#but tbh i have had very few incidences of that recently!

[creekfiend]

Are you cool with new followers? :3 wanna be sure

yeah totes!

[astradyke]

hey so I've been a casual Dan & Phil fan for years but never really a part of the fandom. Recently started scrolling thru the tag and like...did I miss something? Have they actually said for real for real that they dated? Like I'm queer and tbh 2 gay guys living together for that long have to at least done *something* but I'm not an rpf person (no shade) but I do wanna be up to date on the Dan and Phil facts (phacts?) Obviously they're some kinda soulmates but tbh I know some queerplatonic soulmates who aren't *together* so idk if that's them or not. Am I missing receipts or is their relationship presumed given their whole situationship? Genuinely asking and no shade to your shipping intended.

hiya! i'll try to be succinct here but i might totally miss some things as a heads up :P

In Basically I'm Gay on the Daniel Howell channel, the same monologue that led to the description of them as soulmates also included the statement: "And that was when, through the magic of the Internet, I met Phil. And obviously we were more than friends, but it was more than just romantic [...] The relationship we formed, at that point, was something that I needed in my life." Despite "relationship" being a neutral, versatile term, the preceding sentence confirms they've been in an explicitly romantic relationship. along with that explicit confirmation, we also know from several other relics from 2009-2011 in particular that the two were at the very least actively flirting (I can retrieve a few formsprings for you that point to this if u want just lmk!). Additionally, in 2010, Phil made a privated video addressed to Dan that explicitly confirms a romantic relationship; this video was unprivated via a YouTube glitch in September 2011 and circulated heavily in late 2012. it was a serious incident that outed them and thus people don't talk much about it. I've never seen it in full-- it's pretty much off the Internet entirely due to copyright strikes-- and I really solely bring it up for context that they were dating at that period in time.

Basically I'm Gay only indicates a past romantic relationship, leaving their current one ambiguous, and both Dan and Phil's respective coming out videos state that they want to keep their personal dating lives private (both of these videos were released in 2019). Since then, though, there's one other explicit confirmation of their relationship-- I had a difficult time hunting down this exact interview in entirety, but my lovely mutual freckliedan helped me find the relevant screenshot:

[ID: In bold, the interviewer's text says: "So, just like a normal gay couple then?" Below, Dan's response is not in bold, and says, "Basically, yeah."]

I was able to find another screenshot at this post as well, which has the actual context confirming that they were discussing Phil previous to this. Now, obviously, this interviewer was a little forward in their questions, so I understand any reluctance in considering Dan's response-- however, Dan is a professional, and if he was sincerely uncomfortable with this line of questioning, I have faith in his ability to avoid answering it altogether. I therefore assume he knew what he was doing, and that this can be taken as a valid statement. This was from 2023 iirc.

Both of these excerpts-- from Basically I'm Gay and from this interview-- do suggest that Dan and Phil have a romantic relationship. On top of both of these more concrete confirmations, there's a lot more information/statements they've made public that corresponds with a romantic relationship, even if none of them are technically exclusive to romantic relationships.

A brief list: They've lived together for approximately 13-15 years, and bought a house together with a mortgage (for brevity's sake, I'll exclude other things that kind of pair with this). They make frequent sex jokes on their channel, several of which stating things about the other's sexual preferences. They recently went on holiday together, just the two of them, and given the tourism biz and how they discussed the holiday it seems like they were in a place intended for couples. Phil's sister in law, Cornelia, refers to Dan as an uncle to her child. They use pet names for each other. They frequently joke with the phandom, riffing off of jokes about their relationship (reacting to posts saying they are in a situationship, making a joke about having a joint toilet, etc.) This is most arguable, but it's highly likely that they share a bed as well (again, going off of the images/videos they've shown us of 'Dan's bedroom'). Lastly, other interviews with Dan include him being highly verbose about his relationship with Phil, but he's referred to him briefly as his "husband" in a long list of other words like "soulmates" and "just mates", ending with "who the fuck knows?", in one past interview (I have a picture of this but I can't attach it rn I can find it if you'd like though!)

It's not impossible that Dan and Phil's relationship isn't currently romantic, and even operating off of the assumption that it is, there's information we don't know about that (whether they're monogamous or polyamorous, for example, or whether or not they share a bed). It honestly just seems unlikely that their relationship is queerplatonic, given the past statements indicating that it has been romantic historically and the interview (+ supplemental evidence) suggesting that it currently is (I am very aware of the variation in QPRs, though, so I'm sympathetic to that interpretation from folks. However, I also understand that many explicitly romantic partnerships are considered to be QPRs-- in media or with real people-- in a way that contributes to gay erasure. It's nuanced and I am not the person best equipped to eloquently discuss it). Obviously, just to underscore here, we are not owed any information about their personal lives and the vast majority (if not the entirety) of the phandom just riffs off of the information they tell us, all of which happen to point to a romantic relationship. They clearly don't have any discomfort in us assuming this, and I personally don't believe they'll ever give us any more conclusive statement about their relationship any time soon, given that they've told us enough that the implication of a romantic partnership is pretty solidly there.

TLDR: Dan and Phil have "hard launched" (AKA released information that portrays their relationship as irrefutably romantic) 2-3 times. There is also other more indirect information that seems to confirm a romantic relationship, though if one wanted to, it could be read as non-romantic-- however, given those conclusive statements, and the current way they treat phandom commentary about their relationship (AKA not giving a shit), it is the effective conclusion that they are in a romantic relationship. Other conclusions, such as them being queerplatonic or them having broken up, seem to rely on a lot of critical assumptions, while the idea that they are in a romantic relationship is in line with their own statements as well as what we generally see out of them.

Thank you for your patience and your very kind ask! PS calling it "phacts" is funny as fuck, I did not utilize that verbiage here through my reply but you were a visionary for this. have a lovely one :D

PS. If any folks want to add, or if I missed something when glancing back over this and corrections are needed, please please please share! I am so deeply not a phandom history i am simply a little guy! much love

[batsplat]

greetings professor batsplat,

i recently heard somewhere about valentino having kicked someone else off the bike before the whole. sepang rosquez situation.

and i was wondering if you had any info on that / could shed light on the context? how it happened, what motivated him to do it perhaps etc.

thanks a lot <33

yeah I know why this gets brought up quite regularly, but tbh there's not much of a story behind it. valentino kicked someone, did not kick said someone 'off' the bike, didn't have complex motivations beyond venting some frustration. just the habitual problem of getting pissy about someone coasting on the racing line (x):

At the end of the 250 class qualifying, Italian Valentino Rossi, annoyed by a move by Yasu Hatakeyama, decided to practice kickboxing. Rossi "pressed" the Japanese rider against the edge of the track with his Aprilia and, bike to bike, threw a kick at the Japanese rider's thigh. The Italian, who had already hit his colleague's helmet at the Dutch GP, did not show the slightest remorse: "Every time I meet Hatakeyama, he closes me down. Today I was on the last lap and I could lower my time, and when I was going to pass him, he crossed the track and slowed down. I had to brake suddenly and I was very nervous. But I think that the next time I am about to pass him, he will not close me down." There were no penalties for Rossi, although both he and the Japanese rider received a verbal warning.

this was at argentina 1998 - here's the kick itself, courtesy of teenage valentino:

here's a HD clip of the kick as well as valentino's gesturing afterwards:

it's basically the exact same thing as casey kicking checa in 2007 or punching de puniet in 2011 (see here) for exactly the same reasons. or for a more recent example, take aleix slapping franky last year. riders are hotheads, they REALLY hate someone getting in their way when they're trying to do a lap, sometimes they lash out. this obviously does not mean it's a good idea and really should warrant some kind of penalty. neither valentino nor casey got penalties, but aleix got a six place grid drop. which, good! it's irresponsible and stupid, even if it's also admittedly kinda funny. still, it'd be pushing it to suggest there's much similarity between that and sepang 2015. although his description of the incident is fun (from oxley's vr files):

I got into a bit of trouble on Saturday for kicking the Japanese rider Yasu Hatakeyama at the end of the final qualifying session. I like to kick arse! I've had a lot of trouble with him all season - you go to pass him in practice and he shuts the door on you, even though he's going slow. I've spoken to him about it a few times and he always says "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" then goes and does it again at another race. It's very dangerous. On Saturday he took a short cut round the back of the circuit, and was going through this corner at about 20kph when I arrived on a very fast lap. It was really frightening, so I paid him back by kicking him as we returned to the pits.

how very casey of him

if you ARE looking for something a bit more relevant in terms of valentino using his body in the heat of battle, an even younger version of valentino might be able to help. this is all the way back in his rookie 1996 season - where he was known for his wild riding, especially in the early races that year, and on occasion did actually elbow AND knee his competitors in his determination to beat them. feral thing. in general, to my eyes valentino seems like he's quite good at using spatial awareness in w2w combat, of using the physical dimensions of his body to fight other riders... take for instance the finely judged knee retraction pass at catalunya 2009, how he immediately sticks his knee out again in front of jorge's line once he's past, that sort of thing

the most obvious example has to be the doctor's dangle - motogp urban legend ofc holds that it started in jerez 2005, where valentino wasn't actually using his leg to block sete, but since then? in popularising the habit of motogp riders of dangling their legs into corners, valentino also gave himself another nifty way of defending against opponents. sometimes it does look like he's using the dangled leg to quite literally block his rivals from passing... perhaps the most blatant examples of that come in motegi 2010, where he's willing to do whatever it takes to beat jorge. he does admittedly have plausible deniability in this race - the possibility that he was dangling his leg more excessively in order to help mitigate the shoulder injury. still, it's pretty comical at times

"When he does go through - if he does go through that corner, he's going to have to take Rossi's leg off!" "He is! Drag him along, I think."

I mean. come on. what is this. you cannot tell me this is ergonomically efficient. valentino did do this to some extent when he was behind jorge too, so I don't think the shoulder explanation is complete bullshit - but it does also feel like a bit of an opportunistic method of making his bike as broad as possible. jorge repeatedly almost rides into valentino's leg, including when he's finally had enough and makes the overtake that sets off the late battle between them. so yeah, valentino's definitely not a stranger in using his physicality to his advantage in conducting his wheel to wheel battles. one of the things that makes him so fun to watch

[altschmerzes]

Hello! Just recently got into Ted Lasso and I'm really enjoying your fics! The characterization is just chefs kiss and the plots are just wonderful. I was just wondering how Roy reacts to the Jamie's poster in the baby AU? I feel like he would have lots of feelings about it. TBH I'm not exactly what those feelings would be, just that he had a lot of them. Hope you have a nice day!

im so glad you’re enjoying my work, thank you so much!!

and OH yeah he absolutely has a lot of feelings about it. a LOT. especially because of the context in which he learns about it. the poster is a secret much, much longer than in canon - they don’t talk about it at the gala and roy doesn’t actually find out about it until he sees it with his own eyes.

this is a bit of an explanation of some events around the 2x08 of it all in wriggle up so if anyone wants to go into that not knowing anything, im putting it under a cut! also cw for pretty direct references to child abuse.

so basically the crux of the 2x08 equivalent events in this fic is the discovery that jamie is 100% definitely without a doubt being abused, and he is currently seriously hurt after a particularly violent incident of abuse. there’s a confrontation with his father a la 2x08 and ted and roy end up taking him to a hospital after that because it becomes clear to them that he’s like. he is hurt and he needs medical attention. this is also how he actually Leaves his dad’s home for good. there’s some conversations with doctors and social workers at the hospital and ultimately ted takes him home and he never goes back to his dad’s place after that.

one of the things that happens in the next couple of days though is he needs his things. so, despite the fact that he’s sixteen and doesn’t need a babysitter, he’s dropped off with the higgins family to look after him while ted, roy, beard, and rebecca drive up to manchester to pay his dad a visit and make a few things clear about how things are gonna be from here on. (ie you will stay away and leave him alone, we’re here to get his things, if you make trouble we can make far worse trouble for you)

so they go to gather his things. beard and rebecca stay to make sure james doesn’t cause an issue while ted and roy go to get his things together. so roy is the one to first go into his room, and that’s where he sees the poster on the wall, clearly having been transported through a few moves, a little battered, and it just. breaks him. it’s the first time he cries about any of this, and he cries hard, though he also is careful to stay as quiet as he can because he doesn’t want jamie’s father to hear from the other room. ted is confused and alarmed until he sees what roy is looking at and well. yeah.

they’re very careful in removing the poster from the wall and rolling it up to take it with them. they don’t want to risk tearing it - it’s clearly very, very important to jamie. so they take it along and leave it in his room at ted’s along with the rest of his things for him to find so he can unpack and set it up however he wants.

[rei-ismyname]

The X-Men vs X-Men Beef feels inorganic

From The Ashes has begun in earnest, and we're being told that the Uncanny X-Men have irreconcilable problems with Cyclops' X-Men. However, we're not really being shown that. Spoilers for all From The Ashes books released so far.

We've had 3 issues of X-Men and 2 of Uncanny X-Men so far, plus answers promised for why Wolverine doesn't want to be one in the first issue of his solo (the reason is trauma, it turns out but he's still wearing his uniform ten pages in. Not especially satisfying.) From The Ashes (henceforth FTA) has had a scattershot approach to plotting so far, but one unifying theme has been that mutants in general are a scattered diaspora as well as interpersonal issues that I'm just not seeing.

Here's Gail at the end of Uncanny X-Men #1.

Let's break this down a bit. 'Recovering from grief' absolutely makes sense. They lost Krakoa only months ago and different people deal with that in different ways. Except Rogue seems pretty happy tbh, aside from select moments when the Big Picture is being discussed. The rest of the time she's talking loudly about sex and generally seems in high spirits.

'Rogue and Cyclops has replaced the relationship between Xavier and Magneto.' For one, that relationship has been a close one for years at this point. Secondly, I'm not buying that at all because it's not on the page.

They seem to be on great terms here, working together for mutual goals. Zero animosity. Friends, family, obviously. Why wouldn't they be? This is issue 1.

This is issue 2, like 6 hours later in universe. The Jubilee comment confirms they're sharing information, and Scott's team are very publicly being X-Men. The reader doesn't have perfect information here, but obviously these kids have said something that spurs Rogue into action immediately, fuck Scott/Hank/everyone else's plans.

Here's the moment just before the call. 'Last guy I want to talk to.' What the hell is that about? It's very at odds with either phone call, which were friendly and collaborative. As you'd think they'd be, you know having been family for decades now.

'Are there even going to be X-Men anymore?' You know there are, you're working with them. 'We almost had Xavier's 'dream'. No, you didn't. You had a nation, and it was great. It was the opposite of The Dream, because the Dream is solving bigotry. You should all know this by now. Also, aren't you all super mad at Chuck for his war crimes? I know Wolverine tried to kill him a few months ago - is he over that?

They discuss heading up to join Cyclops, in the former sentinel factory given as part of a settlement for six months of torture and being readied for a Kangaroo court and execution - you were all there for that. 'Imagine a community run by Scott Summers... I ain't going back there, it ain't the X-Men...'

Dude, you've been living with him, Jean and their family for the past 4 years in a polycule. Why are you talking like you're Schism era Wolverine? Your beef is ancient history, you're family. He definitely wasn't 'everywhere you turn' when you were banging his wife. Y'all are about to go break into a government sanctioned prison to retrieve your war criminal mentor that one of you tried to kill very recently - so I'm not seeing a difference in methodology or ideology. In fact you're doing that and he's compromising his team's plans around you!

Here's Scott's side of that conversation. Looks like she hung up on him for some reason, but this dude is being polite and trying to collaborate with his peers. When he gets hung up on and ignored he changes his plans, with the primary concern being everyone's safety. There's nothing in any of these issues indicating otherwise, aside from Logan shooting down anything to do with Scott and Gail Simone kinda saying so in editorial.

So why is this conflict happening? Logan has been running naked with wolves since Krakoa (despite being in ten different books) so there's been no opportunity for an incident. Everyone else is talking like they're friends. Sure, there's the grief and trauma, but everyone is making 'back to work' choices. I'm definitely not seeing an ideological divide, just being told that in editorial.

Even Kitty Pryde is telling everyone to fuck off, except we know she's in Exceptional X-Men on a team. Little hard to believe she'd turn away from all her family, except Emma Frost. Their relationship was in a good place on Krakoa, but why a team with her and refuse to even see anyone else?

It's really not that hard to give characters goals and beliefs, and ideas on the best way to achieve them. At the moment it just feels like they're apart because writers/editorial want them to be, while giving us the kind of disagreements teenagers would get over quickly. I'm not feeling it as a good start to FTA, and the implication that 'we're the X-Men now' implies Scott's team isn't. We've been here before, idiot plots leading to needless divides amongst a people in severe crisis. I have to ask - is that really the best Marvel can do?

I really want to like or even love this reboot, but nostalgia and forced conflict is the definition of old hat. There's so many ways to use nostalgia in fresh ways, but this isnt it. Worse, I'm being told otherwise. I know you don't hire Tom Brevoort as editor to take risks, so I'm really hoping this is just a slow start with everyone finding their feet.

I've definitely noticed that Magneto has been sitting in a chair doing nothing for 3 issues too. I want to know how his ideological awakening is going to be paid off, and I'm wary it's just going to be ignored. I'll be coming back to this topic when there's actually something to talk about, and perhaps foolishly being cautiously optimistic.

Maybe this kind of stuff isn't for everyone, but at least make it make sense, yo. How are you finding it? What are you loving? What are you looking forward to? I'd love to hear.

[starrysky28]

RE2 Leon Kennedy SFW Alphabet (A-M)

A/N: Just something I'm trying once again. Somewhat similar to what I did a few months back with the Genshin character hcs.

Warnings: None really, other than mentions of drinking in E.

Enjoy!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

I'd say he's affectionate to a moderate degree. Not completely devoid of it, but also not totally clingy. I think he's a bit awkward, y'know? He'd definitely show affection by comforting or helping others when they're upset or stressed (or hurt), It's just in his nature.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He'd be a pretty chill best friend. Very typical "childhood guy best friend" vibe about him. The friendship might start before Raccoon City, most likely when you two were younger.

Though, if you were there to survive the incident with him, I think there would be a possibility of the relationship becoming something even more than best friends...

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Kinda tying into the affection one, he wouldn't really cuddle much if he didn't know you too well, but if he happened to be more comfortable with you, he'd be more than happy to cuddle with you if you asked him to.

He'd be pretty gentle with cuddling. Maybe in the form of casually slinging an arm around you while you two watch a movie, or laying in your lap while you play with his hair (I think he'd especially like that tbh)

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Before Raccoon City happened, I think he envisioned eventually getting married to someone and having a kid or two. Now, he's not so sure he'd be ready for something like that after all that he went through.

As for cooking, I think coming from an Italian family, he'd be a really good cook. I can imagine a recipe or two may have been passed down to him before the death of his parents.

Cleaning on the other hand....oh boy. Honestly, I don't think he'd be a total slob, but I think he'd procrastinate on tidying up more than a few times...

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I think he would avoid being the one to do it. The last thing he wants to do is hurt you in some way, so unless he was certain you two were on the same page about it, he wouldn't want to break things off right away.

On a separate note, I don't think he handles being broken up with the greatest either (ie: coping by getting drunk and almost missing your first day of work *ahem, ahem*)

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He's very loyal so I think he'd have no particular problems about commitment if and when the time comes. However, he's only 21 and recently survived a zombie apocalypse, so I don't think getting married is the first thing on his mind at the moment.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He's a pretty gentle guy physically, but since joining the force, had developed thick skin when it comes to more dire or serious situations.

It takes quite a bit to get him emotional, though I feel like even in the years following the incident, he'd cry most often in private to avoid showing vulnerability around others.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He likes hugs but doesn't receive them often. He does, however give others hugs if they need them.

His hugs are very soft. He's got strong arms from training at the police academy, but he knows not to squeeze the life out of you lol.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

He’d say it early on, but not too early. I feel like “I love you” would be something he’d first confess in the heat of the moment, though he’d also accidentally (and awkwardly) make implications that he likes you pre-relationship.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

For jealousy, I think he wouldn’t seem like the type of guy to get jealous, but you’d be wrong on that.

It’s another one of those things that builds up on the inside for him. He’d make subtle but snarky comments and facial expressions related to whatever he’s jealous about. Though, if you confront him about it, he’ll deny it.

“What? Jealous? I’m not jealous, what makes you think that?!”

“Leon, you’ve been pouting this whole time”

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

I think he'd be a gentle kisser. He would also have soft, almost feminine lips, though I think they'd get chapped a bit easily too.

He loves kissing you on your forehead and cheeks the most. I feel like his ex wasn't super affectionate with him, so he feels most special being peppered with kisses on his face and neck.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Despite being an only child and probably growing up mostly around other adults, I think he'd be pretty good with kids for the most part.

He would seem a bit inexperienced, but definitely tried his best to become more experienced during the time he took care of Sherry.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Definitely wakes up early, it's something he does out of pure habit from having to wake up at the crack of dawn at the police academy.

Has trouble sleeping in on days he doesn't have to wake up early, though if he had it his way, he would.

As for spending it with him, I feel like he's the type of guy to force himself to go for runs in the morning. I can imagine that you'd be inclined to join him on occasion.

N-Z will be coming soon!

[wombywoo]

13 and 14 please for the beloved boys?

(.maybe we'll learn why Quinn's mom and aunt can't look him in the eyes 👀👀)

13) Does your OC have a good relationship with their parents or no?

A very complicated question, for both 🤌

As a kid, Quinn had a fairly normal relationship with his parents. He'd always found his dad a bit odd and lame, but he was very close with his mother. Then [redacted] things happened and that all changed 🙃 (nope, I'm not gonna reveal this stuff yet because reasons) but yeah--after that, his relationship became, ah...very strained. Currently, he's been trying and failing to reconnect with his father, but they don't really have much in common and it's all a bit awkward. His dad still tries to make an effort though. As for his mum--he hasn't spoken to her in years 🤐

Vincent had a similar bond with his mother. She was quite a reserved woman, and rarely spoke up in a public setting, but she was far more energetic and loving behind closed doors. Due to the prejudices of the time, they were often shunned or blatantly discriminated against (Vincent's own paternal grandparents refused to acknowledge either of their existences), so having such a close connection meant they could protect each other, in a way. Conversely, Vincent didn't have much of a relationship with his father. He was a cold, austere man, often too busy with work to be around. Vincent always assumed his father hated him, tbh, even though he made strides to put him in all the best schools and social circles, despite the obvious racism and intolerance of his contemporaries. He'd even been the one to pull strings and demand his enrollment into flight school, something that had been unprecedented for black people at the time. But in spite of all those sacrifices, they never bonded, or even spoke at all outside of forced propriety.

14) What about any siblings, do they have any and is their relationship good?

Quinn has a sister, Nora, who's older than him by a few years. They pretty much had a typical sibling dynamic in their youth--petty fighting, Quinn being a little shit, Nora trying to boss him around, etc. After 'certain incidents', she became far more protective of him. There was a lot of guilt there, and Nora felt like she failed him and will always blame herself for not protecting him. As adults, their relationship is a bit forced. Quinn had been distant for a few years, not making any attempt to be around his family, so they're almost strangers now. In recent years, Nora got married and now has a step-son. She's been trying to get Quinn to connect more, wanting him to open up to the kid, but it's been awkward and ineffective for the most part. I like to think that things will get better eventually...

[wild-at-mind]

I skipped a reblog on the last post tbh even though it was overall fine, because it did the whole 'of course there is a place for violence in our activism!' thing and I no longer endorse that, honestly. Ever since Richard Spencer got punched on camera I've watched people practically salivating for an opportunity to do the same to an acceptable target.

But so much of activism is about optics. The optics of Richard Spencer being punched on camera are extremely good, because not only did everyone know he was on record saying stuff like 'Heil Trump', he was also right in the middle of giving an interview about his shitty views, and he was putting on that calm, composed and dignified act that he was using as a way to raise respectability for his movement. (I remember Kat Blaque a few years after described it as dressing like a church boy.) The anonymous assailant punching him shattered all of that. It was unquestionably a triumph during one of the dirtiest and ugliest times for US right wing politics in recent memory. In the years after this happened, I remember seeing a number of left wing people, online and in person, who clearly were not normally comfortable with violence suddenly paying lip service to the idea, and it just felt so disingenuous. I wanted to ask them what they meant specifically- were they about to go out and start something? Or did they just mean they didn't condemn every incidence of violence in activism? (Which as I hope I have shown, is the category I fall into.) But the thing is, very few opportunities are as clear as the Richard Spencer incident. You can say punch nazis all you want, but many of them do in fact realise that going around being obviously nazi in public is an escalation, so they hide it. The man who killed UK MP Jo Cox was found to have a large amount of materials in his house from extreme right movements from across the world, and had some of the most extreme views imaginable, but he had sense enough to hide it in his day to day. If before he committed the murder you found out somehow and punched him, you'd just be seen as punching a random middle aged man.

The times there have been violence against TERFs have, I guarantee, done nothing but handed them the moral high ground plus an even bigger victim complex on a silver platter. Their entire movement revolves around being the downtrodden victims of some kind of organised trans agenda looking to victimise them. Even though I am certain they have started some physical fights and trans people reacted in self defense, trans people will always be framed as the aggressor in these encounters, and no that is not fair, but I think it is reason enough to do everything you can to avoid putting hands on a TERF if you are ever in that situation. (No matter what your gender identity is, you will be called a trans woman in any backlash also, leading to more harm for trans women specifically.) I feel like people try and hand wave this as respectibility politics, but I prefer to see it as optics. And your audience is people whose first and only idea about the issue of trans rights will be this encounter. At some point while particating in non-violent direct actions in the environmental movement, I realised random people are very eager to overstate the harm of anything you do. For example, if you block a road for any length of time, someone will find a way to say that cause a death, through some convuluted means. I've told this story before, but one time during a longer period of protest I was involved in, a friend of mine had a random woman run up to her and scream at her that a little boy had died because of the road blocking, I guess he was supposed to have been in a car and not an ambulance (NHS cuts yadda yadda) and couldn't get to the hospital in time and it was the fault of my friend specifically that he had died. This upset my friend very much. I have heard of stories like this many times, the person who died because of our road blocking, a couple of which are verifiably true stories but most which remained rumour, like this one.

Road blocking is a non-violent action, but people still find a way to twist it into a violence you personally have done if you participate. The only way to make some people happy is if you never do anything that might inconvenience someone in any way in the course of your activism. But it's not hopeless, because there is a massive freedom to realisiing this. After I saw my friend accused of murdering a little boy because she maybe sat on a road with some other people, I lost interest in any idea of deliberately violent activism. I do not believe that violence is never justified, but I do think that when you try and use it as an activism tool, it's like lighting a fire. You can control it up to a certain point, but then you can't, and it escalates. People talk a lot about rioting on here as if riots are a special advanced kind of protest, but they are not things people plan. They happen because of tensions coming to a head, and once the riot starts, you no longer have control of what it does. Property damage is not inherently violent but it works best when strongly targetted, and during a riot there is bound to be a tonne of collaterel damage done to the everyday lives of people who live in the area. And even though rioting can lead to changes for the better, this is not a situation you can manifacture in a lab, just go out and do one day. And when you see that quote the rioting is the language of the unheard, remember that applies to the right wing as well. The people rioting against immigration in Dublin I'm sure felt unheard.

I hope this not particularly thought out post made sense.

[eldritchreveries]

regarding your recent post (sorry to see you leave the fandom, but I totally understand your reasons and wish you all the best in what you do next) - your statement about the fandom having a lot of big names who are known predators worried me a bit, I’ve only heard about the ex/jr person and thought that was it, and now I’m wondering if I’ve unknowingly supported anyone similar. i guess I’m asking if there are any other known creators here that we should also steer clear of?

Heya, for the nature of this answer, i'll be censoring it. I'll just go through the gyst of it

To anyone seeing this post dont open it if you're sensitive to these topics

most of the drama unfolded on the twitter side of the fandom. If you didnt know already, ReyGGTV has been a known problematic creator in recent years, theres a whole list of things he's done that you can find online if you're curious. Though these days a lot of newer fans dont know what he's done or the drama has since died down since it unfolded a few years ago, but he's still someone to be cautious of imo. I didnt personally witness his drama, but have a lot of info from people who did.

Tristan Zepeda, a fairly prolific fanartist and writer was recently outted a few weeks ago as being a predator, sending nsfw content to a minor and having roleplay s3x with the Hilda chatbot on hildacord, as he confessed to it all on twitter before shortly deleting his account. Apparently he's currently trying to rebrand and return to the community under a new username "atom"

And Hildaboo (very known fanartist) was going around trying to tell everyone to stay quiet about the predator situation in attempt to "save the fandom". They would rather everyone sweep the predator issue under the rug and let them run rampent and hurt other young fans than "create drama and kill the fandom". I believe Hildaboo has since made a statement regarding it, but this was only after i had to have a whole conversation with them on why telling everyone to be quiet and ignore the predators to keep the fandom alive is in fact, a terrible thing to do. I really don't think i should have had to have this conversation with a grown adult.

And of course, the whole ExJr incident. He was a good friend of mine, and it devestated me when i found out what he'd done. Which, long story short, he sent nsfw content to and had sexual roleplays with a 12 year old, when he was in his 20s. He also copied and stole mine and another friend's character designs without crediting us.

There have also been smaller fanartists around twitter that just flat out draw cp of the main Hilda trio and also ship adults and children together (example; there is a lot of Kaisa x David shipping) and tbh i was sick of seeing it, considering a good chunk of the people around them thought this was completely okay. I was also chased away from the reddit community for a while due to lgbtq+ art and dm'd threats and slurs.

For the sake of legality, everything mentioned here is alleged.

[lovinggreeniehours]

🪐, 🎞️, & 💌 with a ship of your choice for the ask game!!

hi caspi!!!! :D i hope your day is nice!! hmm im gonna use this recent s/i from an original story ive been working on. he and f/o don't have names yet, but yeah. wip

🪐: what would be your most popular au and why?

i feel like role reversal aus would be so juicy with them,,, but tbh their entire story is a role reversal of sorts 🤔 they take turns having to save each other from a seemingly inevitable fate by making a big sacrifice

i think there'd be a lot of human aus and a lot of fantasy aus. im not sure about canon divergence fics though but i think there'd be a few. they'd either have cheesy romcom college things going on or really dramatic fae period pieces 👁 oh! cosmos deity aus too

🎞️: what ‘canon’ scenes would the fandom point to as evidence for the validity of your ship?

"guys is it gay to journey cross country to save this guy you had a deep conversation with once and then eventually save him by giving up your humanity to bring him back to life"

"guys is it gay to have orpheus/eurydice parallels trying to lead the guy you rescued out of an underground river with underworld imagery. and is it gay to have a metaphorical 'orpheus turns around by accident' incident even though you lost all your ability to connect with your emotions. is it gay for the guy to metaphorically save you from turning around by keeping your attention forward on the road"

"is it gay for the guy you rescue to reveal his real name to you as a way to repay you for saving him, the name that only he and his birth mother know of. is it gay for him to Also travel cross country to find some kind of magic to replace your lost humanity"

um yeah something like that HDFKGSGJ

💌: how would your dynamic be portrayed? what might people focus on most? any misconceptions?

im afraid they might be mainstream yaoi-fied or something 😭 eternal fear #1. that or the fandom assumes f/o is a stupid Dumbass(tm) just because he's the more carefree type of guy compared to s/i,,,,,

i think there'd be a lot of art of them floating along that river. tbh. or just river styx imagery. and mythology references. that would be focused on a lot in fandom spaces. i think the imagery of everything in general too because the story feels very visually pretty in my head

[gaykey]

Hi! I'm Kshawol. I've just recently gotten into SHINee and I have a few questions that I was hoping you could answer (I'm using a translator right now, so I can't help it if my English is awkward).1. actually... I'm pretty sure some Kshawol's besides me don't think Key is straight, seriously, not just an RPS thing. Of course, they don't say that on their public Twitter accounts, they just talk amongst themselves on their private accounts. To be honest, I think that's what the public thinks, too, just, "Everything Key does and says makes me feel like he's gay!" And we report those YouTube comments when we see them, because it's rude to make assumptions about someone's sexuality anyway. So, I'm just curious, because I've been Googling and there's a lot of stories, and you have them on your account right now, that Key used to frequent gay bars in the early days of his career (was that in the early 2010s?) and that Minho used to pick him up when he was drunk, and I'm wondering if that's true, and if he's been saying queer-coded things in interviews and Instagram posts and stuff. I got that feeling recently when he was explaining why he gave his fans the nickname Lil freak. Personally, I don't think he'll ever come out of the closet, even if he is queer, and he'll continue to live in his frosted glass closet. Coming out in Korea is very difficult and takes a lot of courage, especially for celebrities. Right now, the most famous gay celebrity in Korea, he was outed unwillingly, and he immediately had his whole career in jeopardy, and as far as I know, it took him about 10 years before he was able to go back on TV again, with all kinds of sexual harassment and bigoted comments from people. Anyway, that happened. Umm... what do you think about that?

2. talking about Taemin, his queer performance is already widely known, so I won't ask about it. Sometimes some people talk about him having ADHD or even being on the autism spectrum, though they're in the minority, and I know of a tumblr blog that talks about it, and it's a very interesting hypothesis! As an ADHD person myself, there are times when I'm pretty sure he does have ADHD, but of course, that's... Kshawol doesn't really like it and it's not even talked about... In Korea, that interpretation is considered very rude and insulting, because we don't have good awareness of neurodiversity, so it's kind of a cultural difference. I wonder how Taemin's ADHD/ASD behaviors are viewed abroad.

hello, hope you're well! oooh, well your translator must be pretty good, because your english is coming across pretty perfect.

ok, so i'll try to answer all your questions as best as i can.

i've said before, and i've heard, that a lot of kshawols & the general public, pretty much know key's gay, especially in the queer community. in regards to making assumptions being rude - it depends on if those assumptions are from people assuming based on negative stereotypes. i think queer people, like myself, assuming based on seeing parts of ourselves in him, is not rude or harmful.

the kind of comments you report, are probably intended to be hateful.

when we talk about key's sexuality here it isn't. straight isn't the default, and there shouldn't be a this weird stigma around queer people, seeing and recognising other queer people!

the stuff about gay bars are all rumours. i noted that in the posts about it, that they're really old (yeah it was the early 2010's) and have no source, and should therefore not be taken too seriously. it was just a bit of fun to talk about the kind of things that were floating around the fandom at the time.

has he been saying queer coded stuff? tbh, i think soooo much of what he does, says, likes, dislikes, sings about, is interested in, ect. is queer-coded. i genuinely couldn't pick out a singualr incident.

and like yeah! i have an entire tag about how he calls fans lil freak alone, and what that means, and why it's significant to me, and to other lgbt+ people. and why it's very telling that kibum chose to call us that.

i've gone back & forth a lot about whether i think he'll come out one day, and i agree with you. whilst he's in the industry, he'll stay in his glass closet situation.

he doesn't need to come out if he doesn't want to. the ones that get it, already get it!

and yes, i know about hong seokcheon, and what happened to him, and whilst he's doing well now, it wasn't easy, and he endured so much. he clawed his career back, and it's incredibly inspiring, but.....

nowhere near enough progress has been made since.

i would never want key to have to face that in the current industry climate.

in regards to taemin!

i don't have adhd and i'm not on the spectrum in any way, so i would not at all feel comforable with making any judment on taemin in that way - but yes, i have seen a lot of discussion from neurodivergent people in regards to it.

it's definitely not something that's taboo to talk about in some cases, but, i would still say there's still a stigma in regards to neurodivergency in the international fandom. possibly moreso than kibum's sexuality?

some fans get sooooo angry when people with autism suggest taemin might have it too. again! it's not a negative thing!

anyway, i hope i answered your questions???? i don't know how well your translator picks up my all over the place way of talking lol

hope you have a good day/night! 💕

[apollos-boyfriend]

Currently in cinema class but i also wanted to know more about clockwork, she seems very interesting in what you wrote her relations as! (And shes been a favorite of mine for a long time lol)

Also once tim convinces her to take the infection george clock out of her eye socket, what do you think she'd do with it?

i’ve made a FEW posts about my version of clockwork [1] [2] [3] but there is never enough to talk about with her. she’s become a very central character which i think is fun bc i was never Too too much into her back in the day! finally giving her the attention she deserves

i have her as being one of, if not the, last people to arrive at the mansion, so by the time she gets there, everyone’s had a while to calm down and get to know each other. and natalie doesn’t arrive in the best state, having only been about a week after the events of her origin. she’s just recently snapped and she’s scared and angry and hostile. and her arrival is a different vibe than most, because for a lot of them, their origins weren’t personal. not to her extent.

jeff killed his family, but he was so pumped with pain meds he can hardly remember it. their deaths weren’t personal, he would’ve killed anyone around him at the time. nina’s origin was similar, with the exception of her bullies, who she doesn’t even think about anymore. theirs were Necessities. jack has no memories of his life before the incident, and his initial struggles were more with what he’d become than what he’d done. ben’s arrival is the closest, as he was struggling heavily with having his own body and autonomy again, but he leaned more heavily on needing control than anything else.

but natalie’s still so hurt and still so angry. she felt better for a short while directly after her incident, but that rush had left her by the time slender took her in. she’d taken care of the people who’d hurt her. she couldn’t understand why she still felt so helpless, so hurt. she lashes out and projects her unresolved issues onto the other residents—her medical trauma onto jack, her brotherly trauma onto jeff/ben and sally/nina. she never got the proper conclusion/resolution she thought she would by killing her family, so she attempts to find that in the mansion, which manifests in her lashing out. i said it somewhere before but she’s more just a scared animal. she doesn’t know why she bites, necessarily, just that she’s always had to to survive. her backstory just works really well with the other members and out of anyone i think she’s the one that needs the most healing TBH

as for what happens to her watch, i haven’t actually thought about it! i think the most logical and narratively rewarding solution would be for her to throw it away. to fully leave behind that aspect of her life and start anew, no longer fueled by anger and the need for revenge. but i think she doesn’t get there instantly. the mansion’s full of fucked-up keepsakes (jeff has a knife collection from victim’s houses, jack has his handful of preserved organs, etc) so it isn’t seen as weird for her to keep it. it makes sense, it’s sentimental, after all. i think she gets nina’s help and makes a necklace out of it (after jack thoroughly disinfects the thing. like by god girl) until she heals enough to fully leave that time behind her

[beardedmrbean]

Wait

The Native Americans are fighting against the wokies?

It not surprising because how problematic they see things as. Fuck the recent Predator movie Prey did more to preserve the Comanche language it’s was also fully dub into it

But seriously I seen it in black media, notice how 95% of black media only focus on blm stuff or how many black historical figures are often erased by white wokies? Like black peopke can’t thrive in capitalism…please ignore that restaurant owner that inspire the Disney Princess Tiana

But back to the natives, yeah they would attack you guys. The left can barely understand Japanese POP CULTURE much as native historical stuff.

Good luck natives…tbh I think I know more about the Iroquois playing via playing a fictional historical game more than what leftist learn about native Americans in college.

But seriously I seen it in black media, notice how 95% of black media only focus on blm stuff or how many black historical figures are often erased by white wokies? Like black peopke can’t thrive in capitalism…please ignore that restaurant owner that inspire the Disney Princess Tiana

Admittedly it got shit on pretty hard in the Tulsa Race Riots, but "black wall street" was a thing and there were many thriving former slaves and children of former slaves at that point. Would have been nice if they'd managed to rebuild I will admit the cards were not just stacked against them, there was bulldozers pushing those cards too, few still managed.

Would have been nice if they could have been more able to defend themselves properly, trying to find NRA activity for southern Black folks post reconstruction/Jim crow era not much popping up other than.

Begin Tangent

This guy who just popped on to my radar.

Born in North Carolina in 1925, Williams’ experience mirrors that of many African-Americans of his generation. He moved to Detroit as part of the Second Great Migration, where he was privy to race rioting over jobs. He served in the then-segregated United States Marine Corps for a year and a half after being drafted in 1944. Upon returning to his North Carolina hometown, Williams found a moribund chapter of the NAACP. With only six members and little opposition, he used his USMC training to commandeer the local branch and turn it in a decidedly more military direction. The local chapter soon had over 200 members under Williams’ leadership. If nothing else, his leadership was effective at building the movement from the ground up.

An early incident is particularly instructive in how effective these new tactics were. The KKK was very active in Monroe, with an estimated 7,500 members in a town of 12,000. After hearing rumors that the Klan intended to attack NAACP chapter Vice President Dr. Albert Perry’s house, Williams and members of the Black Armed Guard surrounded the doctor’s house with sandbags and showed up with rifles. Klansman fired on the house from a moving vehicle and the Guard returned fire. Soon after, the Klan required a special permit from the city’s police chief to meet. One incident of self-defense did more to move the goalposts than all previous legislative pressure had.

Monroe’s Black Armed Guard wasn’t a subsidiary of the Communist Party, nor an independent organization like the Black Panther Party that would use similar tactics of arming their members later. In fact, “Black Armed Guard” was nothing more than a fancy name for an officially chartered National Rifle Association chapter.

He got a bit more militant later on, I will blame a good deal of that on the fbi doing what the fbi did to black people that stood up for other black people. Not gonna call him a hero just yet because I haven't looked far enough into him to have a full picture, but this stuff is pretty damn heroic. Remember gun control has frequently been used as a tool to keep minorities in check, and will continue to be used as so until more people put their foot down.

End tangent __________________

Ya we went over this before with Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben among others, removing minority representation in order to not offend white leftists who will just find something else to be offended about anyhow so just please ignore them and ask the people you're supposedly doing it for, I will say I'm glad that the "latinx" debate is over, only took most of Latin America and the royal Spanish society both saying it's stupid and insulting to get it killed.

Also don't try to turn it around on white people because

_____________________

We eat this shit up, fighting whites one went on sale, sold out really fast and the money went to a scholarship program for indigenous students I think, it's in the link and they should make them again if you ask me.

[ad-hawkeye]

You can tag this under 50 Shades, but after I read this post from Hoyolab, hoyolab (.) com/#/article/19978642/, if this is true, I am very disappointed about this direction, though it is one I've seen coming. That being said, you've given your thoughts on the writing. In your ideal world, where would the cards post 2nd anniversary have gone, if you had to keep the general situation/environment, but could change up everything else about it?

holy fuck, the way i actually agree with everything in this post. here is the link for those curious, it's a fantastic read tbh.

a few of us in our tot discord have discussed this as well. here are a few brief snippets below.

sorry for the incoherent mess of thoughts below, words are Not coming easy HAHA.

but yeah... like the post said, barbie is a very good way of putting it.

i used to have the same issue with luke. i'm not a huge fan of characters being good at Too Many Things, especially when there's no flaws to balance it out. it really pulls me out of the story. so like. the more you try to impress me with a character, the less impressed i'll be. which. is why i haaaate artem's newer cards.

see, the thing is, the whole reason why i liked artem in the first place is because of how he felt like the down to earth option. he wasn't the childhood friend/undercover agent/detective/stem genius, he wasn't a ceo and son of the richest family in stellis, and he wasn't literal royalty. he was just a lawyer who worked with rosa. he was bad at talking to people. he was a bit of a homebody. he was LAME. completely inexperienced in romance. he was good at his job, but it was obvious he put all of his skill points into being a lawyer and no where else. his abilities with shooting and cooking were both important aspects to his character, but the skills hoyoverse added beyond that just baffle me.

he wasn't cool, but he was kind and genuine.

ever since second anniversary, there has been absolutely no consistency to artem's character whatsoever.

neil gets mentioned less and less even though he was a major part of artem's life AND character. neil was his father figure, since his parents were rarely, if ever, around. and yet, in recent cards, tot constantly goes out of its way to try and convince us artem's parents did nothing wrong. to add to that, we're lucky if neil is even mentioned.

in earlier cards, it was very clear artem was grieving neil's disappearance (see: entwined fate). it was also clear artem's childhood circumstances were extremely lonely and caused him to try and brush off the neglect because he didn't want to stress out his already busy parents (see: loving memories and his dreams of childhood sr)! earlier cards also hinted at traumatic events and a fear of firearms due to how dangerous neil's job as a lawyer was (see: focus fire).

but for god knows what reason, newer cards said well! fuck all of this! artem no longer gives one single shit about neil! also? honestly? the writers seem confused and disoriented by artem downplaying his childhood issues and just made it so he truly Had no issues with his childhood. which. ok. i guess.

in recent months, we have not had one single card where rosa and artem sit down to talk about how artem feels about neil's disappearance. one single card where artem even openly addresses any traumatic experiences. or emotional neglect in childhood.

remember when focus fire mentioned that a disgruntled mafia member held him and neil at gunpoint because he was pissed neil put everyone else in the gang behind bars?? no?? yeah, me neither! because it's never mentioned again! old tot content implies it was incidents like these, the general emotional neglect from his parents, and neil's disappearance that contributed to artem's closed off personality. but man, fuck that! for some reason!

this doesn't even touch upon artem's romantic and sexual inexperience, which has also been entirely undone. he's a sex god now, i guess.

and let us not forget how artem has learned and forgot the same lessons like, several times. artem did we not learn why jealousy and possessiveness are bullshit in atmospherics, por una cabeza, etc...??? are we really back at this again? and it's not even being addressed as a character flaw anymore? okay! okay. fine! whatever.

but okay. i'm getting off track. you asked me an entirely different question! where would i have liked to have seen the cards go? i think the cards following second anniversary are so... well, nothing that you could probably swap out the plots and avoid losing anything of importance.

honestly, i think artem's cards would have shined the best if they stuck to his original character. so when considering the confines we have now:

artem is extremely emotionally repressed. it'd take time for him to come out of his shell. and his early dating cards do begin like this! it's very endearing! several cards could focus on this progression as he becomes more comfortable and relaxed with rosa. progression into being engaged. living with someone for the first time. please.

rosa and artem's dynamic has like, vanished in recent cards. which is a goddamn shame, because their more comfortable dynamics in his railroad, revisiting youth, and snowfallen secrets cards are so charming! they joke around! artem's sense of humor pokes out! they act like real PEOPLE! they're silly! they're nerds! they're equals! i'd keep this dynamic instead of it just being artem flipping back and forth between sex god and "yes i will do whatever you want [insert player name here]"

neil. please, can we focus on neil. what being a lawyer means to artem. how neil influenced that. how artem feels about neil being gone, how artem feels about neil's possible betrayal of the nxx?? he could always have an arc of going through the stages of grief, or learning to look at things through a new lens. being sad neil won't be around for milestones. etc.

the incidents implied in focus fire. okay, being held at gunpoint is pretty uhhh fucking traumatic. did any other events happen bc of neil's status? his parents' statuses? is this why he is so emotionally repressed? is this why he takes the law so seriously?

his parents. can we stop acting like his parents did nothing wrong. please. his parents used to be portrayed under the "well meaning but ultimately very flawed" light, which i adored. it was grey. it was human. maybe artem could learn that it wasnt right of his parents to be so nonexistent in his life. his parents can still love him and make mistakes. maybe he could rebuild his relationship w his parents? maybe once he realizes what he went through wasn't normal, he can be angry, and work through it. idk! anything! please!

more focus on rosa. her studies. her exams. anything. her family. her past. her hobbies. her teaching artem something. rosa talking about her issues. pelase. Please.

it truly feels like his original writers got swapped out, and the new ones have no idea what artem's charm was in the first place. they have no idea how his character even works, so they're just desperately trying to attach Cool Hobbies to him bc they think he's more boring than the other boys when like. that's the fucking point, that IS his charm.

gosh this was so long and i'm sorry if it's like. UNREADABLE or if i totally missed the point but this was like. Freeing to type out. thank you for reaching out anon, it turns out i had more thoughts than i expected!! hope you're having a lovely day! : )

[kay-selfships]

so i'm someone that bruises relatively easily and i've been getting a lot of them from work recently (it's a tad more labor intensive than my other jobs, but i'm getting paid a lot more so worth it tbh) but it's still annoying so i wrote a lil drabble about it lol

--

Going inside after an extended period of braving the chill of Dragonspine was always an extremely relieving feeling. Kay never quite dealt with the cold the best, but she was always willing to do so if it meant she was able to spend a little more time with her lover while he worked on his experiments. Sure, she never did much more than fetch the odd ingredient or two, but she knew they both appreciated the company. Plus, she also thought she provided adequate moral support regardless.

Once inside, the adventurer slipped off the large coat she was wearing to shield from the cold, letting out a silent yawn and stretching herself out. However, she was keenly aware of an observant, analytical gaze on her while she did so. She turned, about to make a flirtatious and witty comment about catching his gaze on her while she undressed, though Albedo beat her to it by speaking up first.

“...Have you gotten into any fights recently?” His tone was quiet and careful, his expression matching, eyebrows furrowed like they always did when he was focusing on any complex alchemical equation for a bit too long. Kay’s own expression quickly dropped from flirtatious to confused, glancing around herself a little in an attempt to figure out what prompted such a question. 

“Mmmm…I don’t think so? There was one incident with some treasure hoarders, but that was weeks ago. They were dealt with pretty easily though.” She added with a certain pride in her voice, clearly happy with how much her combat skills have improved. Her tone then became more serious once more as she returned to his original question. “Why do you ask?” 

“…Bruises.” He said simply, and Kay was now able to follow his gaze to her newly exposed arms. Surely enough, there were quite a few of the black and blue marks decorating them. “That’s not all. I noticed some on your legs earlier as well. While adventuring often results in some scrapes or bumps…this amount seems a little higher than normal…” By his cadence and the general nature of the man, he very much seemed in ‘analytical mode,’ leaving Kay defenseless to interject even if she wanted to. “As a vegetarian, you do have more risk of developing anemia, or developing bruises in general. Though…I don’t believe you’ve ever had this many at a time before. Which is why I asked.” He finished, looking at her expectantly.

“I promise I haven’t gotten these from any fights. Would you believe me if I said I was just that clumsy?” Kay asked sheepishly, a weak smile appearing on her face. After a moment of contemplation, Albedo sighed and nodded.

“It…is a plausible explanation. Even then, it’s still not…good that you’re getting such bruises just from living your life. It makes me…” He paused for another moment, as if trying to decipher the exact name for the emotion he was feeling. “…concerned. You’re likely still iron deficient, have you been eating enough leafy greens, beans, or eggs?” Kay tried to conceal the guilt that likely immediately appeared on her expression, but by the look on his face, he got his answer. He clicked his tongue, and Kay braced herself for a lecture or hearing how he was disappointed in her. However, neither came as he drifted a bit closer to her and took her hand gently. “I am only concerned for your health, you’re only human after all. I will remind you when I can, but can you promise me to try to take care of yourself better as well?” Kay released a breath, her heart rate slowing as she processed that he wasn’t upset with her.

“I promise. As long as you do too, Mr. ‘Sometimes Forgets to Eat at All When Focusing on His Experiments.’” She replied, causing him to let out a defeated chuckle. 

“Right…I have no defense for that. I suppose we’ll simply have to look out for each other, yes?” Kay’s eyes practically lit up at his words, proceeding to throw both of her arms around him and squeezing. He seemed to be thrown off for a moment by the sudden action, but quickly regained balance, allowing the momentum to spin them around once before remaining still. 

“It’s a deal!” She agreed, burying her face against the crook of his neck. 

“In the meantime…” He began, taking her arm and pressing his lips against one of the bruises on it, though being sure not to apply enough pressure to cause any pain. “I suppose I will just have to kiss them until they’re better.”

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

https://x.com/mnymilf/status/1753995572154147085?s=46

So this vids of Sana and Jihyo from Twice are blowing up because it looks like they actually kissed each other

But they only pretended to

https://x.com/jimincarrd/status/1754488779337769224?s=46

I’m curious what you think about it? From what I know 2nd gen bgs used to kiss on stage as fanservice and people now see the behaviour as gross, but with Sana and Jihyo many are acting like it’s ok and hot

This person who showed that they actually didn’t kiss is even getting bullied for “not leting sapphics be happy”

I had no idea that sapphics happiness comes from idol’s fanservice but ok

This is the third recent incident of kpop women doing this. The first one was Somi with Hyuna, then two Kiss of Life girls now this…

Twice do stuff like this all the time.. they've always done it 😅

They're all really good friends with each other and love each other a lot. They hang out off schedule, they take trips together, they share clothes, etc etc. You name it. I used to like them for a while some years ago, and I got to know them a little. I've always thought them and BTS were genuine about their friendships. I didn't see it in other girl groups, but twice seemed honest about caring for each other.

Here's sana and mina a few years ago.

Do people really find it gross that men used to do that? I don't know, I think kpop fans know that happens and it's fun for them. There's a group I've never checked out but I see some stuff now and then, and apparently their official MVS have like, homoerotic moments between the members. Not just for fun, but the homoeroticism is like an actual "concept". I think two of them enlisted together, too.

I don't think there's anything wrong with sana and jihyo doing that, tbh. Maybe because I know they're really close friends and it's honestly a very normal thing to do between female friends. Girl group members seriously do it all the time.

I do believe they're straight, though. So wlw should look for real representation😭 because this is just two straight friends having fun.