#QUICK! THEORIES! ANYTHING! KEEP IT TRENDING!

[estellardreams]

*SLAMS HEAD ONTO PAVEMENT*

[heaven-s-black-box]

Notes- Public Eye Lyney x performer!gn!reader

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Recovery date: October 20th, 2024

Description: haha i totally agree that lyney and y/n would be the stars of fontaine lol ^^ so uh do u think u could write lyney x reader in the last au? just generic relationship headcanons please!!

-⭐️ anon

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with researcher ⭐️, we thank them for their contributions. uh... this got kind of angsty? But it's also fluffy! I Swear! Also, kind of pushing my theory about how Genshin will end.

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He hears about you, of course he does

As an entertainer it’s his job to keep up with the industry, both for trends and competition

But you do music, so he’s not super concerned

But family, he’ll keep up with anything for the sake of his family

So when the younger kids want to catch one of your shows, he’s quick to approve

Then he finds out when it ends and he’s not sending a gaggle of barely 10 year olds to the Opera Epiclesis alone

Honestly he says it’s for there safety, doesn’t want them coming back in the dark alone, but really it’s more for the citizens’ sake

Treats them to some front row seats, he’s heard your shows can be a bit interactive

And he’s surprised when they arrive to find the floor packed, no one is sitting and there are more people than chairs

He now understood the rumors of a new, outdoor, stage being built

Loves the showmanship of your performance, it’s a lot like his work and less like the traditional operas of Fontain

He thinks there’s a moment during your performance where you lock eyes and wink at him

The absurd lighting hides his blush, something he’s grateful for

Is this what people feel like when he flirts with them, because he’s pretty sure you could sweep him off his feet and he’d thank you

Nothing comes of this meeting, but when the new stage opens and he’s asked to be its opening performance, he thinks back to you

Decides to ask you to open his show and join him as a special guest

You are ecstatic, you’ve been waiting for that damn stage and you’ll get to be its first performer by opening for Lyney

So you meet up, and write a new song just for his show

Then comes the choreography, and Lyney need some stuff set up right from the start so you incorporate it

The show ends with you making him appear from one of his set ups, and he takes you to reveal Lynette, and then Freminette appears in a water tank

You spend a lot of time rehearsing everything, from your dance number to his show

Even Lynette talks with you during breaks, you end up bonding over tea

Lyney doesn’t realize he’s in love, not for awhile, he’s so used to putting on an act

It’s only Lynette who notices he’s really in love

The subtle things he does, gently placing a hand on your back or arm just because he can, the way he isn’t so secretive about his tricks, among other things

Then there’s the tells like the little twinkle in his eyes when he looks at you, how he just barely stumbles over his words or hesitates

Freminet notices too, but he’s not going to say anything

But with project stuzha looming over them, Lynette won’t tell her brother that she knows

He knows he’s not acting when he starts losing sleep over you, when part of his drive to complete project stuzha is to protect you

Your relationship kind of becomes this unspoken thing, you’re Fontain’s favorite couple but… you aren’t really together

He goes to all of your shows and you go to all of his, he helps you with effects and you put him in touch with your instrumentalist

You have dinner with his family and he has dinner at your place

He drapes a blanket over you when you fall asleep, and brushes the hair from your face to hold back from kissing your forehead

His kisses to the back of your hand are passed off as playful but, he’s stopped doing it for anyone else

But especially since you’re in the public eye already, he can’t put you in that kind of danger

So when the dust finally settles, and Celestia has fallen, when there’s no more danger

He’ll be there, at your front door, with the biggest bouquet of rainbow roses you’ve ever seen and three little words

I love you

The next day you and Lyney are front page of the Steambird “Fontain’s Sweethearts are official”

You still don’t perform together very much, it takes so much effort that it’s only for really special occasions like new years

Or celebrating the fall of Celestia, but only after he recovered

Dates are often very private affairs, with you two slipping out of the city of hiding in your house

Loves to cook with you, it’s so domestic that his heart flutters more than usual

Surprises you at practice, sometimes with lunch and sometimes to walk you home

In turn you’ve surprised him by having Lynette let you in to his workshop so you can hide in one of the many secret compartments

Your relationship is very playful and supportive

I imagine after the fall of Celestia the Fatui kind of disband of shift gears, so Lyney has more time for magic and you

Because of this, Arlechino is quick to accept you

She’s also secretly a fan of your music, but if you tell anyone she will kill you

The Steambird is very respectful about covering your relationship, Charlotte makes sure of it, but other tabloids can be annoying

It doesn’t help that the Steambird naturally gets all the good stuff because you’re close with Charlotte, she makes sure to ask before submitting articles though

But these tabloids seem to forget that Lyney is/was a member of the Fatui, directly under a harbinger and her chosen successor at that

He doesn’t kill the nosy journalists, but they’ll certainly learn to keep their nose out of your lives

[mysticcollectionbee]

Saw your comment abt having a long theory/headcanon abt Al and Vox's Alliance/friendship, so like, share with the class, I need to hear every single theory abt them, I'm so normal abt them

Well since you asked~: I think that they not only had an alliance but it was actually ALASTOR that formed it. I know a lot of people think Vox would be the one to approach Al, I don’t think that would work. Vox would either be a nobody or a newcomer at the time they would meet. Al is arrogant and likes to be in control of things. He wouldn’t hear out Vox. BUT other way around makes sense. Alastor could have used the reasoning of “I’m bored and wanna see if alliances are entertaining” or (my theory) “This guy’s power can boost my own and vice versa…plus, I don’t want to do all the boring Overlord paperwork.” Because if the whole “Alastor became an Overlord due to technicality” thing is still canon, then he wouldn’t have signed up for anything but his own goals. Vox was probably atleast kinda interested in Alastor and also saw the potential of teaming. They worked kinda well up until their individual flaws started to bother each other. And no, I don’t think the main reason was: Old vs New. I think it was the conflicts underneath that issue that led to them becoming enemies. Actual conflicts: 1) Alastor is a mysterious loner who likes to keep things close to chest and Vox literally has cameras everywhere and wants to be on top of everything going on. Including with what his business partners are doing. 2) Alastor is arrogant and hates change, especially changing things for others (“People don’t like my radio shows? Don’t care! I do it for myself and those that do like it”) and Vox constantly needing attention and validation due to his own insecurity (“I’m losing viewers?! Quick, what trending right now? Or how can I improve this to be better?”). And finally 3) They both have tempers and think they’re usually in the right.

This also makes me think that it had to be Vox’s fault (Kinda) for the ‘breakup’. Alastor has been shown to be too stubborn to admit when he’s wrong and too tolerant of people doing things he shouldn’t tolerate just because they either get on his good side or are useful to him (*cough* Mimzy *cough*). So he probably would tolerate (to a degree) Vox’s constant need for attention and validation and constant push for fame and change. But, Al also has strict lines in the sand he won’t stand and when they’re crossed he snaps VERY aggressively (Husk touching a secretive matter when he is already pissed off in that hallway scene). So I can easily see Vox ‘improving’ (completely modernizing it or just putting things in there without permission) Alastor’s radio station as being enough to make Al destroy their alliance for good and make Vox look really bad. And this would also explain how the other Overlords see the Vees. Vox got a seat on their table by being buddy buddy with one of the most feared and THE most unpredictable Overlord. But if their partnership failing was seen as Alastor deeming the newcomer as a failure then the other Overlords would see Vox and the other Vees in a similar negative way (“Smug wannabes, who don’t heed when they’ve been warned!” -Carmilla). Because despite Zestiel questioning Alastor and Carmilla’s snide remark, they still treat Alastor (Guy who disappeared for 7 YEARS and hasn’t been doing much after killing other OVERLORDS they probably knew for a longer time) with a lot of respect. Zestiel still gives him proper greetings and more respectfully talks to him versus how he talks to Velvette. And Carmilla, still does welcome him back. He literally sits near the oldest out of all of them and the leader of the meeting. VS Carmilla acting like the Vees were either expected not to show or weren’t even invited. Zestiel rudely interrupting Vel while she’s talking, to point out how she’s wrong without letting her finish. And again, Vel seems to assume the end of the table is for her, as if the Vees are usually seated at the very last spot available. And the Vees have been around for those 7 years gaining more power. Almost like the old-timers once gave the newcomers a chance at the table but they ruined it for themselves. (*cough* one of the most powerful and vicious overlords in a group took one of you under his wing and you somehow ended up destroying that powerful alliance and replacing it with a loud pimp and a rude brat. *cough*)

SO…That my Ted-Talk. I basically do think Al and Vox were a famously good alliance at one point amongst the Overlords but when their flaws got on each other’s nerves and they ‘broke up’ (professionally/platonically), even the other Overlords simply around the two started to pick sides. I.E: Old-timers seeing the arrogance and foolishness of the young blood vs The Vees seeing a bunch of pompous fossils refusing to change for the better.

P.S. This makes me REALLY curious about Miss Zeezi since she obviously is from a more modern era (70s or 90s). Did she somehow get on the Vees bad side and that made the old-timers like her or something? Or did one of the Old guys do what Al and Vox did but make it work this time?

[colorisbyshe]

The tiktokification of censorship (ie use of “grape” instead of rape, “unalive” over suicide/kill/murder) is making rounds in the twitter discourse again and I think what’s left out of this discussion is the real source of a lot of this self-chosen, self-enforced censorship: the proliferation of youtube true crime.

This “The Panoptic Moderation Team Made Me Use Deeply Unserious Language To Describe Atrocities” stemmed from amateurs, mostly white women, treating true crime like hot gossip and thus hot gossip like a career. It came from white women scrolling reddit threads about Unsolved Mysteries and then repeating every dogshit theory and insensitive comment as a form of a side hustle to make quick money.

And when they started getting hit with copy right strikes for just throwing in unedited, 2 minute news clips and, yes, weren’t included in the Fun Video algorithm for describing graphic abuse, mutilation, and other violence, they decided that it must just be the use of words like rape or suicide. I don’t doubt there is a true censorship (by that I mean removal from the algorithm, not necessarily wholesale removal) of videos that have words like rape or torture or suicide in their titles or descriptions but most of it has just been “videos detailing extremely graphic atrocities have been demonitized and aren’t hitting the top 100 daily videos” or whatever.

When people decided 10-50 minute videos that try to explain horrible crimes were too much effort and just repeating headlines and alluding to horrific abuses in 30 second to 5 minute videos on tiktok was much better, the said paranoid thinking prevailed and people assumed that it’s the Evil Censors targeting “buzzwords” and not just like… normal moderation trying to keep graphic content from trending.

They assumed since they weren’t making big bucks off of other people’s suffering, no one on any app is allowed to use the words suicide, murder, rape, sexual violence or even use more sensitive euphemisms or just abbreviations.

Like, again, I’m not denying some moderation has wrongly removed content using these terms without anything graphic or threatening attached. Or saying that demonetization of graphic content is necessarily and always a good thing.

But I am saying that a lot of this furor has begun because people tried to use real crimes and suffering to make a quick buck, did not care about being sensitive or respectful, and came up with quick, quirky alternative terms to try to continue to make a quick buck with no consideration to the victims, and that’s how we landed here. Absolute thoughtlessness AND rancid attempts to make money are at the heart of this.

It’s not “puriteens can’t use adult words,” it’s “(often white) adults are trying to find a way to monetize everything at the expense of everyone else and for once the systems in place aren’t making it easy for them, although most of the difficulties aren’t even rly there.”

[tma-thoughts]

I feel like i need to say something because i keep seeing people ask why jess drew and peter b and all the rest of the spider society were so quick to believe miguel. Hell yesterday i saw someone make a tiktok that said "questioning who jess drew's real babydaddy is because why was she so ride or die for miguel" (which... ew).

First of all, look at jess and peter and the other spidermen. For the most part, they're all adults. They've already gone through their canon events. They may well still be grieving. And here's someone coming along to tell them that these deaths were not their faults, that they were supposed to happen, and giving them a community of people who have all gone through the same thing. Even if knowing that these deaths "had to happen" doesn't soothe the pain for everyone, just knowing that they aren't alone in their pain was probably a major help to the wider spider society.

But second of all, am i the only one thinking that this is a metaphor for older generations? Millenials are starting to break this, but there's been an observed trend that the older a generation is, the more conservative the people become. The less open they are to new ideas. Miguel's canon events theory is the status quo. Much like when a teenager is angry at capitalism, or conservatism, or injustice, or anything, the adult spidermen do not look at miles trying to save his dad thinking "hey yknow maybe this kid has a point". They're thinking "this poor kid, he doesn't realize that this is just the way things are".

And going more into jess drew- she clearly feels remorse for gwen and miles. We don't yet know how much faith she has in the canon events theory, but either way we know she's not as angry as miguel in enforcing it. Whereas miguel states it as fact, jess seems sadened by it. If we entertain the thought that she doesn't believe in it and wants to help miles, she can't just say that. Because she's in an unstable position of power. And that position could be very well lost if she said that. This position gives her social standing and stability, so she likely wouldn't want to give it up in fear of loosing those things.

So yeah. Its all a metaphor.

[adaru32]

The Red Devil's Chronicles: Devil May Cry April - August 2024 News Updates: Collabs, Netflix, etc.

Hey, how's it going? Hope you're all having a good and safe summer. I meant to share these updates last month, but things got real busy. Here are the Devil May Cry updates I've gathered these past few months:

1. Capcom voting session gives results for what fans voted for. b) Devil May Cry V and Dante hit #1 on most popular things from Capcom.

2. Speaking of DMCV, it has reached over 8 million copies sold!

3. Another Devil May Cry event at the Capcom Cafe. b) More info.

4. Dante trending greatly again on Twitter/X.

5. Capcom making changes to their localization policies. b) And they have no plans of getting rid of physical media.

6. More Peak of Combat troubles. b) And more. c) Trish added to Peak of Combat.

7. Devil May Cry cast reunion.

8. Teppen gets another card pack update, featuring Nero.

9. New Street Fighter Duel X DMCV mobile game.

10. Rumours of Devil May Cry appearing in Fortnite still continue.

11. Either a new trailer or Season 1 of the Devil May Cry Netflix series will be airing this September.

My Thoughts On These Updates: 1. Really cool how one of my most favourite games, along with my most favourite fictional character make it to the top. 2. Big congratz to Capcom for having DMCV sell over 8 million.

3. Really wish that the west can have cafe events like Japan does.

4. Awesome to see Dante temporarily trending again.

5. I understand that Capcom's trying to appeal to certain audiences when it comes to cutural differences, but they need to realize that it's not what their fans want at all. If anything, it just ruins the charm of whatever they've created from the start. On the plus side, it's great that they're not gonna get rid of their physical media. I'd rather physically have (and collect) games from my favourite series.

6. Just when things couldn't get any worse for Peak of Combat.... Congrats to Suzie for voicing as Trish, but I really worry for her. Every voice actor that's participated in Peak of Combat have been scammed. And what bothers me and other Devil May Cry fans as well are those that keep getting sucked into some gambling scheme, and are oblivious to what sick and twisted things are happening behind the scenes. It's strange how people lose their minds over how Ninja Theory treated their fans in a disrespectful manner while no one bats an eye on what Nebula Joy's been doing. It's also strange how Capcom was quick to take action on the old vocalist for Dante's Subhuman song, but they're not doing anything about whatever Nebula Joy's doing. Good news is that they are doing an investigation, so hopefully this whole mess will finally be put to a halt.

7. Cool to see the cast together.

8. Interesting how Teppen keeps updating with more Devil May Cry stuff. And a nice twist to add some Dead Rising characters in there as a way of celebrating their remaster.

9. Another mobile card game with Devil May Cry characters? Oh, my.

10. I'm not really a fan of Fortnite, but it's cool to see all these random characters become available. As cool as it would be to see Dante or any other Devil May Cry character in this game, at the same time I just find it strange and....cringe....Apologies for sounding negative, but I just don't really care for Fortnite.

11. I was wondering when we'd get more stuff happening with the Netflix series!

[spiinsparks]

          ||. thinking about how the entire narrative arc for sonic in lost world is trust ... but specifically trust in tails’ word and... trust in himself. and there’s probably something to be said about why he even needs to “re-learn” trust in tails but i’d have to go back through so many different games to pinpoint the exact moment when something shifted. (’something’ specifically being whatever game it was before tails low-key stopped tagging along on sonic’s actual in-game running adventures bc that in and of itself is a whole other thing. a shift in dynamic, so to speak.)

       but also thinking about the conflict in the egg-base??

S: we need eggman to shut down his machine. T: and you don’t trust me to do it. S: what?? no! i do trust you tails it’s just [that]- T: no you don’t. you trust eggman more. do you know how much that bites? S: I do trust you tails, but the whole world is in danger because I did something stupid. do you know how much THAT bites?

tails is... correct, even if his way of putting it is rather petulant. (that’s not a bad thing btw he is only... around 8-9 so yeah of course he’s gonna be a little bit self-centered about it.) as far as tails is concerned, sonic SHOULD trust him with this. Tails is really, REALLY smart. And he’s very good at shutting down egghead’s gizmos.  (and to tails... i mean this is a BIG deal. what he’s SAYING and belieiving in this moment is you don’t trust me AT ALL to do this one little thing. which sonic specifically responds to, and then elaborates on the real issue.)

it’s not that he doesn’t trust tail’s ability to shut the machine down. it’s just that he sees an option that to him is a.) fast and b.) safe in theory because, well. get the source material in on it. and so when tails points out that he trusts eggman more, i think... to some degree that’s correct — but only for this very specific situation where sonic’s really feeling the pressure. 

      sonic almost seems, to me, to be backtracking a little bit too hard after making a big mistake. and i think that’s fascinating. he didn’t listen to tails in time when tails tried to warn him not to punt egg’s remote into oblivion. and i suppose he figures that the safest (and fastest) way to make sure everything goes back to normal is - again - to get the source material to shut it all down, quick and easy while the clock is ticking. (and coming a little while after colors where the wisp translator was a real hit-or-miss on whether it’d work or not, maybe sonic is just really gunning for that security blanket of having a definite one-and-done.)       combine that with tails pointing out a flaw in his logic, after being whammied with other flaws in his logic (that continues to be a trend in this particular game, mind.) ... well. sonic is a little bit STUBBORN when it comes to defending his choices, sometimes. when he sees a way that feels correct to him he’ll stand by it until proven otherwise. so this scene is especially interesting because

tails isn’t wrong. and he’s justified, even, in pointing it out.

... but he’s going about pointing it out seemed to only make sonic double down on this decision. after all, now that they’ve got eggman under their watch... i mean. if they let him run loose that’ll cause it’s own set of problems, and that’s still not touching on the core of sonic’s argument here. because sonic’s issue isn’t about whether or not tails can or cannot do it.

      it’s about sonic making a mistake, and beneath all the many layers of dumb jokes and attitude, that IS something that is weighing on him.

not to mention sonic keeps beating himself up over little mistakes and being very. antsy. about things the whole time. 

S: and you! what were you thinking, tails? you could have gotten yourself killed. S: I’m supposed to be the fastest. but i was too slow to save my buddy. OB: if we don’t find your friend, can i be your sidekick? S: what? shut up! what kind of question is that?! OB: i didn’t mean anything by it. i just thought it might be better to work for you than eggman. S: orb-bot, no matter what happens, i won’t fail again. i will save tails.

one of sonic’s many core traits is that he, when it comes down to it, is a protector.  that’s what he always does. esp in modern games. except in this one,  his mistake - meant to protect the world - put it on a time limit. then in an effort to figure out a “safe” and “efficient” (see: “fast”) solution he ends up costing tails’ faith in him when sonic is already kinda doubting himself.

     ...and then to make matters worse he loses tails. because of his own impulsiveness. another mistake to add to the pile of this little adventure. just like how he lost eggman’s device. all because he is, genuinely, trying to help and trying to protect. he’s just ... not slowing down enough to really process it all. (and let others help him but that’s a thought to dive into for another day once i’ve done that analysis i was talking about earlier)

     something something blah blah about the scene where he’s trying to get into contact with knuckles and amy after losing eggman too, and... i mean the kid was all out on his own and he was feeling it. it’s when tails saves himself and then comes back to his side that sonic resets into

“oh. i was doing that loner thing and he’s right. i DIDN’T trust him when he was calling me out.” 

       and then it fixes itself from there. 

       but specifically i find it interesting that tails was to some degree, correct. just DEFINITELY not in the “you just don’t trust me AT ALL” respect that tails was taking it to in that moment. because sonic will forever and ALWAYS trust tails. with everything. that is not the problem.         sonic’s answer to tails’ point-out really does imply that his issue was HIMSELF. trusting himself. because now he’s hyper-aware of himself. it’s almost like he’s asking tails during that argument to “hey just trust that i’ve got this, that i can make a good choice after that really bad mistake that set us back.”

     there’s a cleaner way to explain all of this but perhaps i’ll come back to it another day.

[cecemoflo]

Entry 1: Introduction

Hey there! :)

I just made this page, after deleting my older one because I don't think I know how any of it worked. Truth to be told, I still don't, but I thought of giving it another try. Why not? ^^

My name is Myka, I turned 27 about two weeks ago (HBD to meee 🥳) I'm - what I would call myself - a top tier, fandom lurker. I enjoy a bunch of things at random times, and at random degrees, for random reasons, you name it. I rarely follow trends because I can barely keep track with any in the first place! xD But you'll get to know more about the things I like and enjoy soon enough, that is, if I keep using this page consistently, of course ;p

This blog is most likely going to be used as a little commonplace for the random thoughts and opinions that occur to me regarding the media that I enjoy consuming the most. So, in order to keep things organized, I made a little banner for each topic/category :)

🩵 General 🩵 about anything, quick updates, little rants, random thoughts, etc.

💙 Curious Thoughts 💙 the inkling what if's, shower thoughts?, and random moments where I get a 2000IQ boost and my brain goes on turbo mode and gives me something to hyperfixate over lol.

💜 Analysis 💜 breaking down new stuff I watched or played, and/or give somewhat of a review, do some comparisons as well, etc.

🩷 Fangirling 🩷 simply geeking out about stuff in general, maybe even some theory building? (cue the X-file music), with the possible chance of utilizing the ideas that I garner from this into fics/artworks.

❤️ Announcements ❤️ mostly to let y'all know about the posted material in other platforms.

🧡 Progress 🧡 short updates for wips of any kind, fics/artworks/animation.

💛 Practice tracking 💛 short updates for improving my drawing and animation skills. Like keeping a visual tracker of some sort.

💚 Casual 💚 posting visual content I create on here + announcements for posting a chapter of a ‘longfic’.

🩶 Asks 🩶 Which I highly invite you to leave as many as you'd like!

And thus, the rainbow is complete, I can die peacefully now 😌 nah jk.

Thank you for reading to this point. Stick around if any of the above was interesting to you. Don't hesitate to hmu in the DMs if you're more into private chats! I love meeting fellow fans/writers/artists! (Only if you're 21+).

I'm excited to be posting on this page, and I'm looking forward to meet y'all! ^^

Until next time,

-Cece M. 🖤✨

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[notthegrouch]

to expand upon that last comment:

people talk about "right" and "left" in politics so often, that we sometimes forget the definitions of why they are left/right and just see the general trends of what they do, so here's a quick reminder:

Right = a strong belief in hierarchy, often a small in-group destined to dominate over a larger out-group.

Left = a strong belief in social equality, which requires a lot of transparency, trust and cooperation, but if all goes well would benefit everyone.

centrists often mildy agree with one of these ideals, but think that the other is a necessary evil. This also means you can come at centrists believes from two different directions.

So EVERYTHING rightwingers do, can be understood by knowing that they don’t come to their conclusions by thinking about how it will affect others. They only think of how it will affect them and the people they consider their equals. The only way that right wing can actually come to power is by lying about how big the in-group actually is, and by falsely including people in the in-group so long as they don’t threaten the established order. This is where a lot of the internal logical inconsistencies come from: in right wing politics your place in hierarchy is more important than what other people think of you.

This is why JK Rowling despite claiming to be a feminist, can be friends with fascists. She’s doing everything in her power to condemn everything that falls outside of her narrow definition of women, which doesn’t threaten the established order of sexism in the way that other feminists would. 

This is why Ted Cruz supports Trump despite Trump always kicking him down. He has to take it, or else he loses his place in the hierarchy completely.

This is why, in my own country The Netherlands, right-wing parties often portray muslim immigrants as a danger to “dutch values“ like gay marriage, while at the same time not actually voting to protect gay marriage. They just say whatever they need to stay in power.

This is why so many low educated working class people vote against their own interest: right-wing people in power NEED to have low educated people that can be tricked into thinking they are part of the in-group, so that they can be used to divide-and-conquer the outgroup. As long as out-groupers have the hope that they could one day belong to the in-group, they can be tricked into voting for laws that will keep them poor and powerless.

This is why they think left-wing would do the same. Most conspiracy theories are based on the assumption that both sides of the political spectrum are secretly right wing. truth, facts and research don’t mean anything when you view everything through a lens colored by power, money and hierarchy.

and last of all, this is why they see no difference in crossdressing / drag shows / being transgender. There is no need to differentiate: it’s all the out-group anyway and no matter what, they are a danger to the sexist hierarchy that they uphold: the second that a “man wants to be feminine“ in public, they can’t uphold the lie anymore that men are inherently better than women. the second that a “woman wants to be a man“ they can’t uphold the lie that women are inherently fit for caring roles at home, and men inherently fit for leading and working.

Right-wingers aren’t stupid, they aren’t dumb, they don’t believe things that make no sense. They are a threat to public safety and their logical inconsistencies are a feature, not a bug. Even when their laws backfire, they don’t ever backfire in a way that actually affects the in-group, simply because their laws aren’t applied to the top of the hierarchy in the first place.

YOU know that drag performers aren’t usually trans people. *I* know that. Right-wingers don’t. The attacks on drag shows are anti-trans attacks.

[hyunsuks-beanie]

Enhypen Reaction to Fans Shipping You with Another Member

Mellow speaks: Sorry this got a teensy bit delayed, I was just celebrating my brightly lol. Enjoy you guys!! 

Tagging: @sweethyuka @yedamology @enhacolor @axartia @hyunsuksmygod @yogurteume @duolingofanaccount (send me an ask to join the taglist!!)

Heeseung

Keeping your relationship a secret was something he had never been a pro for, but given your popularity as one of the top soloists in the country and Enhypen's image as one of the classiest boy groups around, he knows he's gonna have to do it for the greater good. After all, as much as it annoyed him, Heeseung definitely knew what would become of him and the boys if news that he was dating ever got out. 

But the secret left a bitter taste in his mouth more often than not, especially when he saw some other idols getting too close to you and making fans go gaga. So can you imagine the shock on his face when he randomly logged on to Twitter, only to see the hashtag Jake and Y/N trending worldwide? He knew that all the Aussie had done was lend you a handkerchief during Music Bank, a soft smile on his face as he watched you take your first win. Your boyfriend was on the other side of the stage, so he couldn't have helped, and it felt nice seeing his mate warming up to you. 

But right now, all he feels is annoyance, his fingers quick to dial your number as he waits for you to pick up. "I'm the only one you love, right?" is what he asks, a pout on his face as you assure him that you only have eyes for him. Yet he isn't satisfied, leaving the dorms as quickly as he can, just to go see you and have you give him the comfort he needs. 

Jay

To be fair, he's always been surprised at how people have never been able to guess just how whipped he is for you. Do they not see the way he gives you heart eyes every time he's on Inkigayo? He just can't help it, you look so adorable standing there reading from your cue cards. And the smile you throw him whenever Enhypen grab a win is to die for. Yeah, he's in love. 

And being in love for him means being possessive as well, so it's no surprise that the first thing he feels is anger when he realises that you're being shipped with none other than Sunoo, his groupmate Sunoo. The reason? Stupid as hell, or that's what he scoffs out anyway, skimming through articles that claim that you winked at the younger boy while handing him the trophy the other week. "That wink was meant for me," he all but screams, catching the other boys by surprise as his eyes land on Sunoo, sending him into a panic. But it's not like he's gonna do anything irrational, because he knows it's pointless.

So what he does instead is stomping out of the dorm, only barely remembering to grab his mask so as to not be recognised as he makes his way over to your dorm, needing to feel your love while he lies in your lap, holding you close to himself by the waist. And that's what he gets too, a couple pouts and dramatic arm flailing being all that you need to melt.

Jake

How is it that you always manage to get shipped with every one of his members except him, when in reality, he's the one you're dating? This is why he almost hates the fact that both your group and Enhypen are among the most popular idol groups around, because it means having to constantly come face-to-face at award ceremonies, variety shows, and even having clashing comebacks. Don't get him wrong, he absolutely loves getting to see you backstage and kissing you luck before your performance, but what he hates is having to stand to the side and watch your interaction with one of his members being blown out of proportion when he's the one who...you guess it, kissed you luck. 

It's no different this time either, your reaction to a joke cracked by Jay becoming the center of attraction and making it to all the gossip columns, the ship Twitter blowing up with all sorts of theories and edits and whatnot, every single one of them making your boyfriend sick to the stomach. He doesn't like this at all, and he hates feeling jealous of his best friend, even though he knows there isn't even an ounce of truth in the articles, just speculation, and that too, all incorrect.

He needs to get a grip on himself, and to do that, he needs to see you first. Needs to feel your hug, needs to feel your head resting on his chest as you tell him he's the only one for you.

Sunghoon

It just had to be you, right? You just had to be paired with Ni-Ki for the dance-off during the award ceremony, the sponsor's way of bringing the talented 4th gen idols together into a single performance. He just didn't know who to root for, his mate or his partner, finding himself getting lost in your moves because he already had Ni-Ki's memorized by heart. And at the same time, there's also that twang of jealousy, wanting to have been the one who got to share the stage with you. But that jealousy was short-lasting, or that's what he thought anyway.

Because barely two days later, that green feeling was back, his eyes landing on all the shipping edits featuring his maknae and you, be it on Twitter or on Instagram. He couldn't even get rid of them, because his entire feed was filled with you anyway, and that just meant having to see those edits again and again. Knowing how petty he can get when jealous, Ni-Ki had taken it upon himself to talk to him, but Sunghoon wasn't gonna talk to anyone before talking to you. 

And so, it was up to you to make him smile again, deciding to stop by and make him see the logic he had stubbornly shut his eyes too. Sure, it was hard, but when has your boyfriend ever been able to say no to you? Before long, he's back to being the dorky, shy Sunghoon that you love. All he needs is some affection from his love. 

Sunoo

Sitting down on the couch, he was more than excited to watch the special feature of KBS, happy to see you getting getting recognition you deserve and helping Sunghoon host the special segment in Wonyoung's absence. You looked so adorable standing there in your cute little dress, twirling for the camera as you showed off your fantastic chemistry with your boyfriend's groupmate. And it wasn't exactly staged either, seeing as how you had actually grown quite comfortable with the elder over the course of your relationship with Sunoo, considering him to be an elder brother of sorts. 

But when have people stopped from misinterpreting friendship as something more? Yours was a case no different, the ship game starting barely minutes into the episode's beginning. Of course, it wasn't until later that he noticed though, his brows getting furrowed together as he took in the "evidence" suggesting that you had a crush on Sunghoon. Knowing how he can be, it wasn't a surprise that before long, he had become a grumpy, pouty mess. 

Luckily though, the boys had been quick to act, calling you up and filling you in on what had happened. Because they know you're the only one who can get their boy back to his smiling self, an awkwardly smiling Sunghoon standing by the door in an attempt to hear how you're getting by.

Jungwon

It wasn't Heeseung's fault, really. And neither was it yours, something that Jungwon knew in his heart. Because in the end, all you were doing was taking help from the elder in selecting a gift for your boyfriend, wanting a guy's opinion to back your own choice. But of course, the paps wouldn't understand that, instead choosing to have a feast day snapping two of the hottest idols going around the town together. The tabloids were on it in an instant, the "Are they dating?" question buzzing in the air like static. All it took was a couple of photos, and social media was already in a frenzy about the "Hot new pair."

What the world didn't know, though, was that you were already dating Heeseung's groupmate, Jungwon, and were very happy with him. Of course they didn't know that, and that's the reason why the Hee-Y/N ship made it to the top of the worldwide trends. And that's how it had come into your boyfriend's sight too, a frown making its way over to his face as his eyes skimmed through the tags and articles, growing deeper with every word. 

He looked so adorable barging into your dorm, a pout on his face as he demanded answers he knew he didn't need. And as if he wasn't already feeling bad enough about it, what made it worse was when you came clean about your "outing," just so he wouldn't feel neglected or upset. All he can do is give you a hug that's as tight as his chest feels every time he sees you, whispering soft I love yous in your ear.

Ni-Ki

It was pretty much incomprehensible for Ni-Ki how the paps managed to snag pictures of Jungwon with you, when all that the two of you did was exchange pleasantries, while they failed to even see the kiss that he had placed to your cheek. Yeah, your relationship with Enhypen's maknae was a secret kept well, but that doesn't mean it gave the media the right to create the mass frenzy they did, over something that was completely unnecessary and stupid. There was absolutely no need for the world to know that you had been talking to Jungwon backstage, and the drama that ensued was even more uncalled for.

What drama, you ask? That of the shipping of the members of two of the most popular idol groups around, mentions of just how adorable the two of you are together doing the rounds on social media and sending everyone in a frenzy over the new OTP, without a single soul noticing that you, in fact, are taken, by none other than Jungwon's bandmate.

Ni-Ki rather took it in his stride, cracking up as he showed you the messed up theories people were coming up with. But it wasn't all that hard to see it was affecting him just a little bit, and being the amazing partner that you were, it was only natural that you took it upon yourself to comfort him. His favorite food, an hour or two of cuddling, a couple (or maybe a dozen) kisses, and he was back to being your dork. 

[down-in-devildom]

Can you do the brothers reaction (and if it's ok the dateables + Luke as well) to MC being a pro at skateboarding?Just curious that's all >v<

My knowledge of skateboarding extends to the Tony Hawks Pro Skater games and Sk∞ so this will be interesting. Will be breaking this up into two parts and get to the dateables at a later time.

Brothers react to Skateboarding Pro! Mc

Lucifer

When Lucifer looks through the window of the student council office at RAD and sees MC on their skateboard going at a breakneck pace to make it to classes on time, his isn't all that pleased

This demon is the slightest bit old school and may not see the sport as being the most refined

Lucifer isn't going to say anything about it though and is just glad that they can make it to RAD in a more timely manner when the MC inevitably sleeps in

After a bit of time and repeated exposure to MC skating, Lucifer will start to develop a bit of a begrudge respect for it and the MC's skills

Not only was MC able to showcase expert balance to be able to flip the board midair and land solidly, they made it all look so effortlessly

Soon enough, Lucifer will understand that this is something the MC takes pride in and who was he to deny them of his favorite sin

Just don't ride it in the Demon Lord's Castle...

Mammon

When MC first came to the Devildom for the exchange program, they had a strange carrier case strapped to their back and Mammon was instantly interested in seeing if what was inside had any potential value

When he does manage to steal the MC's board, he is a bit disappointed to see that it was just some beat-up piece of wood with wheels

He knows a bit more about human culture than some of his brothers just through his exposure when going to the human world to make deals with witches, but didn't really get exposed to skateboarding

When Mammon is caught by the MC and questioned about why they have their board, he is kind of quick to go on the defense claiming he doesn't know why they are lugging around something so useless anyway

Mammon is then dragged to the HoL's courtyard and shown exactly what the board is for. The jumps were so cool! The rail riding was something else and don't get him started on how fast they were able to go

Being a bit of an opportunist, Mammon will be quick to try to get MC to agree to do some live demos and performances for small fees. And may try it out for himself

Satan

Satan is very interested in all the healed scars that liters MC's forearms and knees and lightly inquiries about them one day while they are walking into town

When MC says they are from skateboarding, Satan will nod his head with his hand on his chin in thought

Soon enough, he will start approaching MC with diagrams of skating moves and physics theories to see if they are able to pull off more and more advanced moves

His interest is almost flattering but also super intimidating because he watched the MC with unwavering focus and a serious look on his face while he tries to mentally catalog the MC's scope of talent like a cat what refuses to blink when staring at you

He is trying to show his support of the MC by research ways that they can possibly improve upon tricks they already know or showing them more obscure moves he found in weirdly niche books at the library

It comes off a bit strong

In a weird, roundabout way, he becomes more knowledgeable about skateboarding than the MC and he hasn't even stepped onto the board before

Asmodeus

Asmo was waiting to meet MC outside of this cute little cafe so that they can take Devilgram pictures of this new limited addition seasonal drink when he sees MC speeding down the street on a skateboard

He was slightly taken aback just because he wasn't expecting it but is entertained by watching them weave their way through all the demons milling about with such ease and grace

Skateboarding wouldn't be Asmo's sport of choice, if there is one to begin with, but he can see beauty in just about anything and MC kind of made his heart skip a beat there when they did a quick stop right in front of him and gave him a lazy smirk

Asmo probably wouldn't ask to see the MC do many tricks just because he feels like he can't take good pictures without being in the pathway and getting ran over BUT he is totally into the skater fashion

It isn't to his usually taste but Asmo would make sure that MC looked absolutely stunning in whatever he picks out for them to skate in

Breathable, lightweight, and 1000 times better than early 2000s fashion. You're welcome, MC

Beelzebub

Beel was just walking back to HoL after going to the local market to pick up some snack for the movie night everybody was having and sampling everything when he sees MC practicing some kick flips in the courtyard

He stands to the side for a bit, not wanting to get in the way, but immediately drops all of the food when he sees MC take a bit of a nasty tumble and has them in his arms and fretting in a heartbeat

After being assured that they are indeed okay, Beel will relax a bit and ask what they were doing

Beel loves sports and can understand the appeal. He can't really tell how talented MC is, just because he doesn't have a frame of reference, but they seem to be having fun and don't fall all that often

He is more than happy to be MC's personal cheerleader and watches them pull of more and more complicated tricks

He doesn't really get used to the MC's occasional blunders and will always seem to materialize at their side ready with some bandages and lollipops he keeps in his pocket, just in case

The lollipops have totally already been opened and licked on

Belphegor

Belphie was laying in the grass of the courtyard of RAD, waiting for MC to show up for their regularly scheduled school nap during lunch, when he hears the sound of wheels on the pavement approaching

He slowly rolls himself over enough to see what is going on, when he catches sight of MC dismounting the board and walking over to him

Belphie used to be obsessed with human culture but was understandablely behind with his knowledge on more recent trends so his curiosity is slightly peaked

He doesn't bother asking about it in the moment though because he has more important things to do, such as using his favorite pillow

It is only after MC keeps showing up to the meeting spot that Belphie finally caves and asks about it

He appears to be interested, if his eyes not looking as droopy was anything to go by, so MC will have to take the incentive and just show him a few tricks and flips

Belphie isn't much for physical activities so he isn't the most invested in understanding the sport, but he does try to show his support by asking you to show him a few of your favorite moves

He even gets onto the board for a few seconds to try to see what the appeal was, but isn't that thrilled when he almost immediately falls off of it and decides it isn't worth the effort

------

🛹💥🩹🤕 -Leo

[raeynbowboi]

Why I Believe Angel and Husker Will (or Should) Be Endgame

As a shipper and a writer, I pride myself on finding the meat in shipping material, and despite how little official content for it is available, Hazbin Hotel’s juiciest pairing (by my observation, and not counting Charlie x Vaggie cuz that’s already canon) is Huskerdust or Angelhusk, the main mlm pairing in Hazbin Hotel between Angel Dust and Husker. While I’m a big fan of any mlm pairing no matter how small the serving size, this one is an absolute feast, and I want to explain why I think that is, because Angel flirts with multiple men in the first episode, namely Sir Pentious, Alastor, and Husker. So he just comes across as a relentless flirt, but I believe his destiny truly lies with the grumpy sourpuss bartender.

Given what we’ve learned about Angel Dust from the Addict music video and the prequel comic, it’s becoming clear that Angel doesn’t exactly love his situation. He pretends it’s fun and glamourous for his image, but it’s all an act. In the very last pannel for the comic, we can even see a box of dildos in his room with the words “for fun” crossed out, and the box being relabled as “work stuff”. I believe that Angel’s arc and character growth will be strengthened by having a love interest who cares about Angel as something beyond a sex object. Travis and Valentino clearly only see Angel as a piece of meat. Even Tom Trench one of the... less horrible denizens of Hell we’ve met, only recognizes Angel as a porn star, implying that he too only values Angel for his body. The creators have even verified that Angel will have a love interest in the series. So, that’s the easy part. Angel’s very clearly a gay man, and him having a love interest will help put the romance back in relationships with men for Angel. No surprises there. So why will/should it be Husker who fulfills that role as Angel’s redeeming lover?

In the simplest terms, it’s because their needs fit together perfectly. Angel needs someone to care about him romantically that also values his emotions, mind, and autonomy instead of just his body. Husk has likewise pretty much spelled out the flaw he needs to fix. He lost the ability to love years ago. Whether he just shuts out his emotions, someone broke his heart and now he’s jaded and bitter, or he freezes out his feelings so he won’t get hurt again, Husk has rejected love and his feelings. Learning to love and open up to Angel helps Husk to overcome those toxic coping mechanisms. Especially because his other vices such as drinking, are an extension of his core issue. His hang-ups with love. He drinks to forget and suppress. Overcoming his issues with his emotions will help Husk free himself of other sins in the process. Now the important issue though, does Husker even like boys? Yes, he does. Husker was confirmed by members of the crew to be pansexual, so he is capable of finding Angel attractive. Also, on a related note, Alastor is both Asexual and Aromantic, so he’s very unlikely to give Angel the core thing he needs, the tender appreciation of his romantic partner. That’s not to say Asexuals and Aromantics can’t date, it’s just less probable. And all the other males are either villains, or objectify Angel already. Which kind of leaves Husker as the best candidate for Angel’s love interest, at least currently. In fairness we know very little about Baxter, but that’s the thing. Without knowing anything about him, we can’t really weigh him against the other options.

Character design is very important, as it can provide visual cues about a character. Looking at these two, they share a lot of similarities. Starting from the top, while not visible here, there is a heart-shaped spot on the back of Angel’s head, and this heart appears as well on Husker’s forehead, palms, and wings. More importantly, I may be wrong, but I believe the only characters with hearts in their design are all connected to Angel. Only Travis and Val share this heart motif, two men Angel has had sex with, though in Valentino’s case, it's not always willingly. They share their wearing of a bow tie, but to be fair, Charlie wears one too, as does Sir Pentious, so it’s a weak connection. Color theory also matters. Firstly, they are Yin and Yang. Angel is mostly white with a few dark accents, while Husker is mostly dark gray/black with white accents. Angel’s left eye, bow tie, and shorts/skirt are also the same color (or pretty close) as Husker’s darker fur patches on his forearsms, ankles, ear tips, and whiskers. The stripes on Angel’s top also repeat in Husker’s ears. Finally, while not repeating on Angel’s design, Husker’s fur on his ankles resembles spats, a fashion trend from the early 1900s. Although this trend was pretty dead in widespread use by the 1940s, it remained popular with gangsters and mafia, so much so that it’s almost a streotype of mafia. Angel’s family was an Italian crime family involved with mafia dealings. So while it makes little sense for a man who died in the 1970s to be wearing spats, it connects him to Angel’s ballpark of time as well as drawing connections to Angel’s past and his family.

Hazbin Hotel has Instagram accounts for the characters, and using Husker (bar_cat75) Angel Dust (angie_fluffy_bootz) and Niffty (babyfeathrdustr), we can put together further developments in their relationship off-screen. Starting with one of Husker’s posts, we see Angel leaning on the bar offering him a ticket to his “peep show”. The next post shows Husker still at the bar, but now there’s drool on the counter, and we can see the back of one of Angel’s legs and the red smoke from the Addict video trailing behind him with the line “Fuck, I passed out. Did I miss something?” Next, there’s a post from Niffty of Angel leaning on the railing smoking as he does in the post-credits sequence of the Addict video. Granted, I can’t tell how much of Addict is prequel and how much is happening in real time following the pilot, but we know at least the ending is canonically after the pilot episode. Seems like Angel wanted Husker there (we don’t know if he offered tickets to anyone else) and he seems bummed that he didn’t go, with a later message from Husker (that I can only seem to find in Tumblr posts) with Husker realizing that he missed Angel’s show and feels bad about it. As “owing” Angel a favor for missing his show, Angel leaves his beloved pet pig Fat Nuggets in Husker’s care, who proceeds to eat all of Husker’s limes and cherries. Now it is very important to point out that Fat Nuggets seems to fill the dual role of “purse dog” and emotional support animal for Angel, so leaving him in Husker’s care shows a lot of trust because this animal means a LOT to him. There’s also apparently rumors that Alastor keeps trying to eat Fat Nuggets which... I haven’t found a credible source for. But if Angel is worried about Fat Nuggets’ safety, him trusting Husker to protect his pig only further demonstrates his trust in the grumpy old booze cat. Upset about all the fruit Fat Nuggets ate (because it’s not easy to get in Hell) Husker wants Angel to pay to replace what the pig ate, but Angel argues that because Husker owed him a favor it’s not his responsibility. Angel says he’ll pay him if Husker agrees to come to his next show, and they compromise to get milkshakes instead. The creators said Husker was a Tsundere, and it shows. Someone called their outing a date, and Husker was QUICK to shout that it wasn’t a date, just settling up on a favor. This almost plays out like an episode 2, turning the Addict Video into the jumping off point for a second story in the hotel. I don’t know how many full narratives will come out of the Instagram accounts like this, but it’s really cool how they’re approaching this almost like a multi-media story, and I’m curious to see if this will continue when the show starts airing on television. One last thing of note is that in Angel’s latest post, there’s pictures of Fat Nuggets, Cherri Bomb, and Husker on his bedroom wall, much to Husker’s annoyance. In all of these Instagram posts, Angel seems to now be training ALL of his attention on flirting with Husk, to the point that unless another character sweeps Angel off his feet or causes Angel to start flirting with them instead of Husker, I think this pairing is sailing quickly and unopposed toward the canon zone.

I hope I’ve provided sufficient proof to back up my wild accusations, but I sincerely believe all of the building blocks have already been assembled to create a compelling romance between these characters. The flaws they need to overcome interlock with each other perfectly, their designs draw connections between them, and their Instagram accounts weave together a narrative for a soft Episode 1.5. I believe all of this together points that these two are meant to become a romantic couple, and if they aren’t, then maybe the showrunners should consider it.

[luvlorn]

Hello! Could I maybe request someone with Karl Jacobs x reader where reader likes to play with his hands. It just calms they’re nerves and he thinks it’s the cutest thing cause they’re hands might be smaller than his. The first time they do it without noticing kinda unconsciously and Karl is just surprised but doesn’t say anything and when they notice they start apologizing a lot while blushing. he keeps telling them it’s okay and that he doesn’t mind it in fact he loves it and thinks it’s really adorable ! Just some good old fluff❤️

hope you have a great day!

also doing a blurb for this one cause you've waited far long enough and i'm so sorry about that <3

all it took was one slip up on one of karl’s streams and the next thing you knew, your name was trending and the whole world wanted to know who you were.

you weren't sure how you expected his fanbase of millions of avid viewers to react to his relationship announcement, but it certainly wasn't like this. several trending tabs were labelled 'karl's s/o' or 'who is y/n?', or something along those lines.

easy to say, you were completely overwhelmed.

karl, being the attentive boyfriend he was, noticed you'd been off the past few days. he knew why, of course. it was completely his fault, he messed up and now the whole world was searching for you. he couldn't imagine how you must've been feeling.

he entered your shared bedroom, watching as you mindlessly scrolled through your for you page. “y/n?” he called, softly. you looked up, forcing a bright smile as you usually did. he saw right through it.

“hey! what’s up?” you peeped, tilting your head curiously to the side. karl sighed, making his way over to sit next to you on the bed. suddenly you frowned, missing the usual playfulness.

“are you mad at me for exposing us?” he asked, suddenly. you blinked, taken aback by the question.

“what?” you breathed, beyond confused and slightly guiltily. of course he would've blamed himself for your distant behaviour, who had you been kidding?

"are you mad-" he tried, but you were quick to shake your head, cutting him off.

“of course not!” you assured, though the guilt in your tone didn’t go unnoticed. “i'm not mad, just.. scared, i guess. it's weird, seeing all these theories about me all over twitter. what if your fans go through all this trouble, and then don’t even like me?”

“they’ll love you, i know they will.” he mumbled, his kind eyes staring intently into your own. "they love anything that makes me happy. and you make me the happiest i've felt in a long time."

“why don't we go live together, whenever you're comfortable, and we can introduce you to them." he suggested, and you smiled, nodding.

"let's do it." you nodded, and karl peered at you, eyes wide.

"wait, right now?" he questioned, and you shrugged, a shy smile lifted onto your lips.

"nows as good of a time as any." you mumbled, and karl scooped you into a tight hug, pulling you to his office and setting up the stream.

you watched as he went live and the viewer count sky rocketed, shooting your nerves up right along with it. karl noticed, offering you a hand to hold under the table. you instantly reached for it, sighing as you enjoyed the slight grounding his touch offered you.

as you smiled at the camera, waving to the audience with one hand and introducing yourself, the other hand never left karl's own. you began to fiddle with his fingers, gently playing with it as a subtle distraction from the idea of over 100k people watching you at that moment.

karl glanced at you curiously, but by the looks of it, you weren't even aware of the action. he smiled and addressed chat, starting to answer questions and thank subs all the while.

as the two of you streamed, your hand never leaving his own. you switched from idly playing with his fingers to drawing shapes on the back of his hand, twisting it around carelessly and some other actions.

karl never minded, of course. he found it endearing that you were taking so much comfort from the small action. after the stream ended, you were practically glowing with the amount of compliments and positive feedback you'd received. you turned to karl, beaming. "they liked me!"

karl chuckled, glancing down to the hand you still had yet to release. "no, they didn't like you. they loved you." he corrected cheekily, and you smiled, following his gaze down to his hands.

it was only then that you had realized you'd played with his hand the entire stream, and you flushed. "oh - i'm so sorry! i didn't mean to-" you fumbled, quickly pulling your hand away. karl giggled, reaching back for your hand and pulling it into his own, beginning to run the pad of his thumb over the back of your hand.

"trust me, i didn't mind at all. it was cute. you can do it whenever you want." he assured, and you smiled brightly, your hand twisting to clasp his own.

"i love you, karl." you flushed slightly, basking in the small moment you were sharing.

"i love you too, shy and all."

[demonslayedher]

Ramble on the Limitations of Looking for KnY Interpretation based on Japanese Mythology

One thing I notice a lot in the Japanese side of KnY fandom theories is a lot of deep dives into religious and mythological reasons behind Gotouge's creative choices. It is super interesting stuff, and Gotouge borrows enough and does homage to enough that there is a clearly a solid knowledge base there. While I find historical details handy for interpreting the characters, ultimately, I find that the canon of demons and Breaths can be interpreted in a vacuum without relying too heavily on the uncanny coincidences lurking in deep dives. This isn't going to be a well-supported essay, this is going to be a ramble that may include a bunch of interesting nuggets. (And then she went on to ramble for 3249 unedited words...)

First things first: I'm a nerd. I like to say I broke the weeb scale a long time ago, but I'm not exactly a university professor or anything like that. That said, I do read a lot of stuff from experts who have jumped on the KnY trends to talk about how elements in KnY are taken from, say, the sword making traditions of the Okuizumo region that results in black swords or simply making comparisons to famous swords, or local legends of supernatural encounters that resulted in split rocks, or comparing specific oni with and the heroes who slayed them or at least comparing elements of specific characters to other famous oni legends, or that Hinokami Kagura is based on a specific Shinto legend and has 12 forms based on existing Kagura traditions, etc. And I love reading this stuff, because I wouldn't had learned about some of it without my interest in KnY leading me to those articles, or as I read it I cheer because they're making references to things I already (as a nerd) really enjoy and therefore it strokes my inner echo chamber bias, or I nod along and think, "oh, yes, why of course, that makes total sense, Hinokami Kagura must be based on the dance Amenouzume performed to enticed the Sun Goddess Amaterasu out of the cave, how silly to think it could be based on anything else" but I then also take a step back to think, "...but it also doesn't have to be." For as many similarities as there to existing legends, it feels to me that Gotouge made it a point not to make specific reference to any particular mythological or religious elements. As an example, Gotouge considered titles with reference to a Shinto fire god named "Kagutsuchi" but never made actual reference to any fire god (or sun god) by name in the finalized direction canon took. Granted, a lot of fan theorists have read into that, going so far as to say because Nezuko's fire powers she represents Kagutsuchi, Yoriichi represents Amaterasu, etc., but while I find the idea of borrowed elements makes for highly interested interpretation of canon, one-to-one comparisons really don't work for this series. By not invoking a name like Kagutsuchi in the title or otherwise, Gotouge succeeded in not being boxed in by the canon of any particular deity. (Granted, "canon" for mythology can vary significantly by whatever historical writings you're looking at, with standard interpretations going through many big changes throughout the centuries. It can be as loose as it is limiting, depending on what sort of historical/mythological/religious figure you're talking about.) I feel there's more evidence of this avoidance by never invoking Amaterasu as a deity, despite the emphasis on the power of the sun in slaying demons. Even looking back and trying to figure out who Akeno placed so much faith, it was only called a "god of sunlight" as opposed to a "sun god." It's as though KnY works with a generic approach to religion. Even if the use of Buddhist element, the Nenbutsu prayer is called such, and Himejima's repeated phrases are legit Buddhist practice, but there is a huge variety of Buddhist sects and practices and theologies, and throughout history, many of them didn't get along. Going back to Akeno and wondering if she might had been Buddhist, I went so far as to suspect she was influenced by Nichirin sect philosophy based on its emphasis on the "Nichi" (sun) representing Japan and incorporating Shinto gods into its philosophy, and for its likely influence in the Kanto area in Akeno's time period, and for its encouragement for the salvation of women and therefore popularity among women. I felt pretty satisfied that it was all lining up, but also, none of this is necessary for a quality interpretation of canon. If Gotouge wanted to say specifically what informed her religious conviction, then it would had been said. But that's not what was important, was it? What was important, and therefore focused on, was Akeno's feelings toward her son and wishes for his sake.

While KnY's worldbuilding feels richer with all the clear religious influence, the details are not actually important. If anything, I feel like Gotouge dove into the heart of the elements of, say, Shinto mythology, and played those core elements up. It's different, yet still familiar, to take sun-associated elements and used them in a way that serves the story without being boxed into existing traditions. The sun is clearly important, and once you start looking for it, you find subtle recurring references to it. Like, Akeno's name? The "Ake" is one way of writing "red," and there are all sorts of uses of other ways of writing "red" throughout the series, in everything from the sand used for making Nichirin blades to the way that Haganezuka calls Tanjiro an auspicious "red" child with a very rarely used kanji. Our commoner main characters, though, just use regular old ways of saying "red" when referencing Tanjiro's appearance without thinking deeply into it, like there's something special right in front of them but they don't recognize it. Similar to how something as special as Sun Breathing was hidden right in front of them in Hinokami Kagura, with a name so generic and simple that it's entirely unsurprising that the Taisho era Kamado family would interpret it as "fire god." The very lack of limiting real-life details is what allows Gotouge to sprinkle these deep touches around, cover them up with branches and leaves, and then sit back and wait for readers to stroll through and invitingly pleasant looking field and then trip and fall down a rabbit hole. This is also what I think gives Gotouge the freedom and malleability to work with the sun in a way that serves the story, especially in ways that tie it to fire. While I don't think there's strong ties for this is general Japanese culture, the way canon is written implies a close tie between fire and the sun as being a very closely related element, hence the influence on the Kamado family, Tanjiro's appearance, his suitability for Sun Breathing based on a history of tending fire for careful charcoal burning, and Tanjiro and Nezuko capability as demons to overcome the sun. Here is where I go into a bit of a tangent about the purification element. This, again, is not strictly tied to any particular Shinto canon (and Shinto does place heavy emphasis on purification), but instead is an example of Gotouge getting to the underlying heart of a lot of common religious elements. Fire is associated with spiritual purification in everything from Buddhism to Catholicism, it's very easy to apply Nezuko's fire abilities as something which burns away something evil (demon poison) so as to purify something good (human flesh, or even other physical substances). Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there's a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it's unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they've been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest. (Other tangent side note: many of the other names in the Kamado family are references to plants. Sumire both has the "sumi" sound of charcoal and is the word for violet, Kie is in reference to hollyhock, Nezuko is in reference to red beans (and the asanoha pattern of her kimono is in reference to hemp leaf, an

auspicious symbol of strong and quick growth), Takeo is in reference to bamboo (ironically bamboo can be a problematic plant for charcoal farmers, because it may spread too fast and take resources from other trees--stop stealing all the takuan pickles, Takeo!), Hanako is in general reference to flowers, Shigeru is in general reference to (plants) flourishing, and maybe by the time they got to Rokuta they gave up and said "he's our sixth child, let's just call him 'Six-Boy', lolz." BUT I DIGRESS.) That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity than nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there's more to it than just flames. While Shinto is very much so closely tied with nature (the extent to which this is emphasized may vary from shrine to shrine, scholar to scholar), what I see in KnY is a clever use of emphasis on spirituality in nature as opposed to emphasis on Shinto mythology. And I think that was a smart move. While stories based more directly on various theologies, mythologies, and religious ideologies often use those building blocks often wind up having very creative takes on them (even and especially with the confines of them), ultimately, the story of KnY is whatever Gotouge wants to do with it, and it does not seem guided by the specific conventions of more specific religious elements. But again, those deeper elements are still everywhere. You know what color Japanese charcoal burns? It's a gorgeous jewel tone red, spanning many of those rare shades of red Gotouge make reference to. And, in wider Japanese culture, red is the color of the sun (as opposed to how other cultures may represent it as yellow or orange or white or so on). (Not as exactly a KnY tangent, just personal: Japanese charcoal is so freaking pretty, I had no idea until I saw it used in the tea ceremony at parts when guests crowd around to enjoy the sight of it as the host prepares it for boiling the water. I can stare and stare and stare, it is so so so so so pretty, but also this element of the ceremony has gotten rarer both as many places have made a more practical switch to electricity, and tea ceremony quality has gotten more rare both due to fewer producers and due to beetle-related damages to the trees used, and I will always state HOW DISAPPOINTED I am that Kanata and Sumihiko are not out there raising charcoal, because charcoal is precious and I'm always so terrified of wasting charcoal in my practices because its so precious, but seeing the amazingly beautiful burn of the charcoal is absolutely one of my favorite elements of the ceremony and this of course gives me an extra soft spot for Kamado Tanjiro BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN, I TOLD you this was going to be a ramble, but SERIOUSLY IT IS SUCH A GORGEOUS RED).

So anyway. My point is, as interesting as incorporating outside elements may be, I don't find them necessary in interpreting KnY's canon. Even if it takes tons of Taisho Secrets to do so, Gotouge presents the details necessary, and that's more than enough to work with. After all, despite all the care taken in historical details in building the setting, KnY takes place in a fictional universe, it can make its own rules when it comes to things that don't actually exist in our universe. Demons, for example, follow a chronology and power system with sources and limits that is unique to a this universe, as tempting as it is due to general cultural familiarity, it does not call for a one-to-one comparison with existing demon legends. Breath as well, as a power system, is very interesting. Again, this is because it has a lot of basis in core concepts of real life physical and spiritual training. It's presented as a method available to anyone who can pick it up, not drawing on a mystical outside power or summoning the actual superhuman elements of nature. Other stories that present their power systems like that are well and fine, but when it comes down to it, this is a story about mere humans doing everything in their limited power to wave swords around and defeat creatures that seem so likely to outpower them. This is a common, relatable basis of stories throughout history, and a lot of analysis I've heard of KnY's success says that it shows how classic this story structure is. Many Japanese demon stories have their origin in epidemics, and some people suggest that the world looks for hope in stories like KnY in times of seemingly insurmountable crises like coronavirus. I think that's an oversimplification of KnY's success, but again, because of Gotouge's use of core cultural elements, it can be applied easily. OKAY BUT ON THAT NOTE we can do some really interesting digging if we want. : D Gotouge does make some highly specific references, included religious ones (granted, not in ways that impact the plot). The example coming to mind is the Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing, the "Flaming Thunder God." In Japanese, this is "Honoikazuchi-no-Kami," the name of a lightning deity who had a very, very brief mention in the Kojiki and who appeared among a handful of other lightning deities named in reference to other aspects/phenomena of lightning, like the sound or the rumble through the ground. Honoikazuchi is not so much the lightning itself, but the fires started by lightning. Stick with me a bit longer, I'm building up to something here. You've probably heard of the twelve animals of the Chinese (poorly translated as) Zodiac, right? Well, the system is way more complex than that, and really, if you want complexity, skip Japan and go dive straight into ancient China. I laugh and cry at myself for having a graduate degree in Chinese studies, the extent of my knowledge is is pitifully small, I know nothing, nothing. Suffice to say, China has its own five element system of water/wood/metal/fire/earth, it's more a philosophical application than a more physicality-based four element system popular in the west (fire/water/air/earth, why hello there, Avatar), with attributes of these elements assigned to every about anything through Chinese culture, from medicine to, you guessed it, the Zodiac animals. Japan saw all this and said "cool, we'll do that too" albeit their sort of mixed and matched a bit and made their own take on it in Onmyodo. An Onmyoji, who keeps track of, like, really any other-worldly matter you might have on your hands as a Heian noble, is someone who is paid to know all this stuff (it was very likely an Onmyoji who told the Ubuyashiki clan, "yeah, you got an evil family member to blame for your curse, squash him"). Yours Truly is not an Onmyoji and therefore will not attempt to go into more detail, save the one that a handful of Japanese theorists in the KnY fandom love to bring up: The Boar is a water sign. This means that, especially in Shinto practice, boars are considered an animal that protects against

fire, hence, a lot of practices to protect against fires were done on days of the Boar, in the month of the Boar, etc. So? So-o-o-o-o-o? You see it? You see it??? Boar = Water, Honoikazuchi = Fire, Inosuke and Zenitsu are basically foils to Tanjiro? Yes, yes, see it, yessss??? Deep dive Kamaboko theory, yes?????? Hahahaha. Naw. It's just a fun coincidence. ^_^ Again, I find these details completely unnecessary, for we are already given so many details in canon to work with on its own, and I think Inosuke and Zenitsu as foils to Tanjiro works entirely well simply based on their personalities, not because of any supernatural elements that require a high level of nerdery to have any hope of appreciating. Besides, once you start reaching too hard for cultural details Gotouge might have used and clinging too tightly to those ideas, there's likely something in canon to make it doubtful. For instance, Inosuke more widely presented as a king of the forest who wears deer and bear hide as well, and the fanbook state that Beast Breath is considered a likely offshoot of Wind Breathing. Even if we rely more strictly on historical detail, there's still the question of, say, what one of the basic Breaths, Thunder Breathing, even was when it was but a thunder inspired sword form not necessarily powered by Breath, you know, back when swords were longer and it would have been harder to make the fast draws katana would later be better suited for. Maybe they called it Thunder because it was practiced by swordsmen who stomped around really hard, and then when they added Breath technique, they figured out "oh dude, we can use our strong legs to go fast"??

Those are the kinds of things I find more fun to play around with in interpreting canon by bringing in little outside details, because as a work of fiction, there are already so many fun details to work with already even when treating it in a vacuum. But, giving Gotouge extensive and subtle use of cultural elements, especially core elements, it sure makes a lot of outside details applicable. Which is all to say, it's all super interesting, and I think the more people realize these things, the deeper they read into it, to an extent more than canon calls for. As much as I like it, and as much as I've enjoyed pulling outside elements in to fanfiction (like Kagutsuchi and lightning god tidbits), ultimately, if Gotouge thought these things were necessary, they'd have been included. Since they are not, I try to stick to canon details and Word of God-touge in answering Asks (lolz, I didn't plan on becoming a meta blog, it just kinda happened). BUT ALSO, JEEZ, I AM SO EXCITED IF PEOPLE TAKE A DEEPER INTEREST IN JAPANESE CULTURE BECAUSE THEY LIKE KIMETSU NO YAIBA, YOU CAN HAVE SO-O-O-O-O-O MUCH FUN PLANNING A TRIP TO JAPAN AROUND KNY THEMES, DO IT DO IT DO IT, GO TO YAGYU AND POSE IN A TANJIRO HAORI AND STICK YOUR SWORD IN A SPLIT ROCK, THE LOCALS THERE LOVE IT, DO IT but also like maybe learn about the tea ceremony and appreciate how beautiful the charcoal is with me k thx bye

[lucy90712]

Dream- face reveal

wc- 1971 

Warnings: use of dreams real name

~ I have been friends with this guy on the internet Dream for about 5 years now, we talk all the time but we have never met in person and I have never seen his face. He doesn't show his face on the internet and I've never asked so it just never happened, he knows what I look like all too well because I like sending him stupid selfies and we FaceTime in the middle of the night all the time.

We have been trying to meet in person for years but things keep getting in the way and changing our plans first family issues, then a hurricane and then a whole pandemic. Despite all of this we have finally set a date to meet which is not going to change not for anything or anyone. It's going to be a big day or should I say month, as insane as it sounds I'm going to move in with Dream and Sapnap one of our other friends for a little while to really make this trip worth it even if it only lasts that long.

The process has been difficult because for me to get to Florida I need to get a plane which requires me to get tested before I fly and for my own piece of mind I have been strictly quarantining for the past two weeks but its finally here. I fly out tomorrow morning. I went and got tested yesterday and got my negative result today which I need to get on the plane.

I've been packing all day today because to be there for a month I need a bunch of my set up and cameras so that my content doesn't just stop but then I also need clothes and I can't seem to get both things to fit quite right.

At one point my phone started ringing but there was a mountain of stuff everywhere so I had to dig around to find it and when I did I saw that it was a FaceTime call from Dream, I picked up and immediately put my phone down to get on with my 5th attempt at packing.

"Yo hows it going?" Dream asked

"I'd say pretty average right now I'm super excited for tomorrow but my bag is giving me a hell of a fight" I replied

"Prop your phone up and I'll try and help" he said

I did as I was told and got my small tripod to rest my phone in where you could see what I was looking at. Honestly it was a mess and I was kind of embarrassed but Dream didn't need to know that and besides my face wasn't in frame so he couldn't see how embarrassed I was. I attempted putting everything in a slightly different way to last time which seemed to work until it came to fitting in my tripod and my wash bag of which there was no room for.

"Fuck sake I thought I had it then" I raged slightly

"Ok take out the webcam and forget about the tripod because I have ones that you can use and then try because I think that should give you enough room" he said

"Hell yeah thanks dream" I said after zipping up the suitcase

I flopped back on the floor tired from the minimal amounts of effort I had put in today which just shows how incredibly unfit I am. I recovered before getting up and moving my phone to my desk where I sat to talk to Dream.

We talked for a while until Sapnap came in and I talked to him for a little while, he's been living with Dream for a few months so he warned me about a few things like you don't wake Dream up which I took note of and he told me that Dream will just come and sit in your stream. Eventually they had to leave so I was left on my own to just kind of chill until it was an acceptable time to go to sleep.

Skip to the morning

I woke up at 5am when my alarm went off, I have a love hate relationship with my alarm because I only ever use it when I have something going on which is exciting but the sound makes me want to throw my phone out the window. Despite my annoyance I got up and went straight to the bathroom to shower and get dressed, I thought about wearing something nice but then I realised I had a 5 hour flight and I couldn't bare the thought of being sat down for that long not in comfy clothes. My comfy outfit consisted of leggings and one of my ex boyfriends hoodies because I never gave it back and I'm over it enough to just wear the hoodie whenever I want.

At just before 6 I got in my Uber to head to the airport seeing as my flight was at around 8 it would be wise to get there early. I wasn't sure how busy the airport would be seeing as you aren't meant to travel but I don't think I've ever seen an airport that wasn't busy.

I made it to the airport and as I assumed it wasn't heaving but there was still a fair amount of people around. I made my way through the crowds and checked in for my flight before heading through security and then making it to the main part of the airport. That part was less busy as there is more space for people to spread out into which made me much less anxious about people being too close. I had a little while to wait for my flight so I went and got some food because I haven't eaten today, and I don't want to end up with a headache.

When it was time for my flight to board I went to the gate and got straight into my seat watching as more people boarded but not as many as I expected, it was clear that all of the people on the flight had a good reason to be going to Florida and not just going on holiday and no one was sat together so all rules were being adhered to.

My flight landed 5 hours later and everyone filed off the plane going there own way leaving me kind of lost in a place that I wasn't used to and with the anxiety of going to meet Dream for the first time. I had a bit longer to wait because I had to get an Uber to the house even though dream offered to come and pick me up I told him not to because the less people at the airport the better and just incase people recognised me I didn't want him to accidentally face reveal.

I collected my suitcase and went straight out to the car park to get in my uber who was waiting just outside the doors in the designated area for taxis. As soon as I got in the car I text Dream letting him know I was on my way and sharing my location just in case things went south.

My uber stopped outside this one house and I got out walking up the drive taking in the house number to make sure I was at the right place which I was. Thats when the nerves really kicked in, I was about to meet one of my best friends in person for the first time. This is so insane to think that after all there years we get to do all the stupid things friends do.

I got to the door and rang the doorbell waiting the few excruciating seconds before I heard movement behind it indicating that there was someone there. It opened slowly and the first person I saw was sapnap who of course I was excited to see but we have talked properly on FaceTime before so I already know what he looks like.

Next another person popped up behind pushing sapnap out the way and giving me a hug straight away I knew it had to be dream but he ran over so quick that I didn't get to take in anything other than the fact he was hugging me. He pulled away and I got to look at his face, he looked pretty much exactly how I thought he would from the descriptions I have heard. As much as wavy length doesn't sound like a thing it somehow fit his hair and his eyes were also super green, he was definitely taller than I expected though this man towered over me like it was nothing and could definitely push me to the ground in a second but he looked kind just how you want a friend to be.

After a few minutes of freaking out that this was actually happening they let me inside and gave me a tour of the house showing me my room and the set up they had put together for me with a webcam and tripod just like dream said. They finished off the tour before I was made to sit and play whatever game they wanted with them.

We played an assortment of games for hours on end before we ordered food for dinner which we ate all chilling on the sofa. I almost forgot that my followers didn't know I was here but when I remembered I stole patches from dream and got him to take a picture of me with her to post on twitter and Instagram because people would get it without me having to explain. Not much of a grand reveal considering Sapnap did the same when he got here but I didn't really have any other ideas I mean its not like I can just do dream's face reveal for him with a picture on my twitter can I. The response to my tweet was insane within minutes people had got it trending and they were freaking out with all sorts of theories of if I'd officially moved in or if I was just visiting although both were kind of right.

Having spent a few hours here now I feel very at home they boys are really welcoming making sure I'm all good and not too tired after my flight which of course I am but sleep is for the weak so I'll wait. I have been told to call the two of them by their real names unless its on stream which feels kind of odd because I'm use to calling them what their know by despite knowing their real names the whole time. They have given me a nickname which I now go by to make it fair.

It was sad when the day came to an end when we all decided it was best to get some sleep even though I think their going to stay up and they said it for my own sake because I've been yawning non stop for the past 2 hours but either way I'm going to go to sleep and this day (one of the best days of my life) will become that of a memory.

Although I don't think this day could have gone any better its consisted of everything I've ever wanted to have in a friend but none of my friends back home if you can call them friends are into the same things as me so it never works out. Now I have two friends who share the same interests and have the same god awful sleep schedule so we can stay up messing around together if we want to which is what life as a 20 year old should be like. Fun.

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH 1.

This is a reader insert I originally started posting on AO3. I’m cross posting here because I know some of the fandom still lives here.

Quick Disclaimer:

This is a fic I'm writing for my own comfort.

I was inspired by RaeBees (you can check out their works over on Quotev and AO3), and how they characterize the "proxies". Having always seen the characters different than most of the fandom I've interacted with I never really shared my thoughts until now. This work is only placed in the Creepypasta tag so it reaches its demographic. However, I am fully aware of the fact that no main character is considered a Pasta.

It may also appear to lean more Toby X Protag in the beginning but end goal is protag with all three, and Brian and Tim already in a relationship. How I picture it now is a slowburn but Toby and Protag will be in a friends with benefits relationship before either has any feelings, so I think that counts. Some may be confused by the asexual protag tag but it'll be explained in story, as an Ace myself I get frustrated with media that only show one version and say it goes for us all. That being said I don't represent the whole Ace community but I hope to provide a bit more representation for some others out there.

Protag will be depicted as agender, and will have a few tics that stem from their Autism. Again I don't speak for any others with Autism but I hope to provide some representation for those in similar positions.

Tags will be updated as the story progresses. Canon-Typical violence and mental health issues are to be expected if you feel uncomfortable with those aspects I advise you to not engage. This story will also have a lot of NSFW themes and scenes so I highly discourage anyone under the age of 18 from viewing this work. You will get warnings on chapters with NSFW and I will make it skippable as well.

I'm also very nitpicky and gave the main characters birthdays just because it irritates me when it gets mentioned once and you have to do the math or imagine your own conversation when a birthday was too close to a character's.

Tim January 1st, home state Alabama

Toby April 28th, home state Virginia (saw this years ago no clue if it's accurate)

Protag May 13th, home state Virginia

Brian May 23rd, home state Alabama

Connor the service dog July 18th, home state Kentucky

I've referred to Protag as Protag here but in story they're referred to as YN.

Everything felt impossibly dull; your senses, the dark room you're currently in, the noise coming from the fan just to the left of the bed on which you laid. Turning to the window beside your head you stare out into that weird midnight summer sky. More of a gray than a true dark blue night, cast in an orange glow that made the night seem closer to day than it truly was. While the time was just half past twelve, you felt it may have been more accurate to say it was closer to four in the morning.

You're exhausted but that true sort of exhaustion where whatever energy you have left buzzes all around. It consumes your entire being, dances between being deafeningly loud in your ears to giving you twitches in your legs. You'd laid down hours ago thinking you'd be tired enough to sleep once your tics started to spasm in closer intervals, but to no avail were you able to rest. That buzzing preventing you from dreamland. Maybe the hum of your body was right, you didn't really need to sleep, you just wanted it to feel normal.

Knowing the battle had already been lost you push yourself off the bed and grab a pair of shorts off the floor. Slipping them on you contemplate your options for the night. Going into town was out since it was Sunday...well Monday now, but there would be nothing but bars open and you were never one for drinking. And as fun as a drive sounds right now, you feel the buzzing in your bones grow stronger, you need to move. A late night hike should keep you occupied, with it being so quiet and the middle of the night you wouldn't even have to take your headphones to cancel out the sounds of other people, you aren't likely to run into many people tonight.

Deciding on a hike you grab a mask and car keys and make your way to your yellow Kia Soul. A going away present from your parents that they gave you the moment you got your driver's license after your 24th birthday. Having anxiety throughout your life you'd never been in the head space to start driving till later on, and while you still don't enjoy driving you are pretty good at it even with your “late” start. Surfing through radio stations as you let the car warm up you find your latest obsession, it's a conspiracy theory podcast that someone in Kepler managed to blast through the limited air ways of the town. Impressive considering Kepler was in a radio quiet zone and even cell phones couldn't work in the small town, luckily you lived just outside of the zone so you could send texts and call your parents every weekend.

It seemed today's episode was a rerun, Mothman: Murderer, Man, or Myth. It was actually one of your favorites, the paranormal stories tended to be more entertaining than hearing about how a man could murder sixteen people while working as a cop ruining evidence to lead the others off his trail. Humans could be more vial and cruel than any little gray alien from the future or tall Fresno Nightcrawler could ever be. And they weren't as entertaining to hear about, nor were their exploits as impressive. You could always see patterns, either connecting clues first or finding connections no one else saw, it was never hard to tell where a certain case would lead so you'd always end up disappointed in humanity when they overlooked such obvious clues. Though that often led you down a path of deep diving for information to see just how obvious it was, more often than not you'd find that the most logical conclusion was shady public officers. After investigating so many cold cases you're sure if you're ever in trouble you'll never involve the police, in the end they'd probably just ignore you and rule your case closed if anything ever did happen to you.

'I'd haunt them if they did.' You decide and you shift gears and begin driving to the Monongahela National Forest, as the timeline of Mothman sightings and events play out before for your ears.

Instead of going through town and possibly loosing the signal of the show, you drive on the old dirt road that runs along the very edge of the town, partially covered in trees. This over grown road is the main reason Kepler doesn't see many visitors, the second someone makes their way onto it coming off the interstate they floor it until they see civilization. Over the few months you've been here you've nearly been run right off the road by spooked tourists, trying to escape whatever ghouls their wild imaginations created. The only real thing on this road was a mini mart gas station, and even though it was shady as hell the cashier didn't bug you too much when you came in in the dead of night. Plus they had a cat, how could you not stop in and say hi to little ole Magnolia?

Speaking of which you should probably get a drink for your hike, you could already feel your throat drying out. Turning into the parking lot you're happy to see no other cars around, putting your face mask on you make your way inside. As usual the store is dead at this time, and Ronnie is manning the desk. What's unusual is the man also behind the counter, he has dark brown hair that he's tied into a small and low ponytail, thick sideburns frame his face. You immediately take note of the slight imperfections of his face, most would see the slit in his eyebrow as following the current trend or even just a genetic thing, but you can see the slightly off color of a healed scar that starts just above his eyebrow and ends mid eyelid, he has a few smaller discolorations on his crooked nose, you'd guess he's had it broken at least twice.

Briefly taking a glance to his brown eyes before looking away, today is not an eye contact day. Nodding in their directions, the best acknowledgment you can give right now, you make your way to the freezers. From the freezer section you can hear Ronnie “explain” you.

“That's YN, a regular mainly at night though. A bit skittish and rarely ever says more than 'thanks have a nice day'” Even though she's whispering you can hear everything. Including the high octave her voice takes to mimic you, it feels more like mocking.

If being mocked hadn't already put you on edge the eyes boring into you have. The eyes may not be roaming over your body but the icky crawling of your skin sure makes it feel that way. The feeling of being put under a microscope has always made you sick, the stares, the leers and sneers, and the judgment just makes you want to implode on the spot. Cease existence, be swallowed into the abyss. You're about to set yourself into an anxiety attack with all these thoughts.

'Mask, mask, mask' you repeat over and over in your head, it's the only thing you can focus on. You are wearing a mask, there is one thing they can't perceive, the face is the most important for humans to perceive, your mask protects you.

Without looking you pull a water bottle from the cooler. You don't think you like this brand but the sports mouth makes up for it, and you can't focus enough to grab another. As the imaginary spiders crawl their way under your skin and your breath hitches you make your way over to the counter head down, never looking up at the employees beyond the counter. Your vision is blurring in time with the beating of your heart, you can't tell if it's due to nerves or from being up for five days in a row.

“Hey YN, how're you?” Ronnie asks, her tone is different from the past times you've been in. It's higher and has a lilt in it that you'd expect from a teasing friend. But Ronnie isn't a friend and has never spoken to you like this, you hate it. You nod to politely move on with the process, between the crawling of your skin and the buzzing underneath it you feel sick. And you're now very aware of the existence of your eyelids, you try to focus on ignoring that awareness. You need to move.

“Hmm, that's good. Anyway this is Tim! He's just started so go easy on him.” you hear the sound of a hand hitting fabric and assume she's patted Tim's shoulder as she introduced Tim to you. Why was she doing this, what purpose could introducing you two have? You nod again, was anyone going to ring you out?

“Hi, this all?” a deep voice asked, it isn't extremely deep more of a standard baritone that has a slight raspy quality, probably a reformed smoker. You don't smell cigarettes currently so he could've quit after years. Unfortunately despite your efforts to stave them off your blinking tics emerge. Making it difficult to keep your eyes open for longer than a nano second.

Startled and ticcing you look up and catch his eyes, you see pity in them, before casting your glance back to the counter. You can never tell what's worse people seeing you as weird or seeing you as something needing to be fixed. Nodding again, Tim tells you the total; a dollar fifty eight, and you hand him two dollars from your wallet.

Tim doesn't ask if you want the receipt or a bag, he prints out the receipt and hands you your change. The change goes immediately into the cat food fund for Magnolia. She got diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago and having worked in shelters and pet stores you know just how expensive her prescription food is. After folding the receipt into your wallet, Tim gently slides the water bottle over to you.

“Have a good night.” he says it so low and gentle, as if he thinks you'll shatter in front of him. As kind as the gesture seems, you aren't that fragile...or maybe you are if you have to keep repeating 'mask' over and over in your head to ground yourself. With a final nod you turn and make your way to the door, and just as you open it you hear Ronnie call out.

“Awwww, c'mon YN at least say 'Hi' to Tim.” You really don't like how she squeaked out 'hi'.

Taking a deep breath you prepare yourself, you'll show them both you can do this simple task. Even if you can't stop blinking long enough to see straight. Once you've steadied yourself you turn and look at Tim. He's sending you a look that says 'You don't have to' all that's missing is a slow head shake to complete his unease with this “peer pressure”.

But you can do this you can say 'Hi, Tim.' Two words super simple, nothing complex like 'Hi, Tim, nice to meet you.' and so much better than the option of your next meeting saying 'Hi, Tim. Sorry for spazzing out the other night.'. Yup you can do this just breathe, you open your mouth and...and you've forgotten what to say. Looking like a deer in headlights, well at least the tics stopped, you say the first thing that pops in.

“Mask.” You've said it loud and clear both cashiers heard you.

Tim stares with wide eyes and you see Ronnie failing to hide her laughter. Out of all the ways this could've gone this was probably the best outcome for her. The blinking has started up again, this time growing more frequent. You can't even hold your eyes open, to the two cashiers it must look like you're in pain or crying. And while you want to die of embarrassment, crying is a bit of an extreme for you.

So with red face and the inability to see you leave through the door, and try to make your way back to your car. Once in you lock the doors, switch the car on, and rest your head on the steering wheel. Out of every way this stop could've gone, being perceived by a new comer and Ronnie was not what you expected. While this hadn't been the worst five minutes or so of your life, it definitely would be another thing keeping you up at night for the next twenty years.

Calming down in the cool quiet dark of your car your slowly brought back to the world by the beginning of a new episode. This one talking about the Tailypo legend. A favorite story of yours from when you were a kid living on the coast of Virginia. So with yet another deep breath and the wave of nostalgia, you pull out of the parking lot and slowly coast down the old dirt road. Heading yet again for the Monongahela forest.

It's nearly two in the morning when you roll up to see an RV parked by the forgotten entrance of the park. It isn't surprising at all to find an RV out here since the Monongahela Forest is one of the most beautiful parks you've ever been to. You also don't think anything of them being parked by this unused entrance because you use it all the time since finding it accidentally. Figuring they just wanted to camp and be left to their own devices rather than use the RV sites and be bothered with other campers here for the summer.

Climbing out of your car you notice the RV isn't new by any means but it isn't a total rust bucket either, looks like it's been passed around throughout the years. There isn't anything to suggest it's been here a while, nothing left set up outside, must have just gotten into town then. You do happen to notice dog tracks around the sandy dirt you've parked in, good to know they have a dog before you slammed your car door. Closing the door gently behind you so you don't startle a pup and wake up it's owner or owners, you make your way through the woods. No real direction in mind, with no real thought in your head. Just the thought of moving and to keep on moving.

You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. In fact that's exactly what happens, you're almost positive that you've deepened the imprint of the path just from walking through several times a week. Following the same winding path you usually do, climbing over the fallen tree, and through a scattering of blueberry thicket's you find yourself on the edge of one of the forest's many streams. It's your favorite spot in the forest so far, and about as far as you've gotten considering these hikes of yours take place during the dead of night.

The wind picks up and sends a chill through you, taking that as a sign you slide down to sit by the stream. Vans placed to your side as you sink your feet into the cool water. It's peaceful out here, so cool, and quiet, save for the slight noises the stream makes, various bubbling and drips. You try to think on things like your recent move, your job, the embarrassing 'mask' incident, just life in general. But you can't seem to form a single thought, this happens a lot, you've recently been conscious of the fact that you've been running on auto pilot for the past two months, hell a lot longer than that. You think everyone must get like this from time to time, but you think you've always been this way. Keen to dissociating and slipping in and out of existence.

It's quite nice really, except for the times like right now where you'd love to figure out why the silence in your head is so painfully loud. The more you think on it the louder it gets and the stronger the buzzing under your skin feels. And right now the static in your mind has been getting louder and louder for the past few minutes. You feel your head jerk to the right of it's own accord, moving back in place it happens for a second time, and then a third, then jerks up, before jerking a forth time to the right effectively cracking you neck.

“There we go.” you mumble, you can relax a bit as the verbal tic indicates the end of this round of tics.

Sighing you look at the sky...that can't be right. The sky has been painted it's fresh baby blues for the day, but again that can't be right. You just got to the stream, that path is a thirty minute walk meaning it should be just about two thirty in the morning, but the sky suggests it's five or six at the latest. Reaching for your water bottle you find it empty next to you. You didn't fall asleep you know that much, perhaps you did dissociate tonight. Well this hike was disappointing if you knew you were going to dissociate you'd have saved yourself that embarrassment and stayed home. Maybe done some painting or tidied up.

Sighing you push yourself off the ground, collecting you vans you're about to put them on when you notice a figure off in the distance. You freeze out of shock and stare at the figure, it stares back. The figure is about ten yards away, god your near sighted ass should really remember to not leave your glasses in the car when hiking. The figure starts to make it's way to you and after a few steps you realize it hasn't moved from it's spot. Rolling your eyes you ignore the hallucination.

You'd really needed to get sleep last night, today is day six of no sleep and though you haven't had many episodes these past few days, you have a feeling they'll start to get more prominent today. Hopefully tonight you can manage to get some rest, the longer you go without sleep the more realistic the hallucinations become. But for today you're content with the knowledge that it's just shadow like beings that you'll be seeing.

After putting on your shoes you start the thirty minute hike back to your car. You're thankful for the weather in Kepler, nothing like back on the coast. Here you can go for a morning hike through the forest while a gentle breeze passes by and the sun starts to give the area a pleasant warmth. Back on the coast you couldn't run and grab the mail without getting drenched in moisture from either sweat, humidity, or a mixture of both.  The coast sucks, hell Virginia sucks altogether, you're glad to be in Kepler.

“I want to go home, home.�� you say out of nowhere.

Before you reach the entrance you hear barking, oh the RV campers must be up. Should you be careful not to scare them, or just walk normally and say 'Good morning' in passing, maybe just nod your head in greeting. Oh and you've stopped just beside the entrance as you got lost in your rambling. You didn't mean to come to a stop here, and as you try to move you notice how silent it's gotten. Did the dog go inside, maybe they've already passed...no it's too quiet for that. No the silence is oppressive like the one you deal with nightly, there's a reason for the silence. The situation's making you feel uneasy, but that could be the sleep deprivation talking.

You're about to brush it off and move when you hear a whispered, “Seriously man, I don't think anyone's out there. Let's get inside.”

There's a noise of agreement before you hear shuffling. Oh no, you zoned out and now you look like a weirdo stalker. Just perfect, maybe if you wait around a little more you'll seem more normal or at least feel normal. Not knowing how long to wait you walk along the tree line for a bit, looking at the ground as you do making sure you won't step on any snakes. In you quest to not step on any snakes you spot something suspiciously off white. It seems purposefully buried under a dead blueberry bush and some fallen branches.

Having listened to too many true crime shows, you know better than to implicate yourself in a murder. Grabbing a stick off the ground you gently brush the foliage away from the supposed corpse. No way, you can't believe your luck, it's an actual fucking skull. An intact skull of a deer! That is so cool, you've only seen taxidermists on TikTok getting so lucky and finding these dudes. Since the jaw bone is connected by tissue it of course isn't with the skull but maybe it's close by? Clearly this got planted or hidden by someone, maybe they were planning on pranking a friend by 'uncovering' a skull later. Oh well, finders keepers and all that, you have way better plans for this guy, hopefully you can find that jaw bone.

You set off searching through the foliage and near by bushes with the branch while holding the skull in your other arm. After searching about three feet around and finding no more bones you decide that this is the only part of the deer's skeleton in this area. A little disappointed but still thrilled with your find, you decide it must be a good time to go back to your car.

Surely you won't look weird now. You a little forager with their treasure in hand. Looks like you'll be busy cleaning, then bleaching, and cleaning these bones today. Is that the order to treat found bones? You aren't sure but you can look into that later. Placing the skull in the trunk so it doesn't roll about and get damaged you make sure it's secure before closing the trunk and getting into your car and locking the doors.

Not once did you notice the pairs of eyes that had been watching you. One watching as you found the deer skull, and the other set seeing you place bones into your car. They kept watching as you fiddled with the radio while the car was starting up. They watched as you pulled out of the sandy dirt lot and drove back down the old road a little faster than before now that you could clearly see.