#Handholding... how scandalous

[paradubolical]

there are 2 interpretations of this ship and i love both of them

[equill]

Affection

Extra: spying

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Cultural Differences - Shadowgast Recs

This week, we have twelve fics exploring cultural differences between Caleb and Essek! Read more under the cut.

Careful Steps by chaya (6066, Teen) Warnings: None A pre-episode 97 fic about Essek's attempts at courting Caleb according to both Kryn and Empire customs. Reccer says: It builds a cohesive picture of Kryn rules of courtship and by showing the wizards' interactions through this lens, it manages to express emotion and desire in subtle and often humorous ways.

Widogast 101: Introduction to Bread by ThreeGremlinsInATrenchcoat (2524, General) Warnings: None Caleb finds out that Essek has never eaten bread before, so he brings him a lot of Zemnian breads to try. Reccer says: Caleb is so fascinated with Essek's opinions on the different types of bread. It's very endearing.

my kingdom for a braid by hanap (10998, Teen) Warnings: minor violence Caleb and Essek are the rulers of the Empire and the Dynasty as well as star crossed lovers. When Caleb reaches out, years later, with what he thinks is a romantic gesture, Essek understands it as a declaration of war. Reccer says: It's got dramatic irony! It's got a wonderful breadth of POV characters! It's beautifully written!

In the Interest of Identity by firefright (2232, General) Warnings: None A late night talk on the importance of names. Reccer says: Some lovely pining and Dynasty worldbuilding

Inventory by Operafloozy (3862, Teen) Warnings: None Yasha helps Essek out with some cultural misunderstandings, and also packing. Reccer says: Great worldbuilding and voices - it's about Essek and Caleb's relationship, but also Essek and Yasha and how they relate to the Dwendalians in their lives.

the apple of one’s eye by saturdaysky (1286, Teen) Warnings: None Essek gifts Caleb a very authentic traditional Zemnian garment. Or so he thinks. Reccer says: Hilarious, sweet, and surprisingly hot! It’s a quick read but a memorable one.

gilded by renquise (1949, Teen) Warnings: None A deliciously horny little fic with an old dynasty courting custom at the centre. Reccer says: For such a short little fic, the world and the characters feel so rich and lived in. Super hot as well as tender and sweet and a treat for hand kink havers!

And All the Trifles, Sweet and Frail by Interrobang (2329, Explicit) Warnings: Trans Essek-- this fic includes vaginal fingering. Drow have certain customs about handwear and hand-to-hand contact. By Kryn standards, Caleb is a bit of a trollop. Reccer says: Excellent sense of tension and sensuality, but also, the fact Essek finds handholding to be Extremely Scandalous is SUPER funny to me.

Appetites by portraitofemmy (1793, Explicit) Warnings: None Essek muses on the voracious nature of humans. Reccer says: Lush, indulgent, and gorgeous

In My Head, I'm Yours by Marmeladeskies (31346, Teen) Warnings: no warnings “I… my Den’s annual meeting is coming up, and I need a plus one, to put it simply.” “You need someone to pretend to be your daaaaaaaate?” Essek brings Caleb as his "fake" date to a family reunion. Feels and shenanigans ensue. Reccer says: I love the in-depth depiction of the Dynasty as a matriarchy, and thus Essek as a male drow has to put up with much of the same bullshit that female-presenting humans do. The flipped social dynamics are super interesting to me.

For these last two, we had multiple recs each for them:

Indecency by RainyDayDecaf (5898, Teen) Warnings: None Caleb and Essek keep accidentally performing courtship rituals from the other's culture Reccer 1 says: A really adorable 6+1 fic, super cute and sweet Reccer 2 says: It's just very cute and fluffy. The boys are in love and stupid about it at times. Reccer 3 says: The wizards are flirting and pining and blushing and accidentally going WAY TOO FAR with their intended gestures because of cultural differences. It's soft and sweet and funny and like a warm hug.

In the Closet of our Discretion by Firefright (12280, Mature) Warnings: None Caleb gets a hands-on lesson on how the many layers of Dynasty formalwear. By taking it off Essek. Reccer 1 says: I love the worldbuilding inherent in it, along with the wonderful build-up of tension as Caleb removes each layer. Reccer 2 says: Such a good study of dynasty clothing. Reccer 3 says: Well written, romantic, and sexy! Reccer 4 says: If you like costume porn or headcanons about the Dynasty having pseudo-Victorian modesty standards, then this is the fic for you. Disclaimer: despite my costume porn description, there is no actual smut in this, though it does have one of the hottest disrobing scenes I've ever read.

Have some questions? Wonder who's doing this? Check out our FAQ, and look for us next week, when we'll have a new rec list centered around canon divergent AU's!

[smoothie03]

Pre-marital handholding? 🧐🧐 How scandalous.

[team-calm]

Alright anon you got your answer!~

what does Devi like pls help

Uhhh

@professor-devious what do you like???

[adamsvanrhijn]

i like to think bridget did See Something but thinks it's sweet (in a "awww, men showing their emotions :') mr oscar holding hands with his nice friend bc he nearly died :')" way, probably not in a "forget storme delarverie, bridget threw the first brick at stonewall" kinda way)

i love that you're bringing this up because i think something really crucial to that scene is oscar's instant paranoia immediately followed by john's "There wasn't a lot to see"... while the kiss is a bit suspect, and obviously their conversation 100% is, that act itself isn't too scandalous or suspicious on its own. and if it's just handholding then like. It's 1883. Nobody cares. Even today, are you really going to judge a guy for holding his friend's hand in his hospital bed.

And so there's this little bit, I think, of drawing attention to the kind of stress that Oscar lives under and the fear of being found out, and the paranoia that he has that we saw come out in 1.08 and that he can't seem to get away from now - and how that is potentially going to cast a shadow over his relationships in the future. And how John is approaching this in a way that is, to John, pragmatic, because he's living within the bounds of his society as best as he can and designing his own live within that and, I think, taking advantage of natural qualities and social circumstances to feel authentic to himself and what he wants without drawing suspicion - a little discretion, but not at the expense of his own happiness. So what if he's holding Oscar's hand when Oscar was beaten half to death by a stranger! That isn't anything noteworthy especially if there aren't already reasons to be suspicious.

Obviously though we the audience know and both John and Oscar know that John is. hmmm. not the most emotionally stable and environment aware man in New York. But still - John is the one firmly and rationally reassuring Oscar, while Oscar can't settle when he knows the truth about his relationship with John, even if whatever is happening would be innocuous between two other men who are good friends but have never been and never will be More.

[skyselfships]

when alexis gets cold, she steals hades' himation. it started as "I'll steal it when he's not looking" which then evolved into her wrestling the poor soul for his clothes.

the first time, she took the himation, put it on, and hades didnt notice until after she left and he sensed that something was off.

"if you're cold, you could've just said something!" hades attempts to reason with her, holding her wrists so she doesn't tear his himation from his person for the umpteenth time. "I could warm you up myself!"

"nah," she coldly rejects him, "fighting you is more fun."

also she doesnt return them. she keeps them at home and uses them as improvised blankets.

theres less "im cold" "well damn i dont control the weather" and more "your himation. hand it over" followed by wrestling

hades likes having her wear his clothes but damn is the fighting really necessary? cant they just hold hands or cuddle? (handholding before marriage? how scandalous!)

[ye-olde-sodor]

DON'T CALL ME DIRTY PERCY-

At long last, the final member of the changed Tidmouth Fleet is finally here! Numbers 7-11 don't have designs as they'll remain as engines, but I'll still do posts about them!

Lore time!

-A lot of the stuff I said on James' post ties into here. Percy searched for Thomas but to no avail. He does, however, travel to Vickarstown where he runs into Diesel. After he realizes who he is, he freaks out and rapidly barrels down the line all the way to Tidmouth (which is quite impressive on his part). When he gets there, however, he's shocked to find the same thing happened with Henry!

-Percy had allowed Thomas to huddle next to his firebox since it was cold out. While he was conformable with it (because it's Thomas), he couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by the whole thing.

-Shortly after the reunion, Percy began to feel ill. He was lethargic and complained that he was cold despite his fire being lit. His crew (and Thomas) wrapped him in tarps, blankets, and scarfs just to keep him from shaking himself to bits.

-A week later, Thomas wanted to check in on Percy and James, so he left early in the morning to see them. While James was sound asleep, he saw that Percy's shed was empty, save for a large pile of blankets and scarfs.

-Horrified, he digs through the pile, suspecting that he too had changed just like the rest of them. Sure enough, under all of the blankets laid a small man with green hair and grey skin, fast asleep without a care in the world. A red scarf sat on top of his head.

-As adorable as he was, Thomas knew he had to wake him up. He didn't want poor Percy suffocating under all of the covers. He grabbed Percy by the waist and tried to pull him out, but his feet were tangled in the blankets. With a hard tug he was able to get Percy out, but he lost his footing and the two men fell to the ground.

-Grumpily, Percy grasped the red scarf on his head and tried to use it as a blanket. It was here that he finally realized what happened, and the screaming started. Not just from Percy but from James and Thomas too (why Thomas started screaming, no one knows). It took some time to calm everyone down, and it took even more time to get Percy on his feet and out of the cold.

-When everything had calmed down (mostly), Thomas took Percy to the dorms. He was still lethargic and very tired, moreso after the long panic, so Thomas brought him to an empty dorm room so he can sleep. With him being the stronger of the two, he carried him up the stairs and tucked him into bed.

Headcanons...and some lore pieces!

-Percy became attached to the red scarf that was on his head. It became a sort of "Security Scarf" for him. No one knows how it ended up in the pile, but most assume it got mixed in with the blankets.

-He's close to Thomas for obvious reasons, but it's his closeness to Diesel that came as a surprise to everyone. A few months after the whole Duck vs Diesel fiasco, and he was brought back to the island, Diesel got a redemption after he stopped a runaway train and saved Percy. The two of them were inseparable ever since. While he's still devious, he's a far cry from his past self.

-Out of everyone, Percy is the most affectionate. Believe it or not but he was the first to introduce the idea of kissing to the others! The engines were conditioned to see any type of affection as scandalous, even if it was just handholding. So to them, Percy is their equivalent to promiscuity...even if they don't know what that word means.

Gordon: "Unbelievable Percy! How can you do such a horrid thing out in public?!"

Percy, holding Diesel's hand while he has a Mocha in the other: "Relax! It's just a Mocha!"

-Percy has a better understanding of human relationships then the others, primarily because his first wedding incident made him a popular guest of honor for the couples of Sodor. Kisses and cuddles are reserved for your significant other, while hugs can be used for just about anyone...at least that's how he sees it.

-To the engines, "romance" was just a friendship without as many boundaries. It's a sign of undying trust, the purest form of a partnership, Friendship 2 Electric Boogaloo. That's why Percy (and all engines for that matter) are so confused over human relationships and the "rules" that they try to impose on the engines.

-Percy never did get over his lethargy, at least not entirely. It's not uncommon for him to doze off to sleep in random places, but thankfully never somewhere dangerous. More often than not he can be found on the couch next to or on top of Diesel or Thomas.

-Due to his lethargy, he's become a major tea drinker. When he isn't out and about, he's having his peaceful afternoon tea with friends (and plenty of tea cakes).

-Percy is one of the few engines who's strictly vegan. He's known for eating meatless meats (Like Quorn, Beyond Meat, etc) for every meal.

-When Thomas announced that he partnered with Ryan, Percy was immediately skeptical. Percy has faced off against larger tank engines like Ryan before he came to Sodor, and they're nothing but trouble! No amount of "Gresley Charm" is going to persuade him otherwise! Despite his grievances, he does find it funny that this is how Thomas gets into the Gresley family. He can't wait for their wedding...and he can't wait to see Gordon's reaction!

-He's the smallest out of the Tidmouth team and is therefore the hardest to catch as he's having a sugar rush. (Trust us, it's happened more than once). He's even managed to outrun Gordon on one occasion!

-Looks and acts like a scrunkly...is actually a major historical philosopher on the island. He mainly plays dumb just to mess with people, which is common for smaller engines to do (see Thomas and Diesel as prime examples). This shouldn't be surprising though, especially since he's a year older than Edward!

-Likewise, Thomas is more of an anatomy expert thanks to the numerous college textbooks that his driver Keith leaves around the dorm room. Put the two together and you'll get quite the conversations. More specifically, them trying to piece together what the deal is with humans. It's even more common for the whole team to get involved in these conversations!

-Every now and then he gets himself buried under a pile of blankets. Usually it's Diesel or Thomas that has to dig him out of it. No one knows how he breathes under them, and he refuses to reveal the secret.

-Duck and Percy see each other as brothers, but Percy also sees Henry as an older brother as well, much to his surprise!

[wishing-stones]

I was handhold anon from forever ago and I loved the answer! You joked about “how scandalous” but in the end their reactions did seem scandalous hehe

I had to go find it LMAO. You're not wrong-- if they were caught being so soft and squishy (with... perhaps the exception of Axe, who would dare someone to make a scene about it, go ahead, do it) they would be scandalized. They all have images to uphold, after all.

Except for Axe. Everyone knows he's a big ol' teddy bear to those he's close to. He's a teddy bear who has claws and teeth to other people, but to his close circle, he's a big sweetheart.

[monkey-overalls]

I had a really wholesome dream about the Training Trio last night (happily married in a non-despair setting) which inspired me to make a post explaining each facet of my favorite V3 ship… SaiMotaMakiMastu! Tell me that name isn’t incredible. Here, I’ll list off each sub-ship and when they started dating in relation to the polycule. This takes place in a “V3 Was A Simulation” AU (the universally favored conclusion to the game amongst the fandom tbh).

Momoharu (Kaito and Maki): The first couple to start dating. Kaito, the emotionally constipated himbo he is, didn’t realize until waking up from the simulation that he reciprocated Maki’s feelings. He’d tell Shuichi how happy she made him and how flustered he got around her (for sooome unexplainable reason /s) and Shuichi had to politely tell him to get his head out of his ass and confess already. Their relationship is beyond wholesome, with Maki having loosened up a little after the events of the game and acting less standoffish toward him. She’s still as blunt and antisocial as ever, but that’s what Kaito loves about her; she tells it like it is, and only associates with those she trusts (which, after everything she went through, both past and present, is beyond reasonable).

Saimatsu (Shuichi and Kaede): The second couple to start dating. Here, Kaito returns the favor by pushing the two together. Shuichi is as nervous as ever to tell Kaede how he feels, to which Kaito uses his own words against him (“There’s no way she’d ever think differently of you! Besides, she’s just as smitten as you are!”). Their relationship is filled to the brim with rampant encouragement and scandalous handholding. They’re like the only high school couple you’re actually convinced will stay together in the future. Shuichi is much more confident in himself thanks to Kaede, and Kaede now knows not to put herself in the position of ‘leader’ or support others without first supporting herself thanks to Shuichi.

Saimota (Shuichi and Kaito) and Saimaki (Shuichi and Maki): A couple months into his relationship with Kaede, Shuichi came to the devastating realization that he was falling hard for his two best friends. A bi crisis, if you will. He confided in Kaede fully expecting her to break it off, but she cheerfully revealed that she was super supportive of him pursuing a relationship with them outside their own. Meanwhile, Maki was coming to the same conclusion, and told Kaito one day that she still cared for him romantically but also had feelings for Shuichi. Kaito, still having not come to terms with his own bisexuality, was like, “Cool!” and Maki had to be the one to reveal his glaring crush on Shuichi. He was entirely convinced that was just how ‘soul bros’ typically felt about each other, to which Maki replied, “You talk about Shuichi the same way you talk about me, idiot (affectionate). How is that not a crush?” Long story short, the couples confessed their desire for a polycule at the same time.

Akamota (Kaede and Kaito): After the two couples combined into a single polycule, Maki and Shuichi placed figurative bets on how long it would take before Kaede and Kaito caught feelings. After all, they were similar in practically every way and got along swimmingly, so why couldn’t it work? Kaito, this time, was the first to realize (having had extensive recent experience in noticing his feelings) and soon confessed to Kaede with unsurprising success. They’re a sickeningly sweet pair who spend their days infodumping about their interests to each other and aggressively supporting their friends. If Shuichi and Maki can’t find them, they’re probably off doing something stupid. How stupid? Well, they have to be supervised to use the microwave from now on.

Kaemaki (Kaede and Maki): Maki was confident that she wouldn’t succumb to Kaede’s charms. She thought the same thing about Kaito, and we all know how that turned out. It started when Shuichi and Kaito were having a little stargazing date night and Kaede suggested that her and Maki go out and do something to get to know the other better (as they were objectively the least familiar of the group). Maki begrudgingly accepted, and was already too far gone by the end of the night. Kaede was just her type, and she could no longer deny that. Discussing it with her partners, they suggested another outing to see how things progressed and were overjoyed when it went even better than the first. Surprisingly, Kaede revealed her crush before Maki even had the chance. Because they’ve been dating the least amount of time compared to the other pairings, their dynamic can be summed up as two fifth graders in their first relationship, complete with hesitant touches and extensive blushing.

And that’s SaiMotaMakiMatsu! I hope this propaganda is enough to convince you of their superiority. After all, why fight over who gets to date the protagonists when they can all date each other!!!

[swaprandaljade]

thoughts on premarital handholding?

"TOTALLY TUBULAR. I like breaking r-rules, it'd be totally groovy to hold another n-nasty sinners hand before marriage.. how scandalous of me!"

[amhooman]

unsolicited handholding (my, how scandalous)

hands are the bane of my existence

[btshoseong]

tbh i feel like dispatch blew the pics out of proportion -- like it's just two ppl not even kissing, hugging or anything (?) like when can men and women ever just be friends BYEE

👣. !!: AUTHOR IS COMMUNICATING ‧₊˚

YOUR POINT TBH >>> dispatch def just enjoys blowing things outta proportion especially with the tannies since they don’t have very many dating scandals. seongie has a LOT of girl friends but he’s refrained from hanging out with them in public over the years exactly bc of situations like the dispatch article where media outlets will scandalise even a mere hug initiated from him if it’s with a girl.

while we have our pda kings se3oulvminkook who could (and have) gone on the most romantic handholding, five star dinner date decked with kisses and hugs and nuzzles and no one would bat an eye bc “that’s just their dynamic, they’re close like that”

(but then again that’s probably better for them in such a conservative country as opposed to being outed against their will so)

but anyways back to the topic lol ! so with bangtan’s chapter 2, there’s been lots of shifts happening with certain members becoming bolder and breaking the expectations that have been placed onto them by overly obsessed fans.

one of the shifts with hoseong is, well, he’s begun to care less about being seen out and about with his female friends !!! he’s basically stopped catering to people’s fantasies and his own worries and has started calling out comments on his lives etc about the way ppl keep telling him ‘how he should behave’

hoseong the new king of the idgaf war y’all 💪💪

[salsflore]

talking about their hands and other stuff bc i'm horrifically bored. brought to you by this

childe

he’d have kinda calloused hands that have scars on them. he’s not insecure about any of them. would probably be a weirdo that considers the scars “trophies.” likes to handhold but would also probably just put an arm around her instead ;;

zhongli

aghhh... slender long fingers....!!!!! smooth to the touch. as rex lapis he has like arms that fade into yellow at the hands — but in his animated char. trailer, as zhongli his hands looked normal (or at least, the little bit you could see of it!!)

so idk but either one works for me. side note about the whole glowing shit he has going on for him, zl’s hair would totally glow when he gets flustered... T_T + he also enjoys handholding. but not too much! and in public too?! how scandalous...

diluc

like childe but a bit rougher. would probably be insecure of his hands and scars in general so he wears gloves even when around me or hand holding. hence why when he’s finally gotten comfortable enough to reveal them around her/me it’s like Achievement Unlocked! 🔓 they also probably don’t hold hands in public or act overly affectionate in general ..

alhaitham

slightly bigger hands that look perfectly manicured... ahhh....... not much to say. i can’t bear to think about him hes very much disgusting and awful and. i think they wouldnt really hold hands she'd just cling onto his arm kinda

[wendydarlingdoesgrowup-blog]

it was always ending

As girls we always saw the end of a relationship as loud. It was angry and violent, from Rachel and Ross to Chuck and Blair, the end of a relationship came as quickly as it went. Screaming, crying, lies, a relationship ending was scandal. It was rage in the male gaze. It was glass against the wall, lighters in hand, and a house up in flames. 

My first breakup was like this. Messy and unexpected. It was the end of my first beginning.  The end of handholding and kisses on Ferris wheels. Secret handshakes and jokes from our friends. He was The First I was devastated for about two minutes before I realized I loved to play the scorned woman. I loved the drama—it was all too easy to live up to my favorite feminine heroes. I spent hours typing messages, stirring the pot, spreading truths and lies. Sometimes I still see the appeal. It’s a lie to say you don’t too, Dear Reader. The thing about a first breakup isn’t that they were the love of your life, but the love of your childhood. Rule number 1: just because you make it fun, doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

Rule number 2: breakup isn’t heartbreak. He was The Senior. He had a car with white leather and a back seat like no other. He liked when I wore my hair in braids and asked for help on my math homework. I think he liked that I was young. He once said I reminded him of Wendy, it’s funny how someone older than me will be my Peter Pan. He liked that I was a wall flower, shy and innocent. But he forgot about the fire that burns deep in my soul. The intensity of my stare and the wit dripping from my tongue was a sign I was leaving Neverland. 

Rule number 3: Feeling nothing is worse than feeling everything. When you’ve been hurt so many times over the only thing you feel is relief to be alone. I lived in gilded cages with warped walls for so long I became my worst nightmare. My first hookup said I reminded him of an angel, I smiled, because he hadn’t realized I had fallen yet. He was The Worst. As it turns out, people soon realize what you really are. Later, he told me if God is a woman, I must be the devil. He was The Wakeup Call. At the time I was offended. I had always been the good girl and here I was, half naked in some frat house bathroom, being called the devil. Then, with time, I grew to like it. Angels get their wings ripped off anyway, and I’d rather be someone’s worst nightmare than a daydream. 

Rule number 4: no more rules. Congratulations! You made it through the rebounds. Your friends are sad because you don’t like to go out, but the truth is you’re tired of pretending to care. Not just about boys, but about life. When I finally woke up from the fever dream the was October of 2023, I couldn’t feel a thing. The rules say you can’t day drink, and the rules say you shouldn’t fuck him. The rules say you’ve messed it all up. The rules say you shouldn’t call The Senior. I can tell you now Dear Reader, just because you don’t feel now, doesn’t mean you won’t one day. When that one day happens to be the moment you realize you haven’t talked to your mom since last month, you’ll understand what I mean. 

Not feeling is the feminine gaze. I am angry. I am filled with rage and hate. And I am numb. I wish it would stay this way. Feeling is so much worse, Dear Reader, because we must realize that we were taught wrong. Breakups can be loud, but they can be the quiet asphyxiation of your soul. 

[rxdhairxdsirxns]

Kink Meme: the dreaded, the unholy... Handholding

RATE A KINK || ACCEPTING || @hriobzagelthewanderer​

STANDARD VERSE

Definitely not | No | Not Really | Its Okay | Kinda | Yes | Fuck yes | There goes my pants |

Giving | Receiving | Both

----- “HOW dare you do this to me? And in public? Scandalous,” she’s giggling and blushing.

EVIL AU

Definitely not | No | Not Really | Its Okay | Kinda | Yes | Fuck yes |There goes my pants |

Giving | Receiving | Both

----- “HOW dare you do this to me? And in public? Absolutely scandalous,” she grumbles, but she’s blushing.