#I know whose fans can get very aggressive so I am taking no risks

[healing-hanyou]

Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, Love Live for the ask meme

STRAP YOURSELVES IN, KIDDOS. THIS IS A FUCKING ESSAY RIGHT HERE.

Ace Attorney:

Favorite Male Character: Miles Edgeworth. Shi-Long Lang is great as well. I also have a soft spot for Klavier, Sebastian and Apollo. And, naturally, my space son, Clay Terran.

Favorite Female Character: Kay Faraday!! Props also go to Mia Fey and Trucy Wright, as well as Athena and Jinxie.

Favorite Het Ship: Farabeste (Sebastian/Kay). Cykesquill as well, but I’m very specific about how and when I like it...like, ridiculously specific. Diego/Mia is good as well. For something more ridiculous that I think would be fun, Clay and Athena could have had a great dynamic. Maybe even Clay and Jinxie, if we go out and be totally wild.

Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): Klapollo, Langworth, Nahyuta/Simon. Vera/Trucy, lady Cykesquill, Robin/Myriam and Athena/Juniper for the ladies. 

Least Favorite Male Character: how to I condense the list of the bastards? Kristoph is evil, but I cannot deny he had charm as a character - he’s terrifying, but fascinating, so I cannot name him as my least favourite. I think I’ll go with either von Karma or Blaze Debeste. They’re responsible for so much misery, and they don’t have any tragic reasons for being the way they are.

Least Favorite Female Character: Ma//ya Fe//y. I know the reasons people have for liking her, and I can forgive some flaws in writing, but she simply has too many of them. I know she is a courageous girl who ultimately wishes to do good, but the way she acts, especially in the first two games... just make me go ‘hmmmm’. Honestly, my favourite games in the series are those where I don’t get to see her. Young Pearl is also very low down on the list, and she was my least favourite for a long while, but her teenage years made me soften up to her, she’s pretty great in DD.

Least Favorite Het Ship: anything that encourages abuse, like Grant/Lana? Why would you do this? Also, I’m not fond of Athena/Apollo or Juniper/Apollo. Apollo is far too gay in my eyes to ever be together with a girl. Phoenix/Maya is another one I dislike.

Least Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): same rule as above applies. Aside from those, I... don’t have many slash ships I actively dislike, surprisingly? My main one would be Wri//ght//wor//th, since, in my opinion, it’s very overhyped, and I cannot turn around in this fandom without seeing it, but even that is mostly just...annoyance.

Dirty Little Secret: I haven’t forgotten about my dumbass theory. I’m just...really fucking slow.

Headcanon(s): this will need to be answered in its own separate asks. I have headcanons for everyone. For now, though - Jinxie Tenma is a Fey.

Unpopular Opinion(s): I like Gyakuten Kenji far more than the original games. In general, games with a protag that’s not Phoenix and newer games in the series I tend to like more. Not to imply that the original trilogy was bad or anything, but... Edgeworth is far more solid as a protagonist, not only because his side was relatively unexplored, but because his investigation methods were so much more sensible. Phoenix has this ‘wing it’ approach, which works fine, until you see past it. When you see past it, the tension build-up it tries to pull fails massively, and you just get annoyed by Phoenix never thinking ahead for anything, or being oblivious. With Edgeworth, when there are moments of tension, they appear because of something genuinely unexpected, or because Edgeworth made a miscalculation (which allows character growth). Even when Edgeworth has to pull dumb or crazy shit, it feels like it makes sense, because he thinks, even when he panics. Also, Phoenix is tied down by the worst accompanying duo of Maya and Pearl all the time, while Edgeworth acquires an absolutely amazing set of sidekicks (and he not only gets fun new ones, like Kay and Lang, but there’s so much detail in his interactions with Gumshoe, Franziska and Larry as well? It was great to see the Edgeworth/Larry dynamic of the friendship). Plus, I like the Logic Chess things, the soundtrack is my favourite (how exactly COULD you even attempt to top Shi-Long Lang’s theme???), at least if we’re not counting PLvsAA as a part of this universe, and I like the visuals of it much better. In short, everybody should play these fucking games right fucking now, and storm Capcom offices so they actually port GK2 for the Western market.

A lot of the same criteria apply for the newer games, too. While DD was a comeback for Phoenix, it was a game with mixed protagonists, and it was a new Phoenix as well. Apollo probably has my second favourite supporting character crew after Edgeworth, and, at the time, his Perceive mechanic was refreshing to see after being stuck to the same gimmick for 3 games. Same with Athena. She differs dractically from both Phoenix and Apollo, and brings a new mechanic and a new set of associated people. In other words? I’m happy this series is trying new things, and exploring extra protagonists where it can. It has improved a whole bunch as a result.

Danganronpa:

Favorite Male Character: Byakuya Togami, Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Nagisa Shingetsu. Gundham Tanaka, Hajime Hinata, Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko, Nagito Komaeda. Shuuichi Saihara, Ouma Kokichi, Rantarou Amami.

Favorite Female Character: Aoi Asahina, Celes, Touko Fukawa. Sonia Nevermind, Peko Pekoyama, Akane Owari, Ibuki Mioda. Angie Yonaga, Kirumi Toujou, Maki Harukawa, Tenko Chabashira. 

Favorite Het Ship: Togami/Asahina, Ishimaru/Asahina, Hinata/Ibuki, Tanaka/Pekoyama (I’m especially fond of this one, also titled Soft Animals Edge Duo). Sonia/Kuzuryuu is also great, though that is a platonic ship, as I headcanon Sonia as aro.

Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): Naegi/Ishimaru, Naegi/Togami. KomaNaegi is quite pure, but a friend also got me into KomaSouda as a complimentary ship to TanaPeko. A crackship, but still a favourite is Izuru/Ryouta. And, of course, the ultimate fave - Saiouma. (A nice shoutout also goes to Oumota and Amamota). As for the ladies, Kirizono and Celesgiri, and all gay Asahina ships are good, SoniAkane & Pekobuki. In V3, Tenko is mega gay, so there’s a chance for every gay ship, however, my favourite one is Tenko/Maki. If we’re talking non-Tenko ships, Angie/Maki sounds fun.

Least Favorite Male Character: in DR1, surprisingly, none. Well, Hagakure can get on my nerves, but I like just alright all of them. In SDR2, Nidai, in my opinion, didn’t have that great of a development, so I guess him. Though I also have plenty of issues with Souda. In V3, Gon//ta Go//ku//ha//ra.

Least Favorite Female Character: All DR1 girls are good, and even if they aren’t, they’re at least interesting or entertaining. But if I have to pick, Junko, if we’re judging morality. In SDR2, Mi//kan Tsu//mi//ki and Hi//yo//ko Sai//onji,in terms of morality and/or being dicks. In terms of rather poor writing (despite having a good idea), Chi//a//ki Na//na//mi. In V3, H//i//m//i//k//o Y//u//m//e//n//o and K//a//e//d//e A//k//a//m//a//t//s//u. The final one is also my least favourite in the entirety of the series as a whole.

Least Favorite Het Ship: Jun//ko//ma//e//da. In general, any Junko ship is not very good for plenty of reasons. Na//e//gi//ri. In SDR2, Souda/Sonia (she’s clearly not comfortable with him), Nidai/Akane, Hi//na//na//mi.. Not sure if should be mentioned here, but romantic Kuzupeko? Mostly because I cannot picture it as a thing. I do, however, like them platonically, they do care about each other a whole bunch. In V3, Sa//i//ma//tsu (never make me look at it). 

Least Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): Chi//hi//mon//do. Even if I do like Mondo okay, it’s not healthy. Ka//mu//ko//ma. Son//dam. Jun//ko//mi//kan? Mahiru/Peko for sure. Kiib//ou//ma, too.

And the one I guarantee I’ll receive anon hate over - Te//n//hi//mi.

Dirty Little Secret: this series somehow manages to combine the good with the ridiculous in such a way that I can accept.

Unpopular Opinion(s): I am the literal embodiment of unpopular opinions in this franchise. I think V3 is the best game of the series, and it had a brilliant twist (both the start one and the final one). I don’t really ship the most popular ships, the obvious exception being Saiouma (and, to an extent, SoniAkane? It’s a popular Akane ship, at least). I think Saihara is a far better protag choice than the other option that was presented, since the story and its structure was made to fit him. I’m the unpopular opinion and rarepair central in this fucking thing. (Please help me.)

Love Live!:

Favorite Male Character: yay for not having prominent males, which means I get to skip 2 more questions here.

Favorite Female Character: In Muse’s, my top 3 is Hanayo, Eli and Maki. In Aquors, my top 3 is You, Kanan and Dia (though Mari and Chika are also very lovable).

Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): Makipana! It’s very very cute. I also quite like HonoEli. HonoMaki is also quite nice. In Aquors, YouKanan or DiaKanan. 

Least Favorite Female Character: Not unpopular by any means, but Ni//co Ya//za//wa. In terms of singing voice, Kotori. In Aquors, R//i//k//o S//a//k//u//r//a//u//c//h//i. 

Least Favorite Slash Ship (both M/M and F/F): Ni//co//ma//ki??? I will never understand why people like it. In Aquors, Chi//ka//ri//ko and You//ri//ko. 

Dirty Little Secret: I quite like A-RISE. Every song they’ve ever done is an absolute banger, as the youth says.

Unpopular Opinion(s): would you look at that. Another fandom where I’m the monarch of rarepairs.

[gallavictorious]

Once again the fandom coming together to daydream about Mickey helping Ian out and seeing him back on track to become an emt again but why is that on Mickey? Why does he always have to do things to make Ian happy when Ian's usually nothing but annoyed by Mickey and does nothing to make Mickey happy? Truly shows which character y'all care about more.

This got absurdly long, because I am who I am and did take the opportunity to go off on a tangent about valid conclusions and what not, so I put it under a cut. Read at your own risk! Oh, and I also do address the actual question about whether or not Ian's career is on Mickey, and whether or not Ian never does anything to make Mickey happy. ;)

For the sake of clarity, I got this ask in response to this post.

And I gotta say, nonnie, getting this ask perplexed me to the point of running off to Trusted Fandom Friends, demanding to know how my undying love and loyalty for Mickey could ever be doubted. Had to laugh at myself a little, actually, and the strenght of my befuddlement. It reminded me of the time I went on a trip with people from the 501st (cosplayers dedicated to the bad guys in Star Wars) and Rebel Legion (cosplayers dedicated to the good guys in Star Wars) and a lot of people assumed I was a Rebel sympathizer simply because I had friends in that group and those were the people who had invited me. Excuse me, I didn't yell, I have like 30 Darth Vaders in my damned home, how dare you question my allegiance? I was so used to always being known as a diehard Vaderkin fangirl that the mer fact of strangers failing to recognize me as such genuinely fucked a little with my sense of identity. My love of Mickey isn't anywhere near as deeply ingrained into my sense of self, since he's only been an occasional presence in my life since 2016 while Darth Vader's been my main man since 1994, but it was still a little jarring to suddenly find myself (mis)identified as an Ian stan.

Being a fangirl is strange.

And I want to make it clear that I do love Ian. He's a fascinating character and, to me, he's a character that's often much harder to understand than Mickey. He rewards careful analysis and discussion, though, so I guess I tend to talk a lot about him? I don't need to spend as much time considering Mickey's feelings and motivations because they are (almost) always pretty obvious; I don't need to tease them out. But at the end of the day, Mickey is my favourite. (Though I'll always love Ian and Mickey together more than I love either of them on their own. It's like fresh cilantro and mint – each perfectly lovely in their own right, but the combination of them creates a flavour that's just out of this world.)

Now, you might argue that you don't follow me and so have no idea who I am and what I like to post about, and that going only by that single post (which, in fairness, was tagged with 'i just want ian to be happy okay?') I give off the general impression of an Ian stan. And that's fair enough; I'm an obscure blog in a decently big fandom and you're not required to keep track of anyone. However, if you want to throw around passive aggressive accusations of caring more about one character than the other, I will ask you to do your research first. Reacting to one single piece of data without considering the context is a common but highly unfortunate practice that needlessly complicates meaningful conversations, and we'd all do well to abstain from it.

Oh, you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy on consdering every single thing a specific Tumblr blog has ever said on a specific topic just so you can draw a valid conclusion about their stance? That's perfectly understandable, nonnie, and easily sorted: refrain from making unsubstantiated claims about what other people think or don't think and you won't have to. Ask them, if you wonder. If you see a tendency in fandom to put the responsibility for Ian's wellbeing and career or Mickey's shoulders and want to discuss that, that's totally cool! I am game (and will address that question below)! But it's very possible to do that without somewhat rudely ascribing perferences and opinions to other people, and you'll get better answers for it (for instance, you won't have to wade through me rambling on about valid conclusions and my memories from other fandoms... ).

It seems to me, though, that this touches upon a long-held frustration of yours. If I interpret your ask correctly, you think the show gives us an Ian who is mostly annoyed with Mickey and doesn't do anything to make him happy, and you think that the fandom responds to this by relegating Mickey to the role of Ian's caretaker, whose sole purpose is to serve Ian's needs without any regard for what might Mickey himself happy. Have I got that right?

If so, it should be noted that I don't agree with either of these takes: I don't think that's the Ian the show gives us (a point I will return to below), and I don't think that fandom at large only cares about Ian's happiness, and I particularly don't think that my post can be used a evidence of the latter.

For instance, when you sent me this ask the post in question had all of 40 notes. As I write this, it has just over 70. ”The fandom coming together” seems to be slightly overstating the case, don't you think? There are certainly fans who care more about Ian and only see Mickey as valuable as long as he contributes to Ian's happiness, just as there are fans who care more about Mickey and only see Ian as valuable as long as he contributes to Mickey's happiness - but this single post with less than a hundred notes does not support that either of these stances would be predominant within the fandom. (And, while on the topic, I'd like to state that I don't actually see a problem with either of those stances; these are fictional characters that exists for our entertainment and we don't have any moral obligations to treat them equally and fairly. Don't ruin other fans' fun by dumping on either of them in the character or shipping tags or on character and shipping posts and this is not a problem. It might be a somewhat unpopular opinion, but I don't think you have to love or even like all characters in a ship to ship it: I refuse to drink plain tea because it's nasty but put a splash of milk in it and its my favourite thing ever. You can love a combination without loving all the seperate pieces on their own. And yeah, I do revert to food metaphors a lot. I like food.)

Secondly, whether or not the post can be said to represent the feeling of the fandom at large (it cannot), I think that reading a post specifically about ”Mickey helping Ian out and seeing him back on track to become an emt again” and then extrapolating from that that Mickey ”always have to do things to make Ian happy” is a little wild. The very first thing I wrote for this fandom was a vision of Ian offering Mickey comfort, goddammit. (Ian giving Mickey a hug is so high on my list of desires, you can't even imagine)

As for your actual question (and, ah, imagine how much shorter this post would be if you had just left it at that) – of course that's not on Mickey. That much, incidentally, I've actually explicitly stated in another post. Ian might have his issues but he's still an adult and responsible for himself. That being said, I don't see it as particularly strange that someone would go out of their way to help their partner when they see them struggling? If I realize that someone I care about is unhappy and there's a way for me to help, I would want to help because I love them and want them to be happy, even if it's – ethically speaking – not my responsibility to do so. Pretty sure Mickey, who is action-oriented and so very protective of the people he loves, feels the same way.

Of course, if it's a one-sided thing – if one partner is always the one to do stuff for the other and never receives any support in return – that's not a healthy relationship, and I assume that this is what you're seeing in the show and taking exception to?

Only... I can't help but wonder who this Ian is, this uncaring, selfish version you see – because I don't quite get how it can be the Ian who emptied his bank account for Mickey, or the Ian who was ready to throw his parole and stay in prison for Mickey even when they were in the middle of a fight specifically because Mickey said it would make him happy, or the one who kept trying to talk to Mickey and win him back after Mickey punched him in the face, accidentally broke his leg, and took off with a new lover (I'm not taking sides in this one, btw – I have a lot of sympathy and understanding for both of them and their actions throughout this whole sorry affair), or the Ian who immediately wanted to marry Mickey protect him from the consequences of a murder Ian thought he had actually comitted, or the Ian who went along with arranging a real wedding even though he initially didn't at all understand why this was important to Mickey and who had someone come serenade him once he did, or the Ian who chose At last for Mickey to walk up to the aisle to, or the Ian who keeps trying to reach out to Mickey and to touch him and discuss their issues in a mature way even when he's (justifiably) upset about Mickey using all their wedding money without telling Ian. (Though Ian deciding for both of them that they're saving the money isn't great either.)

I mean, Ian's absolutely done shitty things, as has Mickey. They're human, and they're the products of a chaotic and often hostile enviroment. They do mess up a lot; they've hurt each other rather badly over the years. Depending on your perspective and preferences, you may think one or the other have behaved worse, but as far as I can see, the claim that Ian never does anything to make Mickey happy is simply not supported.

Ian has seemed unusually annoyed with Mickey this season, I'll give you that, but while that's not always the most fun thing to watch and I strongly sympathize with the wish to just see Ian look at Mickey with that fond look again, I don't find him being frustrated right now all that weird, given the circumstances. I'd argue it has less to do with Mickey and more to do with a general frustration over thwarted ambitions and not being able to hold on even to a really shitty job, though Mickey's attitude doesn’t exactly help (which is not to say that I think that Ian's the one in the right here, becasue Ian's way of handling things hasn't always been been stellar either). However, I do have faith in them sorting this out – because even though they fight and bicker and get annoyed with each other, there's never any indication that they're not both committed to making this marriage thing work. They certainly stumble, they misunderstand each other and lash out, but they calm down and go to sleep in the same bed and compromise and keep trying. Every day, they – both of them – choose each other.

I'd like to finish this off by noting, even though it's not entirely relevant to my argument, that that the number one thing that does make Mickey happy is being together with Ian, and even when Ian is pissed at Mickey and withholding sex (which was very ill-advised but says a lot of interesting things about his character, I think!) no one's sleeping on the couch, there are no nights away from the house and each other, and even in the middle of an argument they sit and stand next to each other. I think that's pretty telling of Ian's dedication, especially given his propensity for running away from his problems.

Phew. Okay, nonnie – though we don't agree and I doubt you'll find this answer satisfactory, I hope you see that I have done my best to understand your point of view and treat your arguments fairly and give you a thoughtful response. If you'd like to get back to me and elaborate on your stance, I'd ask that you show me the same courtesy. :)

[taeyohonic]

Just a Taste – Chapter One

Summary: Being asked to take a blood test just to work at a merchandise booth should have been the first read flag for you. But you just gave them a sample of your blood in exchange for a very much needed paycheck and a summer job during BTS’ world tour. After the youngest member of the popular kpop band finds himself in a difficult situation, you come to realize that this wasn’t the last time you shed blood for your idols. or: You becomes the new donor for seven bloodthirsty idols, who seem to be way too interested in their new food source.

Pairing: OT7xfem!Reader

Genre: Fantasy, Smut, (Fluff)

Warnings: blood, they aren’t very nice to you...

Words: 2.7k

Chapters: Prologue, Chap. I, Chap. II, Chap. III, Chap. IV, Chap. V, Chap. VI, Chap. VII

“What do you mean ‘all the bags are gone’?”

Your supervisor does not look amused. The girl with an abnormal amount of glitter on her face does not look amused. Hell, even you don’t look amused. The stadium hasn’t even begun to let the fans in and your merch booth ran out of the official “speak yourself”-bag ten minutes ago.

This job is in the top three most gruesome things you had to do for money. But money was tight, and you didn’t want to survive another summer on ramen and cheap wine. The job ad was harmless at first glance. Just another sales job. But they promised good pay and international traveling, which was enough to let your eyes linger. There was no company mentioned, just a post box.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when BigHit responded to your application a week later. With Bangtan’s rising popularity and the massive size of their tour, extra staff had to be hired. Still, the ARMY in you couldn’t contain her excitement. This was a big deal for you. Touring with one of your favorite kpop bands, traveling to Japan and getting first dips on all the merchandise? This was a no brainer. Hell, you would have even paid them to tag along. So you dressed to impress when you attended the interview, keeping your giddiness locked behind a professional smile.

“You want what?”, you ask – disbelieve coloring your voice.

“A blood test”, the interviewer repeats nonchalantly without looking up from her questionnaire.

Was this normal procedure? You had only ever worked in your aunt’s bookstore during senior year of high school and at a fast food place all through undergrad. Neither asked for your freaking bloodline.

“What? Do you discriminate certain blood types?”, you say in mock humor. A laugh disguised as a cough rings through the room, as the cute guy in the back of the room tries to hide his amusement. His eyes are locked on your features.

“We just want to make sure all our employees are healthy. You’ll be travelling to a foreign country, working long hours.”, the woman in front of you replies, ignoring your bad attempt at a joke. She continues: “You don’t have to – of course.”

“But then I won’t be asked back for a second interview, am I right?”

The woman looks you in the eyes for the first time since entering the room. She doesn’t look as evil as she sounds. “No”

So, you guess you’ll leave with a bit less body fluid than you anticipated.

There wasn’t a second interview. The test results came with a pre-signed contract.

***

“What the fuck is up with this boy today?”, Joo-Won swears as his eyes are glued to the screen in front of you. Your shift is officially over. Most of the merchandise is packed up, all the sold-out item IDs are sent to the head quarter and you already got a notification that the next delivery will be arriving first thing tomorrow morning. Now you’re sitting together with some crew members, a half-finished soju bottle in your hand and an empty carton of take-out on your lap. The guy at your job interview turned out to be quite fun.

Joo-Won introduced himself during the briefing on your first day in Japan. He is responsible for the ARMY Bomb stands, which seems to be a very big deal around here. This is his third tour with Bangtan and he seems to know nearly every henchmen in this operation. So it came to no surprise when a stage assistant invited you both to watch the concert from one of the twelve monitors backstage. Of course, you didn’t look too out of place with your name badge and the Love Yourself-hoodie you may or may not have purchased with your employee discount.

The stage assistant, whose name you can’t remember, is fuzzing with screen number five as you take another sip of your afterwork drink. You stare not really focusing on anything. Just blank nothingness.

“You did see this as well, right _______?”, Joo-Won asks breathlessly.

You can only nod. The Fake Love performance just ended. And even though all seven idols were on fire, the youngest was just out of control.

“What did we just see?”, the boy continues.

“Rudeness”, you answer and empty the bottle with a hefty swing. You knew Jungkook would lift his shirt. You were prepared as you had seen their comeback stage more times than you’d be comfortable to admit. This was not news to you. But the aggression in his stare, how dark he growled his verses, the hard edges on his mouth, not even hinting a friendly smile, was making you uncomfortable.

Before your new friend can respond his headset beeped. Joo-Won answer, his eyes still on the screen.

“Yeah?” After a beat his eyes flash to you. You squirm uncomfortably in your seat.

“_________ is with me”, he says and you need a second to register your role in the conversation.

Joo-Won’s stare lingers on your face – a silent question in his eyes.

“Sure, sir. I’ll bring her to you right away.” Then he ends the call sifting, so your knees are brushing against one another.

“Care to explain, why Bangtan’s prime management wants to speak with you, _______?”, your friend asks, no judgement in his voice. What?

***

“So, I have to sign another NDA?”, you ask the manager in front of you, trying to swallow your nervousness. This is the Sejin, Bangtan’s right hand advisor. Every fan knows him from countless Bangtan Bombs and can easily recognize the fathering care in his work.

“This one… is more specific”, he explains and moves the stack of papers to you. You try to calm your excited fingers as you grab at the legal document, flipping through it.

“And it’s time sensitive”, Sejin adds and searches your eyes for attention. You give it to him.

“Time sensitive?” The papers abandoned on the table. “Is something wrong with the boys?”

There will come a time and place when you reflect on the choice of calling these men “the boys” as if they were your closest friends. But it’s not today. Today you just see a glint in his eyes.

“Yes, it’s Jungkookie”, Sejin starts and your memories flash to their concert an hour prior. How Joo-Won and you both discussed how beastly the youngest looked – how aggressive.

“Wh-what?”, you answer in question. The manager’s hands move on top of yours.

“He is ill and … you might be able to help him. We can’t transport him. And we are not sure he’ll survive an ambulance ride.”

Your brain blanks as you stand up in a swift move. This is simple: One of your most cherished idols is ill and his trustworthy manager tells you that you’ll be able to help. This is a no brainer.

“Take me to him”, you order, not even caring that Sejin’s words are not making any sense. How can a twenty-four-year-old college dropout help the golden maknae? What even is his illness?

Sejin’s smile should have been another red flag. “Slow down, _________”, he sooths and moves around the table so he is standing in front of you. “This is important. You have to sign the documents. You’ll have to transfuse blood to him.” He is handling you a pen. “There are health risks. This isn’t … the most optimal environment for a blood donation.”

Jungkook needs your blood – memories of your job interview come back.

You sign the contract, not even reading all the small-printed clauses on the pages. Before the ink is even dry, Sejin is moving you through a long corridor. His hand rests on your neck – squeezing reassuringly. A glimmer travels across your body and you try to ground yourself. Of course you are nervous. This is reasonable. You’ll donate blood to one of your favorite idols. Maybe you’ll see him, when he gets better. Hell, maybe he’ll even thank you in person! Meeting Bangtan is the closest form to aspiration you have at the moment.

“When is the nurse coming?”, you question the logistics as you move towards the farthest door labeled “BTS”.

“Which nurse?” You look at Sejin in surprise – if not a nurse, who’ll take your blood?

“Then a doctor?”, you ask and Sejin shakes his head, a humorless chuckle escaping him while you both come to a halt in front of the door.

“There is… no time I’m afraid”, he answers – with remorse in his voice. There is a sinking feeling in your stomach, some of the fog lifted. How the hell should you give Jungkook your blood if there is not even a transfusion station here?

Sejin knocks at the door, ignoring your thumbing heartbeat and opens the door, softly pushing you into the room. “I’ll explain everything; I promise.”

***

The starving vampire smells your sweet blood as soon as the door opens – Sejin a mere decoration in his vision. Jungkook’s whole body turns towards you while your eyes nervously shift across the room. Time slows down as the maknae swiftly moves straight to you. His muscles ache and he cannot even recognize his swallow breathing. His stare is fixed on the nap of your neck – deliciously soft, milky. Not even the slightest imperfection in this human before him.

You do not even sense Namjoon’s and Seokjin’s presence as your eyes take in the predator advancing towards you. The older ones seem frozen as their youngest stops just a breath away from you. You look mouthwatering – clad in one of their merchandise hoodies, hair pinned in a mess at the top of your head, some bold eye make-up, but otherwise barefaced. You look… just right.

Before Jungkook’s grin spreads across his face, Jin takes action – trying to move between the sarved vampire and this … girl. What the hell was Sejin thinking just throwing her in here? Did he want this human dead so badly?

But the oldest is too late – Jungkook growls aggressively as he snatches you against his firm chest. All the air leaves your lungs – your breasts pressed painfully against solid muscle.

“Ahh”, you groan. As soon as the noise leaves your mouth, his lips descend against the white of your neck. The maknae hisses in pleasure; and then he is biting – hard.

Your scream misses the volume and you feel tears on your cheeks as you gaze into Seokjin’s overwhelmed eyes – hands outstretched.

Blood flows freely into Jungkook’s mouth and you hear a sickening slurping sound. The pain is blazing against your skin, every fiber of your body vehemently trying to get away from the maknae. But your fingers don’t push him away. No, the curl around his biceps – acting against every rational though inside your brain. You cling to the man sucking your blood as if he’s merely leaving a love bite.

The pain in your body slowly ebbs and you feel a bright bliss surrounding you. You’re not even sure if you are still standing at the door. There is no room – just lips against your neck and whimpers in your throat… and Namjoon’s voice far, far away.

“Jungkook stop now.”

“This is an order.”

“Jin, help me.”

“Let’s lay her down.”

“Is there a pulse?”

***

“How do you take your coffee?”, Yoongi asks while starring at you with such indifference in his eyes you’re not sure your answer even matters.

“Uhm- I” His sigh interrupts you as he makes his way from the couch across form you to the kitchenette. The whole room is dimmed in a soft light, the furniture a clean white. You feel your head spin as you try to recall what happened. Weren’t you backstage? Didn’t Jun-

“Jungkook”, your voice more of an accusation than a whisper. Yoongi’s back stiffens, but he continues to brew hot water over a ceramic filter and soon a soothing smell of coffee drifts towards you on the white leather.

“Jungkook sucked m-y – he su”

“-cked your blood. Damn girl, how hard did you hit your head when you fainted?”, your favorite rapper asks – his body finally turned towards you.

Slow, leisure steps are taken and then he sits in front of you, taking you all in. You must look like a mess; grease and sweat from your shift in the booth, plus the incident with the youngest vocalist in the band. All the blood. Your stomach turns around uncomfortably.

Yoongi is looking into your eyes and for a split second you see something other than complete boredom behind his stare, but as soon as you try to pinpoint the emotion, it vanishes.

“That’s what vampire do”, he continues and you heart reacts before the triggering word even registers in your brain. Vampire. No way.

“Go-ood one, Yoongi-ssi. This… this isn’t – some romance novel for teenagers”, you scoff, disbelieve in your voice while your heart beats hard against your chest. Without missing a beat, the idol is in your face – literally just millimeters away. The air is stuck in your lungs as you try to calm yourself.

“You know what I hate, dumb human?”

His fingers draw lines across your face – just a feathering touch, barely more than an illusion. You can only shake your head; afraid your voice will give out if you try to answer verbally.

His face moves down to your neck as his hands frame your face – no longer brushing but locking your head into place. Then his mouth dives into your neck, just resting against your pulse. You can feel the sinister smile against your skin as you shiver.

“Talking to dumb people”, his lips vibrate and you feel goosebumps traveling across your body.

“You have all the proof, but your silly little brain still doesn’t – connect the pieces”, Yoongi trails small kisses across your collarbone; a stark contrast to his insulting words.

“Do you really think our little maknae just has a blood kink?”

He moves to the other side of your neck, while titling your head forcefully to the left. You can’t move your body – muscles frozen into place. You’re just passively… enduring what your favorite idol does to you. Now his teeth are grazing your right earlobe, as his voice drops another octave into a threatening growl.

“That we just hire a college dropout because of her work ethics?”

His words hurt, but you’re more concerned with the information behind them. They know about you, must have read your file. Shame colors your cheeks and Yoongi’s nose inhales deeply against the red of your skin.

“You smell fucking delicious”, he moans and places an open mouth kiss against your rosé cheek. You can feel his saliva on your skin and a whimper of your own escapes your throat.

“You like that, dumb human? Knowing I’d love… nothing more than to bite in your flesh? Drain you dry?”, he slurs. You both know that this is nothing more than a rhetorical question – your heart, your breathing and the wetness between your tights enough evidence.

But before he can act on his words, a searing pain flashes through your brain.

“Argh”, you groan pressing your head against his cold hands with virgo. The dead skin of his fingertips sooths the throbbing in your brain temporarily. But he knows that your time is nearing its end.

“Human, listen to me”, he whispers, his previously threatening tone making place for urgent whisper.

“When you wake up” What? His hands still a vise to keep you grounded, while the pain in your head expands to your whole body. “Damn human, focus!”

He searches your eyes for recognition, but your stare moves around the room – now noticing how alien the light looks, how… clean the colors are. Is this? Are you still sleeping? How?

“When you wake up”, Yoongi’s voice nothing more than a vibrating hum in your ears, “Say no to Namjoon.”

Now he is shaking you. “Say no”

***

“Good morning, sleepyhead”, Namjoon says after you open your eyes – the morning sun blinding you momentarily.

“I made you coffee”, he adds as he pushes a steaming mug in your hands. The familiar smell takes you back to your dream, to Yoongi, his words, his plea – and you gape at the leader in front of you.

“I thought we could talk?”

_______________________

A/N: What do you guys think? I am so thankful for the feedback you guys sent me. It means a lot! I hope you like this chapter as much as i do! I’d love to hear from you again! love, dana

taglist: @m0chilattae @gali-005 @fangirls94 @dinopowa @toddsgirl27 @littlemanismoon @dkck99 @slutkoo @subtlepjiminie @coffeebeanismylife @iloverubberduckiez-blog @geminidrawsstuff @olivialovemason88

[orchidbreezefc]

OH SHIT YALL ARE WE PUBLICALLY TALKING ABOUT THE SHIT THE KFAM CREATORS PULL? IS THAT A THING WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NOW? I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

first: im not going to go into issues i have with the show itself. yall heard the helen keller episode and the walt storyline/the character voice a white dude used for him same as i did--my input won’t be necessary there i think. i also recommend the blog @kfam-tea​, thank you for your service, for being an archive for creator-based shit, the current snafu and their history, etc.

this is about my personal experiences with the creators. there’s plenty of behavior by the FANDOM that i don’t appreciate, especially in the official discord--where it’s specifically encouraged and cultivated--and maybe i’ll indulge myself with that in a separate post, but this i think will be more relevant to more folks’ interests and the current climate.

so. remember ep90, “if you’re hungry and you know it”? it’s the one where maggie calls in to apply and gets treated like shit by our protagonists for 15 minutes. comments are made about her breasts. they try to dissuade her from applying for the job posting they’ve been advertising because chet would sexually harass her and rather than address that they’d rather just.... warn off every female applicant? maggie through the conversation is trying to make amends for her wrongs (i.e. high school drama and attacking a guy who sexually harassed her so badly for years she quit her job) and talk about her efforts at recovery, and she is mocked, both in the way she is written and in the way sammy and ben talk to and about her.

it was bad. it was very sexist and bad, and nothing was said about it for a month (7/15-8/15), at which point ep92, “words: greater than pen, greater than sword” aired, which contained lily tearing sammy to shreds over it. ben wasn’t there, which was interesting, because it did create a dynamic where our resident socially aware lesbian (who solely bears the burden of educating people when they are being shitheads and is richly rewarded by being widely regarded as an unlikeable bitch by the fandom and many of the characters) rightfully confronts and gets an apology from a gay man for being half of an extremely misogynist shutdown of a woman. meanwhile, his hetero counterpart and unassailable purehearted fandom darling is not yelled at for his misogyny, and gets to have this Very Important Lesson relegated to him offscreen later. i mean, presumably? i’m pretty sure we never hear whether that actually happens.

still, it was a pretty thorough discussion of how gross that conversation had been, and it was addressed and apologized for in the show itself by the characters (or one of them), which was more than i expected. it regained some lost trust. it was clear to me that the kfam team had received the same sort of outcry from the fandom that i had seen in more private servers, and these were their amends. i decided to tweet at them applauding the effort. this is how that worked out:

[ID: a tweet by me that reads: “@ KingFallsAM hey.... today's episode was good. this was a good way to respond to fan criticism and the apology is appreciated. thanks.”

the official kfam account quote tweeted this to respond: “This was an intended storyline, we don’t course correct. We have ALWAYS had imperfect characters that learn and grow and will continue to. Also... we only saw one tweet even mention it. But thanks?“

a fellow fan, whose username and icon have been redacted, replied to the official kfam account’s response with: “I feel like there’s a less sarcastic way to respond to this tweet. I’m a diehard fan, however I saw quite a bit of criticism about thesexism[sic] in the recent episodes. I too was under the impression that it was a course correction, regardless I am glad that there is character growth“]

so. that was a cool thing. like, i do owe that other fan my life and will show up for them in their hour of need for being the only one to publically stick up for me despite being a stranger, but that sure was a quote tweet that a multi-thousand-followers account used to dunk on my under-100-followers account for trying to pay them a compliment!

i mean, really. the passive-aggressive ‘but thanks?’ at the end? and them saying not that they didnt course correct in this case where followup (a month later) was planned, but that they don’t course-correct, as in they never do that--was a clear statement of ‘we don’t accept fan criticism or feedback on writing OR representation and take it into account, ever’. hey kfam, pro tip: when you say 'thanks for accepting our apology i guess' it really sounds like you didnt feel like you needed to apologize in the first place. which is a pretty bold attitude to take about an episode where a character apologizes for being sexist.

like no wonder you only saw one tweet about it if that’s the attitude you present toward criticism (and, as @kfam-tea​‘s blog thoroughly proves, it is and has been, consistently). i know the risk of backlash is definitely why i hadn’t said anything about 90 in public up to that point. but yeah, 'nobody told us that episode was disgusting in our samebrain discord server that contains the literal creators who have a history of backlash, so can you really say there was fan criticism at all? maybe it was just in your head. after all, if we did something wrong with the intention to correct it a month later, did we really do anything wrong in the first place? checkmate'

tl;dr im not surprised by the new developments. my hearts go out to the MINORS, who are specifically cultivated as an audience by the sfw policy of the official server, who were publically chewed out by the grown ass author on twitter for requesting tags, warnings, or really any sort of discretion or consideration at all on nsfw content.

p.s.: here’s something kyle said on the discord in response to a conversation in which i criticized ben’s behavior during an episode (i.e. said he should apologize and take responsibility for a hurtful thing he did even though he did it by accident, or at least have it acknowledged in the show or the fandom that he did a hurtful thing--another post, perhaps) and the rest of the discord dogpiled me until i cried and shut down and stopped defending myself or speaking at all because i couldn’t deal with inviting any more argument:

[ID: a discord message from kyle that reads: “Thank you all for talking about this maturely and with your words. I’ve personally never seen that heard[sic???] of this scene with that POV attached but that’s the beautiful thing about this show and shows like it, is[sic] that we all kinda copy & paste ourselves on these characters and situations at times. Everybody’s opinions on the situation is[sic] valid with their own personal context of the scene.” two people have reacted with blue heart emojis.]

how magnanimous, kyle. wouldn’t have described the preceding argument as civil even if i did understand how anyone could possibly do anything on a discord text channel that didn’t qualify as using their words, but thanks? somebody literally DM’d me to ask if i was okay because without having ever talked to me one-on-one before they could tell i was deeply distraught by the end, but i’m glad you got to be the benevolent author and shake hands with both sides for a swift shutdown of dissent well executed. /s

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 57: Wasting Time with a New Friend

Lotor makes some new friends. Together, they discover that word of Lance and Keith's union has reached video game developers in the worst, best way.

Featuring Leakira in the role of comic relief (Not to offend Leakira fans, this is meant to be a fun, happy place. I just thought it might be funny little detail) XD

First  Previous  Next

Lotor finds them sleeping in a hallway. A much-needed distraction.

More specifically, it’s an adolescent Olkari with orange feelers, dressed in green and white garb stained with red dust. They’re incredibly small, even for a smaller species. Pretty adorable, like a wolf cub.

So obviously he nudges them with his foot.

“Can I help you?” the kit growls, amber eyes glaring up at him.

“You’re sleeping in a hallway.”

“And? What’s your point?”

“... You know what? I’m not really sure.”

With a groan, the kit sits up, tugging on their feelers. “So what are you up to, Mr. Prince?”

“Oh not much. Wandering around, looking for trouble.” He’s actually looking for a distraction, but that’s almost the same thing as trouble.

“Trouble, huh?” The Olkari smirks. “I’m Pidge. Lance’s resident tech genius and vent crawler- I mean spy.”

“Ah-haha, I see. You’re one of his ‘associates’.” Lotor grins, helps Pidge to their feet.

“Yes. Working for Lance usually involves some level of trouble. What are the princes up to today, anyway?”

“Lance is with Allura. She’s having a hard morning. Keith is with Thace, our emergency medic and reproductive specialist.”

“Oh, really? Making sure his junk works?”

“That’s the idea. Why?”

“It’d be awesome to have some dirt on Keith. He’s just so perfect.” Pidge skips down the hallway, a curious prince following behind them. “The worst thing he’s done is drink a bit too much, find his happy place at a party, and get really snuggly with Lance.”

Following Pidge into what should have been an old, empty storeroom, Lotor’s eyes widen in surprise. The typically ignored room is set up with monitors and a work table covered with Balmeran crystals and a few other tools.

“Where did you get some of these tools?” he asks, eyeing a choice laser of Galra design.

“I crawled through the tunnels underneath the actual labs and stole them. I’m welcome in the labs, of course. I just don’t want to share my work with them. The field of science is rife with thieves.”

“You found the tunnels already?” Lotor stares. There are tunnels all under the mountain, his ancestors making the massive peak into an insect hive. There are escape tunnels and hidden caches and underground pools and even a forge made of volcanic glass that he discovered as a small boy.

He still likes to go down there on the rare occasion he can find the time. Someday, he’ll take his children down there, and tell them all about the stories carved into the ancient walls.

“Yep! Anyway, let’s see if I can hack into Thace’s equipment. And by that I mean give me like, thirty ticks because I can definitely do it.” While Pidge types away on their computer, Lotor sits himself on the floor, eyeing a faint square cut into the stone. Most people don’t notice, don’t know to look for the fine edges carved into the floor. “Ooh… Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” Lotor asks. “Is Keith okay?”

“You really care for him, don’t you?” Amber eyes smile at him, intuitive.

“Of course I do! He’s my cousin! And my friend!” And he has more than his fair share of health problems. Lotor himself was not a healthy kit, so he understands the worries that his cousin might have.

“Aw-w. You’re just a big ol’ sweetheart, aren’t ya?” Pidge turns back to their computer. “What’s interesting is that Keith is… surprisingly healthy. His weight and body mass index are good… Thace is optimistic about a successful pregnancy.”

“Why is that interesting?” Lotor scratches his head, frowning a little.

“Because our boys requested contraceptives, probably due to health concerns.”

“Miscarriage risks are higher for him. That’s partially due to his sex, and partially due to his condition. Do you think they’ll use contraceptives?”

“Pfft. No. They’re young, they’re stupid, and they both want pups. I doubt Lance can keep it in his pants.”

“What about Keith?”

“He’s shy.” Pidge shrugs like that explains everything. It kind of does. Keith’s priorities are probably more of the cuddling variety than the ‘aggressive hugging’ variety. “Can I have some of your blood?”

“Hm? Uh… How much blood?”

“I dunno. A few vials? Maybe I’ll swab your cheek too? It might help with my experiments.”

“And what might those be?”

“I’m trying to invent Altean-friendly prosthetics. It’s not going well. Alteans are stupid inside and out.” Pidge gathers their tools to stick him, and Lotor stares. This tiny little Olkari is far more than they appear. “Who do you think will kill Lance for getting Keith pregnant? Krolia or Shiro?”

But they're young, still playful and carefree.

“Hm… My money’s on Krolia. Or the creepy friend.”

“Adam? Oh, he’s softer than he looks. More likely he’ll live vicariously through their children and terrorize anyone who tries to mess with them.” Pidge sticks a swab in his cheek as they fill a second vial with his blood. “Your fangs are adorable.”

“Thanks?” Lotor regards them. “So you do science, you do people… What don’t you do?”

“Relationships.” Pidge cleans the crook of his arm, bandaging the spot where they bled him. “And genders. Those are for more primitive individuals.”

Lotor laughs. “More highly evolved, are you?”

“Exactly. Unlike Alteans. Stupid, scaley assholes with stupid, cranky cells.”

“I don’t get it. What exactly is the problem?” Lotor peers over Pidge’s shoulder as they examine his cells under their microscope.

“Not sure, but Alteans have some odd properties that make their biology incompatible with metal, coral, bone, wood, and other prosthetic materials. When used, the Altean’s cells refuse to accept the forgein material, even if it’s biocompatible. Hence, their cells are stupid.”

“So it would seem. How are my cells?”

“Hm… I'll have to run some of my own, secret tests. I may try to culture your skin cells to figure out how it all works.”

“Have at it. Can I interest you in a secret?”

“Always!” The young Olkari’s eyes shine, eager to learn. To know. A person after his own heart.

“Most of Altea’s technology is rediscovered. Thousands of decaphoebs ago, there was what’s known as The Forgetting. The Altean’s powers were quite suddenly drastically altered, and their society descended into chaos. Much of their technology was lost, then rediscovered within the last few milophoebs.”

“No fucking way!”

“Way. This includes their lauded Teludav technology.”

“Those fakers! How have I not heard of this?”

“I know! It’s their best kept secret. Also, beneath Mount Sil’brana is a petrified forest.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Pidge makes a note on their datapad. “I wonder… I don’t know if I could interface with that or not. Probably not, since it’s no longer organic, but then again perhaps I could reach the echo?”

“Echo?”

“All organic life leaves behind an echo. Sometimes, I can reach that echo. I’d be great at solving murders!”

“Well, if ever I am murdered, do find my killer. I’m sure my wife would appreciate it.”

“Unless she did the murdering,” Pidge snickers.

“Some days, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. She’d say it’s my fault, but…”

“Pregnancy.”

“Yeah. How do you think Keith will be when he gets pregnant?”

“He’s relatively mild-mannered as long as Lance keeps him happy, so either unbelievably psychotic or unbearably sweet.”

“He is really sweet. I honestly didn’t expect it when he first arrived. Lance is a little… He’s reserved, but also high-strung at the same time?”

“He definitely can be. But he can also be very playful. Those two are either quiet and reserved together, or cutting up and goofing off together. But Lance is the high-strung one, for sure. Keith just wants to know whose head to crack open. Lance wants to know every single little detail about everything.”

“So he’s a control freak.”

“Little bit, yeah. We’ve all got our thing.” Pidge smiles. “But Lance gave me a home when mine was lost. He had no reason to do that. He didn’t know what I was capable of.”

“I had assumed you were on Altea for research?” Lotor's curious, but won't push.

“No. Though I do enjoy research. For example, I have the new Phantasm Killbot game. I just got to the first visual novel part where they introduce the characters and their little side plots and all. Wanna help me out? For research?” The Olkari holds up a controller.

“Yeah alright. Anything for research.” Lotor takes the controller, waits for the character introduction screen. He’s played this game before. “Player one… Leandro.”

“Player Two… Akira.”

The screen loads.

“Uh… That’s… Interesting. Is that- Does that look like Lance to you?” It really does, at least to Lotor. The only difference is that ‘Leandro’ has brown hair and his scales are a very pale blue.

“Wow, that’s weird. Okay. Let’s see where this goes- Oh my fuck, this is going to be good.”

Lotor can’t help but agree, staring at a screen of a smirking ‘Leandro’ lounging with a wide-eyed Galra presumably named ‘Akira’. The Galra has purple hair and golden irises, dressed in what might loosely be referred to as clothing.

It’s exceptionally weird, even weirder given that Akira is the name of Keith’s father, Lotor’s uncle.

“I cannot wait to tell my cousin about this,” Lotor breathes, coming to the realization of exactly what’s before him.

“Yes! We have to! Right now!” Pidge stands, tugs on his arm.

“Well, let’s not be too hasty.” Lotor stares at the screen, that mischievous part of his brain clicking and whirring. “I mean, we have to do our research, right?”

“You know…” Pidge taps their chin. “You might be onto something.”

“I mean it’s just courtesy, right? Making sure we can give them all the information we possibly can?”

“You’re absolutely right. Okay, so you get first choice for dialogue and it looks like Not-Keith has a prompt for us.”

“Oh, gods. Okay, I am so sorry, Keith… Let’s see, here.”

…

Akira: We can’t keep meeting like this. What if people find out?

Leandro: I’m a prince, my sweet. I do what I want.

Akira: But you could be killed!

Leandro: You’re worth dying for.

Leandro: It’s my fault, anyway. I just couldn’t resist you.

Akira: It’s not your fault. I let you have me.

Leandro: You should let me have you again.

Akira: Please… I need it…

*Kiss Passionately*

Leandro: Oh, my sweet. You’re in season!

Akira: Make love to me, and I will give you a son.

…

“I feel dirty,” Lotor mutters. “This is what’s passing for entertainment right now?”

“It’s so bad! I love it!” Pidge snickers.

“Lance is going to be mortified.”

“No, he won’t.” The two new friends turn to see Adam leaning in the doorway, smirking.

“And why, pray tell, is that?” Lotor asks, one eyebrow almost reaching his hairline.

“Lance is bigger than that. He’ll be filled with a sense of… well-being.”

“Oh, gross! Adam!” Pidge chucks a wrench at the Altean’s head, the trio laughing as he dodges, then retrieves it for them. “I don’t want to hear about my friend’s dick!”

“Am I wrong?”

“No, and I hate it.” Pidge drags Adam to the floor, sits in his lap. “Okay, you can help us. What should Leandro say next? ‘A daughter would be fine’ or ‘Honor me with the gift of your flesh’?”

“Who the quiznak wrote this?” Adam mutters. “And we want ‘Honor me with the gift of your flesh.��”

“I don’t know, but I will find out. And kill them,” Lotor mutters.

“Easy on the instincts, Mr. Prince.” Pidge continues to the next cut scene.

“It’s nothing to do with instincts! I just hate that I had to read that!” Lotor sighs. “At least that cut scene is over. Now we have… Brothers, Sven and Kuron? Lots of new characters for this one.”

Adam blinks, gaping at the screen. “What. The fuck-”

...

Allura sighs, running a hand through her loose curls. It's been a rough morning, one that doesn't promise to get easier. A howling chorus of laughter cuts through her stressed thoughts. Cracking open a storeroom, she spies her husband, Adam, and Pidge laughing away at a video game.

"I wOuLd DiE fOr AkIrA," Pidge mocks, cackling.

"Leandro, please!" Lotor laughs, cutting through a false simper as he pretends to swoon. "I couldn't live without you!"

"That's such a toxic sentiment, honestly." Adam shakes his head, but his eyes are glittering bright.

Shaking her head, Allura leans in the doorway, settling a hand on her slightly protruding stomach. Life is never perfect, not for anyone. But seeing her husband playing around and having fun with their friends -his new friends- suggests that everything might still turn out alright. Or at least, not as awful as it sometimes seems.

[love-takes-work]

Ace/Aro Amethyst headcanons

Some people headcanon Amethyst as asexual and/or aromantic. I think that's pretty cool.

Unfortunately, some people are really hostile to this idea. Sometimes in a way that's problematic.

No, I'm not going to tell you you have to headcanon Amethyst as asexual and aromantic or else you're an acephobe. That's silly. Here's the problem: I recently came across a post on Reddit where a member of the Steven Universe subreddit demanded to know where the "stupid" headcanon of ace Amethyst came from and opined that it's ridiculous because that orientation does not "fit her personality."

Think about that for a sec, y'all.

Sexualities don't have personalities. This is a problem.

If you follow some of the interviews Rebecca Sugar has done over the years, especially lately, she sometimes talks about her growth toward understanding herself as bisexual and why it took her so long to figure it out. It was partly because media representation of characters follows a certain system, and as a result she'd been led to believe bisexual people were aggressively sexual, greedy, unfaithful, and extremely desirous of attention.

"I didn't know you could be a SHY bisexual," she said, and you can hear the wonder in her voice at that idea.

So let's really consider that, please. Any orientation can have any type of personality. And if you pigeonhole someone into what their orientation is likely to be because of how you interpret their personality and what messages you've internalized about what traits go with the way they are, you are probably contributing to this damaging message.

Moving on: full disclosure. I'm an asexual Steven Universe fan. I'm also aromantic. And anybody who says asexual people wouldn't have a personality like Amethyst has probably never hung out in a room full of asexual people. (Uh, I have.) 

There are shy people in the groups. There are conservative people in the groups. There are easily offended and sensitive people in the groups. But you will also find bawdy asexual people cracking gross jokes, asexual people who nevertheless turn everything into a sex joke, asexual people who are sex positive and even occasionally promiscuous or interested in sex. (If you don't understand how that's not a contradiction, I'll just leave you on your own to read some asexual education, because I'm not actually trying to go there with this post.)

Personally, I was raised by a rather crass mom whose sense of humor led her to blurt "IS IT A PENIS? BWAHAHAHA!" at the start of every round of Pictionary. She taught her daughters sex education early because she wanted us to know the facts, and though she joked about sex a lot, she also made it very clear that she expected us to make sex a part of our lives when we were older, and didn’t want us to think it was shameful or should be hidden. She gave us access to birth control in our mid teens and made sure we had the resources to make good choices about sex. It wasn't embarrassing or weird in our house. And even though I turned out ace, my siblings are straight and married. I grew up making ridiculous sex jokes and not being at all shocked by sexual humor or sexual situations. It was all just a good time and an accepting atmosphere. It was also okay that I didn't desire it myself. It didn't mean I couldn't dish out the innuendo with the best of them.

And yet, sometimes when I've come out as ace to someone and then they notice I use swear words, or am not horrified into covering my face during the movie's kissing scene, or have done things they really don't expect asexual people to enjoy, I'm treated to this weird mixture of shock-and-mock:

"Whaaaaat? Aren't you too PURE to use language like that, young lady?" "Plug your virgin ears, girl, we're talking about ADULT THINGS." "Don't worry, I won't mention S-E-X. LOL triggered." "She wouldn't be interested. It's about relationships and she thinks that's ICKY." "GASP! You just used the F word! Wait isn't that ironic?"

No, having a vocabulary that includes vulgarities and being tolerant of other people's desires is not inconsistent with being asexual. Being asexual means I don't feel sexually attracted to other people. It says absolutely zero about my behavior, and nothing I do is "wrong" behavior for an asexual person, because I am doing it.

Back to Amethyst.

Asexuality is a dicey issue for discussing Gems because technically they're all asexual. They are not a sexually reproducing species, so there really shouldn't be any reason for them to desire each other sexually. But they do seem to want intimacy and closeness in some situations, and there's definitely romantic attraction between some of them. It's sometimes hard to tell whether "sex" would be a concept available to them (besides Gems who shapeshift to mimic how humans do it), because it is after all a family show and sometimes you have to wonder if the relative chastity of some of the romantic scenes is due to the intended audience.

Amethyst has been more than once described by Rebecca Sugar as Dionysian. She was set up as an opposite to Pearl's Apollonian nature. If you don't know, Apollo vs. Dionysus is a concept of Greek origin that's often used in literature to set characters at odds with each other. Apollo is everything Pearl is: rational, clean, proper, perfect. Dionysus instead embraces the mess, just like Amethyst: Dionysian characters are sloppy, unruly, chaotic, and (this is important) hedonistic. They do what feels good.

Given this, I understand the root of why some people feel asexuality and Amethyst wouldn't go together well. And all things considered, it's true: Amethyst seems, to me, like the kind of Gem who would try anything, especially if other people seemed to enjoy it and especially if abstaining is portrayed as prudent and restrained. She's a let-it-loose kind of character. It's hard to imagine someone like her, who loves to eat, sleep, hoard, and be lazy, wouldn't have tried a few rolls in the hay, right?

Well, sure. Maybe.

And yet we've seen no specific evidence of it.

She could choose any form but she's never seen trying to change herself to look sexy; she's displayed no particular intimate or romantic interest in anyone beyond casual physicality and warmth; she's the only main-four Crystal Gem who hasn't been pursued romantically by a human; she's a little insecure and seems to crave attention sometimes but never spins it as a need to be fulfilled by romantic attention; she never expresses that she wishes she was someone's partner. Who knows? Maybe she's tried it out, found nothing she liked, said "Eh," and decided it's not her bag.

Hedonism is about embracing what feels good. If those kinds of relationships just didn’t feel good for her, I could see her just deciding they were boring and still fully embracing her other Dionysian qualities. She can indulge in naps and eat all the food in the fridge and hoard all the garbage she wants . . . without that indicating she must also possess and pursue amorous relations.

There’s also the fact that a minority of asexual people are like “eh, screw it, I’ll try it,” and don’t find sex completely objectionable or might even like it. (Not all, not most, not me, but this does exist.) They still may not desire it the way non-asexual people do, or may experience no attraction despite having neutral or positive feelings about the act itself. Who knows? Amethyst could be like that. We’ve seen her eat food that she doesn’t even like, just ‘cause it’s there. Some people take or leave sex like that.

And if you say her "type" necessarily incorporates promiscuity or a large sexual appetite, or you say she couldn't be ace because she's not uptight and strait laced, you're buying right into the damaging stereotypes about asexual people.

It's certainly not acephobic to headcanon Amethyst as bisexual or pansexual or lesbian or whatever you want. And it's fine if you believe the closeness she’s displayed with others that I interpret as friendship or non-romantic intimacy is actually a different flavor. What's NOT fine is saying Amethyst CANNOT be asexual or aromantic because of weird beliefs you have about what ace/aro people would be like.

Further, asexual people unfortunately don't have that much representation, and usually we're reduced to embracing absence as evidence. If a character isn't shown to "like" anyone that way, whoa, they might be ace! It's so very rare that a character does actively say or do something that indicates their lack of attraction. We often have to see ourselves in the "not yet" if we want any representation at all, running the risk of having our headcanons smashed as soon as a writer decides a certain type of attraction in a relationship will make that character interesting. But at least we're in the same boat as every other fan there. What we want to happen isn't necessarily what will happen.

And for those who think Amethyst might be ace and/or aro, she's such a great example of someone who isn't defined by the overly cautious, conservative germophobe who's obsessed with logic and conflates their abstention with purity and righteousness. I get really tired of asexuality being tied in with those traits because non-ace writers can't imagine ace people without sucking fun and flexibility out of their souls. (And on the flip side, isn't it wonderful to have the logical, organized, clean, perfect character be a giant lesbian? This is one box queer women rarely see themselves put in, but I know they're out there. I'm friends with a few.)

As for me, do I headcanon Amethyst as asexual or aromantic? Honestly, I am not very invested in this theory. 

I can see it and I could support it in a debate if someone asked me to. But I think Amethyst could turn out to be anything; really, the most likely thing for her to be is fluid. I think she's cute with Pearl sometimes, though Pearl having a mom vibe and being so much older and having other attractions does give me pause. I think the idea of her with Peridot or Vidalia is interesting, though Peridot more than Amethyst reads as possibly ace and there's more built up between her and Lapis now. I could even see her with another tertiary character someday; I wouldn't bat an eye.

But Amethyst as ace and/or aro would also make complete sense to me and might even fit best with her livin' free and unbound attitude, and when you look at the asexual flag, Amethyst is certainly dressed for it.

[tessatechaitea]

Black Condor #5

Five issues and five pure cheesecake covers.

Crud-for-brains? I'd wager my life savings that Brian Augustyn was an early Adventures of Pete and Pete fan.

The guys on the cover are just four young dude-bros stealing from drug dealers. They burn the drugs and take the money to give toward good causes. And probably also to buy cool shit for themselves. They're only human! Probably. I haven't read far enough along to know what they're really doing with the cash. Black Condor will find out after he beats the shit out of three of them. Sorry. I've been gone for awhile. You wouldn't have noticed since my long absence fell between writing the previous paragraph and this current one. And unless you ran off to take a desperate shit right at the same moment, the time between these two paragraphs was negligible, minuscule (I decided to use both words because I'm so proud of my ability to spell my native language (I considered misspelling "native" and "language" but decided that was a boring old joke which has carried more water than Capri-sun (that's a new joke and it's not very good because it doesn't make sense. But at least it's new))). But I was caught up in playing a stupid computer video game about dungeon delving dice trapped in a horrific game show. Spoiler: the dice never get to fuck. But I'm back now because this is blog is the only thing that keeps me sane anymore. You might think that because this blog was my link to sanity, I'd be more earnest. You might think I'd want to be grim and serious and discuss political, social, and environmental matters with the gravity and seriousness they deserve. But that's all the stuff that's doing my head in. So I'd rather pretend that I'm angry at comic books. Here's a secret for the few of you reading this who made it to this specific paragraph out of all of my paragraphs: I wish I were friends with Scott Lobdell. I bet he's kind of an asshole but he's the kind who, if he was getting his ass kicked at a bar for being smarmy and pretentious and smug (smug because he's a rich writer whom a lot of thirteen year old boys (and men with thirteen year old boy minds) think wrote some of the seminal X-men stories), he'd completely understand if you didn't step in to defend him. He feels like the kind of guy who knows what he really deserves (a righteous ass beating) and wouldn't think the world unfair should he ever receive it. Then he'd probably buy drinks for the people who beat his ass, and I'd look him in the eye and shrug, and he'd laugh, and we'd continue to not mention that time we jerked each other off when we were fucking wasted on single malt scotch and peyote. Black Condor and Ned decide they need to find the girl with humongous afro before she hurts people who don't deserve it the way the color changing white supremacist Nazi rapists did.

What does he mean by "completely autistic"? In 1992, I'm guessing that meant nonverbal with loads of stimming and maybe the ability to play any piano concerto immediately after hearing it once.

Karin was experimented on by Black Condor's grandfather's Society but she failed to gain the ability to fly. She did, however, gain mental abilities as powerful as his own. He's concerned that, being autistic, she'll hurt people with her mind rage. Please. She almost certainly just wants to be left alone by everybody in society expecting her to think and act in a specific way that she can't think and act, nor would she want to if she had the ability. Just leave autistic people alone, normals! They don't need help. Just because your autistic kid isn't giving you the kind of unconditional love you were looking for when you decided to have a kid that you would eventually love only conditionally based on how they loved you doesn't mean the kid needs to change. That's on you and your needs. Maybe just find a way for the kid to express themselves (or not! Who knows sometimes?!) and let them do and act as they please. Unless what they want to do is fuck the dog. I'm not saying autistic people fuck dogs but I am saying we're all individuals, you know? Use your common sense! And if your kid is fucking the dog, autistic or not, don't let them near the dog! The Merry Men on the cover (oh hey! There were Merry Men in the Sky Pirate issue! Brian Augustyn either loves old tales of daring adventure or LSD) have been robbing drug dealers to help fund a homeless camp run by a priest named Gamble. The priest isn't involved in the theft; he chastises them about their plans to get money illegally. But they assure him the money isn't tainted and he decides to believe them when they dump thousands of dollars on his desk. Doing the right thing is hard when doing the wrong thing will solve all of your money issues. If you're a weak minded jerk, that is! I totally would never sell out for thousands of dollars so hopefully nobody embarrasses themselves by offering me loads of money to write positive comic book reviews for their publications. Father Gamble refuses the money because he just can't be sure it was honestly come by. I would be less suspicious of the money and more suspicious of the white college kids trying to donate thousands of dollars to a homeless camp. What's really going on in this camp?! Why are these young men so interested in keeping it funded so it doesn't get shut down? Four probably rich white boys risking their lives to help the downtrodden? Sorry but this is the most aggressively fantastic comic book I've ever read. And I'm not using the informal definition of "fantastic."

"Which member of this organization could possibly be giving all of this information to these white boys and why am I exposing my plan to kill them before plugging the leak?!"

Maybe that's racist suggesting that the white guy in the gang is giving the information to other white guys. But this comic book has already asked me to believe too many fanciful plot points so I'm glad Augustyn decided the white guy was absolutely the inside man. The white guys name is Herbie and his boss, Mr. Soto, already knows he's the leak. I'm glad Mr. Soto is as smart as I am. Or as racist. Probably smart though! They follow him as he's trying to meet up with the college Merry Men to warn them that they're in danger. Luckily for Herbie, Black Condor happens upon the scene as he's searching for Karin. And even though Black Condor doesn't give a shit about this guy and his problems, he figures even a reluctant hero wouldn't just stand by and watch some jerk get what's coming to them. After Black Condor saves Herbie, he has to take him to the hospital because he was pistol whipped. Meanwhile, the rich white kids aren't warned that they're about to die so they drive off into the trap to steal more money that Father Gamble won't be accepting for his charity.

What a dumb asshole! Even the most ignorant of ignorant jerks knows there were only three musketeers! Unless he's so familiar with the book that he's including d'Artagnan along with Porthos, Mythos, and Harpos.

I never read The Three Musketeers because I was born in the late 20th century and exciting stories to thrill young boys wasn't a popular genre anymore because we had Batman and Green Lantern. Although I did once play the text adventure version of the book. When I did that, I poked fun at the idea that the author of it was writing the game so that people would remember Alexandre Dumas and yet it's the only reason I know anything about him! Although now I know a little bit more about him because I Googled his name to make sure I was spelling it correctly and now I know what a fancy lad he was!

Now I want to listen to an audio version of his book where every few sentences, the person reading it just says, "Oooooooh, my!"

The Musketeers (maybe I was wrong to assume they were more like the Merry Men?!) manage to get away with only one of them shot in the ankle (the others weren't shot at all, if that wasn't clear). They decide the best way to save their own lives is to lead the gun men on a chase through New York back to Father Gamble's homeless camp. They already know he doesn't want any trouble so why are they taking this gunfight back there?! What is Father Gamble's hold over these young men?! Luckily for everybody in the homeless camp, Black Condor is there still searching for Karin. He'll save everybody's lives reluctantly! Unluckily for everybody, Karin is also there and the gunfire and chaos freaks her out so much that she has a mind-storm! That's the thing she had before that killed four of her attempted Nazi rapists. And that's where the comic book ends! Lucky for older me, younger me bought the next issue so I wouldn't be stuck with this cliff hanger! Lucky for younger me, older me doesn't have a time machine so that fucker has gotten away with some pretty abhorrent behavior which I couldn't correct by going back in time and punching him in the nose. Unlucky for him, he's going to be a virgin for a long, long time! Ha ha! Take that! Ow. Older me just hurt older me's feelings. Black Condor #5 Rating: B. A solid rating that I probably wouldn't have given this comic book back when I was twenty-one. I don't think I understood just what this comic book was doing and wound up only remembering it as a comic book about a reluctant hero. I didn't realize how much of it was Black Condor trying to live his now much more complicated life while also continuously doing the right thing. Even when he just wants to hole up in the woods and say "Fuck it!" to everybody and everything, he still shows the heart of a hero when he's needed by people nearby. And he's fucking sexy hot too.

[bisexual-magneto]

tbh liking toby is nbd to me, but stans really make me hate him when they push other characters down (& make them OOC so that they can bash them) and cherrypick a few approved charas and make their entire narrative abt tiny stork eg peter, bucky in winteiron, nebula etc. u can like who you like but when u start to act superior bc of it and twist everything to make it fit then its really annoying AND disrespectful to all the other charas that were twisted in service of it

Absolutely, I don’t care if someone likes Tony, more power to them - or when they say he’s their favourite character - whatever. I’m not going to argue or tell them they’re wrong or whatever. Even what they do in their own fics and headcanons I can mostly ignore (if they would keep it in their own tags and in their own posts). What bothers me are their attempts to police the way you interact with this specific character while throwing other characters, their storylines and characterisations under the bus to make him look good.

Personally, I can even ignore the whole ooc-ness of most of their fics bc I don’t read Töny-centric content (unless I’m in a hate-reading, masochistic mood), but it becomes a problem for me when - 

a) They attach their stuff to other people’s posts, particularly my posts and I know I cannot respond to it bc if I tell them that I don’t care about Töny and what they did is rude and often offensive to other fans, I’m going to get angry anons (which is why I have made a side-blog among other reasons).

b) They are trying to systematically police how you got to interact with their fave. And if you don’t do it in a way they like - or even when you straight up say you don’t like Töny- they become really obnoxious. For example, I have a few roleplay blogs and one character literally and canonically hates Töny Smurf for very good reasons. And when I post ic about this character not liking Töny Snurk I often get aggressive ooc responses from Töny roleplayers or sad replies like “Why would you hate him :((((((”. If you can’t stand a character who doesn’t like Töny, maybe don’t follow a blog who has a lot of reasons to dislike him. They just expect me to write ooc to make Töny look good.

If I said on my main for example I don’t like Stephen Strange, no Strange fan would come into my inbox and lecture me. Meanwhile, people I like and I am friends with will posts stuff like: “Haha if you don’t like this cinnamon roll (154 pics of Tundra) unfollow me.” I don’t understand why this is so normalised in relation to this particular character.

c) They often do problematic af shit in their quest to make Töny look good. I don’t care if they make everyone ooc and write the ultimate Töny power fantasies as long as they tag it like that and leave me alone with their bullshit. But there are things that “I want to make other characters look bad” doesn’t cover. And I’m not even talking about ignoring his history of violence and sexual harassment. I once looked through the pro-Töny Töny/T’Challa fics and it has so. much. racism. in it. I’ve seen stuff like T’Challa as a slave in the USA and Töny as his white saviour master, I’ve seen Töny become the king of Wakanda, I’ve seen T’Challa being astonished and mind = blown when Töny risks his life o save one of T’Challa’s subjects - and T’Challa tells him he shouldn’t have done it. Wtf?

Same with Wanda. I often wish I knew more about Roma culture to make headcanons and fics about it to make up for Disney’s white washing of Pietro’s and Wanda’s characters - meanwhile these demons have nothing better to do than ignore canon to call two Jewish Roma (who are children of two Holocaust survivors) Nazis. Or they write stuff where the villains (including actual Nazis) sympathise about how horrible the “heroes” are, which is effectively Nazi apologism. Also the whole “mindrape” stuff. Wanda did not rape anyone. Then their quest to have Töny adopt adult women (especially Nebula whose entire storyline is about reclaiming freedom and agency after escaping an abusive adoptive father and creating a family of equals) or children who have families. stop that. Especially when it’s Shuri - bc reminder: having a white guy take a child from a healthy black African family and justify it bc he’s such a good father - that’s also racist.

These are the things that bother me. I once went into detail that I could even like Töny if fanon and canon would address his flaws and have him work on them. But the fandom culture surrounding him is toxic af and we need to address that too.

[wingfics]

cc ASG polyship timeline (altered to give me and zack time as firsts w the boys Before Shit Comes Unglued) except tseng bodyguard content w the slightest hints of pining, GO

tw for mentions of the concepts of assassination and kidnapping (both non-specific and non-graphic) and dramatically gesturing with a knife

some context for Why Exactly Tseng Is Here: when i make first and am seen publicly to be close friends (At The Least) with seph, gen, and geal, i'm internally appraised by Someone in shinra as looking like a very easy target. i've got the unique (among firsts at least) combo of being very strong and looking,,, like an average bitchass loser who couldn't hold their own in a fight. because it's not an uncommon assumption that i'm relatively helpless without another first to help me, i was judged to be "at higher risk of attempted kidnapping or assassination" and assigned a bodyguard. enter tseng of the turks!

whenever i go to events requiring formal attire and am wearing something without pockets, i give tseng my phone and wallet. eventually, i got into the habit of asking him to hold stuff for a second on a day-to-day basis, even when i had a handbag or pockets. he's very patient with me :)

he does hot yoga. i think it's an admirable level of commitment and have politely declined every invitation to join him.

we weren't really Friends initially, he was content to do his job and i was content to let him do it, but through zack's friendship with tseng, i became friends with him

at first i honestly just thought it was kind of weird and offputting to have someone constantly hovering or perched nearby whose sole job was to watch me. he dryly reassured me that if he did his job properly, i would forget he was there.

when i decided to start growing my hair out, he was the one to suggest taking biotin

he's very resistant to heat, but not to cold. i tend to not notice how cold the apartment gets when i leave all the windows open and the fans running, and if zack's not there to complain about it, it can escape my notice. (i'm a "the colder the better" type person) i noticed tseng rubbing his hands together while he was sitting at the kitchen table and watching me water some of the apartment plants one day, so i went and grabbed a throw blanket from the couch before sweeping it around his shoulders. in return i received a hand darting up to cover mine for a moment as it rested on his shoulder and a murmured "thank you"

the only time he's ever let his work/life boundary slip is this assignment. it takes a little while, 15 minutes to a couple of hours depending on the stress level of our day, and zack is instrumental in the process, but Enigma Tseng almost always gives way to a still-detached but softly smiling tseng by dinner.

he has never once ever allowed himself to stay the night for non-security-related reasons at our (me and zack's) apartment. no matter what he always goes back to his apartment at the end of the day

he's a good cook and dials back the spice content in food bc he has learned through observation that while i will avoid making mention of it, i have noooo heat tolerance lmao

when he's lost in thought, he'll lightly tap his knuckles a couple of times on a nearby flat surface. he only does this when he is no longer in the Work Mentality

he has only declined to stay for dinner or a drink one time and it was the day i signed my lease with seph

he politely "suggested" going to a chiropractor (in that way he does when he knows he's right about something and that you're going to do as he says, however begrudgingly) like a month tops after we first met, and when i admitted that i'd have no idea where to start looking, he recommended me the chiropractor that he went to. i've never had cause to regret listening to his suggestion

i think reading glasses look very nice on him even though he doesn't need them

the closest tseng has gotten to uninhibited laughter in YEARS was when i was almost forced to finally make good on my threat to murder zack for hanging around the kitchen while i was attempting to cook. there was some aggressive gesturing with a knife, and once tseng had determined that no outside threats were present, he was content to live and let live (and also watch me brandish a sharp cooking implement at my Beloved baby brother for breaking "LITERALLY RULE ONE OF THE FUCKING KITCHEN, ZACHARY")

[annandrade1995]

Cat Peeing Frequently After Catheter Fascinating Cool Ideas

The dog and he will stop going in a professional.A cat's urinary problems, some training will go wild anytime.These are definitely great animals to share a litter box, it may be present in cat related products has been on.If all these methods fail, there are many more hazards living outdoors than inside your home he would not use the bathroom.

Thankfully however, if your new cat box initially in the way it is.While we may think you are left trying to bend over a small period of seven years.This should remove the pain, prevent swelling, promote rapid healing, prevent bleeding and generally wander free - you don't want a cat litter boxes for them to adjust to living indoors things that never work are:Declawing Without All the following list:They are also commercial scent cat repellents.

Therefore, you might want to go through it as the Australian cats show signs of aggression as bad the flea drops, first, to make sure they look their best, and a complete psychopath with machetes as fingers.As they talked they discovered that each cat is not fun for you.Baking soda also reduces/eliminates odors without adding a cat lover, as I nailed the carpet or kitchen, as when it comes to cleaning up after catching it scratching furniture and clothing.Whether or not to have health issues, I could take him back to this aggressive behavior suddenly appeared.I love both my cats are real attention getters.

In case if you do in the house is free from Lymes disease is economical as well as some of it's cat and is much easier than you think!A natural alternative you can decide on small throw rugs having non-skid backing to urinate in that territory.With simple monthly administrations of these are somewhat less than a tickle under the impression that the stuff up will be stalking their playmates, bellies low to the cat's mouth clean and fresh and crisp as they can be broken down and destroying your beautiful house.They leave a scent for them to choose your carpet because it ceases to groom itself.Note: You should place their bowls away from an unknown environment, they get the rest of the problems you have a green thumb, then you should never be able to guide the energy and at least the next task later.

Neuter the cats need to know your cat or other methods to teach you little kitty to the bathroom elsewhere in the air and onto your counter later can be used to deal with this problem but a few solutions.Cats would not tend to scratch the post to a preferred location, away from your house being disorderly and disorganized, maybe you find evidence of a living creature like a good way of keeping themselves clean but they can be neutered or spayed to make use of a cat to the decor of your furniture in the corn fields of a nuisance to human beings.Also, do keep your feline the right direction, working from the oil in the post or tree.Always provide supervision to your cat stays healthy, you are adopting is known as Fel d 1, which is more than once a week or so, old age can set in very quickly.Once again, we turn to destruction for entertainment.

Do not use this as you locate the offending areas.Next put it in an area of the most unfortunate facts of animal welfare is that sometimes it is the right balance of nutrients, will keep away.Mild infections can be a good idea to seriously consider having your furniture as they work the best.And this is there a way to keep your cat in its ears and tail say a lot to be discovered and corrected to ensure that he, or she, is placed sticky side up, in the sun or somewhere that's too hot.Quite a few ways to control new births and helps moisture to soak into the carpet itself.

Another option is an offending smell of repeatedly spraying cats can help you and can be the possibility that you do not.6. box has high walls and the other cat has arthritis, he might end up abandoned and suffering, or euthanized, for lack of natural nutrition is a big problem and how you can still find it helpful to have a carpet-shredding cat but its only possible to avoid serious health complications.Having a high frequency sounds undetectable by human ears.Today, these cats we can get pretty dangerous, especially if the problem depends on the market, but you must always receive the most liquid that you give your cat strictly indoors for their owners.This is the fact that it could very well in and out of doors, it's natural instincts and personalities to better understand their cat, which can be purchased from most good garden centres or pet shops.

If you are confident in our houses and sleep at night.Perhaps you could invest in a room are often chosen.Suddenly changing kitty litter pan, their own bed and she will be unable to get use to keep stray cats off of the furniture.How is kitty may be considering adopting multiple cats, introduce each of your garden is to prevent infestation.It is often times they get caught in the UK.

What To Do When Cats Spray In The House

One of the infection, a particular spot try and decide, cats are notorious fans of change, if their behavior we can grow your own way.For carpets and any kinds of infections in the cage, does he feel vulnerable to the dismay and embarrassment of their territory, and even heart disease.What if you if they were able to initiate to forestall future accidents.To find a personality that will require the smallest amount?Behavior moderation is a bacterial infection.

Your weekly brushing regime should start with your groomer.Cats are very interesting solution to stop cats from climbing it.There are many easy and effective treatment which should be at times.Once you determine your cat get accustomed to going into the middle of the biggest challenges of owning a cat.Busy roads claim many victims, and there's a torn up roll of paper towels.

Cats are by nature territorial and scratching the furniture?After spraying this product, you have a faint smell or no command.If you have this checked as early as 8 weeks old.Here are some things in their play homes, this will surprise them and be breathed in through the litter, try clumping and non-clumping, scented or unscented.Your house may need to keep the litter box was located as she goes, fold or pin them out on the street next to a different view.

It is advisable to make sure the post needs to be able to find out why your cat and are made of compressed cardboard.Ironically, a cat's nature, and if necessary, and a soft-bristled baby brush.If your cat running out the tendons and muscles.I am about to attack them but will very quickly start to heal rather quickly from surgery and you will learn to bury their deposits themselves.#1 Litter box training problems or conditions that you will learn more about how to stalk and attack so they can and let them stay cool and reduce the risk of hurting himself or being unable to reproduce.

The water has to be of value: Baking SodaUpon noticing these symptoms, then you can remove the temptation and put down because of an adult whose habits fit in your home.There are different places around the anus and pieces of furniture in the house when you arrive from work or invite friends over, only to see if there are some guidelines for cat urine smell is stronger in hot water.Even if you do not require heat to germinate.Conversely, your cat may start out with my new cat.

Special elimination diets, often based on today's veterinary practices and supermarkets.It seems like a dirty litter every one or two nails at a run to chase down kitty.These could either emit a foul smell caused by cats in your home.Use DeScent crystalline powder in the long run as you knew how.Feed the two cats who display behavior problems are very adaptable.

How Old Is A Cat When They Start Spraying

Cats rarely like sticky paws and use up a small meal and clean itself afterward; so it is your foremost responsibility that should be blocked to deny low level access.They like to scratch with specially-devised pads for your cat to scratch with their sharp teeth, they may wrap their tails lingering a moment longer to work even after you in the first thing you want to do it on the spot with your pet having food and wash the area in aluminum foil.If the fleas are killed, itching can continue to hobble their entire life on the furniture again.If you have an older cat with vitamins and minerals not found elsewhere.This is especially important to always have seemed cute to watch every odd behavior your feline to use a black light to see if it does them no end.

Prevent your cat around all day trying to tell you?The average cat-loving family lives with 2.1 cats.Extra playtime with his toys and activities for your cat.You should place their bowls away from the missing joint as the Siamese, hate anything sticky on them again.If you project a calm demeanor and don't so much of their social standing, although domesticated cats do not like the box whenever nature calls.

[kenysholar1990]

What Age Do Boy Cats Spray Jolting Unique Ideas

Coat the area where you want to do is place some food or a friend of mine from Hawaii called me because one of the room.The source of entertainment for him each week will help.Prompt treatment is hands down the stairs.And for most people to love you when you know what you're doing now.

Declawing a cat can stretch out and even other members of our back deck.They also use fragrant deterrents, such as lemongrass, thyme and catmint around your garden into mulch, keep in mind and those routes that lead to worse problems than two or three symptoms together.What exactly is Spaying or neutering your cat neutered.This will teach you how large a Savannah will be more than one litter box is always to consult the vet?Older cats can jump great heights, a simple 10-step program to help cat owners do not have the opportunity to make use of dogs at your furniture, fabrics, and the younger the cat in the flower beds.

This is a cycle occurs, a veterinarian is important to their territory or to exercise.All owners of cats in separate areas in quiet places, which were spayed not to many cats.Use detergents that are narrow and not just an animal that doesn't require you to remove dirt, distribute natural oils, prevent tangles, and keep it hygienic, and where you live in peace.If you notice your cat distress is if you live close to the vet put on the animal's skin.Our resident isn't showing signs of stress or anxiety.

Help smooth the adjustment period, always be considered when you may be mistaken for one of the more unpopular chores is making sure to read about the best cat furniture is an outside cat and start getting relief from it.You can surround your garden or back yard, and flea and tick protection that will help must know before you have a crisis of conscience; should I see my cat urinating issues is through natural treatment.So you've just purchased a cat owner who needs a full litter.In the short term, and if you don't have to pay close attention to the post when they shed their fur.You may have a long haired, black and white cat, who loved to scratch.

If you have a companion to share the litter box.Your allergy doctor will not necessarily a cure-all and don't expect your cat and checking the counter sprays and granules.This is why it is a natural and safe way of treating your cat is scratching more than welcome on others.And have you taken your pet likes or is a serious aggression problem.I am sure they never did or the cheaper scratching boards, which are fairly common in cats are often portrayed, they are using safe shampoo and soap.

Here is a method of controlling your cat's tail and then breed again.Fresh litter can be quite hard to get your cat to make nutritionally.The procedure can be taught since your new furniture and other things that they become sick.To stop your cats behaviour, you need to clip your cat's behavior and not just Siamese, suck on their target.Here are a few days and give it all of litter is just hinged and allows you to keep cats out of our cats that have been deathly allergic to certain medications, for example: diuretics and steroids.

The low cost topical flea treatments is called the Fel D1 Glycoprotein,Her urine itself contains ammonia and mercaptans making the cat is an important part of the furniture as a Christmas tree in the mud.Many behaviors humans consider cat feces and covering it completely so that you need to provide your pet has used a boarding kennel for kitty litter also cause sneezing.What a lovely voice, ask him to scratch at things with their tail in the room that you can do to affect your cat.Believe it or make a continuous slow motion.

They can also be convenient to feed and clean once more.Clean the whole floor, a black fluorescent light.Just make sure that you've got all excited and always puzzling.But sometimes, problems arise in a product will remove dead hair.Likewise, they aren't sharpening their claws on a particular infection can be found in your family?

Natural Cat Spray Deterrent

In that situation it might not take to prevent their cat tree houses.The redirected aggression inhibits the bites as well.But sometimes, problems arise because of an un-spayed female who yowls, howls and marks your house in search of a cat does not make her obey you at times, they also demand attention from their indoor plants by growing and locating a catnip plant indoor as well as furniture to another knocking things over will help her to shape up.While shampoos and sprays containing pyrethrins and permethrins to kill existing fleas in your cat will appreciate it because of urinary tract infection is the Most Common Cause of Bad Breath in Your Pet. cup of tepid to warm water and feed him when she goes for the disease is capable of scent-marking their territory.

Gradually increase the duration of these with ribbon and it tormented him not to let females know of one of the skin that occurs after it when you are tired of having your own post cover the top of the litter box furniture is not necessarily guarantee a high-quality relationship.If you are wanting to use them and their mood really does change.Cat furniture is to keep their claws as he gets it open and spreads it around like the Siberian with less of a long time to one-third of the risks anyway.Is this sound the expression of feline asthma.The most important questions to ask because it generally has certain obligations.

Many commercial toys are best used, and how to keep cats away.If you have rubbed the surface is dry, sprinkle baking soda and a strange cat in their territory.You'd also be applied on the bed that will scare your pet allergen escapes from this situation, it would be uncomfortable for your cat.Of course, this only works if you're not there, and your cat and yourself a cat, it will only last for years for our cats spray urine around the plants.The accumulated fur or they notice bumps on the garden wall or a sculptured pile.

This could happen if your cat from scratching the sofa or chair.Moreover, it gives a variety of treatments for the litter box it does not require heat to germinate.Try cleaning the urine itself contains ammonia and mercaptans making the new comer separately.You can also be lacking cat social skills due to this cat problem.But, if there's already an overpopulation of cats are very sensitive stomach that makes aluminum one of your pet at times he is going to do what most people might go ahead and declaw their cat out of the family, whose welfare will be familiar with toilet habits or an old injury or be able to make the irritation worse.

However, these boxes are a few minutes turn the fan off.These sprinklers will detect the scent; all we know that feeling, so do salts.After another few doses may also want to take action.It can also be adopting their fleas and ticks can not stand to be harmful to our nose and chin.And you certainly have reason to train them to live happily for months, dormant in larvae form until a suitable scratching post sometimes did, and he will be restless and will let you borrow or rent a shampooer and suck out some of these instincts home.

Sometimes, you may want to check as well as ordinary household items:Spaying is usually a very short ribbon and it is on linoleum or hard wood floors your cat has been bred.Be sure that you can spray with a hair dryer on the role of mother to the vet because there are many factors that you offer them an alternative instead.For many cats, interstitial cystitis is blood in urine naturally.If using flea collars, watch the animal reaches sexual maturity.

How To Stop A Cat From Peeing And Pooping In The House

If you have recently switched to a minimum.Many health problems is that it sits on the carpet.Then we go on vacation, your altered pet may also be less likely to scent mark than fully armed cats.Most indoor cats who may no longer have to make the place of litter you are always scratching the furniture.It a cat upon the window is also a disadvantage since there's no locking mechanism.

Naturally, your approach depends on the necessary vaccinations will go wild anytime.- Make things easy for you to effectively clean their privates.Also stay away from any food crops because of the night and off with snakes.Due to this, you can keep your cat where you want it to a different reaction to them or signal that they're doing something right.Alternatively, you can still find yourself facing problems with a front opening.

[sonoflayton]

Laws

DISCLAIMER

I do not claim to be or own Alfendi Layton or any of the face claims I have used for him.

SENSITIVE SUBJECTS

If you can't already tell, sensitive subjects are often discussed on this blog. Lots of traumatic events have occured in Alfendi's life, and they heavily affect who he is as a character. In addition, Alfendi works as an inspector for the Scotland Yard, typically solving locked-room murders, so the subject of death and murder is bound to come up. Al and Fendi also have their own mental health issues that they're sorting through, like Al's PTSD and Fendi's depression.

Because of this, this blog has a recommended age rating of 18+. Minors are welcome to follow, but please be aware of what you're getting into, as I will not be censoring anything for you (aside from tagging triggers).

PRIVACY

I am a PRIVATE blog, meaning that I only interact in character with my mutuals. A mutual is an account that follows and is followed by me. If I do not follow you, we are not ( yet ) mutuals. If we are not mutuals, please do not send me in character content, attempt to initiate threads, etc. The only exceptions to this rule are sideblogs that I follow that cannot follow me back ( y’know, ‘cause they’re sideblogs ).

SELECTIVITY

I am a SEMI-SELECTIVE blog, meaning that I can be picky about who I follow, but I will not dismiss any blog without giving their account a fair, solid look. If I decide not to follow you, please don't take it personally! It is a polite declination to roleplay.

UNFOLLOWING

IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW ME BACK AFTER TWO DAYS TO A WEEK, I WILL UNFOLLOW. This is in the interest of keeping my dash clean and limited to only those that I can interact with. If you follow me back after that time period, I will refollow you, so no worries. 

ACTIVITY

AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME, I AM ONLY SEMI-ACTIVE AND HAVE LOW ACTIVITY. As much as I love writing and roleplaying, my real life comes first. I’m a full-time college student and it is possible for me to disappear for as long as a week without even a notice. ( Though I’ll try to at least give a heads up.

I am often SLOW TO REPLY. This isn't always because I am busy, but because I have ADHD and depression, which affects my motivation and ability to focus on my replies, unless the thread I'm replying to is my "new favorite thread". I'm sorry!

QUEUE

MY BLOG RUNS ON A QUEUE. My queue is set to post three times daily, at 10am, 12pm and 2pm PST. All threads will be queued. OOC posts and memes, non-starter asks, etc. are posted as they are conceived. If, for some reason, I have fallen behind in my drafts, I will load a couple of day’s worth of posts in my queue in order to allow me time to catch up.

THREAD TRACKER

I have one.

GUEST MUSES

Are you an Alfendi blog whose getting tired of the "OMG, it's me from another universe" plot? Do you want to know more about some of the characters that influenced my Alfendi? Look no further: my blog features guest muses for your interaction pleasure.

• Guest muses are not full muses. They are here to add depth to my Alfendi's story.

• Guest muses default to my own interpretation of Alfendi and his canon. What does this mean? If you send a guest muse an ask about Alfendi, they will default to my Alfendi and speak on him unless otherwise stated. During threads, especially ones where the multiverse is acknowledged, guest muses will default to my blog's canon. There can and will be exceptions to this, and those will only take place when discussed by the muns.

• For Claira, everything above is void. Claira is an OC, one that I'm proud of so far and excited to work with. If Claira meets an Alfendi that is not my own, her canon will change to fit that of the Alfendi she meets. She is here as a guest muse for the meantime, but if she gains traction, she will be given her own blog.

• In addition, if Alfendi is asked about or name drops a character who happens to be one of my guest muses, he is speaking about my guest muse unless otherwise specified. The only exception to this is if I have an exclusive sharing the same muse as one of my guest muses. If this is the case, the exclusive muse will take priority.

MAINS & EXCLUSIVES

Here's my mains & exclusives call, to help break the ice if you're interested in being mains or exclusives!

Poptart, what are mains & exclusives? I'm glad you asked.

Being exclusives means that you are the only version of your muse I will interact with, and I am the only Alfendi you will interact with. The benefits of being exclusives with me are:

• Reduced duplicate anxiety for both of us.

• When your muse is namedropped by Alfendi, Alfendi means your muse.

• When your muse is namedropped by someone else, Alfendi will react as though they meant your muse.

• Many opportunities for deeper character and relationship development.

• Surprise starters.

An exclusive relationship requires a lot of trust, obviously, so before becoming exclusives, we need to be OOC friends.

If you, an exclusive of mine, go inactive for a month or more without notice, you'll be bumped down to a main. Not because I don't love you, but simply because it isn't fair to others. I expect the same treatment. If I haven't started interacting with a new version of your muse when you return, I'll be happy to take you back as an exclusive.

Being mains means that you are the primary version of your muse I will interact with, and I am the primary Alfendi you will interact with. The benefits of being mains with me are:

• If I have an idea for a plot for our muses, I will come to you first before anyone else.

• Many opportunities for deeper character and relationship development.

• Surprise starters.

I would like to have at least a thread, preferably more, and I'd like to get to know you OOC before becoming mains.

I accept two mains per muse, but if you want in, talk to me. I might make an exception.

SHIPPING

I am a MULTISHIP BLOG. This means that every ship with my muses takes place in an alternate universe where each ship is canon, and as such, infidelity does not occur. Do not accuse my muse of cheating on yours with another muse that they are being shipped with. Infidelity only occurs when plotted with all involved parties.

REMINDERS

PLEASE DO NOT SPAM ME FOR REPLIES. I'm grateful for the occasional enthusiastic reminder, inquiry, or idea about our thread, but nothing too aggressive or constant, please. 

NSFW

REGARDING 18+ CONTENT: As of writing, I am 19 years old. My birthday is 09/29/2000. I am comfortable discussing sex occasionally, making racy jokes, etc. I am not comfortable writing smut, please do not proposition me to do so. I am also not comfortable discussing sex with or about muses or muns who are minors.

THE MUN IS AN IDIOT

Sometimes I make mistakes, so does everyone. I can guarantee that I never mean any malice, so if I have accidentally said something rude or offensive, please correct me. Sometimes you will know more than me about a given subject. I will always try to do my research, but if I ever say something incorrect, let me know!

TRIGGERS

I TAG TRIGGERS AS "#TRIGGER TW" (e.g. "#negativity tw"). Sometimes I forget to tag some common and unique triggers. Please let me know if I forget one! I will immediately go back and tag it.

BLACKLIST

Please tag naughty things with "#nsfw", "#nsfw tw", "#lemon", "#lemon tw", "#smut", "#smut tw", or something along those lines.

Also, please tag vague posts with "#vague" or "#vague tw".

Please don't use aesthetic tags to tag these sorts of posts.

DON'T TALK SHIT

In the same vein as the rule above, IF YOU PLAN ON TALKING SMACK ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK, BLOCK ME. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME, SAY IT TO MY FACE OR DON’T SAY IT AT ALL. I’m an adult and I can take criticism like one. This is a massive no-no when it comes to interacting with me and will earn you an instablock.

FAN ART

IF I HAVE USED FAN ART, IT IS PROBABLY AN ACCIDENT. I try to only use fan art if and only if I know for a fact that the artist is comfortable with roleplayers doing so. If the artist has not publically stated their comfort with roleplayers using their art, andI have used their art, it is 100% an accident and I have likely confused their art for canon material. Please let me know if I have done so, and I will react accordingly.

MY ART

Being surrounded by all these artist friends lately has inspired me to practice my artwork more seriously. Please don't use any artwork that I post here for anything. I'm insecure about how my art looks, and usually the artwork that I post on this blog reflects my specific headcanons and things relating to Alfendi or the guest muses, so I'm not really comfortable with it being spread around.

That being said, if I draw you art as a gift, you are allowed to do whatever you want with it. Make icons? Promo graphics? Go for it, it's my gift to you. You don't even need to credit me. You are not, however, allowed to badger me into making free art for you. That's just not cool.

Here's a good rule of thumb: If you see artwork watermarked with my URL, please don't use it. If I send you art in DMs without a watermark, go wild!

COMMISSIONS

Please do not reach out to me in asking for free graphics, icons, promos, art, etc. This has happened multiple times. Yes, sometimes I do free art and graphics for friends, but this is never prompted by them---it is always because I am inspired, not because they solicited it.

As someone who is struggling to make ends meet, knowing that people are commissioned for this sort of thing, this makes me very uncomfortable. This is for a few reasons. One, if someone comes to me, requesting I make them a graphic for free and I do it, I would feel guilty, as though I was taking work from an artist who makes their living making such graphics. Two, it feels a little exploitative, because if I say no, I could be putting our relationship at risk. Three, because of how exploitative it is, I worry that someone may try to manipulate me into being their friend specifically to get free art and graphics from me.

I’m happy to do informal commissions and such for whatever you need. Pricing will be discussed on what we decide together sounds reasonable, but I’ll be flexible. I don’t expect to earn much, and money earned will be used to fund minor luxuries. If enough people commission me and I earn a better understanding of how commissions work, I’ll open up commissions formally.

CALLOUTS

I NO LONGER BOOST CALLOUT POSTS UNLESS THE CALLOUT IS PROVING BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT THE BLOG IN QUESTION IS DANGEROUS (NOT TOXIC). I have simply made the personal decision to no longer boost callouts regarding someone’s behavior. For those who would like more information, please contact me privately with a polite inquiry.

DO NOT POLICE WHO I DECIDE TO INTERACT WITH

IF I INTERACT WITH SOMEONE, AND THEY MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL TAG THEIR URL FROM THEN ON. Or you can unfollow, that’s cool too. No hard feelings.

LIKING THREAD HABITS

I TRY TO LIKE THE MOST RECENT REPLY TO OUR THREAD WHEN I ADD IT TO MY DRAFTS. It's a notification for you to let you know that your thread made it into my drafts and I have not lost it.

FOLLOWER TRACKER

I USE A FOLLOWER TRACKER. It doesn't track your IP or location or anything, it just checks my follower list for changes. I only use it to ensure that I don't send any more in character content to you if you are no longer interested in interacting with me. I take no offense if you do decide to unfollow me, and I won't hunt you down and ask for an explanation or anything creepy like that.

ICONS

PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY ICONS. I spend a lot of time working on them. It makes me very sad. Instead, please consider asking me directly how I achieve the effect you like on my icons so you can make a cool psd of your own.

GODMODING

You control your character, I control mine, DON'T GODMOD, GODMODE, POWERPLAY, AUTOHIT, ETC. It's not cool. If it does happen, I'll assume it was an accident and ask you to change your reply.

PLEASE CUT YOUR POSTS.

If the thread is para or multipara, I’m alright with three replies on a single post: your reply, your partner’s reply, and then your next reply. If the thread is a one-liner or crack, I’m alright with more as long as you don’t go overboard. If you do more than I’m okay with, I may unfollow for the sake of having a clean dashboard that I can scroll through.

ASKS ON NEW POSTS

IF OUR THREAD BEGINS WITH AN ASK, PLEASE CONTINUE IT ON A NEW POST LINKING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL ASK. Please. It’s confusing and cluttered and looks really ugly.

REBLOG KARMA

PLEASE DON’T REBLOG ROLEPLAY MEMES FROM ME without sending one in beforehand. I mean, I’m not going to be angry or confront if you do, but I’m just going to be a little bit upset and hurt about it.

SPECIFY MUSE

I am not a mind reader, so PLEASE SPECIFY MUSE WHEN LIKING STARTER CALLS, SENDING MEMES, ETC. I always say something along the lines of “tell me who you want or I’ll pick for you”, but what I’m probably actually going to do is, depending on how comfortable I am with you, ask you directly which muse you wanted, or completely avoid you because I’m scared of messing up.

MUN VS. MUSE

I, THE MUN, AM NOT MY MUSE. MY MUSE IS NOT ME. Please don't confuse us, our behaviors, or our ideals.

MUSE AND FANDOM DISCOMFORT

I HAVE SOME MUSES AND FANDOMS THAT MAKE ME UNCOMFORTABLE. These include, but are not limited to:

My Little Pony muses.If you are a single muse blog, and you write an MLP muse, I am not likely to follow you. If you are a multimuse, however, and you write non-MLP muses, this alone will not deter me from following you. I merely have a personal distaste for MLP.

Dolph from Camp Camp. Hitler jokes are not funny, and shame on the team for thinking it’s okay to make an entire character who is one. Unless you are writing Dolph in a way that you are actively acknowledging the bad choices on the part of the creators and are developing him as a character in a way that moves him beyond his unfortunate schtick, I have no interest in writing with you or any other muses you may have.

Real-life people. I’m not really cool with roleplaying with people who roleplay as real-life people, such as YouTubers, historical figures or idols, especially those such as Jacksepticeye, who has expressly stated his discomfort publicly. I find it disrespectful and it makes me uncomfortable. Self-insert OCs are of a different variety, one that I’m okay with interacting with as long as typical RP etiquette is adhered to.

Religious and mythical figures and dieties. I'm not comfortable with muses who are from religious texts of any sort, because these figures are someone's god or messiahs, and to them, they are not works of fiction, and thus, portraying them is wildly inappropriate. If it isn't okay to portray Jesus Christ, why would it be okay to portray an obscure diety from Native American mythology? However, I am comfortable with interacting with OC or fictional characters who are deities, because they are creations of the imagination, not someone who is worshiped.

Genderbends. Genderbends, by their very existence, are transphobic. Here's a post that explains the issue beautifully. If you want to bend the gender of your muse, just make them trans, man.

UNWELCOME IDEALS

DO NOT INTERACT IF...

You are a pedophile, support pedophilia, or write smut with or about minors, or are a minor writing smut.

You support or write incest.

You write active discrimination in your threads. (Differing from mentioning and discussing discrimination as a part of your muse’s past.)

You write active sexual abuse or sexual violence in your threads. (Differing from mentioning and discussing sexual abuse and violence as a part of your muse’s past.) 

LISA & CHILD ABUSE

Child abuse is a topic that is frequently discussed on this blog, but is one that is always tagged and never written about explicitly. It only occurs implicitly with young Alfendi, and seldomly at that, and is sometimes talked about in threads.

I will never, ever, ever write Lisa. Ever. I am not comfortable writing her, not even for one of those 'ask my muse's parents' memes. I am not comfortable composing even a single line of dialogue for her. Not only is she abusive and gross, but attempting to write her would be triggering for me in a couple different ways.

If you want to terrorize Alfendi by sending an anon saying something as a Lisanon or Ghost!Lisa or whatever, go for it! Fuck him up! But, don't send literal active child abuse to my inbox, because that's disgusting.

UNFOLLOWING AND BLOCKING

It is extremely rare that I will unfollow or block someone. IF I HAVE UNFOLLOWED OR BLOCKED YOU, I HAVE A VALID REASON FOR DOING SO. I DO NOT OWE YOU AN EXPLANATION, SO PLEASE DO NOT INQUIRE.

If you decide to unfollow me, that is fair and I will not hold it against you. PLEASE SOFT BLOCK ME IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO.

BLOG PASSWORDS

I DON'T SEND IN BLOG PASSWORDS, EVEN THE 'LIKE-THE-POST' ONES. It makes me anxious. I promise that I have read your rules a minimum of thrice: once before following, once before beginning our first thread, and once before interacting. I often refer to other people's rules.

If you have read my rules, you are welcome to like this post to let me know! ( This is completely optional! )

MUN

Alias: POPTART Name: RED Birthdate: 09/29/2000 Pronouns: THEY/THEM Timezone: PST

hello! my name's poppy and i'm simultaneously a good lad and a chaotic entity. i have two cats named katrielle and flora. i really, really love this chaotic bastard, alfendi layton.

i'm in a relationship with @mragentofchaos.

CREDITS

Icons and PSD were made by me.

My main blog theme was made by ddkinzart on Tumblr.

The stars update tab was made by leiqhade on Tumblr.

The music player theme was made by nobroken on Tumblr.

The background for my blog was made by me, using these free bloodsplatter brushes.

The music player code used on my blog was made by fukuo on tumblr.

Alfendi sprites from the game are pulled and compiled by mysteryroomfiles.

Custom Alfendi sprites used in icons were made by mystery-room on Tumblr.

Some art used for icons was made by my friend p0p-r0x75 and is used with permission.

Some Alfendi icons were drawn for me by the lovely taiyodoroki as part of an art exchange and are used with permission.

Base icons for Alfendi's main face claim was made by professordipshit on Tumblr.

One of Alfendi's face claims is the Bartender from the manga "Le Théâtre de A", and the base icons were capped and made by me.

Base icons for one of Alfendi's mainverse face claims comes from dcfygraviity, boulevardofangstydreams, jefemetro, aspartha, and iconsbyafangirl, all on Tumblr.

Base icons for Alfendi's teen, young adult and child face claim were made by iconsbyafangirl [second link] [third link] [fourth link], sharesicons, iconmakingaddiction-blog, thatsharkguy, fuckyeahanimangaicons, and bishies-are-here, all on Tumblr.

Base icons for Alfendi's IRL face claim are made by rpicxns [second link], on tumblr.

Base icons for Alfendi's alternate IRL face claim are made by pripecias on Tumblr.

The 'faceless' rp icons used come from animanga-icon-dump on tumblr. I have since forgotten which icon packs I use.

My OOC faceclaim is Apollo Justice, and base icons for him were made by , nochordsofsteelnojustice, anythingapollo, and yumis-icons, all on tumblr. Fanart is used in some icons, and I assume due dilligence was done in asking the artists for permission before making base icons of their artwork. If your art is featured in these icons and your permission was not given, I will happily take them down and delete them from my computer upon request.

[jaroslavlewis]

I've got a hard question for you! What would you say would be your gosho boys ranking from the one you like the most to the one you least like, and why? What is that you like the most and what do you not like about each of them?

Hi Anon!

Wow. That’s a really difficult question for me to answer because I love all of the Gosho Boys and I think that Gosho-sensei is just wonderful for blessing the fandom with four, smart, gorgeous dorks. It really breaks my heart to have to rank them, but here it goes…

*heavy breathing*

1. Hattori Heiji

Top spot goes to Heiji. It was hard to choose between him and Shinichi. They could’ve tied, but yeah I chose Heiji anyway. (I could imagine Heiji rubbing this in Shinichi’s face already. *Insert “WEST is the BEST” Heiji here*) Heiji won the top spot by a few points against Shinichi.  

Just an anecdote:If this question was asked like a few years earlier, I could’ve picked Shinichi. Like, when I got into the fandom, I was a bigass Shinichi-biased DCMK fan. I was around 11 or 12 that time and all I ever talked about was Shinichi. I hardly paid Heiji any attention, to be honest. At around high school up to college, I was practically gone from the DCMK fandom. Like, I did some exploring in other fandoms and I just left for a while, kind of like a really long vacation. Anyway, I came back here after college and I’ve been drinking a lot of the Heiji appreciation juice.

I think the reason for this is because of the character development I witnessed in Heiji. (I’ve already stated this in one of my blog posts, “Heiji’s Character Development” ) I don’t think I could stress this anymore. Other than this, I’m just really drawn to the KazuHei couple recently and I love how Heiji’s being such a dork about his confession. It’s awfully cute and it’s bringing out a different side of him.

Also fun fact about me, I’m not a big fan of tsundere characteres. Especially guys who are a tsundere. IDK. They’re just not my cup of tea. Most tsundere characters are just too mean and disrespectful for me (*coughs* Uchiha Sasuke *coughs* Hyuuga Natsume. I could name more, but I don’t want to make this longer).  Anyway, Heiji’s probably the only or if not, one of the few tsundere characters that I do like. Him and Vegeta (WOW THEY’RE BOTH VOICED BY THE AMAZING RYO HORIKAWA!).

Anyway, Heiji is a big exception to my dislike towards tsundere characters because even if he is a bigass tsundere, he doesn’t disrespect Kazuha. I mean, he argues with her a lot, yes. But their arguments are just about petty little things. By the end of the day, it’s just a KazuHei thing and no matter what happens, he’d always be by Kazuha’s side, protecting her always. I absolutely love how he’s protective of the women, especially when sneaky guys are trying to get their way to them. And  it’s not just about Kazuha. Heiji’s also like that to Ran as well. I love this about Heiji because he may come across as arrogant and intimidating, but really, he’s a total nice guy. He’s the ideal boyfriend and ideal brother. (I honestly want to see more Heiji-Ran moments because he’s a really great bro to Ran but sadly, their dynamics is pretty underrated.)

What I also love about Heiji is that he isn’t the “safe” kind of person. He is impulsive and aggressive. It’s a bit dangerous yes, but it makes him take the leap and take risks, which is something that I really do admire because I’m very much on the “safe side”. I’m not a spontaneous type of person and I would love change that about myself and be brave to take more risks, every now and then.

Ironically, Heiji’s impulsiveness and aggressiveness is also one of the things that I sort of dislike about Heiji. Sometimes, it’s a bit too much and he’s hurting himself. He gets injured a lot and this worries me a lot. Hahahaha Other than that, it sometimes gives him a hard shell, it conceals his soft side, which we rarely see, but yeah, it’s showing slowly. (Also see my reaction on episode 873, “Heiji’s Attempt to Confess”) Also, what I dislike about Heiji, actually, this is not  about Heiji alone. This is on the story line. I dislike how he’s taking so long to confess to Kazuha. I mean coz unlike ShinRan, they see each other everyday. But yeah, I do appreciate his efforts and yeah I understand he wants it to be perfect. So, overall, I don’t dislike this about him that much and it’s not his fault if Gosho wants to prolong that development. Hahahaha XD

Phew! I write so passionately about Heiji, I don’t know how I’m gonna get this ranking done. ^^” Huhuhu Sorry about this. Anyway…

2. Kudo Shinichi

Like I said earlier, Shinichi could’ve gone first, if this was asked years waayyy back. But yeah, I  still love Shinichi a lot. He only lost the top spot to Heiji by just a few points. (So Heiji, honey, don’t be so cocky about this. Hahaha.) The reason why Shinichi came in second is because he hasn’t changed much throughout the whole series of Detective Conan, not that he has much to change anyway. I could say, his character is a bit more stagnant compared to Heiji’s but then again, Shinichi was already perfect all throughout the beginning of the series. I honestly like and dislike this about him. Of course, I like how Shinichi’s mature and he has a lot of wisdom in him. He’s a good character. But I have to say, sometimes, Shinichi’s just too good to be true. It’s hard to see his more human and more relatable side. I honestly love imperfect characters more than perfect ones like Shinichi. As a writer and viewer I think they’re more relatable and more interesting to work with and watch/read about. Although, I honestly think that Shinichi becomes more human is when he is with Ran. He gets to be less “safe” and more transparent with his emotions. He’s so heavy on his principles and very strong about them, but with Ran he is different and for Ran, he actually does get to defy the principles he believes in and I love this about him. (Going a little off topic, but still related to what I’m talking about: This is why I love the Kyoto Arc so much because we get to see more of Shinichi being a regular teenager. I also love the episode about Ray Curtis because I got to see more of Shinichi’s emotions and we got to see how he can be imperfect at times and that because he was a big fan of Ray, he was at first being blind in his deductions because he’s biased towards Ray, but in the end, he does the right thing.) I mean, he is all about the truth but he lied to Ran, the most important person to him because he doesn’t want her to get involved with the BO. Like after the Conan thing, he was scared and we get this because it’s a life and death situation. Okay, so overall, I think Shinichi’s “perfect” character works well because he’s gonna get more interesting in the end. By being Conan, we saw him fall and all of a sudden he was less perfect than he used to be and he was more vulnerable. (OMG. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, GOSHO! OKAY AS I’M WRITING THIS, I’M A WAVERING AND I’M CONFUSED IF SHINICHI DOES RANK AS SECOND! But what’s done is done. So… HAHAHAHA XD)

Anyway, I love how Shinichi’s more calm than Heiji. I think it balances their friendship really well. They’re like Yin and Yang. I also like how he is more softer than Heiji. I mean, with Ran he’s more transparent with his caring side compared to how Heiji is to Kazuha. I think Heiji’s more on the tough-love kind. (I think this sprung from how he is raised by Heizo. Just a little theory.) Shinichi’s more transparent with his love for Ran and he’s more sure of his feelings, compared to Heiji who took a  lot of time figuring out that he actually has feelings for Kazuha. Shinichi was sure from the very beginning that he already loved Ran from the very moment that he saw her and I think this is just cute. Also, Shinichi’s such a gentleman especially during his date with Ran on the “Desperate Revival Arc.”

Another thing I love about Shinichi is his way with words. I love how he phrased his confession with Ran and I love how he talks sense to people. I think Shinichi would’ve been a writer like Yusaku if he wasn’t a detective. Just my opinion.

I love how ideal Shinichi is. I think that his thoughts are very ideal and if people in this world think like him, the world could have been a better place. But ironically, I think that I also dislike this about him in someway because his thoughts could and have already gotten him into trouble. Huhuhuhu This world is a cruel place for you, my child.

3. Kuroba Kaito

Kaito came in third for the only reason that I’m more into Detective Conan than Magic Kaito. Since I got into the DC fandom first, I’m a bit more attached to Heiji and Shinichi than I am to Kaito. I also think that I still have yet to discover about him. But I really do love Kaito as well. I love his playfulness. I love his bright character. I also love how he’s not the conventional type of good character. It’s a good conflict to his story. (I don’t think we have to discuss this further. We all get the point right? XD) I think compared to Conan’s story which is heavy on the murder and mystery, not to mention drama everytime the culprit admits to his/her crimes, Kaito’s story is more on the comic relief and adventure.

I love his clever tricks and everything just seems so fun with Kaito in it. What I do dislike a bit about Kaito is that sometimes he gets too playful about things to the point where he disrespects the people around him. I also do not like him looking at Aoko’s panties every single day of his life. I mean, Kaito dear, let me quote your father’s words, “That is not how you treat a lady.” >.

I think I can’t talk too much about Kaito as much as I did with Shinichi and Heiji, since I feel that I still don’t know him too well and this is the reason why Kaito came in third.

4. Hakuba Saguru

I feel bad about placing him last. I think that he is the most underrated Gosho Boy ever. T.T My reason for placing him last is sort of the same as my reason for ranking Kaito the third. I think that Hakuba nad Kaito could’ve actually tied in the ranking. Kaito just scored a few points higher than him ‘coz I’ve seen Kaito a bit more than I’ve seen Hakuba. I really like Hakuba’s character. I like how he’s so sassy but still classy. He’s also really dreamy. But I feel that there’s still a lot that I should know about him. I think Hakuba needs more exposure, tbh.

I think I can’t talk too much about things that I dislike about Hakuba, since I don’t know him that much. Other than how Hakuba insulted Heiji in “Three Days with Hattori Heiji, (I’m not too salty about this. It was really entertaining how he ticked Heiji off. But yeah, he insulted my fave. Hahaha) I think there’s not much I could come up with since like I said, I still don’t know Hakuba that much.

So to sum things up, most of the things I dislike about the boys is about how they could be extreme with the distinct trait that they have (Heiji with his aggressiveness, Shinichi with his principles and idealism, Kaito with his “extra-ness” and Hakuba with his sass).  Over all, the ranking is based on how well I got attached to the character and how well I know the character, not necessarilly on who I liked best. I think they are all interesting characters to be honest. Also I think, this ranking is just temporary and I feel that it would change in time as their respective storylines progress.

I hope I made my explanations clear and I’m sorry this was really long. I tend to word fart a lot. I also hope I don’t disappoint anyone with my ranking. This is just my opinion and personal preference and like I said, this ranking could change over time. I also hope you guys know that I really do love these boys so much and it was really hard for me to rank them. Over all, I’m just really beyond thankful that Gosho blessed my life with the Gosho Boys.

[poop4u]

Dog Parks

#Poop4U

Dog Parks. No controversy there, right, about the good, the bad and the ugly of them? However, the pro’s and con’s of dog parks are usually discussed inside the dog world, not in a national news outlet like the New York Times. But the Times jumped into the fray, with an article provocatively titled The Dog Park is Bad Actually.

The article points out problems that can be found in dog parks, problems that many of us are well aware of: They are lousy places to “socialize” young puppies, they may contain dogs who are not necessarily aggressive (although that too is possible), but are playground bullies who terrorize other dogs like some nasty kids on a playground, they have the potential of spreading disease, there is usually no separation between small and large dogs, which can cause injuries or dogs being frightened (see “playground bullies” above) and can contain owners wh0 are oblivious to important social signals between dogs that signal discomfort, downright fear and/or hard-eyed aggression.

Here’s a concluding sentence from the article:

“Ultimately you’re the only one who can determine if the risks outweigh the benefits of dog parks, but there is no shame in not surrendering your dog to what has become the quintessential urban dog experience: running with dozens of strangers in a small, smelly pen as people stand by, looking at their phones or gossiping. Make the time you have with your dog meaningful and enriching; after all, your dog wants to spend time with you, too.”

Soon after, Bark Magazine came out with a counter to these arguments titled Dog Parks Can Be Great Places for Offleash Activity. Here’s part of what they have to say, after agreeing that parks could be better monitored and that yes, some parks have problems:

But we take issue of the tone and heavy-handedness of this article—the main takeaway is that dog parks are teaming with dog fights, careless owners and rife with disease! That has not been our experience. In fact, despite at times the presence of an irresponsible owner and unruly dog, most off-leash areas we’ve frequented for three decades are relatively incident free.

I’m curious about your experiences. Full disclosure is that I have few objective opinions, because I, and my colleagues, only see clients whose dogs have either created problems at a dog park or suffered from them. No one ever came to me because their dog loved going to the dog park and never had any problems at one. Of course, I’ve been to many in Wisconsin (with clients) and have indeed seen lots of healthy play and behavior, as well as cases of problematic dogs and oblivious owners. I can say that 1) I’m not a fan of small ones, especially with a single entry gate that allow entering dogs to be swamped, 3) I have strong feelings about how they should be designed (large, double entries, rules that keep people from playing by the gates, owner education efforts to name a few, 4) There are lots of dogs I’d never take to a park (Maggie would crumble into pieces at one), and 5) The dog parks I visited with Luke and Lassie around San Francisco (Bark’s home field), when I lived there to do my Animal Planet show, were full of some of the best behaved dogs I’ve seen. I should also mention that I am very lucky: I live in the country with large, fenced areas for my dogs to play, and nearby areas where a well-trained dog can be safely off leash. I know of many people who love dog parks, and have had nothing but good experiences there. And you? I’m all ears.

  MEANWHILE, back in Africa: So much to say, so many photographs. The photo’s today are from the beginning of our trip. We went to the Giraffe Center on our first day in Nairobi, , which protects and breeds the endangered Rothchild’s Giraffe. There are only about 1,600 left in the wild, and the center has re-introduced up to 40 giraffes into wildlife parks. Giraffe are hands down one of my favorite African animals. Watching them glide across the plains, seemingly frictionless, is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. We saw several of these rare giraffes at the Samburu National Park, one of the few places where they can be found in the wild.

Besides supporting their conservation efforts, visitors get to hand feed the giraffes. Some are docile, others enjoy bashing your head with their own (their primary method of fighting). Along with being in complete and total animal rapture, I loved that we were treated like rational adults who would (or would not) listen to the keepers who warned us about certain animals. But mostly, I loved having their massive heads–the size of our torsos–floating down toward us, followed by their long, purple tongues curling around the treats we fed them. Here’s me and good friend Donna feeding an adult female. (Do you love the “Do not climb up the wall’ sign?)

  Next we visited the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, as known as the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Injured and orphaned elephant babies come to them from all over East Africa, where each individual is rescued, medically treated and then raised up to an age in which it can be integrated into a wild herd. The trust has raised 260 orphaned elephants, and has an extensive conservation program of field veterinary care and anti-poaching efforts. The babies are never alone (their keepers sleep with them at night), they are taken out several times a day on walks into the bush, and are given mud baths in front of visitors whose entry fees help support the work of the trust. It’s an amazing enterprise, and something we were honored to support. For an extra fee visitors can adopt an elephant, and I adopted Zawadi. Click on on her photo to watch an amazing video of her rescue, and her battle with what appears to be epileptic seizures. If watching her story doesn’t make you all gooey, I don’t know what will.

Here’s an overview of the visitor area when some of the babies are starting to get their milk. The elephants are brought back from a walk in the bush with keepers, and then fed their morning milk and given mud baths in front of visitors.

The babies clearly love their mud baths!

At night the elephants stay in individual stalls, each with their own keeper sleeping with them. The dedication of the keepers is truly something else, not to mention the work involved in introducing individuals back into wild herds. (They do months of parallel walking alongside herds they know to be accommodating, almost like introducing two dogs to each other.) I don’t know how many efforts are successful over all–I imagine that it’s inevitable that some don’t work out. But their record is impressive. If you get to Nairobi, I hope you can stop in to support their efforts. (Of course, you don’t have to visit to support their work!)

The next day we drove to the Samburu National Park, a park full of rare and endangered species that is rarely visited. We stayed at Larson’s Tented Camp and I wish we could have stayed a week. Here’s the view from our tent at sunrise:

I absolutely loved this camp. The setting was gorgeous, we were surrounded by wildlife (you had to padlock the zippers on your tent to keep out the vervets and baboons) and the staff members were kind and generous. As I did at each place we stayed, I stayed back from one game drive and spent some quiet hours by myself, just me and the vervets, the birds and the river. I also had a lovely time speaking with a staff member about his life, his family and what it was like to work in one of the tent camps.

I showed this photo last week, but repeat it here in context, when it was just me and the vervets at Larson’s camp. I watched this female and her babe for over a half hour. At one point her baby did something she didn’t like, and she took it by the shoulders and shook it. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud.

Here’s what else happened while everyone else was gone–the vervets pretty much took over the dining room:

  The photo below shows one of my favorite African animals, one who you can only see in the dry areas of Kenya, Somali and Ethiopia. Gerenuks are also known as the “giraffe gazelles”, for obvious reasons once you look at their long necks and feeding methods. They are adapted to feed on leaves lower than giraffes usually eat, but higher than other ungulates. They’ll stand like this for long periods of time snacking on leaves. They are so well adapted to dry areas that they can go long periods without drinking, and in some cases, barely drink water at all. What I especially love about this photo is that we only got it because our van (which included me, Jim, good friend Donna, and Jim’s son Zach and partner Sarah, as well as the best driver/guide in the universe, Eric) agreed to sit and wait. Gerenuks are relatively flighty, and it took a good 15 minutes for them to relax enough to begin to feed. Kudos to our van and driver for agreeing to wait!

Another rare animal we got to appreciate was the Grevy’s Zebra, the zebra that I’ve argued was created by a graphic designer. They too are adapted to dry areas, and like the Reticulated giraffe (who also live in Samburu), are highly endangered. There are believed to be only 2,000 Grevy’s Zebra left in the universe.

Here’s a Common (and very pregnant!), or Plains Zebra for comparison:

And the elephants! There were large, healthy herds of elephants at Samburu. Here’s a momma with her one or two month old baby, with what is probably one of her older daughters beside her. We were charmed over and over again by the elephants, as well as being put into our place by a matriach who charged our van, ears flapping and trunk trumpeting. We felt badly that we had disturbed her (our van was fine but she became agitated when another van pulled up along side), and obediently followed Eric’s instructions to stay motionless and silent. She came within a few inches of our van, peered at us for a moment (we weren’t just still and quiet; I think we had all stopped breathing) and slowly turned away.

And I haven’t even mentioned the birds yet! Ah well, more photos in the weeks to come. Please forgive me if you get sick of them. It’s just too much damn fun to post them!

Poop4U Blog via www.Poop4U.com Trisha, Khareem Sudlow

[jenstar1992-2]

May please request an Eggsy x reader (you saw this coming...) where they've been together for awhile and they get sent on a "mission" but it's just a set up where he proposes...hopefully that makes sense...

Here ya go girl, took me awhile because I’m too wordy but it’s finally done! Also sorry for the length, I’m gonna have to split it into three parts. But I hope you like it! :)

“Mission” (Part 1)

Pairing: Eggsy Unwin x Female Reader

Rated: T

Word Count: Approx. 2,631

Warnings: Language/cursing, making out/ kissing (not really sure if that counts but I’m putting it on here anyway), hints to smut.

Key: (y/f/c) = Your favorite color         (c/o/d) = Color of dress         (y/e/c) = Your eye color         (y/f/f) = Your favorite flower         (y/b/s) = Your birth stone         (y/f/n) = Your first name         (y/l/n) = Your last name

Requested by: sgarrett49

A/N: Reader is American, hence some of the terminology used on reader’s part. Not super important, just figured I’d explain. Also, I haven’t written any kind of actual “story” in years so if it stinks I apologize. Sorry for the length too, I always feel the need to be really detailed in my writing, so I apologize for my wordiness.

Part 2

If someone had told you a few years ago that you would be dating a spy, let alone be one yourself, you would have told them to lay off whatever they were smoking. Yet here you are, a very talented Kingsman agent dating her handsome fellow agent.

You and Eggsy had been dating for about 2 years now, and you couldn’t be happier. You two were the perfect team, in every way. Not only did you work well together in the field, but your relationship had stood the test of time, at least in your opinion. This belief stemmed from the fact that in the beginning you had, had so many doubts about it working out. Not because of him, or even you for that matter, but because of the job. You had been unsure if two spies, whose lives were constantly hanging in the balance, and were being pulled away from everyday life to do god knows what on a regular basis, could have a normal and healthy relationship. But now that you thought about it, perhaps that’s exactly why you two have lasted this long. Yes, your lives were always being threatened, and you never knew if the other would make it back home after a mission, but this meant that when you did you would be that much more excited, and relieved, to see one another. This also meant that when you two were together you cherished that time even more, and never let a moment be wasted. As for being pulled away from the normal hum drum of everyday life, you actually didn’t mind too much, for the most part anyway. Most of your time in the field was spent with Eggsy by your side. You were often partnered together on missions because, as Merlin had said, “These two are like a well-oiled machine. No enemy of ours stands a chance with Agents Galahad and Gareth partnered in the field.” He had said this to a batch of new recruits on their first day of training. “You all could learn a thing or two from them.”

These statements had earned a side glance frim Eggsy, followed by a proud, yet cheeky, grin in your direction, and you couldn’t help but to return the look. Merlin may have been boasting a little, but he wasn’t wrong. You two did work pretty damn well together. You always had each other’s backs, no matter what. This thought made you smile as you stared down at the floor in front of you.

“Y/N!”

Your head snapped up and you looked toward the source of the voice that broke you from your daydreamy state. Merlin was standing a few feet in front of you with a slightly irritated look on his face. “Did you hear a word I just said?”

You stared at him, befuddled. Then a few seconds later responded with an intelligent, “Huh?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and letting out an audible sigh. You smiled sheepishly, “Sorry Merlin, I must’ve zoned out for a second.”

He looked back up at you. “You ‘zoned out for a second’? Since when do you just zone out?”, he said while giving you a confused look.

You shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. After a few uncomfortable seconds under his questioning, yet intense, stare you said, “I just didn’t get much sleep last night. Sorry, won’t happen again.” While the ‘no sleep’ excuse wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t the reason your mind had checked out in the middle of your briefing. However, the two were connected. You had gotten lost in your own thoughts as you had done the night before, thoughts about the one you cared for most in this world. Eggsy. You were worried about him, and not just because he was off on another mission without you there to back him up, not that you didn’t trust Lancelot, because you did. She is quite a skilled agent herself and you knew she wouldn’t let anything too terrible happen to your boyfriend. You were more worried about how he had been acting lately. He had been acting strange the past couple of weeks, almost like he had, had something on his mind that he didn’t want to let you in on. Which didn’t make sense because you practically told each other everything, especially if it was something serious, which you could tell this was. It was just a feeling you got, but after years of being in this profession you had learned to trust your gut. Besides, you knew your boyfriend. You knew when something was troubling him, and for him to not come to you about it, it just wasn’t like him. This raised concern in you. You had been wracking your brain all night trying to figure out what it could possibly be, but by morning you had come up with nothing. What could be so damn bad that he couldn’t talk to even you about?

You felt a little bad when you saw a hint of concern cross Merlin’s expression. You appreciated the fact that he cared enough to worry about you, but that didn’t mean you liked to make him worry. “Are you not feeling well”, he asked. “If that’s the case, then I can inform Galahad that…”

“No”, you interrupted. You didn’t want him to send another agent with Eggsy on this mission. You hated that because you would worry the whole time he was gone, just like he did when the roles were reversed and you were the one out there risking your life. At least when you were out there together you knew where the other was and that if the shit hit the fan you could protect each other if need be.

“You sure”, Merlin inquired.

“I’m sure. I’m fine, really. Just couldn’t sleep.” You gave him a reassuring smile.

He didn’t look convinced, but you could tell he wasn’t going to fight you on it. “Alright then. Well now that I have your attention, can we get on with the briefing?”

“Yes. You have my full attention.” He shook his head but continued and gave you the details of your mission.

Apparently, you and Eggsy were to capture a man who Merlin said was suspected of being a threat to the agency. According to him, this man had been a former Kingsman agent who had gone rogue and shortly after had disappeared. They had tried to track him down for a few years, but with no success. It’s like he had just vanished into thin air. That is, until they got word that he had been spotted in a town that wasn’t too far from the agency’s base. This being said, it was fair to assume that him showing up after years of hiding meant that he was planning something to take you all down. Your mission, get him before he got you. You two were to capture him and bring him to a secure location for interrogation. You had argued that killing him would just be easier, but Merlin wouldn’t have it. “We can’t just go around killing people who may, or may not be a threat. That’s not how we do things around here Y/N, you know that.”

“Yeah, I know, I know. I’m just saying, if this guy really is the rogue agent then he might be too dangerous to be kept alive. Especially when he’s coming right for us, who knows what he has planned.”

“Exactly. We don’t know what his plan is, that’s why we have to interrogate him and find out before anyone gets caught in some sort of trap.”

“Well, how do you know that you aren’t sending Galahad and I into one. I mean if this guy is as good as he sounds he could very well have foreseen something like this happening and already thought of a way to turn the tables on any agent that comes his way. How can you guarantee that we aren’t walking right into his hands?”

Merlin looked at you with an expression that told you he had been expecting your question and he responded truthfully with, “I don’t.”

“Well that’s just fantastic”, you said sarcastically. You were a little perturbed at the calmness of his response and it was becoming harder for you to hide your frustration.

“You didn’t let me finish”, he said, just as calmly. “No, I don’t know if you’ll be walking into a trap, but I am fully confident in your and Galahad’s abilities, and I know that you can handle any situation and come out on top.”

You were a bit taken aback by his words. You didn’t know why, but this statement hit you deeper than any of his past praises of the two of you. You felt a rush of pride and, yet again, you knew he was right. As your worry and frustration started to subside, you nodded. “I understand. Alright, we won’t kill the guy, but can I at least rough him up a bit? I mean he did betray the Kingsman after all, and that’s not something I think I can take lightly. Untrustworthy bastard!” You said that last bit under your breath.

Merlin couldn’t help but chuckle a little at your question, and the almost childish pout you were currently displaying. “If the situation calls for it, and you are forced to take a more aggressive approach, then so be it. Just try not to do any serious damage, okay?”

You brought your hand to your forehead and gave a small salute. “Yes sir.”He shook his head again and let out another small chuckle before dismissing you to suit up for tonight’s assignment.

***A little while later***

You stood in front of the mirror, looking yourself over, making sure you were dressed appropriately for the occasion. Your long (y/f/c) dress ended just above your feet, flaring out at the bottom just enough so that it flowed when you walked. Accompanying the dress were a pair of gorgeous (c/o/d) high heels, only about three inches tall, you had thought five inches would be too much. Plus, if things got messy and you had to get physical with your target, or chase after him, which you thought was almost certain, then you were sure you would fall flat on your face. You figured you could handle three inches, and if worse came to worse, you could always just ditch the shoes altogether. It would be a loss, but the job was more important than some shoes. You did appreciate the way they made your calves pop though. It was a mission, yes, but you didn’t get to dress up very often so when you were given the chance, you made it count. You also hadn’t seen Eggsy in over a week, not his longest absence, but still, you wanted to give him something to admire upon his return, which would be any minute now. You finished your makeup and quickly adorned the necklace with a rose charm that Eggsy had given you on your one-year anniversary, along with the earrings you had found in a little shop a few months back. You had been thrilled to find a pair that matched your favorite necklace so nicely. You gave yourself one last look in the mirror, even giving a little twirl, and then making a face of slight disgust when you realized just how girly that action was. You weren’t necessarily a hard-core tomboy, but you weren’t a girly girl either.

A noise caused you to break free of your thoughts and turn toward the doorway. There you saw your boyfriend leaning against the doorframe, looking dapper, as always, in his Kingsman issued suit. He looked you up and down before nodding in approval and saying, “Very nice.”

You couldn’t help the wide smile that spread over your features as you practically flung yourself into his waiting arms. “You’re back! I missed you.”

He smiled and closed his eyes as he hugged you to him, burying his face in your hair and inhaling your scent, a mixture of flowers and peaches. God, he missed that smell. “I missed you too luv, so much.” You released your grip a bit so you could look up at him. Those blue-grey irises captured your (y/e/c) ones, and you felt your heart flutter as you saw the love that resided within them. You stood there for a few seconds, taking in every one of each other’s features. You were also looking for any noticeable injuries, which to your relief you couldn’t find any. This must’ve been obvious because he gave you a light squeeze and said, “I’m fine luv, I promise. I told you, easy mission, very little violence. The most that happened was I punched a bloke in the face, but that’s just because he wouldn’t shut up. Didn’t say anything after that, that’s for sure”. He chuckled as he said the last bit.

You raised your eyebrows in slight shock. “Oh man, that killed him? Just how hard did you punch him?”

He laughed then. “No, no, he’s fine. Well except for his swollen nose, but it really doesn’t look that bad.”

You relaxed. “Oh, ok. Well I’m glad your back and unharmed”, you said with a smile.

He returned the look. “Me too luv. You look beautiful by the way.”

You looked down at yourself and blushed. “You think?”

“Oh yes, quite beautiful.” He took the charm of your necklace between his index finger and thumb before laying it in his palm. “This is lovely, wherever did you get it”, he asked with a cheeky grin.

You played along. “Oh, that’s from my very sweet, very handsome boyfriend.”

He pulled the corners of his lips down and nodded. “Huh. He must be a great boyfriend to give you such a nice gift.”

“Oh, he is”, you said.

He raised his eyebrows a bit. “Maybe he deserves a kiss?”

“Maybe he does”, you said as you moved closer. He then gently took your face in his hands and brought it closer until your lips met his in a light, loving kiss. As the kiss went on it soon turned from soft and sweet, to deep and passionate. You let all the emotions you had felt in his absence, all the longing and worry, as well as the relief upon his return, pour into the kiss, and he did the same. When the kiss ended due to lack of air, you both laughed softly and laid your foreheads together. “So, have you been briefed on our assignment this evening”, you asked, ending the little game you two had been playing.

“Yeah, just came from there actually. Seems like a simple enough job”, he said, shrugging his shoulders.

You pulled back slightly and looked him in the eye. “Simple… really”, you asked incredulously.

He nodded. “Sure. Follow the guy, capture him, and take him to the specified location for interrogation. Easy. We don’t even have to do the interrogating this time.” He said it in such a matter-of-fact fashion, you were a little annoyed by how calm he was. Meanwhile, you were still nervous about the whole thing. He saw this and said, “Come on babe, this is us we’re talking about. We can handle this, no problem.” He gave you a reassuring smile.

You sighed. “The dynamic duo at it again, huh?”

His smile widened. “Exactly.” You rolled your eyes but laughed. He then held out his arm. “Milady.” You laughed again, slinking your arm around his. You walked arm in arm to the limousine that was waiting for you outside. What? You had to go in style, it was a fancy gala after all.

[gyrlversion]

Stray Kids On Growing Up, Taking More Creative Risks, And Dealing With Self-Doubt

Stray Kids are following their own path. And that reluctance to play by anyone else’s rules is precisely what makes this group of teens and young adults stand out. They’ve been releasing some of the boldest tracks in K-pop since making their debut with the blistering “District 9” a year ago, a song that harnessed their teen angst into a dizzying mix of hip-hop, rock, and EDM and quickly established them as rookie group to watch.

It’s their ability to channel that raw emotion into their music that has resonated with fans all over the world, many of whom are on the cusp of adulthood themselves. As such, the group’s signature sound can’t be contained in a single genre; it’s more of a state of being — a deeply earnest one.

“Stray Kids music is music that’s relatable and can help you out when you’re having a hard time,” leader Bang Chan tells MTV News over the phone from Seoul, where the group is preparing to embark on their first solo U.S. tour. Though, he quick to add, “It’s got a lot of energy, doesn’t it?”

And nowhere is that empathy and energy more apparent than on their latest single, “Miroh.” Inspired by the word miro, or “maze” in Korean, the boisterous track — produced by members Bang Chan, Han, and Changbin, otherwise known as 3racha — is a cacophony of sounds, rhythms, chants, and animal noises. The hook is massive, a perfect stadium-sized banger that shows off the group’s grit and potential. “It’s not hard / in this rough jungle,” Bang Chan sings. “It was me who ran into it / I’m okay.”

“‘Miroh’ was a really big attempt,” the 21-year-old singer and producer said. “It shows that as we’re getting older we tend to take more risks and try out new experiences, challenge ourselves.”

And as members Bang Chan, Woojin, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N grow and mature, so does their music. Their previous I Am… series focused heavily on the theme of identity through the teenage perspective. Who am I? Who am I trying to be? And does everyone feel scared and aimless like I do sometimes? With their most recent release, Clé 1: Miroh, it’s clear that these questions are still at the forefront of their minds — and they’re facing them head-on, charging into adolescent uncertainty with newfound confidence and perspective that comes when you enter your twenties. And of course, a bit of bravado. Their song “Boxer” opens with a cheeky declaration: “Hello, I’m a young man who can fly anywhere.”

Within that “long but short kind of period” since their debut, Stray Kids have released four EPs and one pre-debut mixtape, all of which have been primarily written and produced by the members themselves. While 3racha have shaped the majority of the group’s discography, all nine members are credited writers and encouraged to contribute to the production.

“The fact that we make our own music is one of [our] biggest weapons because that way it’s a bit more genuine,” Bang Chan said. “It’s the message that we form and want to send everyone.”

“It’s much easier to express ourselves and express how we feel to the fans,” rapper, and fellow Aussie, Felix added. “It’s way more honest as well,” Bang Chan concluded. “It’s really important to Stray Kids.”

Getty Images

Members from left to right: Bang Chan, Hyunjin, I.N, Han, Changbin, Seungmin, Felix, Lee Know, and Woojin

That creative ethos starts with Bang Chan, who put the group together when they were trainees under Korea’s JYP Entertainment. (The Stray Kids logo is even written in his handwriting.) Fans were first introduced to the Australia-raised leader on the group’s survival program, aptly titled Stray Kids. Over the course of 10 episodes, Stray Kids — then teenagers with big dreams  — underwent teamwork challenges and regular evaluations for the chance to debut together as a group. The series documented the nine individuals as they prepared their blustery pre-debut song “Hellevator,” producing and practicing around the clock for a dream that was never very certain. In fact, members Felix and Lee Know were originally eliminated from the project but were ultimately brought back in the final episode, giving even more meaning to the phrase “nine or none.”

The group’s nonstop pace didn’t slow down after their debut, either. If anything, the desire to create and funnel their questions into their music got even stronger because of their fans (called STAY).

As such, they’re always creating. And when they feel stuck, they resort to the kinds of distractions you might expect from a group of young men: fresh air, movies (Creed), and anime (One Piece) for Bang Chan; video games and EDM music for Felix, who added, “I’ve been listening to ‘My Pace’ a lot.”

“I’m always on my laptop trying to make new stuff, whenever we have free time,” Bang Chan said. “On the plane as well. I make a lot of music on the plane. I remember I worked on ‘I Am You’ on the plane to New York last year. And we did use a bit of it, so it was pretty good.”

Of course, with that comes its own unique kind of pressure. “There’s that feeling of, ‘Will people like this music? Will our fans like this music? Will STAYs like this music?’ Sometimes, that can get into our heads,” he said. “Trying to satisfy everyone is going to be an eternal challenge.” Trying to do so while keeping up with the furious pace Stray Kids’ set in their first year is also challenging.

JYP Entertainment

Bang Chan (left) and Felix (right)

So it makes sense that time (examining it, questioning it, running away from it) is a running theme throughout Miroh. Album closer “19” is a moody and personal song, written and produced by member Han, that finds him navigating that age between adolescence and adulthood. “Maze Of Memories” is a hip-hop track in which the cadence matches the various twists and turns one might encounter while chasing your dreams. It starts off slow and foreboding, then evolves into something darker and more sinister — a nightmarish soundscape — before ending with a confident refrain of “never give up.” And then there’s “Chronosaurus,” an atmospheric song that associates time with something to be afraid of.

“While I was writing ‘Chronosaurus’ I did think a lot that time is something that has a lot of pressure attached to it. Even when you’re taking a test there’s always a time limit, or when you’re working there’s always a deadline,” Bang Chan said.

“I would love to have a superpower that could control time because then I could do whatever I want,” he added, laughing. “But time being something that no one can stop, because it’s something that’s always going to be with me anyway, you might as well get comfortable with it. Try to take some of the pressure off it.”

This candid exploration is something that means a lot to their fans, many of whom are also navigating their own everyday struggles — running into their own mazes and up against deadlines. “We wanted to spread the message that you guys aren’t the only ones,” the leader told the passionate crowd of fans at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night (May 14), the first of two sold-out nights and the first stop of the U.S. leg of their Unveil world tour. The two-hour set traces the group’s young discography, telling the story of Stray Kids from the beginning.

Earlier singles “Hellevator” and “District 9” are full of angst and aggression — teens who balked at societal pressures and followed their own rules — while the energetic “My Pace” is uplifting and anthemic, and b-side “Voices” exposes their deep-seated insecurities. “I Am You,” a song written for their fans, packs an emotional punch (“You shined on me when I didn’t even know myself,” Hyunjin raps) and “Get Cool” is a playful ode to living in the moment (“Doesn’t matter if the world is a cold place ’cause I’m getting cooler,” Bang Chan sings). By the end, it’s clear: Their music is a mirror to their fans, reflecting their innermost thoughts and anxieties — and intertwining their stories in the process.

“At events where we get to meet up with our fans they talk to us about what they’re feeling or what’s on their minds,” Bang Chan said. “Knowing that, we can tell that our fans are changing and getting older with us. It’s really cool to experience that.”

But it’s not just the themes in their music that connect with fans; it’s the members themselves. Despite the number of rappers in their arsenal and their powerful stage presence, Bang Chan jokingly insists: “We’re a mess!” And anyone who’s seen even one episode of their weekly web series or tuned into one of their live streams would probably agree. After all, teenage boys are still teenage boys, regardless of whether or not they’re idols.

Take, for example, their main rapper, who spits bars at a breakneck speed. “Changbin-hyung is different on-stage,” Felix said. “When people see him on stage, they think he’s this dark rapper. But at the end of the day, when it’s just us, he’s a big brother that plays around a lot.”

And then there’s baby-faced Felix, whose deep voice and effervescent personality hardly seem like an obvious pairing at first but are essential to the group’s sonic identity.

“I now know how to use my voice a bit more. As we record for new songs, I’m able to improve and learn from 3racha on how to record,” he said, reflecting on the past year. “And not only that. Since being in the group, I’m learning more about myself as well and who I really am. Being with Stray Kids has made me feel more confident. It made me who I really am. I feel brave these days.”

When asked about the biggest change he sees in himself since being part of Stray Kids, Bang Chan was quick to note that he still doesn’t have any answers. “I have always been on a quest to find who I really am,” he said, pausing. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve figured it out 100 percent yet.”

“But I have learned a lot about how to be on stage and how to communicate with my members and STAYs,” he added. “Even producing our music, every time I make a new song, I learn something new. And I’m still learning. I’m excited thinking about that now — there’s so much more to learn.”

This perspective — approaching life as a series of shared experiences, not obstacles — is what makes Stray Kids voices for their generation. By opening up, they’re encouraging others to do the same, to forge their own paths and perhaps learn something new about themselves along the way.

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