with them lol.

When a human joins a coven and trains to be a witch, the first spell they’ll learn is how to perform a check

In order to become a professional fighter (magic sparring) one needs a DF stat of at least 15 or higher. Anything lower than that is considered a high risk for permanent injury and won’t be allowed in any competitions.

In order to join the royal guard, you need a minimum of 10 DF and 15 AT.

The royal with the highest DF is Asgore with a whopping 89

The royal with the highest AT is toriel with a whopping 105.

It’s impossible to hide performing a check as it’s a very “loud” sensation. People have described their soul being checked as similar to feeling their insides being “wrapped up”. It’s not painful, but definitely uncomfortable if you’re not expecting it.

#undertale imagines #undertale headcanons #worldbuilding

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i-loves-2dguys · 1 year ago

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Obey Me OC Headcanons (Part 1)

Author’s Note: So to start my Obey Me fanfics, I’m gonna write out this headcanon in order to describe how well I would get along with each character. I’m not including Thirteen, Mephistopheles or Raphael cuz idk em that well-

But also the fanfics will be “x Reader” cuz I want y’all to feel included <3 (sorry if the personality doesn’t match tho)

Two parts cuz it’s so long-

Part 2

____________________________________

Lucifer

At first, it was hard to communicate with him due to his coldness

But after a bit, we start talking more by discussing about the brothers

We get along for the most part, except for when I get involved in pranks and mishaps with the brothers

As someone who tends to get good grades, I feel like I would avoid so many lectures from him 😎

Only lectures I would get is getting proper sleep and eating properly

Visits him from time to time while he works to make sure he’s taking care of himself too (no hypocrisy will be allowed)

Helps discipline the brothers in a more peaceful way

Will try to convince him to do the same

Oldest sibling 🤝

Gives him motivational messages so that he can have a nice day

Moon 🌙 x Moon 🌙

Mammon

Instantly connect due to his fun personality

Cuz he’s Mammon ofc

Actually lets him have Grimm but on the condition that he spends it properly and gives a lil kiss

We hang out a lot for studying, shopping, eating at a restaurant, etc

Flirts with him and compliments him just to see him blush 🤭

A little surprised that he has a crush on me, but it’s so obvious too

Defends him from his brothers and comforts him with affirmations afterwards 🙏

Loves to see his hands and feel them (I love his jewelry covered hands so much)

Collects every magazine with a photo of him

Simps as much as he simps (simp synchronization)

Goes to the casino with him just to make sure his debt doesn’t increase that much

I would let him be my first fr

Best friends to lovers 🫶

Levi

GAMER PALS

You’re weird? IM WEIRD TOO :D

He’s a lil emo at first but I just gotta act my weirdest and bam! Status is now fellow weirdo

Shares memes and references

Gaming nights are very often cuz yes 👍

Spends a lot of time with him cuz 1: I’m an introvert and 2: he’s so lonely 🥺

Cleans his room sometimes just to help his mental health

Helps him find any rare items

Cosplay together :D

Pays at least half of what Mammon owes him

Compliments him at least once a day to help heal his insecurities 🫶

Kisses his cheek often to show my love for him

Weirdo couple ✨ (but in a not cringe way)

Satan

YOUR BEAUTY NEVER EVER SCARED ME

I see his sin as a part of him and not ALL of him

He has much more to offer and I wanna remind him that 😔

Plus I have anger issues too-

Yk I always wanted to read books but I didn’t know which ones to read

I would probably ask Satan to recommend some as a way to get closer to him 🤭

Helps him find cats and gets them close enough to pet them

They might start a lil book club where they discuss the same book they’re reading or decide which one is better

Cleans his hoard of books from time to time and leaves a lil map to help him find em easily

Hopeless romantics 🤝

Cat cafe dates :)

We write each other poems >:)

Poetic rizz duo 😎

Asmo

Besties!

It was instant connection due to love for fashion and slaying 💅

I want some makeup advice cuz I’m still a noob at it

Would def also ask for a skin care routine

Paint my nails too? 🥺

Shopping :D (cuz why not? we’re rich)

I mostly see him platonically, but he can kiss me :)

We have fashion shows so we can see what outfits we would slay in ✨

Would go clubbing with him if I felt really sociable

Is involved in his fan club

Two pretty best friends 🫶

Beel

My himbo <3

I love to eat as much as he eats 🤝

And he wouldn’t make me feel bad about it :)

I think our constant running into the kitchen would make us pals

I can’t cook much but I definitely can bake a lot

A bunch of restaurant dates

We could make mukbang videos fr 🤭

Helps him work out

Works out with him too sometimes

Have snacks in my bag just for him 🙏

Gentle giant x their protector

Belphie

I trusted you smh 😒

I personally headcanon a fight with him after I come back to life

But then we’re good :)

He’s a demon so what can you do?

Also very adorable 😊

I would happily nap with him since I’m tired 24/7 😴

As a touch starved person, I would appreciate the cuddles

Enemies to friends to lovers? 🧐

—————————————————————————

Note: I ran out of ideas towards the end but yk this is an introduction after all! I don’t know how many people will read this but thank you if you <3 I’ll be back again when I finish making an official fanfic so until then cya!

#obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

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compacflt · 2 years ago

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pre-publishing notes for slider (actually i meant to poast this yesterday i just forgor 💀), just to put them out there

as per usual i peddle an extreme amount of mis- and straight up disinformation about the aerospace & defense industries in this one. as a general rule of thumb if it sounds like i researched it poorly and/or made it up, that’s because i researched it poorly and/or made it up. like every scene i was like ‘that wouldn’t happen :D’ and wrote it anyway

this one-shot renders my third one-shot (about ice & hangman) entirely obsolete, as if the rooster one-shot didn’t already do that. so just ignore the hangman one. (i only wrote that one cause i felt bad about tagging my fics hangster when they’re barely in it.) Also, this one-shot kind of directly contradicts the end scene of “debriefing” in pretty much every way. i don’t really care, because this is a much stronger ending, but just throwing that out there—this one-shot doesn’t really jive with my other writing for plot/character arc reasons & im too lazy/sick and tired of my other writing to go back and retcon any of it

i only research things i am mandated to by school/a job/journalistic code of ethics, or that i think are interesting, or that i know will not depress me. divorce depresses me so i did not research divorce. Also im pretty sure marriage doesn’t work the way i described it “sign the papers & that’s it” but idgaf . shrug. im having fun

something i Didn’t make up, though: the thesis that iraq/afghanistan went so poorly in the long term partly because our armed services & especially that generation of commanding officers were prepared for total warfare with a near-peer (like the ussr) instead of counterinsurgency tactics against mountain-based guerrilla warfare-stratted forces (like Al-q*eda etc). that’s a very real thesis that ive read in multiple mil history books (“the generals,” ricks; “mil history for the modern strategist,” ohanlon) & co-opted because it’s kind of, in a fucked up way, a good metaphor for ice’s whole deal—he’d been expecting a traditional officer’s life with a woman etc (aka traditional warfare against the ussr, the us’ sworn enemy) and instead found happiness in the weirdest of places, another dude (aka guerrilla warfare) and no one taught him the right strategy for dealing with that; so, pigheadedly, like some US commands in the Middle East for a decade, he just dug in his heels & refused to budge/change his "total traditional war/heteronormative"-based strategy even if it obviously wasn’t working.

In a similar vein just so i can beat the allegations that im strategically dumb, the “strategies” against the ussr the boys are playing with in the usna section are intentionally the most dogshit strategies on earth. do not invade russia in a land war. especially not when nukes are on the table. the point is they’re ALL bad at strategy (strat as a metaphor for interpersonal communication).

i get the words “moderate” and “modulate” confused a lot. there’s a couple times in this one when I use moderate and mean modulate. Now it’s too late to edit it. by which i mean i am too lazy. editing anything on ao3 is a Sisyphean task. not worth it.

there's a lot to be said about my ice & maverick's respectability, which is to say, as slider points out, their life together is incredibly normie and boring and regular, except that they're two guys. like there's nothing super subversive going on here. "in the grand scheme of things is this really so bad?" is the question. politically this is a little funky. for metatextual character-arc reasons ice has to agree to an official marriage to prove that by the end he's not afraid to legally legitimize their relationship, but the heteroflexible/straight-passing/socially conservative ice & mav that I have written also probably aren't the kind of guys to acknowledge the struggle & strife & subversiveness of the queer community before them that fought for them to have that right. to quote from an essay by Lauren berlant & Michael Warner ("Sex in public"): "Respectable gays [ice & mav, distancing themselves from other gays] like to think that they owe nothing to the sexual subculture they think of as sleazy. But their success, their way of living, their political rights, and their very identities would never have been possible but for the existence of the public [visibly queer] sexual culture they now despise." just throwing that out there as something that is weighing on my mind having now finished writing this. I think that issue (ice & mav's relationship with/debt to the lgbt community) could be explored with a character like rooster, who might be much more a part of that struggle (especially pre-dadt-repeal)...but idk where or how I would write about it. just something to chew on. I keep finding different ways to politically interpret what I myself have already written which then keeps leading to more fucking one-shots. This slider one for instance was a reinterpretation from the 1980s Cold War politics lens of nuclear doomsday & how that affected a generation of men making shitty/suicidal decisions about their lives. an endless cycle for me. "just one more interpretation...i swear just one more..."

#re: me bullshitting about a&d industry: it’s so freeing to just make shit up guys #for the rest of my life i will have to be (get to be) steadfast in research & ethics #for fanfic? fuck that #virgin journalistic brain: SOURCE?????#chad fanfic brain: I MADE IT THE FUCK UP!!!#process poasting #edts notes #my whole job this summer is just going to be fact checking/research work for aerospace/defense journalists so #i will learn about the industry THEN. and probably look back on this series and weep in embarrassment #but that’s life #im proud to be embarrassed of my past writing including the earlier parts of this series #bc it means im learning/growing as a writer/researcher etc #the gen z impulse to overshare 😐#oh well if u guys aren't used to it by now with me idk what to tell you. im an oversharer/overwriter. someone end my turn of show & tell

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sebsxphia · 2 years ago

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no thots except being roommates with jake AND javy

you were unsure about moving in with two men but nat, your bestie since high school, said they were harmless. Cocky and irritating, but harmless

a month in and the only problem you seemed to be having was your undying lust for the two pilots. their constant flirtation and lack of shirts was slowly killing you and the battery on your vibrator. Jake and javy, the relentless teases they are, are fully aware of your crush and have no problem sharing. both of them are living for the way you blush and squeeze your thighs together whenever they’re in the room.

you’re masturbating when your vibrator finally does give out. letting out a frustrated groan, you toss it on the ground and start furiously rubbing your clit when a knock on your bedroom door startles you

“aww poor baby, you sound a little frustrated in there”

“need some help, sugar? we’re more than willing to lend a couple hands”

and yes they fuck you until you’re incoherent that night, but they also make you describe to them every little thing you’ve been fantasizing about all month

ROOMMATE TROPE MAKES ME GO BRRRRR

and jake and javy together? absolute menace’s, the pair of them. they are only there to make your life a living hell (on the horny side, roommate wise, they’re wonderful). getting you to describe every little thing you’ve been fantasizing about too? criminal.

“i’m sure there’s been a lot going through that pretty little head of yours, but how about you tell us the first things and we can act out the rest tomorrow night?”

hehe thank you so much for this thot my dear anon!! 💌

#💌you’ve got mail #jake hangman seresin #javy coyote machado

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kokorowoutsu · 1 year ago

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-- Terafest ‘23: Booth Info

During the festival, Grusha will be hosting an Adoption Booth. The pokemon are all your average everyday pokemon outside one thing: they’re exposed to Fae or Fairfolk energy. The best way to describe Fae-touched is the following, an excerpt from my Fae Lore post;

If you’re exposed to one of the Pureblood Fae, or the Fae Circle, you’re likely to become Fae-Touched. Those that are truly fae-touched are fairy-type pokemon or those that appear to be fairy-type pokemon. Any pokemon can get this treatment but its harder for steel-types and poison-types and easier for ghost, psychic, and dark-types, or pokemon that are recorded to be close to the line between worlds. Fae-touched last depending on how long they live in the Fae Circle.

One that eventually becomes a full Fae-Touched will, for example, if a Torterra were to become a Fae-Touched, keep either its Grass or Ground typing but gain a permanent Fairy-typing. They would begin to think more like the fae and in doing this, its a mentality of ‘you do right by me, i do right by you’… and if you do wrong by them… well, the stories are there for cautionary reasons.

The rest can be read here.

( DISCLAIMER: Grusha is all but ‘human’ in this festival and is just here to vibe and his pokemon are normal as well outside his variant Mightyena, well, which is a variant. Grusha is also not a Fae in canon, he is something else entirely but close enough for those curious. The pokemon themselves are the only thing abnormal. Also, The pokemon themselves will be listed in a secondary post at a later date closer to the festival due to writer not feeling well when writing this post. This is merely an information post. )

Grusha knows that they are Fae-Touched but sees nothing wrong with adopting them out. He’s curious to see what will happen, actually. When the time comes, RNG stuff will be rolled to determine what kind of pokemon are available and how many since this all ties into Grandcrest Ranch making sure the last of the pokemon that are owned and couldn’t be rehomed beforehand get good homes. These pokemon are mostly trained, evolved, and battle-ready outside a few exceptions and likely will come with suggested nicknames but are not necessary.

You’ll find Grusha sitting at the booth when he’s not perusing himself with his variant Mightyena partner, Togo, at his side as well as his Weavile, Lolair, on standby to help out. You are welcome to mention these two pokemon in the post. Togo has a quiet personality unless provoked and Lolair is a lot more timid then most Weavile, but he’s friendly to those that are friendly to him. Grusha will likely be bored in most posts but will perk up if its a Paldean Co-Worker that he knows. He is partial to Rika and Ryme for personal reasons, and if a Geeta shows up, note there will be some alarm from his pokemon first and some fear from him. Feel free to play around with these but within reason !!

Now what happens ICly when you get one of these pokemon? Well, they act like fae depending on the percentage bar that comes with the pokemon itself. Over time depending on the dice roll, they will become normal pokemon but the higher it goes, the more feral they become. It will be a give and take relationship regardless of how skilled the trainer is. A video showing what possibly could happen as well as an explanation of ‘neighbors’ or ‘fairfolk’ will be linked from The Ancient Magus Bride which my blog is primarily based on.

How does this play into roleplay? The Fae Gauge.

0-20% - Likely to not act like a fae and simply just have simply be 'quirky' as one would call it. They'll fade out of things fast and be normal soon enough. No need to roll.

21-50% - Likely to cause issues for their trainer depending on how much. They're starting to get into a fae nature and might turn feral depending on how severe the situation. Might take a couple of months to be 'normal'. Up to you on rolling for gauge to go down.

51-79% - Same as above but it happens much more frequently. Dice roll one in ten recommended in situations. One in five is a no to feral reaction, five to ten is a yes. Will take at least a year or two to be normal. Roll for gauge to go down.

80-99% - Will act almost exactly like a fae and the video should be viewed and taken into account. Will take closer to five years to be normal. Roll for gauge to go down.

100% - A pokemon that's appears normal but is absolutely a Fae. Will be labeled for your knowledge as a writer on typing that's being substituted. Physical changes may be noticed. A bond must be built for them to fully listen and care must be taken. Will never be 'normal'.

Lastly, i’m not expecting many, but I do hope you guys enjoy these pokemon and find something for them. Thanks for the read! Also I HIGHLY RECOMMEND clicking the video if you are remotely interested in this blog, this booth, and the concept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjqOJs985UU&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

A last minute addition from the Lady of Grandcrest Ranch (Morgan, OC, not attending but owns the ranch responsible for these pokemon... technically); ‘After the adoption, the pokemon is firmly in the new trainer’s care. If something happens, Grusha nor anyone at Grandcrest Ranch are liable for what happens if you do piss off the fae. This video above shows three examples of treating the fae-touched pokemon with respect, with them showing an affinity for the person, or if you treat them wrong. You have been warned.’

@terafest

#event ;; terafest 2023 #terafest2023

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alulaspeaks · 2 years ago

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hello alula, happy wincest wednesday! I have a specialist question for you: if Sam and Dean were birbs, what kind of birbs would they be?

Happy Wincest Wednesday, z! What a question you have given me to ponder. It took me awhile to figure out how to approach. Maybe the more fun way would have been matching personality to birds ala choosing daemons for an HDM au, but I wanted Sam and Dean to be largely the same cause I'm a sap. I decided to narrow things down to birds of North America because Sam and Dean are uniquely American products and decided to look at it more from the perspective of their position in the world. Beware, this is going to get long.

Short answer: Sam is a Northern Shrike and Dean is a Loggerhead Shrike. If you’re unfamiliar with them, here’s how one online guide describes them: “The burly, bull-headed Northern Shrike is a pint-sized predator of birds, small mammals, and insects.“ They’re predators but with a twist.

(photo from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mickthompson/37109821985/)

Long answer below the cut:

So why a shrike and not a typical bird of prey like hawks or falcons? A couple reasons.

Shrikes of "butcher bird" fame are known for spiking their prey on barbed wires and thorns and it's often talked about with this air of “oh aren’t they so brutal and bloodthirsty.” Which is missing the point a bit.

See, shrikes are actually robin-sized song birds, and they don’t have the equipment birds of prey do--namely talons--so they adapt. They spear their prey to save them for later, but also to hold them in place so they can pull them apart to eat. Brutal, maybe, but practical. We see Sam and Dean display this brutal practicality a lot when dealing with monsters that were once human and demons. They have to if they want to survive, but that’s also part of being a hunter.

Another reason is their position relative to the rest of the ecosystem they live in. These are not apex predators. Predators for sure and crafty, but they are still song birds. There are lots more powerful things that they are very vulnerable to. Imagine season 4 and 5 when angels are introduced, except this time it’s faster, stronger, more deadly Peregrine Falcons and Golden Eagles towering over these tiny gray birds. They will never be the most powerful thing on the field, but they are good at what they do.

So onto why Sam is a Northern Shrike and Dean a loggerhead. Now I’ve only seen these birds in passing so my understanding may be limited. But from what I can tell, Northern Shrikes are known for being more patient, watchful, and stealthy hunters. They’ll even watch a mouse burrow or monitor a nest to figure out the best time to raid it. Sounds like research to me.

Dean is a Loggerhead Shrike mostly because they’re smaller that Northern Shrikes and that amuses me. They’re also a bit more brash, hunting from open perches. Newly fledged Loggerhead Shrikes have been known to mimic adult hunting practices, practicing flying with and impaling random objects. And that performance feels very season 1 Dean.

That was a very long answer to a very cute question. Thanks for asking!

#I do go on about birds #if you read the whole thing #you get a high five #wincest wednesday #asks

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purecommemasolitude · 1 year ago

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Chucked all my thoughts while watching le rouge et le noir for the first time here so have them without show context

Also while missing a good chunk of the show cause I accidentally went on another page without saving the draft schwoopsie

so ding dong is bonheur de malheur with more inexplicable doorbell noises

this man is a MENACE

ohhhh the way the lighting only illuminates mme de rênal half the time during this time is excellent

and then she's an immobile doll for him to position and place bouquets in her hand?? wonderful

the way julien sounds so edgy every single time he talks. king relax

this use of the turntable is quite good but is this man literally climbing a mountain right now

NAPOLEON????

oh putting julien on the top section for the musicians as the first (i think?) actor to do so as he sings about wanting to ascend in his life position... sublime

a) why is his napoleon locket HUGE. couldn't you find a smaller one b) "like you, I'll be the eagle... and she'll be my prey" girl. as far as i can tell at this point in the show you do genuinely like her. why are you describing her like that

NOOO NOT THE MAID

also it's been so long only watching zuka shows that seeing people actually kiss instead of stage kiss is genuinely shocking

"julien... whose portrait are you hiding in your locket?" "i can't tell you... but know it's a man" omg bisexual king 🤩🤩😍😍

I really can't tell if it's a choice here or if he's just really off-time

his gritty voice is fine for solos but i do wish it wasn't present in the love song duet :/ UNLESS it's a hint that he doesn't really love her in which case phenomenal

(Okay now at DLNJVR and it appears he did actually love her and it wasn’t a clever galaxy brain moment. Shame)

glad to see the good old "your character Does Not sing this song but here sing it for the cast recording" trick of french musicals again

ahh the fancy home crumbling once he learns of the affair >>

HE'S GONNA FUCKING KILL HER????????

Okay okay I thought we were going for an INTENSE genre shift right there

Gotta admit I’m not the hugest fan of any of the men’s voices

The house rebuilding itself as he composes himself >>

No Louise :((((( let me tell you if I were her husband I would treat her right

He is SO edgy. Salieri Mozartl’operarock better watch out

DLNJVR actually goes ways harder live than I would’ve thought

His voice works really well for it and her section is very nice

“Admit it, father, you only laugh when you’re with your moody little priest of a secretary. And he’s not even funny.” You’re so real for that queen

Also that line is a very nice way of establishing the timeline

Anyway I love all the women characters this musical should be about them only

Ohh when everyone is still except for them on the turntable >>> I love staging

I forget their names but this couple is also acceptable they’re so fun (it was the Valenods)

Why?? Does she flip pages with both hands???

“Do they surround me because they see me as their prey?” You’re one to talk sir.

Also I thought Sans elles was a breakup song for sure but this does make sense

Misogyny 🤩

The song does translate quite well to stage though I am enjoying it

Wait why is he going to meet her anyway. You just sang about how much better off you were without her

This is such a silly scene I’m a fan

IL AURAIT SUFFIT YEAHHH

LOUISE DD:

LOUISE SINGING THE OUR LOVE WON’T BE AFFECTED BY THE SPACE BETWEEN US LINE AUGHHH

That probably could’ve used more buildup to be effective but I love il aurait suffit too much to care it’s probably my favourite le rouge et le noir song

The way I wrote so much and then it got deleted because it didn’t save. Sigh

I don’t care enough to retype alas

The ones I remember clearly enough will be turned into separate posts

The main gist of it was that I liked Geronimo Mathilde and Louise and not much else

Recontinuing

Mathilde’s dad looks so familiar I must have seen him in something else

Why does Côme always look so sullen

Tbf I assume a lot of it is not being able to see his facial features that well due to the low video quality but like

Girl the way they skipped Geronimo in the cast countdown??

NOÉMIE GARCIA??? I DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS IN THIS

Aw I like how they’re having people applaud the techies and band as well as the actors :)))

Reprises of the biggest songs at the end of French musicals :)))

Lesbians real

I joke but if Mathilde and Louise had just loved each other and forgotten julien everything would’ve worked out Fine. It definitely would not have but I can pretend

All in all it did slightly disappoint my expectations but overall it was a good time

The music slapped, as expected

And the set design & staging was really neat, and far surpassed my expectations after i saw it was mainly screens

#le rouge et le noir #og #liveblogging #sort of. ish

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peace-coast-island · 1 year ago

Text

Diary of a Junebug

Taking it slow by making deliveries and exploring the countryside

These past few days I’ve gotten a glimpse of Connie and Pai’s lives when they’re not out having a grand adventure. Basically, in order to travel about freely, as well as make necessary connections, they have to be out and about. And what better way to do that than by running errands and taking up odd jobs?

Like Connie said, it’s a mixed bag, so it’s not really something they’d recommend to a lot of people since it’s so unpredictable. Part of the reason why they keep at is because they got lucky and wouldn’t be where they are today if things didn’t work out the way they did. So it basically comes down to luck, which isn’t always that reliable.

While a lot of good has come out of it, there’s also a lot of meh and tedious stuff in between. Yeah, I get what they mean. You have to be able to pull through and move forward, otherwise it just wouldn’t be worth it. That’s why Connie wanted to make absolutely sure that Pai knew what exactly she was getting into before deciding to tag along with them. Pai, I guess, is who most consider a somewhat well-seasoned adventurer - to be honest, she doesn’t always seem like it but people like Jamie have said so and I trust their judgement - has some experience worth taking note of, but nothing compared to someone like Connie.

Raiden and Qingmei used to live a similar lifestyle, mostly because that was their best option to find what they needed. They all have described the process as a whole like looking for a needle in the ocean. It’s a big gamble but sooner or later you’d fish something out. Whether it’s useful or not, at least you found something, meaning that your search isn’t futile. In other words, you not only have to be persistent, but you also have to know where to look, and how to filter out all the unnecessary details. It’s far from smooth sailing, but if that’s your only option and you’re willing to put in the effort, then you will get something out of it.

That being said, Raiden says it’s not very sustainable for the long term. Like, a couple of years at best. Any more than that you might as well redirect your energy somewhere else or just slow down. She was lucky that her journey, to put in simpler terms, lasted for maybe a little over a year, which is kinda wild when you think about it as a shitton of stuff happened.

Again, it sounds very demanding, not something I think I’d be capable of doing. And of course, Raiden and Qingmei decided to slow down once they found what they needed. They still travel a lot but on a much smaller scale and less ulterior motives. In other words, they’ve been learning how to just live life without constantly worrying about their futures.

Sure, Raiden says she misses the excitement sometimes, especially when life gets slow and blah, but at the same time she’s happy to have those periods, even if they are tedious. I’d say she’s on a another journey right now, more of an inner, self-discovery type. She and all the others who she met along the way have gone through a lot, so, obviously, they’ve changed a lot.

Raiden certainly didn’t expect to make it out alive. She knew her brother’s days were number when shit really started going down. Qingmei, maybe might have had a chance of making it out alive, Dainn, not so much. But somehow they beat the odds - well, except for Raiden’s brother - and they all have to learn to live with it, which I think will always be an ongoing process.

At least the three of them decided to stick together and I think that’s been helping them process what had happened. It’s good that they have each other and chose to be together, as well as acknowledge what happened and use that to move forward. None of them had it easy, but considering the circumstances, this was probably the most optimal outcome for them.

That said, I hope that Connie’s journey will not be for naught. They’ve already come so far and despite the ups and downs, they still persist. I admire them for that and I hope that things will be okay. Whether they make it out alive or not, I hope at least that they will be able to find some peace of mind over things that they needed answers to. I get that not everything will work out, and even if things are going fine right now, it can still suddenly go to shit without warning.

As much as I want Connie and Pai to make it out alive, kicking and screaming, like Raiden, I also accept that sometimes there is no happy ending or a neatly tied up resolution. No matter what, there will always be some sort of mess, scars that’ll never properly heal no matter what.

I hope it doesn’t sound pessimistic. Connie has always been upfront, flat out saying that they might not survive the week and such. I’d say they’re being realistic, like, it’s not really a nice thing to consider, but it’s their reality. I can’t imagine living with such a weight on my shoulders.

Right now, it’s one of those slow periods for Connie and Pai. Connie says those too can be a mixed bag as sometimes it’s need and other times it’s frustrating. Fortunately, this one’s good timing as they’ll be busy again soon.

There’s gonna be a big event hosted by Dharma where Connie and Pai will be commentators, so that’s gonna be exciting. In fact, Connie’s invited the camp to come up to the city to check out the festivities as Nahla’s trying to promote interest to those outside of the academia scene. The main thing is a big competition and there’ll be a lot of fun stalls and activities to check out. Although the main reason is to recruit more students, they’re trying to be more inclusive as, obviously, not everyone’s interested in pursuing academics. In other words, because of the changing academia scene since management has changes, they’re trying to tear apart the rift that the old Dharma was responsible for.

I think that’s a good cause and I’m glad that Connie, Nahla, Sadiki, and the other’s efforts have led to much needed change in Adrikha. It takes guts not only to challenge a system that does more harm than good, but it’s even harder to keep to your word and actively push for those changes. At least for now things are finally settling down, plus it’s bring break, so everyone’s getting their much needed rest.

That’s why Connie and Pai are out here in the countryside of Adrikha. Connie heard that the mailroom’s in need of help because a lot of the people over there are on vacation. It also happens to be in the town where Layla, a student from Dharma, resides, and Connie wants to check in on her as she’s had a very stressful semester and is long overdue for a family visit.

Sophea and Michi also happen to be in the area too, along with Sumi, a courier from Sango who they recently helped get out of a tight jam. Sumi’s story is kinda wild actually. Like, what’s wrong with some people? At least she came out of the whole thing unscathed with her reputation intact. Apparently, Mio wanted to introduce Sumi to Connie for a while but stuff happened and so Sumi was forced to go into hiding for a while.

So Sumi, like Mio and Mei, is a yokai. Unlike most other yokai though, Sumi doesn’t possess any unusual powers, at least, as far as she knows. She is known to be very fast and very good with direction, so she uses those skills to be a courier. And according to Sophea and Michi, she’s a damn good one. Even though she’s mostly local, Sumi has also done international if it’s an emergency or something super urgent.

In fact, she has helped Connie a couple times when they were in tight situation but Connie never got the chance to properly thank her as she ‘s quick and most people don’t usually see her. She’s been at it for about 200 years, so it’s safe to say she’s pretty vital to Sango’s postal service.

But then troubles began when shit went down in Sango and everything was in shambles. Sumi was willing to put herself in danger in order to keep communications open, which was commendable of her. She actually got compensated for all the trouble she had to go through, and maybe that was what got her in trouble with a certain someone later on.

That certain someone - some guy who was ousted following the political scandals that were uncovered, no one could be bothered to remember who - held a grudge against many people, including Sumi for reasons she’s not sure of. Basically, some fucked up guy who decided to take his anger out on Sumi, out of all people, for reasons we’ll probably never understand.

It started when the head of the postal service died in a freak accident, possibly murder, though that’s very circumstantial. That guy happened to be a distant relative, so he took over as there was no next of kin, despite protests from the others.

Sumi described him as relentless and scary. He stalked her and tried to get people to turn against her, spreading rumors about her and harassing those who disagreed. Even Mio was powerless against him, which was not good as she’s pretty much one of the most powerful people in Sango. Eventually it got to the point where Sumi was so concerned about her own safety that she stopped leaving home. Still, she made her deliveries when she was the only one capable of the job, which made the guy even angrier at her.

And that’s not it. Apparently, he threatened to jump off a cliff if Sumi didn’t do so first. He just wanted her out of the picture, period. Of course, Sumi refused, and she did try standing up to him, except she said it was like talking to a brick wall that only just wanted to crush you. That sounds fucking terrible.

Once he realized that Sumi wasn’t going down so easily, he decided to frame her for murder. So he took a bunch of people hostage with a bunch of bombs and proceeded to blow them and himself up. Apparently, he didn’t intend to go down with them, but either way, his plan worked, even more so with him dead. He did it in such a way that made it seem like Sumi was at her wit’s end and felt she had no choice but to resort to murder. By then, her mental state was already in shambles, so that made things worse.

That’s where Michi and Sophea came in. Michi was well aware of who that guy was, and also said that he should’ve been kicked out a long time ago. He knew that he wasn’t able to take on this case alone and consulted Sophea. It was a tough case, but they were more concerned about Sumi and how she was gonna come out.

In the end, Sumi was found innocent and Michi made sure that Sumi got the help she needed after the ordeal she went through. He’s also working with Hanako and Akira to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

As for Sumi, she’s still on leave, but she’s looking forward to be back. She’s worried that she’ll be rusty, which is why she’s helping out at the post office too. She says that working in an unfamiliar environment adds an extra challenge that’ll hopefully help her get back into the grind when she returns to Sango. So far, being out here has been good for her. She says she’s still a bit shaken up by what had happened but she can’t let that stop her from living her life.

Along with checking in on Sumi, Sophea and Michi had other reasons to stop by. Connie met someone who was in need of legal help - they’re from Adrikha but the relative who needs help is from Bonsai, where Sophea’s from. Basically, a custody issue where the kid’s safety is coming into question. Sophea met with them and she’s sure that she can help them out, so that’s good.

Michi mainly came to see Sumi, Connie, and Pai. While hanging out in the city he didn’t except to run into Aliya. She was the merchant he met a few years ago back when he was living in his hometown. He didn’t know her too well but had heard that she’s kinda a big deal in Adrikha, which was why Connie sought her out for intel when they first came to the city. Aliya was working with Harumi’s father on some business deal that ended up falling through.

To his surprise, Aliya remembered him. Of course, she tried to sell him a bunch of stuff, and he did happen to find something he was looking for, so that worked out well. They did talk a bit about what happened when Harumi died and how insensitive her family was. I remember Michi telling me about it and how that prompted him to leave home.

Aliya didn’t know Harumi but she was put off by how her family treated her death like it was some joke. Basically it’s one of those things where it’s like oh, that sounds terrible, and then you hear more about it and it’s like wow, that’s really fucked up.

Apparently, Aliya and Harumi’s father were in a meeting when he was told that his daughter had died. She, like most people, would assume that they end the meeting so he could sort out his affairs and such. But no, instead, not only he insisted on continuing the meeting, he also took Aliya to Harumi’s room so he could go through her stuff and see what’s worth selling. He, according to Aliya, was pretty much like, “Oh, good that’s one less mouth to feed. We never really liked her anyway.”, which is yikes. Michi said that her observations were pretty much spot on, as much as he hates to admit it.

Like he said before, it seemed like Michi was the only one who gave a fuck about Harumi’s death. Even if he wasn’t her best friend, he still would’ve felt something for her as she died in what could’ve been a preventable accident. But no, instead they used her death to make fun of her, because clearly only a stupid idiot would lose control of their car on a poorly lit, narrow, and winding road on a rainy day. Aliya probably said no more than a couple sentences to her and yet she felt that Harumi deserved respect and dignity. She’s had her share of bad clients and sketchy deals but Harumi’s father straight up made her uncomfortable for a lot of reasons.

Being at the office has been chill and delivering packages is a good way to explore the area. Sumi really is super fast and efficient, it’s amazing watching her go! It’s hard to believe that she just arrived a couple days ago and has already memorized the entire area. Sometimes it gets busy but most of the time it’s a bit slow, which we don’t mind too much.

In the meantime, we take the time to explore the countryside and just take it slow. Layla’s from here so she’s the one showing us around the village. She didn’t plan on spending her break at home and probably would’ve stayed cooped up in her dorm if Connie hadn’t insisted. Being a student can be rough, and I imagine that it’s a lot tougher in a university like Dharma. Connie notes that she’s been a lot more relaxed now that she doesn’t have a lot on her mind.

The countryside of Adrikha is peaceful and serene. It’s the opposite of the hustle and bustle of the city according to Pai. Layla said it took her a long time to get used to living in the city as she barely left the village before that. Even though she’s been in the city for almost two years, she still kinda feels out of place. Her semester had a bit of a rough start but she somehow persevered and things started to change for the better when she pushed herself to become more social.

Connie and Pai first met her at an event in the city that they participated in. Layla wanted to participate but she didn’t have a lot of confidence so Connie decided to give her some support. In the end, Layla got second place, which then got her some attention from her peers. That, she speculates, must be the part of the reason why they ended up nominating her to represent their department for that upcoming event Connie mentioned.

Yeah, I feel for her. It sucks when you don’t have the greatest confidence and people are putting a lot of expectations on you. Layla seems like she’s smart and capable, but it’s hard for her to see that right now because she’s so focused on putting all her energy into making it through the day. Connie seems to have taken her under their wing.

Since it’s getting hot, we’ve been hanging out by the river to keep cool. Layla took us to her favorite swimming spot under a giant honey peach tree that’s a lifesaver when the heat and humidity gets too much to handle.

Pai said the countryside is kinda like an in between of the forest in the east and the sands in the west. Most people live in the forest area while the desert is more scattered out. Connie’s pretty much familiar with the forest by now but the desert’s another story. They said once you leave the villages, pretty much anything can go wrong no matter how well prepared you are.

Although Connie and Pai have special clearance to travel the desert in most places that are usually restricted to researchers, it’s not like you can walk in and set up camp. The expeditions they had over there went surprisingly well, so that’s something. Connie would’ve continued on but now that it’s getting warmer, the desert’s probably the last place you should be hanging around in. That’s another reason why things are kinda slow right now.

It’s nice being surrounded by so much green. Adrikha really is verdant, no exaggeration there. After running around delivering packages, there’s nothing more relaxing than swimming in the river, eating grilled honey peaches, and learning about the unusual flora unique to this area.

Read on AO3

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #diary of a junebug #headcanon ramble

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