#he's no longer my bias btw

[lenteur]

just so we’re clear, i do NOT condone minghao’s words

[milkbreadtoast]

**I am talking about exactly no one but myself

[writingforstraykids]

Hii! So I don’t know if you’ve already posted this… but if not, could you please do soft thoughts for Changbin?? (He’s my bias)

Thank you!!! I love your work btw!! 💗

I tried my best since I don't really write for anyone else but Min, Chan, Lix and sometimes Innie now. I do hope I did your imagination justice🖤 thanks to @zehina, niki and kylei for their ideas☺️

do not repost, translate, or plagiarize my works in any way here or on other platforms. ©️writingforstraykids 2024 -

Changbin loves coming home to you after a long day, resting his head in your lap, and relaxing. He loves it when you run your hand through his hair, soothingly massaging his scalp as you tell him about your day. He doesn't stop planting tiny kisses on your other hand and your thighs, getting sleepier with every passing second he spends in your comforting presence.

Speaking of headscratches, he loves when your nails are a little longer or you get them done professionally because he loves the way they scratch his scalp just perfectly. Especially on nights when he has a hard time falling asleep.

Whenever you're not feeling well, whether at home or in public, his hand naturally finds your back. He rubs soothing circles on your lower back or all the way up and down, assuring you he's there.

Changbin always has an extra bottle of water with him, not wanting his beloved partner to dehydrate. He always makes sure to have one with him, reminding you as often as he can to "just take a little sip" and then relax for another ten minutes. Especially in the summer when you're out having fun with him, you're very glad about this sometimes annoying habit.

A, for you, rather amusing habit of his is helping you put on your socks and shoes. You have no idea why, but this man is on his knees faster than you can comprehend and makes sure you're all comfortable in your socks. Then he puts on your shoes for you, and if needed, he ties your shoelaces tightly enough for them to stay that way the whole day. He can get really sulky if you "forget" to tell him and won't let him help you.

If you're the type for candles, he has your back. No matter the occasion or time of the year, this man can find you fitting candles: lavender for when you're stressed, sweet pumpkin-themed ones for Halloween, red roses for Valentine's Day, or cinnamon and orange during Christmas time. He never fails to amaze you, and by now, you have an amazing, unique candle collection, keeping one of each flavor to remember forever.

Another one that has started quite early in your relationship is matching with him. It started with matching your outfits by color before adding matching sweaters. For your first anniversary, he got you matching keychains, and soon after, you had matching phone cases. Several ones, in fact, so you could change them as often as you'd like, and he always makes sure to change his own accordingly.

Changbin won't let you carry your own stuff for once. He's always hovering, holding your bag for you, grabbing your drinks and snacks, and if you'd let him, he'd hold your phone right under your nose the whole day as well. In his eyes, you shouldn't have to carry anything since you have a "pretty strong boyfriend who can take care of you." Yes, your coffee will still fit into his hand next to your shopping bags, handbag, wallet, keys, and donuts.

He loves acting silly with you, especially when it's only the two of you. Whenever you put on your playlist with girl group songs, he'll go crazy with you, outdancing you with ease. It's frustrating, really. You have no chance against those hips and goofy smile.

He craves your attention every second of the day. Binnie wants to wake up next to your sleeping face, to hold you as you sleep, and to the feeling of your heartbeat against his chest. Your heartbeat is his favorite sound, right after your laugh. Whenever he can, he places his head on your chest to listen to it beating and smirks at it, picking up pace when he calls you by one of his ridiculous pet names.

Speaking of ridiculous nicknames, Binnie is definitely the type for it. He calls you by the longest and weirdest-sounding pet names you only see in memes. Getting a laugh from you in return feels like another win for him. He'd do everything to make sure you're happy.

He is your number one fan, and he will never deny it. If you ever doubt yourself and he notices the slightest sign of it, he's there. Hyping you up and comforting you in everything you do. That also means he'll do everything to make you comfortable. He'll pick up your favorite food no matter the time, hold you close, or just let you cry on his shoulder for a bit.

He loves your body in every single way. If you ever have trouble accepting your body and don't tell him, he'll be pouty all day because he wants to help. If you want to change something out of comfort and not self-hatred, he's there every step of the way. He'll hype you for your new hairstyle or color, he'll help you pick out new outfits, and oh, he'll be the happiest man alive if you ever join him at the gym.

He carries you for fun. If he wants you to join him at the gym, cook dinner with you or watch a movie he'll pick you up and throw you over his shoulder carrying you there. Especially when you playfully protested against doing whatever he had in mind. You love him so much for this quirky habit.

MASTERLISTS | PROMPT LIST | GUIDELINES

Taglist: (Please let me know if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist!)

@atinyniki @mal-lunar-28 @lilmisssona @aaasia111 @galaxycatdrawz @kthstrawberryshortcake @channieaddict @soullostinspaceandtime @malfoygalaxies @rebecca-johnson-28 @michelle4eve @lixie-phoria @gxtwllsn @xxstrayland @kibs-and-bits

[oumaheroes]

[8] + fruk? idk, it sounds like something they'd hardly tell each other but I figured it's a challenge you could enjoy solving. :) i love your writing btw. Thank you for sharing it with the world. <3

[8] 'I love you'

Both of these asks are so so old but I enjoy a challenge, Anons! Took me a while but I got there in the end. Hope you like!

Characters: France, England, FrUK

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love Is...

'You're not entirely intolerable.'

England says this to him in warm candlelight, yellows and orange hues dancing gently on his cheek and across his nose. On his back, no less, looking up at France with wine soft eyes amongst expensive coverlets and pillows of a borrowed palace bed.

France's hands are busy, one supporting him, one not, and thus he knows there is some bias to England’s words.

If it were darker, less candlelight and more masking cover, maybe they would be more true. England had always been gentler in the shadows, safer when he feels he can't be seen.

'Shame the same cannot be said for you.' France says in reply, and bites him hard on the shoulder.

-------------

'You can be useful.'

France sounds surprised.

England clenches his jaw. 'Fuck you.'

'I'm serious.' France twirls the pointed end of his share knife into England thick wooden table. 'There may yet be hope in regards to you being anything of value.'

It is France's own knife, at least, that he is blunting. Gilded- overly so, so it's almost more decorative than usable. Almost. France does so like to find those lines and tease them.

The remains of a meal are pushed aside, a map open and curling long between them instead like a dried up sea. England wants to grab the knife out of France’s hand and jab it in his eye but he doesn’t. He needs France, as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, needs his help sweet talking the French nobility and keeping his King in check and so refrains from lunging across the table. Swallows bitterness down and looks from the maimed table to the map.

The French coastline looks alien upside-down but England doesn’t ask France to turn it around.

‘So.’ France’s voice is silky and low, ‘Can you deliver on your end?’

England thinks of his own King, thinks of his endless envy that is great enough to engulf his nation’s pride. He nods.

France clicks his tongue, ‘What a surprise.’

-------------

‘Where have you been?’ A nation who will one day be England pouts and crosses his arms across his chest, ‘I’ve been waiting here for hours’.

‘It wasn’t hours.’ A nation who will one day be France looks about the bank of the tree where England is sat in distain, ‘The ground is wet.’

‘You’re late.’ England insists, ‘You said you would be here by noon. And wet ground is better to write in.’

‘It’s still noon. Couldn’t you have picked somewhere sunnier? The ground hasn’t dried here; where will I sit.’

‘Are you stupid?’ England holds out an arm and gestures to the shadow it makes upon the floor with another. It is slightly longer than noon would provide, ‘Does that look like noon?’

‘Do you want me to help, or not.’

‘No.’

France sighs, ‘Fine. Do you want me to do this the easy way or the hard way.’

England kicks at a small stone and it bumps a little ways down the small pathway along the edge of the wheat field he’s been biding his time in. This France knows, because there’s chaff caught in his hair and dusting amongst the mud of the dampened hem of his cloak.

‘I already know how to write letters,’ England grumbles, ‘Rome made me learn his, and they’re exactly the same as your ones. Why do I have to do this all again.’

‘Because after Rome, you learnt some barbarian ones, and now I want to make you presentable. These are things any decent, proper nation should know.’ France dusts down England’s hair, ‘And it’s very hard to bring you up to par when you keep avoiding my visits and moving from castle to castle.’

England shakes his head and looks away.

‘You should stay with the King,’ France says pointedly, ‘Not move about the strongholds like a vagabond. You shouldn’t show your earls too much favour.’

France sees England hold himself back from speaking. He knows what England wants to say and is relieved when he keeps the several possible and difficult arguments to himself. An improvement, but maybe only because there’s no one else to hear.

‘Move.’ England says suddenly. He picks up a stick that France had failed to notice, propped up ready to go against a thick root, and waves him out of the way and off the flat dirt road. He begins scrawling in the ground in rigid, sharp strokes. ‘If I write “go fuck yourself” in Latin, Norman, and French, will you do so?’

-------------

‘I don't always hate you.’

France says this so quietly that England almost didn’t hear him. He wouldn’t have done, if he didn’t know France’s voice and his habits so well. He halts, the quiet palace yawning open unseen down the darkened passage ahead.

From the corner of his eye, England sees France shift where he leans in the archway. He was so still that England hadn’t noticed him as he walked, his dark shape held like a statue in shadows. Now that he knows he’s there, England can almost see the glint of silver threads in the moonlight, fine clothes on a man made just as much from the dirt as he.

A shift of fabric as France moves again. England stares ahead and does not look at him.

‘You may not believe that, but it’s true.’ France offers quietly. ‘I don’t like to think that you believe otherwise.’

‘I don’t like that you make me believe so.’

A pause. England can hear the sounds of the evening: distant footsteps on flagstones, the rustle of trees in the orchard beyond the stone courtyard walls. The smells of thousands of past summers on the warm breeze, blurring the edges of the era and turning the night endless.

The moment stretches, full and expectant. Then, a sigh.

It passes.

France does not reply, and England walks away.

-------------

‘Are you coming with me?’

France snorts. ‘I am offended that you would ever think that I would.’

‘Oh fuck off. Come on.’ England’s eyes are dangerously captivating, ‘You’re just as bored as I am.’

‘Unlike yourself, I am able to find joy in the finer things.’

‘Francis, this is the worst fucking ball we’ve been to in centuries.’

France winces, ‘Yes, but the food is at least good. And the people here are-‘

‘All over fifty.’

‘We are over fifty. And they’re-’

‘Boring.’

‘Important.’ France corrects, ‘They are important, my dear.’

England scoffs and looks across the lacklustre and lethargic dancefloor, couples with outdated clothes and dour expressions stiffly moving in their formations. He swirls his wine in his glass and points with it shamelessly, ‘Important for what, exactly.’

‘To be seen by. To talk politics with. To encourage away from silly decisions that will ruin my skin for the next decade.’

‘And the younger important people? Or heaven forbid, any fun ones? Where are they?’

France shrugs with one shoulder helplessly, ‘The Viscount is... particular.’

England raises and eyebrow and France shrugs, ‘Fine. It is dull. He is dull, and these are all his dull friends. What do you want me to say, the money is here but the life is gone. I’m not blind, Arthur.’

England adjusts the lace of France’s collar, straightening it from where a point has curled under itself, ‘Well, I’m going to the inn on Perry street. That’s where the kitchen boy told me-‘

‘The one with the hair, or the one with the funny leg?’

‘The one with the teeth.’

France shakes his head, ‘Poor boy. Sugar is a terrible thing, I wonder when people will pick up on that.’

England rolls his eyes and downs his wine. France winces, ‘That was expensive.’

‘Good. I’m off.’ England kisses his cheek quickly, the powdered hairs of his wig tickling France’s neck, ‘Have fun somehow being the most interesting thing in the room for a change.’

‘Ha ha.’

France watches England carelessly drop his very expensive glass onto a passing waiter’s tray and tuts at him, ‘You’re too over-dressed for a common inn, you’ll get mugged.’

‘I’ll manage.’

‘I’m sure you will. When I find your naked corpse in a hedge tomorrow, don’t tell me I didn’t tell you so.’

‘I tell you your make-up makes you look like sun bleached fish every day, and yet you still wear it.’

France huffs and turns away. He hears the clip of England’s shoes as he slips behind a curtain until his steps soften, sights fixed on the dancers. The crowds in the edges of the hall, in the dark corners where candles cannot find them, have a low murmuring buzz that heaves itself above the orchestra enough to give life to the odd word of two. None of them give France any hope.

Once he is sure no one noticed England leave, France downs his own wine and pushes himself away from the wall to join him.

------------

‘Be careful.’

England blinks, confused.

It is dark, moonlight all they have to go by, and they are watching British soldiers pour out from and over French beaches into hungry, waiting boats. Months of planning, countless sleepless nights and hours held stressed and tense in the wait for scraps of coded information has lead them here, to this. To men running through waves, to home so close and yet so far, and a flight through the dark to get stranded soldiers home before France falls.

England feels hollow. His chest feels concaved, an empty feeling of something like relief rotting and curdling there at the thought that this momentous victory is in the grand scheme of things, nothing at all. A huge success merely only for how difficult any small victory is. And still a failure because... because-

France’s hand brushes his. England swallows and entwines their fingers together.

‘You’re the one who should be careful.’ He says.

France squeezes his fingers. ‘If-‘

‘Don’t.’

‘-If.’ France’s grip tightens, ‘If, Arthur. Just be careful. I’ll be fine. It’s you who-‘

France breaks off.

‘I won’t.’ England says. He takes a deep breath in. ‘Not me. Not yet.’

‘I would be deeply embarrassed for you, if you do. It’s shameful. To a child, and one raised by Gilbert, no less.’

England snorts and smooths his thumb over France’s knuckle before he breaks them apart. He tugs down his uniform, wishing for gold trimming and a deep red coat, and smooth wood of a longbow.

D-Day unfolds in the muddied, darkened shallows of Dunkirk beach, and two empires watch the world turn over and into something new.

------------

‘Move over.’

France wakes to a knee in the small of his back. ‘A.. Arthur?’

‘Francis, move.’

Bewildered, France obediently shuffles over and there’s a gasp of cold air as England lifts the covers to climb inside. ‘What are...?’

‘Shh!’

France hears the heavy drapes around his bed being rearranged, then gets another knee in his back as England burrows down next to him.

France turns over. In the darkened room and behind thick curtains, England is nothing more than a source of warmth and the feeling of being watched. ‘What are you doing here.’

‘This is my castle, isn’t it?’

‘It’s one of your King’s castles, yes.’

‘Well then.’

‘But you weren’t here.’ France whispers, When we arrived. ‘He is very upset. He says you shame him.’

‘He shames me.’ England’s cool hands find themselves under France’s back, ‘The grandson of a usurper has nothing to do with me.’

‘Arthur.’ France cautions, but then stops. It is not the time, nor place. Nor, he knows, his place, really, to say anything at all. He places his hand on the cool skin of England’s arm and squeezes it, ‘I’m happy you’re here now. Apart from all the dirt you’ve likely tracked into the bed.’

‘I haven’t.’

‘I can smell it. You smell like outside.’

‘Outside doesn't have a smell.’

It does. Brought in to a human space where it doesn’t belong, the night air that clings to England’s hair and skin is earthy and cool. Fresh and foreign amongst wood fires and the fresh thresh on the floors.

‘I changed.’ England insists, seemingly having taken France’s lack of answer as an argument, ‘I do have nightclothes, you know. I’m not a savage.’

‘Hmm.’

England wriggles his fingers under France’s back to the soft parts of his sides and France can’t help but yelp as they tickle.

‘I was in York but heard you were leaving.’ England says, ‘Did you want to go riding before you go?’

‘We go Tuesday.’ France whispers, conscious of the servants littered about the room asleep. How England crept past them all or even got into the castle so quietly in the first place, he’ll never know. ‘We’re almost ready.’

‘So, do you want to go riding, or not.’

It is Sunday. There will be a lot to do before he goes back to his own lands, lots of packing and planning and then talking to people and France is exhausted just thinking about how much of it he will be needed for, let alone the voyage back across likely windy seas.

‘I don’t want to share. I want my own horse.’

‘Fine.’

------------

‘Here.’

England looks up from his laptop to find a cup of what might be soup held aloft before him.

France waggles it, evidently deeming England too slow on the uptake, ‘Take it.’

England does, cautiously, and moves his laptop aside to safety. ‘What’s this for.’

‘You.’

‘I could infer that.’

‘Could you? I never want to assume.’ Before England can tell him not to, France settles himself in the seat opposite. The booth England has hidden himself in has a wide table down the middle which takes up most of the room, but France moves himself into the tight space far more dramatically than is needed.

The soup is hot. England pops the lid off- carrot and coriander. His stomach clenches at the smell, he hadn’t realised how hungry he was. ‘Where on earth did you get it? They stopped serving dinner hours ago.’

‘I know. You missed it.’ France shoots him a pointed look, ‘I went to a café down the road.’

England looks down and swirls the soup around the Styrofoam. It’s thick, good quality. ‘I’m not paying you for it.’

‘Ah yes, because that is why I went.’

England glances at his laptop. France shuts it. ‘Now, whilst you’re eating, listen to me. I have a story for you.’

England takes the spoon that France offers and stirs. He wonders if France has any chocolates in his pockets, ‘Is it about the look Antonio gave-‘

‘Yes.’ France leans forwards eagerly, ‘But shut up. Let me talk.’

-------------

‘It’s... it’s large.’ The scientist at the front of the room looks shrunken, weighed down and wizened. He runs a hand through his hair, glasses glinting in sterile, overheads lights. ‘It’s large.’

France looks up and catches England’s eye. He looks tired, old.

Scared.

Question lights flash on around the room, every national and political delegation with something to say or ask. The scientist seems to freeze, overwhelmed by where or who to turn to first, and then people start shouting all over each other, nations and their politicians alike.

‘What the fuck is this?’ France’s president holds her hands to her mouth and shakes her head slowly from side to side, ‘This cannot be happening.’

‘There is nothing we can do!’ France hears the scientist say over the braying clamour, ‘It’s too late, it’s-‘

‘Francis.’ England is there, at his shoulder. ‘Come on.’

-------------

‘What the fuck have you done to yourself?’

France sniffs and turns away, ‘That’s none of your business.’

England snorts and hangs his hat and coat on the stand, ‘You look like you’ve fallen off a horse.’

‘You look like an unkempt vagabond.’

England looks down at his finely pressed suit and trousers and then back to France. He is on his sofa, studiously reading a book and not looking at England making himself comfortable in France’s livingroom. His leg is before him on a padded stool, swollen at least twice the size, and there is a purple bruise blossoming upon one cheek.

England comes around the back of him and brushes soft golden hair away from France’s shoulder. ‘I could do better.’ he says, gently thumbing the fragile scabbing of France’s bottom lip.

France swats at him, ‘Go away. I don’t want you here.’

‘Wrong place wrong time? Or did you try to speak sense again to someone who actually has some.’

‘Arthur, stop.’ France catches England’s wrist and kisses the inside, ‘You’re too unsympathetic to understand.’

‘Hmm.’ England kneads at France’s shoulder and then heads to the kitchen, ‘Would it help you to know I’m planning on telling everyone you fell ice skating?’

France lets out a bark of laughter, ‘Oh? And who on earth would you tell.’

‘Anyone who will listen.’ He collects a glass and a bottle of wine, along with some bread and some of the expensive cheese that he knows France always squirrels away in his pantry whenever he can, and takes them back to the living room.

-------------

‘If you could be anywhere, where would you be.’

Soft music from a Spanish restaurant down the road, warm ocean breeze. Anywhere and everywhere, all at once.

Besides him, England sips warm ale from a can he smuggled through customs and shrugs, ‘Home.’

‘That’s a boring answer.’

‘That’s the truest answer.’

‘And where again would Arthur go, if he could leave England behind.’ Francis watches Arthur from the corner of his eye, sees the fragments of him outside of all else that they always are.

‘I can’t leave England behind.’ England says, ‘So there’s not much point entertaining it.’

‘I’m trying to have a serious conversation.’

‘Then don’t ask a hypothetical question.’

Francis sighs, and retreats. He takes a deep drag of his cigarette and watches the smoke drift away into the dark.

‘But if you’re asking time.’ England tilts his head, considering. Behind them on the seafront, students between bright club front lights in loud, drunken clusters, ‘Now, I think. Maybe a hundred years ago, at most.’

‘Really?’ France is surprised, ‘I would have thought-‘

‘Boring answer,’ Arthur says, and the rest remains unfinished.

-------------

‘Don’t you fucking die on me.’

Of all the places England expected to die, this was actually what he’d considered the least likely. In Calais, oft contested, right by the sea, and entirely calm. No war or battle to take him, no disease or crop failure to push him along. He can see Dover in the distance, his white cliffs so close he can almost feel them in the bones they represent.

But above them, burning and close, the sky roils.

France lies in his lap on the grass of his garden, eyes wet and smiling. ‘That’s not fair, you can’t say that to me. That’s what I was going to say to you.’

‘I’m serious.’ England swallows down something bitter and painful in his throat, and brushes the hair from France’s face, ‘You’re not allowed to go first unless I’m given that honour. Keep yourself awake.’

France freezes, eyes wide, ‘What-‘

‘I know you too well,’ England says, and dips his head to kiss him. There is a golden chain around France’s neck, old and reliable. On it hangs a much-used pendant, once again filled and ready. Still full, he hopes.

England fiddles with it in the hollow of France’s neck and sees the burning heavens reflected in his eyes. ‘We’ll go together.’

-------------

‘I love you.’

On a nameless bit of a terraformed Earth that might have once been a small kingdom in the northern sea, a man called Francis pauses at the hydro sink, half washed cup in his hands. A man called Arthur stands next to him with a dish cloth and when Francis turns to him, Arthur stares back, face inscrutable.

Arthur does not mince words. He has always spoken his mind frankly, regardless of how offensive or tactless his thoughts may be. He has never tailored himself to a situation, never presented himself as anything he is not. But softness and open vulnerability is not a texture he can wear upon himself. Not because he doesn’t have any, Francis knows, but because he expects that Arthur doesn’t know how. Some core part of his personality that gets lost from his heart to his tongue, or given spikes along the way.

Maybe that was what caught Francis’ attention in the first place, all those years ago on the transport ship to Earth. The parts Arthur kept to himself more than the parts he did not. Arthur spoke kindness and care in actions, not words, and words were what Francis had heard far too much of.

Francis looks away and makes sure to keep his face just as blank, just as unconcerned.

‘I love you too.’

[cheollipop]

first of all HI HELLO IM SORRY FOR SPAM REBLOGGING ALL OF YOUR STUFF now that that’s out of the way…. speaking of idol radio when they were playing the “i love you” game and one mr being yunhos first step was like 5 feet long?!?!?!?!? all i could imagine was like teasing him all day and he’s finally had enough and is stalking up to you like that while trapping you against the wall i’m gonna scream he’s been bias wrecking me for like two months now and it’s SICK

THANK YOU FOR REBLOGGING OMG??? please don't apologize,, I love getting feedback and I am now crying happy tears in the corner of my room.

I've only watched random clips from that episode (it seems like atz are celebrating pride month wholeheartedly btw) and ikr?? everyone being whipped for yunho is so valid like... I'd be fighting every single member for him if I were them too. he just HAS to use those long ass legs to bias wreck me even more--so I get you on that dw skfjje

(this ended up being a gn!reader drabble btwww)

no bc imagine after a long day of filming, his eyes trailing off the cameras to you—sitting cross-legged behind the director, complimenting all the members except him after every scene then looking up at him through your eyelashes, blinking innocently as though you were unaware of what you were doing. the music video shoot took longer than usual, the crew sharing bewildered glances as—out of everybody—yunho repeatedly messed up the choreography.

clad in yunho's puffer jacket, you made your way back to the dressing rooms after the shoot with him trailing behind you, waiting for the soft click of the door before turning around to face him. a shiver ran down your spine at his narrowed eyes, a visible twitch moving his left eyebrow as he continued his steps towards you. long, toned legs moved forward and you instinctively cowered back, your palms swinging behind you until they collided with the painted wall.

now trapped between yunho's towering body and the cool concrete, you blinked up at him cautiously, noting the subtle clench of his jaw.

"having fun?" he spoke, voice gruff and strained as his molars grinded over each other.

you stiffled the sly smile teasing at the corners of your mouth, tilting your head in faux naivety. "what do you mean?"

"(y/n)," he sucked in sharp breath, leaning in until his face was mere centimeters from yours, his eyes wide and threatening. "are you gonna behave?"

your shoulders stiffened up, his eyes glancing at your frozen body before moving back up to your face. you kept up the facade, though, despite the warm hand trailing up your hip and under your top, fingers digging into the bare skin of your waist.

"yuyu, I-"

"what's it gonna take, hm? do you want me to stuff you full of cum—have you leaking through your pretty little panties so the others could see you're mine?" He pressed his body flush against yours, wrapping his arm around your waist and bring you even closer. "is that what you want?"

timidly, you nodded, a breathy moan blowing over yunho's chin when he pressed his hardening cock into your hip.

he scoffed, "look at you, so docile and needy at the mere mention of cock," yunho's voice lowered to a whisper, leaning his head closer to your ear. "is my pretty baby a slut?"

you melted into his touch, burying your face into the crook of his neck and reveling in the hands wandering over your body. "only for you, yuyu."

"mm, that's right," he smiled, his fingers dipping under your waistband. "I guess just I'll have to make sure the others know that too."

(I'm totally sane rn *eye twitch*)

[biscuitboba]

Back with my zolu brrt again!!

As a zolu fan i know that i tend to focus on luffy and zoro so soo muchh, and maybe that's why i can't ever shut up about them, but anyway-

Thinking about how when it comes to anything relating to luffy, zoro's responses... they always stands out? Like i don't know how to explain it, but let it be his response being the first/last one shown (too many examples for this one) or the significance of the words he says, like it's just-

Sometimes in big or even small moments when luffy talks about something, or has defeated someone, or at least about to... in those kind of situations when the others are silent, or their responses are not immediately shown, it's usually zoro who seems to have something to say??

(not in order of the arcs btw!)

In drum island arc, when luffy asks for chopper to join the crew, only zoro shown to adds a little comment..

Or in alabasta, how his responses to anything luffy-related always stands out?? (that smile?)

Tbh... during the alabasta arc, usually it's just a zoom in of vivi reacting to luffy and then followed by zoro's reaction (but vivi is literally the princess and important to this arc so like...)

Like he is not the only one who always makes his reactions known, but i just can't help but to notice him?? In dressrosa, during the "lucy luffy has made his entrance!!!" part, there's just something about his expression- his smile?? (proud bf reaction) or during luffy's fight, zoro with his "hurry, luffy!!" line (again, emphasizing on zoro's reaction to luffy)

Or after defeating doflamingo.. franky's reaction is shown first before zoro's, but like i said earlier "....let it be his response being the first/last one shown or the significance of the words he says"

And of course about zoro's reaction to ace's death and later to 3d2y

Also his reaction in enies lobby, punk hazard and in water 7??

Like i can't mention every single moment from the animanga (of course, cuz there are too many of em), but when his reactions to things relating to luffy are shown, i just can't help but to pay close attention to him?? pay attention to him and let my eyes linger just a little bit longer (my bias for zolu definitely contributes to that fact, but well, i am a zolu truther) Like zoro pays attention to his captain so muchh, i just can't??

Like sometimes with luffy it really is "zoro-tachi"

[maxemilianver]

recency bias with f1 fans is insane like charles gets one pole after ghosting for the whole year (car is understeer or whatever idk) and suddenly he is the best qualifier on the grid again. when he is like 11-7 compaded to sainz. lets not forget the same tifosi was going with the narrative how sainz was better than charles, but now that charles got a pole and carlos is so bad and cannot be compared to the generational talent -charles. btw give charles a car so he will win - when the same car won a race this year with carlos.

also oscar is no longer the best rookie oat? its not like he was actually beating lando but fans ran with it. he doesnt need to beat lando, he is a rookie, he is improving. but at the same time i thought he was the best rookie since lewis, even better than him?? generational talent future wdc winner better than lando will end verstappen title fight in 24 cold blooded slayer of my firstborn etc

max is having the best season of all times (a fact) but he made a mistake so we can say that the "pressure" is getting to him and tbh he is not that impressive! even if he won the wdc and wcc by himself, even if he is gonna win the gp at sunday, he is not all that.

LIKE WE ARE ONLY DAY 1 INTO A RACE WEEK. How recent your recency bias? A week? A DAY???

[oscconfessions]

i say this with a lot of bias, but knife should’ve gotten eliminated instead of soap. they basically serve the same purpose in mic’s arc, to oppose taco and remind microphone of how she should be playing the game, but soap would’ve done it better.

she’s already established to be close to microphone. her personality also contrasts taco’s much harder, which i could honestly rant about for hours on end but. i wont. also, her “follow your heart speech” did so much for mic’s arc despite her being eliminated, imagine what she could’ve done while in the game!

knife isnt a bad character in the slightest, soap just would’ve done what he did but better. she would’ve provided a much more direct source of conflict for microphone and taco, given that she’s basically the source of mic’s whole “following your heart” thing. soap also doesn’t directly oppose taco’s beliefs about murder/injury being okay (and actually seems to enjoy hurting people for the sake of the game), which could’ve also fueled mic’s inner conflict with listening to her heart.

also soap staying in for longer would’ve given her the opportunity to continue her arc, maybe even changing her from a half-baked ableist caricature to a somewhat decent representation of ocd/germophobia, but i digress. truthfully, i dont know how she would’ve affected the alliance’s arc in comparision to knife, so maybe that could be a reason why he would work better in ii than her. someone who knows more than me could talk about how soap would’ve affected them in knife’s place if they want to.

so um yeah. soap is so awesome and should’ve stayed in. this is not knife neg btw he’s my blorbo-in-law

-🧼🤍

.

[xotaemintol]

i read why you aren't writing for shinee/kibum rn, but why do you still write for jonghyun?? it feels wrong to read about him when it feels like he should be put to rest (in a literal sense) so is there a reason you still do works and requests for him?? ive noticed some other people also decide to write for him still, so this may help me understand that as well

Sorry but this will kinda long to explain 😅 just saying before I start that in no way shape or form is this meant to come off as rude btw🩷

So, to start off; blingers are still extremely active, just like the rest of shawols. Taemints, lockets, MVPs, and flamers, can read fanfics of their bias, they can easily find hc’s for Taemin, Minho, Kibum, or Jinki, but blingers can’t. It’s completely unfair to say that just because he is no longer with us, we shouldn’t still enjoy his content, his music, fanfics, and fanart. Also, I’ve been a shawol for almost two years now and as a taemint/blinger, I want to see people still loving Jonghyun and being able to think of him happily. Talking about him isn’t sad, remembering him isn’t bad, he’s a lot more than just that moment, so writing for him is normal.

Also, I did let people vote to see if anyone would be made uncomfortable by seeing smut written of him and the majority said no, not only did the majority say no but I even got messages from older shawols saying that they’d love to see it. I haven’t posted for SHINee in a while because of my writers block, but I still get asks for him. People want to see it and I like doing it.

And finally, he’s still apart of SHINee. The members themselves constantly acknowledge that SHINee is five, they constantly mention him, from tagging him in their concert posts, talking about him, making jokes about him, and he’s always included in every SHINee event. So, for me and others who also write for him and who are still active blingers it’s just including all the members because at the end of the day, SHINee will be five no matter how long it’s been. Saying that he should be put to rest kinda sounds like you mean that people should just move on and forget him, but it would be a shame to let all of his amazing music fade into nothing. Micheal Jackson still has active fans who listen to his music, draw him, write fan fictions about him, edit him, and make the most downbad tweets about him I’ve ever seen. The fans will be there no matter where the artist goes, and Jonghyun is the same way. No matter if he’s here or not, we as fans will always be here enjoying his music and loving him. Remembering him and enjoying his music isn’t disturbing the rest and the peace he’s getting, it’s just appreciating and love him.

[hannamoon143]

straykids bias problem again, help

I need to ask you somehting immediately. Some of you might know that my bias is ot8,BUT i am only a stay since 2 months or somehting (Yes i know,a very short time,but i love them more than anything)

anddd when i first became a stay I thought lixie was my bias,because he was the first one i knew the name of,and i just came to straykids because of him. But THEN there came Hwang hyunjin,this VERY FINE MAN.I never really wanted to decide between all of them,because i really really love all of them a lot,but last time I was just more and more like,help he is so fine.

And some of you might say that he is just my bias wrecker,but it's not like this,idk how to explain .Like i love them all like the same,but Hyunjin a little more?

Sooo my question to the people who are stays longer than me,is it possible to change my bias? I feel like i never even tried to really decide who it is,but is this possible?

btw sorry if this makes no sense

(ok that was somehow weird,but could you please help me?lol<3?

[agustdiv1ne]

OK so I'm in my daily brainstorm moment 😋👍👍👍

And i'm also in my Yeonjun bias moment soooo...

Reader gifting Yeonjun a bouquet of flowers for the first time in my man's life, I just can see the huge smile on his face and he'd probably keep his eyes glued to the bouquet for the rest of the week day

(btw just answer the ones you're comfortable enough and take ur time doing this, dw)

🦔 Anon

CRIES this is so :'))

yeonjun would be soso mf shocked (much like this scenario), grinning like a fool while metaphorical hearts float above his head LOL..he'd probably almost crush them in his arms from how excited he is — baby just feels so loved <3

he'd proudly set them on the dinner table where he and all the other boys congregate, and he would totally brag about it to the boys, too. smug, he'd loudly announce, "you see these? yeah, they're from my s/o. they're so lovely, aren't they?" (the boys are Not amused, but they won't dare lay a finger on those flowers, not when they see how they make their hyung happy ^^)

he would try to take care of them as best as possible so that he can keep them for longer — changing the water every few days, trimming the stems, pulling out the ones that don't seem to be doing so well...and when they finally do begin to turn a bit brown and droopy, he's lowkey sad about it but tries to look for ways to preserve them :') he stumbles upon flower pressing and does his own little diy, pressing the flowers into a scrapbook that he bought just for them, immortalizing the memory because he is just so grateful that he has found someone that will care for him as much as he cares for others <333

[yonemurishiroku]

I was reading a fic and it reminded me of another fic. I’m honestly amazed by how Nico and Hades’ relationship is portrayed in that particular fanfic.

Beautiful. When you love someone but not necessarily like them

For context: this is a Modern AU, Maria and Bianca are dead (as usual. Shame), Nico has a few mental issues and Hades is an absolutely cold and strict father. That is to say: he restrains him. It has been a while since I read this fic, but technically it’s those along the line of: strict education, regulations, degenerating voices.

He set up a whole overabundant homeschooling course for Nico, pressuring him about grades and educational performances. He hardly lets Nico out of the house (it takes a twenty minute phone call of convincing). He doesn’t think Nico is capable of faring well in the outside world. He disapproves of Nico’s hobby (which is gaming btw).

But I wouldn’t be babbling if that was the case now would I? The fascinating thing about this is that: Hades actually does love Nico.

He is a man of rules, so he drew a path of future for his son. He doesn’t want Nico out of the house because he knows how bad Nico’s agoraphobia can get. And the fact that Nico can still get his way, albeit with extensive convincing, says a lot. He disapproves of gaming instead of education, but he still lets Nico play as long as it doesn’t get in the way of studying.

Here’s the thing. Through out the fic, Hades is portrayed as an absolutely scary, harsh and toxic (the degenerating voice doesn’t help) father figure. But - I don’t know if that’s my bias mind talking - I can still see that he cares for Nico and wishes the best for him. His delivery is wrong, of course, and that results in their tense, always-wary relationship. And the fact that Nico blatantly announces his father’s dislike towards himself earlier this screenshot.

It’s kinda relatable, and a reflection of unfortunate reality, when good intentions turn out not as good as we wish it to be.

Hades and Nico’s relationship is no where near perfect in this fanfic. Hades appears downright cold to his son, and Nico is either tired or wary when talking or mentioning his father.

And it’s half of the reason why I adore this fic so much.

-> That, right there, is exactly how I prefer to think of Hades and Nico’s father-son dynamic. They are not perfect. Nor is their relationship. Hades has issues and oh issues does Nico have. As much as I like to fantasizing about a healthy family, I think it would take more and longer for them to achieve it. Gods rarely make model parents. Hades is trying, which I appreciate, and is the exact reason why I say there should be fluctuation and mishaps and fights and a lot more.

But the key is that there’s love. And they’re both trying. And that alone is beautiful. The mistakes are what makes the efforts precious.

[b3achysurfur]

I know I originally said in a comment at some point about how annoying the Logan war got (think it was in that post asking why we all suddenly backed off) but now I just find your posts humoring it's like "THIS LITTLE GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT-" and it's the most innocent picture of Logan.

Love seeing it nowadays (cuz it's funny), but you have a good point that he hasn't furthered the story yet but I feel like Red might change that soon. Hopefully. Also how we haven't had his backstory but that also might change too (we've got a hint in one episode where they fought his bullies, something about how his parents didn't want him and he fact that we've only seen his grandparents but not his actual parents says something....)

Anyways something I need to ask you! What are your opinions on the others, what you like about them or dislike, favorite moments and what not. I'm curious!

Sorry this may have been long!

SEE NOW YOU GUYS ARE GETTING MY HUMOR , THIS ACTUALLY MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!! THANK UUUUU A LOT

also UR SO GREAT FOR THE QUESTION YOU ASKED!! I love talking about everyone else

I’ll assess them in order of: ashlyn, aiden, taylor, tyler, ben (not by order of how much I like them or anything btw). Some sections are longer than others because I’m bias BUT ALSO BECAUSE I got tired of typing and realized there was wayyy tm to read. Sorry!!!! if you don’t wanna read all this I put a short summary all the way on the bottom + feel free to me ask me specific questions ! now let me talk your ear off

ASHLYN:

I really like ashlyn because she has the most potential out of everyone (and that’s not to say the other characters aren’t deep, because that’s the opposite of true but bae is the whole reason we’re here). I think she’s also really relatable in the sense that she doesn’t like interacting with people but she can easily take the leadership role when needed. like okay queen I see you. also I really enjoy the fact Red made her dislike aiden at first even though they have a side romance plot going rn. bc that’s how it would’ve been if they were real. ash would not just become chatty out of no where and fall head over heels for him. and I really appreciate the slowburn. Ashlyn’s also higher on my favorites list because I’m bias and we have the same hair length 😣 usually when characters have long hair, authors tend to let their hair flow a lot, but red put ts in braids 🙏 and ask anyone with long hair like that, their hair is up 99% of the time bc it’s annoying, hot, and (personally) GRABS ONTO EVERYTHING LIKE ITS A THIRD HAND. I have a lot of headcannons for ash just based on small character designs / aspects that not a lot of people really think about. She’s so interesting and I really just love her. And since I have positives, I’ll give one negative about her. In the beginning, Ashlyn was really hesitant to tell the group anything. I understand where she was coming from, and given Tyler’s reaction, I don’t blame her for keeping things to herself. But mannnn ts was so frustrating sometimes. it’s ok tho bc all good stories stress you out.

AIDEN:

omg guys it’s my favorite ever. I know aidens really popular already so I’ll try not to rant on about him forever but hes just the best 😣 but mans really does not gaf EVERR.

now I could rant on and on about how silly Aiden is and why he’s so misunderstood as a character, because he’s not crazy like at all and if anything he’s one of the smartest characters in sbg, but I’ll save if for a better time. Instead I wanna talk about how observant he is of Ben and ashlyn.

it’s cropping weridly, sorry. but aiden’s eyes are always watching the ones he cares about most. I feel like this has to do with the fact Ben cannot voice his concerns/opinions so aiden always has to glance at him to make sure he’s not missing any important signal. But I also think it has to do with his childhood (I don’t have fast pass or anything this is just based off of theories/analysis based on his character bc I do that a lot 🤒). Anyways, he has a specific way of comforting people that I think it’s rlly niche. He uses his hands and gets the person what he thinks they need. Like in the attached images he gets ashlyn fabric to squeeze and distracts her with light conversation, and he immediately offers to take a walk with Ben and get some fresh air. If a person refuses or asks him for space, he immediately obeys and doesn’t question their decision. He’s very trusting and understanding. He gives people room to make mistakes and gives them room to ask for help. I’m mainly bringing this up because it ties back to something I’m gonna talk about in Taylor’s section. I just think that this detail is so important to his character and we always brush over it. I don’t wanna say he doesn’t like physical touch, bc he’s always touching everything around him, but I like to think his main love language is acts of service. When you really look at it, his actions speak a lot louder than his bickering and it really helps display how much each character means to him individually. what elseee. He’s able to quickly adjust and assess situations (like when he attacked the phantom or pulled up ashlyn in the bus). He’s very quick to his feet and always needs to be interacting with something to keep his hands busy. Aiden just really don’t gaf 99% of the time (unless it’s Ben / ashlyn) and honestly that’s why I like him. He doesn’t take anything seriously or personally. clap it up for my hb. Also I notice the sbg fandom has a habit of doing it with everyone, but I feel like Aiden is always reduced to his impulsive behaviors and ‘crazy kid’ persona. please guys. look deeper into Aiden Clark. Instead of wasting your energy trying to defend a NERDY FREAK like Logan fields, you should study more on Aiden Clark and his complex character.

yes. do that. rn. You want to so badly. I know you do. Do it. Go reread sbg and focus on Aiden. wowwww. I know you want to. (I’m hypnotizing you btw) Or just ask me I can talk about Aiden (or really any character) alll day long. Ask me anything about anyone and I’ll tell you what I think with proof and evidence. yes. I just need to cut it short because I have to talk about everyone else to. But study Aiden Clark. do it. really. really. Right now. Go. Go. Now. PLUS Aiden’s probably the least likely to die because he’s to cool for that + he’s better than death and injury. YAAA!!! MAKE AIDEN CLARK UR FAV BC YOULL BE SAFE FROM ANGST 🎉

only thing I don’t like about Aiden gotta be his fashion sense sometimes (usually beginning S1). like WHAT R U WEARING MAN???? 🙁

TAYLOR:

okay now let me talk about my shnukums Taylor. I love her a lot but her and Tyler had very different childhoods regardless of the fact they were in the same situation.

We don’t know a lot about Taylor’s version of growing up, so a lot of the details are vague but everything I say is based off of observations and analyses I have personally made, so please take everything I say about Taylor’s backstory with a grain of salt and understand that no matter what, both twins were majorly affected by the passing of their father and illness of their mother.

At first i thought of Taylor was the more lucky one out of Tyler and Taylor when it came to their childhood. Yes she struggled, I knew that, but Tyler was under a lot of stress. But that’s when I realized that she suffered just as much. Although she didn’t need to sacrifice herself to help her family survive, like Tyler did, she went though the most loss. She lost her mother, father, and brother all overnight. One second they were all happy together and the next she was all alone. Physically, her mother and brother were still there, but they were both shells. Her mother isolated by grief and her brother isolated by responsibility. She was all alone. Yes Tyler did his best to support her, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t much he could do to change the situation. Taylor suffered a lot, and since people mostly focus on Tyler, we never really see Taylor’s POV of it all.

Now her backstory leads me into the fact Taylor is the most socially smart character in sbg. She is also the most observant and supportive. This is not to say others aren’t observant/supportive, like Aiden for an example, but she does it much differently. I would attach a picture here but I’m close to maxing out the photo limit and I want to save it for later.

Taylor is very good at reading the emotions of other characters. She is also very observant. Taylor is often the first to notice when a charater is uncomfortable, panicked, or harmed. For an example, she’s the first to notice Ashlyn’s fear back at the house. Unlike Aiden, Taylor is able to verbally let people know she is there for them. She comforts them through words and physical affection. Taylor is usually aware of how much support someone is in need of and the best way to display it for them specifically. For an example when Logan was getting bullied, she defended him against Tyler’s mean words and held his shoulder for reassurance. This same tactic would not work for ashlyn, and Taylor is aware of that. So, when ashlyn broke down about the struggles of being leader, Taylor comforted her through words and reassured her fears. Taylor opened up a space for ashlyn to be scared and share her burden. She was able to do all of this in only a couple of moments. This skills also becomes a werid quirk when she is able to sense Tyler’s condition in the hospital, but maybe that was just twin senses? 🤷‍♀️ idk

Taylor is also very aware of everyone around her. We know that she is very social and has a lot of friends and connections, but she also educates herself on the people she doesn’t interact with. Even if she doesn’t know a lot, she makes sure to acknowledge their presence at the very least.

What does her ability to read emotion have to do with her childhood? Well, Taylor basically lived with a shell of a family. Tyler was under constant stress, which made him prone to outbursts. Her mother was disabled by grief. Taylor was in a situation that made her feel like she had to take care of her family mentally. It was, to her, the least she could do. So, she was mentally mature from a very young age. Although having to hold the burdens of others constantly is very unhealthy, I’m not sure if she’ll crack because of it.

Taylor being very social and having a lot of friends is also another example of how she’s different from Tyler and how their shared childhood affected them differently. Tyler saw people as distractions while Taylor sees them as her means to keep living. Taylor lives off of other peoples energy, and she maintains the energy of other people by being a supportive beam for them. This is also why I’m okay with Taylor being shipped with others. She’s use to being around people and can form close bonds with others while still only viewing them as friends. Tyler cannot do the same. Taylor is in a position where she can expand her horizons into romantic relations if she was interested in doing so. That’s why I feel as though it’s okay (if that doesn’t make sense I’ll explain it again, but I tried to condense it down)

Something I don’t like about Taylor is that we haven’t gotten to see her brain in action yet. We know she’s the president of the robotics club , but we haven’t had the chance to see her charater support the story in any other way but socially and mentally. The story is only at 60 episodes though, and I’m sure we will see it eventually. Im just impatient and want to see women in STEM shine 😣😣 I wish I could talk about her more, but we barely know anything about Taylor as of right now. I will say it’s interesting how she told her and Tyler’s backstory, but only talked about how Tyler was affected and not herself. Interesting… I hope we learn more about her experiences and I hope I’m right 🙏 also CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE HOW PRETTY SHE IS??? UGHH I LOVE HER SMM

TYLER:

I feel like Tyler has been the topic of discussion for the past couple of months because his backstory was revealed and the end of S1 / beginning of S2 was all about him and his past, so I don’t have a lot to say that I haven’t already said. but I do really like Tyler. At first when he was in his jock era I was very , oh! about him. but he’s actually warmed up to me sooooo much since then. he’s so goofy I just want more interactions between him and Aiden. I think I good place to start is how much I HATE people shipping him with other members of the main cast. I talked about it a little in Taylor’s section, but him and Taylor had very different childhoods. Again, I’m not saying their father’s death and mother’s illness was not hard on the both of them, but Tyler was under a lot of pressure too. We know he isolated himself harshly, and stopped having fun all together. The way I look at it, everything, including living day-to-day, became a chore for Tyler. Ever since he was a little kid. His dad’s death changed his entire world overnight. He had to learn how to physically and mentally support everyone important to him, because if he couldn’t no one else would. Tyler had to learn everything about living life by himself as a baby just so everyone else could survive. He stopped having fun. Little kids find fun in everything. Tyler stopped himself from finding it. He didn’t do anything for himself anymore. He was almost like a empty shell doing automatic tasks so that his sister and mother could have space to grow, heal, and live. In a sense, it was self sacrifice (which he attempts again when he tells the group to leave him behind)

So when Taylor tells us that the main cast started to become an extension of the family he sacrificed himself for, it’s so heavy on his character. Especially because for once in a long time he started relating his ‘family’ back to joy and fun, not just safety and survival. That’s why it bothers me when people ship him with others. It’s so werid to imply he’d date any of the main cast when he sees them as his family. consider them blood-siblings if you gotta, but just stop shipping them. PLEAASSSSEEEEEEEEEEE. otherwise I’ll eat your dog. thanks! also him being friends with the main cast at all is such a huge step for him. I don’t think Tyler has time to get involved with romantic relationships when he believes friends are a distraction. I know a lot of people go to romance when they want to express how strong a connection is between two characters, but you guys are forgetting that Tyler considering everyone as his friends is sooooo much more complex and deep compared to (for an example) Logan saying he considers everyone his friend. ANYWAYS ENOUGHHH!!! let’s move on.

I also wanna talk about this scene (I was to lazy to go find the original scene so the flashback is all you get). I never really realized how much ashlyn ordering Tyler around must’ve affected him. He literally spent his whole life making decisions and taking leadership and all of a sudden some random lil girl is over here telling him to stfu and sit his ass down. I would imagine as mad as he was, he probably felt a least a bit of relief. For once the responsibility wasn’t on him, at least not only on him. He could share his burden with others, and he wasn’t suffocated by being responsible for the lives of everyone else. We see this same struggle affect ashlyn, as she feels like being leader strangles her with the weight of guilt, paranoia, and responsibility. Imagine if Tyler had been the one to bare that weight after everything he’s already been through? he would’ve cracked, whether we like it or not. so let’s clap it up for ashlyn rq!!! yasss girl 😋 I know I’m rambling a lot about tyler but I know a lot about him and want to talkkk 😣 but here is my last point: Tyler’s coping mechanism to the unknown and things that confuse him is denial. Just like his mother 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

woww! do you guys remember when Tyler thought this whole thing was a joke? me too! he would’ve never thought this silly prank would almost kill him. Tyler’s mom probably thought her husband’s illness wouldn’t kill him either. oops! 😂 (I’m going kms). sorry. my point is they both refused to believe it happened (although his mom’s denial may have been more of a trauma response while his was just to help him cope). Even with evidence, they both couldn’t understand what had happened to them and pretending nothing was wrong. Tyler saw the picture of the phantom’s shadow and brushed it off to technology he couldn’t understand yet. he felt more comfortable with not knowing how technology worked rather than not knowing if he was in danger. his mother is similar. She couldn’t understand and cope with the death of her husband, even though he died in front of her. She felt more comfortable not understanding why he was late from work than understanding he was dead and gone. Guess it runs in the family? 🤷‍♀️ and since these are all things I like about his character, I will tell you what I don’t like. THAT STUPID ASS JOCK ATTUIDE FROM S1. okay I didn’t hate it, and it fit him sometimes, and I kinda miss it sometimes, but he’s like 5’5 and a stick, he is not beating no one’s ass 😭 respectfully. now he could probably rock me but he’s matured a bit since S1 so it’s different. Tyler’s not even my favorite idk why I talked about him sm , especially when I held off on talking about Aiden because I didn’t want to say to much 🤦‍♀️ whatever

BEN:

I have a lot to say about Benny boy, especially because he is SOOOOOO mischaraterized. Now I won’t go crazy like I did for the twins because I’m thinking about making a separate post just about Ben (maybe.. maybe not idk). plus I just reminded myself anon asked me to just say a few things I like and disliked about each charater not give crazy long paragraph about them. so, sorry Ben but you will probably have the most boring paragraph of them all. I still love you a lot pookie 🙏 I’m just tired AND MAXED OUT THE AMOUNT OF PICS I CAN USE EVEN THO I NEED TO TALK ABOUT U WHILE USING PICS 🤒 anyways enough rambling.

bens charater is often reduced to his backstory which genuinely makes me want to start tweaking out. if you expand on why his trauma affects him, then I will happily listen to you talk. But when most the fandom sees Ben as “music boy who hate bully, will fight you if you be mean” it makes me so SAAAADDDDD. no, Ben will NOT beat my ass for making fun of Logan. That’s like… the whole point of his backstory? He doesn’t like violence, at all. He’s ashamed of his anger issues. He blames himself for having to move and putting his family in danger. The only reason he got involved with Logan’s fight was because the phantom interference + no one was there to help calm him down.

also he doesn’t only do music. he draws too! he’s a very artistic dude. He also gardens. Ben be planting food and shit. which (as much as I HATE the ship) Logan n Ben shippers could probably use to their advantage. Yk bc Ben gardens and Logan helps his grandparents in their greenhouse? wtv. Bens prob growing flowers for Taylor anyways. Fuck Logan. sorry.

Ben is also very compassionate and gentle. He’s always thinking about what’s best for the group, even if it puts him in an uncomfortable position, like sharing his trauma. Ben is also very soft hearted. He gets flustered very easily, we see this when ashlyn and Taylor complimented him. He is very protective over those he cares about and he does not come to play, ever. Also his character development from S1 makes me so happy. He use to be attached to Aiden’s hip 24/7 and we could often only understand his emotions when Aiden would translate him to us. But we’ve seen lately that he’s much closer to Taylor, even putting her safety before his own.

wow, gentleman alert❗️if I didn’t run out of photo space than I would’ve shown more examples where he holds onto others as a way to comfort or protect them. he’s so respectful I might cry. maybe I will make a Ben-centered post. I need to show you guys pictures so you can understand what I’m saying. But Ben is growing and he needs more attention. thank you.

SUMMARY:

Ashlyn

pros:

- has crazy potential + most hinted at lore

- very relateable

-introverted but stands on business

-W relationship development between her and the cast, very natural and not forced

- her hair

cons:

- she is very hesitant to spill info (only in earlier chaps tho!)

Aiden

pros:

- silly

- observant of those he cares about

- acts of service love language

- trusting/understanding

- quick on his feet

- good at assessing situations/making plans

- he doesn’t GAF 🦅🦅 EVAAA

cons:

- often misunderstood / mischaraterized by the fandom

- has ugly ass outfits sometimes

Taylor

pros:

- most socially smart character in sbg

- good at reading emotions

- good at comforting others

- aware of her surroundings/the people around her

- supportive

- social

- super pretty

- wrote a paragraph on why it’s ok to ship her with the rest of the cast js cuz

cons:

- we don’t see enough of her robotics president side, show me women in STEM 🤬

- we never saw how she experienced childhood (yet..)

Tyler

pros:

- deep childhood trauma/responsibility

- sacrificed himself for his family twice

- not meant to be shipped with anyone in main cast

- sees main cast as family

- he finally made friends

- talked about the scene where ash tells him to shut his bitchass up

- copes by using denial (js like his mom)

cons:

- his jock attitude during S1

Ben

pros:

- hates violence

- angery at his anger issues

- ashamed of his past

- draws and gardens as hobbies

- compassionate and gentle

- soft hearted

- easily flustered

- very protective

- slow but steady quiet charater development

- a gentleman

cons:

- you guys mischaraterize him a lot (like someone told me he doesn’t change as a character bc he never speaks, ts made me mad asf)

THATS ALL! THANK YOU FOR ASKING!! again feel free to as me questions about anything at all even if you didn’t read allat. And if you did, thank you ur so sweet and amazing. Sorry for writing sm 😢

also everyone is open to their own opinions, this is just what I think. As always, I’m always down to debate.

[a-queer-seminarian]

Walter Brueggemann's Chosen? Reading the Bible amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2015)

I've been searching for biblical scholarship on disconnecting biblical Israel from the modern nation of Israel. It felt necessary to read Brueggemann's take, as he is one of the best-known Hebrew Bible scholars of our time. So for those interested, here are my thoughts! (Btw, I've posted this same piece on Medium if you prefer reading it there.)

My review in one sentence:

I did find this book helpful in articulating the distinctions between biblical Israel and modern Israel, as well as how both modern Israel and Christian Zionists have co-opted the biblical narrative to serve their own agendas;

however, I strongly disagree with Brueggemann's staunch support of modern Israel, which he maintains as he acknowledges that its military is vastly overpowered and that its treatment of Palestinians is unconscionable.

Summing up my summary:

If you want to know the key points Brueggemann makes without reading through the rest of this post, here they are:

How biblical Israel and modern Israel are not the same:

While biblical Israel was a theocracy relying on theological claims, modern Israel relies on military might and power politics (as well as support from Western powers like the United States).

Deuteronomy and the prophets emphasize that while God gave the Israelites the "promised land" unconditionally, their retaining of that land is conditional on whether they obey Torah. Modern Israel's violence against Palestine is absolutely not obedient to Torah, which emphasizes protection of "the other."

Other key points:

Trying to apply scripture to any modern issue is complex and risky, because scripture is an ancient collection of differing viewpoints; our own personal biases will color which biblical voices we uplift to further our own agendas.

Even so, taking all of scripture together, God's reach is clearly towards "the Other" — towards the most vulnerable of society — and our interpretation should reflect that. Ultimately, none of us should be able to morph biblical symbols or themes into an uncompromising ideology to justify our violence or bigotry.

Zionist Jews more or less hold that Judaism = Israel / the "promised" land. Other Jews emphasize that they are "people of the book" (Torah), which means that Judaism can be practiced anywhere!

Meanwhile, Christian Zionists co-opt Jewish Zionism to serve their own agenda to Catalyze The Eschaton lol (i.e. how to make the Second Coming of Christ happen; learn more about this at christianzionism.org). Christians also appropriate the biblical concept of Jews being God's chosen people for our own uses, which is supersessionist.

My full summary, key quotes, and longer review are below the readmore. Alternatively, read or share this piece as a Medium article.

I'm going to write about the stuff I actually found helpful in this book first, and then end with more critique of Brueggemann's personal politics. After all, I read this book for help with the biblical scholarship side of things, not for opinions about a "solution" to this issue, and the book did deliver on what I came to it for. Even so, awareness of the author's personal views is important in noticing where his scholarship leans towards that bias (as I believe Brueggemann would agree).

Book Summary:

Introduction: 

Brueggemann notes that "much has changed" since he wrote a previous book on this topic (The Land, 1977): since then, Israel has become an immense military power, has escalated its occupation of the West Bank, and continues to be "indifferent" to Palestinians' well-being.

Thus this new book aims to clarify that “...peace will come only with the legitimation of the political reality of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Book thesis: a warning to and hope for Christians:

“It will not do for Christian readers of the Bible to reduce the Bible to an ideological prop for the state of Israel, as though support for Israel were a final outcome of biblical testimony.”

“It is my hope that the Christian community in the United States will cease to appeal to the Bible as a direct support for the state of Israel and will have the courage to deal with the political realities without being cowed by accusations of anti-Semitism.”

Chapter 1: Reading the Bible in the Midst of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Chapter’s aim: determine how to read the Bible responsibly in the face of this conflict — can the Bible guide us at all here? Trying to apply scripture to any contemporary issue is risky, because the Bible’s multiple voices allows us to draw the conclusions we want to.

Modern Israel claims that God gave ancient Israel the “promised” land unconditionally, so that it remains promised to Jews today.

They’re drawing from the ancestral narratives of Genesis 

But other biblical voices hold a different point of view: Deuteronomy and the prophets understand the land as given unconditionally but held conditionally — if the people break their end of the bargain, they can (and eventually do!) lose the land.

Among the biblical authors reckoning with Judah’s fall, there are exclusionists and inclusionists

Ezra the exclusionist: “Ezra referred to the community as ‘the holy seed’ (9:2). That phrase intends a biological identity…” Ezra had foreign wives expelled in order to guarantee “the purity of the land and of Israelite society”; modern Israel favors this reading, uses it to argue for “one people in one land”

Post-exilic inclusionists pave the way for expressions of Judaism that welcome the other:

Jonah is sent to show God’s mercy to Nineveh, a major oppressor of Israel; Ruth the Moabite is part of David's line; Isaiah 56:1-8 radically welcomes foreigners & eunuchs [my personal fave passage in all of scripture btw]

So any arguments using one of these two voices tend to fail because the other one is also present in the text

However, throughout scripture God’s reach tends to be towards the other. Thus any view that excludes the other should be met with skepticism – more likely to be about our own fears and hopes “that serve self-protection and end in destruction”

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be resolved until the human rights of the other are recognized and guaranteed. These human rights are demanded by sociopolitical reality. They are, moreover, the bottom line of Judaism that has not been preempted by Zionist ideology.”

Desmond Tutu: “...the liberation of Palestine will liberate Israel, too.”

Chapter 2: God’s Chosen People: Claim and Problem

The Hebrew Bible makes no sense if we ignore its claim that Israel is God’s chosen people — a claim which carries on into Judaism today. The chapter explores whether this chosenness is revocable and if not, who carries it today. Ultimately, it concludes that any “chosen” group must “choose beyond their chosenness” to end the violence.

At least 3 traditions in scripture imply that Israel is God's chosen, all without explaining why God chooses Israel — it's beyond explaining, doesn't need to be explained

Ancestral tradition of Abraham — God promises “to be God to you and to your children after you” (Gen. 17:7). “The drama of the book of Genesis, in each generation, is whether God will grant an heir who can carry the promise and live as God’s covenant partner.”

Exodus tradition — here God declares that “Israel is my firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22). Firstborn son = role of “special privilege and entitlement but also one of responsibility.”

Sinai tradition — “Israel is given opportunity to be God’s ‘treasured possession out of all peoples’ (Exod. 19:5).”

“In these traditions, however, the specific language of “chosen” is not exactly used. It remained for Deuteronomy, which represents perhaps a later tradition, to utilize the most direct and unambiguous rhetoric for Israel’s status as God’s chosen people: 

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6).

Deuteronomy gives a reason for this chosenness: it’s not because Israel is more numerous or righteous, but because God “set his heart” on Israel and “loved” Israel (7:7–8; 10:15). 

The exilic texts also reaffirm that Israel remains God’s chosen — beautiful in the face of all the seeming rejection of being humiliated and displaced.

But there are two big questions that problematize the chosenness that the biblical authors take for granted:

1. Is this chosenness conditional? Most biblical texts seem to assume it is unconditional and permanent; but places like Exodus 19:5 and parts of the prophets name a conditional if — that the people’s covenantal chosenness depends on their obedience to the Torah.

2. Has this theological claim morphed into an ideological claim that functions as self-justification? — particularly in the context of the modern state of Israel, but also…

Christians have appropriated the concept of being “God’s chosen”

The United States has too — we are the “city set on a hill” according to the first Puritan governor; we are God’s emancipated, coming from the “wilderness” of Europe to the “promised land” of the New World. And now we are Moses to the “benighted peoples” of the world, butting in with our military to “save” them.

Even liberation theology takes the concept of chosenness and applies it to the poor. “Jon Levenson, a noted Jewish interpreter, has protested against the notion of the poor as God’s chosen people, as though to usurp the claim from the Jews to that status.”

Another issue: what about the unchosen?

Genesis’ ancestral tradition is aware of other peoples, makes a place for them “as those who are blessed by the life of Israel”

Paul takes this “good news” that God’s promise reaches beyond Israel to argue for the “admission of Gentiles”

Prophets also explore this issue — through Amos 9:7 and 3:2 we find that Israel is “chosen for obedience but without monopoly of God’s saving deeds, especially when presumed upon.”

Ultimately, those who are “chosen” — be they Israel, USA, or church — must “choose beyond their chosenness” or expect present violence to yield to a future of endless violence.

Chapter 3: Holy Land?

Digging deeper into the biblical theme of land in the light of all that’s happening in Palestine. Even though it’s only a “small ingredient” in the current conflict, it is one that needs to be explored. Within Judaism, Zionists equate Judaism and the land, while other Jews focus on being "people of the book" (Torah), meaning that Judaism can be practiced anywhere!

Reiterates how “the land is given to Israel unconditionally, but it is held by Israel conditionally."

Adds that one thing that leads to disobedience, which then leads to land loss, is “the temptation to self-sufficiency” (drawing from Deut. 6:18)

Another interesting point is that the Torah, “the most authoritative textual tradition in the Hebrew Bible, ends before Israel enters the land (see Deut. 34:4). That is, Israel’s original or earliest tradition is not about having the land; it is about anticipating the land.”

Turns out that the prophets’ “if” is correct; the land is losable, as Israel and Judah do fall, with many Judeans deported

And yet — “The story does not end with land loss, displacement, and grief. Most stunningly, in this season of deeply felt abandonment there wells up a bold and vigorous reassertion of the land promise.”

The prophets argue that God will “reperform the land promise” 

One key question: how central and indispensable are the land and land promise for Judaism’s existence?

The Zionist movement argues Judaism = the land (disregarding the Deuteronomic if)

But in the 5th century BCE as Judaism was developing, different Jews had differing opinions; some exiles were not “smitten with” returning to the land.

“One compelling alternative to land theology is the recognition that Judaism consists most elementally in interpretation of and obedience to the Torah in its requirements of justice and holiness. Such intense adherence to the Torah can be done anywhere at all.”

[PS: if you're interested in an anti-Zionist Jewish view from the early 1900s, check out this article on the General Jewish Labour Bund]

Second key question: Is today’s Israel the biblical Israel?

No. While biblical Israel was a theocracy relying on theological claims, modern Israel relies on military might and power politics.

Furthermore, any appeal to theology for self-justification holds no weight among Israel’s “adversaries”; it’s just not compelling to anyone outside Zionism.

Chapter 4: Zionism and Israel

Opens with discussion of “Zion” as the poetic name for Jerusalem, has poetic force

The restoration of Zion is a primary theme in places like Second Isaiah

Delves into the history of Jewish Zionism, from the nineteenth century, through the Balfour Declaration, into 1948. [JVP has an article that delves into this history more thoroughly.]

By 1967, this ideology had “hardened” into something completely uncompromising, wanting Palestinians to just go away.

Differences between Jewish and Christian Zionism, and different branches under each umbrella

It seems like Brueggemann would call himself a Christian Zionist, of the kind that resists weird End Times versions of it, but wholeheartedly supports Israel even while insisting on critique of its violence…

His problem with Zionism isn’t that we shouldn’t have an ethnostate or whatever, but that Zion has been morphed from a biblical “symbol” into an uncompromising ideology, and thus Israel uses Zionism to claim itself beyond critique.

Brueggemann's closing statement: “...it is characteristically the ongoing work of responsible faith to make such a critique of any ideology that co-opts faith for a one-dimensional cause that is taken to be above criticism. Indeed, ancient prophetic assessments of the Jerusalem establishment were just such a critique against a belief system that had reduced faith to a self-serving ideology. Because every uncompromising ideology reduces faith to an idolatry, such critical work in faith continues to be important.”

___

Key Quotes

For even more excerpts from the book, visit this Google Doc.

On the complexity of biblical interpretation/application

“We may draw these conclusions about reading the Bible.

It is important in any case to recognize that the Bible refuses to speak in a single voice. It argues with itself, and we must avoid simplistic, reductionist readings of any ilk.

Any “straight-line” reading from ancient text to contemporary issues is sure to be suspect in its oversimplification. Such a reading disregards the huge impact of historical distance between the text and our current context.

Such a straight-line reading that ignores historical distance is most likely to be propelled by an ideology, that is, by a deeply held conviction that is immune to critical thought and is unswayed by argument, by reason, or by the facts on the ground. That is, it disregards complexities in the process of interpretation. A one-dimensional, uncritical appropriation of the ancient land promises for the state of Israel is exactly such a conviction that is immune to critical thought, reason, or facts on the ground. ...

...Tribalism, often in Christian practice expressed as sectarianism, tends to absolutize its claims to the exclusion of all else. The tribe or sect characteristically imagines that it has a final formulation, a final interpretation. Absolutist readings of the Bible lead to violent actions against one’s opponent…"

On the Land

“The dispute between Palestinians and Israelis is elementally about land and secondarily about security and human rights. ...while the state of Israel continues to 'negotiate' with the Palestinians, the dominant Zionist appeal to land promises continues to hold intransigently to the exclusionary claim that all the land belongs to Israel and the unacceptable other must be excluded, either by law or by coercive violence.” (ch. 1)

“As we ponder the grand sweep of this vision that runs from Abraham to King Cyrus of Persia, two questions arise: First, how central and indispensable are the land and the land promise for Judaism’s existence?  The contemporary Zionist movement would have us believe that Judaism is equated with the land and, consequently, with support for the state of Israel as the present embodiment of the land of promise. ...That approach, however, amounts to a particular interpretive trajectory that is not required by the tradition, and it disregards the Deuteronomic if: that the land is held conditionally. This interpretive position, like every interpretive position, requires a careful reading of carefully selected texts.  More crucial is the recognition that while the land tradition is of immense importance for the textual tradition, Judaism as it took form in the fifth century BCE was in fact not uniform and represented a variety of interpretive possibilities. Specifically, there were many Jews in exile who were not smitten with the land of Judah and who did not feel compelled by faith to return to the land. One compelling alternative to land theology is the recognition that Judaism consists most elementally in interpretation of and obedience to the Torah in its requirements of justice and holiness. Such intense adherence to the Torah can be done anywhere at all. Thus, land theology is, at least in some traditions of Judaism, relativized by the recognition that Judaism is a “religion of the book” (the Torah) and consists in the practice and interpretation of texts. Robert Alter has noted that Judaism is primarily a “culture of interpretation” that refuses absolutizing any conclusions from the text; we may assume that this includes absolutizing conclusions about the land…” (ch. 3)

Distinctions between Modern Israel & Biblical Israel

“...there is a huge difference between the ancient Israel of the biblical text and the contemporary state of Israel. While defenders of the state of Israel insist upon the identity of the two, many more-critical observers see that there is a defining difference between a covenant people and a state that relies on military power without reference to covenantal restraints.” (Q&A)

"...[T]he state of Israel can, like any nation-state, make its legitimate political claims and insist upon legitimate security. But appeal to the ancient faith traditions about land promise in order to justify its claims carries little conviction except for those who innocently and uncritically accept the authority of that ancient story. At most, appeal to the land tradition can “energize the base,” that is, evoke support from adherents to the ancient promise. Such an appeal, however, carries little if any force for any who are outsiders to that narrative. It is no claim to be used in negotiations because it is grounded in theological claims to which Israel’s adversaries will give no weight. ...The appeal to the biblical promise must simply be set alongside very old claims made by the Palestinians." (ch. 3)

On Chosenness — what about the "unchosen"?

“The matter of other peoples who are not chosen is a very important element in any talk about the chosen people. In the tradition of the ancestors in Genesis, there is clearly an awareness of the other peoples and an effort to make a place for them as those who are blessed by the life of Israel. ... One can, moreover, see at the edge of the Old Testament an inclusion of other peoples in the sphere of God’s attentiveness, an inclusion that intends to mitigate any exclusionary claim by Israel. In Amos 9:7, in which the prophet intends to critique sharply the pride of Israel, he makes a claim that God enacts exoduses for other peoples as well as for Israel:

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me, O people of Israel? says the Lord. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor  and the Arameans from Kir?

In the later lines of this poem, the prophet names ancient Israel’s two most immediate enemies, the Philistines and the Arameans, as recipients of God’s deliverance. The text does not go so far as to name them as chosen of God, but the claim may be implied. Of course, it is this same Amos who says in his polemic against Israel:

You only have I known [chosen] of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (3:2)

In this verse, the prophet acknowledges the singular chosenness of Israel, but it is that chosenness that evokes harsh divine judgment. The evident tension between Amos 9:7 and 3:2 indicates the edginess of the claim of chosenness, thus chosen for obedience but without monopoly of God’s saving deeds, especially when presumed upon. (ch. 2)

Making Room for the Other

“Welcome to the other appears to be a romantic dream in the world of real politics, and certainly current Israeli policy would find such openness to the Palestinians to be absurd. But if welcome to the other is considered romanticism, so ultimate exclusion of the other is a suicidal policy, because the other will not go away and cannot simply be wished away or forced away. As a result, the question of the other becomes the interpretive key to how to read the Bible. The other can be perceived, as in Zionist perspective, as a huge threat to the security of the state and the well-being of the holy seed. Conversely, the other can be perceived as a neighbor with whom to work at shalom.” (ch. 1)

Brueggemann's Suggestion for How Christians Should Respond to the so-called "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"

“In the end, Israelis and Palestinians are finally neighbors and have long been neighbors. When ideology coupled with unrivaled power is preferred to sharing the neighborhood, the chance for neighborliness is forfeited. Christians must pay attention to the possibility for neighborliness and must refuse protection and support for neighborhood bullies. Christians must support political efforts to strengthen the hand of the “middle body” of political opinion among Israelis and Palestinians to overcome the dominance of extremists on both sides who seem to want war and victory rather than peace and justice. Christians must call for new thinking in the U.S. government and do some new thinking that no longer assumes the old judgments about the vulnerability of Israel.  Prophetic faith is characteristically contemporary in its anticipation of the purpose of God; it insists on truth-telling that is attentive to bodily suffering, and it refuses ideological pretenses. It will tell the truth in the face of distortions that come with ideological passion and unrestrained power. When truthfulness about human suffering is honored, new possibilities of a just kind can and do emerge. Thus, being able to differentiate between old mantras and urgent truthfulness is a beginning point for faithful engagement in the real world.” (Q&A)

“God’s Holy Mountain” by Oscar (Asher) Frohlich

___

Returning to My Disagreements with Brueggemann’s Politics

In the introduction to Chosen? (2015), Brueggemann alludes to his previous book on this topic, The Land (1977). He admits that that book needs revising, as it didn’t contend with Palestinians’ suffering under Israeli occupation. Yet he is quick to emphasize right off the bat (and in pretty much every chapter) that he continues to support the state of Israel wholeheartedly, considering its continued existence necessary for the security of Jews worldwide:

“Mindful of the long history of Christian anti-Semitism and the deep fissure of the Shoah [e.g. Holocaust], we have surely been right to give thanks for the founding of the state of Israel and the securing of a Jewish homeland. But the issues have altered dramatically as the state of Israel has developed into a major military power that continues administrative-military control of the Palestinian territories.” (Acknowledgements)

For alternative perspectives, I recommend anti-Zionist Jewish perspectives like here, and here, and here, and here. In short, shipping all Jews off to a settler colony is not the solution to bigotry and violence against Jews; instead, every culture actually dealing with its antisemitism is. 

(Then there are the glaring facts that Israel is racist about which Jews it prioritizes; has a long history of mistreating Shoah survivors; and discriminates against Jews who show support for Palestine. If an ethnostate is truly the only way to keep all Jews safe, Irael is majorly failing that assignment.)

But back to the book: Brueggemann takes for granted that modern Israel is the correct response to the problem of worldwide antisemitism — in essence, to what he calls the “continuing vulnerability of Jews.” Still, he sees that Israel’s military has “long since moved past the vulnerability of the beginning of a fragile state” (Q&A).

So keep the state, but reduce its military; that’s Brueggemann’s solution in a nutshell — at least insofar as he states it in this book. To be fair, this text’s goal isn’t to formulate an airtight “solution” to the violence against Palestine. Still, what solution Brueggemann does suggest in Chosen? can be summed up in this bit from the Q&A at the end:

“There is, in my judgment, no realistic hope for any two-state solution. For all of the pretense and obfuscation of Israel, it never intends to allow a viable Palestinian state, so two-state negotiations simply buy more time for the development and expansion of the state of Israel. 

It may be that the solution will be found in a one-state solution that insists upon well-protected human rights for Palestinians while the Israeli occupation is fully recognized. A settlement will require an even-handed engagement by the Great Powers (including the United States) as well as acts of greater courage and political will by the immediate parties to the conflict.”

Again, I know it’s not his goal to come up with a perfect solution, but I have so many questions about this version of a one-state solution. For one thing, will Palestinians be made full citizens of Israel in order to ensure their rights are protected? Or will they permanently be second-class (non-)citizens / trapped in this limbo of not being allowed to exist as their own recognized state? What about their right to self-representation? Furthermore, must Israel remain an ethnostate in order to be this supposed safe-haven for all Jews?

My last comment on Brueggemann’s perspective is that, if he does understand that Israel is the oppressor of the Palestinians, he still — at least as of the writing of this book in 2015 — has work to do in un-internalizing a mindset that pretends the two sides are equally responsible for this “conflict.” Indeed, the use of the term “Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” in the book’s very title highlights this issue — this term implies equal footing between the two sides, rather than making it clear that Israel is the aggressor and any violence that Palestinians respond with is resistance to that aggression, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and yes, even genocide. 

Along with the book’s title, other comments throughout the text imply equal footing between Israel and Palestine. Here are two examples, both from chapter 1:

“…Israeli Zionists want Palestinians to go away. Conversely many Arabs wish Israel would go away. But they will not.”

Palestinians’ and Israelis’ fear of the other, said to be grounded in the Bible, has been transposed into a military apparatus that is aimed at the elimination of the other…”

Both of these comments fail to emphasize the different sources of these wishes and fears for Israelis versus Palestinians. For Israel, the wish that Palestinians would “go away” is a desire to take the land from —  to literally seize and dwell in the homes — Palestinians. Meanwhile, any Palestinians who wish Israelis would just “go away” are wishing to be left alone in their own homes that they built, the agricultural lands they have long tended.

Same with their respective “fear of the other”: Israel spins propaganda to represent Palestinians as hateful and antisemitic, a threat to Israeli’s peace, taking incidents of resistance out of context to do so; Palestinians’ fear of Israelis is based in real and recurring incidents of ethnic cleansing, imprisonment and torture, and daily deprivations and insults.

To speak of the desires and fears of both sides as if they are equivalent, without carefully emphasizing the power dynamic between oppressor/oppressed, colonizer/colonized, is negligent and dangerous. It does nothing to “take seriously” “the brutalizing, uncompromising policy of Israel toward the Palestinian people and their political future” (Q&A) as Brueggemann purports as his aim.

This article, “The Myth of the Cycle of Violence,” discusses the problems with treating Israeli and Palestinian violence equally.

Wrapping up

I am very curious to know whether and how Brueggemann’s perspective between the time of this book’s publication in 2015 and today. How did he respond to the explosion of violence in 2021? To October 7, 2023, and Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza? Does he continue to believe that the state of Israel is necessary for Jewish well-being worldwide? I only did a cursory search; if anyone has any information on Brueggemann’s views today, please do share.

Or if you have thoughts of Brueggemann's take, share that too!

Finally, if anyone has suggestions for more texts I should read as I explore the relationship between scripture and modern Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestine, let me know!

Stay tuned for more summaries and reviews. In the meantime, one source I recommend but won’t be reviewing is Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s recent newsletter post “Debunking the conquest narrative.”

[sugawhaaa]

Jeongin x reader

~Rainism~

[Fanfic is not inspired by the song btw lolol]

Warnings: Suggestive

Genere:fluff to smut, romantic

Word count: 1,449

Songs to listen to while reading:

A/N: I FINALLY WROTE A FANFIC FOR MY VERY FIRST BIAS!!!!! Idk why I didn't do this sooner because yall don't understand how fucking down bad I am for this man...like even my therapists hear about him every session...

This fanfiction is not proofread

You and Jeongin laid on a hill looking up at the stars. Your hand held Jeongin's slender hand despite the fact your hand felt like it was on fire due to his warm hands. It was around 10 pm…ish. That was just a guess. Earlier you and your boyfriend went out for just a short walk, without your phones, but ended up stopping on this little hill. So on and so forth and now you're looking up at the stars together.

"Do you think we should go home now?" You said turning to him. You watched the stars twinkle in his gorgeous eyes and felt yourself fall in love with him all over again.

"No…this is nice," he said, smiling lightly, still staring at the night sky. Then he suddenly sat up, startling you "Unless you want to go home, it's totally fine if you do I just-"

You stopped his rambling by putting your finger up to his soft lips and sitting up next to him.

"It's fine. I like this too," you said smiling fondly at him. His cheeks lit up a soft pink as he looked at your other hand which was on the ground keeping you up. You laid back down and took a deep breath. Jeongin soon followed you back down to the grass. "The moon looks beautiful tonight," you said as you stared at the white orb hanging in the sky.

"It does…but not as beautiful as you," Jeongin giggled.

"That was so cheesy," you laughed and rolled over so you were now facing him. Jeongin cracked up too.

"I know," he laughed. When he paused, his big,dark brown eyes watching the way your shoulders bounced as you laughed, how the tips of your smile nearly reached your squinted eyes. You opened your eyes and stopped laughing to see why he stopped. You soon did the same as he did. Looking at how all his gorgeous features lit up in the moonlight. You then leaned in for a kiss which he returned instantly. It was a tad bit of an uncomfortable position but that didn't matter because the way his warm lips felt on yours and the way his hands instantly grabbed your hair just the way you love made you melt. You stopped for a quick breather, your lips reluctantly separating from his.

"This kinda reminds me of when we first started dating," Jeongin said resting his head on top of his hand which was on the grass.

"Oh God please don't remind me of that," you said, barring your face in the grass.

"But you were just so cute. The way you accidentally confessed and after I had called you out you went to kiss me and…" he teased crawling closer to you.

"Please stop," you whined.

"You closed your eyes, and do you remember what happened?" He smirked.

"I kissed your nose…" you mumbled. Jeongin just laughed as he played the memory in his head. He rolled back on his back as you kept your red face in the grass. You sat up a bit and slapped him on the shoulder. "It's not that funny, okay!"

Suddenly you felt a droplet on your head. You looked up and to your surprise there were dark clouds covering the beautiful moon and stars. When did those get there? In looked up at you in confusion.

"What happened?" He questioned.

"I just felt a drop of rain," you said, extending your hand out to see if you could catch another drop and to your surprise there was another drop.

"Oh, I felt one on my head earlier but I was a little busy picking on you to care," he chuckled.

"Man, I was having fun…I don't want to go home," you started to get upset. You were hoping to hang outside for a little longer.

"No one says we have to go home yet," Jeongin smiled as he sat up next to you. He hopped up to his feet and you followed. "It's already raining a lot," Jeongin spoke while looking up at the sky. Then a raindrop landed right on his nose making him jump lightly before giggling. You smiled at him with pure love in your eyes. Out of nowhere you decided to run up the hill in the rain and of course Jeongin followed. When you reached the top you just basked in the rain waiting for In to catch up. You spun as the rain fell on your face.

"Why did you come up here?" Jeongin said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why did you follow me?" You said jokingly, "just kidding! I wanna roll down the hill," you smiled at him and his face lit up. You lied down and the ground and In quickly followed. "Ready?"

"Yup!"

"3"

"2"

"1!"

And with that the two of you rolled down the hill, getting absolutely soaked and covered in dirt but the empty air was filled with laughter. You two both stayed on the ground laughing before agreeing to do it again, but this time once you got to the top Jeongin came up with another idea. He grabbed both of your hands and started dancing. There was no rhythm or logic behind any of this dancing but it was so fun and romantic. The rain started coming down more frequently as you twirled around each other in laughter. After a while you slipped and landed on your ass.

"Oh are you okay?" Jeongin said kneeling down to you but you just looked up at him in laughter.

"Yeah," You said, laying down again. "Wanna roll?"

"Of course," he said laying down next to you, "first one that gets down there is the winner!" He called out before rolling down the hill alongside you. When you were almost at the bottom of the hill you and Jeongin collided, causing chaos. Once you stopped rolling you were half on top of him, laughing.

☆Spice☆

You went to go get up again but when you looked down you saw the look and Jeongin's eyes and you couldn't move. His hair was wet and dangling in his face as streams of rain trickled down his face, his black shirt soaked and stuck to his soft skin, his lips were parted and taking deep breaths as his chest heaved. Your gut was telling you to put your lips on his asap and you couldn't help it. You grabbed both sides of his wet face and smashed your lips into his. Jeongin's hands roamed all over your soaked body. It was quite the pleasurable feeling. The mix of the wet rain and his beautiful hands was like the gate to heaven. You moved your fingers up to his hair and started messing with it. You took a breathing break and Jeongin took this opportunity to surprise you.

He slowly started kissing all the way up your jawline to your ear. He stopped and breathed softly in your ear, his lips just barely grazing it as his breath heated your ear up. This simple action of his just turned you on so much more. You then let your weight fall on top of him and started grinding up against his soaked thighs. The way his wet jeans stuck to his thick thighs felt incredible against your throbbing core. Jeongin picked up on this easily. He knew how delulu you are for his thighs. So In grabbed your hip and started guiding you up and down his thigh. You gripped your lip harshly in an attempt to keep quiet. You buried your face in his wet shoulder, hiding your blush and muffling your sounds.

He then pushed your hips down harder and made you go slower. You couldn't help but let out a quiet mewl at his behavior. He knew exactly what you loved.

"Don't hide your moans," he whispered in your ear, making you shutter.

"I-I can't help it," you said between whimpers. In just smirked at you.

"No, I've heard you before," He said as he continued to rub you harshly against his wet jeans. You didn't say anything more but you decided to let Jeongin hear how he made you feel. Finally you had, had enough and needed more attention. Now.

"Jeongin," you muttered out.

"Yes," he said in that deep voice he likes to use against you.

"I need you. But I'm afraid someone will hear us,"

"Oh I see what you mean," he said, flipping you so you were on the ground and his knee was in between your legs. "Don't worry, hopefully they'll just think it's a weird kid howling at the moon and not a man."

Discamler: this is a complete work of fiction and is not intended to offend anyone. This is purely for Stays imagination and creativity.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Love you stay <333

[outlanderfandomfollies]

The faux "funeral receipts" the extreme shippers use are most certainly NOT "undebunkable" 🙄

Someone recently sent me this comment by a SamCait shipper regarding my debunk of the "funeral receipts."

Hi @sgiandubh. It is interesting that you claim to have read my debunk of the "funeral photos" on my main Contemplating Outlander (CO) blog, even though those debunks are not on that blog (which is no longer an Outlander blog). Instead, they are on my side blog, Outlander Fandom Follies, which I have been using to post debunks during the past three years.🤔

For those who don't know, I shipped SC for two months in the spring of 2015, until I figured out that they weren't a couple. (It really wasn't hard to figure out--as long as one was willing to SEE the mountain of evidence that the ship wasn't real.)

Although I understand the appeal of shipping, I also understand one has to use pretzel logic to keep believing in the SC ship. Especially now that we definitely know that C and T got married 4 years ago in a Roman Catholic ceremony (confirmed by the MC that some fans got from the GRO--which, BTW, cannot send out copies of a "fake" MC).

IT'S JUST NOT REAL: The bottom line is that after C married T, the SC conspiracy that supports the SC ship has become a bizarre belief that has no basis in reality.

As S said in the IFH: "You know... it's just-- It's not real."**

Despite sgiandubh's protestations that the "funeral receipts" are "undebunkable," those of us who haven't chosen to get lost down the SC rabbit hole know they are false "receipts," based on shipper wishful thinking. This is because:

C is married to T and NOT to S.

Screenshots of someone's back (or screenshots where one otherwise cannot see someone's face) are not sufficient to definitely identify anyone. (Haven't you ever mistaken someone from the back, and when they turned around you realized they were someone else?🤷🏻‍♀️) Furthermore, we certainly have lots of examples of S and C "receipts" that later turned out not to be S or C, but instead, just someone who looked like S or C from the back or from a distance.

S's hairline on the side of his forehead does NOT match the guy's in the funeral video, which is more rounded. (However, C's brother K's hairline matches.) In addition, S's hair had been shaved down at that time and the man's hair in the video wasn't shaved (and neither was K's hair). To rationalize away that inconvenient fact, the shippers claimed S had to have been wearing a "wig." 🙄 Sorry, but if the ONLY way you can make a person in a screencap "receipt" match the person you want them to be is to claim that they must have been wearing a "wig," your "receipt" is NOT in the realm of "undebunkable."

Although some shippers say that the guy in the video could not be C's brother K, because he doesn't have the right build, I disagree. First of all K is a big guy (and we don't know what he looks like from the back). Second, some of the "bulk" in the screencaps appears to be due to fuzzy resolution. Someone sent me a very clear screencap, and the guy's body build looked less bulky and more like K's build. In addition, if K was wearing a jacket with shoulder pads, his back would have seemed wider.

The woman in the funeral video whom the shippers say is S's mother CH, has much blonder hair than CH. And CH has only worn her hair in that exact style a few times. I also think the two women's body shapes and heights are different. (I go into more detail about all of this under the cut.)

Finally, it seems pretty clear that S was in Mexico on Aug.10, 2022. (You can read why @bcacstuff claims that S was in Mexico the evening of Aug. 10th in her comment in the reblog of this POST).

See POST 1, POST 2, POST 3 for some detailed debunks (from myself and others) about the funeral "receipts."

See below the cut for:

A more detailed "CH funeral receipt" debunk.

Some more detail about the "S funeral receipt" debunk.

How confirmation bias impacts the outcome of shipper searches for "receipts," often leading them to find false receipts of random people whom they assume are S or C.

More reasons why I don't believe the ship is real.

Why I believe the SC shipper beliefs are based on the 5 common (false) tinhat beliefs that have been found in tinhat groups across fandoms.

How Confirmation Bias Skews the SamCait Shipper "Receipt" Searches

THE PROBLEM WITH "SEARCHING" FOR "RECEIPTS": The SamCait shippers didn't just "happen" to see someone in the funeral video whose back vaguely looked like S's. They went purposely hunting through grainy funeral video footage for someone who resembled S--because in the obituary, the reference to T (and not S) as a son-in-law had freaked them out. In other words, they were looking for reassurance that the ship was "real."

Confirmation bias is the tendency to overvalue information that supports one’s beliefs and to undervalue or overlook information that does not. When one goes searching for something, confirmation bias will often lead one to see what one wants to see.  

I believe the false "funeral receipts" involving S and his mother CH are examples of how confirmation bias resulted in shippers being led astray.

A MORE DETAILED DEBUNK OF THE CH "FUNERAL RECEIPT": The CH "funeral receipt" is very easy to debunk. The reality is the shippers found a woman with light blonde hair and a hairdo that CH sometimes wears and must have decided that no other woman in the world wears that hairdo.🤦🏻‍♀️

However, if you just do a quick google search for CH, you will see that she has worn her hair all sorts of ways and not always the way the woman wore it in the funeral video. As can be seen in the thumbnail photos below, CH's hair color is also much darker than the light blonde hair of the woman in the video. Finally, the body shape (and possibly height) of the two women don't seem to match (at least in my opinion).

Regardless, IMHO to claim that that woman in the funeral video was definitely CH is a real stretch.

AN ADDITIONAL DEBUNK OF THE "S FUNERAL RECEIPT": I believe that the man that C is next to at the funeral mass is most likely her brother K or some other relative. Shippers claim that K doesn't have the right build. However, earlier in this post, I explained why I still thought it was likely K. In addition, I previously also explained why K's hairline and hair length better match the man in the video than S's hairline and hair length. (And no, I don't believe that was S in a "wig."🤦🏻‍♀️)

K also has a large forehead like S and like the man in the video.

Also, at least when I looked at the video, the few times you could see the mystery man turn slightly, he didn't have S's cheekbones. (And no, I'm not going to post pictures of the guy from the funeral or of K to prove my point--it just feels like a step too far into intrusiveness to do so, especially regarding screenshots from a video at a family funeral. I acknowledge that there is some hypocrisy on my part, because I'm writing about what I saw when I looked at the video and screencaps people sent me. But somehow that seems like a lesser offense. 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Finally, as I've said before, we have countless examples of how extreme shippers touted blurry photos, or photos of the back of someone, as being SC “receipts” that were later debunked when we got a better look at the person they were claiming was either S or C.  A few examples are: Faux S at the Women’s March in Jan. 2017; Faux S at the Delpozo NYFW show in Sept. 2017; Faux S in Paris in Oct. 2016; the 3 Faux Cs (yes 3) at the Laophroaig anniversary event in Sept. 2015; and a Faux C and a Faux CH (S's Mom) at the National Theater in August 2015.

In conclusion, it is just not true for SC shippers to claim that the screencaps/ gifs/ video clips of the back of a man or a woman with a blonde hairdo at the funeral are "undebunkable," and therefore must be S and CH. It is much more reasonable to assume that the man in the video was either C's brother K or another family member, and the woman was just some unknown relative or friend of the family.

THIS Is "Tinhat" Shipping

THE SC SHIP IS A "TINHAT" SHIP: The current SC shipper beliefs are a form of "tinhat shipping" (based on 5 common (false) tinhat beliefs) that exists across many fandoms.

Sometimes it is easier to see how off-the-wall these beliefs can be if they are seen from a distance from one's own fandom. So let's see how these beliefs play out in a different fandom: the Twilight fandom, and the Robsten "tinhat" ship.

THE ROBSTEN "TINHAT" SHIP: Perhaps the closest parallel to the current SC shipper beliefs are the beliefs of the Twilight Robsten shippers. The Robstens believe that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are secretly married with children, despite the fact that Robert has been dating Suki Waterhouse for 5 years, and Kristen has been in a lesbian relationship with her fiancée Dylan Meyer for four years.

Sounds (and looks) familiar, doesn't it?

BTW, in terms of finding "receipts," the Robstens do something very similar to what the SC extreme shippers (ES) do. According to Bustle:

Several [Robsten] blogs scour paparazzi photos of either celebrity for bystanders that resemble their "partner."

No wonder, the Robstens are so off-base with their beliefs about Robert and Kristen.

Other Reasons Why the SC Ship Isn't Real

THE SAMCAIT CONSPIRACY WOULD NOT BE LEGAL: First of all, there is no legal way in this day and age that TPTB could force two B/C-list actors to "hide" a relationship/ marriage and "3-5 boos" for nearly 10 years--while simultaneously being forced to date others and (in C's case to "pretend" to be married to T).

THE SC CONSPIRACY ISN'T PLAUSIBLE: In addition, none of the variations on the SC conspiracy theory make any sense. They don't meet the basic criteria that John Stewart proposed to determine whether a conspiracy could be plausible.

For instance, it would be completely impractical to hide an entire family for years, swear countless friends, family, colleague, teachers, babysitters, fans with camera phones, etc. to secrecy, and make two B/C-list stars "pretend" to date/be married to others and to spend holidays apart, etc. All to "hide" a romance that would actually be a publicity goldmine for the show.

There is a point where anyone with any common sense knows that such a weird belief just isn't real. The SC ship hit that mark years ago.

I don't care how much "evidence" the SC shippers come up with to support their ship. It won't change my mind because the underlying premise of the SC ship is not plausible.

When a belief isn't true, you know the "receipts" used to support it are based on the true believers "seeing" what they want to see.

That makes ALL of the SamCait "receipts" debunkable.

NOTE: I don't often write full debunks anymore, but I do so when I feel that the shippers have crossed boundaries regarding C, T, and S. In addition, I have always done debunks to help fence sitters and new fans avoid making the mistake of falling down the SC rabbit hole. Finally, I also do it for the seasick shippers who are just tired of the ups and downs of the ship and who are looking for a way off.

[edited]

____________ IMAGE SOURCES: 1) "It's just not real" gif source; 2) "Sam in Mexico" video source; 3) "People don't really want the truth" meme source (before minor edits); 4) CH image search source; 5) video source (before edits) for the "It's just not true" gif; 6) "Robsten manip" source (before edits); 7) video source (before edits) for the "That's not legal" gif; 8) video source for "conspiracy plausibility" screenshot; 9) video source (before edits) for the "You know that isn't true" gif **Below are links to some other posts that explain why I am so sure that the SC ship isn't real:

A general debunk of the rationale behind all the SC conspiracy theories can be found HERE.

This POST explains the ways in which SC shipper leaders have manipulated their followers in order to keep the ship afloat, and how current SC shipper beliefs are right out of the tinhat shipper playbook.

A partial list of past debunks of SC "receipts" can be found HERE.

This POST (only found on the web version of my CO blog) lists some old posts that explain why one cannot believe what one thinks one sees between two romantic leads based on interviews, PR events, behind-the-scenes photos/videos, etc.

There are many other posts that you can find if you look at the "Pages About Fandom and Blog" on the web version of my Outlander Fandom Follies side blog.