#feel absolutely free to disagree i would love to keep the debate going

[heartbreakprincewille]

@raincitygirl76 I love your addition(and also all the tags!!)

Okay, so I sat with this post for like an hour because even though I 1000% agree with all the abdication points(I really, really do), I just couldn't accept them as a legitimate option.

Yes, Wille is a victim of the diabolical nature of the monarchy's machinery, and abdication or abolishing the monarchy both are options that will bring him peace the most, but in all of this debate we forget to ask the main question: Does Wilhelm want any of these things?

Let's take abdication for example. One of the major S2 plot points is August being added to the line of succession and the subsequent possibilites that open up to Wille, mostly abdication. We see Wille ponder the possibility, discuss his dilemma to Simon. Sure, he can't be living under this boulder of pressure that his dead brother will be disappointed in him if he leaves the role of Crown Prince for all his life, it's an unhealthy and honestly a little pointless reason to endure this suffering. But, what we forget about is that Wilhelm is the Royal Family. All the monarchs that preceded him were his family members. The feeling of a family is tragically intertwined with the monarchy for him, he cannot leave it just like that. Yes, he can make his own family with people that love him(like Simon) and he would still be connected with his blood family, but not after he lost someone dear to him. It would be even more difficult for him to leave behind everything after he knows how it feels to lose someone. I don't think Wilhelm has ever shown that he hates his family or wants to leave them behind. He doesn't. Just because Kristina isn't Linda it doesn't mean she is a bad mother. Mothers can come in all types of nuances, and with a show that excels in nuances, YR perfectly nails Kristina's character as a formidable mother. Tl;dr Wille can abdicate, but neither it will be as easy for him as it seems to be nor he has ever shown the desire to not be connected to his family( for Wilhelm, family=monarchy, it's a very blurry line in his case).

Let's take abolishing the monarchy. Yes, again, I really like the idea of it. I do. Monarchies are institutions that are ultimately outdated and ruling them out forever is a great idea indeed. But, does Wilhelm want to do that either? Yes, he's still young and his opinion can change for the better, but I don't think he's up for being the face of this larger-than-life revolution. Yes, he could be, he should be, but will he? I don't think so. The reason he admitted to be in the video was simple: he couldn't just sit there and let Simon be a secret when it's the last thing Simon wants and let this silent unbalance of Wille's denial eventually sour their incredible love. It was the right thing to do, and he did it. He doesn't want to bring some revolution by implying that he is queer in front of the media, it's just the underlying implication of his denial, which he's okay with the world knowing now, unlike S1.

The fundamental question I asked myself that why was I not satisfied with all the abdication or abolishment stances is: Why do I want a queer monarch or a Queer royal in the first place? Especially in a system that is not equipped for a queer person in the slightest? That's when I stumbled upon the answer, and the was in the word itself: Queer. Queer, not essentially in the sense of sexuality, but a queer way of thinking. A queer person has this tender, kind sense of worldview which they can bring to a table full of toxic, heteronormative, classist and racist way of thinking. Queer way of thinking embraces differences, which is one of the fundamental problems of the current system of Monarchy: the puritan culture. A queer perspective is literally the answer to so many toxic aspects of a monarchy. Systems can change and grow. Maybe Wilhelm won't actually like to be the face of change this time either, but even just his queer perspective can bring a lot of change instead of leaving the institution with its toxic elements intact. And I think S3 can be a wonderful exploration of this queer perspective in this rigid system.

My most passionately-held controversial Young Royals take: Wille should absolutely abdicate the throne. (Season 2 spoilers ahead.)

"But Wille would make a good king!" There are no good cops, there are no good US presidents, there are no good kings. Monarchies are inherently unjust. The whole foundation of a monarchy is the idea that one family deserves exorbitant wealth and status at the expense of the majority just because they had the luck to be descended from some guys who probably killed and maneuvered their way into power and control. Monarchies are about the powerful dominating and exploiting the masses, and especially the already-oppressed. The writing of Young Royals isn't shy about showing how inhumane the monarchy is, and how holding power does not mean you deserve it. ALSO Wille doesn't want to be king!! He doesn't want that power, responsibility, or exposure, and he's likely becoming skeptical of the legitimacy of monarchy in general. Also "don't let Erik down" is just not a good reason, it doesn't make any sense. (Ok, the only scenario where he should be come king is if he plans to abolish the monarchy immediately afterward.)

"But then August would be king!" Well, ideally, Wille's abdication would result in a crisis that would lead to the end of the monarchy. But even if August did become king, maybe he and the monarchy deserve each other! They're both toxic. If the pressure of being prefect was tearing him up, just wait til he's king. It's not the ethical conundrum that it would be if the monarch of Sweden had any actual political power.

"But it would be cool/historical/good representation to have a queer king and prince consort." No, it wouldn't. It would be cool to have a queer couple cause the end of the monarchy. The systems of domination and exploitation that legitimize monarchies are the same ones that underlie sexism, racism, and yes, homophobia. Letting a queer person be in charge of the exploitation machine isn't justice. Ending the exploitation machine is justice. (This is also why discussions of whether Kristina is homophobic just run in circles-- her individual sympathies or lack thereof don't matter because her loyalty is to an institution that is inherently unjust and incompatible with queer liberation.) Also, Simon would never ever want to be a prince consort or involved in the monarchy in general! Lol! I think that's the clearest part of all this.

Again, I think the show is very clear about being anti-monarchy. It's critical of Sweden's class structure, and the monarchy is the pinnacle of that structure. The "welfare fraud vs. tax evasion" discussion shows the entitled and inhumane mindset of the wealthy students. The very creepy Society shows that the monarchy and the 1% are in a symbiotic relationship with the shared goal of keeping status and wealth in the hands of a few noble (i.e. been around for a long time i.e. white) families.

I do get the affinity for the Cinderella story happy ending idea! It's a compelling fairytale. And that's part of what fanfic is for. But as @communityradiointerndanielle put it: Young Royals and Red, White & Royal Blue have similarities and understandable fandom overlap, but the difference is: RWRB paints liberal aesthetics over the unjust institutions to let progressive-minded people enjoy the Cinderella fantasy without feeling guilty. Young Royals is a cautionary tale about why you don't actually want the Cinderella fantasy.

(This post brought to you by a recent poll where ~75% said Wille should not abdicate. Thankfully a few people including @tooindecisivetopickaurl, @antigorite, @emberc, eloquently disagreed or qualified this in the RBs!)

[sufferu]

Did you read that WHDAAA spin-off fic by Vyazov23 called Watching Arc 4 in The Theater of Despair ? Any things you liked and have problems with?

I did! I appreciated that the guy managed to actually FINISH a react fic lol: I’m realizing more and more that these things are a pain and a half to actually write. SERIOUS props to the one who actually managed to pull it off, I’m not even being sarcastic.

Though, to be entirely honest…I disagreed with the entire main premise regarding how the characters would react, lol. I actually don’t want to shit on a singular work, though — especially not one that had so much effort put into it, like goddamn the guy actually FINISHED that one — so I’m gonna go ahead and use this as a segway to talk about the most common usages of this trope that I disagree with in this fandom.

The idea that anyone would learn about Return By Death and go “Okay! This is a good thing, and Subaru is a hero!” — I feel like it goes against the themes of Re:Zero, as well as a lot of established characterization. (And also the harem subplot that often seems to go alongside that idea, lol.) And I feel like a react fic that goes over the experiences of Return By Death, furthermore, should be centered around the characters coming to terms with (or grappling with, anyway) the fact that they FUCKING KILLED HIM. Like, SOO many times. Rem and Ram, in particular, should be characterized as absolutely, irreconcilably devastated by what they did in Arc 2. In fact I actually have a lot of criticisms about how these fics tend to characterize a lot of these characters in general, especially Julius, Ferris, Wilhelm, and Rem. Rem is simple — I don’t agree with the idea that she is actually a good influence (or that the other characters would see her as such, more on that in a sec) — but for the other three…I think a lot of these fics tend to twist themselves in knots trying to make them approve of Subaru’s self-destructive behavior, despite all three of them having canon moments contradicting it.

Julius’ first appearance was him desperately trying to save Subaru from getting slaughtered and most of the subsequent scenes with him have included something about him either trying to be a good role model (that will help Subaru Not Die Horribly) or taking some step to actively keep him safe (whether that be going out of his way to teach him a hands-on lesson about self-awareness the moment they meet up again post-Whale or quietly sticking Ia on him without letting him know). Hell, it’s heavily implied that he associated Subaru with his beloved, sickly, baby brother pre-Gluttony. The knowledge that Subaru has apparently been not just getting regularly put in mortal danger, but not even getting out of it ALIVE in a lot of cases — I think he’d have a way worse reaction to that than is normally shown.

Wilhelm, too — not enough focus is given to the fact that Subaru’s situation is basically just a worse version of the one that Theresia was forced into by being the Sword Saint. Wilhelm went and dueled his wife specifically to free her from the shackles of being forced to wield a sword when all she really wanted to do was care for flowers. Hell, in canon he already has a scene where he refuses to keep training Subaru because he realizes that Subaru has no actual interest in the sword and does not want to facilitate that kind of self-destruction. Wilhelm would have a fucking seizure if he learned that his beloved not-grandson was being forced to die repeatedly in order to keep his loved ones safe. And he’d probably have a really horrible reaction to the idea that some of those loved ones were straight up RESPONSIBLE for some of those deaths. This is the man who spent 14 years hunting the White Whale, he’s second only to Otto when it comes to revenge schemes (and even then it’s debatable who comes out on top over there).

Ferris, though, gets it hands-DOWN the worst. First reason is that the fact that he would almost certainly have the absolute worst reaction to the PREMISE of Return By Death out of the entire cast (due to his strong value of life and pride as a healer) is — often completely glossed over. This is the same guy who grieved suicidal Witch Cultists, was referenced as one of the two bleeding hearts of the Witch Cult elimination squad (the other being Subaru), who (in the LN) had what sure looks like a breakdown at the idea that Subaru wanted to die during that one Arc 3 loop where he went into shock, to the point where Crusch had to step in and speak (even joke) on his behalf as he basically sat in the corner with his head in his hands, cursing Subaru for not valuing his own life. If Ferris ever finds out about RBD he’s gonna fucking kill himself. But then, on top of that, he so often gets reduced to this — purely antagonistic force that just hates Subaru for no reason, who needs to learn to respect Subaru as a hero for his sacrifices, in a way that just — not only is kinda mean spirited, but completely glosses over some of the most fascinating parts of his character.

Also — I feel like a lot of these fics have the characters reacting like Subaru is an anime character to them rather than their friend, if that makes sense. Like, some of the reactions we see end up being like…the typical fan reaction to scenes? Instead of how someone would react if that were a Real Person up there doing that shit. Rem, in particular, is cut WAAAAY too much slack in most react fics, with everyone pretty much losing their anger towards her after hearing her tragic backstory and then glossing over everything she does in Memory Snow and Arc 3 with “Hah, that’s cute.” Like — I’m sorry, I think there should be a bit of a reaction to the revelation that the person who tortured Subaru for HOURS on end spent the next month sneaking into his room to watch him while he slept, following him around constantly, and enabling all of his bad behavior (which is now very obviously just a collection of trauma responses) like the world’s most dedicated Yes man (with the singular exception being the “From Zero” speech). Also, so much of what she does to him pre-Gluttony is just — horrible? And would be seen as such by the other characters, who do not have the same sense of naïveté/love of waifus/lack of self-preservation instincts that Subaru does to prevent him from seeing Rem for the danger that she is.

And well — I don’t think there’s enough consideration given to the fact that, most of the time, these characters already know how things are going to end, since they have their own memories to use for reference. Most of the time, they already KNOW whether Subaru is gonna survive or not, and that should impact how they respond to what they see next.

[googledetective]

Hello there! So as all you drdt fans may know, the creator of drdt dropped a characters playlist where each song correlates with another character. Well, of course, as a natural fangan fan, me and a few buddies on discord have been analyzing the shit out of these songs and I want to present our findings here.

There are a few tracks I won’t be covering (2,13,15&16) because I have no idea who they belong to, and a track (5) I’m not 100% sure on that’s the person they go to, but I’ll give a little context behind my guess. Feel free to debate any of this in the comments. I also got English translations for the songs that are not in English so I’ll be basing my theories off those English translations and if anyone wants them, dm me.

Without further ado, here we go!

(Yes there are going to be DRDT spoilers)

Track 1 (Jotaro’s theme) - Xander

I feel like this has literally been universally agreed on by the fandom, as it just generally describes his fiery personality and the fact he “broke down” when he attempted to kill Teruko. Right after, there are lyrics that say “what’s going on here” and I feel like this could refer to right after Xander stabbed her and he was wondering why he would do that in the first place. I’m not totally convinced on this one but I know most are so I think I’ll stick with the popular opinion :)

Track 3 (RUNAWAY) - Charles

This song definitely symbolizes Charles’s character development that he’s been going through. In the first verse it’s talking about his life beforehand and that he met someone who kind of freed him from his existence (who would be Whit). Then it kinda talks about seeing yourself and changing around bits and pieces of himself. What stood out to me is “redirecting my perfection somewhere else.” In the beginning he acted like he was perfect and above everyone, but as the series progresses he’s using his perfection complex to go and help the group. Last but not least, I think the chorus is kind of talking about his trauma and restrictions and that he needs to let them go, and Whit was like that divine intervention to help him face forward and push through his problems rather than just be stuck in fear. I know a lot of people will disagree and say his track is track 5, but since I don’t see any ships with him canonically confirmed (or any ships at all confirmed) I feel a lot of doubt toward putting anyone on track 5 just because we don’t know about who likes who or anything yet.

Track 4 (Cartoons) - Rose

I honestly think that everyone is onboard with the fact that this is Rose. I mean it talks a lot a about art, and the fact she expresses a lot of what she feels through art. Her art is connected to her visions and emotions, as seen through the seen with her and Teruko where she painted Teruko’s death since she couldn’t stop seeing it. Rose is also bad at communication, and the song talks a lot about communicating through art, and she does that as many others do. This one was probably one of the more self explanatory ones but I wanted to write about it anyway!

Track 6 (A Mistaken Belief of Love) - Eden

Again I feel this is a bit of a stretch, but I’ll try to explain my reasoning as best as I can. Throughout the series we’ve seen a pattern with Eden, as she goes and tries her we best to befriend someone and they end up disliking her. This song is about a sweet person who realizes someone doesn’t love them anymore, but keeps persisting for love from them. This is what Eden has been doing throughout the series, an example would be Teruko. Eden has bent over backwards to try and be nice to her and gain her trust, and despite Teruko telling her to leave and treating Eden like absolute dog shit, Eden stays even though her heart is broken and keeps trying. I love Eden :(

Track 7 (Spring Storm) - David

I just want to clarify before I start this one that I used an unofficial English translation of the song, since it was the only English translation I could find. The same applies to tracks 11 & 13.

This song is clearly about someone who is angry with the world and acts like an asshole because of that anger. That’s essentially what David is doing since ep11 of ch2, is he’s putting on an act and suddenly calling out people for hypocrisy and purposefully hurting their feelings. It’s implied this isn’t the true David Chiem either, and in the song it hints at this person just wants to be accepted and loved, but they can’t reach that because everything is always letting them down. That’s coincidentally my take on David’s backstory (for now) and it would make a lot of sense if this is his song-

Track 8 (YES MAN) - Teruko

It was very easy to find a translation of this song, and once you even see the first line of these lyrics it SCREAMS Teruko. The song is about doubting everyone around you, and mocking the world because of it which is literally ch2 Teruko in a nutshell. The “Undead!” chorus likely references the fact that Teruko can’t die and didn’t die after Xander’s murder attempt. The only part that’s making me doubt that this is Teruko’s song is that “Your heart is all I ever need”, which could allude to the fact she really liked Xander but I’m not super sure.

Track 9 - Min

This song is so Min. It’s literally about school and the pressure it puts on you, and Min is the ultimate student. Through the years it wears you down, and Min barely even smiled throughout the series unless she wasn’t focusing on studying. There was mentions about marks (grades) and habitual things, like Min’s huge focus on her grades and the fact she studies constantly. The lyrics are just so Min. It is literally Min. This is one of the one I’m most confident on. I love Min!

Track 10 (Drawing Pins) - Nico

I thought about this a bit, but I saw another theory on tumblr that agreed that this is Nico’s song and explained it more wonderfully than I did. This person is @huesofvioletandpurple and I recommend checking their theories out!

In a nutshell the person in this song feels like they don’t belong and they don’t know what they did to hurt someone’s feelings. This alludes to the fact Nico is a theyboss (nonbinary) person and was ridiculed for their identity, and the second part to when they pissed of Ace and Ace kept antagonizing them.

Track 11 - Hu

(TW: SUICIDAL IDEATION)

I got English lyrics for this! It took a while but pls dm me if you’d like them! To sum the song up, it’s about a person who is suicidal but is still trying to persist and be as good of a person as they can possibly be. With most of the secrets out, I’m on the side that the three attempts secret is Hu’s since I can’t see any of the other ones being hers. When the secrets come out, it will be likely that this song correlates to the person who has the three attempts secret. This is really just a very unsure theory, but with the way it describes the person just wants to help and be good in the song I can really only think that this is Hu’s song.

Track 12 (Tip Toes) - Arturo

The song is about thinking about leaving their bad past behind to accomplish their dreams. This song screams Arturo especially after his secret came out. He had to leave and he didn’t know his sister would do that. He’s probably fighting an internal war against himself with logic (that it isn’t his fault) and emotion (that it was his fault) and that is a huge point shown later in the song. I feel once we get more of his backstory or more Arturo screen time this will further prove that this is his song. This is the song and character pairing that I’m most confident in.

Track 14 (Spitfire) - Ace

Last but not least, we’ve got Ace Markey for Spitfire. This might be the most self explanatory one. The lyrics are basically “I spit fire” and “if I was in WW2 they’d call me spitfire” which probably alludes to Ace’s anger problems and the fact he can’t stop running his mouth and yelling at people when he’s angry. That’s it, that’s the theory.

Thank y’all for reading this and I’m sorry it ran long and I didn’t have great explanations, but if you are interested there are way better theories people have on here than what I wrote 😭

And if you haven’t and you’re interested please please please listen to the songs! If you need any English lyrics to any of the songs please dm me and I’ll send them over! Thanks everyone!

[ptergwen]

hi I saw your requests were open if there not anymore you can completely ignore this :). but could you do a boyfriend!peter x reader where he loves it when reader gives him those little kisses on his nose and freckles with head scratches please. feel free to change or completely ignore this <3

thousands of tiny stars

pretend i haven’t used this

warnings: a couple suggestive jokes but the rest is just floofy fluff

a/n: i got carried away as per usual and i did end up changing it a tiny bit :/ emphasis on tiny tho lmfhsjfh you’ll see ! either way i hope you enjoy mwah

-

one thing about peter is that he absolutely can’t sit still under any given circumstances. he’s restless, like a burning ball of energy that’s brightness never dims.

because of this, he tries to and needs to keep himself occupied and be kept occupied every second of every day.

it’s sometimes playing with his fingers or your own, which peter prefers because he gets to hold your hand. other times, it’s tapping his favorite pink glitter pen relentlessly against the kitchen table while he conjures up homework answers.

aunt may isn’t very fond of that one.

this time, it’s constantly shuffling about the couch in the name of finding comfort.

peter starts off with an arm around your shoulders and a content grin on his face. you two agreed on mean girls for the first movie of your marathon, your head resting against peter’s chest as the tv steals your attention.

a few minutes in, peter decides he feels like being held rather than holding you. he sneaks his way down your body, lets himself nudge your thighs to wordlessly communicate what he wants. you of course oblige and switch positions accordingly.

peter lays his head in your lap, taking the opportunity to stare up at you instead of at the screen.

he finds himself shifting around again not too much later. now laying on the couch’s armrest on his side, he kicks his feet into your lap where his head just was.

you’re becoming slightly annoyed with his fidgeting. his explanations of sorry, just trying to get comfortable and innocent smiles are what stop you from complaining.

“that’s strike three, parker,” you joke, eyes leaving the movie to fix on him. peter crosses his arms over his chest. “i dunno what you’re talking about, y/l/n,” he insists. “i haven’t done anything remotely strike-worthy so far this evening.”

flicking his sock clad foot, you mutter your response. “debatable.” peter dismisses you with a huff. “whatever. c’mere… i miss you.” he makes grabby hands for you, like the big baby he is.

it’s quite endearing, though.

“i’m right here, pete,” you laugh out and return your gaze to mean girls. “and yet, you’re so far,” peter counters. “come gimme cuddles.”

you sigh lightheartedly, your ever so clingy boyfriend still reaching out for you. a smirk pulls at your lips.

“well, there’s an offer i can’t refuse.”

peter adjusts so he’s sitting criss cross, bouncing excitedly in his spot. his chocolate brown curls fall in all directions, form being swallowed by an oversized stark industries hoodie that he keeps having to roll up the sleeves of.

he looks so soft and snuggly in anticipation of your cuddle session. you can’t believe you were ever annoyed at him.

slightly annoyed.

he’s so eager that when you scoot the tiniest bit towards him, he literally pulls you into his lap. peter’s arms hug you around your lower back, you laughing quietly as he peppers a trail of kisses from your cheek to the side of your neck.

the movie long forgotten about, you wind your arms around his neck and tilt your chin up.

“pete?” you breathe out. peter pecks your cheek once more, then your other, beaming. “yeah, babe?” he wonders. with a half serious half teasing glare, you wonder, “are you comfy now?”

peter ponders your question, and from the skeptical furrowing of his eyebrows and biting of his lip, you have your answer. he’s about to make you regret asking.

it seems that as soon as you settle, peter gets antsy.

“uh, actually…” he strokes his thumb along the underside of your chin, smiling apologetically. “you mind if we lie down? ‘m kinda tired.” there it is. you roll your eyes. “how could you not be? you’ve been playing musical chairs all night.”

your words earn a chuckle from peter, though they’re at his expense. “this’ll be the last round, promise,” peter swears and seals the deal with a kiss to your chin, which is currently grasped between his fingers.

you know it won’t be. the game goes on forever with peter, unless you end it yourself.

“damn right, bug boy. move another inch after this and you can consider your cuddle privileges revoked,” you grumble, getting off of peter’s lap. he stares at you in pure horror, gasping. “you wouldn’t…” “i would,” you correct him.

not aiming to test that theory, peter quickly fumbles around and lays flat against the cushions. he wills himself to be stiff as a board. you seem satisfied with that, climbing on top of him with your face hovering above his.

peter sets his hands on your hips, grip strong. he closes the space between you both with a short kiss. you reciprocate and deepen it, turning short to long as your parted lips slot with his. his tongue darts out, already skimming over your bottom lip for more access.

you hum into his mouth and allow his tongue to slide in. peter kisses you so tenderly as he rubs circles on your hips, your fingers tangling in his locks simultaneously. you weave them up to his roots, using your nails to gently scratch at his scalp just the way he likes. he breaks the kiss to let out a noise close to a moan.

“that- that… oh, god yeah,” peter praises, his eyes fluttering closed. you’re amused at how easily pleased he is. “don’t cream your pants yet, pete. i’m just getting started,” you purr. peter squeezes your hips in response. “feels better than an orgasm, babe. i’m serious, too,” he murmurs.

you continue your handiwork in his hair and lean in for another kiss. peter merely pecks your lips before jerking away.

“wait, hold that thought,” he exhales a breathy laugh. “i gotta pee.”

he has to be kidding. again with this?

“oh no, you don’t,” you deadpan, pushing against his shoulders to hold him down. “oh yes, i do,” peter retorts. “let me go, y/n/n.”

peter could definitely slither out from underneath you if he truly wanted to. he has super strength, so the might of his teenage girlfriend doesn’t quite compare.

pinning him in place, you straddle his waist. “nope, you’re gonna stay. i’m not giving you a choice in the matter.” peter attempts to pry you off of him, but you won’t budge. “y/n, my bladder is gonna explode-“

he cuts himself off with a giggle when your lips begin to attack him. you kiss down the bridge of his nose lightly, peck each freckle dotting his skin, and the amount of them is infinite. peter’s fit of giggles continues as you smooch that pretty face of his, his cheeks dusted pink and hands coming up to support you by your sides.

he’s always been a little insecure about his freckles. they don’t suit him, there are too many of them, blah blah blah. you obviously couldn’t disagree more. you think they’re sick.

you’d once even told him they look like thousands of tiny stars, and peter does love stars. he also loves the kisses you tend to randomly surprise him with to remind him to appreciate his freckles the same way you do.

“okay, okay! i’ll stay!” peter concedes, you ruffling his hair and pressing a final kiss to the tip of his nose. he grins despite himself, and secretly wishes you wouldn’t stop. “but, if my kidneys fail… it’s on you.”

you pat his chest definitively.

“good thing you’re a fast healer.”

[nothorses]

I'm one of those people who eventually wormed their way out of the TERFs and it wasn't the people online arguing who did it. They lock down pretty hard on keeping you from reading disagreeing opinions that make sense, and function very similarly to religious fanatics. The only way to un-TERF a TERF is for them to begin respecting trans people as people, and that's probably not going to happen from a debate online. I 100% recommend blocking, ignoring, and looking for positivity elsewhere to keep your mind off it.

Yes, absolutely!

There are a lot of resources on deprogramming/deradicalizing folks who get sucked into high-control, highly radical groups like that- super helpful to look into, but even if you don't, know that step 1 is usually that the person doing the deprogramming/deradicalizing in the first place is perceived as a friend and ally. If you're already The Enemy, it's not gonna happen.

(Also sidenote but anon, if you'd ever be interested, I would love to pick your brain a little about your experiences getting sucked in and/or how you found your way out! This stuff is super interesting to me, and super useful to know, imo. Feel free to reach out over asks or DMs! throwaway anonymous blogs are also acceptable.)

[theregoesmylurkerstatus]

So... I have a lot of thoughts on the finale. I've deliberately kept my mouth shut, more or less, on the campaign overall because I'm a firm believer that you can't pass judgement -- at least not complete judgement -- on stories until they're over and done with.

Well, it's done! Kind of crazy. I've been watching Critical Role with almost insane consistency, viewing almost every single episode live, with maybe five-ish exceptions, since episode 19, and I've been blogging it for, what, two and a half years?

It's a weird feeling. It's been such a constant thing for me that I'm always gonna have love for it and remember with a lot of fondness.

...Which is in spite of the fact that I can now comfortably say I'm pretty eh on the ending. I know not being positive about something most of us have loved a lot for a very long time can sting a bit, but I personally think it also stings when people relentlessly crow over how good they think it is or want it to be, to the point where you feel you can't voice your absolutely valid upsets or dissatisfactions. So, here goes, if anyone's interested! I'd be curious to see other opinions, too!

I actually drafted a post talking about my overall frustrations with the campaign a whole two weeks ago, and then scrapped most of it when 140 blew me out of the water. I was really touched, and really happy. I hadn't expected it, but it shockingly felt right, you know?

Unfortunately 141 robbed me of most of that satisfaction and brought me right back to neutral.

The blanket statement you have to make, of course, is that you can’t criticise this as a DnD game, and you can’t be mad at the cast for playing it in a way they think is best for them. They’re the players, Matt’s the DM, and in the end it makes no sense for them to try to make themselves act how they think the audience wants them to, and I’m sure most of the audience wouldn’t like the result anyway.

That said, there is an audience. And that’s where I see this clash coming in. As a DnD game, as long as the players and DM have all enjoyed it and been satisfied, it’s a successful game! But for us, it’s not a DnD game. For us, we’re watching a story be written in real time through the medium of an RPG. And while as a DnD game you can’t fault it, as a piece of media, I completely get why the way things have gone has sat weirdly for a lot of people.

It's not satisfying to see so many character hooks dealt with so quickly or left as an offscreen "and then you do it." If they don't want to keep playing to dive into it, absolutely, but for us who have been watching this as a story with all these character elements get so built up, it's a huge anti-climax.

Which is a lot of what this campaign has been, really.

Oh, Nott’s cursed! But through a really cool character moment that problem is completely taken care of with no consequences we see. Yay, I want her to be Veth and that was an iconic move from Jester! Still, it kind of feels like this was built up to be a big problem and at the first success it was let go... Caleb's got a really intense frightening past he tries to hide, I wonder how the Mighty Nein will respond? Oh, they found out, but it's not a difficult revelation for anyone. Looks like it's easy for them to move past it and forgive. Yeah, that's healthiest for the characters, but huh, kinda undercuts it as a storyline or point of interest. Oooh, Avantika’s back! Ah, they’ve killed her and grabbed the eye again. I mean I don’t want them to die or for Uk’otoa to be free, but I’m starting to feel like that’s not much of a threat anyway. The Traveler’s been kidnapped! Nah he hasn’t, he tried to save Jester so he was let go with no further issue, and also he wasn’t actually in any danger anyway. Oh... Cool. So... Why should I care or be worried?

And these are just the biggest ones I remember being kind of let down by. I wanted to see them STRUGGLE for the successes to have meaning. To my view, threats of failure -- real failure -- really decreased the more the campaign went on, with a few exceptions.

Because don't get me wrong, we've definitely had struggles, and those have made for some of the best moments! Molly’s death, Yasha’s kidnapping, Yeza’s imprisonment. When failures that were threatened are allowed to occur, it’s far more gratifying when it’s followed by success, because you understand that that success was actually necessary. It shows us that what they do really means something.

Honestly, that's why the final battle really shut me up, because nothing makes you quite feel stakes and failure like having two PCs die, and having a resurrection ritual fail -- AND knowing that failure would be delivered on, had it not been for a seemingly miraculous roll of the dice to turn it around. One of the greatest failure's -- Molly's death -- made the success of his resurrection put a lot of my other issues to rest immediately, because to be honest? Molly's resurrection was the biggest success of the campaign, exactly because it was originally the biggest failure.

But this episode, we got to see the other side of making threats and successes feel disappointing -- when you get the impression that success was robbed from you. Again, their characters, their choices, but to have them roll an intervention to get Molly's soul, to convince Molly to come back with his own possessions they've so loved, after so long and so many struggles... only to apparently not get Molly at all?

Changed, of course. Memories, maybe he'd never get them back, though that seems inconsistent to how the initial resurrection was played and Matt's hints. It even makes sense that not having his memories and being a bit different, he might forge a new identity, but insisting Molly was a different person entirely after such a supposed hard won success to get Molly back, especially after what his death meant to the audience and potentially healing that old wound? It robs the narrative of a LOT of catharsis, at least for me and I know many others.

Trent, too, I'm very up and down on. He was so built up -- and what fun that build up had -- and I very much disagreed with the idea that the best story would be dealing with him offscreen.

It's true that you don’t need to explicitly address, confront, or explore every big aspect of character's story hooks and background ties for PCs to move past them and grow healthily. But that does not make it a satisfying viewing experience. People quietly healing in real life is healthy. People quietly healing in an explosive fantasy setting is frustrating for the audience.

What on earth is the point of a story if you don’t get to SEE THE ESTABLISHED CONFLICTS go anywhere? A lot of the characters got distant, quiet resolutions, if that, to everything we wanted to see.

Except, we did get to see Trent. It was a really fun, inventive battle, from opening to conclusion, but much like Travelercon, much like Nott's/Veth's problem with the hag, these were things that the audience in general wanted to see be really dug into and explored, and every single one of them got, in my opinion, quickly tidied up instead. Trent got beaten in the first and only proper battle they had with him, which, after all his build up, is pretty disappointing for a villain many of us wanted to see be a big deal. It really just felt like they were trying to tidy up to get on with the epilogue, which is not what a lot of us were looking for with Trent especially.

And that's how most of their endings felt to me. It didn't feel like any of them had reached a comfortable conclusion. Literally all of them, bar Veth and Caduceus, continued on their character journey threads, without each other and very quickly. Meeting Yasha's tribe and Vandran, Caleb finally openly debating changing time for his parents, Trent and Zeenoth's trials and the changing of the guard at the Assembly... All were things it would have been so fun to have all the PCs react to and explore together, and instead they were fleeting encounters in the latter half of a seven hour finale.

Is all this, from Molly not really coming back to Trent being a finale side plot to the Nein continuing on their individual journeys, potentially realistic to how these fantastical things might go down in real life? Sure! But that's not necessarily a good thing.

Stories THRIVE on conflict and resolution. That’s what makes them FUN! Conflict isn’t nearly so fun in real life and resolutions are often frustrating question marks, so no, past a certain point I don’t WANT stories to be realistic. I want stories to be SATISFYING.

And campaign 2 has fallen far short of the mark.

I haven’t spoken... Basically a word of this for most of the campaign, because as I said I’m a firm believer that you can’t necessarily judge something until it’s over, and because I ALSO firmly believe that being negative WHILE trying to enjoy something is counterproductive. I have had no interest in spoiling or naysaying the fun of the campaign for anyone, least of all myself.

But it's done now, and all I can say is... I really have had fun. I love the characters. I love their relationships. I’m pretty okay with where they’ve ended up. I’m not mad, really, and I’m still going to think of this campaign with a lot of affection. But it hasn’t been a satisfying story, even though for a week following episode 140 I thought, despite all the brushed over story threads, it might be.

So... to try and reclaim some of that satisfaction for myself, I might ignore some aspects of the finale proper. Namely Kingsley specifically. Taliesin's choice -- but to me, it's pretty clear that who we saw at the end of 140 was Molly, and the tags on my posts will reflect that, just as my 141 tags will be for both Kingsley and Molly, for clarity's sake. I personally want to believe Molly did come back, however others might want to interpret it. The victory in 140 that meant so much to me is hollow otherwise, and it just kind of hurts that we would lose Molly after everything. I was okay with him being dead -- I'm not so okay with his resurrection being stolen.

Kingsley will always be canon, but Molly is what I choose to acknowledge. I get if you don't like that take, and that's okay! I didn't care for canon's in the end. That's the good thing about storytelling, is that no one can stop you from making your own versions.

For the people who are hopefully hyped for campaign 3, heck yeah have fun! I’m on the fence. My investment, which... I think I can objectively say was pretty substantive as this blog will attest, doesn't feel rewarded, so I’m not convinced I can faithfully keep up for over three years all over again with a strong possibility that I will once again be left disappointed. It's been a huge chunk of my life, and... yeah!

I’ll take a break, probably, view (and liveblog, if people want!) campaign 1 when I’ve had a mental stretch and vacation, and then... I might start campaign 3. I definitely won’t be able to put the same time in it I did campaign 2 (my first love no matter what), knowing that it’s likely to not be so vindicated, in the end.

I swear I’m actually writing this in fairly good humour, but I totally get its always disappointing when the people you come to for fandom enjoyment just aren't sharing your fun. Honestly I’m half tempted to write all those frigging AUs I have sitting around! But I wanted to say my piece, and try and logically outline why this ending has been lacklustre for so many people, ultimately myself included.

Episode 140 felt right because it felt like a natural conclusion -- these disparate people coming together and finally being whole, finally soothing the hurt that MADE them so long ago. Episode 141 spat on that sentiment -- they all scattered to the winds, not as happy people to live out their dreams, but as confused people chasing up loose threads towards an unknown future, with the friend they thought returned still lost to them, ultimately.

It doesn't feel like the ending we should have gotten for the Mighty Nine, who were finally, finally all together. Until they weren't. So to me? I choose to acknowledge that they were, even if I have to force it to happen post-epilogue in my head.

[unhealthyfanobsession]

Omg I love all your drabbles they are so amazing and brilliant I can’t believe you do that for free! What a blessing you are!! I was wondering whether there would be a part four to the vacation au and if not could you do maybe more jealous Cassian but in your lawyer au I’m obsessed but honestly anything you write has me happy!

This is so sweet I am so glad you’re loving the drabbles! I did a second part to the vacation AU a couple days ago so I’m going to go with Jealous Cassian in the lawyer AU. I already *kind* of did this but I’ve been doing jealousy light lately and this time we are cranking it up to 100. This one is kinda long and pretty angsty and I think I definitely need to smoosh all these lawyer drabbles into a mini story that follows Nessian from meeting while studying for the bar exam and then through snippets of their careers so maybe that’s what I’ll do next.

Actually facing Nesta in court was an extreme rarity. All of her non pro Bono work was strictly solicitor. Drafting contracts and negotiating deals in different chic board rooms with little glass bottles of Perrier and complimentary latte carts trolling the halls.

Nesta thought that she didn’t want to litigate. She thought that people didn’t like her and because of that she was a bad advocate. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Watching Nesta fight for something that she believed in, truly believed in, was the closest thing to a religious experience Cassian had ever known.

“And I would urge you to consider in your decision, your honour, the fact that even if it should apply in this case, the very law my learned friend is attempting to uphold is currently under review by the Supreme Court and may soon be overturned on the basis of being unconstitutional as well as unconscionable.” Nesta took a pregnant pause.

“If that happens. If this law is overturned, as you well know, it will not be retroactively helpful to my client. My client who was born here. My client who grew up in Queens. My client who can draw you a map of which bodegas has the best coffee vs the best sandwiches and their proximity to the nearest train, and if that doesn’t qualify her as an American, and a New Yorker, then I don’t know what does.” The judge smiled a little at that. It was a calculated risk, the emotional appeal. But Judge Miluski was already on Nesta’s side and she was a born and bread New Yorker and she had the rare distinction of being a member of the judiciary with a sense of humour. “If this law is overturned, which we both know is highly likely, then my client will be sent to another country, a country she has never even been to, not because she did anything wrong, but because this trial happened a few weeks too-”

Nesta trailed off, eyes caught at the quietly opening gallery door. A man stepped in. Tall and thin and… greasy. Hair slicked back with so much product Cassian didn’t think he’d feel it if he hit him on the head with a hammer. Which he desperately wanted to do. That brutish, violent, raised in foster homes in Harlem side of him that even a legal education and a closet full of Armani suits could never quite polish out of him lit on fire at the sight of this creep. This asshole who was wearing fucking asics with his $4000 suit. And no tie. Top three buttons of a pinstripe white shirt unbuttoned. What a fucking rube.

Except that this guy. THIS fucking guy, made Nesta lose her train of thought. This guy who walked into court late and had yet to drag his eyes up from Nesta’s ass, had distracted her. Caused her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and smile a little. This shy, light, cutesy little smile that absolutely did not belong on Nesta Archeron’s face.

When Nesta smiled it was a sly, knowing, victorious thing that curled across her lips and set Cassian’s heart hammering in his chest.

This… this was insanity.

The man smirked, deep and arrogant, as he stood at the back of the courtroom, hands slid into his pockets. Not even respectful enough of the proceedings to sit down.

Nesta gathered herself quickly. The whole mess over in under 20 seconds, but Cassian noticed it. Even as Nesta went on and cited the law and the competing jurisprudence and the ethics and the constitution, he couldn’t focus. All he could think about was that little smile.

Cassian said his final piece, the judge ruled, as they both knew she would, in Nesta’s favor, and it was all over.

Nesta didn’t even gloat like she usually would have. She just stuck her hand out, the absolute picture of professionalism, and shook his.

“Good working with you, Counseler.” She said, as if he hadn’t pulled her around the side of a building and pushed her body up against a brick wall the other day, moulding her into him as they fought over this case. Discussed their future. Their passions.

She’d rejected his invitation to dinner, but she always did. It was a part of the game. A game that Cassian was determined to win.

“Who’s the tech bro?” The sneakers with the suit and the unbuttoned shirt and the general shitty attitude all pointed to that being the only reasonable profession.

“Babe,” the slimy man in question pushed past the swinging waist high half door that separated the gallery and the space where counsel’s desks sat. “Let’s go.” He wrapped and arm too tightly around Nesta’s waist and pulled on her a little.

Cassian curled his fists into his palms so hard his nails bit imprints into the skin of his palms. Babe? Telling her when to leave? The pulling? No.

“I’m Cassian.” He held out his hand. “ADA. What firm do you work for? Haven’t seen you around.”

“Tomas.” The man scoffed, “And I’m not a lawyer. Not interested in all that gibberish you’re type is always spewing. Sounds like pure nonsense to me. I’m a tech investor.”

Yeah. That sounded about right. No actual skills. Not an engineer or developer or even a business manager. Just an idiot with a trust fund throwing money at whatever looked cool.

“Well, Tomas. Do you know why they call that big exam full of all that gibberish you hate the bar exam?” The weasel just raised his eyebrows. “It’s because once you pass it, then you are an attorney. And allowed to cross past this BAR.” Cassian pushed Tomas back out the little half door again. “Which separates the civilians in the gallery from the lawyers making their cases. So maybe learn how to show a little respect.” Cassian scoffed, flicking his eyes to Nesta, “In a few different areas of your life.”

“What the fuck, bro?” Tomas rolled his eyes. “This is why I fucking hate going to your lawyer parties and shit. Jackasses like this.”

“Tomas, please.” Nesta placed a hand on his chest, Cassian tensed, and that seemed to calm Tomas down. Not Nesta’s touch, but another man’s jealousy.

“Why don’t you bring the car around. I have to work out a court date for another matter with Cassian but I’ll be right out.”

“Yeah, ok.” Tomas glared, keeping eye contact with Cassian as he kissed Nesta’s cheek, hand travelling too far down her back. “Hurry though.”

“Of course.” Nesta smiled that same tiny little smile that made her look like a doll on a shelf and Cassian wanted to scream.

“What the fuck are you doing with a piece of shit like that?” Cassian minced no words as he turned to face Nesta.

“Excuse me?”

“Pretty straight forward question, Nes.”

“You… you don’t know him. He’s not like that once you get to know him.”

“Sure he’s not,” Cassian scoffed.

“What is your problem?”

“My problem is that your boyfriend, who I’ve never heard of or seen before today despite knowing you for years, had a chance to see you in court. Had a chance to watch you all fired up and passionate and brilliant and instead he walked in late, stared at your ass instead of listening to what you were saying, and then shoved his way up here and pulled at you to leave like you were some kind of toy he didn’t mind tearing the arm off of.”

Nesta blinked. Huffed out a breath. “We’ve been on again off again for a while. That’s why you haven’t seen him before. And he just doesn’t like lawyer stuff that’s why he’s like that in here ok? Not that it’s any of your business.”

“So you’re dating someone who not only doesn’t recognize how brilliant you are but won’t even let you talk about your job?” That was wrong. That was so wrong. That was… why Nesta was so intense with him. Why she debated and fought and talked for hours. Because she couldnt do it at home.

“Why do you even care, Cassian? Let’s just set a date and-”

“Fuck you, Nesta.” Her jaw fell open. “Fuck you for even asking me that. You know why I care. You can’t play dumb with me like I assume you do with him.”

“You don’t know anything about my relationship!” Nesta defended a little too vehemently.

“I know you can’t yell at him about his take on immigration laws,” Cassian stepped closer to her. “I know you can’t get a little tipsy off your favorite Malbec and go on a rambling tirade about the corrupt judiciary and your twenty three- or twenty five depending on the night- reasons why voting for judges completely undermines the integrity of the legal system.”

The was almost no space between them as Cassian looked down, gently set his hand under Nesta’s chin and raised her gaze to meet his. Burning with anger and passion and barely concealed desire. “I know that he didn’t understand why you were crying when RBG died. Because he doesn’t care about how appointing Supreme Court judges works or what that meant for the future of the court. And because I know that you weren’t with him that night. You were with me. Just like election night in 2016. And the Kavanaugh trials. And when the travel ban came into effect. You found me. Because I get it, and I care about your thoughts on all of those things. I’m devastated by them too. You were with me, Nes. And don’t you dare pretend that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does,” Nesta let her cheek sink into his palm. “It means everything Cassian, but…”

“But we fight,” he smiled. “We bicker and yell and cross ideologies and disagree on all the little things. But not the big things, Nes. Never on the big things. We disagree on how to change the world, not what we want to change in it. Isn’t that what matters?”

Nesta swallowed. “I can’t risk losing you.” She said quietly. “I need you. For all of those reasons, I need you to be in my life and if we… I hurt the people I love, Cassian. So if I let myself love you, I would only hurt you. And I can’t bear the thought of hurting you.”

“So you date him.” Realization was an arrow sailing into Cassian’s chest. “Because you won’t hurt him. Because you could never actually love him.”

Nesta swallowed. “See? See how awful I am?”

Cassian moved his hand to her back, pulled her into his chest. “Go,” he whispered. “Go do whatever you need to do. I’ll be here. And I’ll be waiting for you to realize that I’m not going anywhere. That I can take it. Whatever you want to throw at me, I can take it, Nes.”

[c-aureus]

My opinions on the relationship between Link and Zelda in BotW, and why I personally detest romantic BotW Zelink:

A strong title, I am aware. I'm aware of the risk this runs of causing a right shitstorm lol.

I'd like to preface this essay with the disclaimer that all of the following are merely my interpretations. It is completely fine if you disagree with me.

My views are not any more or less valid than anyone else's, and do not invalidate conflicting opinions.

Nevertheless, if you are an avid BotW Zelink shipper who does not wish to hear a great deal of criticism about this pairing, then I suggest you do not read this post.

If, however, you are curious to hear my opinions, then I merely request that you keep an open mind, and be respectful of everyone else's interpretation. I will admit that these interpretations are integral to my characterisations within my fanfic series.

OK, so. Firstly. I do not think that anyone can reasonably argue with the fact that Zelda treats Link AWFULLY in the earlier memories. Indeed, BotW makes a rather large point of showing just some of the ways Zelda mistreats Link.

For context, Link is appointed as Zelda's Royal Guard by her father, the King. It is, therefore, his sworn duty to protect her, and he doesn't really have any say in the matter. But I believe that he would be proud to serve his kingdom in this capacity.

Zelda, however, takes great offence to his presence. She takes out her frustration by constantly belittling and berating Link, (knowing that she will not face repercussions for her mistreatment due to their respective positions) and repeatedly trying to escape his escort, despite the fact that he is there for her safety, and despite his best efforts to be as unobtrusive as possible to her.

And then, when Link finds her, because he is devoted to his duty of protecting her, she berates him again.

For merely doing his job.

What Zelda is showing here is that she holds utter contempt for Link and his duty, and actively tries to make his job, and his life, miserable. I cannot imagine the stress Zelda's constant absconding would have on Link, given that if he fails his duty to keep her safe, it's his arse on the line. Plus the entirety of Hyrule's arse too, given Zelda's destiny that she needs to perform.

We know from Zelda's diary that Link, despite his blank facade, IS hurt by her blatantly hurtful actions, as is completely natural and normal in his circumstances.

Now, to be completely fair, I believe that Link is highly sympathetic to Zelda. He understands why she mistreats him, especially since Urbosa spells it out in her cutscene. He understands that Zelda is in an unenviable position, and that she is taking out her frustration and anger for not being able to live up to her destiny on him.

However, despite this understanding and sympathy, that does not mean that the hurt Zelda has caused him vanishes.

He has an explanation for her behaviour. But it is NOT an excuse.

So anyway. Zelda's behaviour continues until the Gerudo desert. Remember that Zelda fled from Link's protection (again) to go to the Gerudo Town, where Link is not allowed to set foot as a male. After he tracks her down to Vah Naboris (in the dead of night - dude must have been walking all day across a desert to reach her), Zelda's first reaction when she sees him is scorn. I can't imagine how hurtful that must be.

Anyway, the next morning, Zelda ditches him YET AGAIN, making her way across the desert alone.

When she is jumped by Yiga Assassins. Who come within moments of killing (or worse, capturing) her, until Link comes flying out of nowhere to save her.

(On a little side note, some people think this is where Zelda fell in love with him. And really, at this point, Zelda knows nothing about him, since she'd never before given him the time of day. She, at best, has a crush on the concept of a Saviour)

Now, fair play to Zelda in that after this pivotal moment, she changes her attitude and behaviour towards Link, even admitting to her previous faults in her diary. This shows a surprising maturity that contrasts her previous childishness.

However, again, this does not make all of the hurt she caused him just vanish.

Now, over the next months, I believe that Zelda and Link became very close friends. Especially given that Zelda was so starved for relationships. And they come to know each other very well, especially with Zelda sympathising with Link's lack of choice in his own destiny, similar to herself.

However, well... even after this point, Zelda still mistreats Link.

I'm referring primarily to the Frog Cutscene.

Now, to preface this, in this instance, I do not believe that Zelda is behaving maliciously to Link intentionally. I believe that she is trying to tease him.

However, her behaviour is not ideal.

In this cutscene, Link shows extreme discomfort with Zelda's insistence that he eat the live frog. This is especially significant, given his usual stoicness. The fact that Zelda causes this reaction means that he feels extremely strongly about this issue.

However, Zelda keeps insisting and pushing him, effectively taking her teasing too far, and causing Link more discomfort. Because who would want to eat a frog? (No offence to French people).

Now, coming from my own experience of having friends take teasing too far with me, and having unfortunately done the same with other people, I can say with absolute certainty that Zelda's behaviour here is not ok. Especially given Link's very apparent discomfort here.

However, there is also another aspect here that I've never seen anyone else mention.

Namely that, despite Zelda's wishes of friendship, she holds authority over Link, as Princess of the Kingdom.

As a Knight, he is duty bound to follow Zelda's orders and instructions. And one could argue that Zelda's insistence could be viewed in the context of her 'ordering' Link to eat the frog. Of course, I do not believe that this is her intention, but, from Link's perspective, there is definitely cause for reasonable doubt.

Which forces Link into the exceedingly awkward decision of having to refuse what MIGHT be an order from the Princess.

And, especially framed in the context of Zelda's previous immature, unfair behaviour towards him, he doesn't know if his refusal might cause Zelda to get all stroppy with him. Let alone other, more significant consequences that might arise from disobeying his superior.

And I feel sorry for Zelda here, seeing that she wants to view Link as a friend (or potentially more), however she must know that they are both bound by their respective positions at this point. Her behaviour is... inappropriate, and as sorry as I feel for her, that does not change the fact that she's dumping Link in an extraordinarily awkward position, and being very unfair to him.

Because, if Link does take issue with her behaviour, what can he do to stop it? Zelda is the princess, and he has no right to tell her what she can and cannot do.

Now, that is effectively the crux of my argument, however I will also note that I interpret Link to be extremely depressed in BotW, due to how much he has lost, and how he is grieving the deaths of well... everyone he's ever known, many of whom he cannot even remember. He's grieving the death of an entire civilisation, as well as people extremely close to him.

In such circumstances, it would be natural for him to resent the fact that Zelda did not awaken her power sooner, and resent Zelda's decision to have him resurrected, even in spite of him understanding the necessity of it.

Basically, whilst I interpret Link and Zelda to be very close, I am very strongly against the idea that Link would form romantic feelings for her, due to his formative impressions of her being filled with mistreatment and abuse. Whilst I do not doubt that he forgives her, the fact remains that first impressions are important. And Link's first, second, third... (and so on) impressions of Zelda are... unfavourable.

If this happened to me, then, perhaps with a healthy dose of sympathy and understanding, I could come to forgive the one who has mistreated me so extensively, as I believe Link does for Zelda.

However, I do not think that I could ever fall in love with them.

And, whilst this was not meant to involve my interpretations about Miphlink, I will say that during the whole time Zelda was abusing and disrespecting Link, Mipha was nothing but kind, accepting, caring and devoted towards him.

As such, if the sequel explicitly puts Link and Zelda into a romantic relationship, or even just strongly implies it, I will be...

Honestly, I'll be furious. Because this would run so completely contradictory to all of my interpretations about BotW and the characters.

I pray that they write with subtlety and leave reasonable room for interpretation.

Once again, these are only my interpretations. If you wish to add your own, then feel free. I'm all for having a reasonable, respectful and informed debate on the matter. However, please remain respectful of other opinions, whatever your interpretation is.

[quillify-tries-to-talk]

Signs of Abuse in Friendships!

Coming back here to talk about abusive friendships and how they're equally bad as romantic relationships k thnx.

Some of the things in this list might be pretty obvious, but I'm still putting it out there, because a lot of times as teenagers, it escapes us that the people we grew up with can be toxic too. Emotional abuse can be pretty hard to spot and it took me more than 7 years to realize that it was never my fault for being the way I am.

I'm currently with a group of great friends, and here's what I've learnt about friendships that you should expect, and you absolutely deserve:

1. Communication. Being listened to, instead of being the listener all the time. It's fine to be kind and understanding and keep secrets, but everyone has limits. I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that my supposed best friend only reached out to me whenever *she* needed help or *she* had troubles, turning a blind eye to the fact that I was slipping through the cracks too.

With my new friends, it feels freeing and refreshing to discuss problems. Cathartic, because they value my input and sympathize and offer their own experiences and support and affirmations

2. Your alone time being valued. Pretty obvious. I've seen posts about normalizing that sometimes people are busy with their own lives and cannot be at be at their friend's beck and call all the damn time. I learnt this in a surprising way: whenever I had a tendency to drop off the face of the earth to recharge, or didn't want to talk, my friends would take it in a stride. It's a little thing, but it was shocking becaude I was made to believe previously that I had to be available all the time or else I wasn't a good friend. Which leads me to my next point.

3. Opinions and disagreements are healthy. Resolving arguments through debate and negotiation is absolutely fine in friendships. It's an equal partnership. Once again, it hit me in the face with my new friend group when they asked why I kept apologizing for stating my thoughts or if I disagreed for anything we planned. If, even in normal conversations, you feel as if you have to walk on eggshells in the presence of that friend, you have to mind *their* feelings and *their* tragic story, then it's a huge red flag.

For me, it used to be low-level anxiety in the presence of that friend, a feeling that I wasn't really in control of myself, absurd as it sounds.

4. I'm sure you've heard of love-bombing. Happens in romantic relationships a lot, and in platonic ones too. Signs include an influx of attention from the bestie, all happy, cheerful conversation and you finally feeling that "perhaps, this time things will be okay and our friendship will survive." You're happy, and they seem pleased too. And they request your presence over everyone and share their secrets and call you their most trustworthy person. For me, it came in the form of long texts and cheesy memes and a quirky nickname.

It's a trap.

It's really hard to let go of the validation and the feeling of being chosen, being preferred. As humans, we value intimate connections. And as teens struggling to find ourselves in the middle of puberty and hormones, it gets even more difficult to find comfort when everyone is trying to drag you down.

And that's what the toxic friend will take advantage of. Their secrets, their texts, their conversation and constant reaching and burdening you with what has happened to them is draining asf. And it'll hit you the moment they withdraw affection. Eg. No replies to your texts or passive-aggressive, one-word answer that leave you shaken and wondering where you suddenly went wrong. Alternatively, long ass essays on how and why you're absolutely useless to them as a person and hoe others are better and more understanding, or how they don't want your help cause they're strong asf etc.. Please know that it wasn't you. It was them.

For me, this entire ordeal is.... hollowing, ig. It's left me untrusting. Horrified at myself. Angry. Grieving.

5. Lack of trust and isolation + rumour-mongering. There will be times when your supposed bestie will instead side with another person. Believe their testimony for a drama over yours. Shut you out of the conversation when you try to explain yourself. It'll be harrowing and horrifying and it will feel like you failed somewhere. I have a tendency to withdraw during conflict and that's exactly what my abuser wanted. There were rumours about me in 12th grade, under back-breaking pressure for Boards with the added bonus of my supposed bestie's bullshit drama. I needed help so desperately and instead she kicked me back down with little jibes and 'jokes' and feigning ignorance towards my bad mental state, and prioritizing everything in the world except for me.

Oh yeah that's another thing in the allonormative world. Romantic relationships absolutely deprive you of braincells or basic empathy for friends because friendship is apparently lesser.

6. They do not stand up for you. Like I said before, friendships are founded on equal love and trust and communication. It's a two-way thing. I do not mean that you gotta cloister your friend even from their own flaws; I mean that if and when you're being wronged, at the receiving end of something you do not deserve, in a shitty situation, toxic friends usually turn the other way because it does not benefit them.

Case in point, I had to stand alone when the headmistress of my school slut-shamed me in public for the length of my skirt, my apparent uselessness in the Student Council of the school, and my bestie, as Head Girl, didn't say a word in my defense. She said it was for my own good, that I had needed the threatening and shaming to "become better." And guess what, I found a way to rationalize that too :)

7. Your achievements make them extremely jealous.

Look I get it. At some point, we've all felt jealous of our friend even though we love them. Contrary to what some say, jealous is not bad or toxic. It's usually an indicator for an underlying cause, usually a fear or insecurity. It's important to take a step back and work it out properly so it doesn't hinder your judgement.

However, abusers like having the spotlight on themselves. And anything that can topple them off the stage is to be pushed back and out of the way. Either they can offer running commentary on why your achievement isn't a big deal, switch topics to *their* problems to make you feel guilty for being happy about yourself or completely cut you off while being normal to everyone around you.

Case in point, I had another toxic best friend (oof💀) who legit stopped talking to me at some points whenever I scored full marks or a grade higher than her. No prep, no warning. Just lights out. It left me dizzy and reeling and trying to understand what had happened. Now it's left me feeling that I have to fit myself into smaller spaces, dumb down my intellect so I do not hurt another person's feelings.

8. You find yourself making excuses for their appalling behaviour, or not saying anything about your own troubles because you're afraid they'll cut you off or blow up on you. Big red flag. I excused my best friend's behaviour for 3 or 4 years before finding the nerve to completely cut off all communication with her. It's never easy, I assure you.

I forgot the name of the debate tactic, but it's this thing where you state a fact and the person twists the argument slightly to rebuttal and sow chaos. I'll give an irl example.

Me: XYZ character's portrayal was not done well. The author blatantly perpetuated Orientalist stereotypes about South Asia, erased our colonial history in a book critiquing colonization and exoticized the entire thing just like white historians. The character was sexualized as a woc, her history and past erased and she existed solely for the toxic romance with the main lead.

People: so what you're saying 🙄 is that 🙄 she shouldn't be sexy and own her skin 🙄 you know female sexuality is a taboo 🙄 why would you attempt to slut shame the sexy woc 🙄 let her own it 🙄 and stop holding authors in diaspora to a higher standard 🙄 they give us rep 🙄 you're being ungrateful 🙄

Funny thing: it works. The abuser will twists your own issues and make it seem like you're the cause of it. Low mood? Just be happy. Upset at teachers? You must've done something. Low marks? Lol sucks to be you, ig. You're saying *I* did something to hurt you? Actually, I am going through abcdefghi thing right now, and I was always in a bad place and now you're also turning around and hurting me? You're just like them.

they have you trapped. You feel obligated to see their broken, weary soul and help them with it. They've said time and again about how people have hurt them and how you're the only understanding one and that they'll never hurt you again and will always listen to you. It feels special and compelling and it feeds into your self-esteem.

"I am loved."

"I am wanted."

There's big difference between the two statements. Please remember.

Remember that having trauma does not mean you have a free pass to hurt other people. Remember that their trauma absolutely does not give them the right to run hot and cold with you instead of being straightforward about the whole thing.

And as always, if anyone wants to talk, my asks and DMs are open💖

[fruitymimi]

Free Bird 3 - Keigo Takami x Reader

free bird masterlist

endeavor calls keigo to his office to tell him important information and keigo couldn’t be happier.

pairing: keigo takami x GN!reader

warnings: yandere themes, mentions of trauma/abuse

a/n: THIS FINALLY TAKES PLACE IN CURRENT TIME LMAO. sorry this chapter is so short! i wanted to get something out before i got out of my lunch break, part 4 should be out soon!! hopefully today? idk don’t quote me on that but thank you guys for the support! <3

word count: 1676

As ridiculous as it sounds, Keigo still thought of Y/N everyday. He’d never gotten to say goodbye to them, so to Keigo, their relationship never ended! In Keigo’s mind, that was still his soulmate, still his partner, even when they moved to America because of All Might believing they would thrive under a Western hero’s training. Just a bunch of bullshit. 

He saved himself for them. He’d never kissed anyone, never slept with anyone, never thought anyone was as gorgeous as Y/N. To be fair, Keigo didn’t get the “privilege” of being Endeavor’s definition of independent until he was 21. Even if he became a pro long before that. 

But now, Keigo’s life was a little less monitored. He lived in a penthouse, of course Endeavor owned the building it was in. Endeavor always told him certain rules he had to follow, but Keigo always got a bit testy with him by replying with something that was smart-assy. 

Endeavor wasn’t fond of the way Keigo spoke to him most of the time, but now that Keigo was known by the public eye, he couldn’t risk the winged-hero telling the press about the conditions the hero commission had him living in for most of his life, all the mistreatment they tried to mask it by saying, “It’s just hero training!”

And Keigo wasn’t fond of the way Endeavor treated him, but, when Keigo actually thought about it, he had nowhere to go. He didn’t have anywhere to call home. He damn sure wasn’t going back to his parents, hell, he wasn’t even sure if they were alive. 

Countless times he’d thought about what would happen if he ended up asking Endeavor if he could see them just one more time, but Keigo couldn’t bring himself to care enough about their well-being to even consider having the conversation with him. He knew he was supposed to feel bad, but he couldn’t. 

Each time he tried to feel pity for his parents, he remembered that they were lied to by Endeavor & the hero commission and ended up just giving their child up for free, not getting a single paycheck for their kid. It was funny to him. They thought they were going to be filthy rich, but ended up being a couple of nobodies who were now child-less, possibly homeless, possibly deceased, who knows? He wished nothing but guilt onto them, he wanted them to feel what he felt his entire life. 

Endeavor couldn’t deny his feelings, either. It wasn’t many, but there were times where he wanted to pull-out of the deal with Keigo’s parents and let the man live a normal childhood, much like he deserved, but at the end of the day, Endeavor wouldn’t even do that for his own children. Why would he do it for Keigo?

He’d often find himself thinking about this, thinking about how different Keigo would be had he not stepped into his life. That’s how he ended up here, seated on his desk as he waited for Keigo to come knocking at his door. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of something thumping against his office’s window. He turned his head, only to be greeted by Keigo standing at the glass door on the office’s balcony. 

Endeavor looked up at him, startled. “Keigo..” he mumbled, standing up to unlock the glass door. Endeavor blinked as he watched Keigo walk into his office. “Why didn’t you come in through the door?”

Keigo brushed off his jacket, shrugging. “I had a nice lunch, decided that I could work off the calories by flying in.” Keigo said to him, clicking his tongue. Keigo walked over to Endeavor’s desk, sitting down in his big, leather spinny chair.

Endeavor furrowed his brows, closing the door. “Whatever. Takami. You know how I feel about you sitting in my seat—“

“Yeah, yeah. How long have you known me, Number One? I’m here on time, so just tell me what you called me here for. I’m a busy man, I’ve got important things to do.” He spun around in the chair, bending his head back to keep eye contact with Endeavor. 

Endeavor sighed deeply, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Anyways,” he leaned in. He knew what he was about to say was a terrible decision. Of course, it was one made by Endeavor. “Do you remember your training days?”

Keigo blinked, tilting his head. He almost had a look of annoyance. “‘Do you remember your training days?’ Of course I do. Did you think I forgot any of it?” He mocked Endeavor.

Endeavor bit down on his lip. “Well… do you remember Y/N?” Endeavor asked Keigo.

 Oh, boy…

How could Keigo ever forget?

He had multiple videos of them saved on his phone while they were on TV interviews, he kept up with them as if he was their #1 fan… in a way he was? 

Every night he heard about them being on TV, he’d stay up until he couldn’t keep his eyes open just so he could hear their smooth voice. He remembers the night where their hero costume was revealed, he was practically drooling in front of his TV. He’d replay the videos countless times during his night shift, too. He’d have their voice ringing through his airpods while he was on patrol. 

He was so happy for them when they were announced the #3 hero, of course, they were beaming on the screen and Keigo could have sworn he saw a twinkle in their eyes. He remembers them thinking they couldn’t become a top hero with their “stupid quirk”, though Keigo always believed in them and didn’t allow them to talk down about themselves.

He couldn’t go to sleep unless he rewatched at least an hour's worth of content. He could replay them in his head word for word, he never got sick of seeing the same ones, hearing the same stupid podcast. 

He’d listen to their voice to calm down after a hard day at work. He would use them as therapy, as an escape. Keigo would no doubt consume fan content if he wasn’t absolutely disgusted by their fans. They’d sexualize them, speak about them in ways that only he was allowed to. In his mind, Keigo was the only one who was allowed to think of them in that way. 

That wasn’t it, no, no. Keigo would constantly daydream about the day they would be with him. He’d fantasize about what his lips would feel like pressed against their skin, against their—

Keigo stopped spinning in the chair, gripping the armrests. “Yeah. ‘Course. I remember the day you took the love of my life away from me, too.” 

“They weren’t dating you.”

“Just get on with what you were saying, Endeavor. If you’re gonna talk about what you did and why you did it, I’m all ears.” 

Endeavor for once was debating with himself. He had a conversation with All Might about this, and Toshinori of course disagreed with him. 

“Endeavor. All I’m saying is he can’t handle seeing them again. You can’t just let him be the one who shows them around because you’re too busy. Why do you think we’ve avoided this for years?”

“You’re the one who told them they could come back to Japan. I didn’t say that! If they move back, nothing is going to stop that boy from finding them. And that’s. Your. Fault.”

“My fault?! Last time I checked, I didn’t groom Keigo into being a hero. I’m doing my job as Y/N’s mentor. You’re the one who has a track record of being a shitty authority figure.” 

“...Why can’t you help them settle in? They’re your student. Are you not capable of being All Might anymore?”

“Oh, so you’re trying to be funny? You know if I were to do it, I wouldn’t be able to protect them if something happened. You know this, Endeavor.”

“Whatever. He can’t be that mental anymore.” 

Endeavor took in a breath, looking up at Keigo. “They're coming back to Japan. I need you to help them settle in. You know, show them around town, help them move into their new home..”

Endeavor could see Keigo’s wings flutter at the sound of that. He cursed himself for not listening to All Might, but he couldn’t just agree with Toshinori as stubborn as he was. You’d never catch Endeavor agreeing with anything the former number 1 hero had to say. He’s always held too much resentment to allow himself to agree with anything his said. His fragile pride was too strong.

Keigo blinked a couple times, his eyes going wide. “You’re… serious?” Keigo asked him, sinking into the chair. He didn’t know how to feel, his palms got all sweaty and his cheeks grew pink. “Don’t joke with me, Endeavor.”

“I’m not joking. Toshinori can’t do it, if someone targets them, he’d be useless. I’m going to be busy,” doing absolutely nothing, “and you’re the next best hero. So I trust you.” Bad idea. 

Keigo nodded his head. “I can do it! When… When am I gonna see them?” he asked, placing his hands on the desk in front of him.

“Tomorrow. Their flight comes in tomorrow at 12 PM. But Keigo, we need to have a talk.” Endeavor folded his hands on his lap, leaning in to make eye contact with him.

Keigo rolled his eyes, looking at the man. “What? A talk about what? What could we possibly talk about other than their arrival? Unless you’re going to apologize.” Keigo asked him. He just wanted to know more about tomorrow, he didn’t give a shit about whatever Endeavor had to say.

“You know what? Nevermind. Be at the airport by 11 AM, don’t lose them.”

Keigo smiled, standing up from the seat. He straightened his jacket. “I’ll tell you how it goes, Enji.” He said to him, moving onto the window. 

Endeavor watched as the man flew off. 

What has he done?

[shhhlikeme]

THE SEXY

HALL🎃WEEN COSTUME 🎃👻💀🍬 YOU WEAR THAT MAKES YOUR VOLLEYBALL PLAYER GO: 🥵🥺 part 2

Haikyuu!!

Ft. Tendou, Kenma, Daishou, & Aran

Part 1 | Part 2 🩸 Part 3 🩸 Part 4 🩸 Part 5 🩸

Ojiro Aran -

A Pretty AF Princess👑👸

this hubby-material, absolutely perfect creation of a man has a royal kink. It’s not up for debate! 

argue with your mother if you disagree

Not in some crazy cocky sense where he thinks he’s royalty or something...

It’s moreso that he literally sees you as his princess already..... and treats you like it—even though you two have only been on a handful of dates!!! 

Where you wore cute and casual outfits only. 

Sooooo when you’re dressed as how this boy actually sees you....mannnnnnnnn

Aran Ojiro is all: 😦😦‘s and 🥺🥺🥺🥺’s

and a whole lotta 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩’s

Be prepared for him to shower you with compliments and attention, god damn 

At the Olympic Team’s sober bar hop yall go to, Aran’s telling you how beautiful you look and how much a crown on your head suits you every half an hour 

It puts butterflies in your stomach every time.

He’s dressed as a Prince to match you (which you had to beg him to wear because he doesn’t like the attention) and the entire night your new boo thing was treating you so sweetly 

Kissing your hand, holding you bridal style through door frames, bowing to you 🥺🥺🥺🥺 the whole nine yards

The twins, Bokuto, and even Sakusa kept making fun of him for being so simpy

But the man didn’t care lmao! he kept speaking over the boys when they chirped him, yelling at them that they are FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK TO YOUR MAJESTY WITHOUT ROYAL PERMISSION 💀

You couldn’t stop blushing, even though you were shy... you secretly felt like you were on cloud nine by the way he was being with you, honestly 

You thought the dates couldn’t get better but here we are.

“Ojiro..........” You blushed as you watch the guy you’re seeing and falling in love with Oop— press his plump and soft lips to you hand again.

“Hm?” He asks, opening them and looking up at you through his long lashes. He never removed your hand from his lips. You swooned even harder as your heart pounded, looking away. You tried again. 

“Umm.... you’re just being so kind treating me like this all night even though your friends are making fun of you, and you say it’s because I am your Princess but.... you do know that YOU’RE the one that gives off a Royal vibes, right?! Your entire aura and the way you carry yourself—even when I first met you—screams King. Plus everyone says it. That’s why people keep saying how much your costume fits you. You’re Like........” You gave yourself a beat to think. “—-you’re like the kind and gentle Prince who takes over his father’s throne and changes all the mean laws that were there.... then takes the peasant girl for his wife because he only cares about true love. That would totally be you. You’re like, amazing, Ojiro.” 

You were still looking away from your crush when you finished, immediately wanting to sink in a hole caused by utter embarrassment. 

What am I, a damn Disney narrator?🙄, you thought pathetically. 

Aran studied your features when you said all of this, his eyes softening. As soon as you were done speaking, he romantically pressed his lips against your hand again and then brought your hand down between you two, holding it. 

Next, he gently turned your chin with his free hand so that you were facing him, and so that you could see the sincerity in his eyes. 

You whimpered from the intensity you saw there. 

“Y/N,” Ojiro began in his gentle-king voice. 

“I could really go on with a monologue right now about how you carry yourself the same way you just described for me—like a Princess who overtakes her father’s throne and denounces any preexisting closed minded laws, then decides to give the humble baker—that’s me, a shot at a life of euphoria with you...... but I’ll save that for another time....” he paused, and you swore that you would never forgive yourself if the tears you were feeling decided to fall and ruin this moment. 

“No! It’s you, Ojiro. I’m not even close. You’re so perfect and—“ A handsome smirk graced Aran’s handsome face, making your butterflies explode. Somehow looking at that smirk you just knew that he could tell you were holding back tears with everything in you, so, being the modern Prince he is, Aran came to your tear-saving rescue. He lightened the voice, effectively lightening the mood; but his eyes remained just as intense. He chuckled cutely before explaining the reason behind the intensity. 

“Okay well uhh, hey, if you insist on calling me a Prince.... Then... as my first order of duty 👑, I’d like to ask you, my fair maiden, if would consider being so kind as to call this Prince: your new boyfriend? I mean—damn—sorry, did they even use that term back then?!” 

Your heart bursted, practically springing out of your chest:

Not Prince Eric, not Prince Charming and not even Flynn fucking Rider had anything on how amazing this Prince was! 

Your emotions bubbled over, letting out giggles that sounded just like a real Disney Princess’. 

“Yes, Aran!” You exclaimed, lunging forward to hug him. Aran laughed brilliantly, thanking you. 

You just basked yourself in this ending: Not knowing that your “yes” was the beginning..... of your fairytale. 

A/N: shoutout to my upcoming King Aran AU omg I am smitten 🥺🥺🥺

———————————

Kenma Kozume -

Gamer Girl 🕹🔌

When it comes to Halloween costumes.......

You and your boyfriend Kenma are both lazy. 

So when Kuroo called and screamed at both of you because you promised to go to his work’s party tonight, (especially Kenma who would look really good to his superiors) you both reluctantly agreed .... again😑😑😑

While Kenma simply showered, dried his hair and put on your cat ear head band and called it a day, 

You realized that you had to scramble for a presentable costume. Shit. 

You scoured Kenma’s condo since you have been staying here and won’t have time to go home. 

Freaking out because you found shit all, your bf told you that you really don’t have to wear a stupid costume because this party is stupid and Kuroo himself is stupid. 

Speaking of the devil: kenmas phone starting ringing with the Kuroo ringtone, meaning he was calling. 

Kenma tried to ignore it, so you went into his game room to retrieve his phone for him. 

While you looked for his phone near his gaming set up, your eyes fell on your boyfriend’s Professional Gamer headphones. 

You placed his headphones on, fixed your glasses and decided you’d go as a cute gamer girl! 

Kozume followed you in after a while when he didn’t hear you on the phone, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw you. 

“Th-those are my headphones.” Your youtuber says flatly, trying not think about how mind blowingly attractive you look with them on. 🤯🤯🤯

You just pointed at his costume.

“And that’s my kitty headband. What’s your point?” You retorted, winking at him behind your glasses. “I have a costume now: I’m a gamer girl. Do you like it?” 

Cat boy could only nod, his eyes growing dark. He pictured you gaming and it made him suuuuuper turned on. 

You noticed and like the little shit you are, you closed the distance between the two of you and wrapped your arms around his neck. You puckered your lips asking for a kiss. 

Kenma’s cheeks flared up, unable to stop himself from looking down your tight black & white tank top at your boobs. 

In true Kenma style, he ignored your ask for a kiss. 

“Kuroo is probably ou-out-outside, Y-Y/N. We should go.” Obviously flustered, your boyfriend quickly collected his phone from his desk and made a beeline out of his game room. 

You laughed, calling out to him from your place in the room. “I saw your boner, Kenma!”

“Shut up.” You heard your monotone boyfriend call back. You could picture his blush.

You smiled. 

———————————

Daishō Suguru -

Poison Ivy 🧑‍🦰🌿🥀

Your boyfriend is a self proclaimed snake . 🐍 he even recently got one tatted on one side of his chest and it looks AH-MA-ZING

But anyways... like I said: 

Your boyfriend is a self proclaimed snake . 

.....And Snakes like leaves 🍃

Therefore, you dressed as a leaf.

LMAOOOOOOOOOO

After you got all ready, 

You Facetime’d him because he was away at a tournament and you wanted to show him your costume 

When Daishō answered while grocery shopping, he was not prepared. He dropped his phone, picked it up, stared at you in awe, then he quickly hung up on you. 

He didn’t want to sport a boner in the fucking meat aisle so he practically raced to the cash and called you back when he got in his car. Lol

no but fr Daishou went gaga when he saw you dressed as the sexy Poison Ivy

Not only is he a DC > Marvel Enthusiast, but Daishō loooved Poison Ivy because he and the super hero/villain had similar personalities 

Poison Ivy approached DC Universe situations the same way Daishō approached rival volleyball games: with a manipulative sense, a temptress grin, and ultimately being someone no one you can tell whether they are a hero or a villain. 

With all of that to consider, your man wasn’t even thinking about that because he was too busy thinking you look like sex-on-legs 

He stared at your body madddd hard

“Fuck me. I wish I was Clark Kent right now so I had x-ray vision.” He groaned as he covered his free hand over his face, opening his fingers to peek at you. “What are you wearing under those leaves? Anything?!” Your snake-like boyfriend tried to sound stern, but you knew better. 

“Nothing.”

Licking your red lips, you lean toward your laptop so that your boyfriend could see a close up of those red lips.

You saw him instinctively lean closer to the camera and take a deep breath.

“Your Best Friends/Name isn’t picking me up for another hour, Dai. But you and I both know that really means two hours. Anyway, I’ll slip on underwear when she gets here but I was....... sort of hoping you could show Poison Ivy that snake of yours......before then. She hasn’t met him yet🥺.”

In his rush to get back to his hotel for some hot ass web cam sex, Sugaru forgot the groceries in the car.  Oh well ;) 

the extra grocery trip he’d have to take later that night was well worth it. 

———————————

Tendō Satori -

Skeleton Chick w Dope Clown Makeup

“Y/N CHAAAAAAAANNNNN!” 

you cringed and put your hands out in front of you to protect yourself, just in time before your boyfriend Tendou tackled you on the bed you two share 

You expected this, and that’s why you had strategically placed yourself in front of the bed when you finally told your boyfriend you were done your makeup 

3 hours ago, you had a long talk with your red head as he sat down with his legs folded like a kindergarten student: 

“Ten. I love you, but you are NOT ALLOWED back in the room until I’m done my makeup. You’re too loud, and you’re making me shake. I need precision. I promise I’ll call you in when I’m done and have my costume on.” 

Just like a kindergartener student, your boyfriend gave you puppy dog eyes. 

“BUT—“ 

“Ztttt! No buts!” You shut your eyes so that you weren’t looking at his puppy dog eyes that get you every time. “Ten, you can come in as soon as it’s done.” 

You heard him sigh, so you sealed the deal.

“Don’t forget that You’ll be the first to see it, my special boy.” 

“Alright!!!!” Tendou jumped up.

“Please, bring me to the room and shut the door behind you.” Since your eyes were still closed, your boyfriend hummed and linked his arm through yours, doing exactly as you asked. He lead you to your vanity and helped you sit down. 

“I’ll be waiting! Cant wait to see it! I’m going to bake a Halloween cake to waste time!” 

You felt a familiar kiss to the top of your head, then you heard your bedroom door shut. 

God you loved that Chocolatier. 

***

3 hours later, you were questioning why you loved that Chocolatier🙄, because he was crushing you under his weight after tackling you

Your boyfriend quickly rolled off of you and began his chatter. 

This was both of your favourite holidays so Satori has been gushing the entire week 

“OHO, you look awesome, Y/N-chan! When I was young, no one would take Halloween as seriously as I did so they’d say hurtful things behind my back and it made me very sad.....!!! Last year Ushi actually dressed up as the peanut butter to my jelly which was cool, but he didn’t know the words to the song for Karaoke......” His eyes lit up. “But now I have YOU! Someone who loves October 31st as much if not more than me! Oh, and you look beautiful AND scary! How did you do that??? Can you do my makeup like that, my love?! I want to match you! I also want to make love to you..... and—“

You reached over and covered Tendou’s mouth with your index finger. 

This cutie shushed himself, making himself cross eyed because he was now looking down at your finger on his own lips

You laughed. There is so much you could respond to, but thinking about a baby Ten being all excited for Halloween and his stupid bullies making him feel like shit for it tug at your heart strings, disallowing you to say anything else to your brilliant Chocolatier:

“Ten...........I love you. Happy Halloween.” 😌

This time, you hadn’t had enough time to put your arms out before you were tackled by an enamoured Tendou Satori again. 

Who do you want to see react to your Sexy Hall🎃ween Costume next?

Part 3: 4/4 requested - closed 🚫

Part 4: 4/4 requested - closed 🚫

Part 5: (final part): 4/4 - closed 🚫

first come first serve - send me an ask!

Characters that are currently in queue: Iwa, Ukai, Daichi, Oikawa, Mattsun, Kuroo, Kyoutani, Akaashi, Tsukki & Noya.

[forbidding-souda]

hiii can i request hcs for the the sdgr2 girls with a chubby fem s/o pls 👉👈

SDR2 girls with chubby fem S/O

Kisses!! :D definitely xx

-Mod Souda

Hiyoko Saionji

Hugs you like a pillow all the time.

Too often, literally cannot separate from you sometimes.

If you have a sugar tooth, the two of you will debate your favorite candies together.

She gets heated in the argument.

Eventually, you’ll just agree to disagree, which doesn’t satisfy her too much.

Forces you to try to eat all her favorites foods. Will cry if you don’t.

Will cry if you don’t.

Also forces you to come to all of her dances. Not that you mind about that though, as you would have went anyways.

But the idea of you caring for her enough to go on your own free will scares her.

You don’t get made fun of often, because being apart of the class means being a friend to everyone, but Teruteru is the one to always make flirting comments because of your weight.

Hiyoko bops him on the head each time, scolding him to death.

Sometimes, when she thinks you’re sleeping at night, she’ll cry sympathetic tears for you. 

“I’m sorry I can’t stop him,” she whispers, holding you tight. 

Sonia Nevermind

Ironically her pet-name for you is princess.

She’s very cautious about things that can offend you, if anything.

Has a killer death stare when people say insensitive things.

Her favorite thing is having you too match clothes, and she has her own tailor to make you both clothes.

May or may not convince you to wear gothic clothes.

You have to deal with her rants about serial killers, too.

Sometimes she’ll wake you up in the middle of the night like, “I still don’t understand how he got away with it for so long.”

Dangerously in love with you. She’ll surprise you with kisses all the time.

“Surprise smooch!” She calls out, jumping on your back and making you fall over.

Kisses you softly. She’s never aggressive about it. 

For showing off in public, her only issue is if you can learn the dozen of mandatory languages in such short time.

Since you need to be on her intelligence level to be with her, of course!

Almost forgets that you think you’re different from everyone else.

But you’re not! And no one in her kingdom really cares about the way you look, just the way you hold yourself and your devotion to making her happy.

Akane Owari

Worships you in every way.

Holds onto you while she tells you how much she loves you.

Will definitely die for you in every sense of the phrase.

Takes cooking classes with you! She was definitely a mother figure with her siblings, and so cooking with her is the moment you can see her settle down and be stern.

She gets serious about food.

But she’ll eat whatever you make, even if it isn’t too good. 

Defends your honor against people who laugh at you!

And in turn you get to bandage her wounds.

Especially when she butts heads with Nidai.

Which happens a lot.

She’s a hard person to try and wrestle down to give her kisses. She will literally just try and make you chase her.

“Come on! I know you can do it!” She laughs as she literally climbs a building.

Peko Pekoyama

A little nervous about Kuzuryuu finding out she is together with a girl.

But he knows her better than anyone, so she knows that he already knows. 

Especially when he gets you gifts, specifically giving Peko the gifts to give to you.

Like a treaty.

When you both finally meet he pretends like he has never done such a thing.

Peko tries to keep you away from him, though. It’s a dangerous world and she doesn’t want you to be involved in it.

You don’t see her all the often either. But when you do, it’s when she sneaks into your house.

You’ll go downstairs to her reading silently on your couch. 

You’ve literally just gotten used to it.

She steals some of your clothes, too, since they are more comfortable than anything she owns. 

And in summer time, that’s her opportunity to take all of your long sleeves when you won’t wear them. 

Since your clothes are bigger than hers, too, she usually wears them as pajamas. But if her duty is to blend in, then she will 100% wear your clothes.

Mahiru Koizumi

Makes you model for her all the time.

It’s a bit embarrassing for you, since you don’t consider yourself the most qualified.

But she wouldn’t photograph anyone else.

She’s definitely someone who will try and get any immature male to leave your sight!

Especially Kazuichi for some reason.

When she asked you out, you thought it was a joke at first!

Something that embarrasses you is how she brags about dating you.

She’s no ashamed of who she is, or who you are.

Has a thing for giving gifts wrapped up. She would die to reason something with a ribbon on top.

So you’ll give her little lip glosses and bracelets, putting them in a small box and covering them in glitter for her.

It’s in inner joke between you two for you to get down on one knee when you give her these trinkets.

Because you know if it was an actual proposal the box wouldn’t have Sanrio stickers all over it.

Ibuki Mioda

She’s a very sweet person, very sensitive to your emotions, which you didn’t expect when you asked her out.

She also calls you bubblegum all the time!

And cares about your opinion on anything.

Even though she cares a lot, she has absolutely no idea what to say when you are down.

Likes your body a lot ^ it’s easy to huge. 

If you ever say something negative about yourself she’ll just stand there like |

“What are you talking about? I don’t get it?”

Anyways luv she is your number one hype man.

And you hype her up all the time in return, though no matter how much you do, it never feels like enough.

Mikan Tsumiki

She’s a kissy, smoochy, huggy, cuddly person.

Wants to hold your hand every second of the day.

And it’s fun dating a nurse because she always knows what to do.

“You need more sleep, and maybe less stress!”

Even though she knows it’s bad for both of you, she likes hanging out with you in the morning, drinking her coffee, and eating sweets for breakfast.

Her favorite type of date is one where the two of you watch horror movies together!

Comforting you if you get jump scared, no matter how small, makes her feel better about herself.

She prefers old horror movies over newer ones. Some are so cryptid you haven't even heard of them.

Forces you to watch them sometimes.

She just loves experiencing horror movies with you.

Chiaki Nanami

One of the first times you saw her giggle was when she saw how nervous you got when you asked her out.

Your hands were shaking so she held them to calm you down.

She’s always been the calm one. A good listener, too!

Sleeps on your shoulder almost every day. Even in public. It’s hard to wake her up.

You get to listen to her talk about games for hours. 

If you’re ever insecure, she’ll share with you her favorite character designs of characters that are shaped like you.

She can sense whenever you get uncomfortable in front of other people, too.

Somehow she developed that sense. Like a psychic.

And if you’re standing next to her during that situation, she’ll walk in front of you and just continue walking. The sign is to follow her and dip.

An easy way to get out of that situation.

Will not tolerate you talking bad about yourself, no matter if it’s passive-aggressive or not. 

[narrowtriangle33-blog]

Please share this article, it important that you do so. These truths have to be told.

"Bethune’s name appeared in six reports in the House Committee on Un-American Activities and five times in Senate reports on people suspected of communist activity. While she was cleared of any involvement, the message was clear: Confronting racism and white supremacy is un-American."

"This is why white people are my bellwether."

"Whenever I am trying to decide whether or not a particular movement, policy or person benefits Black America, I wait and see what white people think. While that might sound racist, there has never been a movement, policy or person that benefitted Black America who was simultaneously embraced by white America. In this country, a stance against the trauma-inducing brickbat of whiteness is perceived as a stance against America. And anyone who disagrees can feel free to prove me wrong. Name one person who fought for Black liberation who white people agreed with."

"Whenever anyone does anything that includes the word “Black,” it immediately falls under the classification of Marxist and anti-whiteness. White people hate being left out, even though they are acutely aware that there is nothing more valuable in the known universe than a white life. White people will slit a Black baby’s neck for a white woman’s life."

"Let’s just say they will beat a Black baby to a bloody pulp, tie him to an industrial fan with barbed wire and toss his lifeless body off a bridge. Is that better?"

"But I understand why they vilify Black movements with Marxism."

"White people don’t know what Marxism is."

"According to a 1970 Harris Poll, 64 percent of Black Americans had a favorable view of the Panthers, while 92 percent of white Americans had a negative view. It’s probably because a lot of members of the Black Panther were Marxists, which is different from communism. Basically, Marxism is a way to examine history, economics and societies through the lens of class, while communism is actually Marx’s economic and political theory in which...wait. For a second I started to believe that there was some logic to white supremacy."

"White people hated the Panthers because they had guns and pushed for armed self-defense. For some reason, those America-hating negroes believed “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”"

"I have no idea where they got that crazy idea from."

"Black people voting"

"Why white people don’t like it: States’ rights, something something, communism, something something it was a different time."

"When Black people marched on Selma for voting rights, they were called “communists.” The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was called “Un-American.” Of course, the 2020 election was about “socialism” because so many Black people voted."

"Southerners, conservatives and white people, in general, have never pushed for a single law to expand the electorate because they are the only true Americans."

"Critical Race Theory"

"Why white people didn’t like it: Because they don’t know what it is."

"This one is easy."

"The one thing that dumbfounds me about white supremacy is how much white people trust each other. They just trust the explanations for their fellow white people. In all this debate about CRT, I have yet to see one person who opposes CRT who can also explain what CRT is. And many of the legislators who are against funding K-12 teachers who absolutely do not teach CRT are already funding the leaders’ movement, such as Richard Delgado, the professor at state-supported Alabama Law School who wrote a little book called Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. "

"All they know is that it has the word “race” in it, so it must be bad."

"Legislators opposed the Civil Rights Act because it was “Marxist.” The House Committee on Un-American Activities investigated the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for communism. The FBI did, too."

"In a 1964 New York Times survey, a majority of white people said that the “Negro civil rights movement had gone too far,” and a quarter of those people said their resentment was growing. They were right. Two years later, a 1966 Harris Survey, revealed that 85 percent of white respondents thought civil rights demonstrations “hurts the negro.”"

"Apparently, to white people, fighting racism is worse than racism."

"And if you think I’m kidding about white people not thinking Black people were smart, according to the National Opinion Research Center, it was not until 1963 that 50 percent of white people believed “Negroes” were born with the same intelligence as whites."

"History"

"Why white people don’t like it: Because white people might find out about some of the things white people did, which is racist."

"The fight against what politicians have deemed the Marxist, Un-American 1619 Project is actually a fight against teaching the history of slavery more accurately. And it is not new. White people said the same thing about teaching abolition. The United Daughters of the Confederacy said the same thing about the Civil War. White school districts in the North and South said the same thing about Jim Crow. And Black History Month."

"Plus if white kids learn about America’s racist past, they might start saying: “I’m not going to do that again,” and then, what will happen to white people?"

"Martin Luther King Jr."

"Why white people didn’t like him: He was a communist. He was anti-white. He was a Marxist."

"In 1966, a majority of white Americans had a negative opinion of King. When he died in 1968, 75 percent of Americans disapproved of him. Now they love him..."

"Because he’s dead."

"This is why we must never ignore white people."

"While we should never, ever do what white people collectively want, history has shown us that if something is good for Black people, white people will hate it. And if they vilify something as racist, communist or anti-white, you should take a second look because, nine times out of 10, it might be worth considering. When it comes to freedom and equality, the easiest thing to do is to see what white people have to say...

Then do the opposite."

I copied a lot of his article word for word those are Michael Harriot's words not my own.

The word's of people who commented.

"I was asking one of the few people on the Right side of politics I am still in touch with about why he hates CRT, and he sent me a link to a whole essay. It boiled down to a few leaps in logic:"

"1) the USSR used US race relations as a shield to deflect criticism of their own human rights record (“And in the USA, they hang n-words”)"

"2) therefore, any criticism of race relations was caused by Soviet propaganda (not, you know, by actually HANGING BLACK PEOPLE)"

"3) therefore any discussion of race relations was commie propaganda."

"4) therefore, any movement that calls attention to race is communist."

"It’s very similar to how the Communist League fired the original writer of The Communist Manifesto because he brought up ethnic minorities and racism and replaced him with Marx, outright rejecting any factor that so much as complicated their preconceived model. It also shares many of the issues raised in the “grievance studies” affair, being exegesis to elaborate and propound upon a founding scripture."

"That’s the most idiotic line of reasoning I ever heard. It’s so typical of white people as a group in this country that when someone points out some shit they did that’s fucked up that instead of you know, stopping the fucked up thing they basically say that the entity pointing out their fucked up shit is bad therefore bringing up solutions to the fucked up thing they did is wrong."

"Fuck the trolls, but if anyone is actually confused about the likelihood of any white person to trust any other white person over anyone at all who is even POSSIBLY not white, please refresh your memories regarding the multiple instances in the last several years of a Black person being anywhere near a house or building, then being approached by either a white guard, cop, or other self-important deputy of white fragility."

"In these instances, Black people are often believed to be up to no good even after they show ID proving they live in the building some white person has decided they don’t belong in. No amount of proof will have a fragile white self-deputy believing that even state-issued IDs are a real thing and this Black person lives in their own home."

"But when any white person walks by and says “Oh, this is _____, they live here”, immediately, that’s good enough to let this perceived criminal go into their home."

"Because any white stranger vouched in any sort of way."

"Literal evidence of address means nothing, but the word of ANY white person, with no proof of their authority, no hassle about “Well what are YOU doing here?!?”, just...instant belief of any white skin."

"Also, the main difference between Angela Davis and Assata Shakur is that Ms. Davis beat the system at its own game, the “proper” way. Racism couldn’t even beat her at their heavily-rigged game. Ms. Shakur ALSO beat the system, but because she didn’t get to win at a fully-rigged game, she found her own loophole and got out of this racist hellhole."

"Not that it matters, because they’re both the same to any racist. To me, they’re both brilliant heroes."

"If you asked these mouth breathers what they hate about CRT not only could they not tell you, they would call you “the real racist” for asking. There is no winning with these people because they refuse to see themselves as ANYTHING other than the good guys in any situation. It is fucking tiring to deal with this shit and yet they seem to not understand that we are more fucking tired than they are. With each comment, committee and talking point they pretty much prove that no white person could handle being anything other than well, white."

"To admit anything else would result in a reckoning. It will never happen and America will remain a racist society, with white culture pushing back and getting more extreme as each generation of BIPOC become more aware and angry over white supremacy. America will implode and whatever rises from the ashes will either be that reckoning with real change or a third world country."

Again I quoted these people

[nightswithkookmin]

Does Run ep 119 fall into the period of Jikook's romantic separation/distancing you talked about? By hairstyles I think this is the time you marked as being 'not a couple'? Did I get the timelines right? Please dont get mad, but they seemed especially cozy+close this ep, and not just skinship (I know this is a subjective judgement and dif points of view are allowed). Just curious if you still hold to your theory? We see only tiny snapshots of time. Do you ever retrospectively change your mind?

Me right now. lol

Running away before I give in to the temptation to rumble on for pages. Lol.

Ahhh shit! Too late. lol.

First of all, it's not so much that questions like these irk me...

It's just I've never had to worry about being 'right' or 'wrong' in forming an opinion about anything or on any topic in my life.

I think the night is more beautiful than the day. I think both Trump and Biden are trash- but better Biden than Trump. I think formal education is a damn waste of time and money. I think a lot of things. But I've never had to worry about that I could be right or wrong about them.

I never assume, when I read people's opinions too, that they are right or wrong. I either tend to agree with it or disagree with it or get informed by it if I had zero opinion prior. I find it bizarre when people want to be right and stuff- especially in a community that is nothing but a swirling vortex of thoughts and opinions. Lmho.

You either defend your stand and give evidence to support it but even then we are just all making assumptions.

Also questions like these tend to put me in a position where I feel like if I should respond then I am not only 'defending' my opinions but challenging other's opinions with my opinions and treating my opinions as if they were the facts. But they are not. It's just one opinion against another.

Know what I mean?

I used to be comfortable doing that because I thought it was all friendly debates and discourse until someone drew my attention to it and pointed out to me that when I do that I come across as 'all knowy,' 'presenting my opinions as facts' and 'challenging other's opinions with my opinion'- which y'all are well aware is the case that has launched a thousand hate comments, privacy invasion, doxing, lies and operation boycott Goldy on ship street.

I don't think it's worth it.

Then there is the substantive issue: how these questions are framed. How should I put this...

I never said anywhere that Jikook were broken up during the On era because they were not acting 'cozy'. Who's theory is that? Who said that? I've never peddled the 'Jikook is real because of skinship or their interactions' theory. If anything, I try to distinguish between Jikook's couple moments and their skinship or mere interactions because neither of those two make Jikook real... to me.

If Jikook showing skinship and merely interacting with eachother to you is a determining factor as to whether they are real- it's not, to me. I've made this much clear over the course of my blogs. If it's your metric then it differs from mine and I can't 'challenge' it. Lol.

I have said, Jikook can interact zero in a content and I still could be able to tell if they are a couple.

Similarly, two people can grind on eachother and stick their tongues down eachother's throats and I still will be able to tell they are not a couple within the same group if they are not.

Am I wrong sometimes? Absolutely. Hell, I said JK was going to post for Jimin's birthday. He didn't. I got that wrong.

I do retrospectively change my mind on a lot of things. If say, in the future, Jimin announced he has a kid and is married to a het woman I would backpedal on my theory that Jikook is real. I don't think it's that deep.

If at any one point, I have reason to believe Jikook aren't together any more as a couple within BTS, or that one of them is straight, I would change my opinion about them being in a gay relationship with eachother.

Similarly, if I have reason to believe Jikook have broken up or distanced themselves from eachother at one point, I would say so and not run around the internet yelling Jikook gay, Jikook married.

There are moments, when I thought Jikook were together but they weren't and so I had to change my mind in retrospect too.

It seems to me, that to y'all, as long as I'm saying Jikook are together then I'm right and it's Amen preach but if I say I think they are or were not together at a point in their relationship then suddenly it's, she is a Trump supporter spreading lies about Jikook and dancing in the rain with convicted serial killers while trying to pass off her published work as Jikook fanfiction. It's all very interesting how some people's minds work...

For the record, I said Jikook were broken up within that period because they were not claiming eachother, reassuring eachother, exercising rights of claim and authority, speaking eachothers love language and all the other metrics I have time and again pointed out several times across my posts that they are the qualities that to me make Jikook a couple.

So do you see why I feel some kind of way when people come at me with the, 'they stared at eachother' 'they smiled at eachther' they touched eachother' argument? Y'all must have me confused a certain shipper on the block. Lol.

You tell me they look cozy and intimate, but then I go and check and they are still not claiming eachother or exhibiting any of the qualities that makes them a couple. Lol.

If I say Jikook is in a relationship, it's usually because I have reasons to believe they are in a relationship. If I say Jikook are not together, it's also because I have reasons to believe they are not together. It's really not hard maths.

I forego a lot of sleep to ensure I share my thought process on a lot of my theories and opinions. I have shared across several posts why I believe Jikook is real. I have shared a few of the metrics I use to decide on that opinion and I have shared my thought process on why I believe in certain moments they aren't together.

It's exhausting when I have to repeat that process each time because then it's not about you asking for my opinion on the topic anymore because I've already stated that, it's about you asking me to change my opinion on a topic based on your assessment and your metric and it just doesn't work that way.

Your assertion that Run 119 was filmed in the same era as On is valid I guess... but I have to disagree. I can't tell you exactly when that episode was filmed but if I had to share my two cents on it, I'd have to place it towards the middle of April this year or somewhere around that period. In my opinion.

I say that because Jimin debuted his jet black hair around 14th April when he appeared in a Vlive with RM. Again I do not know exactly when he got his hair changed but as of March 26th, he had blondish hair.

In his March 30th Vlive- the one where JK interrupted Jin's call, he had a cap on so chilee I'm not gonna argue on whether he had dyed his hair at that point or not.

Then there is Suga, who has blonde hair in this Run 119 episode. He had blonde hair from his birthday in early March and tweeted a bunch of photos of himself in blonde hair from March through to April 28th.

Yet in the JinMinGi Vlive on April 27th when Jimin still had jet black hair, Suga seemed to have a jet black hair too. Which means he could have had blonde hair around the time Jimin went black in early April and dyed it black in late April- but that's theory and that's just my assumption. We can know for sure if and when knew content is released which was filmed around that period.

Thus, I doubt if it was filmed during On era like episode 116 and 117- where you could see clearly, Jikook were having issues.

Just because a peice of content is released in succession don't mean they were filmed around the same period...

So yes I agree with you, we only see snapshots of their time and most importantly we see them in DISORDER. BigHit doesn't release content in chronological order as per when they film them- something I keep reiterating throughout my blogs.

And just as a tip for when you want to reconstruct the timeline for accuracy based on their hairstyles, I think you should look to their Live contents and not their prerecorded content. Their VLives and Youtube lives- actual lives not the prerecorded ones passed off as live streams lol, or even their live reactions to when they win awards or do interviews etc.

I think those are a somewhat accurate reflection of the timeline and helps fit contents in their right time period. But even that- it's still 60/40. But that's me. Feel free to use your own metric to access the timeline.

And the part about them seeming cozy within- On Era, I assume? Because that's when I speculated they had a break up?

I wasn't going to address it because it requires me to provide a comprehensive reconstruction of the timeline but I can't do that until a few more years from now when BigHit has released all or most of the content they have on that period.

I'm just gonna have to repeat myself, for the n>th time though and be intentionally vague about it lol - I had decided not to talk about that period again but I have to just because you make it sound like I would go full on frying pan wielding JK on your ass, step for step, for pointing out that Jikook seemed cozy and intimate within that speculated breakup period. Chilee, I'm not a villain. Lol.

I will not whoop your ass for saying that- but you'd have to answer a seven page query if you are an avid reader of my blogs, so clear your schedule. It's gonna be a long day. Lol.

Query: How do you expect Jikook to look like and behave if and when they are not together together?

I keep saying, at the bare minimum, Jikook are friends not enemies. You don't expect them to act like they never knew eachother during such times. But it takes a while for them to settle into that space when they both feel comfortable with being friends and during such period is when you notice them putting up emotional boundaries and distance between them.

Maybe its just because I saw Jikook as friends and got used to them as friends before lovers and so spotting when they are acting as friends comes easy to me? I don't know.

I think it's similar to how people who are used to seeing Jikook as friends can't seem to see past their friendship to seeing them as a couple.

Then there are those who've only known Jikook to be a couple or saw them as a couple first upon entering the fandom and so can't seem to see them as friends or even think of them as friends. It can be a trip for such people. Which one are you?

If you see Jikook as lovers all the time, really I don't. And I don't need the tensions and the silences to sense something is off. JK unable to check RM or anyone within the group when they are crossing boundaries with Jimin is enough tell.

Same way I don't need to the skinship and 'cosy' to tell if they are together. Jk putting up emotional distance with certain members within the group- all but Jimin, is enough evidence for me.

We don't have to all see Jikook through the same lens to enjoy them. And we don't have to agree on everything too.

We are different people, with different backgrounds and experiences. We can't think the same or perceive on things the same.

I keep saying, to me, there is a quality to Jikook that makes them more than friends. If I see those qualities in them, I believe they are a couple. If not, they are not. Those are the qualities I see only between Jikook and what set them apart from the other ships in BTS.

I see their friendship and I also see their other stuff.

And I notice, during certain periods that they lose that quality that makes them couples- for them to be a couple they need to be speaking eachothers love language, exercising certain rights and privileges over each other, claiming eachother, reassuring eachother yadda yadda yadda and a whole others that don't include them merely talking to eachother or engaging in skinship.

When I talk about Jikook On Era break up period, I'm talking about the period from the 21st to 28th February this year- or the period right before it.

Thats the period I noticed a drastic change in Jikook's interactions and even their personalities. It gave me the feeling that jikook had been through something heavy prior to that date. That period seemed more like the aftermath of a break up rather than the beginning of it as there seemed to be a drastic flip in their dynamics compared to any era before that. Especially late December or around the period when they filmed Carpool Karaoke.

They weren't doing any of the things I've mentioned above that to me make them a couple- they were just interacting and pretty much being civil- except for JK. He seemed more angry, less tolerant and very assertive against Jimin and the group.

He was being super self assertive and was asserting himself even against Jimin- something he has been doing a lot this year which I keep talking about.

Jimin didn't seem different to me at all to me in that period until April.

Why do I feel you are forcing me to talk about something I don't want to talk about? Lol.

I mark that period as significant not only because of the changes that took place in Jikook's dynamics but because it marks the genesis of the JK we are experiencing today.

Their interactions within that period were reflective of a consistent pattern of behavior they've exhibited around periods when they are not together- JK putting up boundaries, not claiming JM, JM trying to reconnect etc.

For instance, at Music Bank on the 28th of February, Jimin did that thing with Jin when he noticed JK interacting with Tae but JK didn't mind him or claim.

Contrast that with their moment on the 1st March, at Inkigayo, where JK literally teleported his ass to stand behind JM when he noticed JM had started his shenanigans on the stage.

Jikook started claiming eachother and acting as a couple again from then- they started reassuring eachother and doing all these things that to me mark them as a couple. Again, this is only an assumption, I don't have the comprehensive breakdown of the period- yet because there are new contents being released on a daily.

On 6th March, during Music Bank when Hobi hugged Jimin during their interview JK reacted strongly to that too in my opinion.

On 30th March, JK interrupted Jin's call to flirt and ask JM on a date- you could see them acting as a couple from that moment at Inkigayo on 1st March throughout to 30th March and their interactions were consistent.

Their interactions in the period before that was pretty much inconsistent and filled with a lot of Jump cuts- which I'm hoping future contents will help fill the gaps for me so I can build a comprehensive breakdown of that era- at least for my self. Iol.

It's just the way Jikook usually behave after these period. They go through a reconnection phase, where they constantly try reassure eachother and then eventually end up in a honey moon phase of a sort where you'd see them flirting up and down the hills, acting super touchy, hitting the red marks- making us and the others feel weird and super uncomfortable watching them.

It's also important to note that around the period of them reconnecting, JK had started distancing himself from Tae. He puts up emotional boundaries with the others and closes himself off to them when he opens himself up to Jimin.

I mean if I'm 'wrong,' and I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying if I'm wrong because of your two seconds clip of them acting 'cozy,' then I gotta ask what happened to JK in this period? Why was he putting up boundaries between him and Jimin in that period, and what set him on this self assertive path he's been on throughout this year- think about that while I hold on to my he went through a nasty breakup and had an emotional trauma that pushed him on a path to reevaluate and set his priorities straight theory. Lol

I think some of the content they have released so far within that period were filmed either closer to or far from when that break up happened- Run 116 and 117 would be the closest to that period so far- I just don't know if it was before 21st February or after it.

Run 100 and 101 would also have been filmed relatively closer to that period or immediately after it because Jimin was behaving in those Runs the same way he was behaving during the On Comeback Special VLive which was released on 21st of February- I feel the breakup would happened before this date.

In both those Runs and the On comeback special, Jimin seemed beat, humbled and subdued. He was trying to establish eye contact with JK during the comeback VLive, egging him on to talk about his looks, and putting boundaries between him and the other members. He seemed to be on his best behavior.

For instance, in the Comback he seemed like he was walking on eggshells around Kookie and didn't want to create the impression he was going out of his way to flirt with the others or portray himself as available and so when Suga touched his waist or back, he asked him to stop.

Similary, in Runs 100/101 behind scenes or something, when they were eating and he noticed Tae had food residue on his lips, he tried to help him clean it but panicked and stopped the moment he sensedJK lifting his head up- it seemed he didn't want to piss JK off in those two instances. JK for the most part just seemed serious and less tolerant of JM's bs within that period.

Juxtapose JM's behavior in these two instances with the events at Music Bank and Inkigayo where he was hugging Jin and acting extra around Kook- which to me seemed like he was looking for reassurance by trying to get JK to claim him but of course JK didn't do that.

Jimin likes being reassured by JK when he is feeling 'insecure.' And often, JK reassures him when he notices JM going through that. Jimin does the same for JK.

They are intune with eachother's emotional needs and they consciously go out of their way to meet them.

Take the recent MAMA speech moment when JM was giving a speech and he seemed like he need support- emotional support and back up. Jk turn fully and instantly towards him to let him know he was there for him. We've seen Jikook do this a countless times. I value these moments over them showing skinship or screaming eachother's names.

In the recent BE press conference red carpet moment when JM tried it with RM- did you notice JK's reaction? They both seemed like they were trying to piss eachother other off or make each eachother jealous during that red carpet moment.

JM with RM and JK with Jin. JK grabbed Jin's neck when he noticed JM intentionally acting all up close and friendly with his buddy buddy RM and the frown on his face. He didn't seem too amused with JM doing that...

- it's weird, I know, but it's also their way of reassuring eachother and expressing interest in eachother. Don't judge. It's Jikook- just look away, keep it pushing. Nothing to see here. Lol.

Had it not been for the live events around that On period, I probably wouldn't have noticed these things because the content from BigHit around the period were only showing glimpses of their interactions which again seemed like the aftermath of their breakup and not the start of it.

I think their ability to get to that space where they are each comfortable with relating freely and 'cozy' around eachother as friends depends on how soon they interact on cameras after they've gone through such periods.

If they film immediately soon after, or during, often the tension between them is much more evident like in run 116 and 117.

If they film much later from it, then you wouldn't even notice a damn thing at all. In my opinion. Especially, if you don't know the difference between Jikook as friends and Jikook as lovers.

You can never tell though if you focus solely on Jimin's behavior during such periods- because Jimin is just that guy. He doesn't bring the drama to work. He will smile sunshine through the pain and act like nothing happened. For JK it's different, in my opinion.

Jimin has a very high emotional intelligence quotient and seems to process emotions better and faster. JK is not like that. It is why I feel, he tends to put up physical and emotional barriers with Jimin and with the others sometimes when he is going through it.

They all process emotions at different paces. In my opinion.

I'm starting to wonder if y'all think Jikook is one sided at this point. Lol. Jikook is not one sided. Jimin is not the only one in their relationship. You can't focus on him alone to decide if your ship is sailing or in a good place- because guess what? Jimin can put up a show of it.

It's just as how Tuktukkers tend to focus on Tae rather than JK in determining whether they still have a ship or not. If they paid attention to JK for one minute, they would know their ship got lost at sea at debut.

I keep saying JM's 'the boy in love with Jungkook' persona is a facade. He loves JK through this facade but you have to look past it. I mean this is the guy who told Jin JK doesn't act a certain way around him, but backpedaled and said he was just 'saying it for content' when Jin called him out on it. Same guy Jk says, he intentionally acts cutes when he notices the cameras on him.

You gotta wonder what else he does just for content and for the cameras. Isn't this why people claim Jikook is fanservice?

You have to pay attention to JK too you know? They have different personalities, different ways of handling issues, different ways of loving and different ways of solving problems.

Jimin over expresses himself and tries to establish contact when he is at the recieving end of a freeze out. He did the same thing on stage with JK during Manila when he tried to have a conversation with Kook- to squash whatever issues they had been having but JK needed his space physically and emotionally.

Jimin was sat next to Suga chatting with him, asking him questions, laughing with him but the moment Suga touched him he snapped. He did the same thing in Dynamite MV reaction VLive when JK teased him with Suga. He snapped almost instantly and didn't seem happy with it- he doesn't want to be shipped with Suga and yet he is the one constantly going 'I miss Suga hyung' 'Suga and I are the parents and JK is the son"

In run 116, you could see him trying to interact with Kook even when Kook was clearly putting up boundaries with him. Had Kook not been closed off to him in that moment, we probably would never have noticed anything was off with them honestly.

And that hug JM gave Kook in the end, did you see him looking sideways as if he was doing something wrong? Compare that moment with the Siriux FM interview where he had his hands around Kook. He didn't seem- what's the word, scared.

And by the way, that moment was also filmed on the 21st of February in the US, the same day of their Rockefeller interview and the same day the On Comeback Special VLive was released- so do the maths? Was that the start of a break up or the aftermath of it?

Jimin was leaning forward in that period true, but was JK receiving and reciprocating his actions and matching them throughout that period? No. Or may be its debatable- you tell me. Lol.

Jikook behave in a certain way and give off a certain vibe when they are good and sailing- but not all such moments is because they are a couple. In my opinion.

When they get to that good space where they can be comfortable around each other, they sail as friends too.

It's just like, when they are not good and they give off bad vibes. But not all the bad vibes they give off is because they are not good. Know what I mean?

It's all up to how you perceive them and how much you understand of their dynamics I guess.

It is my understanding that, JK opens up to certain other members within the group while simultaneously putting up boundaries with Jimin when he is having serious problems with Jimin. From my observation of their interactions.

So I ask, within the period of 21st February to 28th, was he leaning towards this certain member he was suddenly BFFs with around the time of their break up or was he leaning away from him? He literally teleported away from him to be next to Jimin when they were getting back together and Tae didn't seem amused by that either.

It's Jikook, I get it. I think you need to pay attention to the way they interact with the other members within the group too? Because that's equally telling. Sigh.

It is my understanding that, Jimin is quick to anger yet quick to forgive and he sometimes glosses over things, puts a lot of energy and efforts into embellishing his relationship with Kook and presenting them as the perfect duo and the perfect relationship- which is something that I think psychologically induces the Kumbaya in a lot of Jikook shippers and influences them into thinking their relationship is perfect and kumbaya. But that's another topic for another day.

JK makes Jikook more real. To me.

I hear often, people talk about how Jimin is less touchy than JK and has personal boundaries within the group and how over the years, he has toned down on his touchiness with the other members because JK puts up a lot of boundaries for him around the members with the frying pans and what not, and would fume whenever Jimin or anyone crosses those boundaries...

But have y'all ever wondered the kind of boundaries Jimin put up for JK within the group and expects JK to uphold within the group when they are together? Hint: It's not JK's touchiness or lack of boundaries. Y'all be connecting the wrong dots. Lol.

Jk puts up physical boundaries for Jimin because that is important to him. Jimin put up emotional boundaries for JK because that is important to him. They overlap sometimes but those times are insignificant to me.

Jk's certain bonds suffer because of Jimin. And he stops respecting those boundaries when he and Jimin are no longer together and the moment they are back together, he puts those boundaries up again with those bonds- this is Morse code, if you catch on message me with it. Wink.

JM throwing his arms around Kook during a serious interview is not him claiming JK or reassuring him. JK yelling Jimin to the power Z is not him exercising right of authority over Jimin- lovers do that. Know who else does that? FRIENDS. Lol.

It's nothing Hobi doesn't do with JM or the other ships don't do.

Listen, I saw all the good bits and things that you saw in that period too and still I formed my opinion on that era the way that I did and have. And the new content from that era, Run 116 and 117 all follow the same pattern of behavior I noticed around that period and have talked about. So no, my view on that era hasn't changed.

Unless, your objective is to have me change my mind based on the 'wrong' timeline dots you've connected, then we would just have to agree to disagree. Lol.

If you believe Jikook were together during that period, I agree to disagree on it. Feel free to disagree with my opinion too.

Always ship Jikook in the way that makes sense to you. And support them while you are at it. Jikook is real. Bless you.

Signed,

GOLDY

[joshstambourine]

Ship Ask #1

I absolutely still am taking ship asks! Thank you so much for sending this in! 💜 Now you didn't say which you'd rather (romantic or friend-ship) so I'll do both for you ☺

So for your friend-ship...

I think personally that you and Josh would absolutely hit it off!

The two of you would be able to crack jokes and do silly things together!

You both are extroverted, so I think you guys will be able to just talk forever and ever and never get bored.

You'd always find something fun or interesting to talk about~

I mean... I just picture him as an encyclopedia of random information.

"Have you read this book yet, (Y/N)?" He'd show you the cover of a book about the French revolution.

I just feel like you guys would be able to talk history hard core and get into lively debates.

He also seems like someone that would pull plant facts out of his ass.

So as a plant parent you'll always have someone to talk about all your babies 💚

"Do you ever use your eggshells as a fertilizer? I heard that's supposed to do really good things for plants!"

"Oooh! I haven't, I'll definitely give it a try! Thanks for the tip Josh."

Oh man, and I love the idea of you playing piano for him to sing off key on purpose to.

“ROLLING IN THE DEEP!” Josh would be screaming with a drink in hand.

You’d be laughing and hammering the keys down, only encouraging the chaos.

Amazing. Please call me when y’all have parties.

I... now this may be a controversial thing but I totally think Josh is also a cat person??

So I just keep imagining that all of your texts are just cat pics.

Funny cats. Cute cats. Angry cats.

Your name in his contact list is always changing and is always hilarious. 

“Why on earth is my name ‘Chicken Nuggets’ on your phone?”

“....why can’t it be Chicken Nuggets?”

Dancing in the rain

I think he also would have pushed you and Danny together!

Seeing that either you or Danny had a crush would just make it easy to start leaving not so subtle hints,

“You know Danny! (Y/N) loooooves that restaurant too! Maybe you guys should go there together sometime?? Alone??”

“Did you do something different with you hair (Y/N)? Danny just pointed it out! He said he really liked it.”

He is the biggest supporter of you x Danny and will fight anyone who disagrees.

Josh is the best wingman.

Your guy’s friendship would be a whirlwind of fun and chaos! And I for one am excited to see what happens next!

For your Romantic ship...

I thought a lot about it because honestly, honey, I could happily ship you with anyone romantically and happily call it a day 💜

But I really really love the idea of you being with Danny!

Just imagining Danny, who seems to be more of an introverted person, with an extrovert makes me really happy.

You can already see how well he gets along with an extroverted goofball (Sammy bb)---

It would be a lot of you dragging him a long to do things that would normally be a bit out of his comfort zone.

"Do I really have to dance, (Y/N)?"

"I'll be there with you the whole time! It'll be fun I promise!"

And it would be. The two of you slow dancing?? Perfect.

But you coaxing Danny to dance goofily with you??? Chefs kiss!

Now I'm not sure how he would be for cuddling; I've got to imagine though that he'd really enjoy it.

Especially if you are a really cuddly person!

I’m sure if you like it he’s going to open up to the idea of being more affectionate all the time.

And I mean I don't really think there is anyone out there that could look me in the eye and tell me honestly that they don't want this boys strapping arms around them.

I mean. LOOK AT HIM.

That said.

Cuddling with Danny normally? Great.

But cuddling with Danny during a thunderstorm?? IDEAL.

Danny would also be a super good plant Dad. He'd go through the checklist with you regularly wanting to make sure all  your sweethearts stay alive.

"So I have to water this one every day and this one every three days right? Do I need to move this one to get more light??"

"You got it Danny! They’re all perfect!"

Danny seems like he's an excellent cook as well!

So if you're an adventurous person when it comes to food I'm sure he'd be all for trying to make you new things.

"Oh no that's spicy--- oh wow--- oh my---"

"It's not that bad, Danny!" *silent tears*

Also, I think it’s important to mention that I didn’t just throw you with Danny because you’re taller--- the idea of any of these boys with someone tall is super cute and I live for it.

However! As a person who is also super cuddly and has an S/O who is only a little bit taller than them I can say that being held by them is... just so perfect feeling.

Danny would be tall enough to rest his chin on your head while you’re hugging

And would only have to lean down just a touch to give you a kiss~

You would also be at the right level to just lay your head down on his shoulder on most occasions. 

I also think that Danny would really enjoy putting in the effort to learn more about the things you like. Especially history!

He’d happily snuggle up and watch a documentary with you or listen to an audio book with you!

All in all Danny would be a gentle loving boyfriend and would absolutely treasure you!

He’d also just smile lovingly as you tell him all these fun facts about history, “How did I find someone so smart?”

//Hopefully you like this, this is the first one I’ve put together for the boys and absolutely loved doing it~ Thank you again for sending it in to me! Ship asks are open! Please feel free to send more in, and if you want add an emoji or a nickname (ex. Dreary Anon) so that you know which one is your and so that I can tag it and make it easier for you to find~//

[malewifegrantaire]

The Birthday Thing

READ PART ONE HERE

PART TWO: Guess who’s coming to dinner hang out for no apparent reason (as far as Grantaire can tell)?

Combeferre had inadvertently ruined the rest of Grantaire’s week. It wasn’t his fault, of course. He couldn’t be blamed for Grantaire’s Incredibly Bad Brain. But still, “I just know Enjolras and I know he likes you” is a very reckless phrase to pepper into a conversation with someone of Grantaire’s constitution. He could hardly fall asleep that night because the words I know he likes you were clanging too loudly against the bars of the jail cell he called a mind. He didn’t mind too much though. The clanging was because Enjolras liked him, which made all of the noise sound a bit like music.

Grantaire picked out an outfit for the party and laid it out like he was a little kid excited for a school trip. Embarrassed with himself, he threw the entire outfit into his clothing hamper so he wouldn’t have to look at it lying out on his dresser anymore. Which was obviously a mistake, because now the clothes were are wrinkled and they were touching his actually dirty clothes. Which meant now he had to do a half load of laundry on a weekday, which he really didn’t like doing.

As he folded his laundry, Grantaire felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Huh. It was from Combeferre. Odd.

hey, are u free? sorry lol i am bored and wanted to know if u wanna hang out ??

Very odd. Maybe the wrong number? Just to be safe, Grantaire texted back:

grantaire is folding laundry right now, like a responsible adult.

Two texts back:

very interesting use of third person..

i can help if u want! i love 2 fold things

So this was Grantaire’s life. He used to be young and wild, and now he’s the sort of person that makes plans with people who text him sentences like “i love 2 fold things.” He typed his response.

uh, sure? might get boring, but i’ll never say no to an extra set of hands.

About fifteen minutes later, Combeferre was inside of Grantaire’s apartment. “You got here fast.” Grantaire said.

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“Aren’t you always?”

Combeferre took in Grantaire’s apartment, which gave Grantaire such a wave of self-consciousness that he thought he might be sick. It was a fine apartment, kept clean mostly because Grantaire hardly spent any time in it. The ceilings were far too low for Combeferre.

“This is a really nice place.” Combeferre said. “Have you lived here long?”

“Five years, I think.” Grantaire said. “I think the landlord thought I’d have left by now, but, well. I’m still here.”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s nice. Good windows. Not easy to come by.”

Grantaire laughed at that. “Hey, was there something you wanted to talk about? Or are you just here to admire my big beautiful windows?”

Combeferre looked slightly embarrassed. “Uh, the latter, I guess.” he said. “I mean, just what I texted, I was bored, and I guess . . . I don’t know. I guess I thought we could just hang out?”

Now it was Grantaire’s turn to be embarrassed. Of course. Combeferre is the sort of person who’s actually, you know, decent. He was just trying to be nice and Grantaire was accusing him of having an ulterior motive. Way to go. Grantaire cleared his throat. “Well, thanks for coming. Feel free to park wherever. I only did a half load of laundry so I’m finished folding, sorry. I know how much you love to fold.”

“I went through a very intense Marie Kondo phase.” Combeferre grinned. “Let me know if you ever need your closet to be reorganized.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Grantaire said. It was dawning on him that, being more of the roaming type than the nesting type, Grantaire almost never had people over his apartment, and therefore had very little hosting experience. So he did what he always did in situations like this - said what people say in movies and books and all that.

“Can I offer you a beverage of some kind? I’ve got . . . tap water. And orange juice. And maybe beer?”

“I’m alright, thanks.” Combeferre said kindly. Combeferre’s fridge was probably fully stocked with sparkling water in every flavor for guests to sip on, the bastard. He sat down in a little chair by the kitchenette. “What, what is it?” he asked, looking at Grantaire’s expression. “Why are you - what’s funny?”

“Everything is too small for you in here. It’s like shoving a Barbie doll into a Polly Pocket house.” Grantaire said with a laugh. Combeferre tucked his long legs a bit closer to himself.

“Well, Barbie is a good role model, so I’ll take that.”

“I think an averaged sized woman or two might disagree. Anyways, you’ve got impeccable timing.”

“What do you mean?” Combeferre inquired.

“I mean that someone must have wanted us to hang out today. God, the Fates, some non-denominational arbiter of Destiny.” Grantaire was doing that thing he always did where he ended sentences in a way that begged the listener to ask him to explain himself. Why he chose to speak in these irritating circles? We will likely never know. Grantaire sure as hell didn’t.

Combeferre rolled his eyes, but he seemed more amused than annoyed. “You’re impossible.”

“It’s been said before.” was Grantaire’s reply. “What I mean to say is I’m literally never home. Not literally-literally, but, you know. This apartment is basically a glorified storage unit that I visit when there is absolutely nothing else to do. So the fact that you happened to be passing by on a laundry day...”

“... a work of divine intervention?” Combeferre finished.

“I’d go so far as to call it a miracle if I believed in that sort of thing.” Grantaire said.

Combeferre’s next question caught Grantaire off-guard somewhat. “So you’re an atheist, then?”

Grantaire had never actually seen a shrink, but he had the passing sensation of being sprawled out on some brown leather fainting sofa. Maybe that’s what this was, a psych eval. He’d get a message from the official Les Amis de l’ABC e-mail account later in the week saying “sorry, R, you’ve been deemed mentally unfit to be a part of this organization. We know the Musain is public property, but if you could avoid the premises during our scheduled meeting times we all think that’d be for the best.”

“Well, yeah, aren’t all of the lefties heathens nowadays? At least that’s what Twitter tells me.” he said. His paranoia would not rob him of his (debatable) sense of humor.

Combeferre just shrugged. “I guess if I had to call myself something I’d say I’m agnostic.”

“Huh!” Grantaire said, genuinely surprised. “A member of the ‘namby-pamby, mushy pap, weak-tea, weedy, pallid fence-sitter’ brigade, are we?”

Two things occurred to Combeferre at once: One, that Grantaire was quoting Richard Dawkins, and two, that Grantaire could not have been certain that Combeferre would recognize the quote when he said it. Grantaire was both the sort of person that committed Dawkins to memory and the sort that didn’t really care if someone mistook his references for a string of improvised insults. The more Grantaire spoke, the more Combeferre became aware of how little speaking they’d ever done.

“I guess I just think one can never be sure.” Combeferre said.

Grantaire thought now would be a good time for a subject change. “So, how is party planning going?” he asked.

Combeferre sighed. “It’s . . . it’s going.” he said. “Well, okay, I’m being dramatic. Courfeyrac is actually the one doing most of the planning. I just get weird about stuff like this. I want Enjolras to like everything, you know?”

“I don’t think Enjolras is capable of disliking anything you do.” Grantaire said in a way that to the untrained ear might sound like a veiled insult, but that Combeferre suspected was an attempt at genuine sincerity.

“Well, thanks.” Combeferre smiled gratefully. “I just want him to have a good time.”

“He will. It’s the rest of us you’ll have to work to entertain.”

“Well, Courfeyrac has a slew of party games he’s preparing. Oh, and, uh, Enjolras mentioned he’s glad you’ll be able to make it. By the way.” Combeferre said, which made Grantaire blush, which made Combeferre smile.

Grantaire hated that. Not just when Combeferre did it, when any of them did. Making faces or little comments, as if they were in on some big secret. It’s like they were proud of themselves for noticing Grantaire’s little crush, like they knew something funny or scandalous or cute. But they didn’t know anything, not really. Grantaire didn’t have a crush on Enjolras at all. It was more like a religion. Maybe he’d been too quick to brand himself an atheist earlier.

His annoyance with Combeferre soured the rest of their conversation. He became mean, curt, and downright humorless. This wasn’t at all fair, he knew. Grantaire probably annoyed Combeferre every third sentence (maybe every third word) and that had never stopped Combeferre from being his usual amiable self. There was another difference between the two: Grantaire lacked both grace and graciousness, and Combeferre, it seemed, never ran out of either.

“Well, I guess I should be leaving.” Combeferre said after a while, rising from the squat chair he was sitting in.

“I guess.”

“Uh, thank you for having me over. We should do this again some time. I had fun.” Combeferre lied.

Grantaire smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. “Yeah, why don’t we all do brunch some time? You can bring your friends, it’ll be a real party. Everyone can sit around admiring my huge windows. What a blast!”

Combeferre knew he was joking, but he couldn’t decipher the punchline. What would be so bad about having all of their friends over for brunch? Why did he say the word “friends” like that, all sardonic and italicized? Combeferre almost asked him, but instead he just shook his head and smiled.

“Okay. Well. Bye!”

Grantaire waved lazily. “See you around.”

Under normal circumstances, the phrase “Enjolras mentioned he’s glad you’ll be able to make it” would have found itself fluttering in the pit of Grantaire’s stomach. Instead, there was something else sitting in there. Something that felt a bit like failure, a bit like guilt, and - most surprising of all - a bit like affection.

This is precisely why he didn’t like having people over.