#its not really as simple as op is making it out to be

[pearlv1ne]

I just finished all of Kai's FTEs and I really wanted to add to this, cause I truly belive he has some strong trans coding going on

First of all, his name! Before coming out, many trans people come up with a kinda gender neutral nickname for themselfs as a way to feel more comfortable. If they're from transphobic community/family, it also helps to hide their actual identity while not really having to use their deadname.

You cannot tell me that the name "Kai" couldn't totally act as this kind of nickname!! Its very gender neutral and it could be a diminutive for many feminine given names. It was also pretty popular back in the 2020-2021 era, mostly within trans community. If we assume p:eg takes place in 2023, this would be the time Kai started his media presence.

But that's not all! While I was watching Kai's FTEs, I noticed this one perticual line:

For context, he's talking about taking a social media-related job after his own profile started gaining traction. It happened a year ago, and Kai is now 18 - which means he was 17 when he took the job.

My question is, why a 17 y/o is struggling to pay rent? Why a teenager is paying rent AT ALL? That's pretty much still a child. He's not even old enough to drink yet. Shouldn't he live with his parents?

The answer is simple - his parents kicked him out.

This is all speculation on my part, but what if Kai's parents kicked him out after he came out as trans? It would tie well with my nickname theory. In his 4th FTE he also talks about how he doesn't really have any friends besides his followers.

But Kai USED TO have friends - he says it in his second FTE. So hear me out. Let's say Kai comes from a very transphobic community. To cope with dysphoria and hatred towards others like him he starts a social media profile, using his chosen name. He posts edited photos of himself, trying to appear more masculine, all of that stuff - but then, something happens and his family and friends find out about his identity. His parents kick him out, and his friends stop associating with him.

Doesn't that sheeds a whole new light at his previous words? "They're always telling me to keep [...] beging myself... Even though they don't have too... Even though they could stop at any moment... they're still here, despite everything". LIKE, COME ON. THAT'S SOME HEAVY CODING IF I EVER SEEN ONE.

Speaking of coding, Kai actually says A LOT of things during his FTE that could be read as trans allegory. This one specificaly stuck out to me:

"... But beging incognito wasn't even my choice." HELLO???? AM I GOING CRAZY????

It might be just me reading to much into things, but I geniuenly think that Transmasc Kai headcanon makes sooooo much sense!! I already love him as he is ( chapter one only made my appreciation for him grow) and I think making him canonically transmasc would add so much layer to his character. Its also not that unlikely, since Kaimon is semi-canon at this point lmao

Anyway, if Kai ever gets comfirmed as canon trans, don't forget that I and op called it !

why do I have an inkling that kai monteago might be trans.......... Like I don't have any substantial proof (only chapter 1 is out right neow duh) but it's just a feeling

I mean butterflies are a common symbol for transformation right? It just so happens to be his motif, a pink butterfly being sewn onto the left side of his sweater (where his heart is). Also in the beach designs, he's covering his chest too

Even in this official art (Desmond and wenona look so FINE but that's not the main focus here) Kai is basically fully covered. I'm pretty sure swimming binders do exist, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he doesn't reveal his bare chest like most of the male cast.

I mean, its also possible it ties into him as a person. He begun as an influencer by posting edited photos of himself. He's definitely not as confident as he makes himself out to be.

Anyway transmasc Kai canon trust I'm actually the apple Damon's holding in the trailer

[cockatrice-writers-guild]

[kyra45]

How to spot a scam blog

A very simple guide to figuring out if the blog messaging you is a scam:

Was you sent an ask within some time of sharing a specific type of post such as a trending topic or subject? - Usually scam accounts target particular posts and will spam asks to everyone who shared it. The ask may relate to certain events going on or more. These asks are always sent to many users all at once so it’s suggested to tumblr search part of the ask and see if its been sent by other accounts labeled as a scam or accounts with similar style.

Is the account relatively new? - More often than not, the accounts sending the asks are about a week old or even newer. They haven’t been made too long ago and often send asks within hours of being made. If you have timestamps turned on, you’ll be able to see the date something was posted. A fresher account is usually not going to be one who’s finding you unless they are searching tags and saw your blog.

How many posts are on the account? - Scam accounts rarely have many posts on their blogs beyond the initial pinned post. All their posts, being very few are very little, are most often just posts from a trending topic they looked up or a popular tag they decided to look through. They will share only a few and then make no further posts. This is to pad out their blog to make it look used but it’s easy to see how new the blog is if you scroll to the end.

Are the shared posts fitting a theme? - Scam accounts try to share posts based on the scam they’re trying to run. This means they’ll share posts related to the topic of their choosing and then stop once they’ve shared a few. Most of these posts come from the OP themselves and not from someone the blog is following though in rare cases they’ll find a person to reblog from so they don’t look suspicious.

Are the reblog dates accurate? - If you use timestamps, find a post the blog shared and check ‘Other notes’ and see if the reblog date matches the date that is listed on the blog itself. Often, scammers will backdate posts to make them look much older then they really are in an attempt to deceive people into thinking they’ve used tumblr for months or years.

Is the url auto-generated? - Not always seen from a scam account, but scammers often just use auto-generated usernames because it’s quick and easy to do. But real accounts may have these too. It’s just a thing to keep in mind.

Is the url familiar or similar to one you’ve seen before? - Scammers often try to copy their older accounts by using usernames based around previous scam attempts. It becomes obvious after about a while and usually makes it easy to figure out the scammer is back again. This isn’t always from scam accounts as regular accounts may do this for reasons.

How often do you get asks? - If you barely get asks and suddenly keep getting mutual aid asks it’s very likely you’re just a scammers latest target and they’ll keep spamming asks. This means you’ll consistently get the same style of asks from a brand new account that shouldn’t know you unless they found you in tags. You will keep getting these asks on a daily basis. You will eventually always get these asks.

Did they request you to message them directly? - On rare occasions a scam account will want you to send them a direct message and then they’ll just ask you for thousands of dollars on the spot.

Does your bio say no mutual aid asks? - Scammers don’t read/don’t care they will ignore that and send you asks anyway that won’t stop them.

Short version: More often than not the blog asking you for money is a scam if you don’t usually get asks for money from brand new accounts.

[wandasaura]

YOURE ON YOUR OWN KID

summary — when boredom strikes in the absence of your girlfriends, you make friendship bracelets that will tether you together no matter the distance

warnings — fluff, the slightest indication of hurt but not really, mentions of lethal weapons and battle, minor mention of ohio but it’s a soft/happy moment

authors note — i am so high you gremlins better appreciate this, i got so carried away

Truthfully, you weren’t entirely sure when summer had lost its whimsical spark, but as you trudged through the halls of the compound searching wistfully for something to do that could even begin to fill a fraction of the time until your girlfriends returned home from a last minute op, the early days of August just didn’t feel the same as they did when you had popsicle sticks and sandcastles to look forward to. The endless days that had once been vibrant within your memory, defined by sleepovers and an assortment of frozen treats, were now bland and filled with earnest longing for company that was hard to come across when the entire world needed saving and that impossible responsibility fell on the shoulders of a few ragtag individuals. 

The height of summertime had befallen you if the scorching heat outside was any minuscule factor in the judgment that determined ever changing seasons, yet still you felt paralyzed in an eternal winter, pessimistically comparing the barren landscape of early February to the isolating interior of Stark’s state of the art compound. Pepper and Maria had become familiar faces since the Avengers workload had picked up again, becoming short lived intermissions to the reality you lived in permanently, but even with their infrequent trips upstate to visit with you and collect paperwork that probably could’ve waited until Tony himself returned home, persistent boredom was slowly becoming your worst enemy. 

Wanda and Natasha had been trying their best though it was hardly any consolation, sending nightly texts and assuring that although they missed you terribly, they were doing well, but it just wasn’t the same as having them home with you. They called anytime they got the chance, FaceTime’d whenever a hotspot managed to be secured, but it would never be enough to heal the ache of their physical absence beside you in a place that you so desperately tried to call home for them. 

Scrounging through the game closet, because as ‘tough’ as Tony attempted to appear in the light of the everlurking media, he still valued spending time with his wife and friends – as hesitant as he was to ever truly call the Avengers such a thing. It was something of a shock to stumble upon a bracelet kit in the madness of board games and extravagant card decks, but knowing the billionaire, it had most definitely been purchased in a haze of sleep deprivation and later been put away by Pepper who would’ve  ultimately been the one to unbox each package as they came. 

Shrugging off your initial surprise, a smile derived of childhood nostalgia pulled at the corners of your lips, and for a single second, that unreplicable spark came back to you just as  the August sun created a breathtaking sunset beyond the living room windows. Settling onto the couch, illuminated by the slowly ebbing traces of warm daylight, you pried open the plastic packaging and allowed that innocent child within you to have a single moment of joy. Intricately you weaved plastic beads onto thin rubber string, shifting through tiny sections until you found colors and letters that fit your wildest desires, leaving out no tacky charm whilst you were at it. Before you knew it, your wrist had become adorned with personality by three entirely cliche bracelets, all different colors and hues but perfectly cohesive as they mirrored the colors visible just beyond the large windows. You grinned down at them blissfully, caressing the ‘N’ on the highest one on your wrist, mesmerized by the simplicity of their appearance on your body. They were so effortlessly simple, weaved and tangled together by environmentally damaging globes of hollow plastic, but they’d healed a part of your being that you hadn’t even recognized was slowly dying as adulthood stole the joy of childhood. 

After cleaning up the house, although you most definitely did slip the bracelet kit into your shared bedroom with Wanda and Natasha instead of placing it back in the closet for communal use, you fell into the couch once more, this time with a lousy dinner of buttered pasta and a sitcom that just didn’t hit the same without Wanda’s amusement to drown out the laugh track and Natasha’s dry commentary. At some point, you had fallen asleep to Michelle Tanner stomping through the kitchen, but when you awoke, groggy and disoriented, you found that the sky had morphed into a deep shade of violet and the house was filled with echoes of shuffling. 

You frowned, rubbing at your eyes with balled up fists as you took in your surroundings. The room was painted in near total darkness, however the lamp nearest your body had been switched on and bright an ambient glow to the blackness that threatened to drown you within it. There was also the telltale sounds of quiet conversation, and though the thick walls did a lot to muffle the sounds of life existing beside you for the first time in days, you recognized the drawl of Wanda’s soft Sokovian accent instantaneously. 

Shooting up from the couch, barely acknowledging that someone had thrown a blanket over top of you, weaving through the hallways that didn’t seem so barren anymore until you found your girlfriends bent over the countertop, still dressed in their tactile uniforms and covered in dust and dirt, but happily snacking on the left over pasta that you had placed on the highest shelf in the fridge. You didn’t give them a moment to react to your abrupt presence in the kitchen, certain that Natasha had heard your feet pattering against the floorboards and Wanda had felt your energy shift and grow closer. The Russian happened to be on the side of the island closest to you, and without hesitation you embraced her in a tight hug, wrapping your arms around her midsection and digging your face into the center of her back, effectively pinning her arms to her sides, though she could’ve easily escaped you if she wanted. 

“Hi, malyshka.” She cooed softly, her voice hoarse from smoke inhalation and a long stretch of yelling over bombs and active fire, but you paid it no mind, happy just to have her back in your arms miraculously in one single piece. “You gonna let me go so I can hug you the right way?” She teased when your grip remained steeled, not wavering for a second even as you nestled your head farther into the back of her spine. 

“No.” Your voice was small as it fell into the air, drowning both Wanda and Natasha in your tender softness. “Never letting you go again.” 

“As endearing as that is, malyska, you refuse to be in the bathroom when I pee. You’re going to have to let me go at some point.” Her humor was dry, blunt enough to have your cheeks twinging a shade of pink they hadn’t been since the day she and Wanda left, but you didn’t hold back your strained laughter like you would’ve had she not just been gone for nearly a week, instead, you allowed the sound to tear through your body and vibrate hers. 

You only loosened your grip because Wanda had rounded the corner of the island and pulled you back into her chest the minute you were in reach. Natasha took that to her advantage, shimming out of your loosened grip to turn around and embrace you fully, one hand cupping the back of your head whilst the other looped around your waist over top of Wandas. You sighed contently, laying your chin against Natasha’s shoulder while your hand slipped down to grasp firmly onto Wanda’s. 

Only when curious fingers brushed against your wrist did you remember the bracelets adorning your arm, and passionately you wiggled away from them to snag the lowest bracelet off, extending it to the Sokovian with an admittedly sheepish grin. “I made you this.” You offered simply as an explanation, awaiting Wanda’s reaction as she took in the sight of the bracelet, the lone bead in the center the first letter of your name. 

Wanda’s mesmerizing green eyes wrinkled beneath the kitchen lighting, and tenderly she stroked her finger across the beads that framed your single letter. “I love it.” You smiled shyly beneath her tender stare, cheeks heating up as you shifted your attention to Natasha, pulling off the bracelet that just as simply as the first, bore a black inked ‘W’. “I thought we could wear each other's names. That way when you're off saving the world one Hydra base at a time, you still have a little part of me with you, and I have a little part of you.” 

Natasha couldn’t contain her endearment, and for a single second as you glanced at her tearful expression, you were worried that she hated it, that she thought it was stupid and childish, which it most definitely was. A spluttered apology was on the tip of your tongue, hot and loaded as it formed in seconds, but it was pointless, because once she had taken a few seconds to collect her reserve, she slid the bracelet onto her wrist, fitting it comfortably over the sleeves of her sleek black uniform that desperately needed a dry clean, and smiled at you. 

“Yelena and I used to make these in Ohio. They weren’t as pretty, and they didn’t really mean anything significant, but it was the one thing that we could do that made us feel like real kids; me more than her. I love it, detka.” Natasha mumbled insightfully, though you didn’t have a second to unpack her whispered admission, because she was pulling you into a kiss that tasted of vodka and pasta the second words stopped forming on her tongue. You didn’t whine about the taste of her tongue, or how her lips were painfully chapped against yours, simply melted into the touch and shuddered as Wanda came up behind you to kiss a soft trail down your neck. 

Two weeks later, they were called away on another mission, this time in Nigeria where a Hydra base had apparently popped up out of the blue, but this time, amongst their tactical uniforms and lethal weapons, were two bracelets crafted by you. When they returned six days later, those same bracelets remained, looking dingy beneath the ambient glow of sunset, but entirely perfect as well.

[adhbabey]

I think there are limits to what is considered basic respect and crossing your own boundaries for someone else. I definitely have experienced that a lot, where one day I will be "me", and the next day I'll be someone else with completely different boundaries and feelings. There's also cultural implications, the type of "respect" varies to where you live.

So, I feel like, there is a lot of figuring out of social cues involved, and that's clearly not easy for people who don't see anything wrong with acting in different ways, whether it be their neurodivergence, culture or boundaries.

I find it naturally easy to be "nice" when I am me. But there's many people that have to work harder to "be nice" or "polite". And that doesn't make them an asshole. So depending on your social skills, you can be completely out of luck and offend someone that you didn't mean to offend. And at that point, is it really true to say that being "kind" doesn't come with emotional labor or social work?

Some of y’all act like basic manners, general human decency, and kindness to others is SO MUCH emotional labor. I don’t like that shit.

[just-a-sewer-goblin]

Butcher!Simon x gn!reader Part 8 continuation of your little date, I hope you enjoy! Also haven't proofread it because I didn't want to make you all wait another week for it. Sorry. You're welcome to point out errors to me. English words were hard this time, sorry if some of it is redundant. Part 7 | COD Masterlist | Part 9

Simon watches you from the corner of his eyes while you two walk alongside each other through the park. You’re tossing a ball for Wraith and the guard dog basically turned into an overgrown puppy at the sight of the toy.

It’s gotten late and after you spent the entire afternoon in the Café talking, Wraith needed a walk. Instead of saying goodbye you invited Simon to tag along. That’s a win, right? It’s a big step. You voluntarily decided to spend more time with him and Simon can feel himself vibrate with excitement.

“So an ex-soldier. What exactly did you do?”, you ask him while you toss Wraith’s ball for the thousandth time. You turn your pretty face towards him and he meets your eyes, puts his hands into his pockets and slightly shrugs his shoulders.

“Spec Ops.”, is his simple answer and you furrow your brows.

“Spe- what?” The confusion in your voice is adorable and Simon balls his fists, stuffs them deeper into his pockets so he doesn’t do something stupid (like pull you in and kiss you breathless).

“Special Operations. We weren’t really deployed somewhere permanently, instead they sent us wherever we were needed. Lots of stuff I am not allowed to talk about.”, he explains and wonders if you’ll be scared of him again.

When he looks at you, your eyes are wide. “Oh.”, you mutter and seem to think hard. It grows quiet for a minute and a small smile finds its way onto Simon’s lips. You’re chewing your lips again, seemingly troubled and who the fuck allowed you to look so adorable doing that.

“What is it, sweetheart.”, he asks, his voice warm and soft. He really hopes you can’t hear the lovesick undertone.

“I don’t know what I’m allowed to ask.”, you explain and grin self-conscious. He wants to lick the awkwardness off your lips (whoa okay, he really needs to get his thoughts in check).

Instead of doing that like a total creep, he tells you: “You can ask whatever you want, sweetheart. We’ll see what I can answer.”

You nod and think again. So far you haven’t protested his continued use of petnames. He enjoys it, enjoys claiming you with words in a subtle way. The only thing he’d enjoy even more would be you claiming him back. With words, marks, a collar, anything as long as he gets to be yours.

By now you’re walking closely besides him, and every now and then your arms brush against each other. It sends a shock up his arm every time, makes his neck tingle and his jaw clench in an effort to hold back, to not overwhelm you. The last thing he wants is to fuck up with you. As much as he wants to hold you he’d rather endure torture again than make you uncomfortable by coming on too strong.

“Why did you retire?”, you finally ask. “You don’t have to answer if you’d rather not!”, you immediately add in the same breath and Simon chuckles a bit at that.

The way you’re glancing at him seems nervous. It’s oddly endearing, like you’re nervous of misstepping with him. He quite enjoys that look on your face. Making you nervous in a way that doesn’t stem from fear is weirdly thrilling and he wants to keep doing it (would you be nervous if he pushed you up against a tree? If he used his height to his advantage and had you at his mercy? Would you be nervous if you had him at your mercy? God, he wants to be at your mercy).

“’s alright, sweets. Had a mission that went south, can’t really go into details. After that they set us up with a comfortable new life and told us to start over.” He can see the curiousness plain as day in your eyes and he wants to kick the officials who’re keeping him from just telling you everything.

Maybe someday he’ll do it anyway. Fuck if anyone can dictate him what to talk about. He’ll definitely tell you someday. Once he’s yours and sure you won’t run from him for revealing his past.

You cock your head at that. “Can you tell me about your team?”, you ask instead of prying and he could kiss you for that alone (he’s not sure he could have denied you, had you asked with your sweet voice and big curious eyes).

He nods at you and your face practically lights up with a big smile at the opportunity to finally get more info. He’s tempted to tell you every single confidential thing he knows, just to see you light up like that again.

“The lads are all in town. We’re four. Johnny, the fucker, owns a bakery. Flirts with everyone that comes in. People dig the accent.”, he begins and you perk up.

“Accent? It’s not the Scottish one, is it? What was his name…”, you seem to wrack your brain for it. “Mac…. Mac…”

“MacTavish.”, Simon supplies and you beam at him.

“I know that guy! His bread is to die for.”, you claim and Simon can’t really tell you that he already knows you frequent his friends bakery (he might have seen you there when he went to visit Johnny at work; might have worked out the times you go to Johnny’s and visited him more often around that time).

“He seems really nice but…”, you trail off and when you don’t continue Simon gently nudges you with his elbow to go on (you don't seem bothered by the contact, and he's surprised by himself for daring to do that so casually), curious what you might have to say about Johnny. You hesitate.

“Go on, sweetheart.”, he urges gently.

 “… he kinda intimidates me.”, you finally admit and suddenly Simon is grinning like the cat that caught the canary. Johnny intimidates you. Who would have ever guessed.

Johnny, who only recently teased him that ‘the cutie’ would never warm up to him because of his scary mask, intimidates you. Yet scary Simon is the one you’re taking a stroll in the park with. He desperately wants to rub it in Johnny’s face.

“Don’t tell your friend about it, but I can’t ever seem to remember his name. My friends and I refer to him as MacFlurry.”, you add, blushing but grinning mischievously.

Simon stares at you for a second and he can see the smile slowly drop and the apology forming on your lips when he starts laughing. He clutches his ribs, doubling over. Oh he’s gonna have so much fun with this information.

After a few seconds your laughter joins his as you’re helplessly giggling along, his booming laughter infectious.

“That…”, he laughs. “That’s great. Fucking MacFlurry.” He practically wheezes in laughter. Shit, he wants to marry you. Right here, right now.

Your giggle is beautiful and slightly bashful. Simon wishes he could catch it in a jar so he might listen to the heavenly sound again and again.

Finally he catches his breath and straightens up a bit, his eyes are twinkling, creases all around them from smiling so widely. He wants to tug you in close and thank you for existing.

“You know, sweetheart, I could always introduce you to MacFlurry and the others. We’re meeting up this evening. Wanna tag along?”, he blurts out before he can reconsider and your eyes grow wide and alarmed.

[lets-try-some-writing]

(For your Mr. Pax AU:)

Imagine the kids meeting Elita. It'd be so fragging wholesome XD

It'd more then likely be after the school day, too. Lmao.

It would and I have opted to answer the call for this ask.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

"So kids, how was school?" Elita grinned as the children settled on their platform, spreading out homework and other assignments for the cycle. She regarded their work with interest. It seemed simple enough in her optics, but then again, the human children were very small.

"Oh! You're Elita! Optimus's wife!" Miko shot up, a huge smile on her small squishy face. The urge to reach out and poke one of her cheeks was strong, but Elita refrained. It wouldn't do to go poking the children when it was far safer just to wait until later and do it in holoform.

"I'm his Conjunx, yes." Jack pointedly did not look in her direction. Elita could almost see the way his venting would have sputtered if he were Cybertronian. She may not have been well versed in all things human as of the present moment, but even she could see he looked a moment away from exploding.

"Woah, I didn't know Optimus was married." Rafael added his own commentary, closing his laptop to look up at Elita with wide eyes. She had to fight back an awed noise at how adorable he looked. He was tiny, his glasses only making him look more like a sparkling in her optics. She wanted to poke his cheeks as well, but that would have to wait.

"He's been my Conjunx for a very long time kiddo. Since before he became Prime in fact." Miko and Rafael made awed noises, and even Jack looked up at her in surprise, his embarrassment over the parent-teacher conference forgotten.

"Really? Optimus doesn't seem like the kind of guy to well... do that?" Jack was hesitant in his words, but Elita laughed in short order. She clutched her abdomen as she considered Jack's point of view, all but cackling. Her Conjunx could be quite stern when he wanted to be, especially when stressed. She'd already heard about how Optimus shut down any attempts at being introduced to humor. It was no surprise Jack was startled.

"He wasn't always such a stoic figure. Back when we were young, we got into all sorts of trouble." Resting a servo on her hip as he laughter died down, Elita watched as the children practically lit up at the reveal. Jack was quiet with his interest, but Rafael and Miko were not.

"Optimus in trouble? Oooh this is some blackmail material I need!" Miko did a little dance in place, the plushies on her belt shifting as she did an excited twirl. Elita again had to fight the urge to pick up and cuddle the squishy organic close. It probably wouldn't end well, but she hadn't been able to hold such a small creature since Bee was freshly forged.

"I don't think you can blackmail Prime with stuff that millions of years old." Jack, being so much like Optimus, tried to rain on everyone's parade with logic. Thankfully, his little black raincloud bounced right off Miko and Rafael who were still staring at Elita like she hung the moon.

"Married couples always have wild blackmail!" Miko flailed, throwing her arms up in the air as she grinned. Jack sighed and Rafael secretly adjusted his glasses to try and hide a smile. Elita could feel it right then and there as adoration settled in her spark.

Yes, she was keeping these squishies. She could convince Optimus later.

"I have quite a few stories for you. But only if you promise to not harass Optimus with them. He's got enough going on." Holding up a digit to her derma, Elita smiled as the children each agreed, some more enthusiastically than others.

"We won't bother him. Promise." Rafael's eyes only seemed to be made bigger by his glasses. Elita's spark leapt in its chamber, the cuteness of the scene overriding her usual serious attitude as mischievousness she had long left behind began to resurge.

"Settle down then children. Let me tell you all about Orion's first visit to the docks." Elita could see Optimus out of the corner of her optic looming in the nearby hall. He looked to be mostly uncaring as he waited there, listening in. But she could see the hint of a smile on his features. He wasn't opposed to her decision, giving her all the more reason to tell her tale.

It had been so very long since they'd had anyone who cared enough to hear their story.

[quasi-normalcy]

Actually, you know what? Ever since I learned that Ira Steven Behr signed that grossly unfair letter against Jonathan Glazer, I've been forced to kind of reevaluate some of my interpretations of things in Deep Space Nine.

Like Section 31. I was willing to suppose that it was always and only intended to be villainous. But knowing as I do now that the showrunner who included it is perfectly willing to turn a blind eye to genocide, I'm forced to wonder...was it critical? Was it?

Like, let's consider canon here. In "Statistical Probabilities", Bashir and the other augments calculate, in no uncertain terms, that the Federation can't win its war with the Dominion. Their model even accurately forecasts things that happen later in the series: the Romulans declaring war on the Dominion; a full-scale revolt on Cardassia Prime. The end of the episode kind of pooh-poohs their model, like, "Well you couldn't even forecast what Serena would do in this room" but like...(1) the premise is basically lifted from Asimov's psychohistory concept, which works on populations rather than individuals, and (2) there's even a line of dialogue in the episode saying that the models become *less* uncertain the further you go in time. And indeed, the Federation ultimately wins the war not because any of their assumptions were wrong, but because there was another factor that they weren't aware of: the Changeling plague. The plague that had, of course, been engineered by Section 31 to exterminate the Changelings.

So again you have to ask: *was* this critical? Or was the real message that a black ops division willing to commit genocide is necessary to preserve a "utopian" society, no matter how squeamish it makes a naïve idealist like Bashir? And yeah, the war is ultimately won by an act of compassion, but only *after* Bashir sinks to S31's level by kidnapping Sloane and invading his mind with illicit technology. So...is this really a win for idealism?

And then we have the Jem'Hadar. They're a race of slave soldiers, genetically engineered to require a compound that only the Changelings can give them. By any reasonable standard, they're victims. And yet, the series goes out of its way, especially in "The Abandoned", to establish that they're irredeemable. You can't save them. Victims of colonialism they may be, but your only choice is to kill them, or else they--preternaturally violent almost from the moment that they're born--*will* kill you. And of course, I've long assumed that this was just a really unfortunate attempt to subvert what had become the standard "I, Borg" style Star Trek trope where your enemies become less scary once you get to know them, but like. I would say that there's pretty close to a one-to-one correspondence between this premise and the ideology excusing the mass murder of children in Gaza.

Or the Maquis. There's this line at the start of "For the Uniform" where Sisko tells Eddington that he regards the refugees in the Demilitarized Zone as being "Victims of the Maquis", because they've kept alive the forlorn hope that they would ever be allowed to return to their homes and...Jesus, when I write it out like that, Hello, Palestinian Right of Return. [The episode of course ends with Sisko bombing a Maquis colony with chemical weapons, though it is somewhat less objectionable in practice than I'm making it sound here].

And you know what...I get that DS9 is a show that's intended to have moral complexity, and to be kind of ambiguous in a lot places, and not to give you simple answers and so on. And I'm *not* trying to do the standard JK Rowling/ Joss Whedon/ Justin Roiland thing where a creator falls from grace for whatever reason and people comb through their oeuvre to show that they were always wicked and fans were stupid for not seeing it earlier or whatever. But I will say that these things hit different when you know that the series was show-run for five seasons, comprising every episode that I've just named, by a man who would go on to sign his name to a letter maliciously quoting Jonathan Glazer out of context to drag him for condemning an active genocide. And given that I've been a fan of DS9 for basically my entire life, this is deeply unsettling to me.

[princeoftheeternalbog]

Nicknames/petnames op characters like to call you PART TWO

Also suggestive warning for Ace, Marco, Izou

I don't care if law's is ooc btw he deserves to be sickly cute sometimes and yk we kinda saw how he can be when he loves something with that whole sora thing in wano so yeah I'm saying he can be affectionate as a treat.

Anyways here's like all the faves who are not strawhats:

Ace

Baby, sweetheart, pretty thing. Always says them in either the most flirty tone imaginable or the softest. Also he's like flirting with you 24/7 it's so bad but he jist can't turn it off around you like he's so down bad. 100% says heinous filthy shit but tacks on a cute nickname at the end to try and make it sound less intense. It does not work.

OBSESSED with you calling him love or my man and finds it ridiculously attractive. The first time it happened he set his bed on fire by accident and you both got lectured by pops :(. But seriously he just loves any and all verbal affirmation so naturally he adores nicknames. Doesn't get shy at all though, if anything reciprocating his chaotic behaviour makes it 10x worse.

Marco

Love/my love. Sweet and simple and he likes how clear it is to other people. He uses it a ridiculous amount though to be honest like you hear it more than your own name, it's to the point where if he says your name people on the ship don't know who he's talking about😭. Oh and he uses baby when he wants to tease you, like he drops his voice real low, leans really close into your space and speaks right next to your ear. Bit of a bastard tbh.

He blushes easily but doesn't shy away, in fact being called a nickname in return really makes him feel confident and puts him in the mood for affection. Though sometimes the nicknames make him feel...too affectionate. One time you called him pretty bird as a joke and he just sorta sat there, face getting gradually redder until you leaned towards him out of concern, at which point he promptly yanked you onto his lap and started what was one of your most intense make outs to date. Yk, casual things.

Thatch

Cutie, sweet thing, pretty thing. So so gentle with you and it reflects in how he speaks to you as well, even if he's upset or angry he still calls you the sweetest things because you're so precious to him. Though he's also a menace, if he finds out you like a specific petname then he starts discretely whispering it in your ear whenever he passes you to wind you up. Literally he doesn't care if you're having a serious conversation, he'll just slide in behind you and drop his voice to sound like a nice gravelly tone and purposefully make sure to exhale on the back of your ear to make you shiver.

Oh but he can't handle if you do it back, no this man folds like a lawn chair the second you start calling him anything other than his name.

Izou

Darling, dear, lovely, blossom. So casually smooth its unbelievable, also he starts calling you them before you get together. Like after a certain point of friendship and flirting, he just starts doing and saying the most romantic shit(Definitely thinks you're together before you actually are) and the crew are very confused and you're very confused but as if you're gonna complain yk.

This man gets so flustered when you use nicknames with him because it's not behaviour he's used to. Obviously he's been a pirate for a long time but he's actually very reserved and rarely dates so having someone who genuinely cares about him calling something sweet makes him blush so hard and you use that to your fully advantage. He gets revenge later though don't worry.

Law

Love, lovely, pretty, honey, every flowery pet name you can think of. He's so soft with you. He can't help how sickly affectionate he feels around you and it results in him just calling you all sorts of sweet words. He won't do it in public if he thinks you'll be put in danger or if he doesn't feel comfortable but like in front of the crew and strawhats and stuff he doesn't give a fuck. He'll just come up behind you while you're in the middle of a conversation, hand sliding down your lower back, and say sumthin like "are you okay my love?"

Blushes to high heaven if you call him something cute back, he just melts like butter. If he's in a bad mood or like in an argument or something you only have to come up and say hi love and he's all :///))

Kidd

Babe to the public. My love, gorgeous, pretty baby when you're alone. It's not really that he doesn't want to call you those things in public, he just doesn't want enemies to understand how important you are to him but also he doesn't want to keep your relationship a secret because he's obsessed with you and wants to brag about being yours.

Makes him really cocky if you use petnames with him. Like he'll flush but get so overconfident the second you say love or baby or anything of the sort. He doesn't care where you are either, he's just hauling you into his space immediately so he kiss the fuck out of you.

[httyd-art-requests]

Heya! I wasn't sure if this was a legal request since it wasnt listed in your bio, but it is an official httyd video game

I'd love to see the goofy guy Patch from dawn of new riders! Chimeragons really made one appearance, became way too op, and then disappeared into obscurity. But look at the guy...he so ugly and goofy I love him

Your art is gorgeous btw!

( @yuendelahoya )

So funny story. I watched a playthrough of this game when it first came out in 2019, and it's been on my wish list ever since (mostly because of the flight mechanics lol) And now that I found these asks in my inbox again, I checked the Nintendo Store just in case, and it had a 55% discount??? So I got the game and spent the last 2 days playing it and now I'm a changed man (as of posting this, the discount lasts for 2 more days!)

Dragon #125 - MLM Patch (and Scribbler)

I hope they're doing well, wherever they are...

More thoughts and spoilers for the game under the cut!

I made Patch MLM colored instead of some other random Chimeragon, because the game has shown us that he can change colors with every rebirth, which I think is pretty neat :) It also explains why neither Scribbler nor Eir recognize Patch, even after he grows to be a Broadwing and then a Titanwing- if he changes his colors every time he hatches again, then yeah, no wonder they believed there's more than one Chimeragon

I knew what the big twist was going to be at the end because of the playthrough, but MAN does this game not hold its punches. The writers really asked "How can we elevate the Best Friends Forever thing to a whole new level?" and then made Scribbler witness the death and rebirth of his best friend, and now I have to draw these guys with literal tears in my eyes 👍

The sentiment that their friendship literally transcends life and death is so meaningful to me. Patch will continue to die and resurrect, and Scribbler will be there every time to welcome him and forge their bond all over again. The mystery of Scribbler's past, his involvement with Grimmel, and the open ending leave so much room for speculation and theorizing and it's just so incredibly up my alley, it's like it was made in a lab for me lol

This game ended up being a lot darker than I was expecting, but it was honestly so refreshing. The mechanics are simple enough for younger kids to learn, and the artstyle is very evidently targeted at kids as well, but some of the dialogue and the entire theme of death and inevitable loss feels surprisingly mature in contrast. They make you go to Vanaheim and hold a burial for Patch before he resurrects, literally what other kids' game does that?? /pos

Anyways play this game, it's a short and sweet little self-contained adventure, which accomplishes the one task it set out to accomplish: making me cry, specifically

[swampjawn]

Soooo they made a Rick and Morty Anime and it's… really fucking bizarre. With the skyrocketing popularity of Anime in the US and other countries in the past decade, this show, being published by Adult Swim, is part of a growing trend of hybrid productions that span across multiple industries and give the admins at MyAnimeList a headache trying hopelessly to figure out what is and isn't technically anime. (though, side note: with the amount of outsourcing that's been integral to most animation for several decades, the distinction has really only been superficial from the start, so it was always a pointless endeavor.)

Creator Takashi Sano (佐野 隆史, Tower of God Season 1) went into it with the goal of creating "a story full of American sensibilities from a Japanese perspective." So, did they beautifully blend two cultures and animation styles to create a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off or Cyberpunk: Edgerunners? Oops, nope! They took only the downsides of both industries and slapped 'em together into this monstrosity:

Rick and Morty uses a 2D puppet animation style, in which characters are drawn, rigged, and animated sort of like a 3D character model, with a set of complex layers and bones that warp them so they only need to be redrawn when necessary. This means they can take these simple, almost childish character designs, and digitally put them into very smooth motion with tons of frames without needing animators to draw each individual frame by hand.

This style became popular around the 2000s with online Flash cartoons like Homestar Runner, and the original short, "The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti" even uses a way more primitive version of the same technique.

On the other hand, the TV Anime industry makes pretty much the exact opposite compromise to achieve quality with limited resources: more detailed designs and illustrations, but strategically limited frames - by standard, 8 frames per second for the majority of scenes. (This is obviously a generalization)

So what do you get when you take the simple, cartoony western style and pass it through the Japanese workflow (likely with very little funding)? Well, an uncanny-valley worst-of-both-worlds scenario without the ultra-smooth motion of American puppet animation, OR the detail and creative camerawork of eastern frame-by-frame animation, of course!

And that's not even to mention the cultural aspects, convoluted plot, irritating OP song, and voice cast that doesn't match the original show! I get more into the rest of that stuff in this full video, so if you found this at all interesting, go check it out:

Also, I've been checking on the discussion threads on Reddit and MAL after each episode, and by episode 8, they are GHOST TOWNS. So I truly believe I am the only person still watching this show at this point. But I must see it through.

[traffytaffy]

OP Men and their Love Languages

Ft. Law, Kid, Zoro

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Law: Acts of Service

Law is a simple man when it comes to someone showing their love because frankly, he’s grateful for anything they do for him and the crew.

Helping him organize: keeping his materials clean, discarding empty pens, paper, sticky notes, etc.

Making sure hes well taken care of when hes too busy to know himself.

Bringing him coffee, food, buying him new supplies.

His s/o knows how hard he works to keep the crew afloat so to them, doing these things is just showing a token of their appreciation.

But most of all he appreciates company the most. His s/o doesn’t even need to speak, but just their simple presence around fills him with a sense of comfort.

So he’ll try doing to same thing back to them.

Making sure that his s/o’s self care and health is at top shape.

If theyre into makeup and self care products, he’ll make sure to study the products and determine if theyre good or not. If not, he’ll throw them out.

He’ll from time to time, try making food to share with his s/o so he can see a smile on their face for his gesture.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Kid; Physical Touch

Eustass isn’t really a man of certain words. He’d rather show what he’s feeling if anything. Do i think he uses soft words? absolutely. I believe hes a big softie at heart.

But what i think this man likes more than anything is physical touch.

He likes to feel his partner nearby. A physical closeness, a bond between two people.

At the end of the day, its his partner he grabs and holds close in his bed.

And not just holding close, that man has the best bear hugs, enough to make them feel safe.

When hes angry or overwhelmed? Just the simple touch of his s/o is able to bring him a calming sensation.

I think hes not too big on pda (unless he wants to be a jealous dick and show his s/o off lol), except a kiss or ass grab here and there if they’re sitting close. In private, he’s more touchy in mindless ways.

Touching their legs, arms, or waist, running his hand through his s/o’s hair, gently rubbing their back or hips, or even having an arm wrapped around them.. any type of intimacy.

He doesn’t need to say “i love you” a lot for his partner to know he cares.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Zoro: Words of affirmation/Acts of Service

Zoro is usually the one on the Straw hats who has words of advice to give from time to time. With his s/o, it wont be any different.

Before any battle, he encourages not only the crew but also his s/o the most.

“This is light-work for you”

“Kick their ass”

But he will constantly glance over at them in a fight to make sure they’re alright. He knows they can hold their own but he doesn’t want anything to happen to them.

He will constantly praise his partner. Never once underestimating them cause he knows their worth.

If anyone says differently? Those swords are sharp and ready and he’s there for their defense.

He cleans any weapons or objects that his s/o uses while he shines his blades, so they don’t have to worry about having their tools prepared.

His partner always checks in on him, bringing him water and towels when he trains (and sending him to shower more than once a week…lol ) ,cleans up any wounds or stitches he might have if they are alone, and even shares a cup of booze with him.

He is always in some way thinking of how he can be of help to his partner.

[maxellminidisc]

Making my own post on how we should frankly all work on weight training/bearing excercises for our bone and muscle health into old age cause op of the one I saw was a crypto terf.

Anyway, its really important to do so because it genuinely helps in aiding your bone density and muscle strength. If you're not aware weight training has nothing to do with weight loss but rather is a term for targeted exercises that strengthening the muscles, their force output, and endurance. Mostly weight lifting is what's associated with weight training, but stuff like isometrics can also be a form of weight training; stuff like planks, wall squats, etc.

Training the force output of your muscles ends up benefiting your joints and bones because they adapt to the increase in mass and strength by building up your bone density. Bone density is important in preventing things like osteoporosis, which basically makes your bones incredibly susceptible and fragile to major fractions and makes healing much more difficult as you age.

As you age as well, the weakening of your bones, muscles, and tendons also makes it harder for you to balance yourself and leads to a higher risk of falls. So, starting sooner will help prevent falls, fractures, and possible fatality in the future. If you have older folks you're close to, definitely encourage that they start doing balance exercises now rather than later to help them gain some resistance and prevention for their later years or to help make their lives a lil easier if they are in their later years.

Theres tons of simple at home exercises and routines on YouTube that accommodate seniors and to some extent folks with mobility issues to regain balance or work on weight training. Routines which are fully seated or supported by chairs are good alternative exercises I've seen and even done with my mom who's now in her early 60s with knee issues. You dont have to be a senior to check some of these out and do them either!

[ladyofmelk]

Master and Margarita dashboard simulator

👤 deactivated-302bis

censor this dick

🎈bezdomnyyyy Follow

op why did you deactivate

🎈bezdomnyyyy Follow

nvm i figured it out

🎈bezdomnyyyy Follow

be honest guys if im good enough for wattpad can i make it to ao3 🥹

🎭 messire Follow

you will not survive the winter

🎈bezdomnyyyy Follow

a no would've been enough

🐀 marcus-muribellum Follow

yeshua ha-nozri kinda mid

📜 matthewlevi-n1christian Follow

jerusalem, palestine, 31.779400, 35.232071

💬 anonymous:

i must say im so disappointed in you. i heard you tried to get acquainted with the procurator during your trial and even offered your miracles to him. you promised to sacrifice yourself and wash our sins away!

🌾 yeshuafromtheblock Follow

doesn't sound like me

🌾 yeshuafromtheblock Follow

@matthewlevi-n1christian WHEN I CATCH YOU

🧐 misha-bulgakov Follow

God at the pearly gates: look its really simple the only rule for getting in is you dont have to have written faust self insert fanfiction where your wife befriends magic stalin and beats the shit out of people you dont like

Me: ok hear me out

👤 not-the-kgb Follow

hey man what the fuck

🌻 miss-margo Follow

god please bring back my husband

🌻 miss-margo Follow

not my actual husband ew

🌻 miss-margo Follow

its been six months and nothing happened. time to switch teams

#hot witch easter

🐈‍⬛️ hippocat Follow

i miss when gingers got hunted down for fun

👩‍🦰 vampwitch Follow

no borsch for you

🐈‍⬛️ hippocat Follow

just the men though

🎈bezdomnyyyy Follow

who even uses ъ anymore

🎭 messire Follow

have you thought that maybe people who were there when the glagolitic script was created still need it...

👩‍🦰 vampwitch Follow

so insensitive of you op

🔫 azazello-with-an-o Follow

literally why dont they kick you out of the party

🃏 retired-jester-club Follow

im on the phone with poprichin rn they're revoking your massolit card

🐈‍⬛️ hippocat Follow

homeless AND jobless, pick a struggle

[vin-taege]

requesting for chishiya !! i dont really see anything abt him being flirty, so i'd LOVE to see smth like after the game with king of diamonds when he starts to open up yk, maybe chishiya had feelings for op when they were at the beach but never told them that cause he didnt >want< to feel that way, but after all that talk with kuzuryu he wants to change but doesnt rlly know how so he just starts flirting with op at any given chance basically :]] like calling them pretty and holding their hand/waist yk and maybe just dropping some "wanna makeout?" but its SO CLEAR that hes trying really hard and has no idea of what hes doing (that man does NOT flirt usually

I AM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH FOR THIS !!

I am a firm believer that chishiya is definitely a huge antisocial dork outside of the borderlands and with his partner, so this request hits home

"A" for Effort

Summary: God, who would've thought Chishiya Shuntaro could fail at something so gracefully—alternatively, the one where Chishiya tries flirting for once.

Genre: fluff, aib!au, ooc chishiya (he's a dork in this one)

Pairing: reader x chishiya

Words: 1k

"You know, I can make a bomb out of that with enough batteries and wires." Chishiya mused, a hint of pride in his voice. You froze midway through your actions, the cola can you were holding suspended in midair, inches from your lips. "That's very cool of you, Chishiya."

"Yeah," he hummed. He slid his chair closer to you, making the old floor of the abandoned apartment creak. You'd be lying if you said his closer proximity didn't make your heart flutter.

Uncharacteristically, he slid an arm around you, seemingly aiming to land on the armrest on your other side. As soon as his palm hit the wood, it gave in with a sharp snap, making the blond jolt forward. His chin hit your shoulder, sticky soda liquid spilling as your arm jerked alongside it.

For a split second, he looked mortified, eyebrows raised slightly and his mouth agape. Quickly enough, he caught himself and slid back into his stoic expression. He cleared his throat, "I just have to cut that top part open. The wiring goes in and then the pull-ring after. It's really easy—I can teach you if you want."

His breath was on your skin, deep brown eyes burning into yours. When they're close enough, his eyes no longer looked cold nor judgmental. They were soft, gentle—they were windows to the vulnerabilities and brilliance hidden beneath his hard shell. His pupils seemed to dilate when he whispered, glimmering with wonder under the candlelight.

"You're really pretty."

Your breath hitched in your throat. Eyebrows raised, you let out a hum in surprise. What has gotten into him today?

"Sorry?" You couldn't help but smile. It was an awkward one, given how you were unused to interacting with him like this, but a smile nonetheless.

His arm was still around you, limply laying on the side of the chair before he decided to press it onto your waist. For the first time in his life, Chishiya's fingers trembled. He was praying you wouldn't notice the almost imperceptible way his fingers shook over the fabric of your shirt. You pretended not to notice.

"I think your lips are really pretty," he said as a matter of fact.

He didn't know why you were looking at him as if he just blew someone's head off. Truthfully, it wavered his confidence and he started to rethink his approach. You still hadn't said a word for you were trying to figure out if this was really happening, but he mistook this silence for rejection.

"I'll uh—" he moved away from you, standing up to go towards your makeshift bed of papers and pillows. The bed in the apartment came with questionable stains, and you were adamant about never touching it.

"Chish-"

"I'm going to sleep," he grumbled, frustrated at himself for failing at something he considered to be simple. Why was it suddenly so difficult to talk to you?

Whatever fire Kuzuryuu ignited in him has certainly dampened a bit. He felt defeated—stumped—that the perfect plan he concocted didn't pan out the way it usually would. He thought that now was the best time—he had just came off from beating a king, you found a place the King of Spades seemingly hasn't touched yet, and the both of you managed to unearth unexpired strawberry candies that actually tasted good. Today was supposed to be lucky.

He'd thought of all the variables, and processed the multiple backup plans he had up his sleeve, yet when that fucking armrest broke, they all went down the drain. He was curled up in a ball, back facing toward you. He didn't want you to see him in such an embarrassed—pathetic—state.

"Humans aren't formulaic," he thought.

Sighing, you stood up. You blew the candle, the resulting wisps of smoke trailing up towards the ceiling. Chishiya lay motionless, and if you weren't any wiser, you would've thought that he had actually fallen asleep already.

You sat crossed-leg next to him. The plastic of his earphones glinted under the moonlight, peeking through strands of bleach-blonde hair. You gently plucked the bud out and the blown-out bass of a heavy rock song greeted you. He tilted his head slightly in your direction.

You leaned down, bringing your lips closer to the curve of his ear. "I think you're pretty too."

For a beat, he was unresponsive. Then, he rolled onto his back, now facing you fully. His lips quirked up, giving you the smallest of smiles. He propped himself up on his elbows, cocking his head to the side. It's almost as if it was a challenge for you to continue.

"I don't know what got into you, but I do know that it gave me the courage to tell you this," you bit your lip. "I have feelings for you."

He cocked an eyebrow up, pleasantly surprised and almost in a teasing way. So the plan did work. Not in the way he thought it would, but it still came to fruition.

Your noses were almost touching. You wanted to close the gap, to meet his chapped lips that vaguely smelled of strawberries—he swore he wasn't using lip balm but you begged to differ. He was yearning for this as well. God, he was so mesmerized by you.

So pretty, so pretty, so pretty.

"If you're having trouble with getting the lid off, I can always help you with some pliers I found."

"What are you talking abou—is this about the fucking bomb again?"

He cut you off, finally pressing his lips against yours. Snaking his hand behind your head, he pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. You still hadn't quite figured out the intricacies of his mind. His behavior was sometimes erratic—although he was calm and calculative, he can also be unpredictable and warm.

There was a multitude of thoughts running through your mind, the loudest one being the drive for the both of you to make it out, to survive. And without saying it, you knew he wanted the same thing.

[mrspark7777777]

The translation though

https://x.com/cFCKBtshEFcVgx0/status/1821583637718192150

does it make sense? I can’t grasp it, because it almost feels backwards. But really the gist is they weren’t free to meet up at the same time, a bit like what you said before about distractions. I almost felt that last year there was some self imposed ban on seeking each other, especially going to he others promotions, which is why when JK is free he didn’t go to music bank to see JM like Yoongi or on a show with him, or like Hobi to see the mv filmed, like they did it on purpose? I’m probably not making sense, but as in to lay low as best they could with impending enlistment, not that they weren’t seeing each other but not overtly or maybe not enough quality time?

Thanks for the ask my lovely. I've addressed some of this here but sure, let's talk about this too. Just like OP said;

Its been established JK had a hard time during FACE era. His boyfriend was MIA, he didn't see him much, it took a toll. A toll Jimin was very aware of. My friends and I were just talking about this and we agreed AYS could be a result of Jimin's guilt. Him wanting to make it up to JK. I also believe what happened with JK during that time was the reason why they applied to enlist together.

Jimin loves to joke and make fun and he loves to make us happy but he loves to make JK happy even more. Say what you will about him but he priorities JK's needs and always has. This travel show, we will enjoy the hell out of it and have a great time, but Jikook needed this. They needed this escape and if they could only get away but portraying it as work, then thats exactly what they were going to do.

So yes anon, you're correct. The operative word here is enough. They talked of course, but not enough. They spend time together of course, just not enough. They were busy, they needed to behave while waiting to see if they would be approved for the buddy system, and so they didn't get to enjoy eo as much as they would have loved to.

It's as simple as that

During 3D era JK said Jimin kept coming up to him and singing "pweuriri" clearly that means they were spending time together. In a live he talked about Jimin rearranging his lights at his home. Then just recently Jimin told RM him and JK drink alot and talk about music. I mean, these are just 3 examples and they sure as hell didn't happen via osmosis.

They saw eo, they talked, of course they fucking did. Think hickeygate. When it doubt, think hickeygate. They couldn't outright tell us what happened and therefore manipulated the truth or rather didn't give us the whole story. That has and will always be an ongoing theme with Jikook: a gay couple in the closet. Go back to that scene and watch JK during this conversation. At some point he does this thing where he's like scratching his neck but you can tell there is no itch. That to me was a sign that there was more to the story.

So just think hickeygate and go from there. There is more to Jikook than meets the eye...