#also words are just things people use to describe themselves why are you in arms about it 😐 if cishets see you as a fag they will always ses

[vraska-theunseen]

sometimes i misgender myself for a joke like i was talking to my friend the other day and i was like "i'm going to adopt your mom so i can become your grandma" and she was like "but you can't be?" and i know that when my friends do that it's in confusion or good faith based on what they know about me but like. why are you correcting me about Myself. i am fully aware that i am non-binary and i don't need you to correct ME on that when i make a joke about myself. like i've told you what you can call me and now im calling myself something because i am me. it's not as if im not aware of what im saying. just strikes me whenever it happens as incredibly absurd lol

[darlingbabyboo]

"You're Something Else... "

♡ Synopsis: Megumi had been (sorta) prepared to live with this white weirdo who claimed to be the strongest... what he hadn't been prepared for was his daughter.

♡ Content: Reader is described as a girl and shorter than Megumi and Tsumiki and tiny because I'm tiny, black reader, good dad Gojo, Megumi is deeply repressed

♡ Notes: This is from the vote! Where people said they wanted Megumi x Gojo's Daughter instead of Giyuu x Urokodaki Daughter! Hope you enjoy 😘 Just say smth if I should make a part 2

♡ Inspiration: @ketsuyuki-hibana-typed! Their series Rengoku x Little Sister Figure is so good!

So Megumi was less than excited to live with Gojo (could not be me but this ain't about me so...)

He was only doing this so Tsumiki wouldn't have to suffer under the Zenin's

He was expected more or less of the same thing

Just him and Tsumiki living in a house, being forced to take care of themselves

Yippee

That's why he was so surprised to find you

"And you two, say hi to your other housemate!" The white haired weirdo cheerfully exclaimed

Megumi looked at you with wide eyes, you were hiding behind the tall man's legs and shaking like you were forced to be here

He wouldn't be surprised if you were

"C'mon honey bun, you gotta introduce yourself, you'll be sharing a home with these guys."

He removed you from his leg and squatted so that he was at his level

"Introduce yourself!"

You give a shy wave, curled in on yourself. You say your name through stutters and when you're done, you bury yourself into the weirdo's chest

Gojo smiles at them, stroking your back

"She's a little shy-"

A little, Megumi thinks

"-you two introduce yourself too! Don't be shy!"

"I'm Tsumiki!" His sister happily says besides him, like you're not shivering even if it's spring. "It's really nice to meet you!"

You remove yourself from Gojo a little to give her a small nod before burying yourself in Gojo's chest again

Megumi doesn't say his name, he observes (what he can when you're buried in Gojo's chest). You look nothing like him. He wonders if you've also been kidnapped taken in by Gojo

Does the freak have a habit of taking young children?

You look younger than him, though maybe it's because you're so small. You remind him of a mouse, especially with how much you were stuttering

He certainly hasn't seen someone like you before, maybe it's because of how sheltered he is, but you're different

Your skin is darker then what he's seen before, but the difference makes you even prettier. Your skin makes you glow in the sunlight, like some sort of angel

His stomach twists, even with how little he saw of your appearance, you're beautiful

"Aw are you already smitten with my little girl."

His face burns, "no!" He regrets staring so long when you bury yourself even deeper into the older man's arms, your embarrassment making his worse

Gojo waves off his words, "honey bun, this is Megu-chan, your first suitor!"

"Don't call me Megu-chan." He mutters, not bothering to clear up the other statement when the man is rambling something about your 'love story'. He looks up, sparing another glance at you.

You've removed yourself from Gojo a little, your brown eyes making contact with his blue ones.

Simultaneously, you both hide your faces

It's four people in the house but to be honest, it feels more like two

Usually, Gojo is out settling clan business or off on a mission, it's different than before though, Gojo's not neglectful, always making sure they have double of what they need and bathing them in nice comments

And he usually makes it home by dinner

It's honestly really nice (but never tell Gojo he said that)

The reason you don't count though is that you're really...

Quiet

He doesn't even know if that's the right description of you, you're almost like a ghost

The few times that he has laid his eyes on you, you disappear faster than he can blink

Usually, he would assume it's a him problem, but Tsumiki faces the same issues

"Do you think she hates us?" Tsumiki says one day, fiddling with her fingers.

Somehow, it makes him feel better that Tsumiki has the same struggles.

He shrugs, "I don't know, I thought she was mute, but she introduced herself fine the first time so..."

Tsumiki nods in agreement, she moves from playing with her fingers to playing with her hair, "I hope she doesn't hate us, she seems so nice."

"How would you know?" He mutters, "she doesn't even say anything to us."

Tsumiki frowns, opening her mouth to argues but then closes it in thought, "you have a point..." She reluctantly concedes.

Somehow, the win doesn't make him feel better, stomach twisting at the thought of you not liking them.

Of you not liking him

But one fateful day changes everything

"H-hello." You stutter out, looking at the two of them with wide eyes. Their eyes move from the TV screen to your surprising declaration.

Tsumiki eyes bulge out but she snaps her mouth shut out of fear of scaring you away. Megumi hopes that he doesn't share his sister's surprised look (which makes her look like a fish gasping for breath), forcing himself to remain calm.

He doesn't think he's heard your voice since Gojo introduced you all.

"D-dad won't be coming home today...a-and he said we could order food," You bite your lip, "d-do you guys want pizza?"

Tsumiki nods so quickly that he's scared her nose might start bleeding, "that sounds wonderful!"

When your eyes fall to him, he gives a simple nod. "That sounds really good."

You relax, and Megumi didn't notice how tense you were at the thought of a disagreement.

You poke your fingers through a hole in your shirt. "...C-can one of you order for us?"

Tsumiki shoots up, "I can!" She volunteers, already rushing to grab the landline.

You watch her with relief, and Megumi can already see the cogs in your head turning, you thinking about going back to your room.

He doesn't want you to go

"Do you wanna watch a movie with us?" He blurts out.

You jump at the words, surprise evident on your face. You point to yourself as if to ask Me?

He nods, looking away with embarrassment from how red his face is turning, "yeah, it would be nice to talk to you..."

When you don't respond, he looks to you and god he wishes he hadn't.

You're smiling, a smile that lights you up. Gone is the usual worry on your, eyes soft with joy and crinkled because of how wide your grin is

You're beautiful

"Okay..." You respond, softly, "I-i would like that."

He nods absentmindedly, aware that he's staring but he's under a spell, he doesn't know how to look away.

"Do you guys want garlic knots?" Tsumiki yells from the other room.

"Y-yes please!" You respond back, voice soft even when raised.

You turn back to Megumi and award him with another smile, "I-i need t-to call my dad really quick-- b-but I'll come back to watch the movie with you guys!"

He watches you go, butterflies in his stomach.

He buries his face in his hands.

Oh god

He has a crush

[syndullqs]

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 — 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉

summary — a mission unlocks memories in your brain you’d rather forget. tech helps, in his own way.

warnings — gn!reader, angst, fluff, mentions of childhood trauma, hunter’s a prick

note — i heard this sound on tiktok and it unlocked a memory i did NOT want unlocked lol so enjoy this self indulgent piece

𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐀 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐘. it’s funny how something as small as a child crying causes someone to fold in on themselves. you almost were shot because of it, and you definitely got an earful back on the marauder.

“what were you thinking? just standing there? you could’ve been killed!” hunter’s voice penetrated your clouded thoughts, scolding you for a poor job. he had a point; you were almost killed.

“but i wasn’t, hunter, so what’s the big deal?” you challenge, crossing your arms over your chest. what was next, was he going to question how you worked with the team? was he going to exclude you from future missions? you almost dared him.

“the big deal? y/n you nearly cost us the mission and you could have been killed,” he paused, taking a minute to think. though, given his next words, he should have taken more time to think, “i think you should sit out on the next mission,” his voice was still raised, breaths spilling from his mouth like he ran a marathon.

yet there it was.

exclusion.

“fine, it’s your call, you’re the sergeant,” your words were not short of being venomous, making hunter realize instantly what he just told you. you were a valuable asset to the batch, a sounding board, and he just told you to sit out.

there wasn’t a lot of places for you to go, so you sat in the co-pilot’s chair. you brought a knee up to your chest, resting your chin on it. the silence was comforting, but your mind still swam. hunter’s words, their words, the child crying…

“for the record, i don’t think you should sit out next mission,” tech was the first to speak, the softness and quietness of his voice illustrating just how unused to that he was. his words only earned a scoff from you.

“it was the child crying, no?” he guessed. tech noticed the shift in your demeanor when the child started crying to her mother, wondering why everyone left. you grew stiff, your eyes unfocused, and of course, you were nearly shot.

“what gave me away?” you asked him, still refusing to meet eyes with him. despite tech not being well-versed in comfort, he still knew how to read people. he could read them very well. interpreting those emotions was a different skill.

“the fact you were nearly shot, mainly,” he stated as-a-matter-of-factly, “but also the way your demeanor changed. your shoulders tightened, your eyes widened. not to mention your voice changed,” he went on to describe just how much your body changed. you didn’t think he paid that much attention to you.

“i didn’t think it was that obvious,” you shrugged, taking your chin off of your knee. you slid your eyes over to meet his, the softness of them underneath his goggles provided an odd place of comfort for you. he didn’t judge you, he was merely stating facts.

“it was,” he felt heat rise to his cheeks, a feeling he logically knew was because of his attraction to you. emotionally, he wouldn’t acknowledge it.

“at least to me,” tech added softly, attempting to make the situation better than what it was. your eyes widened again, unsure of how to feel about this. ever since you started working with the bad batch, talking about emotional experiences was hard with tech. so you didn’t. hearing him acknowledge your feelings and talk about his own shocked you. it shouldn’t have.

“when i was a kid, i was bullied a lot,” you started, pulling down the wall you’ve built up over the years, “their form of bullying was excluding me from things. i was invited to parties, but never talked to. i was never played with, and kids made fun of me for the stuff i liked,” you continued. you’ve never spoken to any of them about this. it was too sensitive. the fear of rejection and judgement was too strong.

silence followed, filling the space between you. tech didn’t know what to say, but he knew that this was sensitive information. he knew that it was hard for you to talk about, and so he didn’t want to say anything to potentially make things worse.

“hearing that little girl cry, asking her mother where everyone went, it just…i don’t know. it was under different circumstances but still,” you were failing to understand why the moment froze you. hunter was right, you could have been killed.

“it was a different circumstance, but,” tech started, his words coming out slowly as he processed them, “your fight or flight kicked in. it’s human nature whenever we come in contact with something that’s upset us or, dare i say, traumatized us,” his eyes searched yours, trying to read the expression on your face. tech knew what it was like to be ostracized for the things you’re good at. he was a defective clone, he knew almost exactly what you felt.

“when…when i was a cadet, still on kamino, i wasn’t treated very kindly by the regs simply for being different. the words they said, even some of the things they did, it was not kind of them,” tech’s words marinated in your mind for a moment. you found yourself completely facing him, engrossed in the man in front of you. you finally found someone to relate to, that knew what it was like to be excluded and bullied. for once, you could breathe.

“you didn’t deserve that,”

“neither did you,” he agreed, his warm, brown eyes cradling yours. he came to the same realization you did. he wasn’t as alone as he thought he was. as much as he wished neither of you went through what you did, it brought you two together, and he was grateful for that.

“we do need to work on your fight, flight, or freeze response,” he lightened the mood. you smiled and laid back in your chair.

“i know i know,” you smiled. you didn’t catch it, but tech smiled too.

here’s some tech! this was kind of self indulgent so i apologize for that, i still hope you enjoy though!

[ghouldtime]

I need more neighbor König getting protective over his little neighbor.

I do believe he can get very possessive, though I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for. But he's lost so much, so many people in his unit and people he had once considered friends. He won't even visit his own mother because he's scared for her safety. Maybe an enemy finds out some way some how about her and takes her as leverage. Now she gets to see colonel konig with his gear and mask and barking orders and not the sweet man she's come to know. How would he react or feel?

Ofc when she realizes it's just him and throws her arms around him

I'm sorry but I'm answering this because this doesn't fall under my characterization of him 😭 I can do the last part maybe one day when I'm not sick and have planned everything out in my mind THOROUGHLY

I know you meant no harm by this either!! This is just a bit of a rambly tangent to describe WHO my König is and why he's that way.

(Also stating that reader in neighbor isn't explicitly a she nor are they little in the same way. I write gender neutral for a reason! They're a grown adult)

Like I know it's just an imagine and possible scenario but for me I just don't really see it happening unless quite literally EVERYTHING went wrong. He's got plan A, plan B, plan C, D, and E. Always be prepared.

But it strikes me as unlikely in happening at all as he is a VERY cautious man and does what he can to remove his identity as König from his residential life. He keeps his gear under lock and key, he doesn't tell personal details of his work, he doesn't want to track ANY of that back. His field life isn't his personal life and he's intent on keeping that separated. Anything that could be used to identify him, he doesn't keep around or its hidden so NO ONE would suspect it.

It would take some absolute major intel and someone working within KorTac itself to follow him like that - even then, dude is a bit paranoid. He's got a security system for a reason, he doesn't wear his mask in public, his body is covered up usually by the long clothes he wears, he's not out socializing - he's just blending in. He's watching cars that pass, he usually keeps curtains drawn or has privacy film, he knows who drives what car and their schedules - so if it's off, he's picking it up.

The way he's protective is in his actions - that's WHY he won't tell details of his work, that's WHY he works hard to ensure personal life doesn't meddle with what his job is, that's WHY he has backup plans. That's WHY he makes sure they get a security system too, if they haven't had one already. That's why he makes sure they're trained in self defense and have at least some form of weapon at the ready, even though they ARE in a safe area. He's protective in the sense of "I'm doing what I can to prevent that aspect of my life from coming into yours" , he's protective in the sense of "I've seen what people are capable of, I've protected myself so I'm protecting you too as much as I can because you matter to me". He's protective in the sense he's caring, he's going out of his way to make sure you're safe.

But he's not going to be protective in the sense of "let me be with you constantly" or "who were you talking to???" or "Why didn't you invite me". Reader is a grown, independent adult and he's aware of that. He's respectful of that and knows they're capable of caring for themselves too. Being IN their life doesn't mean he IS their life. They both operate in their own lives and have their own interests and both, as such, need alone time and time to spend with others too. That's just how to have healthy relationships.

He's very independent himself and having another person around as his friend has taken a significant adjustment period. Honestly, it takes a long time for him to even register that he can go do things with them. He's so used to being on his own that it has to catch up.

And I'm going to say that my König is NEVER possessive towards people. Never. Possessive implies treating them like an object or piece of property, like they're something that's his alone. Possessive means great insecurity in his sense of relationships to the extent where he's manipulating them and monopolizing their lives for his gain.

He's not, because he's a well adjusted adult who has been to therapy throughout his life to manage his own insecurities, especially involving interpersonal relationships. Hell, when he STARTED to even get feelings for neighbor, he brought it up to said therapist just to be sure he's going down the right path. He's built a set of healthy behaviors to cope with unhealthy feelings that may arise.

He gets jealous, especially initially, but once again - he's a grown adult and is capable of handling his own insecurities in a productive way. Everyone is allowed to have more than one person in their lives and a healthy network of relationships matters.

Protective? Yes. Possessive? Absolutely not. He respects independence as he himself is that way. He wants to spend as much time as possible with his neighbor but he realizes that he too needs his own space and time to recharge, and he can't be singularly focused on one person alone. His primary concern is their safety, no matter what they do.

He's lost many comrades and brothers in arms but that's also bound to happen in his line of work. This might sound brutal, but he's desensitized to it to a degree. Losing someone is never easy, but it's expected. The blow will always hurt but when it's always a possibility, it never wanes. He's wary of it and aware of it, and losing any friends he made happened earlier on in the army before his private contracting days. It numbed him too it and set the precedent for his relationships with anyone and is why he's so guarded.

After then, he's not really had many friends. Not that he had many to begin with but he doesn't go out of his way to get close to others. Acquaintances and work buddies? Yes. But friends are a rarity as he's really rather unapproachable. He's there to do his job, he's there to take people down and get paid, he's wary of getting close to ANYONE knowing they can be taken at any moment. He'll work with them, he'll know them, he'll be proud of them - but making friends and forming personal relationships like that in a private military contracting company is a bad idea, when they can easily swap over to the other side if they're offered more pay. He's seen it happen, he knows it's a real possibility.

That's why he picks any personal relationships closely and takes eons to warm up. His social anxiety, as well managed as it is, doesn't make it any easier. He knows what can happen, so he prepares as best as he can. Which INCLUDES being protective and prepared, and planning accordingly. If he's letting anyone into his life, he's already got a game plan for what he'll do.

And no, he DOES visit his mother, as I've stated! As much as his work allows and as much as possible, he does visit. He just doesn't live with or near her. He can easily visit throughout the year when his schedule allows and its sporadic, with no rhyme or reason. He doesn't take repeating cars, he doesn't do anything in a pattern that can be tracked. He's also made sure she's secure in her home too so it's unlikely things will happen, but he won't flat out not communicate with her and not see her at all. He's just smart and careful about it! He can't bare to never see her again.

I'm sorry but my König just doesn't fall under how most people portray him or see him. He's just a guy with his own personal issues. And like the proper guy that he is, he manages them and knows its his responsibility to do such. He's extensively gone to therapy, he's worked on himself, he knows where he stands.

Sure, he's still prone to jealousy and a touch of paranoia, but that doesn't mean he lacks the skills to work through them. He communicates like an adult with whatever he's feeling. Expressing it can be hard but he DOES get it out there and he also heavily respects reader's own autonomy. They're an adult, so is he. He'll protect them and do what he can, he'll care about them, but he will never seek to control them or treat them like something for only HIM to have. He's not and will never be a "they're MINE and NO ONE touches what's mine" - that's just not him to me. I don't write him as a big, broody dommy guy who is growling every sentence or can't handle others talking to someone he likes.

To me, he's just a dude. An introverted guy who likes to sew ridiculous pillows and tend to his garden who is happy in the home he made for himself. He's comfortable with who he is and where he stands. He can communicate properly, knows how to respect boundaries, and likes seeing others who matter to him happy in their lives as they establish a supportive network. Just because he isn't always with them or going with them doesn't mean they can't take care of themselves or he HAS to be there. He's not some ultra possessive dude because he has healthy understandings of boundaries and knows the world doesn't revolve around him and his wants (also he wouldn't WANT them to depend on him and him alone when its very possible he too will die on the field one day). He's not always going to look over your shoulder or instantly treat any other person as a threat.

He's seasoned with the things he's seen and is wary enough to be protective and to do what he knows to prevent what he's seen happen. He's cautious, he's considerate, he's caring - and he's not a cunt about it. Really, he's just perceptive and accepts what can happen so he tries to set up anyone in his life for success to avoid what he's seen and to keep them from harm. He can't always be there, he knows he can't, so ensuring that those around him who he DOES care about have a proper, healthy network of friends around for support and have a game plan for if shit hits the fan (as well as a system to enact it) is his way of showing he cares and can always be with them and help, even if he's long gone or buried six feet under.

[tanaor]

How to get the "show, don't tell" rule right in your writing!

(🙋Or how to master descriptions and body language🙋)

Hello everyone! Today I'm here to dive into the very famous "show don't tell" rule. But, first, please remember that these so called rules in art are subjective, and that ultimately you can do whatever you want. There is no wrong or right way to create. That said, let's start!

1. What is "show don't tell"?

It's a method of writing that involves describing sensations, sensory details and body language to convey your message in a way that is more relatable to the reader. For example, instead of saying "it was a hot day", you could say: "She was sweating, and her skin burned because of the sun. She faned herself with her hand, sighing". It makes the reader feel more immersed in a story, setting or emotion.

2. How to show, not tell

If you want to show things instead of telling them, you should try to reduce the number of "feeling words" in your work, such as "nervous","happy", "sad", "excited"... You get the point! Try to think what actions or details convey that emotion, and use them instead. "Sensation words" are also something to look for, like "hot", "cold", "hungry" and so on. There is always a better way to explain things! (If you struggle with this, don't worry! A lot of people make lists of actions that convey an exact mood or emotion. For example, @writers-potion has some really good ones, and also takes petitions).

Extra: I like to assign specific actions to characters so that it gives them variety, and as a little way to convey their personality in the way they express themselves. For example, one character may "cross their arms and frown" while another one might "look away and sight", and both can be interpreted as upset. Get creative!

3. When to use "show, don't tell"

Show don't tell is, of course, a great way to immerse your readers more in the story, but that doesn't mean that it's always necessary. A lot of writers see show don't tell just as a way to add words to your wordcount, and even if it is true that you usually use more words this way, that is not the objective of this technic. That is why, if you think that a specific part of your narration feels good without the show don't tell rule (or if your writing style is more genuine without it), I advise leaving it as it is. Other cases when you shouldn't use this method is in action scenes, as it can slow the pace of your story, or between dialogue, as too much description might come off as boring or unnecessary.

So that's all for today! My next post will probably be about backstorys and how to get them right, so if you'd like to read about that, keep tuned! Hope you find it helpful and happy writing everybody.

Other tips for writers: previous

[blossoms-phan]

Hi! I am a X escapee relatively recent Dan & Phil returnee who loves your posts, you seem so reasonable. I have just been given what felt like a 90 min presentation detailing how my innocent assumption that Dan and Phil were anything other than platonic housemates was incorrect and offensive.

The lecture i was given included every reference that highlighted, amongst other things: their "obvious" separate bedrooms, bathrooms, towels, angles of items shown in bedrooms, closets, mentions of wanting to go out and meet other men, lack of real concern (X words, not mine) at each others medical emergencies and every use of bro and friend that they have said post hiatus. It was very detailed, they were very insistent and I was very apologetic. I decided to flee the X hostility and head back to tumblr, but here everyone appears to think they are together. So now I am confused and don't want to offend a whole new group of people.

I think what set the X people off was i said "partner" as I was under the, I now know, incorrect impression that they went public years ago. Oops. Don't trust the internet is what I have learned from this. I thought all this drama would have died out long ago, but I assume this is a topic to stay far away from still? Thanks

hi anon! first of all, thank you for saying that (still can’t believe I’ve garnered enough attention on here that people specifically like my posts!), I really appreciate it. second of all imma be so real with you I am a person that still primarily refers to “X” as twitter bc I refuse to get with the times so this greatly confused me until I realized there was only one possible platform with those kind of people you could be talking about. i’m sorry you endured that exhausting sounding lecture and welcome you to phannie tumblr with open arms 🫶

i am here to gently reassure you that you can take what dnp say and do and show and form your own opinions about it, don’t let anyone tell you you’re right or wrong for drawing conclusions or making assumptions. however I will also be so bold and tell you why that individual is so blatantly wrong and maybe clear some of your confusion.

first of all, i think dnp would refer to themselves as anything but "platonic housemates." it all comes back to this but i dare someone to look me in the eyes and be so fr when saying that just because they've never stated in words "we're dating/boyfriends/partners etc" the simple fact that they share a mortgage on a "forever home" together, (according to them) spend literally all their time together, are partners in work/life/play (vacations), share families (dan being uncle to phil's niece) implies anything other than them being life partners. i'd also like to draw attention back to possibly the most blatantly open statement either of them has made about the nature of their relationship, in dan's video titled "basically i'm gay" where he describes them as "actual soulmates" and more. there are lots of people who have been discussing/answering posts about the concept of a "hard launch" recently which i could direct you to and i am of the mind that there's nothing wrong with conceptualizing the idea of a hard launch or them being more open to sharing details of their romantic relationship to an extent, but BIG is the most profound public statement of the nature of their relationship and, in my humble opinion, "the" hard launch as dan QUITE LITERALLY says "more than just romantic" and goes on to say he and phil are private people and that that's all he will say of it for now (keep in mind it's been 5 years since this statement- still relevant but minds can change, specifically theirs in terms of what they feel more comfortable and open sharing in a post-comeback world)

now moving on to the "references" you mentioned. again, highlighting literally any of this as "proof" that they are just friends or whatever is utterly ridiculous but i'll still go through it for funsies. i'd like to challenge this person that claims they have "obvious" seperate bedrooms by saying... what is so obvious about it?? dnp are highly aware that whatever they share with us will be analyzed or viewed under a microscope, so obviously they've carefully chosen which parts of the phouse to show us and they're not going to be like oh yeah this is OUR bedroom where we sleep TOGETHER every night. now i'm aware that yes, the "black" bedroom with dan's closet is more obviously a dan room that has been claimed as "his" bedroom. can't find it to link rn but they have posted a photo of the shelf of that room and while it is mostly dan stuff on the shelves, there was also a photo of phil's family and some of phil's books and items on the shelves. storage? sure, but if someone wants to claim that makes it so obviously dan's room then i can say that having phil's stuff in there could also point to them sharing the space. the room that phil films amazingphil videos in has been called a guest room/bed by them both, and in terms of rooms we've seen that just leaves the green room. imho everything points towards this being another guest room/possibly a room for family specifically to stay when they come- iirc nothing has been said to claim this as phil's room other than the fact that there is a painting by his dad and he occasionally films in there. i'm not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of their sleeping arrangements, but i think for two adults that own a huge house together and spend a lot of time together and have a lot of their own things it's perfectly reasonable to have "separate" bedrooms, multiple bathrooms/their own towels (?? i don't get this one i assume they're referring to the part of the golden pig video but like. obviously they have their own towels wtf lmao) and utter those things more on camera and then sleep together/share spaces in their own time.

once again, dan and phil know what they're doing. they are in control of what they show and share. calling each other "bro" and "friend" is an intentional choice and very much second nature at this point after doing it on camera for years. also it's not wrong or implies that they aren't romantic- i am of the opinion that they are friends first and they know that too. however, in a post-hiatus/comeback world, it almost feels pointed at this point. like a joke. a wink wink, nudge nudge, look-to-camera "we know you know" thing that they're keeping going just because they can.

in terms of the "going out and meeting other men" bit i assume they refer to jokes made by dan in the wad era? again, i'm not going to dive deep into this but dan is a comedian and post-coming out, wad and those other shows were the first time in his life he was able to be openly, unapologetically gay and himself and i think he was allowed to make a few grindr jokes for the fun of it. if dan values privacy in terms of his personal life, i highly doubt he would go around telling everyone he was hooking up with dudes- these are jokes plain and simple. but if you're interested @freckliedan has a wonderful post about dnp and the concept of monogamy/them sleeping with other people that i don't entirely disagree with and that is worded much better than i ever could so. i'd also like to talk to this person bc in what fucking world have they EVER shown a "lack of concern" at each others medical emergencies????? this is possibly the most baffling claim out of all of these to me. dan could not have made it more clear how scared/worried/traumatized he was by phil literally almost dying recently, and there have been more instances than i can count of him just being there for phil during all of his more recent health issues/scares. if this is referring to the eye incident, again i'm not going to pretend i know all the ins and outs of their relationship bc i don't- we know what they tell us. literally everything about this they said in a joking way, i don't know why people got their panties in a bunch- phil sending dan alone doesn't mean he doesn't care about him or anything, i honestly don't think he wouldn't have been much help going and i think they both kind of knew this, they were just playing it up to be a funny anecdote because they're entertainers. it's what they do. they've been making stories out of their lives for 15 years.

this is getting far too long and rambley as i don't know how to rein in my yapping when responding to asks but. i promise you're fine. discussing their relationship isn't "drama" or some forbidden thing, it happens on here a lot actually. except you will find most people on here use critical thinking and what dan and phil knowingly share with us, as adults with brains, to draw conclusions about their relationship based on everything from the way they look at each other to the little ways they tell us they care about and love each other bc they do. and that's not something they shy from now. come join us! don't let people tell you you're wrong for thinking they're partners bc in the nicest way possible, they literally are (if you want to sugarcoat it and say life partners instead of romantic go ahead bc they've literally described themselves as companions through life which is a more poetic way of saying partners imo) and respectfully anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial at this point

[m0nsterqzzz]

The Real Victory

pairing: Clove Kentwell x fem!reader

summary: when you return from the hunger games as a victor, the only thing you really want is your girlfriend

warnings: slapping (?), mentions of killing (not described, just mentioned), the games?

a/n: can you tag someone who asked anonymously? no idea. if so, somebody teach me. whoever asked for this, it's kinda sucky sorry :/ also, wtf is that title? no idea how to write titles lmao

You didn’t want to leave.

You like your home, you like your family, you like your friends, and most of all, you love your girlfriend.

Growing up, it was trained into your heart, soul, and mind that all you were there for was to volunteer as a tribute for the games. You didn't want to, and as a kid it never made sense why the people surrounding you were so eager to give their lives up just so the capitol could have some special edition entertainment.

“Respect. We want people to respect us.” Your best friend Clove had told you when you were just kids. She had this look in her eyes, one that everyone in district two has as they await the time to get their so-called respect.

Still, it didn't make that much sense to you. The capitol would never respect anyone other than themselves, so why would you even try?

Clove became your girlfriend when you were fourteen- though everyone says they knew you two were in love since you were kids. Not everyone understood why you would fall for her though, her unmatched anger towards anything and everything, her ability to kill anyone who looks at her wrong that comes along with her ruthlessness, and her cold, emotionless personality seemed pretty hard to love.

But that's not how you see it. She has a fiery look in her eyes, but it melts everytime she catches sight of you. She has the ability to ruthlessly kill, but you know she'd give her life to protect you.  She's cold and emotionless, but it just gives you reason to spend more and more time with her and in hopes of learning more about her.

The anger she has towards the world was only once directed towards you. The day you raised your hand and volunteered as a tribute for the games. You'd scored well on your final training test at the academy, as did Clove, so no one really batted an eye when thinking of one of your becoming a tribute. The moment you saw her arm twitch in a way that signaled she was going to give her life, you jumped in.

You’d only seen her once after that, a quick three minute visit in the justice hall where she didn't utter a word to you despite your begging before you were ushered onto the train and sent to the capitol. You wondered if she’d ever speak to you again, or if she really just hated you for taking what could have been her chance to prove herself to the capitol and everyone in your district.

Long story short, it fucking sucked.

You spent most of the games hiding in caves, attacking anyone that game along and by the end of it, you had more than enough blood on your hands for the capitols liking. You were sent home with the promise of a nice house and luxury items, but it wasn't much as in your district it wasn't that hard to get them before.

The train speeds through the forest surrounding district two, and you sit in a seat closest to the exit doors, knee bouncing up and down as the large buildings and factories of your home come into view. Almost everyone is outside the justice hall waiting to greet you, but you only want to see one person.

The transportation slowly comes to a stop, your stomach churning as you hear the cheers from outside the closed doors that only get louder when the doors slide open. Your mentor gets off the train, smiling brightly with pride as if it was here that survived. She rolls her eyes, motioning for you to join her on the platform so the train can leave and you can greet everyone.

Grudgingly, you do. With the knife that’s been strapped to your thigh since the moment you woke up in a hospital in the capitol placed snugly under your dress, you follow after her, the noise only growing louder as they catch sight of you. It’s not surprising for someone in district two to win, but they still think it’s amazing every time it happens.

You recognize some people; some friends from the academy, the nice old man who used to sell you and your girlfriend fruit every weekend, the trainer that graded your final test in school to make you eligible to be a tribute. But your gaze doesn’t linger on them for too long. It falls to the part of the group that's parting for something- or someone.

She’s kinda short, but her height doesn’t matter as she practically steps on anyone that won’t get out of her way as she sprints towards the platform you’re on. Clove.

Much to your mentors dismay, you bunch your dress in your hands to lift it up a little higher than the floor so you don’t trip as you run down the stairs and meet her in the middle. You open your arms for a hug, desperate to feel her comfort right now, but she doesn’t hug you. She lifts her hand, swinging it towards your face. It’s all you see before your cheek begins to sting and your head flies sideways, gasps leaving the people around you.

“Why the fuck would you do that?! You’re so stupid!” Clove yells. You’ve been dreaming of her and her voice for weeks, and that wasn’t exactly the first thing you’d think she’d say if you got to come home.

“I know. I’m sorry.” You mumble, and her eyes soften as she pulls you into a tight hug. Her eyes squeeze shut, one hand cradling the back of your head and the other squeezing the back of your shirt like you’re going to disappear if she lets go. Her knees seem to go slack, so you gently fall with her until you're both on your knees, still hugging like it’s the last time.

The crowd surrounding you guys finally starts to disburse, going back to their activities as you and Clove sit there in silence.

“I had to…I had to watch you get hurt. You got hurt and for the first time ever, I couldn’t save you.” She mumbles into your hair, tears wetting your shirt and you can hear the sadness in her voice. It’s not the first time she’s cried around you, but it is the first time she’s cried with the risk of anyone seeing her in such a vulnerable state.

You nod, no words coming out as you go limp in her arms, finally feeling safe enough in her embrace to just calm down.

She pulls a few inches away, just enough so she can look at your face. Her blue eyes scan your face, as if noting every detail that's changed in the time you’ve been apart. Right on your hairline is a small cut that will scar which capitol didn’t bother hiding as you’d never really notice it unless you looked closely- the way Clove is doing right now.

The dark haired girl leans forward, gently pressing her lips against the cut and letting them linger for a second. Her tears wet your face, but you know she’s never felt happier. She kisses your lips after that with a passion that could bring even the most powerful gods to their knees. You taste the sweet taste of the strawberries she loves eating on her lips for the first time in weeks and you feel like crying even harder.

“I love you. I love you.” She whispers the phrase over and and over again against your lips, not daring to let you go once again as she holds you as close as possible without hurting you.

She’s still pissed, definitely, and you know she’s going to make snide comments about your dumb decision for years to come, but that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that you’re here, not in the arena. You’re with her, not killing a district six boy. You’re here with her, not reliving your trauma for the first time in days.

She’s here.

[eydi-andrius]

Vexation

warnings: obscene language, reader talking back to elder people, sweet, fluff. That's all, I think? Haha!

pairings: Aemond Targaryen x Tyrell!Reader

summary:

The well-known Lady Thorn of Highgarden finally visited you after a year of being wed to Prince Aemond. However, you have a feeling it will not go well.

a/n: this was supposed to be a 100 followers thank you fic but I just finished it today lol Enjoy!

like always, LIKES are really welcome but this duck will do the duck dance if you also REBLOG and LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS about her stories. i love reading them and they inspire me a lot. ✨

You have been acting up since earlier when your mother informed you that your grandmother decided to visit the two of you after many moons of being wed.

~~~~~~

"For someone who hasn't seen their grandmother for years, you seem not thrilled enough, my love." He gave a light chuckle when he saw your face with a sneer.

And you have a feeling that he was enjoying this different side of you.

You're always calm and collected and it was rare to see you so agitated about someone who used to be your mentor.

No, you're not like this because you're troubled she did not visit you sooner.

Nor, it was due to you not caring about her enough either.

It's the opposite.

You love her.......truly.

And you know her better than anyone in this kingdom. Her old bones, wit and all.

If you have been asked to give one word to describe her, that would be; a nuisance.

"Well, if I were you, you should too." He raised his eyebrow at that but the look of wonder was still etched all over his face.

"I still fail to understand what was so wrong in meeting, not just your grandmother but your teacher when you were young. I bet she can share stories I do not know about you, Lady wife."

"I also fail to understand why such a man of your stature was so excited to meet a chattering old lady, Lord husband." You said as a matter of fact.

At this point, you knew that he truly thinks you do not want to meet her for fear of hearing embarrassing stories about your childhood.

He did think about one thing right, but he did not hit the head in the nail on what your fear truly was for.

"Enlighten me, my love. What did your grandmother do to earn your ire?" Before you could share the reason for your distress, a servant's knock disrupted your conversation.

"Pardon me, my prince and my lady. Lady Tyrell was waiting in the sitting room." The servant bowed once she announced the arrival of your family. She stood near the door, waiting for your command.

With a sigh, you stood up and went near your husband. Your hand reaches for his hair and you run through your fingers on his soft locks. Your hand fixes the ones that always seem to find themselves unaligned.

He closes his eyes and leaves a soft "hmmm" on his lips as he savors the feel of your fingers through his hair.

"Are you certain you want me to go and waste my time with that old monster instead of doing this with you?" You smiled sweetly at him and pouted your lips to convince him not to let you go and finally meet your grandmother.

However, instead of saying yes, he chuckled and warm calloused hands clasped yours.

"As much as I love to do that and stay with you in our chambers, wrapped around my arms, your refusal to meet her might leave a wrongful impression towards who I am. So go now, dear wife, I know you'll come back to me safe and sound."

A grumble left you before you pecked his nose. He frowned a bit at your rebellious antics. You always give him a kiss on the lips and wish him well before he trains. But today, you're not giving him that.

Before he could protest though, you stuck out your tongue and winked at him. Leaving him on his own devices as you were escorted by the servant to the place you truly hoped not to visit today.

Even from afar, you can already hear your grandmother's feeble voice from old age. Yet, you know that despite the soft sounds, she's far from tender.

"Here I thought I'll meet my death bed first before you finally show up here." She said with eyes-closed while sipping her tea.

Trying not to roll your eyes, you smiled at the servant and dismissed her. You gave your mother a smile before you sat down beside her.

Servants who were standing closed immediately placed a cup and saucer in front of you. They also filled the table with new biscuits and sweets.

"Well, I guess my timing's not that impeccable because I would have waited more just to see that." The servant who was filling up your tea almost let go of the teapot from shock on what she heard. But as she was a highly trained servant from the palace, she composed herself right away and bowed once she finished her task.

Meanwhile, your mother let out a cough and a choked sound of surprise before deciding to dismiss the servants fully and avoid any more witness from your family banter.

"I can't believe you call yourself a lady with that manners." Once all the servants were dismissed, your grandmother spoked again.

"Apologies, mother. I will make sure to teach her the proper decorum again later." Your mother gave you an eye and you just rolled your eyes at her.

"Not my granddaughter. She's perfect as is. I meant you. Who would have choked on her own tea?" Her feeble voice cracked from hoarseness as she raised her voice, scolding your mother.

A knowing look was passed between you and your mother as she gaped at your grandmother from shock.

If you do not respect your mother, you would have said I told you so.

"Anyway, enough lessons about etiquette. How was the life of being a wife, my favorite grandchild." Even without a mirror, you can see your face twitched from annoyance.

This old hag was indeed testing your patience. It has been a year since your wedding. You'll understand if she did not come to your wedding due to an official business. However, all those times, she was sitting on her favorite chair, sipping her warm tea, inside her chambers in Highgarden.

"It was well, until you decided to come here and ruin it for me." At this point, your mother feigned ignorance and continued with her afternoon tea. She's smarter now as she realized that your grandmother came here for you with an agenda. You're trying to decipher what it was. Yet, you have a feeling you know it already.

"If that was true then, when are you going to give me my grandchildren? Are you impotent? Because I believed based on stories inside these walls, your lord husband made your legs wobble on several occasions. I can only assume that problem was you." The cutlery rang when you put your cup down full of anger from her statement.

It wasn't as if you did not want a child either but no matter how much you did it with Aemond throughout that year, you were still not blessed with a baby. Your husband, the ever sweet partner, assured you that it was fine. Some couples had the hardest time having children and there was no rush.

The insult stings, especially, since it was your family who mentioned it.

"If that was the reason for your visit then I'd rather spent more time doing it with my husband than wasting my time here talking to a wrinkled old thorn." You were about to leave your seat when suddenly, your grandmother grabbed your arm and pulled you back down.

"Oh dear. Your patience was still shorter than my lifespan. Sit back down and let this wrinkled old thorn finish what she was trying to discuss." Still fuming, you followed her but crossed your arms in defiance as you stared straightly in her eyes.

"Well, I would not even agree that you were impotent as our family were known to have no problems with giving birth compared to the Targaryen. But still, answer my question truthfully.

.

.

.

.

.

When you're doing it, have you tried using your mouth and licking the tip while massaging his balls so he'll enjoy it. In my time, ladies let their husbands cum first and that method was certain to make them pregnant after a month." Your mother who was quietly listening to your discussion was left coughing violently at your grandmother's shameless words in broad daylight. The tea she was holding splashed everywhere as she tried to compose herself.

To help her calm down, you put your hand soothingly on her back. Your face red with shame as your grandmother continued her obscenities and the advice for the right position to get pregnant next time.

When she realized that you and your mother gave her silence as she told you what must be done, she looked in your direction and raised her eyebrow at your reddened looks.

"Ha! I do not understand why the two of you act as if you did not know what I am saying. Stop pretending to be prim and proper! A man can do and tries everything when he's fucking every lady on these realm but a lady had a chance to only do it with once with one man on her lifetime. Enough with this nonsense and do me a favor and use this." You almost backed away when she suddenly stood up and placed a bag inside your hands. The bag emits a strong sweet smell you've never smelled before.

"What is this?"

"An aphrodisiac."

As if your skin was burnt by the bag, you immediately throw it on the table and stay as far away from it as possible.

"Have your old brain finally given up?" You yelled at your grandmother. Fingers pointing at her accusingly. You can feel the hotness run from your face to your ears and you know that you looked just like an apple from how red you were.

"Oh hush now. Me and your grandfather used to add that to our tea and it always ended up with a child so that product's safe from testing. Not that we need it much but the feeling we have after using it was something I missed so much. Believe me, it will just help your body relax and be more sensitive from your partner's touches compared to other aphrodisiacs." The disgust you felt when you saw her close her eyes and shudder from remembering what she did with your grandfather were so immense you felt all the hair in your body rise.

"Oh gods. My dear ears." On the other hand, your mother's laments as she tries to console her ears and head from what she heard today.

A sudden knock made you jump from where you were standing and you three looked at the door and waited for the announcement of whoever was on the other side.

"Lady Tyrell, his grace, the prince Aemond Targaryen is here to see you."

"Let him in. Let me see my grandson-in-law." Before you can react, your grandmother smiled wickedly at you and announced to let your husband in.

Panicked, you grabbed the bag and put it inside your dress, where a hidden pocket was made.

Your husband came in with a warm smile but frowned when he saw your pale face and rigid body as you stood near a chair.

He titled his head at you in silent question about what happened when your grandmother opens her mouth to greet him.

"If this wasn't the infamous one-eyed prince who was able to tame the biggest dragon at such a young age." A toothy grin was plastered on her face and she walked towards your husband. She opened her arms and hugged him tightly. She also patted him loudly and the gesture confuses your husband but let her do it.

"Hmmm... I know now why my granddaughter is protective of you. I will surely climb you if I am a little bit younger."

The world stopped as you tried to understand what your grandmother said to your dear husband.

You were just glad that your husband did not skip his etiquette classes as he was able to compose himself right away and gave a proper answer from that obscene remark.

"You flatter me, Lady Thorn." He replied with a smile.

Your grandmother chuckled at that and decided to walk back in her seat. But when she passed your way, she whispered something that only your ears can hear.

"If you do not pull him away from this place, I will make sure to make his ears bleed." You looked at her incredulously as she sat back down with a soft look on her face.

Blinking, you looked at your mother, who was still red, and looked back at your husband who was staring at your mouth agaped expression then back to your grandmother, who ordered another servant to bring another warm tea like normal. As if she did not just whisper the most absurd order you've heard.

Without further ado, you stride towards your husband with a purpose and grab his arm away from the chamber.

"Make sure to use my gift tonight, my favorite grandchild." Your grandmother reminded you with a wink.

All you were able to say was a loud groan and you stomped away dragging your husband with you.

"What was that?" He asked. Obviously confused with your manners.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Looking at your husband's face, your thoughts immediately come back from the nights he kisses your skin and presses himself closer to you. Thanks to your grandmother's scheme.

Stepping backwards farther in his direction, you stride and start running away.

He called your name many times but you can't look back as you slapped both of your cheeks from embarrassment.

How could you feel so turned on in the middle of the corridors just from staring at him. You groaned as you felt your core slicken from just the thoughts of him.

With a scream, you look at the clear sky with determination.

You will prove to your grandmother that you do not need that tea to enjoy your husband's company and bear his child!

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, back inside the room, Lady Tyrell cleared her throat and finally opened her mouth to talk to Lady Thorn.

"Do you truly need to edge her that way? I believe they're doing their best."

"Then, their best was not enough. With that type of husband, I can't believe she was having a hard time having a child. All she needed was a little push. I know it." The old lady smiled to herself and sighed as she looked outside and witnessed the beauty of spring.

She was sure that this will be a fruitful year for the Highgarden.

[nerdytreeflower]

Sunshine: Chapter One

Derek Morgan X Reader

Summary: Bestfriends. Or something close to that anyway. That's what they are, but after one wine-fuelled night's sleep and a whole load of tossing and turning, one side of the friendship becomes strained. Derek Morgan wants to know why. Which is when the perfect opportunity comes from the pipecleaner with eyes and she has no choice but to confront the feelings she believes are one-sided. Confrontation and serial killers seem like a good mix, right? That's what I thought.

Chapter CW: 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: New Chapter! Again, any constructive criticism is appreciated and feel free to comment and interact!

Series Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

The moments spent in the Bureau-acquired rental were stifling. Up until this point, the two had not been left alone in a room if she could help it the past week. But they had appearances to keep up, and that included their arrival at the resort. He hadn't spoken a word, eyes focused on the unfamiliar road which gave her the perfect advantage to trail her eyes down his person with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the stick shift.

Along with the belongings they had packed, they were given certain instructions on how to act, things to say, and specific people to talk to if they were given no choice but to interact with the other members but otherwise to keep to themselves. That the unsub picked out couples that wouldn't be missed right away.

He was wearing a white linen shirt, the buttons only done up to a point where most of his chest was visible, a necklace hanging down from his neck. It was strange, she didn't often see him so dressed up- his broad shoulders were often wrapped in Henleys, his legs in work trousers not so often the jeans he was donning.

The shirt sleeves were rolled up and she could see the slight veins in his arms as he changed gear and turned the wheel with his palm. God, why was she like this, she thought as she snapped her gaze to the road ahead, adjusting the strap of her dress in an attempt to lull the sudden heat that filled her cheeks. 

It was a warm day in June, the air was heavy with humidity and a light breeze traveled through the car from where both sides had a cracked window. To be fair, she was also more dressed up than usual but not by much, a cute summer dress that happened to be one of her favourites hugged her figure. It was made of stretchy, patterned fabric that moved with her breathing and the spaghetti straps didn't offer any unnecessary warmth.

She was so caught up in pretending that she hadn't just been ogling him like a depraved teenage girl that she didn't hear his question.

"Sorry?" she turned to look at him as he glanced at her expectantly,

"I said, how do you wanna play this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just so we're on the same page, what kind of couple should we try to be? We know that our guy takes them a couple of weeks into their stay meaning he probably watches them for a while."

"Long enough to get to know each other, or at least for him to get to know them. And the other couples were described as-" she cut herself off, she didn't have to say what they both knew: the victims before were all reportedly in their honeymoon stage and two actually were on their honeymoon. Meaning, the likelihood of the victimology being a stoic couple that barely talked to each other, as they had been for the beginning of the trip, wasn't likely to catch his attention.

"How about we get to the resort and play it by ear, it would probably be easier to keep our act consistent if we went with what's natural." Natural? Natural? 

Great one, she thought to herself.

"Okay then," a terse reply.

"Mr. and Mrs Dursley?" they had Hotch's son's new obsession to thank for their aliases.

"Yeah, that's us," Derek claimed, lifting the boot door to lug out the two large suitcases they had both brought before slamming it shut. They had arrived at the resort merely five minutes before they were greeted in the car park by an overeager staff member. He was short, with the kind of shape where the measurement of his height and his torso was probably equal; the resort colours stretched over his body in a light blue waistcoat.

"We are so honored you chose Palm Springs for your honeymoon, we-" The rest of the short man's speech was drowned out of her head by the sudden addition of a warm weight around her waist. A small sound of surprise escaped her lips before she could clamp them shut, already cursing herself at the lack of calm disposition. 

God, if all it took was him putting his arm around her waist for heat to creep up her cheeks then how the hell would she get through the rest of their performance for the next however many days?

In her defense, it was a very nice arm, she thought as she leaned back into Derek's solid chest. Momentarily wondering if she were to slam into him with all of her body weight if he would even shift an inch; it didn't feel like it. He was warm and steady behind her, his thumb beginning to caress the fabric of her waist as he made conversation with the nice employee that she could have sworn introduced himself. Francisco? Franklin? Something along those lines.

She hadn't realised she had been zoned out for so long until she felt the soft caress of Derek's thumb turn into a gentle pinch on her hip, a yelp escaping her as she made a show of nudging him in the chest and smiling down at the ground.

"Sweetheart? You ready to get settled?" he repeated the question for her benefit, butterflies seemingly multiplying in response to the nickname.

"I'm ready when you are, baby," she leaned into his chest, really laying it on thick as he moved his arm from around her waist to hook around her shoulders, his hand coming to hang around her collarbone. They slowly began to make their way down the paved path as a couple of other employees, seemingly out of nowhere came to help with their bags. 

Baby? Too much? They were going to be here for at least several days so she had time to try them all, see which ones fit best.

She distantly heard Derek making some sort of excuse to their guide about a long drive to explain her behavior and reprimanded herself for her sloppiness. Although Derek didn't seem to mind the clingy approach when they came up to several hut-looking structures looking out over a natural-looking pool with a few inhabitants, he pulled her closer, laying a sweet kiss on the top of her head.

They followed Francisco-Franklin down a winding path and up the steps of a large Island-hut-looking structure, he reached up to what appeared to be a small wooden birdhouse the size of his palm, flipped it up, and revealed a keypad which he typed in a 4 digit code, releasing a metal key into his awaiting grasp.

He looked back at them over his shoulder, wiggling the key in the air gleefully before slotting it into the door. She noted that it was Derek this time not paying too much attention, his eyes narrowed and surveilling the building where they would be staying in his FBI-like focus. It looks as though she wasn't the only one rusty in her undercover work, she thought as she reached up to play with the ends of his fingers hanging over her shoulder to gain his attention. His gaze snapped down to meet hers and she witnessed his eyes soften noticeably, it was then she acknowledged that this was most likely the first time they had made extended eye contact in possibly weeks. Had his eyes gotten warmer? They seemed such a vibrant and comforting shade of brown she only blinked when she heard a clearing of a throat and witnessed the joyful look on Fransisco-Franklin's face as he admired the two from inside the door.

"Well, come on you lovebirds. Let me show you your room and you can get that much-needed rest you talked about," he said it in such a way that it was obvious he believed there would be no rest gotten by either of them in the immediate future. The embarrassed flush was not all that difficult to conjure up.

Derek's hand slipped from her shoulders to the small of her back, guiding her up the steps and through the threshold of their accommodation. The gasp she let out wasn't fake. Sure, she made a good amount of money from her job at the BAU yet she couldn't ever remember investing it in something so obviously self-indulgent as the setup before them. It was a startling reminder of the type of people that would often occupy this hut and the ones on either side, people who didn't mind spending a good amount of money on a vacation and luxury such as those that were high enough up the chain of command in the BAU to make a difference in the way they conducted their investigation.

The ceiling was high and woven out of some kind of reeds, the walls a series of floor-to-ceiling windows that had a range of shutters to provide some privacy. The ground was a hardwood that looked worn enough to be comfortable on bare feet yet still incredibly expensive-looking, even from where they were standing they could have a view of the entire structure. A small island that appeared to be half a kitchen, a wide semi-circle beige couch that was littered with colourful throw pillows, warm-toned light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling where the building was sectioned off by a small changing partition she could guess was the bathroom.

And the bed. She almost moaned at the sight, it was sat upon multiple layers of raised steps, positioning it higher than floor level, what appeared to be a king-size four-poster bed with light linen curtains that blew in the breeze from the open windows. The bedding was a cloud, soft and white even from where they were standing several meters away.

"This is your hut, Number 7, the Turaco Suit. The key safe outside the door there can be re-coded to whatever code you like to keep your key when you are out and about and it'll reset when you leave. We have some food stocked up in the kitchen here if you get peckish but I cannot recommend the restaurant enough for all meals of the day, it's to die for," he clasped his hands together and looked honestly close to squealing. He motioned over to the table in the middle of the room that held an A5 white booklet with the resort logo on the front.

"There is a booklet here that should contain any other information you will need and there is a landline up there by your bed that contains all of the numbers of the resort including the reception and other facilities should you need anything delivered to your door. Your bags should arrive shortly just outside your door. Are there any questions I can answer before I leave you lovebirds in peace?" she could honestly say she had never met a person who seemed so genuinely ecstatic to do their job as Francesco-Franklin.

"I can't think of anything, can you, Honey?" she looked up at Derek who seemed as enamored by their surroundings as she did. He shook his head and smiled brightly in a way that made her knees weak, walking the man back to the door and thanking him profusely. By the time the door was shut, she had taken a running start and jumped into the neatly made bed, the covers so soft they practically swallowed her whole as she descended into their cool, soft depths.

"Now this, I could get used to," she heard the playful tease of him approaching before she felt and heard him collapse into the bed next to her. It was so large they could probably both sleep with their arms spread and not touch each other.

A few moments of stillness passed them as they took in the relaxing silence of the quietly air-conditioned room, "So what do you think should be our first move?" she murmured, propping her head up beneath her arms as she stared up at the ceiling,

"What, no Honey?" a shuffle and a shadow indicated that he had propped himself up onto his arm and was looking over at her, she refused to meet his eye again and resorted to fiddling with the bracelets they were both given, her's made of silver that wrapped around her wrist like a bangle and his that was made of braided leather- both holding some form of panic button which, apart from in-person check-ups and occasional phone calls, would be their only contact to the team.

"We're expected to be in here for a while if he's lurking outside, and to be completely honest I'm not too opposed to an early night- It wasn't a complete lie, I am tired." She continued, again still quietly, sitting up and swinging her legs over to the left side of the bed where she had fallen and toed off her sandals to fall to the floor, tossing her sunglasses and hat onto the bedside table.

They were both aware as they had been briefed that there was a very real possibility of the Unsub having surveillance inside the rooms to further monitor the couples before taking them. Hence the whispers. The profile so far was that any technology the Unsub had wouldn't be top-quality so no microphones that could pick up that level of sound yet they still had to be careful and keep up appearances when in their hut. At least until a subtle sweep could be done for bugs.

"No, no it was not." Derek agreed, still lying sprawled over the covers like a cat bathing in a sunbeam, arms reaching up and crossing over his face to supply some shade. This provided an agreeable view of his shirt riding up his stomach and his arms increasing in size, skin warm and toned with ripples of muscles yet still looking so soft she had to hold herself back from reaching out and touching it.

Pull yourself together, control yourself, she thought sharply to herself.

"We have around 3 hours until sundown, what do you want to do?" her feet came up to rest by her knees and the feeling of cool, clean bedding against them was pleasant. She looked over her shoulder once again and saw Derek already looking back at her, the energized feeling she always gets when his eyes are locked on her comes rushing back and she's suddenly reminded why the decision was to keep eye contact to a minimum. 

She focused back on flipping through the phone numbers on the nightstand to occupy herself as the movement of the mattress made it evident he had sat up. She felt the shift of the air behind her and could imagine him leaning into her space, breath against her left shoulder and only a couple of inches between his face and the exposed skin of her shoulders and back.

"Hey, don't you think it's time we tal-" Leaping off the bed and into action seemed to be her chosen defense, not a sleepy bone left in her body as she rushed to their kitchen, searching cupboards and draws.

"Hey, Honey? Do you want a drink? This hot weather is making me thirsty," she opened what appeared to be the fridge and revealed all different kinds of individually bottled fizzy drinks, a couple of larger bottles of milk, and what appeared to be orange juice. The slow steps of Derek could be heard over her shoulder as could the exhale he let out, evidently frustrated at the once again evaded line of questioning.

"Sure, Sweetheart, let me get that for you," his arm reached up above her head, trapping her between the cupboards and him as he reached the glasses on the top shelf. He brought them down and placed them on the counter, the closeness of them not being lost on her. Ducking out of his entrapment, she swerved and shut the fridge with her hip, pouring two glasses of orange juice and placing it on the counter.

"So? What are you thinking?" She spoke loud enough for the performance of their conversation to be clear to him. What she read as frustration glinted in his eyes, shining as he tilted his head in thought. Staring into her soul before sighing once again and dragging what looked to be a map of the resort across the island in front of them.

A few moments passed before he tapped the surface twice, "The restaurant that was recommended for dinner- If we want to get an early night," he looked up at her like they were sharing some kind of secret, exactly like a man who couldn't wait to get his new wife back into privacy as soon as possible, "It opens at six-thirty so I'm thinking an early dinner. We have a good hour or so before that time so that's up to you, Sweetness," She had to admit he was a good actor.

"I can't be bothered to interact with other people just yet," she took a sip of her juice, deciding it wasn't orange but more of some kind of mango, "You okay with just relaxing until then? Taking a look at the activity classes?" she grinned, shaking the booklet and with no faked amount of glee skipping over to the couch. Since it was the higher-ups who were paying for this covert observation, everything would be coming out of their pockets so she had no trouble indulging. 

That, and if she was going to be stuck here thanks to Boy Genius' need to meddle, there was no rule saying she couldn't get a nice massage. In fact, it was encouraged by a certain pink-haired friend along with requests for pictures of Derek Morgan being oiled by the masseuse.

She dropped onto the couch, the soft material being comfortable as she nestled down into it and brought a pen to tap against her lips, reading the itinerary of activities. 

He followed her once again, a habit that was becoming evident, as he came to sit down by her feet, lifting her legs by the ankles and placing them back down on his lap. She went through the lists, activities ranging from massages to yoga lessons, line dancing, and jewelry making- many of which contained the word 'couples' in front of it.

Awareness of the thumb rubbing circles on her ankle perked up and she couldn't help but sink further into the cushions. She threw the booklet down and lay her arm across her face, reveling in the soft caresses she was being spoilt with.

"They have line dancing classes, maybe we should take those; you know I've always wanted to see you in a cowboy hat," she teased, grinning into the safety of her arm. 

Derek grabbed her ankle tighter and with a firm grip, pulled her down further into the cushions so her knees were across his lap. She yelped, laughing as she kicked them out, ceasing immediately as the circles he was drawing had risen to the side of her knee. 

"You're a little minx, you know that?" he joked and she could hear the genuine humor in his voice as he brought up a hand to cup the back of her neck. She was still far enough away that she knew he wasn't going to kiss her just yet to keep up appearances yet the stroke of his thumb behind her ear was almost ticklish, making her want to angle her head into his touch. 

Her body, seemingly listening to this desire pushed her head further into his hand. He stilled for a moment before resuming, her eyes falling shut as she decided to stay there for a few moments with her eyes closed- that it was as good a way to spend the next hour or so as any.

The combination of the cloud-like couch, the low lighting, the light breeze flowing through the rooms, and leaving an appreciated reprieve from the sweltering heat made her sleepy in her optimum environment. That, and she was not so foolish as to deceive herself into thinking Derek's safe presence, his gentle and soothing circles, had nothing to do with her ease in following the tempting wave of exhaustion into a soft slumber. 

Her eyes grew heavy, and breathing deeper she fell asleep in his arms.

A/N: :)

[hero-israel]

I hear you on the song-and-dance with 'the disputed territories in the West Bank', but to some extent I kinda think the push back on the language choices used to describe Palestine are warranted. The West Bank WAS occupied. By Jordan, and then later by Israel FROM Jordan. And then Israel and Jordan made peace and agreed on their borders, and now the territories in the West Bank are disputed, not occupied. (but also, yeah, sure, end the occupation)

and Gaza is (was, current war notwithstanding) blockaded, not occupied, because a territory is considered occupied when it falls under “effective control of hostile foreign armed forces.” Traditionally, effective control requires three main components: the physical presence of a foreign military without consent; the inability of a local sovereign to exercise control because of foreign forces’ presence; and the imposition of occupying forces’ authority, and like, the only bit that can with any honesty be argued is 'imposition of Israeli authority' in terms of a moderately closed border and an import limitation. (like, yeah, borders be violence, why is cardamon on the prohibited substances list, BUT) you cannot honestly argue that the diagnostics of an occupation were present in Gaza. But us jews are so wily we can, unlike any other people in the world, enact an occupation without ANY OF THE DIAGNOSTIC INDICATORS, according to the EU, and the Red Cross, Amnesty, the African Union and several different UN organs. (in an inverse of the standard; rules for me but not for thee, fucking hypocrites)

Like, it's just frustrating, and I understand being Done and Tired about the attempts to get nuance into language, but also also, the WORDS MEAN THINGS GODAMMIT

(this Words Mean Things Rant brought to you by: Gaza can't be an enclave, godammit, it borders to both Egypt and Israel!)

To be clear - I will and do say that there was no occupation of Gaza after the pullout. Having a border fence between hostile neighbors is not an occupation. Even Hamas admitted publicly that the occupation was over. As you surely know, for the first 8 months after the pullout there was only a rather flimsy fence and no naval blockade at all, and it would have stayed that way if not for the Lost Causers.

In the West Bank, 90+% of the time it is just not a worthwhile argument to have. Especially when I think one of the best ways to show the falsehood of the "apartheid" accusation is how (as my pinned post says) there were no changes in the structure of the occupation itself and you can't just morph one into the other from being bored. When people try to relitigate 1948 and 1967 and "stealing from Palestinians," then I show them why those arguments were false at that point in time and get them to remember Jordan and Jordanians exist. But I feel like there is only so much needle-threading that we can ever expect people to sit still for, and in 2024 when the Israeli army really is dominating territory of people who don't like it and who live under military law instead of civilian law, it is much more an academic exercise than a home run. I don't want to sound like one of those guys who goes "ackshyually it's not pedophilia, it's ephebophilia".

It depressed me to realize that most people don't base their stances around legit evidence or consistent arguments. Nearly everything Jewish people can say to defend themselves against bias and prejudice boils down to "You're being inconsistent, you're treating us unlike other groups!" when just announcing that doesn't bring change. Life is not a college debate class, the heart is not a court of law, there is not actually a judge from a made-for-TV-movie who will listen to us and take our side and translate our accuracy into better lives. Most people don't even try to stick to consistency or principle, they just decide what they want and make up a reason after, and, as the quote says, they "indicate that the time for discussion has passed."

Jewish culture and literature and society famously revolves around dispute and interpretation and commentary. Our mindset, our epistemic interaction with reality, does not match that of the people who want to kill us. All we can do is argue but we cannot make them listen. Our ancestors in Spain and Germany certainly tried, and they were right, and it didn't matter. The sword is mightier than the pen and no one is actually afraid of us. When people say antisemitic things their "punishment" is getting a tour of a Holocaust museum. If our ancestors really had colonized the world and left billions of descendants to reap the rewards, maybe we could have our own version of the Mohammed cartoon approach and make people leave us alone.

[spaceyflowerswriting]

HII idk if u write for gun ( lookism ) but would it be alright if I request a gun x reader fluff? That’s all! Ty:))

beauty in you (gun park x reader)

details: fluffy drabble, gender neutral reader written in 2nd pov, general canon au, you and gun are coworkers dating

summary: a silly conversation with kouji makes gun realize you've become a very dear part of his life.

a/n: i do <3!! he's one of my faves to write; thanks for requesting!!

inspired by the last prompt on this post 💖

×

"...Really?"

"What?"

Kouji pointed to the headband Gun was currently wearing, the fluffy cat ears on them being a large contrast to his serious demeanor. "If I asked you to wear that, you would've asked me what color I'd want my coffin to be."

"Hm. Really?" Gun smirked out of amusement when the purple haired highschooler gave his arm a light slap.

"Seriously, I've never seen you make so many exceptions for someone before." Kouji huffed and pointed with a thumb at you, which you didn't notice because you were too busy singing with Crystal. "They've really got you wrapped around their finger."

"Please," scoffed Gun, "Is it so strange I enjoy the company of someone? And it's not as if I don't do these things with Goo, either. Just the other day we were at a karaoke like this one."

"Yeah, but you kinda grumble when you agree! With them you just agree right away."

"Your point?"

Kouji let out a deep sigh. "You know what it is? I think they made you soft, at least towards them."

Soft...? Soft?

Never in a million years would Gun ever describe himself with such a word, nor would he imagine someone else would use it in reference to him. Yet at this moment, he could sort of understand why Kouji would say what he did.

He shook his head anyway, turning his attention back to you, adoring your bright smile that even his sunglasses couldn't protect his eyes from as he said, "They made me appreicate something I've yet to experience, that's all. I see no problem with it."

When Kouji made a gagging sound, Gun turned his head back to see him grimacing. "Am I hallucinating? Gun wearing cat ears and saying the most disgustingly cheesy ass thing I've ever heard?"

Gun just chuckled. "Is now a good time to ask what color you would like your coffin?"

"Man..."

[below is extra characterization stuff i started with but then realized i was just rambling instead of writing a story but i liked it enough to keep it]

When others say that beauty was found in people, Gun could agree, but perhaps not in a way one would usually think. For him, it wasn't the kindness or smiles humanity shared that he found beautiful, but physical talent instead--people so skilled, they were on the tip of almost being non-human.

The most flexible gymnast, the fastest swimmer... and most of all, the strongest human; particularly when it came to fighting. Yes, to Gun, there was just something beautiful about the way one could perfectly move themselves to inflict maximum damage, through technique and knowing the right weak spots. Not to mention, knowing there was hard work put behind to maintain such strength and knowledge made it even more beautiful to him.

Of course, there was also talent in itself that fascinated Gun. Anyone could achieve enough through hard work, but not everyone was born with natural talent.

So... why did he find beauty the "normal" way in you? As far as he knew, you couldn't fight, and all you've done was just be yourself. Your personality achieved some sort of dynamic with him where for once he enjoyed the company of someone in a peaceful way. In fact, he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with someone like you. It was a strange feeling, but he was sure of it. Emotions weren't too complicated for someone as straightforward as him, after all.

Nonetheless, perhaps he could argue that your talent was making him smile, and for that, he could appreciate the beauty in you; your talent.

[otomes-and-tears]

Hello,I hope you had a good day! I have an OL2 request if that's alright!!

In step 2,with Qiu,GN-Reader,Best Friend status with both Qiu and Tamarack and Qiu is just pining over their best friend,MC. How would Qiu realize their crush on MC? How would they act around MC who shows their love thru physical affection towards their neighbors?

Basically what im asking is 'the brooding,pining one x the oblivious,affectionate one' but it's with Qiu and MC :D!! (A LIL SIDE NOTE/ASK ADDITION : Maybe MC is also insecure abt themselves,thinking that they're not that lovable or smth,maybe cuz of their looks if u know what I mean?? THANKS FOR WRITING FOR OL2 BTW IT MEANS A LOTTT <3)

(side note 2 : sorry if this isn't that understandable,english isn't my first language 🙇‍♀️)

♦ Qiu having a crush on a physically affectionate and oblivious GN!MC ♦

► tags and warnings: -

► words: 861

► A/N: Please don't apologise! Your english is great, anon ♡ I'm also not a native English speaker!

► Masterlist

I think they’ve always been aware that MC was different from their other friends;

As a kid, they remember other friends complaining about Qiu’s giving MC special treatment, and as someone preoccupied with fairness it used to annoy them to no end;

Because they knew it was true, they just didn’t understand why they felt so compelled to treat them this way;

As they grew up and the idea of romantic love became a less threatening, more concrete concept, it didn’t take them too long to piece it together;

MC was always there for Qiu, always ready to show them support and kindness and to look out for them, when Qiu was used to other people relying on them to be like that;

They’d watch them laughing at something Tamarack said and would just feel this… warmth in their chest;

Like this was something they’d need to protect;

The world could be a cruel place, but MC’s kindness and their laughter was the one thing Qiu wanted to preserve;

I don’t think Qiu had this grand moment of realisation;

It happened one night, right at the beginning of autumn, when the leaves started falling and the nights grew colder;

They both agreed to meet in Qiu’s backyard in the early hours of the evening to look at the stars through a telescope together;

Mc managed to bring their favourite tea in a thermos, and gave Qiu the biggest hug once they saw them;

They were just… so happy. Being awake at odd hours of the night trying not to be too loud to not wake Qiu’s parents from their slumber;

Watching the stars and talking about mythology;

Mc started rambling about something they had read and stopped in the middle of it, apologizing about speaking too much;

And Qiu found that they didn’t mind it;

Not only that, they welcomed it. They loved how passionate MC was, how happy and comfortable they had been all night;

Qiu didn’t want them to stop at all, and they realized that they wanted to be the person that MC went to when they wanted to talk about these things;

Well… when people described love it always seemed so overwhelming, and in some aspects it was;

But it mostly just felt right;

Their name is Qiu, their friends call them Autumn, and they are in love with MC;

It’s been a part of them for a long time, and was just nice to finally understand that part of themselves;

Not too much changed after that, only that perhaps their affection and special treatment became more blatant;

In their teens, MC is one of the few people Qiu can stand to be around, and after they’ve realised their feelings they started relying on MC a bit more;

Because Qiu trusts them with that!;

Honestly? MC’s affection is one of the things that keep Qiu going;

MC, despite their obliviousness, ends up noticing and making sure to support them whenever he needs it most;

When Qiu is having a bad day MC will just… Wrap them in a hug and stay there for as long as Qiu needs;

If MC noticed how fast Qiu’s heart beats when they hug, they never mention it;

There are also more subtle types of affection;

Like linking their arms together while walking, grabbing their hand to lead them somewhere or just leaning against Qiu when they’re tired;

Even with all their angst, MC’s affection is always a sure way to soften them;

Qiu will often pinch their cheeks or pat them on the head and lightly tease them for being touchy;

I’m pretty sure Qiu’s love language is acts of service, but knowing how important physical affection is to the MC, Qiu will make sure to initiate it too;

Honestly, I don’t see Qiu as a very jealous person, and knowing Tamarack for years and being close to her, I don’t think that they’re jealous about MC showing her affection too;

Instead, it makes them happy that MC is surrounded by good people that care about them as much as Qiu does;

Tamarack ends up noticing their crush eventually;

I mean… I’m sure everyone knows about it except MC themselves;

And even if she seems a little too invested in it and will sometimes give Qiu a hard time about it in private, she’s very supportive;

And it means a lot to them to have MC’s other best friend support them like that;

In regards to MC being insecure… Qiu doesn’t get it at all;

How can someone that amazing be insecure about themselves? How can they worry about not being loveable enough, not interesting enough? Not beautiful enough?;

And they’re fucking pissed at anyone who would ever make MC feel that way;

MC is a person that Qiu cares about deeply, even if they’re colder at that age, there’s no way they just let them think so little of themselves if they can help it;

So… MC is one of the few people that Qiu will make a big effort with;

They make sure MC knows how special they are, and how beautiful of a person both inside and out!

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 1.1 (1/2)

Chapter 1: Newcomer

Three empty glass bottles were lined up haphazardly on the cracked stone pavement of the alley.

About twenty steps away, a boy sat there alone. He stared at the row of bottles unmovingly, as if picking them up and down and weighing them in his mind. 

There were several other boys standing behind him. They kept talking to the black-haired boy, but he neither replied nor turned to face them. 

“You don’t like that guy, right?”

“That guy?”

“That newcomer! The blond one!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, there was that guy.”

Saying that, the black-haired boy threw a pebble with a flick of his arm. The pebble arced through the air, hitting the empty bottle on the right as intended. 

“He’s going to live here from now on. Then we have to properly teach him.” 

“What do you mean, teach him?”

“The rules, duh. He can’t keep feeling like he’s from the ‘other side of the wall’. Right?”

“Just leave him be. I’m not interested.” 

He picked up another pebble and threw it. With a brief, high-pitched sound, the bottle on the left fell over. 

“Don’t be like that, Yuri. Come with us.” 

“Why should I? In the first place, you’re all going as a group just to confront one person. How ridiculous.”

“You don’t have to say it like that…”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Got that?” 

The forceful tone of his last words also lent strength to his arm. The pebble flew with tremendous force, hitting the remaining empty bottle in the middle and shattering the target into pieces. 

The boys flinched at the sound echoing through the alley, and finally gave up, slowly retreating one by one.

As he listened to the footsteps behind him that clearly betrayed their owners’ reluctance, the black-haired boy known as Yuri let out a sigh as if he was fed up with it all. 

A while back, there was a kid who moved into the lower quarter of the Imperial Capital, Zaphias, where they lived. Everyone was planning to bother him. 

If that was all, it would be okay. It irritated him that they were going to pick on someone who hadn’t done anything to them in the first place, but such behaviour was far from uncommon in the lower quarter, a place you could hardly describe as well-behaved. The problem was that several people were trying to do it as a group. 

There was only one person on the other side. Even if he hated them, forming a group to gang up on one person was even more despicable, let alone being considered part of them. The thought alone made his skin crawl. 

The other boys were also aware of that part of Yuri’s personality. Still, they called out to him, because in the unlikely event they received an unexpected counterattack that they weren’t able to handle, they would feel safer with Yuri around. 

With his strength and bravery, even among the boys of his age in the lower quarter Yuri was highly respected. 

Yuri looked in the direction the boys had gone. Their figures were already out of sight. Yuri scratched his head and scowled.

He had stopped them, but had they accepted it? He wasn’t sure. Their attitudes were that of someone who had already decided to act. Going to see Yuri was a mere stop on the way for them.

Letting out a short huff, Yuri leapt up from his seat. His black hair spread out and fluttered softly. 

He wasn’t much taller than the other boys. He didn’t particularly focus on physical training, but there was something about his demeanour that evoked that of a wild cat. To naturally possess everything necessary, while not having anything unnecessary, that kind of aura.

“If you guys get scared even before throwing down, don’t expect me to help you.”

Drawing trouble to themselves, then relying on Yuri when things got tough. That attitude of theirs was something Yuri always couldn’t stomach. 

Even so, Yuri never truly disliked them. After all, they were friends that lived in the same lower quarter. In a sense, he even thought of them as his brothers. After all, the times they spent laughing together was so much longer — and the times they’ve endured together even longer. 

In that case, why am I even going? Yuri asked himself. For the sake of those idiots who are only going to make fools of themselves again? Or for the sake of that newcomer everyone’s been talking about? No way. I don’t even remember his name. 

He couldn’t feel at ease. He couldn’t sit still, but he didn’t have a clear reason why. He couldn’t help but go. That was just how he was. It frustrated him, but there was nothing he could do about it. To stop them from ‘doing anything stupid’, that was probably it. Stop who? Who cares. 

After stretching his body, Yuri started to walk down the street. 

****

A nasty guy.

That was the first impression most of the kids from the lower quarter had when they saw him. Even though he was a commoner, he stood out like an alien presence because he wore better clothes than them. 

And that golden hair. Even though the lower quarter had people with hair like that, there was something clearly different about him. Although it was just hair, in the eyes of the children of the lower quarter it was representative of the Imperial Capital’s nobles, in other words, a symbol of the ‘upper class’. 

On a cold, overcast day, with clouds looming low as if it could start snowing at any moment, the boy arrived, clutching his mother’s hand while having only a small amount of their things with them. Regardless of the details, even the naive, inexperienced children — who acted like they knew and could do more than they actually did — could understand that there were special circumstances surrounding him. 

But for the children of the lower quarter, instead of evoking sympathy or compassion, rather, it served as a perfect ammunition for them to attack him. This was because the mother and son came from inside the castle walls — what the lower quarter referred to as the ‘other side of the wall’. Inside the castle walls was the citizens’ quarter, where even the commoners lived better and wealthier lives than the people in the lower quarter. That alone was enough to evoke feelings of resentment. 

Despite the childrens’ feelings of resentment, however, the adults warmly welcomed the mother and son. They accepted what they had to say and didn’t ask for further explanations, offered them a house to live in, and even pooled together a portion of their meagre savings to give to them to provide them with the basic necessities for a short while. The mother and son barely had anything on them when they arrived, after all. 

As for housing, there were plenty of vacant houses, and it was incredibly ambiguous as to who owned their rights, so it wasn’t a big issue. Despite its size due to it surrounding the outer circumference of the Imperial Capital, there weren’t a lot of residents that lived in the lower quarter. 

Strictly speaking, the lower quarter wasn’t considered part of the Imperial Capital. Originally, the name Imperial Capital Zaphias referred to the inner layer of the lower quarter enclosed by the towering castle walls. The outer layer was originally nothing more than a leftover area the monster-repelling barrier’s power extended to, that various people took advantage of to live in, and over time turned into a settlement that hugged to the castle walls. And then after hundreds of years of repeated and accumulated unorderly expansion and demolition, the lower quarter was transformed into its current state.

Naturally, the sprawling lower quarter that was spread out in a huge circular area, wasn’t just one big cohesive district. Not only was it impossible in scope, it was also impossible for such a large district to be full of people. There were uninhabited ruins scattered between the districts such that each district more or less depended on the ‘other side of the wall’, but lived their lives separate from the others. 

Its residents were all people who didn’t have the financial means to live on the ‘other side of the wall’, or the ability to move to another city, or were burdened with some other circumstance. They rarely paid attention to matters of governance, doing their best to live to see the day next, so they never thought of reorganising things. The lower quarter used the ‘other side of the wall’ to differentiate themselves from the people on the other side, and compared to the general term ‘outside the wall’, it could even be considered somewhat derogatory. 

For the record, each district had their own name to differentiate themselves from the other districts. For example, the district where Yuri and his friends lived was called Fountain Alley, named after its remains at its centre. But in most cases, people simply referred to their own district as the ‘lower quarter’. The districts rarely interacted with each other anyway, so there was little need for differentiation. 

As such, for the Yuri who was currently walking down the street he’d grown up seeing, he simply saw himself as a person who was ‘born in the lower quarter’. 

The road, which had been paved long before Yuri was born and then left neglected, was now worn down, leaving cracks and hollows here and there. Weeds poked out from those cracks, and in other places dirty water collected and emitted a foul stench. Even though winter had ended, and the warmth of spring had begun to grace the streets, giving way to a pleasant scenery, Yuri was barely conscious of it, walking forward without getting distracted. 

The place where he was born and raised. The place he has never left since he was born. For Yuri, this was a common and familiar sight, and nothing more, nothing less. 

In the place where he lived, everyone knew each other. The distinction between family and other people was remarkably small. 

On one hand, Yuri had no one he could call a blood relative. He’d only been told that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, and he didn’t even know her face. As for his father, he was starting to doubt whether one truly existed.

The fact that a child with no relatives or assets to his name was able to survive was due to the spirit of mutual aid deeply rooted in the lower quarter. In reality, children like Yuri were far from uncommon, and even among adults it was not rare for one to be in dire straits. What saved them was the wisdom that the people had built up over generations, to prevent all of them from dying by the roadside.

By supporting and helping each other, despite their poverty they manage to overcome their hard times and somehow make ends meet. That was how despite being neglected, the people of the lower quarter had tenaciously survived this way.

In this case, the mother and son were only able to be saved because this spirit was alive and well. 

****

Yuri suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the building beside him.

Although he didn’t think any of the boys were inside, he wondered if he should check just to be sure, or simply continue on his way. As he hesitated, a voice called out from behind him. 

“What’s wrong, Yuri?” 

It was a calm, elderly man’s voice. When he turned around he saw the man who fit that description holding a piece of luggage in his hand. He had a petite frame with a slightly hunched back and a thick beard, and from behind his glasses a gentle gaze could be seen. 

“Grandpa Hanks.”

Although he had accumulated quite a few white hairs on his head, it was still too early to be addressing him as ‘grandpa’, but due to his mature demeanour, everyone in the lower quarter affectionately addressed him as such. 

If you’re just going to stand around right in front of your home, you might as well come in.”

Hanks tilted his head, pointing at the building Yuri had been looking at.

‘My Home’. The people of the lower quarter had taken one of the vacant houses and designated it as a residence for Yuri and other children with no relatives to live in, and they referred to it as such. 

Hanks was one of the adults responsible for taking care of them. Not only that, but with his gentle demeanour, he was considered by the lower quarter’s — Fountain Alley’s — people to be their mediator and organiser, and by Yuri, someone akin to a foster parent. 

“Leave me alone. I’ll decide where I want to go.” 

Hanks merely raised his eyebrows slightly and offered a smile at the boy’s biting remarks, regarding it as nothing more than a sign that he was energetic. While it irritated Yuri, he also was a little relieved that they were close enough to allow for such exchanges. 

Just as he was about to walk off, Yuri felt a sense of danger at the back of his neck and quickly ducked down. 

The next moment, something flew past the area where his head had been a moment ago. It arced through the air and crashed onto the ground with a jarring sound. It was a roughly-carved wooden plate, big enough to hold in both arms. If it had actually hit him, he wouldn’t just get away with seeing stars. 

Despite knowing what had happened without needing to look, Yuri still turned to look at the direction of ‘My Home’ with fear in his eyes. Without him noticing, the front door had opened, and there she stood, alone in the doorway. ‘Standing’ was a moderate description, if anything, it was more appropriate to call it ‘standing imposingly’. 

Glaring at him, with her rough, tight clothes and large and sturdy physique unbefitting that of life in the lower quarter, was Hanks’s wife, Jiri. Right now, her copper red hair looked like they were on fire. 

“Gran… Aunt Jiri.”

Seeing the fierce glint in her eyes and sensing trepidation, Yuri quickly corrected himself. 

Since she was the wife of Grandpa Hanks, it sounded obvious to address her as ‘Grandma’, but she refused to be part of that package deal. Despite the husband who acted older than he looked, for some reason she was the opposite. It was generally agreed among the lower quarter people that she was much younger than Hanks and acted even younger, but no one actually knew the truth. 

It was a stretch to call her young, and the person in question didn’t deny that, but no one dared to directly ask her how old she was. 

Regardless of the truth, while her husband didn’t mind being called ‘grandpa’, she never hesitated to deliver a solid punch to anyone who dared call her ‘grandma’. 

Yuri and the others were well aware of this, but when she wasn’t around, they didn’t hesitate to refer to her as ‘grandma’ as usual, and force of habit made it easy for a slip of the tongue to occur. 

At first glance they looked like an odd couple. When they stood side by side like this, that bizarreness became even more apparent.

Hanks, who looked like he’d never held a knife except during mealtimes, with a personality as though he was dressed in kindness, and had a small frame. If you were to put it roughly, you could even say he looked shabby and poor. 

On the other hand, Jiri was easily a head taller than her husband, and their physical statures were completely different to begin with. Her physique was sturdy enough that she could wrestle monsters with her bare hands if she wanted to, and her personality was just as strong. There was a fierceness in her eyes that you would think she could never acquire just from living in the lower quarter. 

To the children of the lower quarter, Jiri was by far the most terrifying of the adults, and most likely the strongest — no matter how old she was. 

And that ‘Aunt’ Jiri was currently glaring at him with a scary look on her face. As far as Yuri was concerned, he had to choose his next words carefully and discreetly. 

“Just now, I think I heard someone sounding rude?” 

Her voice was deep and gruff, as one might expect from her appearance. 

“Is that so? Maybe your hearing is going bad. Uh, you know… from working too hard.”

Seeing Jiri’s eyes grow even scarier, Yuri hastily added. But Jiri didn’t say anything. 

Yuri cleared his throat with a resigned air and picked up the fallen plate. He cautiously approached Jiri and held it out to her. Jiri accepted it silently and then simply stared at Yuri, as if waiting for something. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Yuri quickly surrendered. 

“......Sorry. I’ll be more careful.” 

“Alright.” 

Instantly Jiri, who’d gotten what she wanted to hear, lifted the corners of her mouth and nodded. This must be what it looks like when a tiger smiles. Or would a crocodile be closer? Imagining Jiri smiling as she devoured him head-first, Yuri's face grew stiff with fear. 

“I don’t know where you’re going, but make sure you’re back by dinner time. Be sure to tell everyone else too!”

Yuri’s body spun around due to the forcefulness of Jiri clapping his shoulder. When he finally managed to stop and turn around, he found that Jiri had already disappeared back into the house. Her leaving the door open was probably for Hanks’s sake.

Yuri took a peek into the house. Sure enough, besides Jiri, no one else was at home. He let out a small sigh. 

“Escaped by the skin of your teeth, did you? Here, take this.” 

As if nothing unordinary had happened, Hanks took out an apple from his things and offered it to Yuri. It was a small luxury in the poverty-stricken lower quarter. 

He accepted it and eagerly took a bite. The perfect balance of sweetness and sourness spread in his mouth, and moistened his stiff throat. Alright, let’s redo that. 

“Thanks, Grandpa. I’m off.”

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[horizon-verizon]

I was researching and I was surprised at how most people see Robert Baratheon as a usurper, and I was told that even GRRM said this

Definition of "usurp":

to seize and hold (office, place, functions, powers, etc.) in possession by force or without right

He killed the heir to the Targaryen throne and took it for himself following a war he declared. That's the literal definition of a usurper. It's a neutral term for people not a part of a feudal society, a negative term/epithet for those native to such a system because it's a more moral phenomenon for them because the importance placed on being loyal to one's monarch/overlord is near sacred. So are oaths. It's like dis/respecting the gods in Westeros/God in real-life medieval Europe. That's why you will hear words as "rightful" or "cursed" surrounding oaths, usurpation, betrayals, kinslaying, etc. from Westerosi mouths. A party or person can thus use the word "usurper" to try to delegitimize the winner's rule, as people did with Maegor after he died and Jaehaerys I ascended and as supporters of the Targs, those who hate either Robert or the Lannister (for reasons justifiable or not), or Dany.

This doesn't mean that the usurper isn't a usurper, because unlike accusations of affairs or having bastard kids, a usurper is a usurper bc they did indeed usurp the throne to become a ruler themselves. Whereas accusations of infidelity deal with the area of possible secrecy and hidden information--even if the woman is faithful, just the accusation alone can bring her down and her supporters or smear her name.

Objectively, usurpation describes a thing that happens often when your society is literally based on constant fighting for power and the rules of conquest being enough to make you a "legitimate" ruler. Because literally, no one can contest you PLUS rule of conquest.

It's like Maegor killing his nephew Aegon the Uncrowned, Aenys I's son & Rhaena's younger brother. Maegor usurped Aegon, yes? Even though he's also a Targaryen, he still killed the heir apparent/the one the king-of-the-time's chosen heir and successor. Aegon I isn't a usurper, bc he was not a subject of any of the Andal-FM Westerosi kingdoms, the Targayrens were their own thing before the Conquest, and had their own territories they ruled over as independent, left-alone lords.

Robert won the war, so he became king. Maegor won the war, so he became king. Aegon II won the war (but not the legacy, lineage, or glory), and he became king. It's not about how good or bad of a ruler you were, whether you are good or bad or mediocre--if a subject (which Robert was) takes the throne or kills/usurps the heir after the ruler's death and declares themselves the new ruler...by definition, they are a usurper...but because they won, they are also "legitimate". and for Aegon II, he's recognized as king for a whole host of other reasons, but this one is important, too.

Feudalism & monarchies are hosts of severe and small contradictions. Roll with it:

There are no clear cut answers, either in Westeros or in real medieval history. Things were often decided on a case by case basis. A case might set a precedent for later cases... but as often as not, the precedents conflicted as much as the claims. [...] The medieval world was governed by men, not by laws. You could even make a case that the lords preferred the laws to be vague and contradictory, since that gave them more power. In a tangle like the Hornwood case, ultimately the lord would decide... and if some of the more powerful claimants did not like the decision, it might come down to force of arms. The bottom line, I suppose, is that inheritance was decided as much by politics as by laws. In Westeros and in medieval Europe both.

The bottom line, I suppose, is that inheritance was decided as much by politics as by laws. In Westeros and in medieval Europe both.

This quote was talking about inheritances, bastards, and gender in successions, but it can be applied to how people regarded usurpation by the very nature of "legitimacy" constantly under question or subject to it in medieval Europe and Westeros.

Yes, Robert raised the banners against Aerys because Aerys called for the executions of him & Ned after killing Ned's brother and father. Still, the defense of self-defense doesn't change the definition of a usurpation for these people unless they have got something to benefit from it.

[lexsang]

Two parter, When you find yourself in a moment of feeling triggered (can’t think of a better word) whether it’s from seeing blood firsthand or dealing with an intrusive thought you may be having - how do you walk yourself back from those feelings that come up? Is there anything you say or do in particular to calm down? I struggle with coming back down from the ledge. It can take a whole day or more for me to snap out of it.

Not sure how to articulate this, but sometimes I find myself almost relishing in those feelings of craving blood, though it also feels a little wrong. Have you ever found yourself deep down enjoying the feeling? Even though at the exact same time, it can be miserable and debilitating.

The whole thing is complex. Confusing. All I know is what feels right inside. I am interested to know your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for being so open!

When dealing with bloodlust, especially in situations where there is something that triggers it, the first thing you should do is remove yourself from the situation (if you can, I was working as a cashier when I was younger and was hit by the smell of blood and couldn't in that moment). Secondly, though this may take practice, and you should practice outside of the moment where you need it, learning to center yourself is a huge help.

In any stressful situation, stepping back and focusing on your breath and re-centering helps lets you pull yourself out of whatever direction a strong emotion, bloodlust in this case, has sent you in. I'd suggest with starting with learning box breathing if your cravings are really getting the best of you. Box breathing is very simple, just breathe in slowly over 4 seconds, hold it in for 4 seconds, breathe out slowly over 4 seconds, hold your breath out for 4 seconds, and repeat.

The carnal feeling of bloodlust isn't just a sudden moment that we have to recover from though, it can hold on for a while, and part of that is the feedback loop that comes with the thoughts and feelings attached to it. At least in my case, the feeling of watering at the mouth is a big part of the more intense ones, and that feeling intensifies my cravings since it adds a tactile element to the imagery that plays in my mind. Like water, our minds in this circumstance follow the path of least resistance if we don't make an active decision to change the flow of thoughts, hence the first step being removing yourself from the situation.

Expecting this heightened state to dissipate without expressing it in some way generally takes a while. Many people have certain foods they use as substitutes, to mimic the feeling of feeding, but just getting the energy out in a healthy way can work too. I have a super cheap notebook that I scribble in if I ever feel like an emotion is 'stuck' and I need to get it out, if that makes sense. Whether it's just shaking your arms around a little, or going on a run if you have the time to, any effort to physically express that feeling, again in a healthy way, tends to work wonders.

As far as enjoying the feeling of bloodlust, I do, and always have. However, it isn't always that easy for vamps to accept the hunger as a part of themselves. In a recent post, I mentioned the term 'the beast', which is one of the most common terms used to describe the violent urges that come with blood cravings. The issue with this term though, is that it personifies those cravings, allowing the vamp to put the 'blame' for them on something outside of themselves, and see them as negative. Just as you get hungry when you need to eat, or might crave junk food when you are upset, the bloodlust is a reminded to feed for vampires. It takes practice, but you can slowly start acknowledging it as that, and it will help remove some of the intensity from it since you know the purpose of that feeling.

And finally, if you are uncomfortable with that feeling, and even pushing it down, that might be a part of why it comes up with so much intensity. Whether with a blood substitute, or just via imagination, it's fine to let yourself just sit and experience those feelings in their fullness from time to time. Almost like giving time to be quiet and listen to your bloodlust. If you do enjoy those feelings, becoming more accustomed to them gives you more experience when you find yourself in situations where you might have to control them, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying them when they come up. But like with any indulgence, the main focus should be learning control. With that said, no part of enjoying bloodlust involves losing control when other people are involved. Your bloodlust is a feeling, and ultimately not in control of your body, you are. It takes time to become accustomed to, and we all slowly learn to work with it. You're already doing the right thing just by trying.

[cuprohastes]

Lunch In Space

Part 1

Wherein we are introduced to two of our main characters, the perils of interspecies cafeterias and the alternate uses of dog jumpers, and the Narrator is too self-obsessed to introduce themselves properly

4am, in the vast darkness of space, the lightless void that's darker than the stygian depths.

Apart from the stars. They're actually pretty bright. Famously so come to think of it. Also all the lights on the station, so you can look at it and admire it and spot any fresh new exciting holes that have appeared.

And if you're on shift, like me, use those handly lights to find the cafeteria and very carefully pick through the offerings because believe me, while Yarrick won't kill you, your body will basically say 'What the heck?' and treat it like a nice big plate of Silicone jelly and you will be experiencing a whole new and exciting set of sensations, and hey, sometimes you just have to clutch the toilet seat and scream a bit: We've all been there.

So I get my nice human safe food, and an extra roll of purple stuff that's not bread but it might as well be, and relocate my heiny to the big table by the window, the one that's always a bit chilly which is why me and Atrix and Atrix are usually the only ones who sit there.

I mean Atrix does because she's comfortable with a little extra cooling, and Atrix is there because he's not driving, he's just along for the ride.

"Yo." I say to my good buddy, the giant purple kangaroo dinosaur. She gives me a Yo back and dual finger guns.

Atrix the pocket lizard sticks his snout out and makes grabby paws at the roll.

I slide it over to his wifey, the purple lizard woman with the colour changing face and a degree in Astromechanics (Also horticulture, Art History and apparently, Interspecies erotica).

"You're over feeding him." Big Atrix says. Small Atrix grakkles. He has opinions and he really wants that bun, but then again if he gets too fat he has to move out, change gender and start paying taxes.

I also know that Godzilla here always skimps on the husband food because she knows I'll swing by with a little something something for her pocket hubby.

"Yeah well, someone has to be the fun Aunt." I say cheerfully. You're always the Aunt with the Atrix, regardless of gender.

I settle in, to eat a lovely meal of... what appears to be chicken flavoured... it's... hmm. Well, it's chicken flavoured and guaranteed not to cause anything to go a funny colour and fall off. It actually tastes great, but I'd describe it as being yes, a thing.

"So," I say around the food flavoured... stuff, "Picked a good solid Traditional Human Name yet?". My friend bobs her head again: Practicing her human physical emotes.

-This should be good. Atrix are good people but they don't have spoken names. They have a word that means 'I'm gonna show you name' then they change their face colours like a cuttlefish. They literally just turn into another person for a moment: This drives most species nuts.

Humans find it hilarious. Atrix can see the funny side. Humans and Atrix get along a little too well for everyone else's comfort and That's The Way We Like It™️.

Big n' Purple thinks about it, then says, "I was thinking... Gondolier Dottirsdottir, or maybe Luminal Effervescence."

OK so the Atrix tend to go for names that are just really fun to say. hence the Secretary General of the Combined Human-Atrix Interstellar Survey, a really big female with as much or more gravitas as a class two black hole - a very serious pocket pal all 'round - being named Pingbing O'Candyfloss.

I consider it. "People will call you Gondy, or Lumy." I point out to her as she feeds purple... bread-y stuff... to the iguana-sized male that lives in her belly pouch. He grakkles at me. He's a sociable little guy, quite chatty, I just have no idea what he's saying. Gondy grackles back and he does Upsies arms.

"Gondy. Ahm-hum. That sounds good. Gondy." she says trying it on. I can see she's definitely enjoying the mouth sound.

She hauls her hubbins out of her pouch, which is covered by her overalls and a big apron flap so he can sleep or play games on her phone.

"Did you... put him in one of those dog jumpers?" I ask as she puts her guy on the table. He looks smug and shows off. It's a small, chihuahua sized Christmas sweater. It's currently May, or close enough. But I'm not going to harsh his mellow. The little dude's obviously stoked to be a fashionista.

Gondy bobs her head looking pleased. "I'm thinking he should be Raxyplank Magellan. Raxy's a cute name." she says.

Raxy looks up and says "Rax!" around a mouthful of hubby food. Well, I can't fault that. At least he gets a name he can say.

For an Atrix male, he's pretty adventurous - He'll talk to people and even come out and walk around if he can keep one eye on Gondy.

Traditionally, or "Back in the day" - Several tens of thousands of years ago, until an Atrix got big enough to be safe, there was a good chance that something would camper up and make a meal of them.

So they have a general resistance to being out in the open, where it's cold and there might be cool alien eagles or space-lizard foxes.

Luckily when they get big enough they develop pouches and to they pick a male out and carry them around for safety and to have someone to talk to and hold shiny rocks (I'm a bit fuzzy on the finer details), so you almost always see two Atrix, even if one of them is usually hiding.

And now Raxy is hanging out with us like a regular little dude and getting crumbs on his ugly Christmas sweater. It is in all ways a pretty nice moment.

Anyway that's about when the station blew up...