#and i hate knowing that if anything happened between us those ppl would never speak to me again

[discountdyke]

.

[iheartgirlzn]

may we have some hcs for katsuki bakugou where the reader is his kid sibling who got a recessive shapeshifting quirk like Nimona?

CAN A SHARK DANCE

BAKUGO WITH A YOUNGER SIBLING WHO HAS A SHAPESHIFTING QUIRK

pairing: katsuki bakugo x sibling!shapeshifter!reader

warning(s): swearing, probably ooc bakugo, mentions of him hating quirkless ppl and deku LMAO

🎸 notes: hopefully i got this right !! sorry if i got the whole quirk aspect bit wrong :,) // title from the nimona movie — sorry i haven’t read the comicsss

EEE OK OK!

he would never admit that he loves you.

even though he’d actually burn the world for you, because he’s an overprotective brother like that, he would still rather die than ever admit he doesn’t hate you.

this is what would happen if you asked him: “do you love me?” “………………” ← just intense silence with the most disgusted look on his face.

but honestly, he’d be an amazing brother (most of the time).

depending on how much younger than him you are, depends on how nice he is to you.

if you’re a toddler or tween for example (ages 5-9), he’d probably baby you a lot — but aggressively.

IDK HOW TO EXPLAIN IT ?! he’d act like how mitsuki does with him.

but if you’re a little older, like a teenager, he’d affectionately bully you.

he’d make fun of how you look and who your friends are, call you names, the usual.

speaking of, he’d never remember what any of your friends are called and because he ‘doesn’t know them’ he’d never let you go and hang with them.

dating is also off the table — he’d just be a dick and talk bad about your s/o the whole time. female, male, or anything in between is a big no no.

you’re look a little too nice for a normal hang out? well, guess what: you’re not going 🗣️

i wouldn’t be suprised if you also shared the family anger issues !!

outbursts (either his or yours) would lead to play fights, where you’d be on your back trying to kick him while he’s trying to jump on you and not get hit so he can put you in a headlock.

is SUPER competitive. like it’s actually a bit insane sometimes.

because you’re related to him he expects you to be great at everything—so during any game you play (card game, board game, etc) he wants you to win. but he will beat your ass if you do you actually end up winning against him.

ITS VERY CONFUSING !!

like, he wants you to win… unless it’s to him. and he will most definitely brag for the next month whenever he does beat you in any sort of game or competition.

is one of those older siblings who swears a bunch, all day, every day. but if YOU swear? nope nope nope. he will immediately snitch and look at you like you’ve just disgraced the whole family line. (me core !)

shadows boxes you 24/7. idk, i just feel like he’d do that. he’s like an annoying fly buzzing in your ear.

ANYWAYS!! TO THE QUIRK HCS!!

when you got your quirk he was like a proud dad. y’know that smug tiktok emoji or whatever? that was his face.

he was super excited that you weren’t (and i quote) a ‘quirkless loser’.

you probably pranked him a lot when you were young—turning into your parents or a random hero just to scare him.

the two of you also probably pranked other kids by turning into random pro heroes or some shit 😭 idk i just thought that would be super funny.

when he got into UA, he forced you to train with him and would sometimes make you shapeshift into someone he hated (*cough* deku *cough*) for motivation.

because you’re his younger sibling, of course you’re gonna mock him. so whenever he’d piss you off, you’d turn into him and start saying random shit like: “i love deku! he’s my hero!” or “i’m so angry all the time and have no friends *cue you acting all pouting and sulky*.”

that would always really piss him off. like he’d start exploding your shit.

basically you’re very chaotic and use your quirk to your advantage against him !! and honestly? i respect the grind 🫡

UHMM IDK WHAT ELSE TO ADD… SO BYEBYE MWAH MWAH ♡

[golbrocklovely]

I want to say smth and you always seemed like a person who thinks objectively, so excuse me for a harsh topic :

I am kinda tired of stans on Twitter especially expecting their favs to speak about political issues and calling them various names whenever they don’t do it. I acknowledge and agree that big names like f.e Taylor Swift , Ariana, Kim K ( fuck her) or even Snc using their platforms to spread awareness is very much helpful and as much as i wish they could do it, i also understand why a lot of famous names do not want to involve themselves in political issues and tbh it’s not their duty to do so. There is no single situation like this that is simple and on top of that there is plenty fake informations , fake charities, fake news surrounding always such political issues. And to clarify i am and always will be supporting freedom of Palestinial , Congo, Sudan or Ukrainian people, because you will never see or hear me supporting killing and massacring innocent people , their lives and their homes. And that is why it also irritates me when i see people on the Internet focusing more who shared how many informations, who did not share at all , instead of actually focusing on seriousness of what is happening on this world currently. Because things are not looking well and other people suffer shouldn’t be used in a way to drag those who just decided to stay silent. Are they right for this? No, but they are not also wrong for it ( ik it sounds weird, but still). I have seen many celebrities getting dragged even when sharing information about at least Palestine. Either it was Israel supporters or Palestine supporters who claimed that they only do it for damage control. I have also seen people loose their jobs for simply showing support to the victims. I do want see more famous people speaking up , especially about Congo and Sudan, since those two countries are not voiced out as much as Palestine and definitely needs help as well, however i will not tolerate using other people death and suffering used as a way to hating and fighting some bigger figures. Say you are disappointed ! Say you wish they could speak up! But you will never achieve anything with hate speech! It can only have opposite result and it was never right in the first place!

❕The only “celebrities” that I understand hate for are the ones that showed support for Israel! ❕

i get what you're saying, and i agree with you for the most part.

first off, there needs to be a distinction between celebs and influencers. bc sure, snc have a good amount of money. but someone like taylor swift, who is basically worth a BILLION… she can do a lot more than snc could. than most influencers could.

i think my main issue with the entire argument of 'celebs and influencers need to use their voice' is that most ppl that complain aren't actually upset. and i'm not talking about just with this situation happening in gaza (or congo, sudan, ukraine), i'm talking about any major political issue. how any fan berating their favorite reads to me is "i stand for X, and you aren't showing that same political belief, even tho we all know X is a good thing. and bc of that, now i'm being told i'm terrible for not immediately tossing you to the curb. so, i need you to say you also stand for X bc otherwise you make us both look bad."

nobody wants to be a fan of someone problematic. but in my personal opinion, not using your voice isn't problematic. for example, i didn't sub to snc for their political takes on ANYTHING. so if they use their voice, cool. if not, whatever. however, compare that to hasan. i watch his content because of his political takes. if he was saying nothing, i would be shocked and upset.

not only that, i'm a full fledge adult with my own mind, thoughts, and feelings. idc what snc have to say. they don't influence me to feel the way i do about palestine, or congo, ukraine, sudan - nothing. i know genocide is bad, and as long as snc aren't celebrating the death of innocent ppl, than i'm gonna continue to be a fan of them.

what you do when you complain about your favorite not using their voice - all it shows me is that you are making an entire issue about you and your comfortability. you don't like looking bad, and you won't feel better until that's fixed. and especially when we are talking about something as serious as a genocide… i need everyone to just stop making it about themselves. ppl are dying. who cares if you like someone problematic? dear god, touch grass.

the second issue i have is reality is - all of this is pointless. these fans are harping on the wrong thing bc it is a lot easier to bitch in taylor swift's dms and maybe get a response for her social media manager than it is to email our politicians and get no response from them. but those are the ppl we need to be upset at. yes, taylor's got a fuck ton of money. most of which she will never be able to use before she dies, so she should be donating it. i'm not denying that. however, she's not in power. she wasn't elected. her donating would help but it wouldn't stop OUR GOVERNMENT from giving bombs to the IDF to kill innocent palestinians.

we need to be angry at our government. we need to call THEM out. they want us to focus on the micro-influencer that isn't doing "the right thing" rather than the politicians who take our tax dollars and relish in being rich and protected until they croak while being funded by the institutions that allow atrocities like this to happen. FOCUS on what actually matters. do what you can do, and keep pushing for what's right.

free palestine, free congo, free sudan, free ukraine, and fuck anyone that thinks differently. fuck oppressors, may you never know peace.

[cosmicanger]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐️ “solidarity doesn't mean "shut up and fall in line, don't question the rest of the community" it means LISTENING to marginalized people when they speak up about issues that are actively detrimental to solidarity within a community! that’s why nonblack solidarity for Black folk does not exist!”

⭐️ “a lot of people using "intersectionality" and "identity politics" while having never read the documents those terms were coined in which would show why those terms have specificity to Black struggle, particularly the struggle of Black women. bold move to respond to people pointing out the erasure of Black women by... *checks notes* misusing terms from Black women and erasing their fundamental role in creating them.”

⭐️ “combahee river collective statement is like a 15~30 minute read. a lot of yall really have no excuses for the way you talk about identity politics as if you havent read it.”

⭐️ “Identity politics was literally formulated by CRC to center Black women. Tf is you talking about. The demand for solidarity was directed at people who aren't Black women respecting Black women's autonomy and learning to apprehend the totality by centering our particular struggles”

⭐️ “Black people do not need "anti-racists", we need people who are anti-antiBlackness. if you can't name antiBlackness specifically in order to broaden and dilute struggle against it, you are not performing solidarity.”

⭐️ “cis Black women experience ungendering as a function of fungibility. this is not something that is applicable to white women regardless of their other marginalizations. the reason why it's so easy to notice similarities between antiBlackness and other marginalizations is because Blackness exists in an anterior position to them and is interstitial; its ontological plasticity forms Euromodernity itself and informs the marginalizations it produces.”

⭐️ “Please use #DignityForBrianna instead of using hashtag SayHerName to mourn Brianna Ghey. That hashtag is for Black folks killed by police violence, for that community to mourn & fight.”

⭐️ “why the specificity of criticizing state forms of anti-black trans violence is necessary is cuz if anything comes out of this it will be something like "Brianna's Law" & it will fund putting cops at playgrounds to "protect" trans kids from "bad ppl" & we know how that goes”

⭐️ “The extent to which ppl do not respect the expertise of Black scholars on our *own shit* (Black history, Black sociology, Black studies, Africana philosophy etc.) is really incredible. I don't mean that they question you. I mean they don't assume it requires any reading to do so. Like you can just read one book, or follow some Twitter threads or some shit, and argue with somebody that's been studying the same shit for decades. And it's not just nonblks that do this. Though the same ones wouldn't go past two sentences with a Hegel scholar. It's really a measure of how little everybody appreciates the work that has gone into Africana Studies, that they think they can just casually step in and "actually" people who dedicate their lives to it, no matter how many references we drop they aint know affect their claims.”

⭐️ “y’all don’t even wanna have the conversation about how black trans girls are being trafficked and killed at a much higher rate and they’ve never gotten this level of attention. Black folk are hypervisible to the state and it's various extensions and invisible to the broader movements in conflict against the state.”

⭐️ “the lang of "hate crime" whose origins are largely WHITE & invoke state protection/more police for WHITE targeted groups (see Dean Spade's crit of Hate Crime laws/logic in Normal Life) is a v succinct exmpl of why Black Trans analysis maintains its differentiated specificity”

⭐️ “Calling “Say Her Name” “intellectual property” like it’s a slogan for a brand & not an actual movement is misogynoir, anti-black & violent.” “genuinely not sure why this "discourse" is still happening for no reason for it bc ppl rn are using #HerNameIsBrianna #DignityForBrianna #RememberBriannaGhey if they want to use hash tags and are continuing on with the work that actually matters w/o splitting movements” “It’s honestly Disturbing how people engage with Black feminism. First y’all divorced identity politics from its meaning, disregard intersectionality & now arguing about the meaning of #SayHerName. Y’all only engage with Black feminism to find ways to center yourselves” “we are fighting for the abolition of sanctioned gender violence AND state/police gender violence. yt feminisms incl yt trans feminism have "fought" against the former by materially funding the latter”

⭐️ “can we acknowledge that at the same time we’re doing “intersectionality is liberalism” debate, people are doubling down on the erasure of black gender marginalized victims of state violence by co-opting a campaign coordinated by Kimberlé Crenshaw in real time. what a coincidence.”

[unwrittenlibrary]

Saturday Sun I

Summary: it’s the beginning of may. mother’s day has come and gone, with your family trip coming up and things are seemingly falling apart even more. you and harry are forced to come head to head with real issues. (harry x fem!reader)

Word Count: 1.3K (second part will be the longer piece) 

Warnings: Angst. Cheating. Find all in depth warnings in the first two parts. 

Notes: hello, part three is divided into two parts, this first one focusing on some conflict & the second part to it will focus more on family dynamic & light resolution. part of this piece has harry’s pov instead of entirely the readers. 

Part One & Two (along with a companion piece) can be found in my h.s masterlist! 

-

i need to ask her

what’s going on?

are we going strong?

May - Part I

It’s the Monday before your flight.

April had come and April had gone and you were still struggling to focus on anything but your kids and issues with Harry. You suppose that’s okay, your next deadline was months away and with the trip coming up all you could focus on were those things. 

Mother’s Day had slipped your mind completely. You were busy making lists and triple checking flight info to even think of asking the kids and Harry about their plans. 

“How was your weekend? Everything went well?” Dr. Walsh’s voice forces you to look up from the new watch that adorns your wrist. 

You glance at Harry, who waits for you to answer. You shrug. “It was nice… Harry and the kids treated me yesterday.” 

The watch is a beautiful rose gold color and is a thin band compared to the band of your last watch. Your kids initials had been engraved onto the inner band. It was, by all means, a lovely and well thought out gift. Not only replacing the watch you had worn for a decade and had finally snapped, but reminding of the best parts of your life. 

“Tell me about your day!” Dr. Walsh smiles kindly. Her eyes move between you and Harry, polite and u judging, before landing on your wrist.

“I got breakfast, at the table, breakfast in bed is too hectic with three kids and a baby.” You laugh softly, thinking of the kids and their not well hidden excitement for your day. “And they all got me gifts. The twins made clay handprints in school. Seph picked out a new wallet for me and even bought it on her own!” 

It’s impossible to contain your happiness that rolls off of you when you talk about the kids. Bragging about their thoughtfulness and kind gifts makes you almost forget where you are.

“That sounds so lovely.” Dr. Walsh brings you back down. Your eyes move to Harry. His eyes are open and he’s smiling softly as you speak. But his fingers are fidgeting in his lap and you know he had hoped you would be proud of his gift too. 

And you were. But maybe that was the worst part. That it was kind hearted and well thought out and so very Harry that you almost hated it. You hated how one small gift had caused a sliver of hope to crawl into your bloodstream and make your heart race for him again. 

That it made you believe, for one brief moment, all his promises and words about never falling out of love with you and never wanting to let you go. 

“Harry got me a watch too.” You finally say, quiet and full of despair. “Mine snapped a few weeks ago… It has the kids initials in it. It was a good day.” 

Dr. Walsh nods. “It’s a lovely watch.” Her eyes move pointedly from it on your wrist to you. “So what’s wrong?” 

You fiddle with it, twisting it on your wrist and tapping the face anxiously. “It feels tainted.” You steadily avoid looking at Harry as you say the words. Dr. Walsh nods, but doesn’t say anything, silently urging you to continue. “I love it. And that… makes me feel guilty. And it makes me feel dumb because one stupid gift made me forget this bullshit for a second and I just felt that love for him again.”

There’s an intake of breath to your right, but Dr. Walsh doesn’t look at all shocked by your words. “It makes sense. You want to be angry. You have a right to be angry and when something gets in the way of that, you’re unsure of how to feel.” 

You nod. Her words make sense. You did want to be angry and after your brief elation with the gift you found you still were. 

“I am going to feel like this for the rest of my life?” You whisper. 

She shakes her head. “No. One day, this anger will be gone. But… it’s up to you whether or not you can get there with each other. If you can forgive Harry and let go of the anger. Or not. Neither is wrong.” 

You nod. Sometimes these sessions felt like she was strictly talking to you. Harry just listened. Spoke up when you asked him to, or when Dr. Walsh worked on exercises. 

A part of you found that it helped. You were able to say things you may not have ever said to Harry. But sometimes it felt like he was unsure if he should try and that made you angrier. 

-

Harry’s hopes are built up and shattered. It’s his own fault, he knows it is. Knows that this was an easily fixable marriage before he fucked up. 

You’ve talked about the cheating a little in therapy. Dr. Walsh has mentioned it, you’ve let your anger out, Harry has apologized. It’s a cycle that seems never ending. He doesn’t know what to do. All he wants so desperately is to fucking fix it. 

But...

The drive has been silent. You stare out the window at cars and buildings that pass. There are bags in the truck rustling around, a last minute stop for last minute items needed for the trip. 

You had been silent in the store too. Quietly checking off your list as Harry pushed the cart behind you. Had his gift upset you this much? You still loving him made you this angry? 

“I… I don’t know what to do.” Harry finally says, forcing his voice to cut through the silence. You startle and turn to look at him. “Tell me what to do.” He pleads. 

He knows you can hear the desperation in his voice. Whether or not you were angry at him, you knew him, you knew his tells and his emotions. 

“What do you want me to say, H?” Your voice is a whisper but still harsh. “I don’t know! I don’t know what you can do! Build a time machine. Don’t cheat on me.” 

“It feels like we’re going in circles.” Harry tries to keep his calm. He wants to keep the anxiety and hurt out of his voice. “Like, you’re angry then you see this chance and there’s hope, then there’s anger again.” 

You scoff. “I’m sorry my pain isn’t linear enough for you! I’m sorry that sometimes I see glimpses of you and I’m reminded of us ten years ago, so in love and oblivious to the outside world. Sorry that it all comes crashing down when I remember that you fucking cheated on me!” 

Harry sighs and his grip on the steering wheel tightens. “I fucked up so bad. I know. I know. God, what can I do? Anything.” 

“Why did you do it?” You ask instead of answering. There’s a coldness in your words and Harry’s aware you’re both trapped in the car for another twenty minutes. So are you, apparently. “And don’t give me the same bullshit about being selfish and not knowing why and it being a mistake.” 

Harry feels desperation claw at his throat and tears burning in the corner of his eyes. It’s like he can’t breathe, trapped in a coffin of your anger and his guilt. He tries to keep his eyes focused on the road as he talks. “I… I felt wanted. I liked the attention.” 

There’s a sharp intake of breath, but Harry keeps his face forward and eyes focused. “Tell me what happened.” 

“Y/N…” Harry trails off. “I… I can’t.”

You groan and fall forward with your head in your hands. “I need to know, H. I don’t… I just need to know because all I can think about is these what if situations and scenarios in my head. And I’ll just keep running through them until I hate you.”

Harry bites down on his lip and spares a glance at you. “What if… What if I tell you and you hate me anyways?” The question is unfair. He knows it is. But he can’t fathom a world without you in it. A world where he sees you on drop off days and has to plan separate holidays. 

“I don’t know.” You say quietly. But, it feels like answer enough. There’s no reason for you not to leave. 

And Harry guesses a promise to try was never really a promise to stay. 

-

notes: thank you for the patience! i understand this piece is short, this part has been a lil tricky and i wanted to get the first part to may out before summer courses begun. i’m hoping i’m able to continue writing through them, but i will warn readers i am enrolled in two of the three week classes that have a lot of work and move quickly. so patience will be appreciated. i hope everyone is safe & healthy and has a wonderful end of school/university/spring! and congratulations to all the grads these next two months. i’m planning on ending this series with a total of five parts (march, april, may, june, july) w/ two endings.

tags (im tagging a couple ppl who messaged me awhile ago (after the last part), if u dont wanna be tagged anymore let me know! sorry!@alwaysclassyeagle @yourgoldengirls

if u wanna be tagged just message me & let me know if u want it for just this series or for all my h writing! ❤️

[sd1d-enthusiast]

Mr Queen Ending: A Queer Baiting Disaster

Have not felt so utterly devastated about a show since Game of Thrones Season 8 

I loved this show, okay? I waited eagerly for every episode, I laughed, I cried, I put it down into my "all time favorites." I was so ready to give it a 10 rating. And now I don't think I can ever re-watch it after how the ending completely ERASED and NEGATED the journey of the first 19 episodes. Much like how Game of Thrones Season 8 managed to destroy the previous masterpiece seasons, the ending of this show—literally the last thirty minutes—managed to completely unravel and make the previous 19 episodes utterly meaningless. Utterly pointless. Spoilers ahead:

This ending is garbage. Pure fucking garbage. I don't understand how ANYONE can like an ending like this without completely deluding themselves. I'm mindblown at the amount of ppl going "it was a great ending, it tied everything up!" HOW? The person who the king fell in love with and the person who ends up with the king are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. The king will live the rest of his life as a lie, with a person he never spared a second glance to before in his life. Bong Hwan will live the rest of his life knowing that history could be changed and yet someone ELSE got to live and love the man he fell in love with.

This whole drama, we followed BONG HWAN'S story, his growth, his fears, the way he progressed as a character, the way he fell in love with the king. Yet in the end, Bong Hwan was nothing but a stepping stone for So Yong to take his place. His journey and character growth became nothing but a means to someone else's happiness.

I don't think people understand. This isn't a happy ending. The one who the king fell in love with (bong hwan) is NO LONGER THERE. He's left with nothing. So yong, a complete stranger to us, is the one who gets the happy ending. Bong Hwan, who actually experienced everything with the king....becomes a side character to his own story.

This was one of my favorite dramas of all time, but this ending managed to erase every bit of rewatch quality for me. It erased every meaningful interaction between our leads bc at the end one of the leads is ERASED and replaced by someone who experienced NONE of what made those two people fall in love with each other. It feels like a slap on the face for everyone who rooted for the actual relationship between the Mr Queen who we came to love and know and the King.

If they wanted to have the ending be with the real So Yong and the King, then they should have had So Yong as the main character. Not Bong Hwan in her body. They could have played with the "they are each other's reincarnation" theory or the "the two people fused into one mind" theory. Anything would have been better than this farce. The king fell in love with the Mr Queen who was strange, wacky, a modern thinker, a feminist, liberal, a little bit crazy. The Mr Queen who walked like a man and who taught him strange words, the one who told him that he was a good man and a good king, the person who helped the king find faith and hope in the nightmare he was living. That was all Bong Hwan. Not So Yong.

And everyone seems to be ignoring that So Yong is now literally doing what Hwa Jin did to Choel Jong lying about who she really is and pretending to be someone else. We all hated Hwa Jin for lying and trying to replace the Queen, but now what? She knows she's not the person who the king fell in love with. The king still thinks that the woman he's speaking to is someone else. They're both living a lie. The same thing is happening, but because it's the original woman we're supposed to applaud for it? Think it makes everything fine? Insanity.

I can't help but think that some of the people celebrating this ending and saying that it's better that So-yong, the woman who the king did not fall in love with, got to be with the King over the man who he did fall in love with are closet homophobes who would rather have a completely different female character end up with the king rather than the man who was at the heart of this show. At the very least, the show producers probably thought that. This whole show feels like one massive queer bait and the ending hurts more than I can say.

The first 19 episodes would have been a clear 10/10. If only the last episode hadn't completely negated those 19 episodes. If only.

I haven't felt so devastated since Game of Thrones Season 8. It feels like a slap on the face after all the feelings I and other viewers invested in this story, in BONG HWAN's story, only to be paid dust. The person the King fell in love with, the one who understood him and the one who he tried so hard to understand, know, and love....is gone. The Bong Hwan who was at the heart of this story is GONE. Erased and replaced in his OWN STORY. 

This isn't a happy ending; it's a tragedy.

My original review can be found here on mydramalist. 

[wemakeitupaswego]

“I really hope they stay friends tbh. As much as all of this has been entertaining, it is tragic seeing the two growing apart.”

Seeing things like this makes me so happy to be a cockles shipper. It just shows me how not toxic we are compared to the other side. I’ll be honest, I’ve never really liked J1 ever since the doxxing business, so long before the finale. But I’m certainly not jumping up and down in joy about a seemingly ruined friendship, even though it was kinda funny, as you said,but I certainly wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

So while I’m not happy about the fact that apparently j//2 weren’t as close as we thought, I am happy that their crazy stans got to see it all, I’m not saying all of them are like that, but most of them are. All those copypastas and comments about Jenmish’s friendship being PR, all the unnecessary hate towards Misha and j//2’s wives, them trying to convince themselves and everyone else that Jensen actually hated Misha(ha). It just seems like delicious karma to me. I’d hoped this whole thing would humble them a bit, but apparently most of them are back on their usual bs after the PR make up.

I see a lot in the fandom hating on Cockles shippers for shipping real ppl. We don't go over to them and demand them declare their love for each other. We simply percieve. I know some rookie fans have gone over the board but most of us, we try to keep it all here. You don't bother them with your specs whether how much they make sense or not. Rule 01!

Considered to the whole j/2 speak the truth manifesto and all the craze of stalking their families, we have literally done nothing to bother Jensen and Misha. Best example is the recent roommates revelation. Most of the shippers knew and assumed. But were ethically developed enough to keep it under wraps. Because if you care enough to make their relationship work, then you should know how careful we have to be to not out them or force them to be out. It has to happen naturally...

As for J1 I am not a big fan or anything but I certainly don't wanna hate the guy. He makes it difficult tbh. I think at one point we weren't annoyed by J1 but more annoyed by his fans who went too far with the relationship between the two Js. Ship all you want but the moment you sent fish hooks to Dee, you are the most pathetic human for me. So yes whatever happened I think a portion of those shippers who forced it too far deserved to be lit like that by the reality of it all. Jensen is not the person they thought he was, because they fantasized and idolized him into someone they wanted Jensen to be in their minds.

I did enjoy the whole drama that went down because it was necessary for something like that to happen for some people to open their eyes and get out of the maze. Evidently some did so anon. And others bunkered themselves even deeper. But at least next time they hate on Js wives they should remember that both boys chose their families over everything else. Jensen and Dee are doing the prequel together. No matter how much J/2 shippers don't want to, Dee is gonna be involved oh so much regarding the prequel and I am here for it.

Oh yes sweet karma that was. For all the hatred towards Misha, something like an avalanche on their ship was bound to fall. When something is made of lies and fantasies a little slip is enough to make it all tumble to the ground.

And they should remember that Jensen is his own person and do not need J1 to tag on all his projects. Jensen is moving on and happily without J1. And we should accept that. I so want Js to be friends again because it is too weird out there without them making up. But now we will always know...at least 50% of that relationship is PR. Most of all the other side realises that. So before they sent out another bag of hooks to the wives, I so hope they remind themselves that.

Hope you're doing well anon.. Mutuals are always welcome 🙏

[michibikionmain]

So... are you still up for sharing your head cannons for the Big Sister Puffy AU or nah?

YES I AM ALWAYS UP FOR SHARING HEADCANONS ABOUT THE BIG SISTER PUFFY AU

-Their family hierarchy works smth like this Puffy and Bad are the 'eldest siblings' of their found family group, with punz being the next 'older brother'. The Dream Team I'd imagine are all equally the youngest of the family dynamic bc I said so

-As for actual relationships between them, the family starts off with Puffy, roughly 8 years old at the time, finding God But he's a Toddler in the middle of the woods! She's a genuinely caring person and is concerned to see thia fuckin kid just wandering around with no parents or anything so she takes him to the nearest village, assuming he'd like ran away

thats where she meets Bad, Skeppy and Sam! Skeppy and Sam are close to the family dynamic group, but not technically apart of it? Skeppy gets roped in when Bad makes him but other than that he prefers to mind his own business, and Sam is just constantly busy with massive projects so they rarely see him and he's rarely home enough to form the same family bond with them. They all still love and care about them both though!! It's like those distant cousins you only see a couple times a year but you still think of them fondly?

-Bad is a bit younger than Puffy, but he seems really intent on helping her take care of this kid! He shows her to some warehouse thing where he's been staying with a kid a little younger than Dream, Sapnap. For a little while it's just these four, until the boys are a little older and can go out and do Stuff

-Next to enter is Punz and George! It's a coincidence that they arrive at around the same time bc they weren't travelling together, but they have met eachother before briefly n what not. Dream and Sapnap gain a third member to their choatic group forming the Dream Team and also a Cool older brother who isn't gonna shout at them for all the crazy things they do.

Now that their meeting/Dynamic has been explained a little more lets get into the actual headcanons ooga booga--

-Puffy came up with the nickname "Ducky/Duckling/Dreamling" not only based on the fact that he followed her arouns through the woods, but because she thought his hoodie was yellow when she first met him, making him look kinda like a rubber duck! ppl seem to forget that she actually has the same type of colorblindness as george lol

-George's goggles are technically a group effort gift they made for him as a birthday present at some point! Sapnap physically put the glasses together with help from Punz, Bad worked in the magical elements to help him see the colors, Dream ran around to get the supplies, and Puffy was the resident test subject! They tried to make her a pair too, but she insisted that she was fine and used to her colors by then and didn't need them. George has offered to let her borrow them sometimes but she refuses completely. She likes the way her world looks just the way it is.

-While not in the family dynamic with them, Puffy is close childhood friends with Niki as well! Niki has her own family group to take care of though so :))) but they sneak out to talk to eachother. The only reason it's still a secret is because Puffy bribed Bad not to tell anyone by saying she'd tell everyone about he would sneak out to meet Skeppy and they'd both have to suffer together. They do not speak of this.

-Despite his energetic and chatty nature, Dream rarely talks around/directly to Puffy when it's just the two of them. He doesn't feel the need to, and he lets Puffy do the talking.

-Expanding on the last one, when Dream is really upset, particularly with any of his friends, his first instinct is to go to Puffy and have her tell him all sorts of different stories. He finds listening to her soothing and safe.

-When he let go of George and Sapnap as they joined El Rapids, he spent the rest of the next day following her around and silently helping her with various tasks. She didn't pry about what upset him so badly, but it was clear he needed his sister there.

-(a bit prediction-y on my part and based on something that happened on punz's stream but...)It hurt the most knowing he couldn't go to Puffy after he made everyone on the server hate him, but it was for her own good. He trusted Puffy with everything, but she'd been hurt too many times and looked after the young god for so long. It was time he paid her back in some sense of peace and connection, letting her reunite with the rest of their family even if it meant destroying him or hating him for the time being. Puffy's house was silent that day, as she waited for her ducky to come back so she could comfort him. But he never came. he'd swam away and puffy had a feeling she wouldn't see him again for a long while...

[syrenblubs]

What Your Free! Kin Says About You (Samezuka)

a/n: i didn’t write sei’s because i’ve never met a seijuro kinnie and i couldn’t think of anything for him

once again if u feel attacked by this, ur welcome ;)) (more self-callouts for me :’))

Rin 

(another one of my kins)

-c o m p e t i t i v e

-phat superiority complex (no im not sorry for this one)

-big inferiority complex too

-always second in everything

-ur probably also an oikawa kinnie

-ur labelled as tsundere by friends

-u don't know how to put ur emotions into words

-u probably have anger issues

-you've distanced urself from ur family until something happened and ever since you tried to reconnect

-u get frequent headaches from stressing urself out

-people think of u as rude or inconsiderate but ur just very blunt

-[insert first language here]? sorry u only speak sarcasm

Sousuke

-u were taught from a young age that showing ur emotions would make u seem vulnerable to others

-only child

-ur excel in stuff u enjoy doing

-hardworking and dedicated in what u do

-u have trouble balancing ur school/career goals with ur family and social life

-u also struggle with meeting basic needs at the expense of better results with school/work

-have a hyperfixation to coffee

-dry texter

-like the rin kinnies, ur very blunt

-u don't care what other people think

-u have social skills u just don't see the need in using them

-has a hard time opening up to others, even if they're close

-doesn't read between the lines, and takes things as they seem

-hard for u to understand jokes and sarcasm

Nitori

-like the makoto kinnies, u hate conflict

-u have secret fetishes that you’d never dare to share

-u hoard a lot of things from ur past

-u tend to over apologize

-panics over the smallest things

-ur feelings are influenced by those of others around u

-stressed to keep up with everyone's expectations

-ur careful with what u say to others

-u prioritize ur family and friends over urself

-u have a terrible habit of oversharing

-u want to make more friends, u just don't know how to

-you seek validation and satisfaction from other people

Momo

-ur labelled as the annoying kid

-ur a genuinely happy person, but u have trouble understanding that others don't have it same

-class clown? most likely

-party kid

-ur good at comforting ppl when u can sympathize tho

-you're probably ur parents' favorite child

-on that note, ur the youngest sibling

-u have many siblings and cousins ur age who u hang out with

-u strive to live life to the fullest, free from standards and society's expectations

-u may or may not have wanted to be internet famous at some point

-like the nagisa kinnies, u love food

-ur naturally athletic

-its easy for u to go up to people and start talking

-you don't have a problem in expressing how u feel or showing your emotions

[angelmachines]

i see a lot of ppl, esp on twitter, talk about how c!tommy knew that c!techno was going to blow up lmanburg, and that he was mostly in the wrong for betraying techno. and that... doesnt really sit well with me. so... heres me trying to look at everything that happened from tommys perspective LMFAO

for starters, techno actively kept tommy from learning about his plans for majority of tommys stay with him. he erased the line in his to do list, would lie when tommy asked about it, and consistently told him that the hound army, the weapons, and everything else were there for the purpose of retrieving the discs. 

tommy was already in a vulnerable place after leaving logstedshire. he was lonely, being manipulated, and felt helpless. when techno took tommy in, gave him food and a home, how else was he meant to understand that? he was at his weakest, and had no choice but to believe that techno meant the best for him. 

during his stay in the arctic, tommy made it clear that he would only side with techno if they got the discs back, and kept tubbo and lmanburg safe while doing it. all of these are terms techno agreed to, even if he didnt mean it. 

of course, techno came clean eventually. once he saw tommy as his friend. 

on the day before he sided with tommys abuser. 

when techno came clean, tommy was placed into the same situation wilbur put him in. the brother who manipulated and used tommy for his own means, who convinced him and tubbo to die for their beliefs. the brother who he hates, but loved until the very end. 

tommy is placed into the same situation, with the person he blamed for everything awful that happened to his home, and the person who, when he was at his lowest, gave him a home. 

and so he agrees. the same way he agreed with wilbur, because he thought that he could convince wilbur he was wrong too. because he didnt want to lose the people hes close to. not when hes lost literally everything else.

and then the confrontation with tubbo happens, and tommy realizes that he doesnt have to lose everything after all. he can have lmanburg, and his home, and tubbo back, and in a moment of confusion and conflicted feelings, tommy decides to side with the one person who has been a constant throughout his time on the server. 

and, as we all know, techno reacts badly. and then he reacts by siding with dream. 

which only solidifies the choice. 

i think its safe to say that tommy has a hard time explaining how he feels. its always been hard, especially apologies. so when he tells techno that dream wants to kill him, he assumes that techno understands what that means. tommy assumes that “he wants to kill me” and “i dont know how to feel about him” means the same thing to him as it does to techno. 

so techno, siding with the person tommy is so, so terrified of, only makes tommy believe that techno never truly cared for him in the first place. it makes him believe that all the time they spent together didn’t mean anything, that techno was suddenly betraying tommy. and then we get doomsday, and it is so much worse than tommy thought.

that scene, with tommy and techno yelling at the top of their lungs, really only says one thing to me. its two hurt individuals yelling desperately to each other, to be heard. 

and they both achieve this, to some degree. they both hear the awful things they say about each other, but never the thought process behind it. not the months of trauma and hurt that have lead them to where they are. 

and, in a way, their argument was the one place where they were actually able to think about their feelings towards each other. 

tommy represses every awful thing that happens to him-- he refuses to speak, let alone think of the awful things wilbur and dream did to him. and even though techno is on the same level as them in that moment, he is able to spit ideas out, to really reflect on what lmanburg, and what technos friendship meant to him. 

and what he concludes on isn’t accurate to technos perspective, not at all. 

but for a kid who has been manipulated, used, and torn down so many times? it is so justified. 

and he decides that techno is just as bad as dream and wilbur, because every single relationship he’s had has hurt him in some way. no matter how good, people have always hurt tommy. it happened with dream, and wilbur, and even tubbo. but the difference between all those people is that tommy already hated techno. he already blamed techno for everything that happened, for causing an active threat to everything he cares about. and after tommy is convinced that techno isnt that bad, he’s forced to reconsider and put techno back in the black and white box he had him in previously. because... if he cant blame everything on wilbur, and he cant blame everything on dream, he has to blame it on techno. 

it doesn’t take technos feelings or the time they spent together into account. dear god it doesnt. but this is a kid, who thought he finally had a home in someone, who wouldnt kill him, or blow up his home, or exile him, and felt betrayed when he realized he didn’t. 

all in all, they both deserved better. 

[voidcat]

– “Friend” is a four letter word

Characters: Kuroo Tetsurou / gn! reader

requested by anon, prompt 1

wc & genre: 2k - mostly fluff, a bit angst by the end

a/n: the title is literally a 1 trait danger song title, pls dont come @ me, i just thought it was nice to use bc “love” is a four letter word so yea,, also pls dont ship ppl irl or ask them too many Qs abt their relationshio even if they look so good together n should date bc it is rlly rlly annoying (speaking from experience)

The first you meet Kuroo Tetsurou, you don’t even notice.

It’s not surprising, he’s quiet and doesn’t gather attention. You don’t go looking around and keeping an eye on everyone either. The most is you’re just two fish in the vast sea, unaware of one another, too tangled with your own lives.

Then comes a moment, nothing special, almost out-of-a-movie type. It begins with a joke, if it can be considered that. It’s bad, awfully bad, a horrible pun in the middle of chemistry and from the volume of the voice you can tell they hoped no one would hear. But you do, so does few who sit next to him and your giggles dance around in the air. You don’t notice it’s him at that time but you grow to recognize his jokes in the following time.

Kuroo Tetsurou feels like a mystery when your eyes lie on him one afternoon. He’s not bad looking, a part of a sports team, a key member even. And yet compared to all the other jocks he doesn’t bask in the attention, in fact, he doesn’t receive any. Others like to brag and talk smug, as if they’ve discovered life in an inhabitable area and then there’s him. You can’t even tell he plays in the team if it’s not for the uniform and tracksuit he’s in after classes.

You think to yourself, if only jocks were like him. Still, you take no step and neither does he.

Maybe neither of you need to because the universe is more than happy to provide the nudge you both seem to need.

Funny enough it’s a science project that starts it.

He’s too quiet to your liking, speaking only when absolutely necessary. As you desperately try to kill the silence that hangs in the air, he avoids it as hard, making so little sound.

An idea comes as fast the lights are on and you speak before you even get to think ‘what’s there to lose?’

“No science puns for me? What happened, cat got your tongue?”

To say he is baffled, is the understatement of the year. You’re not sure if he’s surprised you’ve heard him joke or want to hear more of them; but either way, he looks cute, with his guard down, at a loss of reaction, mouth slightly open and – is that a hint of blush on his cheeks?

It only goes upwards from then on.

Awkward conversations is how it begins, seeking each other out in close environments is where you’re leaded.

You find yourself enjoying the way he talks, listening to what he has to say, the way his face brightens up when he starts talking out of pure interest. You only hope he feels the same way about you, and from the way he often discreetly directs you to take the lead and pick the topic, he does.

In a short span of time, you two are attached from the hip. Inseparable, always doing something, going somewhere, discussing a thing or just laughing. Shy smiles replaced with a Cheshire-like grin, almost ironic considering your school’s name, that’s only a new expression on him that you like to see.

It feels freeing, natural; as the sea sighs, the rain drops hit the surface and the sun shines. Two peas in a pod, thick as thieves, inseparable…

This goes beyond high school and throughout university too, which you’re grateful for. Because times come when you wonder where would you be without him, what would you do without his support; so you thank the stars once again, for having him in your life even today.

Then comes the times you wish you didn’t spend as much time together because the people around are being insufferable. All you want is to hang out with your best friend but half that time is stolen away by the never changing questions. Those who keep asking if you’re together, as an item. As if it doesn’t rub the salt in the already existing wound, it sure makes things unbearable. Getting approached by people you never saw before is no fun, neither is dealing with those who have the audacity to think you owe an explanation about your love life.

“But why? The two of you spend all the time together! Sure you must be in love!”

As if platonic relationships do not exist, surely do you have to love someone in that way to care for them? Loving Tetsu is a case that matters to only you, you’re happy knowing he cares for you, maybe not in the way as you but at the end of the day, the bond is there in plain sight, on your sleeve.

“But you guys would look so good together! Have you given dating a try? I’m sure it’d work out! I understand if you want to keep things a secret but come on, you must have had something going on-“

Stop, stop, stop…

It gets exhausting after a while, showing its signs on you, the irritation high and your nerves are at the edge, he notices it not long after.

After a little persuasion, you spill it all out, ranting about the pent up anger you had bottled all week –month maybe. You don’t notice the way his shoulders slump as you talk and go on about the stupidity of the people. It misses your attention how he talks less than usual that day, even after the mini ranting session. You do, however, notice how he starts to act strange around you. More preserved, and not as chatty as much. Holding his touch and avoiding contact, not going out of his way to approach you any longer. This drives you crazy, hurts a part of you and you worry –what if he has grown bored of me? Did I do something to hurt his feelings? Does he like someone and avoids me to get in their eye? What has happened, what did I do wrong? And goes and goes and goes the worries and the dynamics shift in your friendship.

So with the change of dynamics, you try desperately to hold onto what you once shared. Soon enough it’s you who invites the other to outings.

When your coffee offers are denied, you bring up walks, after that study dates, as he tries to ignore one attempt of alone time, you come up with another and one evening you find yourself asking to go to a party.

Campus parties with him, are interesting, to say the least. It stings when you’re separated, a punch to the stomach when he’s awfully close to those who were flirting with him, a new kind of torture when he keeps his talks with you short at the scene but at the end of the day you always leave, together, and you settle with this too, as you settled with all his love you could get years ago.

Some nights with booze apparent in the air, you don’t bug him with questions but each party gets worse somehow, only makes the distance between the two harder.

One night you snap and let it all out, unlike that afternoon it wasn’t an asked question but an aftereffect of him pushing your nerves and once you begin, you don’t stop, letting the storm out and he just looks at you.

You stop and his gaze stays, face devoid of any emotion and you worry, all the words you’ve said dawning on you and with one last attempt you whisper “Aren’t we friends?”

Voice calm and stern, colder than that icy cocktail you had: We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.

Holding back the tears by the corner of your eyes, you blink once and turn your back, steps set on your way. You can’t recall the last time you’ve walked home alone, without him.

Some time passes, days begin to blur and you try not to dwell on things too much or think about him that much. But the brain is a traitor as much as your heart and you find yourself thinking about him too much to your liking. Not sure whether you want him to find you, you keep an eye out; maybe plan to get out of the eye sight when you spot that messy hair but there’s not much need as he’s never around.

At the same time you’re unaware that this is his way of giving you a break, providing the alone time you needed away from him; as Tetsu tries his best to gather his thoughts and shape the sentences to show how he truly feels, what he actually thinks, he keeps an eye out for you. Even the smallest of smiles on you making his racing heart worse but what lands the final blow is how rarely you smile these days. Knowing he is the reason behind, knowing he causes the weight on your shoulders and the ache in his heart, he wishes more than anything to change this as soon as he can but he is at a loss of words and actions and he hates himself for that.

When the two of you are brought together once again, as fate pushes you from behind like it did years ago, you’re not sure who looks up first. But it is Tetsu who speaks first, not giving you a chance to say anything back, call him names or yell him insults. And as he talks, eyes focused on you, locked into yours, his gaze warmer than ever, his voice nothing like that disastrous night.

“I know I fucked up and ruined the best thing I’ve ever had in my life. I have nothing to blame but myself, I know, but please. Even though it’s selfish of me to ask this… Would you give me a second chance?”

Letting go of the breath you were holding, you prepare to answer him. He doesn’t let you.

“One last chance… To start over? Because that one sentence, as cold as it sounded, had a truth to it. And I- I just can’t do it anymore. I can’t go on and pretend like I don’t have- like I don’t have all these feelings in me. I can’t nod along to your rants about how much you hate the people perceiving the two of us as more than friends. ‘Cause you got to admit. They have a point. Maybe at the beginning, yes... But we’ve not been friends, not for a long while. And you know it too whether you want to say it or not.”

As if spoken without breathing once, considering this is Tetsu that was definitely the case ,he gulps and takes a step forward.

“Will you give me a last chance and let me show you how much I can love you? Free of this ‘just friends’ title. Would you let me take you on dates and make you laugh wide and loud? Not just as your friend but as your boyfriend? As your partner in crime and in life, as Persephone is the pastel queen of hell in the realm of Hades, the sun to my Icarus, the Sodium to my Chlorine?..”

His speech was getting to you until the last sentence, your softened body goes stone cold, hands hanging in the air, Tetsu’s last pleads of “would you let me?”s falling deaf to your ears.

The gears turn quick and he realizes exactly which one of his words could leave an effect like this, be so ridiculous and bring you to a halt.

One of those smug smiles you saw on his face often, he says “What happened, cat got your tongue?”

And your mouse hanging open, all you can do is smack him on the arm, as hard as you can, for that awful salt simile and for using your words on you.

Before you know it, both of you are laughing and the air feels warm once again.

tags: @celosiiaa​ @boosyboo9206

[itsclydebitches]

Godddddd I'm so upset that I dislike yen this much, doing main quests in skellige and Freyas ppl were doing stuff and she again disrespected other cultures with Geraly being against, "I may be inhumanly beautiful" I know she's meant to be confident but wowww. She's not confident and worried for Ciri she just comes off arrogant and selfish and vain. Like, fuck.

The ultimate mood, anon. My Witcher fandom life would be so much easier if I enjoyed Yen ... but I just do not lol. Remember how I mentioned that things were going to get even worse than her stealing and using a potentially dangerous artifact? Yeeeaah. She also resurrects Ciri's friend to torture him for information, all while destroying another sacred garden to get the power to do it! It's not even a "She's so evil and I love it 😏" situation for me because the game tries so hard to convince us that she's still The Best. Geralt's sexy soulmate, Ciri's adoring mother, the baddest bitch around who gets things done and does it with an effortless confidence... all while ignoring how horrific her actions and attitude are. Oh sure, other characters speak ill of her at times, but considering how much Geralt is written to adore her, no matter what you choose, that's all undermined. I love morally gray/evil characters, but I've never enjoyed them when the text refuses to appropriately acknowledge that side of them. Nothing is more frustrating to me than a story that frames disliking a character as the unambiguously wrong thing to do, especially when the text is piling up reasons to dislike them and, as a result, ignoring or shrugging them off their actions as not that bad. Yen is a rather extreme example of that for me. Despite her attitude, her choices, and other characters outright going, "Why do you like her?" the story as a whole works under the assumption that it's correct to like her anyway because Geralt loves her. And he loves her for... reasons.

They do meet before the wish, but only just. Major "The Last Wish" spoilers in this paragraph, so feel free to skip. Basically, Geralt and Dandelion run into trouble with a djinn, he goes to Yen for help since she's a sorceress (first time meeting her), he instantly falls for her because she's gorgeous and such (there's an elf there who is also madly in love with Yen. Men just... fall for her, instinctually), she heals Dandelion, Geralt agrees to pay her, but Yen has already decided on the payment she wants. She takes control of Geralt's mind and forces him to attack the town to seek revenge on those who have insulted her, resulting in him waking up in prison awaiting execution for "his" crimes. Meanwhile, Yen has gone after the djinn for herself because power/trying to regain her ability to have a kid. Geralt escapes, finds her failing to master the djinn (an attempt which btw has endangered the whole town) and despite what she's done to him, Geralt tries to get Yen to escape with him. She refuses, set on capturing the djinn even though it's obvious she can't. So as a last resort he uses the final wish to bind their fates together, saving Yen from the djinn in the process. Aaaaaand then they have sex.

So yeah, their rocky relationship is one of the main reasons why I can't enjoy Yen. For some their tumultuous history is evidence of realism, for me it's evidence that they're not actually very compatible and they're only together because a) that's the fantasy trope: protagonist men get together with the hot sorceress and b) because the magic is literally ensuring that they can't escape one another. I mean, canonically their fates are tied together by magic and canonically they spend about 20 years swinging between passionate love and fearsome fights... but there's supposedly no connection between these two things? No chance at all that they keep coming together because magic is drawing them rather than because they actually want/should be together? I wrote a meta a while back about the short story where they meet, which includes a present day scene where Geralt is criticized by another character — Nenneke — for running out on Yen. Thing is, he tries to explain that he left because she was "too possessive" and this is... flat out ignored. By both Nenneke and the fandom. There's a strong trend of ignoring Geralt's words in favor of a pro-Yen interpretation of events. He says he left because she was too possessive and she treated him like ____ — he's not allowed to finish the sentence and say what she treated him like because Nenneke interrupts him, saying she doesn't care about his version of events. Major yikes imo! She turns a claim of being possessive into Geralt not being man enough to stick around. The fandom likewise turns this into a case of Geralt getting cold feet and running out because he's a bastard who hates commitment. Likewise, Nenneke and the fandom claim Geralt is trying to get Yen money as a way of appeasing his guilt for leaving, he claims he's doing it simply because he still cares for her — even if he doesn't want to be with her — and knows she needs it. Geralt's words are frequently dismissed, in the same way others characters' opinions of Yen are dismissed. Any mark against her is treated as either a lie, or a convoluted claim that they don't really know her... never mind that an understanding of why she may act this way doesn't excuse the behavior itself. (Plus, the whole "Yen had a horrible upbringing, so of course she struggles being kind" perspective always fell flat to me when so many, including witchers, had horrendous upbringings too. The whole point is this world is a mess and most everyone suffers). It's supposedly true love, yet if someone came up to me and went, "I magically tied my fate to this woman to keep her from getting herself killed and we've spent the last couple decades having what many would term a rocky relationship, to put it kindly. I left once because she was too controlling. She once cheated on me. I likewise hooked up with others during our frequent breakups. A mutual friend used magic to get me to have sex with her — also while my lover and I were broken up — and though I view it as a dumb decision I'm happy to forgive her for, my lover is ready to commit murder because again: possessive. A lot of the time we're only a family because of our daughter. I once thought she'd horrifically betrayed us both. She didn't, but it says something that I was so ready to believe it, huh? Hmm? Permanently separated? Of course not! I love her. We're destined to be together after all :)" I'd be like, "Uh... you sure about that, dude?"

Not that Geralt doesn't make his fair share of mistakes in the relationship — he absolutely does — but I don't think it helps his case that he's immature in other ways and, frankly, that he's a very strong, badass witcher. It's easy to turn the hints we get about their relationship into a simplistic "emotionally naive man can't give the poor woman the commitment she wants" situation. Given Geralt's status as the badass fighter of the tale, it's likewise easy to dismiss his admissions of her being "possessive" and his general discomfort. He's the man. He's the witcher. If he's making any claims about how Yen isn't treating him well, they must be excuses, or exaggerations, because real men, especially physically powerful men, would do something about that — a something that's not sneaking out in the middle of the night. A lot of people read Geralt leaving as the ultimate proof that he's an immature bastard who doesn't deserve her. I read him leaving and think, "What were you trying to get away from? What was going on that made you think you could only leave by sneaking out without a word?" To me, that doesn't read as someone who felt safe, comfortable, and respected enough to do anything but slip away and try to wash his hands of things. And I'm not just pulling this "Geralt is at least somewhat afraid of Yen and isn't comfortable establishing boundaries with her" reading out of my ass. When Yen wants Geralt to kill the golden dragon for her and he refuses, saying he doesn't care anymore, his thoughts are:

He expected the worst: a cascade of flames, flashes of lightning, blows raining down on his face, insults and curses. There was nothing. He saw, with astonishment, only the subtle trembling of her lips. Yennefer turned around slowly. Geralt regretted his words.

And everyone is like, "See! Yen has improved so much. Geralt nearly made her cry, but she's supposed to be the bad guy here?" Meanwhile, I'm going, "Uh... anyone want to unpack why he expects fire, lightning, insults, curses, and blows to his face for telling her no? Why he's astonished that she wouldn't use her magic against him? Anyone think that Yen refraining from attacking Geralt when he refuses to murder on her command is a pretty low bar? No? Just me?"

Geralt and Yen's relationship makes me uncomfortable and a great deal of that discomfort derives from how much of the Witcher fandom shrugs off the fictional warning signs. I mean, I post primarily about RWBY. We watched a man in that show try to sneak away with his kids when his villainous wife planned to use them for a eugenics plan... and the fandom still blames him for that, refusing to admit that he was in an abusive relationship. Because that doesn't happen to men, right? I'm not saying it's the same for Geralt and Yen, simply because they are written to be soulmates. An abusive relationship was, quite obviously, never the authorial intent. However, I am saying that the a "This isn't a healthy relationship" reading is there, it exists as an interpretation, and both the story and fandom's tendency to dismiss it is something that hasn't helped me enjoy Yen's status as an otherwise well written, complex character. Their equality supposedly stems in part because they're both so flawed, yet each time I see a list of Geralt's supposedly equal faults they're... lacking imo. "Geralt bound himself to Yen without her consent." Yeah, to save her from dying from the djinn she was trying to enslave, after she refused to leave, while her actions threatened a whole town. "Geralt ran off without a word." Mmm hmm, anyone care about why? And my personal favorite is a scene you may not have gotten to yet (or may not get depending on your choices), but suffice to say, Yen is supposedly justified in physically attacking Geralt if he dares to challenge her in any way. That's the main takeaway across the fandom: If Yen is pissed off, you must have done something to deserve it which, in the relationship deliberately written to be "stormy," is something that sets all the alarm bells in my head off. Honestly, it kinda makes my skin crawl to go, "Geralt didn't deserve that" and get responses back of, "Yeah he did because he [insert basic human action here]." The Witcher world is hard and cruel, absolutely, but that doesn't mean I personally enjoy seeing an equally messed up relationship presented as something that's enviable in its flaws. "That's actually true love because the magically bound man who often expresses discomfort with his lover, written by a male author with a very iffy perspective on women, says it's true love." Crazy theory here, but... maybe it's not?

Idk, lots of rambling on my end tonight! For me, Geralt/Yen reads as something rather tragic which, in a canon that unironically upholds the relationship, and in a Yen-adoring fandom, doesn't make enjoying her character any easier. I keep coming back to Witcher 3, the comics, the show, even the books going, "Maybe I'll like her this time?" but nope, still trying lol.

[muwur]

um!! i want to request a comfort hc/drabble(?) anything !! just 👉👈 can i get hinata n/or tsuki comforting and standing up for their s/o (or friend!) who is non-binary ??

standing up for a non-binary s/o

♡ scenarios ♡ for hinata and tsukishima

gn reader

turned out longer than i intended tHIS IS MY PROBLEM N Y I UPDATE SO SLOW FORGIVE ME FOEFHEFOEFRG but anyway,,,, 2.3k words

a/n: i use primarily they/them as reader’s preferred pronouns in these scenarios, but i wanted to acknowledge that ik some non-binary ppl use other pronouns,  they/he, they/she, or even all pronouns, etc :) reminder to pls be respectful to what people want and use their preferred pronouns!  and pls lmk if i ever offend you bc i don’t want to upset anyone <3

hinata

Just a week ago, you had finally mustered the courage to come out as non-binary to your boyfriend, Hinata. You recalled the rising panic you felt when you were met with silence and the slight widening of his chocolate eyes. However, his initial surprise was quickly replaced with a softness gracing his features. When he gently stroked your cheek and reassured you that nothing would change how he feels about you, you felt your heart melt with relief. You had nothing worry about, after all.

Unfortunately, not everyone could be as accepting as Hinata.

Picking at an array of noodles with a fork, you fixed your sights on the dinner plate before you, trying to ignore a certain gaze threatening to sear your skin. Next to you, Hinata grimaced. Munching on his stir fry and trying to be respectful in front of your family were the only things keeping him from wiping that leer off your aunt’s face. She was blatant in expressing her disapproval, the wrinkles in her face contorting with disgust whenever she so much as looked your way.

After your heart-to-heart with Hinata the other week, you were inspired to come out to your family as well. The news circulated, and though you weren’t expecting everyone to exactly be on board, the reality of disapproval hurt more than you imagined. It was great timing that today happened to be your cousin’s birthday, and you were forced to have dinner with one of your least favorite family members. Luckily, you were allowed to invite Hinata. You couldn’t fathom how your soon-to-be 5-year-old cousin was so kind and polite despite being reared by such a tyrannous mother.  Your earliest memory of your aunt was when she snatched your favorite toy from your toddler hands. You cried as she yelled at both you and your parents for letting you play with such a “gender-inappropriate” toy.

You knew she wouldn’t let you escape tonight without any offhand comments or dirty looks.

A throat cleared. You tensed in your seat. “Y/n? Dear, could you pass me the salt?”

You dared a glance up at the familiar voice. Your eyes locked with your aunt’s menacing ones briefly before you quietly obliged to her request.

“Thank you,” she said dully, taking the shaker. Sprinkling her meal, she continued to speak with nonchalance. “So, I heard you go by ‘they’ now? What’s wrong with he/she, hm? I mean, that is what you are, and that’s the only thing you should go by.”

Silence. Your parents looked at one another in discomfort, unsure how to respond. Your cousin looked back and forth between you and and your aunt curiously, unaware what was happening. A few more seconds passed by. With a shaky breath, you could only stutter out a timid “I-I--” before your mother cautiously piped up. “Aunt *name*, please, it’s your child’s birthday, let’s save this conversation for another ti--”

A scoff interrupted her. “Easy for you to say. You’ve always been so soft on y/n. Neither of you,” she glared accusingly at your parents, “raised her/him right. Now, look what’s happened. She/he’s gone delusional. How could any of you be okay with this and carry on like normal?”

You could feel yourself holding back tears. You wanted to say something against her, to show her you weren’t afraid of her and didn’t care what she thought. To prove that she didn’t know anything about you. That she had no right to be talking to you like this.

Yet you remained frozen in your seat, unable to speak. Inside, your mind went blank, leaving you defenseless against her hateful tirade.

“If she/he were my daughter/son, I’d set things straight immediately. No more outside communication. Who knows what nonsense they’ve been feeding your child? She/he needs to see a specialist to undo whatever brainwashing has occurred and--”

SCREECH.

Hinata stood in front of his seat, which had slid noisily across the floor when he pushed it back. He was silent, his eyes pointed downward and his two palms pressed on the table. All eyes looked at him with shock, if not a tinge of curiosity.

“Stop saying those things as if you knew one thing about y/n and what they’ve had to go through,” he said in a low voice, teeth clenched.

A challenging arch of the brow replaced your aunt’s initial surprise. “Oh, please. What do you know? You’re just a naive kid like y/n. You don’t understand. You know nothing about the real world and you kids go about life as if you can just do anything. You’re selfish.”

“You’re being selfish for refusing to understand a point of view that you’re not used to. How could you live with yourself knowing that you’re making someone you should care about miserable for the rest of their lives? You have no right to speak as though you know y/n. All you care about is your opinion, regardless of whether or not it’s right, and how you look to other people. What’s wrong with letting y/n make their own decisions? Why invalidate them before even giving them the chance to explain and help you understand? You should think about how you’re acting before trying to teach someone else how they should live.”

The air cracked with silent tension. It was too much. Quickly, you got up and dashed to the front door, unlocking it and stepping outside to breathe in the cool evening air. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you stumbled off the front porch, increasing the distance between yourself and that dinner table.

Your body jolted with shock when you heard a familiar voice out and felt a pair of arms wrap from behind your frame. Hinata was breathing heavily, his rushed voice laced with worry. “I’m sorry for making a scene in front of your family, y/n, but I couldn’t just sit around and let her say whatever she wanted. You don’t deserve that treatment. I don’t regret anything I told her. And if she’s still bothering you, or anyone else for that matter, you bet I’m gonna be there to stick up for you, no matter what.”

Despite the tears that pricked at your eyes, a small smile formed on your lips. Ditching your family dinner, you spent the rest of the evening together seated in a booth at a nearby fast food restaurant, munching on goodies and sharing lighthearted jokes. That night, you were reminded that it didn’t matter what someone like your aunt thought. Those who did matter were the ones who accepted and cared for you--the real you. In the midst of darkness, you found yourself a radiant being who never failed to brighten your day. You didn’t know what you did to deserve Hinata, but you knew he would be by your side through it all. For that, you were grateful.

tsukishima

After a rough week of nonstop work, food delivery, and 1AM espressos, you were relieved Saturday had finally come. Tsukishima, who had come by your home a few times that week to check up on you(r sanity) and drop off some surprise dinners, nagged you to take better care of yourself and offered to treat you to lunch that weekend (after you promised to get a lot of rest when you were finished). When you beat your deadlines early Friday evening, you nearly cried tears of joy and immediately passed out on your bed to catch up on lost sleep.

Saturday reminded you of the beauty of the outside world, much needed after your long week of confinement. Both sun and clouds gathered in the pale blue sky overhead. Warm sunshine freckled your skin while a gentle breeze cooled your temple. Hand in hand, you walked down the block with Tsukishima towards the farmer’s market. Already you could hear the nearby murmurs of a crowd and smell the savory aroma of freshly cooked food. Your stomach grumbled with enthusiasm as you thought about all the delicious choices waiting to be ordered.

Numerous vendors lined up down the street. Smoke arose from hot grills, carrying the scent of various spices through the air. Workers called out to passing customers, offering them samples of their homemade nut butters or showing off their natural, handmade soaps. With a fascinated glint in your eye, you observed each stand you passed by. From Hawaiian poke, grilled paninis, and tacos, to Thai stir fry, barbecue, and shawarma, the options seemed endless. As much as you loved the variety, it made making a decision even more difficult.

“Tsukkiiii,” you said pleadingly, “I don’t know what I want.”

He sighed. “Well, what’s your appetite in the mood for?”

“No clue, that’s why I’m asking.”

When he shot you an annoyed look, you held your hands up. “Hey, I’ve been using my brain way too much this week. I’m tired of thinking. I’m pretty down for anything, to be honest.”

With a shrug, he suggested trying the ramen from a stand several feet away from you both. You happily agreed and dragged the both of you to stand in line. Looking down at your shirt, you pulled on it slightly and adjusted the pin attached close to your collar. It depicted a cartoon cat with a text bubble that said “they/them” to indicate your preferred pronouns (though, in the note above, ik you may have a different combination of preferred pronouns. feel free to just sub in whatever those are into the pin ^-^ ). You recalled how you heart rushed with excitement when you found it in your mailbox that morning.

“You know, you didn’t have to get this for me,” you told your blonde companion as you admired your gift. Hands in his pockets, he gave you another shrug. “I just thought it suited you. Plus, strangers won’t misgender you, anymore.”

“That’s really thoughtful of you, Kei... Thank you, again, really.”

His lips formed into a thin line and he looked off to the side. He muttered a low, “Don’t mention it.” before stepping forward to follow the shortening line. A huff of amusement escaped you in response. You were also taking a step forward when you felt a shove on your left side. Tsukishima caught you mid-stumble, helping you regain your balance and stand upright again. Narrowing his eyes, he looked over at the man who bumped into you. The stranger caught himself from stumbling as well, then scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Ah, I’m sorry about that young man/woman! I wasn’t looking clearly,” he apologized.

You shook your head in response, offering him a smile. “No worries. I’m glad we’re both okay.”

He was about to laugh in agreement when he noticed the pin attached to your top. His smile vanished and he looked at you quizzically. “Say, what’s that pin you got there?”

“Oh,” you pointed at it. “This? These are my gender pronouns. I go by ‘them/them,’” you announced proudly.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “What does that even mean? ‘They/them’ is plural, so doesn’t it make more sense to just go by he/she?” He paused for a few seconds of thought. Then, it clicked. “Is this that ‘gender identity��� bullshit I’ve been hearing about lately?”

Your enthusiasm quickly dissipated. ‘Oh gosh, please don’t tell me that this person’s--’

“Now missy/boy, I don’t know what’s gotten into all your heads, thinking you can just pick and choose whatever or whoever you want to be. What you were born with is who you are. Why can’t people accept that and have to complicate things? It’s biology. I swear, people are just doing this for attention or a trend or whatever--”

“Ahem,” Tsukishima cleared his throat, interrupting the man’s rant. He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder and drew you close against himself. “Perhaps the topic is too complex for your tiny mind to comprehend,” he challenged, his voice dripping with collected hostility. “You should stop going on about things you don’t understand; it makes you look even more ignorant. Now, please, stop bothering my partner before you piss me off more.”

The stranger glared up at Tsukishima, then back at you. Deciding it wasn’t worth a fight, the man scoffed and shoved past your boyfriend;s shoulder, then disappeared into the crowd. Behind you, a kid’s wide eyes looked at Tsukishima with awe. “Wow, that was really cool! You really showed him!”

“Tch, it was nothing,” he responded bashfully. “Can’t let assholes get away with whatever they want.”

15 minutes later and you were both settled in a shady area on a grassy field with ramen bowls in your lap. Your eyes were glued to the ground. Tsukishima waved a hand in front of your face with concern.

“Earth to y/n? You good? You’ve been quiet since we encountered that guy earlier.”

You risked looking up into his eyes, unable to control the stream of tears running down your eyes. Surprised, the blonde placed his hands on the sides of your face and started to wipe your tears off with his thumbs. “I-I’m just, r-really grateful that you,” you choked between sobs, “were here with m-me, today. I d-don’t know what I would’ve done if I was alone.”

You let him wrap his arms around you as you buried your face in his shoulder. He nestled his cheek onto the top of your head and ran a gentle hand up and down your spine. “It’s okay,” he murmured softly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, anymore. I promise.”

Several minutes later, you pulled away, sniffling and rubbing the remaining tears from your eyes with your forearm. He gave your head a small pat.

gRhhrrhGRH.

“Someone sounds hungry.” You rolled your eyes and swatted his hand off your head.

2 minutes into eating, and you asked (suggestively), “Can we eat from the same bowl and see if we end up connecting noodles?”

“N-No, that’s dumb.” 

“Oh, c’monnnnn~ You know you want to, you’re blushing.”

“I’m not!”

a/n: sry about the weird stomach growl effect LMAO

if you coudlnt tell i was hungry writing this n i miss going out to eat foueherhggu

i hope u enjoyed <3 pls lmk if u would like any changes anon or smth different (liks regular hc’s, etc). have a lovely day n i hope you feel better <3 ill fite anyone who makes u feel bad >:(

[ratplagues]

🔥 any dishonored thing of ur choosing -deathoftheoutsider

wah okay!! i will talk a bit about the outsider and void then..i dont really wanna frame it as a Hot Take bc i have no interest in starting shit or whatever like ill interact with whatever i want to in this fandom and ignore the rest and everyone else is free to do the same but.

I do not think The Outsider is a “character” in the conventional sense, much less that it does his character or the allegory he wields any justice to be shipped with anyone in the series (at least without seriously considering the implications and framing it in a way that completes the allegory. more on this later)

the outsider and his void are an allegory for Otherness; i’m namely gonna frame it as queerness and neurodiversity, but really anything could fit as long as it’s about you feeling seen as a marginalized and othered person. he is written to represent this allegory, not to be a person with a satisfying narrative arc or dimensions. this is why some people feel that he lacks depth-- he’s not supposed to have depth compared to others in the series, he’s mostly a vehicle for what he represents, and is supposed to be easy to identify with or recognize.

he was born to a life of hardship, suffered at the hands of the rich and powerful, was ignored, cast out, etc. etc. a familiar story. poor, queer, nd, really whatever you wanna frame it as. he was a nobody outcast. in comes the envisioned, they pick him to serve as their martyr and idol without his permission. he then had his name cut away and forgotten, and was thrust onto a pedestal to spend the rest of eternity being worshipped by other outcasts who had suffered at the same hands he had. he has something greatly in common with those who worship him, including the very people who stripped his mortality from him in the first place, but because of this shared hardship (and nothing else), his own autonomous personhood was disregarded completely in favor of The Community needing someone Just Like Them to idolize. if this sounds familiar, that’s because it should!!

his humanity was taken from him, and in his place, an idol was created. his human body is frozen in stone in the center of the void-- retired. out of commission. no longer needed. he was immortalized, transcended. this is traditionally desired, although dishonored is trying to convince you that it is not actually desirable. in the age of internet content creation, you can be immortalized without even being present, without knowing about it. you become what you can do for other people, and what you cannot. people fall in love with an idea of you, the idea of you being like them, and other people come to hate you deeply without even knowing you. people came to hate the outsider more deeply than he ever had been when he was human-- he wasn’t seen when he was human. a pedestal only helps you to be seen. the outsider had the choice made for him to achieve immortality in exchange for the simple joys of being un-known.

he spends all of doto trying to convey this idea to billie through the hollows:

"There is freedom in being hated. There is license in being cast out. Some learn this lesson a little too well."  "These people lay their thoughts, their petty wants, their murderous desires in front of me to witness. I cannot turn away." "We carry what was done to us through the rest of our endless days. No one asked if we wanted it." (i like this one. he speaks for the community-- this is a shared experience, one everyone can recognize. however, as a Queer Figure, he never asked for this. he never asked to be immortalized. i like the double meaning here)

not to mention, the entire extent of the outsider’s Sole ability and influence on the real world is to “choose” people and give them untold power over others. this is a fun ironic twist on what marginalized groups endure from powerful people, (dishonored is largely about power imbalances and socioeconomic hierarchies) but it’s also fun to think about in the context of the role model/fan framing-- so many worshippers give their lives to be “chosen” by him. it’s easily framed as an exaggeration of otherwise very real power imbalances and often the flagrant breaching of boundaries existing between creators and fans.

and on the subject of the VOID...ohht he void.....

the void should be a haven for queer folks. for nd folks. it’s wanted by so many to be a safe space, it should be, it’s the Other World! it’s renounced by the abbey, crusaded against, even. but it isn’t. it’s just this limitless, eons-old horizon that hungers and starves for something to fill it. if the outsider is the lament of queer idolatry, the void is the lament of queer Hunger. it is roaming, and restless. it does not belong to the outsider; the outsider cannot survive without it. it’s the desire to belong, not a place of belonging.

the void craves this idol, this outsider-- i, for one, have often experienced hunger for a truly moral and just role model, someone to make the world Right, and i know this is another shared feeling. those who worship the outsider, who drive themselves mad trying to see him or be chosen by him, are suffering from this idol hunger. you see this in a lot of queer and nd kids and young adults. i grew up just having my life and interests like, punctuated by different fixations on different people that i didn’t know at all, only fell in love with the idea of. it happens a lot.

there’s a couple more doto quotes that really highlight this for me:

"They carve my mark into the old bones bleached by the sun. They carve my mark into their skin. They learn true hunger in the Void." "All these charms, these runes and fetid offerings on shrines made for me, will be nothing more than objects worn of meaning. Bones and dead things, thrown into the dirt."

“They learn true hunger in the Void.” is something that i wanna touch on real quick. people can spend their lives obsessing over the idea of what they think the void will cure for them, will fix in their lives, only to find out that it’s just a hollow manifestation of the emptiness they’ve felt all their lives. it’s not the needs met, but the need itself. you have to make the home, it doesn’t already exist and you can’t fucking run to it. it is heartbreaking, frustrating, one of the bleakest messages i’ve ever encountered in a game, but i’ve never felt more seen. by submitting to these ideas, the idea of a perfect unhuman human and the idea of a perfect otherworldly home, you are surrendering your humanity. you’re not only being transformed by the powers gained (if they are gained), you’re essentially dissolving with hunger after never having these needs met. you see so many people in these games whittling themselves down to nothing but base need. empty apartments occupied only by shrines, sometimes containing their corpses. journals of people dedicating their lives to the worship of the outsider, always ending darkly.  "I will find this empty place. Somehow the key to open the Void will fall into my hands. In time, I will learn the secret and he will call to me as he called to her."

not to mention The New Envisioned-- prolonged exposure to the void will always, without fail, turn a human into silver void stone. these creatures can no longer interact with or acknowledge the mortal world. they have surrendered themselves to hunger, and cannot be saved. this is celebrated by the cult, honored by them, even. i honestly like....i pity them, and i hate them, and i recognize that i’ve been those people, lmao. when i was at my worst as a teenager, i wasnt so much a person as i was just a shell full of hunger and heartbreak. my personality was defined by who i was a fan of. i think i definitely was Less Human then. the cult of the outsider is a universal experience!!

dishonored, at its core, is a celebration of humanity. it asks you to celebrate human emotion and weakness despite greed and bigotry. the powers are not to be wanted, they are to be ignored, refused. it is human to hunger, but it is Queer and Divergent to make hunger your life’s meaning, to need to learn the secret, find the key, be chosen and loved and cherished, to be made whole by some perfect thing. to find your humanity in something un-human. dishonored sees all that, mourns it with you, and then asks you to find humanity in each other !! love the spine of your lover, the blood draining down the docks, the pause to stretch languidly in the sun of a work day.

and finally...on the topic of outsider shipping....i dont think that, in his god form, it does him much justice to be shipped with anyone. he’s not much of a person, just a projection of his former self and a vehicle for his allegory as discussed-- im sure he could be shipped like this, but it just isn’t satisfying to me in any way. however, let’s talk a bit about his lethal and nonlethal ending. DOTO asks you to make a choice. is it better to give him an abrupt and merciful ending, after deciding that the fury he’s endured at the hands of others’ famine is too much trauma for any mortal to live with? or will you decide that it’s only fair to give him a chance to live the life he never got to, to return his humanity that was taken without his consent? if you choose to free him from the void, i think you can very very easily make the argument that he can be shipped with corvo, or anyone else that can easily be shipped w/ ppl. he’s finally free to live his life as a queer man, can explore the simple and complex joys of being human with other people, navigate the hills and valleys he never got to before. corvo’s just a nice pick bc 1) experienced human/inexperienced human is good, 2) they know each other, but they don’t. this is a good setup. 3) corvo is an older queer man and uhh you cant convince me otherwise lol! and older queer/younger queer is a self indulgence for me. also corvo is just nice. i think he would enjoy helping the outsider navigate his new humanity.

just some thoughts i have running through my head all hours of the day :) this is really long cuz its a combination of a lot of infodumps from discord lmfao

[castlesbyrs]

To be honest, I liked Otis and Ruby.

But the people who are saying that Otis and Maeve have no chemistry. Go watch Season 1/2 dude. They had loads of chemistry. It's not their fault, they had like 4 meaningful scenes this season, that too with huge gaps between them. By the time the bus stand scene arrives, it feels detached.

Also, I was a little disappointed with Ruby's arc(or so called arc) this season. Like, I get it. Home life sad, so facade in school etc. But she slut-shamed Maeve even after Maeve helped her and she was a general asshole to everyone. And it would have nice if we actually spent some time with Ruby, apart from Otis, where she introspects a little bit. The whole thing was poorly handled.

Also, they really went backwards with Eric. He cheated on Rahim, who was comfortable with his sexuality with Adam, who was struggling with self-hatred and was coming to terms with his sexuality, because they had a deeper connection. Then he cheats on Adam because he doesn't feel free with him. I know he is a teenager, mistakes blah blah, but still disappointing. I hope it is addressed next season.

Also, why are we getting another season.

If they decide to go back to Otis and Ruby, it would take some really careful writing, the likes of which we didn't see this season. So yeah. Overall disappointed but not surprised. I never wanted a third season. I was afraid it would tarnish a near-perfect show, and it did(for me, at least)

YES YES AND YES TO ALL THE THINGS YOU JUST SAID ANON

okay first of all, Maeve and Otis' chemistry is every fucking where and i honestly think ppl say that just to say it snfdjsdjdfj like that beautiful tension they shared in s1e5 when they almost kissed... it was *chef's kiss*. The thing with the perfect and beautiful bus scene was that it didn't make sense as a whole, we got like three minutes of screentime of them before that moment in that episode so there's really no buildup to get us there... so that annoys me, because this was such a perfect scene, in such a perfect setting that at the end you can't help but feel it was a wasted opportunity to turn things around.

Ruby's arc didn't make sense as a whole to me because it felt rushed and a little bit caricaturesque, and I feel like that's becoming the constant with the show. They focus sometimes so much on the comedy side of the show that they tend to push their characters to a limit that's way too much, and that was the case with Ruby which was why i did not see her sudden transformation believable at all. Perhaps if they'd evolved it through the eight episodes instead of just three before pushing her aside, it would have been better, but i wouldn't have liked to watch that either lol just bc i find other characters more interesting haha

Let's compare Ruby's character arc with Adam's, which to me was the PERFECT way to deliver a character arc. His transition is so slow and steady without getting out of character that by s3 you just feel like it all naturally evolved, without it feeling rushed, UNLIKE ruby's overnight transformation sjdjdjs that just speaks of lazy writing to me, sorry not sorry.

As for Eric... yeah... I don't know if the writers suddenly just started hating on the main three and are doing anything in their willpower to make them unpopular... i get that feeling sometimes and cjdjfd sorry but i started watching the show for those three idiots and they're the reason why i still, painfully, am -well, them and Aimee and Adam-.

So yeah, I don't understand why it all went to hell but it's not surprising, they just followed the classic recipe of what happens to all the shows that suddenly find massive success *cough* *cough* I'm looking at you, Stranger Things...

Anyway, I have literally no reason to hope it will get better for s4 so sadly I must agree with you that two perfect seasons perhaps would have been better than two perfect seasons and a season that fucked everything up...

thank you for asking dearrr

Come talk Sex Education to me ✨

[jkflesh]

Interview with jesu January 2021 New Noise magazine #56

Read the interview by Antoine "Neredude" Duprez below:

The “Terminus” Bandcamp page states that the album was done between 2016 and 2020. That's a long period in your standards! Did you get some sort of writer's block with Jesu? Or was it because you were so busy with your numerous projects?

— I never get writers block, I just simply move on to the next thing if I’m not currently inspired to work on a specific project. Most my records, for many years, have been written and recorded over extended periods of time; I work when inspiration strikes, when it doesn’t I move onto the next thing; there’s never a block for me with creation generally, maybe just specific areas. i take large breaks for my music so as to afford some sort of distance, gone are the times when an album would be hammered out in a month!

''When I Was Small'' has kind of a Radiohead thing in the vocals, whereas ''Alone'' reminds me a lot of Sigur Rós. Are those bands part of your background?

— Ok, interesting observation, but no Radiohead is not an influence on this song, the biggest influences on the vocals were Liam Gallagher from Oasis, and subconsciously "White Flag" by Godflesh (which I only discovered after the album was complete). I do love some Radiohead though, as I do Sigur Rós, but neither band is a direct or conscious influence. Musically “When I was Small” was mostly influenced by trying to recreate a vibe of early Neil Young mixed with Oasis, in a jesu fashion, coupled with a demo production; intentionally underproduced. I’m not sure where a lot of the influence on “Alone” came from, electronic pop music for sure, short and sweet was the intention, driven entirely by the voice sample.

Regarding “Terminus,” did you set yourself a framework or musical approach beforehand like you did for “Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came?“

— Not really no, generally when I work on a bunch of songs things will fall into place naturally, the songs become a whole and then collectively the songs will become conceptual as i write, they build their own logic, so to speak, I don’t force anything, I let things happen organically as I write and record.

I think around 2013, you said “Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came” was going to set a precedent for the next album. Now that it's out, do you still think so? Personally, even though both records are different, I can definitely hear a connection.

— Yeah, shame it took 7 years to come to fruition! And many things changed over those 7 years, as ever. Jesu certainly documents my personal journey in life, it’s ultra personal, Godflesh is much more external comparatively. A lot to the solo jesu work took a backseat when I worked on the collaborations with Sun Kil Moon, but that was very refreshing and inspired me to take jesu further, I had notions of discontinuing the project at some point, but the collabs with Sun Kil Moon inspired me to keep pursuing jesu.

"Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came” was inspired in great part by you becoming a father. Can you tell us a bit about what was on your mind when you wrote “Terminus?”

— That’s very true, especially the initial journey of bringing life into the/our world. everything is there in the lyrics and artwork for "Terminus" so of course, like a lot of my work, depends on the listeners perspectives, they can make it their own, make it personal. But it’s essentially about endings, and my obsession with finality, my sensitivity to it and my fear of it. There’s a line in the title song that says “my end, our end, the end, the end”, which pretty much sums it up.

The EP “Never” you released before “Terminus” is quite different and more focused on electronics. I remember you telling me that you liked going experimental on EPs, doing stuff you wouldn't do on a full length. So I figure that's still the case?

— Yeah, I like experimenting with everything, I like satisfying myself with different ideas, obviously that doesn’t suit my listeners too much, but I make this music for myself, and I’m always trying to do better. I still don’t know why I put myself through the trial and hell of releasing music, I often think about just recording for myself and not bothering with an audience, but I’m not really capable of earning money in other ways, so I have to finish music and release it, let it go. For me "Never" was just another way of interpreting the jesu mood, nothing deviates too much from the original intention of the project. It’s weird, critically, it was perceived as this big electronic departure, whereas jesu has sounded pretty much like this most of it’s lifetime! “Pale Sketches", "Lifeline" even "Silver” is all mostly electronic, save a real drum loop in the song "Silver", but this EP seemed to get this thing that its all electronic, whereas it;’s no more electronically oriented than any other jesu record I have made. jesu is a mood that can be explored and experimented with, I’m not making the first album over and over, some can’t get over that, but that was a different moment in my life which I captured, and as an artist who challenges oneself besides the audience you can never win, and one will generally never win hah. This is a new jesu, it comes with age, transitions. "Never" was intentionally idiosyncratic and deliberately fvcked up sounding, and I think by and large critically the subtleties were lost on people.

“Never” features two version of ''Never There for You'', one of them described as the ''original vision''. Can you explained how you ended up releasing two version of this song?

— The “original vision” existed like that since around 2010, I shelved it, it was to be a Pale Sketcher song, I had an album’s worth of similar songs, I still do, couldn’t decide if they should be jesu or Pale Sketcher. I sent them to Aphex Twin / Richard James because he was a huge fan of the Pale Sketcher EP “Seventh Heaven”, we were talking about a release on his label Rephlex, I had all these songs that were floating between jesu and Pale Sketcher. But then he folded Rephlex for good, a real shame, so I was left with all these songs in limbo, I still am, but at that period I shelved them all. I returned to them around 2018 and started adding guitars and vocals, thinking that they will now definitely be jesu songs. “Never There for You” was one of them, so I wanted the listener to hear what it was originally before I added more of organic me. I’m working on finalising all those songs for Rephlex into future jesu, probably an album that I hope to release late 2021, it’s not a "Terminus" though, and probably most ppl will hate it hah.

“Terminus” is the first album to feature Ted Parsons in a long while. Did you invite him because you felt these songs needed his touch?

— I wanted some live drums, 3 songs only. I was going to play them myself, like on "Opiate Sun". "Infinity" etc, but I really wanted Ted involved and see how he interpreted my drum parts, he always swings something and makes it interesting. he’s a very real drummer, and a very real human being.

When touring is possible again, would you like to tour with Jesu, with Ted on drums?

— I may tour solo, with electronics and projections. The band thing is tiresome and always just sounds like a band, bands bore me these days because of the constraints of the instruments, rock records also bore me these days; same productions, etc, very little actual aesthetic, but its popular and what do I know. But I’d rather jesu now sound hugely expansive live, not just like a rock band. But i’m still unsure. Live drums swallow my voice live, I can’t sing above them, and jesu is a tiny project, can’t play big venues with stage separation and screens around the drums, and 8 guys diving around onstage, it’s not affordable. I stopped performing as jesu for some time due to all those reasons.

You said “Silver” is probably your favourite Jesu record. Are there other Jesu albums that stand out in your mind?

— Did I say that?! Haha. I don’t recall, and that opinion changes every day I feel. I like how concise and all encompassing "Silver" is; it covers most of the ground that I feel the project should cover. But "Terminus" is my favourite jesu album, and it should be, otherwise I would not feel I was moving forward, and I feel I am, it is the best jesu album I have made.

Last year, you told Olivier ''Zoltar'' Badin that the next Zonal album would probably go in the direction of it's title track ''Wrecked''. Is it still true to this day and what can you tell us about that upcoming album?

— Well, a lot of time has passed since, but I think Kevin and I are still quite struck on that song as a template for future recordings, although everything changes all the time, of course, and time is passing fast once again, we haven’t discussed Zonal in some time.

I know you don't actually consider yourself as a guitarist. With you focusing on your electronic projects like JK Flesh and Zonal lately, do you ever get tired of guitar? I'm asking this because I recently discussed the subject with Steven Wilson. He basically told me that after 30 years writing and doing gigs with guitar, he's feeling more creative and excited when writing music on other instruments and I wondered if you ever felt something similar.

— All instruments are just a means to an end for me; a tool for the bigger job, I don’t really wish to be overly proficient at any instrument, I liked that about punk, and it’s what I’m not that fond of about overly progressive music, it’s like it’s for show, I don’t do anything for show, I’d rather be shit than great, it’s more interesting, it reflects the human condition, imperfection. I don’t wish for things to sound perfect, whatever that is, people should not come to my music for that, they probably don’t and it’s probably why my audience is so small haha.

I recently discovered that you worked with Josh Eustis with the mastering of the JK Flesh / Orphx live album and was a bit surprised. How did that happen?

— Josh is a very good friend of Dominick Fernow’s (Prurient / Vatican Shadow / Hospital Productions, etc), and Dominick is a very close friend of mine. I was aware that Josh does very good mastering besides being an extremely talented artist, so Dominick suggested josh master that collaboration, and it sounds excellent!

I interviewed Lee Dorrian some time ago and we were talking about the impact Napalm Death had, not just the band itself but all the bands who were formed after playing in that band: Godflesh, Carcass, Cathedral, Scorn... Lee thought this legacy had a lot to do with John Peel broadcasting a wide array of music on young aspiring musicians. How would you explain such creativity and versatility from musicians who all played in Napalm Death at one point?

—  Lee is absolutely correct, a lot of very young kids listened to John Peel, most generations did, his taste exposed music to many of us who were already enquiring at a young age that we would not have heard anywhere else and of course back then this centralised things, not fragmented them like the internet does; a kid now can absorb an artist entire catalog in an hour, speed listen to it all, then have an opinion, but it’s informed, no context, no history, no experience. We heard music then on Peel and then hunted it down. It took work, valuable work that paid dividends. Peel’s broad appreciation of eternally subversive music and otherwise told us that music didnt need to exist in such strict compartments, that’s it’s all part of a greater whole, so when groups of musicians collaborated even at such young ages, our tastes were informed and wide, very rarely singular.

Can you tell us a bit about you latest remixing output? What were the tracks that you enjoyed the most remixing? Those are the names I could find: Full of Hell, Oathbreaker and a lot of projects I've never heard of.

— I always and love to remix, I love the fact that I didn’t create this music but can make something new from someone else’s work. Music is endless, for me, it’s just when you wish to end it, but ultimately it can never end. I have some remixes that I love moire than others, but only over time, I never let a remix go unless I am as happy as can be with it. Sometimes I would’ve loved to have done more, my Killing Joke remix is a good example of that, I wanted to go further, but Youth of Killing Joke told me they were happy with where I was at, I think I could’ve made it much better. The Oathbreaker remix you mentioned is a favourite of mine from the last years worth of my remixes. I’ll remix anyone, if they can afford my fee and I have the time!

I'm curious, since you released some of your music with your own label with Godflesh, Jesu and other projects, did it have an impact on the revenue you got from streaming platforms like Spotify, compared to albums released on Earache or Hydra Head? I'm asking this in the light of the neverending controversy regarding streaming revenue for musicians.

— On my own label more money can be earned from these services due to no split with another label, which usually would be 50/50, but streaming is very small as is common knowledge. I never see any royalties from Earache so can’t compare their rates etc since Godflesh is constantly recouping an advance from Columbia / Sony for the "Selfless" album that Earache, contractually, can recoup from, even though they didn’t give the advance, so they’re making money from the band and from an advance they never paid, which these days you would think that besides being unethical that it would be criminal, but such were the contracts in the 80’s / 90’s. So I’ve never seen a single penny from streaming with Earache!

I know it might be pointless to ask you, since someone's mind can change with time but do you still think “Post Self” may be your last album with Godflesh? Your told us last year that you weren't sure if you had enough in you creatively to do another album and also that the constant screaming was a bit harder to do.

— Hah, the shouting/screaming live now takes its toll, it does with age, I’m unsure due to not performing for so long thanks to the pandemic how my voice would be for Godflesh now in a live setting, I’d have very little problem in the studio. I’m still struck on the fact that there may not be another full length studio album from Godflesh, I haven’t been inspired to initiate one for numerous reasons, and I don’t wish for us to repeat ourselves in any way, I do have a lot of interesting old material though, some good rare stuff, demos, “Us and Them in Dub” which is also in the works, but I work on that sporadically, when I feel inspired to do so. So there’s a lot of good stuff coming.

Last time I interviewed you in 2014, Aphex Twin was making his grand return with “Syro”. I remember you telling me that the album was still shrinkwrapped on your desk. Knowing you're a big Aphex fan, I wanted to know if you liked that album, especially knowing that a lot of fans were disappointed by it.

— Ahh it was such a long time ago now that we spoke last! I love "Syro”, but I love Aphex, and since I first heard "Didgeridoo" when it was released and then "Quoth", he will always be a favourite, "Syro" may not be an Aphex favourite for me, but it’s still amazing, he is amazing; creative, subversive and doesn’t give a fvck ultimately, he’d also never release anything if he didnt really have to, he does this for himself, for me the best art is entirely selfish and should consider no one. People are always disappointed, a lot of people just can’t live with the fact that an artist strays from their own personal conception of what an artist should be, it’s some sort of misguided entitlement, I lost that when II was around 14, a lot of people don’t lose it and now these people have the internet. No artist owes me anything, if they gave me one thing in my life then i will always respect their art, regardless of whether it works for me or not, and if I don’t like it much, I won’t be peddling that opinion on the internet in an entitled egotistical manner, I’m glad I did not know that a lot of people were disappointed, haha.

Thank you very much! Best JKB, Jan 2021