#If it isn't the same person... Well at least the subject is the same so there's no harm in answering them in one go

[shinidamachu]

Okay so we all know by now why Inuyasha fell for Kagome — it’s fairly obvious, because she’s amazing, who wouldn’t? But why do you think Kagome fell in love with Inuyasha? At the beginning of their journey she couldn’t stand his rash and abrasive attitude and was always saying how a guy the complete opposite of him would be her type, so what made her grow from just viewing him as a friend who she would need to teach to bring out of his shell, into a viable romantic interest?

I’m sure we can all pinpoint the time when Kagome really started developing feelings was her seeing Inuyasha’s human night for the first time and when he was laying in her lap and saying how good she smelled, being honest with his true feelings for once. What was it about that moment that caused Kagome to start to see Inu in a new light? Was she attracted to his vulnerability? When she saw that combined with his always protecting her was that enough to stir her heart? What’s your take on what it was about Inuyasha that made made Kagome fall in love?

So I think it’s obvious by now why Inuyasha fell for Kagome, but what exactly was it about Inuyasha that made Kagome fall for him? How did she go from dislike to tolerance to seeing him as a friend she could teach and learn to open up to the world into a viable romantic interest? She says it herself early on, Inuyasha was the exact opposite of her type, so what exactly was it about him that attracted her to him that he couldn’t already give her at the friend level?

I'm guessing you asked @born-for-eachother this very same question a while ago? And her answer was as insightful as ever, so I'm not sure what else can I say to expand on her already brilliant take, but I'll give it my best try.

This is Kagome's reply when her friends asked what her type is. Mind you, she's only fifteen. Kagome might think that she knows what she wants, but she most definitely doesn't know yet what she needs. And that's an important distinction.

Also, please notice that Kagome's lying to herself, because there's only one person in the series that fit her criteria perfectly: Hojo. Even still, she had no romantic interest in him whatsoever despite the statement above.

And the scene's whole point wasn't to stabilish the kind of guy Kagome would fall for, but to show us that, when asked about what her type was, Inuyasha crosses her mind, even if it was in a "negative" light.

If it was the case, it would have made way more sense for her to simply describe a type and define Hojo as the yardstick against which all potential boyfriends would be measured, but instead she made the entire thing about Inuyasha, subconsciously drawing a correlation between him and romantic interest.

And of course, Inuyasha actually does have at least half of the qualities Kagome was listing. She just didn't have the opportunity to realize that at the time, since their first impression of each other was disastrous and Inuyasha was keeping his guard up. She didn't know the real him yet.

That's why she couldn’t stand his rash and abrasive attitude at the beginning of their journey. Kagome thought he was being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk and, for his part, Inuyasha was constantly proving her misconceptions right.

It takes a little time for her to figure him out, which is to be expected because, at first, he made his life's mission to push Kagome away and she have never met someone like him before, but eventually, she manages to see right through him.

His selfishness was a facade. He had to think of himself first because he learned that if he didn't, no one else would. However, he did care for others, no matter how good he was at pretending otherwise. And he might complain about it the whole time, but he always does the right thing in the end.

Especially when it comes to Kagome. There were many occasions in which he resigned himself with letting her go, be it because he feared for her own safety, be it because he knew it wasn't fair of him to ask her to stay even though the thing he wanted the most was to have her by his side. When push comes to shove, he prioritizes Kagome's well being over his own feelings every time. This is the opposite of selfish.

Inuyasha isn't malicious, he's just a impulsive boy who had little to none social interactions growing up. He doesn't really mean a lot of what comes out of his mouth, or at least he doesn't always mean it in a rude way. When he does mean it, it's often a defense mechanism to keep people away, a form of hurt them before they could hurt him. It's only natural for Inuyasha to act the way he does at first. And it was even more natural for Kagome to pick up on that eventually:

He is kind. You can tell by how he puts his life on the line even for those who judge him a monster. He has been wronged in so many ways, by so many people and he still forgave and forgot most of it, showing them the compassion he was denied of. You can also see it in the detais: the way he treats children — slapstick comedy aside —women or any person who can't stand up for themselves, how he provides for and takes care of his friends, the relationship he had with his mother, the gentle way in which he touches Kagome, gives her his robe when she's cold and nurses her back to health when she's sick. I could go on and on.

Granted, he is violent. But for the longest time, violence was all he knew. And it was this very violence that more often than not kept Kagome and their friends alive. He is short tempered. But then again so is she. And he might be the farthest thing from obedient, but I highly doubt Kagome would have fallen so hard and so deep for him if he wasn't.

Futhermore, I think you nailed it on the head when you said Kagome started developing real feelings for Inuyasha after their first New Moon together.

This is when she finally starts to truly understand him. For once, there was no walls up, no bullshit, no covering their connection with hostility. Only vulnerability, brutal honesty and the shy beginning of one of the most important themes in their relationship: trust. Here, Kagome realizes that there is more to him than meets the eyes, that there's an opening for her to come in. Which she does. And the more she gets to know him, the more she notices that he can be selfless, good and kind.

I'd also like to point out that Kagome had already showed signs of physical attraction to Inuyasha way before that.

Obviously, you can admire your friend's appearance in a non romantic way, but her reaction to his looks at the time and the reminiscing of how heroic he looked back then cannot be interpreted as platonic.

But more than that, the thing that really attracted her to Inuyasha, what he couldn’t already give her in a friendship level, was plain and simple the way he made her feel.

Although it was mostly Inuyasha starting the romantic moves, Kagome has always responded to them. His actions awakened in her sentiments she had never had to deal with before. It's new. It's exciting. It's terrifying. It makes her feel alive. And no one else has ever done it for her. Not even close.

Inuyasha turned her world upside down. Being the beautiful, smart and popular girl that she was, love was something that has always came easily to Kagome. She was pretty used to people liking her gratuitously. Her relationship with family and friends was simple enough, but with Inuyasha, she had to work for it, to build it with him from scratch. It was trial and error. It required patience, acceptance, trust, effort and sacrifice from both parts.

Most importantly: Inuyasha challenged her, turned her life into an adventure. He toughed her up, encouraged her to improve and become the very best version of herself, added a gray area to the black and white perspective she had on things, brought her out of her comfort zone. And she enjoyed rising up to the occasion. I think that anything different would bore her very quickly.

Then there's the easiness in which they fit into each other's world: her little brother worships the ground Inuyasha walks on, her grandpa appreciates Inuyasha's help at the shrine, her mother is treated by Inuyasha with nothing but ultimate kindness and respext. Even her friends approve of him. This brings forth the unshakeable feeling that they have always been together, that their meeting was no coincidence.

Plus, Inuyasha actually cares about her. Not her beauty, not her popularity, not her powers: her. Kagome turned the head of many guys during the series, but none of them know her down to the core like Inuyasha does. Her fears and insecurities, her friends and family, her quirks and believes, likes and dislikes, qualities and flaws: Inuyasha knows them all. He sees her beyond of what she looks like. He loves her for who she is rather than an idealized version of herself that does not exist.

It doesn't matter to him if she's wearing her best clothes or covered in demon goo. He had seen her crying, sweating, bloodied, dirty, sick, in extreme need of a bath and his opinion of her never lowered. If anything, I'd say Inuyasha wanted to be with her even more. Kagome didn't have to try too hard, didn't have to be anyone else for him to like her. All he ever expected of her was her company. And that's gotta be refreshing.

At last, I personally believe that wanting what you "can't" have also plays an important factor here. Inuyasha came straight out of a fairy tale, only to get her happily ever after, Kagome had to overcome lunatic villains, Inuyasha's traumas, her own insecurities, the fact that they belonged to different eras, miscommunications, heartbreaks, the stigma that a relationship between a priestess and a half demon carries, three years of separation and lastly time-space itself. Every obstacle only seemed to make her want him more.

Kagome's life could have been a lot easier if she had decided to let it go. She could have pursued an uncomplicated relationship with one of the male characters practically throwing themselfes at her feet — one of which, in theory, checks all of her boxes —, but she didn't. Which makes sense because, to quote Taylor Swift: nothing safe it's worth the drive.

And it all comes full circle, because her desires and necessities have finally aligned. Inuyasha might not have been what she wanted for herself at first, but he has always been exactly what she needed. And after she realized that, I can't imagine Kagome ever wanting anything — or anyone — else.

#Okay so I got the first ask a while ago #Then I got the second ask a few weeks later #I'm assuming it was sent by the same person because otherwise it's just too crazy of a coincidence #Judging by the way both asks were written #I'll bet anon just thought Tumblr didn't send me the question or got a little impatient with my delay #If it isn't the same person... Well at least the subject is the same so there's no harm in answering them in one go #Whatever the case here's your answer I hope I had made worth your while and thank you for asking #Inuyasha #Kagome #Inukag #Sidmailing #Kagome Higurashi #Inuyasha meta #Inukag meta #Kagome meta #Kagome Higurashi meta

[trans-leek-cookie]

someone talking about the ways media and common tropes/depictions of things that are either explicitly or implicitly linked to marginalized people are demonized and presented badly is not a fucking opportunity for you to flex how you're doing it Differently And Better

#I'll rb the post but I domt want to add it on cause it feels. Not my place maybe #Anyway fun fact! You can think that all you fucking want! Close your God damn mouth about it and figure out if it actually adds to the #Conversation! Marginalized ppl don't have to hear about how you're hashtag Not Like The Others!!! TAKE IN THE INFORMATION AND CONSIDER IF #THE THINGS YOU DO TRULY DEFY STEREOTYPES OR ARE STILL IMPLICITLY INSPIRED BY THESE BIASES!!! AND DO IT QUIETLY OR WITH SOMEONE WHOS WILLING #TO LISTEN! NOT ON THE POST INFORMING YOU OF THE PROBLEMS EXISTENCE #Also I'd move this tag up but genuinely idk if I can do that atm. But I'm LITERALLY guilty of the same shit. I immediately jump to no true #Scotsman the subject because I want to defend it!!! Yes I recognize the pattern is wrong and yes I genuinely believe it isn't necessarily #Inherent! But I still have to confront the fact that it's so prominent and to many people inseparable from the subject #(That being disability and body horror). I will say: my immediate instinct was to disregard any body horror that is just like Real Shit Tha #Happens To People as body horror but that's not helpful! I can't just say well it's not body horror BECAUSE PEOPLE STILL CALL AND SEE IT AS #BODY HORROR!!! I HAVE TO STOP AND CONSIDER THE LARGER IMPLICATIONS. My PERSONAL OPINIONS do not matter and the pedantic discussion is #Something to be had with friends or used as it's own criticism of the genre not ON THE POST CALLING OUT A REAL ISSUE! Anyway just. #Both artists and consumers have to be critical of What we see as body horror/what others tell us is body horror/what we accept as body #Horror bc/what we create as body horror etc. We NEED to confront that and we can't just say I Wouldn't Do That! We need to understand that #It goes deeper than that!!! Also YOU DONT INHERENTLY KNOW WHATS POSSIBLE FOR A HUMAN TO EXPERIENCE #There's so many things that ppl can experience and Live With! There are obviously things that are fatal so u rarely hear abt them but human #Beings can survive a lot of things!!! And here's the thing: the rarer something is the shittier it feels to have it misrepresented!!! #At the very basic level: CHECK IF THE THING YOU WANT TO USE AS BODY HORROR IS A RECORDED PHENOMENON AT LEAST!!! FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK #DO THE BARE MINIMUM

[medicinemane]

The problem with people who are "right" because they insist they're right, and the only way to be right is to simply perfectly follow their every dictation on the subject unquestioningly is this...

Ok, let's just take it as a given that you're right... the problem here is that if that's what's right I'm afraid I have to dig my heels into being wrong. If you are as righteous and just as you insist you are then I've got no choice but to be the villain because I can't stand what you're saying I'd have to do to be good

Shockingly I even think it's wrong, which is odd because we've already defined it that you're inherently and unassailably right... yet here we are

Worst part is there's a lot of these things where I'm not even full stop against it, I actually might be on their side if they could stop and address a couple of issues I consider kind of important... but they won't, because they're morally right and don't have time for addressing nonexistent issues I'm clearly just dreaming up

Undoubtedly right they are, the defect must surely be my own... and yet here we are. Vile and wicked as it might make me, I still can't just go along with you

#mm tag so i can find things later #and whatever you think this is about and however you've already decided it agrees with you #I'll say this is about like... minimum 2 topics at very different points in the political spectrum... and probably like 20 easy #so like... it may well be talking about your own behavior on certain subjects #I'm talking about not even being willing to entertain good faith questions #and especially about labeling anyone who doesn't tow your exact party line a horrible person #...the amount of shit where it's like 'you know I actually agree with you... except for this one major sticking point' #'just tell me how we deal with this one pretty big thing and I'm fully on board' and... well actually you're terrible for that #or the amount of places where it's like I agree with your goals; but not your methods but... I don't think arguing would do a damn thing #you've already dug your heels in so deep and maybe you're even right to do it.. but I'll never go along with it no matter what that makes m #and the number of overall good people I know who this post is honestly about #they may well be far better than I am; I've never claimed to be good; quite the opposite #and yet I'm afraid I have to say that... to me you're wrong; wrong in concrete ways #maybe you could even address my concerns and help me see with my stupid brain why these aren't issues... but you won't #because you're right; and you know you're right; and so you'll never be wrong #and this isn't just some idle whataboutism... or maybe it is; I'll never say I'm the moral arbiter; again I could be wickedly wrong #and there's a variety of reasons someone believes what they believe; but... there's often blind dogma at the end #I may be stupid; but I can usually draw a line from my stance to something in the world #maybe it's a stupid nonsense line and I don't see my mental gymnastics... very well could be #but I can draw a line... it's not just circular logic; it's not just bouncing between two points #and I often can actually point to places I'm not happy with how things are or will be... we live in the real world and that sucks #example that... man it's more politically charged than I like getting; but ok #I really want this Ukrainian aid to pass even though I don't like the Israeli aid attached... but I get that's the only way it's passing #I want the Ukraine aid because I see residential houses getting stuck by missiles; but I don't want the Israeli aid for the same reason #and it comes down to that I think that the aid amount is sufficiently higher to Ukraine to make it enough of a net positive #I could be wrong... but you can at least see my work; I'm coming at it from a perspective of bombing civilians is wrong #I could be stupid; I could point to two people I know on here who would tell me I'm stupid for at least one part of this... probably all #yet there it is... and... it'll be hard to convince me otherwise

[homunculus-argument]

"Maybe magic, maybe mundane" is one of my favourite tropes, especially when it's featured in something where magic could plausibly exist.

One book idea that I had that is currently only a pile of haphazard notes features a character only known as The Queen's Mute - or simply "the mute" for short - who is exactly what it says on the tin: the queen's personal jester, who does not speak. He is also ambiguously human. An eerie, elfin creature who seems to find it funny when people are puzzled by him.

Besides being completely silent, he has an uncanny skill in copying how people hold themselves and move. Gait, posture, the expressions they make, he could just be standing completely still doing nothing, and it's still obvious whether he's standing like the king or the head cook. If you've seen the subject once, you'll know who he's impersonating. He's quick to spot every opportunity to insult someone by doing so - like spotting a nobleman who isn't faithful to his wife and following after him across the room in the exact same gait that his mistress walks in. The king once remarks that he can't understand how the hell someone who can't speak can have so many rude things to say.

The protagonist was sent to spy on the queen, and the mute is almost always with her - making no sound, not even footsteps, but making himself seen, and seeing and hearing everything. One never hears him come or go, he is just suddenly there, sitting on the floor, waiting to see who's the first person to glance down and get startled out of their mind because people don't just pop out of nowhere like that. Being fond of climbing furniture as well, he might also be sitting on top of a shelf.

Though the protagonist first assumes that he is somewhere close to her own age - somewhere in his late teens - and the narration refers to him as "boy" more often than "man", the queen corrects her. He is just as grown now as he was when she first brought him with her, and though she doesn't know his exact age, she knows he is older than she is herself.

The king - despite of being the mute's favourite subject of vicious mockery - tolerates him for some reason. Despite of being aware that the relationship between the queen and the jester is romantic as well as sexual in nature. Their marriage is as loveless as political arranged marriages get, so he finds it preferable to let the queen keep her mute if his taunting antics and his unsettling way of just appearing into places at least keep other men away.

The queen occasionally mentions things that she wasn't supposed to know - and couldn't have known - just to let the protagonist know that she knows more about what's going on than what she lets on. When the protagonist fails to hide her shock and asks the queen how she knew, the queen explains that the mute told it to her. The protagonist assumes this to be a joke, her way of saying "none of your business", since obviously the mute doesn't talk.

But he does talk. Only to the queen, only when absolutely no other soul is there to hear it. And as a plot twist on the last third of the book, it turns out that besides knowing how to move like other people, the mute is a frighteningly good vocal mimic. He can copy the queen's voice perfectly, which they have often used for her advantage. Looking back to every scene where the queen was heard but not seen - behind a curtain or a dressing screen, talking through a door, or just overheard singing to herself in the garden - there is no telling whether the protagonist was actually talking with the queen, or if she had that whole conversation with the mute. This would explain at least one incident where the queen was supposed to be in one place but somehow shows up somewhere else.

The protagonist never figures out what the mute's whole deal is. She never finds a satisfying answer despite of the queen clearly telling her that he is just as much a human of flesh and blood as either of them. The queen often sounds like she's lying when she's telling the truth, as she is now. The mute is completely, entirely human, just somewhat autistic and trans.

[yamujiburo]

Some of this might sound intentionally hostile in text and I apologize.

I'm saying this as an abuse survivor mind you - don't throw "abusive ships" under the bus so easily - at least, so long as they're not actually glamorizing the abuse. I lived that irl and I personally find someone overcoming it, slowly having enough of that bullshit and getting out over time, and the other person having to wipe their own butt for once after they've made the damn mess, very refreshing. Maybe that's not a ship in the traditional sense. It's no happily ever after bc it shouldn't be, but I find stories like mine shyed away from so often because even the portrayal gets considered a "canon ship". ... that's just how media works now, I guess? I very rarely See a fictional relationship not called a ship in literally any context now so that's the definition I'm running on.

I wish more people were willing to portray the hardships of finding acceptance outside of "whoever you can find will accept you" very much, and finding the better things after. I wish people weren't terrified out of portrayimg situations like mine.

Jessie.. is not a good person in canon. You expect me to believe she moved into to hanamusa seamlessly, without falling on her ass? I never see you talk about Jessie's abusive tendencies in canon. You never talk about the inherent meanness she needed to get over to get there. She's quite aml lot like my ex in canon, actually.

What do you mean you're going to just remove from the character that she is abusive to those around her. Jessie hits people. She takes her own junk out on others all the time. Do you even like the character then, are you actually invested in her growing, or are you just making an OC at this point?

Idk. Do you, boo. But you are posting about a character who, whether you like it or not, is canonically abusive. I just don't buy that dating Ash's mom alone fixed her. That isn't... How that works. It would be excellent if it did. Part of my love of hanamusa is that it signals Jessie's change - but she could have changed for anyone before now.

What makes Delia different? How is she specifically a turning point for Jessie? Because Jessie's flaws go well beyond just bossing people around.

I would love if my abuser had the same outcome as your Jessie. I adore your portayals of hanamusa, where she's still flawed but still strives to do better. That's all I ever wanted from my ex.

What the fuck got her there tho.

Anyways I've been watching a lot of Bojack Horseman lately -

I agree with you! I don't think abusive relationships (or any tough subject matter in general) should be shied away from in media. It can be powerful when executed well and written by folks who are equipped to tell those kinds of stories. I do think it's sad when people treat it as off limits. But the ask I got was definitely more about which ships I have where I actually like the relationship between the characters. I think the semantics of the word "ship" are kind of vague or rather, over time, got so specific to only mean "absolutely love together and want them as endgame" (for most people anyways). So that's usually what I take the word to mean when people ask me about it.

I can 100% appreciate how an abusive relationship is written and handled, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna ship an abuser with their victim (that falls into the glorifying you're talking about). Love Bojack Horseman! Big fan! I think the way they handled Bojack and Sarah Lynn was beautifully and tragically well written. But does that mean I ship Bojack and Sarah Lynn? Absolutely fucking not.

I've talked about Jessie's character plenty on this blog and the way she's handled in earlier seasons specifically. This is kind of a summary: If we look at it on surface level, yes we can say she was abusive. But I think it's important to acknowledge and take into account the medium, time period and culture. Slapstick and cartoon violence was HUGE in anime and animation in the 90s (and prior to that too). Characters were always cartoonishly slapping each other around with giant mallets, folding fans, etc. Looney Tunes style. These slapstick bits were always distinct from real abuse and hurt (for Pokémon, Jessiebelle comes to mind). Mean slapstick wasn't a character trait exclusive to Jessie either. We saw it in Misty, James, Meowth, characters of the day and pretty much any character who got mad. It was a visual shortcut to show anger.

This type of slapstick has since (thankfully) died out and it hasn't really been a part of the Pokémon franchise since the early 2000s. However, Jessie was a notably special case. One of my favorite fun facts about the Pokémon anime is that there was a point in the series where Megumi Hayashibara (Jessie/Musashi's seiyuu) told the writers that moving forward, she no longer wanted Jessie to be violent or to be shown hitting James or Meowth (source: her memoir "The Characters Taught Me Everything"). She thought it directly went against the vision Takeshi Shudo had for Jessie, James and Meowth, when he created them, which was that they are good natured villains. If you watch from DP and on, Jessie never lays a hand on either of them. I think it was a such a good move on Pokémon's part to change her character like that and I'm forever grateful that Hayashibara said something! Whenever I write Jessie now, I always keep that in mind. She's mean, shouty and stupid but would never genuinely hurt those she cares about.

From then, her character becomes much more bearable. She's still bossy, mean and vain (typical cartoon villainess attributes) but I'd hesitate to say abusive. She'll still yell at James and Meowth, they all yell at each other, but in more of a sibling way (imo) rather than a "i'm actively trying to hurt your feelings way". The show makes a point especially in later seasons to show that Jessie, James and Meowth are not beyond being redeemed. From conception the whole POINT of the Team Rocket trio was that they are redeemable but their persistence and obsession keeps getting in the way of them seeing that there's a better life for them out there.

I won't deny that Jessie was unsavory in earlier seasons, but when I write her, I choose to write the version that Takeshi Shudo and Megumi Hayashibara had envisioned from the get go. She's still incredibly flawed and makes plenty missteps but wants to be better as you stated! My favorite part about Jessie is that she's a piece of shit LOL and I enjoy writing the changes she goes through to be better (but then still showing her default so some of her evil tendencies). In this AU, Delia doesn't fix Jessie. Jessie fixes Jessie because she is with someone makes her want to be a better person. She's already in the middle of turning over a new leaf before even meeting Delia, after leaving Team Rocket. Writing Jessie as legitimately abusive I think could work, but that's not my story to tell and if someone who were more equipped to tell that story did, I'd be very interested to take a listen!

I hope this doesn't come off as trying to deny or invalidate your experience. If you see that in Jessie, I hear you! This is just how I've interpreted her character over the years, having watched every episode of Pokémon and reading Japanese interviews from the cast and crew. She's such a compelling character and I love how messy she is

#ask yam #long post #tw abuse

[thefanficmonster]

Heavy Metal Lover

PART 2

Colby Brock x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Smoking, Brief Choking, Mentioned Past Suicides (at the location they're exploring), Suggestive Content, Arguments, Swearing

Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Romance, Very Slight Smut, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Sam's best friend and Kat's best friend have been tangling antlers since the moment they met. So much for the couple's hopes of setting the two up.

NOTE: Sam and Kat are still together in this fic. This detail is not meant to be disrespectful to Sam's current girlfriend in any way.

"Why do we keep trying?"

Sam's question comes out as an exasperated sigh as he slouches further into the leather couch him and Kat have settled onto. Their rooms aren't ready yet, seeing as how their flight arrived way earlier than their calculations had suggested.

The hotel lobby is busy. The noise on any other day would be too much for the two to ignore and tune out but right now it's much more alike white noise. Jet-lag has really done them in this time. They'd been running away from it for long enough - hopping from plane to plane filming Hell Week is the same every year. But alas, by the fourth location they'd always shut down as has been the case since they stepped foot out of the plane and into the Las Vegas airport.

The only reason they're staying awake is so they don't get robbed blind. Well, that and to make sure the other two people on this trip don't murder one another.

"Because I still believe there's something there."

Y/N and Colby had successfully made it through the whole boarding process and flight without a single fight. Hell, Sam can't even recall them exchanging a single word until they arrived at the hotel. Maybe that's why it took them less than thirty seconds to break out in their usual bitter back-and-forth in the middle of the lobby. The only reason voices remained leveled was because they are indeed in public and they have appearances to upkeep.

The couple managed to subdue the perpetual assholes, convincing them to 'take five' which they thankfully went to take in opposite directions - Y/N headed for the parking lot to grab something she allegedly forgot in their rental car while Colby immediately clocked the patio across the lobby and quickly disappeared out of sight.

Kat watched them both, as if on cue, pluck their packs of cigarettes from their pockets on the way out.

That's what she means when she's trying to convince Sam of that something she sees. She can't explain it without the reasoning sounding like wishful thinking but she knows there is something. Something in the explosiveness in their interactions, the 'hatred' in their glares whenever they are tangling antlers over the smallest inconvenience, the way they look at each other when the other isn't looking.

Y/N and Colby are to Kat what the paranormal is to Sam. She wants to prove it to everyone, but mostly herself. Prove she didn't spend years poking holes in their apprehension for one another and pushing them together when the holy force clearly didn't want her to.

Or maybe that's what has been driving her.

Either way, she's truly grateful Sam is going along with her antics. Whether he believes what she's preaching or sees what she's seeing is up for debate, but at he's still supportive.

He'd never tell her this, but he isn't exactly trusting of the process. He more than anyone would want to see his best friend in a happy and healthy relationship. Does he believe that him and Y/N could have that? No. Not at all. Does he have faith Kat will succeed in her endeavors? Nope. Not even a tad. Even though she's stubborn and dedicated to this cause, he's never met a person more hard-headed than his best friend. Or at least he hadn't until he met Y/N.

You know the whole 'opposites attract' notion? The reason Sam and Kat's experiment subjects won't give the results they're hoping for is because they're too alike. In sync even - as the cigarettes instance that happened less than ten minutes ago would confirm. They're on the same wavelength headed in opposite directions. They're permanently heading for a collision - a fight equal to a ticking time bomb. Sam and Kat have to put out the fire the explosion of said bomb causes but that is a small price to pay to keep the two in each other's proximity.

"I don't know, babe...." Sam's shoulders slump downward, his arm automatically wrapping around Kat when she leans into his side. Hesitant as he may be, he's willing to go along with it. How is it any different from all the times Kat agreed to visit abandoned and haunted places with him. Hell, that's why she's here. She had no problem hopping on a plane to Vegas on such short notice just because she knew how much it'd mean to him. So...what's a little matchmaking in return? "But I believe your romance instincts." Looking down at her, he can't help but smile when he sees her absolutely beaming at him.

"I will not let you down."

She may try her best, but their subjects are two particularly unruly chess pieces.

Y/N, for example, is still out in the parking lot, getting antsier by the second. Anger refuses to let her stand still. Her jaw is still set, hot blood pumping through her veins. So many words she didn't get to spit out due to the public constraint are still stuck in her throat. Colby's words are replaying in her head, their edge causing her to dig her nails into her palms.

She needs to get some air, she just doesn't know where to find it. Maybe at the top of a mountain where she could scream her lungs out in peace. That's not really an option now, though, she she just settles for walking around the hotel, giving herself a couple more minutes before she rejoins Sam and Kat inside.

Eventually, she's made her way around to the side of the hotel that spreads out as an open patio, basking in the all-too-warm sun rays of this fine September day. Last year, the high temperatures were not such a problem while putting up with the fast paced dynamic of Hell Week because they actually filmed it in late October. This year, however, they chose to get it out of the wat sooner because their schedule would be packed all October. Kat's been working on a new album, Y/N has a deal with Crypt TV to make a horror movie and Sam and Colby will be doing Sam and Colby stuff. I don't think there is any other way to sum up what those two are doing.

Not that Y/N really cares what they do. The only reason she's versed into their schedules is because she lives with them. Yes, that is correct - much to her dismay, she found herself forced to live with the guys and Kat after an unexpected and unwarranted eviction from her apartment.

She exhausted all possible options long before caving and accepting Kat's offer to move in with the three. She was welcomed into the house with three different reactions: her best friend squealing with excitement; Sam offering her a warm welcome and helping hand in moving her stuff to her room; and last, and certainly least, was Colby who gave her nothing more than a 'hello' in passing.

None of them can really recall when this endless butting of heads started or how or why. Sam and Kat would equate their attempts at getting the two to get along to pushing same charges toward one another - the harder you push, the harder they push apart.

It's truly baffling where Kat found even an ounce of romance between the two.

Y/N wipes a few droplets of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand as she climbs the few stairs to reach the bar out on the patio, hoping to gulp down a glass of water after the cigarette she tossed a few minutes ago coupled with the intense heat.

"Hello there." The bartender greets her with a smile, his gaze trailing over her with zero subtlety. "What can I get ya?"

She chooses to ignore it, "Hi. Just a glass of water, please."

The man chuckles, reaching for a tall glass "You know, it's Happy Hour somewhere."

Despite his attempts at flirting - which Y/N is aware is part of his job - she finds herself letting out a small laugh, "Yeah well, not here. And not for me." She gratefully accepts the glass of ice cold water with a nod.

Before the guy can reply, a third voice butts into the conversation, "Yeah, definitely not for her. She's a raging alcoholic."

Stunned, Y/N turns to see a pair of electric blue eyes piercing her with a blank look that contradicts his extremely fake smile he's pinned on his face out of nothing more than politeness.

For a moment, due to their glaring match, they completely forget about the man they've roped into their mess. Thankfully, he speaks up, reminding them of his presence before he could witness any potential brawl, "Oh, um, I'm sorry to hear that."

Momentarily, Y/N drops the torch, tearing her gaze from Colby to acknowledge the bartender directly, "Yeah, no big deal."

Her teeth grit together in absolute rage when she hears the asshole beside her snort something alike a laugh, "Tragic, really. Can I get a vodka cran?"

Y/N busies her hand with holding the glass so she doesn't give into the idea of punching him, "Someone clearly follows that Happy Hour rule."

"I'll have you know..." Colby turns his whole body to face her now, as if challenging her, "...it's not for me." The tilt of his head directs her gaze to an attractive brunette sitting alone at a table, scrolling through her phone.

"Lovely." She spits the word like poison on her tongue, "I'll go tell her to blink twice if she needs help."

"You need help." The lack of bite to his statement stuns her more than if he were to yell it at her. It's an effective throw-off considering she doesn't immediately jump back or smack his hand away when he reaches for the pocket of her shorts, swiping her lighter, "Mine's out of juice." He explains, sticking it in his back pocket before turning to the bartender once more, handing him a ten dollar bill, "And lemon iced tea for my friend here, she's looking a little parched."

With that and a brisk nod in Y/N's direction, Colby excuses himself from the interaction and heads back to the model of a woman who's quick to flash him a bright smile when she notices him approaching.

A sickening feeling settles in her gut. She can't believe any woman gets wound around his finger so easily. She might be biased but she just simply doesn't see it. She can't understand what gets girls within a five mile radius of him swooning.

That smile so many deem charming she finds cynical and fake. His eyes, although a pretty color, are hollow apart from the twinge of evil she sees every time they glare at her. His flirty, charismatic words could make her puke if exposed to them for an extended period of time. In short, she finds him repulsive.

Had they gotten off on a better foot maybe she would've even ended up in his bed on a few occasions by now. As they stand now, she'd rather sleep with Satan himself.

Still, she takes the iced tea, mostly out of curtesy but also because she is indeed dehydrated. She spares the table Colby has now taken a seat at a brisk glance just to find her eyes met with a pair of piercing blue ones once more.

She could strangle him, theoretically, but she won't. Not with this many witnesses around. Instead, she heads inside, looking for Sam and Kat in hopes of getting the last fifteen minutes out of her head.

* * * *

"What's up guys, it's Sam and Colby! And today we'll be investigating the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas. Known for its dark and unexplainable past and the reputation that precedes it today." Sam explains as they begin filming the intro to their video.

The group is currently standing outside the aforementioned motel. The exterior they were met with upon arrival was enough for Kat and Y/N to exchange a particular look. It's in an area off the strip, the surroundings accentuating the atmosphere and amplifying the creep factor.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to stay at the hotel. They haven't been renting rooms for close to a decade to avoid any potential casualties. And by that I mean - suicides." Colby says, reciting the notes he both wrote and memorized on the car ride here.

"Yeah, this motel is known for two specific suicides that happened here. Specifically in room 20." Sam adds, listing the sightings that have been allegedly witnessed by staff and guests alike before the motel was shut down for business.

The place now just stands ominously as a haunted attraction of sorts. It's meant to honor the memory of the two people who took their own life there but it's clear they have purposefully added to the fear factor to attract more people like Sam and Colby.

That still doesn't take away from the fact that just looking at the building settles an uneasy feeling in Y/N's gut.

She's always been curious about the paranormal but never went out of her way to seek answers. The only reason she's been joining the gang for paranormal investigations is because Kat often begs her to. And she's always had a hard time turning down her best friend, about anything.

So, here she is, sighing as she follows Sam and Kat inside the barely lit lobby of the motel where the staff member who's gonna be giving them a tour is waiting for them.

Before she can fully cross over the doorstep, she feels a finger trail over her arm, running over the very prominent goosebumps that have appeared on her skin.

"Aww, is someone scared?" The mockery in Colby's voice drains any sort of fear or uncertainty she was feeling before.

She whirls around to face him, nostrils flaring when she sees his coy smirk, "Get your fucking hands off me before I knock you the fuck out." She snarls between clenched teeth.

His smile only widens, becoming a tad more genuine now, "That's more like it. Don't be a pussy."

She's about to retaliate with a string of insults that's make a sailor blush when Sam, thankfully, interrupts her, "Guys! Come on!"

The fucker was saved by divine intervention this once, but Sam won't always be there to shield him from Y/N's wrath - he's very aware of that. Time and time again they've screamed their lungs out at one another just to storm off to fill them with nicotine for a potential round two.

In a way, that is a love language too, right? Well, if you ask Kat, that is. Though she isn't completely wrong. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. And these two are most definitely not indifferent to one another.

Speaking of Kat, she doesn't fail to sneak a peek at the hostile interaction between the two. She nudged Sam's ribs to point it out and smacked his arm when he put a stop to it. Although that was the best course of action to prevent Colby losing any teeth tonight, curtesy of Y/N's fist.

Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

She may have spit a million threats his way over the many year they've known each other, but never once did she go through with them.

"Hi, guys. I'm Scott, and it's an honor to be welcoming y'all to the Oasis." The man, who they now know as Scott, introduces himself as he turns on an old tall lamp by what used to be the front desk of the motel. "I hope you're ready to capture some great footage tonight. We're giving you a time frame till 2 AM which is an exception we rarely make, but this one over here is a smooth talker." He says, smiling slyly over at Colby who was the one that placed the call to the motel before they added the place to their itenirary.

Colby, in turn, shrugs, a grin plastering itself on his face, "I mean..." He chuckles, causing Y/N to roll her eyes, "No, jokes aside, I can't thank you enough for bending the rules for us."

It baffles her how charming he can be. She can't help but wonder at times why she wasn't deemed worthy of this pleasant side of him. Not that she hasn't grown somewhat fond of their dysfunctional dynamic - not that she'd ever admit it - but she still wishes she knew.

And she hates it.

Instead of dwelling on it, she busies herself with the fear that's still lingering on the backburner. She'd much rather be scared of whatever's waiting for them in this motel than what she might find if she keeps digging in her mind.

* * * *

"What is your fucking problem?!"

The tension has been building all night, both between Y/N and Colby and from the paranormal aspect of it all.

Glares thrown in from across the room. Light, supposedly accidental touches, some even meant to startle her. Lingering behind her or always looming close to her, reminiscent of her literal shadow.

He's rarely so bold with his proximity to her. He respects her personal space and tends to keep himself at an arm's length regardless of the place they're in. But for some reason, not quite clear to him yet, he's been keeping himself close to her the whole night. Either it's from a certain need to protect her or an inherent need to annoy her into continuously acknowledging his presence, he can't tell.

But by now it's reached a boiling point.

What pushed the situation past Y/N's tolerance threshold was getting scared out of her skin by Colby who, by design of the challenge, wasn't supposed to be anywhere near her. They were less than five minutes into their solo investigations - Sam, ever the challenger, took room 20; Kat is in the restaurant, Y/N is in room 33 and Colby was supposed to take on the attic.

However, he didn't quite last long.

At the first sound of mild panic coming from room 33, which is directly underneath the attic, Colby immediately took off down the stairs, nearly taking the door off its hinges and scaring the ever-loving daylight out of Y/N.

That is what provoked this reaction from her. And now that we're up to speed...

"I thought you were in danger." He explains, quietly shutting the door behind him as he approaches the bed where she's sat.

"Jesus, Colby, you gave me a heart attack!" She groans, squeezing the bridge of her nose in frustration, suddenly antsy in her seat, "I'm not new to this shit! I've been doing this for years with you guys! I get that you may not see me but that doesn't mean I'm not there!" Her heart is still racing, her breathing shallow. Her chest is heaving despite the hand she's placed overtop it in an inefficient attempt at calming herself down.

A few steps closer on his part make her even more uneasy. She gets up to her feet to level the ground between them somewhat. There is something so vulnerable in sitting down with him standing over her. Dare I say, intimate.

"I see you." He says almost bitterly, "Oh, I fucking see you, Y/N. You're always there, always in my viewpoint. Always just a step out of arm's reach. And I hate it. Or try to. You piss me off so bad I can't even put it into words without sounding fucking insane!"

He's close, too fucking close. The chain hanging from his jeans brushes against the exposed skin of her thigh, sending chills all over her body. It makes her wish her shorts were longer. Makes her wish she could push him away, keep her guard up, keep up her mean front.

But when fingers tangle in her hair, his hand cupping the back of her head, she knows it's too late for any of that.

Their lips are barely an inch apart, the two practically sharing the same breath. Still, her pettiness dies screaming with one last whispered, "Fuck you."

With that, all barriers, both physical and metaphorical, come crashing down as their lips collide with the force of seven years worth of tension. Seven years of denial masked as aggression and annoyance. Every word spat out in anger, every glare, every passing touch, every 'flirty' moment. It's all condensed into a hostile collision of lips, biting teeth and battling tongues.

Y/N's hands intertwine at the back of his neck while his travel down to her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Their connection is airtight, the heat between their bodies increasing the need to pull back to breathe, though that's the last thing they wanna do. It's been far too long for it to end this soon.

Her legs threaten to give out. It's all too much too fast and too unbelievable. Thankfully, Colby seems to feel the same.

He softly pushes her down on the bed, smiling in the kiss at the zero complaints he receives in response.

"You're so sweet when you wanna be." He pulls back for just a second, his hand cupping her chin.

She's quick to smack it away. He expected nothing else. "Shut the fuck up."

He chuckles almost darkly as his hand now settles around her throat, "Adorable." He's aware he's pushing his luck, but then again it's always a gamble with her. This time, he might just luck out.

Their lips have no time to reconnect though, much to their dismay.

"Colby! Y/N! Where are you guys?!"

Sam's voice reaches them from the lobby downstairs, forcing them apart instantly. A deer in headlights look flashes across both their faces as they hurry to create as much distance between them as possible.

Colby swears he sees any hope he had sink right before his eyes. He watches the realization of what just happened dawn on Y/N. Now that the heat of the moment has evaporated, it becomes all too real and all too clear to her what a mistake that was.

"Guys?!" This time it's Kat's voice bouncing off the walls, coupled with the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

He's panicking, not really sure as to exactly why. Whether it's because he'll have to explain this predicament to his friends or because he can see Y/N starting to regret said predicament in real time, he's not sure. Either way, he needs to come up with something, fast. If his brain can kick back into gear after his whole world was briefly thrown off its axis.

"Go." It comes out as a whisper but it bounces around in his head like an earthquake.

"What?" His tone mimics hers, afraid that a single note higher would ruin what little tranquility they've managed to maintain while there's full-on storms raging in their minds.

Her eyes are trained on the floor, hollow with a thousand yard stare. She can't look at him, unsure as to why. She just knows she can't. "Go. Get out. This never happened." When she finally wills herself to meet his eyes she can feel the burning of tears at the back of her throat, "Forget this ever happened."

Footsteps grow closer but they still have leeway to get away with it with just a white lie.

"Go. Now!" She repeats, a bit more fervor in her words now. She gives him no room to reply as she ushers him away but he isn't capable of stringing words together right now anyway.

So, he obliges, going against all his instincts telling him the opposite. And he does so on time as well, shutting the door behind him just as a tear rolls down Y/N's cheek.

What a fucking mistake, they once again sync up, sharing the same exact thought. Though they silently agreed to forget everything that just happened, they're both well aware it won't leave their brain for the foreseeable future.

If ever.

#sam and colby #sam golbach #colbybrock #colby brock smut #colby brock x reader #colby brock imagine #colby brock x y/n #colby brock x you #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fic #sam golbach x reader #sam golbach imagine #sam golbach smut #sam golbach x you #sam x kat #fic #fanfic #smut #fanfiction #imagine #x reader #request

[nocturnesmoon]

-Archaic Blood Masterlist-

Thinking about TF141 and vampire reader, it's probably been done before but i can't get it out of my head. All the potential it has both fluff, angst and plot. Because listen listen listen

What if

You are a vampire contracted by the military, except the vampire part is a very well-kept secret. You're old, your life spans all the way back to when they burned witches at the stake. You were an ordinary person back then, careful and with your own beliefs and superstitions like anyone. The rumors and sightings of witches, vampires, and werewolves was things you didn't concern yourself with. At least until you sighted it yourself, and you got pulled in.

Taking slight dnd logic, at least in the sense that the vampire that turned you ended up in control over you. You were trapped there along with quite a few other vampire spawn, all subjected to the same type of abuse and torture over decades. You got used to it, the drive to get away was beaten out of you as you blindly obeyed your master.

You had lost hope of rescue or even just the sweet relief of actual death, until the castle got raided by military. You fought against them by command of the vampire lord, but in a moment of clarity you ripped yourself free from the clawing grip it had on your mind. You pushed against your master, and killed them in their already injured state, granting you the freedom you had wanted for so long.

You still had your immortal strife, but now a free vampire spawn, you finally had a sense of will again, you had hope again. You didn't know why the military decided to spare you, they had butchered your brothers and sisters along with your creator, but someone took interest in you.

And free from one prison you went right into another.

It quickly became clear to you that their goal was to make you something short of a super soldier. Your vampirism gave you a heightened set of abilities, and with a few drawbacks they could utilize you well during missions. Despite your attempts of escape, your newly granted freedom was put on a new leash. You were given a handler, someone to train you into obedience as if you hadn't spent decades being under the control of a single person.

It didn't matter how much you protested; they were insistent that you owed them for "saving" you. So reluctantly you leaned into it, you found that you actually had a lot of fun on these types of missions they would send you on. You did various things; a lot of your time was spent on hunting other monsters like yourself. Both werewolves, vampires, witches, and other mythical creatures since you were much better at sniffing them out.

You proved yourself time and time again, and eventually you became rather trusted. Eventually you would outgrow your handler, unlike them you weren't burdened with aging mortality. So, every few decades, an accident or event would stage your death, and you'd come back under a new name and skillset.

Every single persona you carried got known around the military for different things, though they all had the monster hunting specialty in common. The only people knowing the truth being yourself and a select amount of your higher ups that handled you.

Now you've found yourself settled in your life in the military, it isn't what you expected but you deal with it easily enough. Until the call comes that you're going to be working with a certain Taskforce 141, and the group you meet change everything.

You're paired up with them for an indefinite amount of time, the goal being hunting a cult of monsters that's been stirring up things and risking the public eye figuring out about the existence of monsters. Laswell contacted your handlers for your assistance and thereby sort of became your new temporary handler. In the start she was the only one that knew of your vampirism, and you tried to keep it that way, but it was hard when the others were quite observant of their new addition to the team.

You get along just fine with them, there's a distance between you all at first. A professional distance that doesn't allow you to get to know them all too well. It's a distance you try to keep up, try to maintain but quickly crumbles when you find you enjoy their company a lot more than normal.

Soap always finds a reason to talk to you, either inquiring you about what you're doing or info dumping about his latest find. You allow him to stay, listening to his ramblings with a gentle smile on your face, as you continue typing up your report.

Gaz likes to engage you in different activities, be it card games, video games, training together. It's often paired with Soap and creates quite the chaotic environment, but one that never fails to make you laugh like you've never done before. You even start to suspect that the two of them are teaming up on getting you to open up to them.

Price has his way with complimenting you, he observes your work and your determination with great interest. He notices how much hard work you put into the missions and even outside of missions. He appreciates having someone who's so dedicated, but he also knows you can't possibly be resting enough and finds himself pulling you away from your work to have rest together, however that might be.

Ghost isn't as quick to accept you as the others, he respects you from a work standpoint but other than that there's something about you that doesn't sit right with him. He chalks it up to you just being an unpredictability, an uneven equation to the stability he's used to with the other 141 members. He genuinely tries to get closer with you when he sees how much the rest enjoy your company, but that uneasy feeling is still something he can't shake.

Ghost is probably the first to start suspecting things, maybe even fully figure it out. Everyone probably starts to notice things every now and then, they're smart men, they're hunting a cult of monsters that includes vampires, they know of some of the behaviors.

It also gets harder and harder for you to mask your instincts, the more comfortable you get with them the more you forget to be careful. You start feeling too safe with them, forgetting the fact of who you are. They start noticing how you don't really eat, at least never with them. Every time they invite you to join them, you find some convenient excuse.

Another thing they start to notice is your adverse nature to light. Your room always have the blinds closed and lights off. You gravitate towards the shadows, you feel more welcome in them, and Ghost swears that one time he saw your eyes glow red in the darkness.

Every time you're out in the sunlight, you wear extensive gear or covering clothes. Full balaclava, sunglasses, gloves, almost none of your skin is ever shown to the rays of the sun. The one time Soap asked you about it, you gave the excuse that your skin is just very sensitive to the sun, that you get sunburns easily because of sensitive skin and just prefer the shade.

Your heightened sensitivity is something Price and Ghost notices quick. Your sharp movements, your overly quick thinking, your stamina, and strength don't line up with the humanely possible. Not to mention the way you stare at blood a little too intensely when you come across it.

Whenever Price asks Laswell about you, every bit of information he gets out of her is vague and doesn't always add up. Even when he gets his hands on your file, and goes over it with the team, despite how impressive your record is, there are things on it that doesn't make sense with how long you've supposedly been alive.

The breakpoint happens when Gaz finds your stash of blood packs. He didn't even mean to be nosy in your room, but he was looking for something of his that you had borrowed, and stumbled upon them. His eyes wide as he looks back at you, the things he's been thinking, and the small whispers he's shared with the rest about you, now all confirmed to be true.

You try to talk him down, but you know by the way he looks at you that you're starting to form as a threat in his mind. He tries to get away, maybe to get backup or find something specific to defend himself with, but you manage to tackle him down. Not exactly helping his griping fear. Only then do you manage to talk him down, assure him that you aren't a threat and that you won't hurt anyone.

He leaves it reluctantly, mumbling agreeance, but you're aware that he's not going to keep it secret. It's just about who moves faster now. You like the relationship you've built with the 141, you're even starting to get through to Ghost, and it wasn't something you were keen on losing. So, Laswell calls a meeting, it was time to let them know.

Everyone gathers, confused at the sudden emergency meeting, except for Gaz who is staring you down, his leg bouncing furiously against the ground. You do your best to not look threatening, to prepare yourself for possible worse reactions.

"They're a vampire spawn," Laswell tells them, ”And they've been helping the military control the remaining monsters in the world for a very long time now." she states as if it's most normal thing in the world to have a free vampire spawn on your team you're supposed to trust. Though their response surprise you.

"We know"

At first you think you weren't quick enough, that Gaz got to them before you did. But you quickly find out most of them have been suspicious for months, and eventually came to terms with it. Gaz's outburst just stemmed from shock and impulse thinking. They all have quite a few questions, ranging from trivial to stupid and some just plain curiosity.

You're most surprised to find that they don't want to view you any different than they already have, that they enjoy your company just as much as you've enjoyed theirs. They still want to work with you, they still want to be around you. It makes your unbeating heart flutter, and your nonexistent blood rush in excitement of the future possibilities.

They've accepted you into their own little pack, you don't know it yet, but they've already claimed you as theirs. If they could have it their way, and they will, you won't be working for any other taskforce again in a very long time, and you think that this might just be the most interesting decade yet, in your long, long life.

I really wanna write more about this, vampire tropes always have me frothing at the mouth-

Sorry for the word vomit but i had to get this out my head, i can't be the only thinking about this, the potential-

#NoctMoon Fics #NoctMoon Talks #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #john price #kyle gaz garrick #tf 141 #tf 141 x reader #poly tf141 #simon ghost riley x reader #john soap mctavish x reader #john price x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #tf141 x vampire!reader

[sneezypeasy]

Why I Deliberately Avoided the "Colonizer" Argument in my Zutara Thesis - and Why I'll Continue to Avoid it Forever

This is a question that occasionally comes up under my Zutara video essay, because somehow in 2 hours worth of content I still didn't manage to address everything (lol.) But this argument specifically is one I made a point of avoiding entirely, and there are some slightly complicated reasons behind that. I figure I'll write them all out here.

From a surface-level perspective, Zuko's whole arc, his raison d'etre, is to be a de-colonizer. Zuko's redemption arc is kinda all about being a de-colonizer, and his redemption arc is probably like the most talked about plot point of ATLA, so from a basic media literacy standpoint, the whole argument is unsound in the first place, and on that basis alone I find it childish to even entertain as an argument worth engaging with, to be honest.

(At least one person in my comments pointed out that if any ship's "political implications" are problematic in some way, it really ought to be Maiko, as Mai herself is never shown or suggested to be a strong candidate for being a de-colonizing co-ruler alongside Zuko. If anything her attitudes towards lording over servants/underlings would make her… a less than suitable choice for this role, but I digress.)

But the reason I avoided rebutting this particular argument in my video goes deeper than that. From what I've observed of fandom discourse, I find that the colonizer argument is usually an attempt to smear the ship as "problematic" - i.e., this ship is an immoral dynamic, which would make it problematic to depict as canon (and by extension, if you ship it regardless, you're probably problematic yourself.)

And here is where I end up taking a stand that differentiates me from the more authoritarian sectors of fandom.

I'm not here to be the fandom morality police. When it comes to lit crit, I'm really just here to talk about good vs. bad writing. (And when I say "good", I mean structurally sound, thematically cohesive, etc; works that are well-written - I don't mean works that are morally virtuous. More on this in a minute.) So the whole colonizer angle isn't something I'm interested in discussing, for the same reason that I actually avoided discussing Katara "mothering" Aang or the "problematic" aspects of the Kataang ship (such as how he kissed her twice without her consent). My whole entire sections on "Kataang bad" or "Maiko bad" in my 2 hour video was specifically, "how are they written in a way that did a disservice to the story", and "how making them false leads would have created valuable meaning". I deliberately avoided making an argument that consisted purely of, "here's how Kataang/Maiko toxic and Zutara wholesome, hence Zutara superiority, the end".

Why am I not willing to be the fandom morality police? Two reasons:

I don't really have a refined take on these subjects anyway. Unless a piece of literature or art happens to touch on a particular issue that resonates with me personally, the moral value of art is something that doesn't usually spark my interest, so I rarely have much to say on it to begin with. On the whole "colonizer ship" subject specifically, other people who have more passion and knowledge than me on the topic can (and have) put their arguments into words far better than I ever could. I'm more than happy to defer to their take(s), because honestly, they can do these subjects justice in a way I can't. Passing the mic over to someone else is the most responsible thing I can do here, lol. But more importantly:

I reject the conflation of literary merit with moral virtue. It is my opinion that a good story well-told is not always, and does not have to be, a story free from moral vices/questionable themes. In my opinion, there are good problematic stories and bad "pure" stories and literally everything in between. To go one step further, I believe that there are ways that a romance can come off "icky", and then there are ways that it might actually be bad for the story, and meming/shitposting aside, the fact that these two things don't always neatly align is not only a truth I recognise about art but also one of those truths that makes art incredibly interesting to me! So on the one hand, I don't think it is either fair or accurate to conflate literary "goodness" with moral "goodness". On a more serious note, I not only find this type of conflation unfair/inaccurate, I also find it potentially dangerous - and this is why I am really critical of this mindset beyond just disagreeing with it factually. What I see is that people who espouse this rhetoric tend to encourage (or even personally engage in) wilful blindness one way or the other, because ultimately, viewing art through these lens ends up boxing all art into either "morally permissible" or "morally impermissible" categories, and shames anyone enjoying art in the "morally impermissible" box. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people responding to this by A) making excuses for art that they guiltily love despite its problematic elements and/or B) denying the value of any art that they are unable to defend as free from moral wickedness.

Now, I'm not saying that media shouldn't be critiqued on its moral virtue. I actually think morally critiquing art has its place, and assuming it's being done in good faith, it absolutely should be done, and probably even more often than it is now.

Because here's the truth: Sometimes, a story can be really good. Sometimes, you can have a genuinely amazing story with well developed characters and powerful themes that resonate deeply with anyone who reads it. Sometimes, a story can be all of these things - and still be problematic.*

(Or, sometimes a story can be all of those things, and still be written by a problematic author.)

That's why I say, when people conflate moral art with good art, they become blind to the possibility that the art they like being potentially immoral (or vice versa). If only "bad art" is immoral, how can the art that tells the story hitting all the right beats and with perfect rhythm and emotional depth, be ever problematic?

(And how can the art I love, be ever problematic?)

This is why I reject the idea that literary merit = moral virtue (or vice versa) - because I do care about holding art accountable. Even the art that is "good art". Actually, especially the art that is "good art". Especially the art that is well loved and respected and appreciated. The failure to distinguish literary critique from moral critique bothers me on a personal level because I think that conflating the two results in the detriment of both - the latter being the most concerning to me, actually.

So while I respect the inherent value of moral criticism, I'm really not a fan of any argument that presents moral criticism as equivalent to literary criticism, and I will call that out when I see it. And from what I've observed, a lot of the "but Zutara is a colonizer ship" tries to do exactly that, which is why I find it a dishonest and frankly harmful media analysis framework to begin with.

But even when it is done in good faith, moral criticism of art is also just something I personally am neither interested nor good at talking about, and I prefer to talk about the things that I am interested and good at talking about.

(And some people are genuinely good at tackling the moral side of things! I mean, I for one really enjoyed Lindsay Ellis's take on Rent contextualising it within the broader political landscape at the time to show how it's not the progressive queer story it might otherwise appear to be. Moral critique has value, and has its place, and there are definitely circumstances where it can lead to societal progress. Just because I'm not personally interested in addressing it doesn't mean nobody else can do it let alone that nobody else should do it, but also, just because it can and should be done, doesn't mean that it's the only "one true way" to approach lit crit by anyone ever. You know, sometimes... two things… can be true… at once?)

Anyway, if anyone reading this far has recognised that this is basically a variant of the proship vs. antiship debate, you're right, it is. And on that note, I'm just going to leave some links here. I've said about as much as I'm willing/able to say on this subject, but in case anyone is interested in delving deeper into the philosophy behind my convictions, including why I believe leftist authoritarian rhetoric is harmful, and why the whole "but it would be problematic in real life" is an anti-ship argument that doesn't always hold up to scrutiny, I highly recommend these posts/threads:

In general this blog is pretty solid; I agree with almost all of their takes - though they focus more specifically on fanfic/fanart than mainstream media, and I think quite a lot of their arguments are at least somewhat appropriate to extrapolate to mainstream media as well.

I also strongly recommend Bob Altemeyer's book "The Authoritarians" which the author, a verified giga chad, actually made free to download as a pdf, here. His work focuses primarily on right-wing authoritarians, but a lot of his research and conclusions are, you guessed it, applicable to left-wing authoritarians also.

And if you're an anti yourself, welp, you won't find support from me here. This is not an anti-ship safe space, sorrynotsorry 👆

In conclusion, honestly any "but Zutara is problematic" argument is one I'm likely to consider unsound to begin with, let alone the "Zutara is a colonizer ship" argument - but even if it wasn't, it's not something I'm interested in discussing, even if I recognise there are contexts where these discussions have value. I resent the idea that just because I have refined opinions on one aspect of a discussion means I must have (and be willing to preach) refined opinions on all aspects of said discussion. (I don't mean to sound reproachful here - actually the vast majority of the comments I get on my video/tumblr are really sweet and respectful, but I do get a handful of silly comments here and there and I'm at the point where I do feel like this is something worth saying.) Anyway, I'm quite happy to defer to other analysts who have the passion and knowledge to give complicated topics the justice they deserve. All I request is that care is taken not to conflate literary criticism with moral criticism to the detriment of both - and I think it's important to acknowledge when that is indeed happening. And respectfully, don't expect me to give my own take on the matter when other people are already willing and able to put their thoughts into words so much better than me. Peace ✌

*P.S. This works for real life too, by the way. There are people out there who are genuinely not only charming and likeable, but also generous, charitable and warm to the vast majority of the people they know. They may also be amazing at their work, and if they have a job that involves saving lives like firefighting or surgery or w.e, they may even be the reason dozens of people are still alive today. They may honestly do a lot of things you'd have to concede are "good" deeds.

They may be all of these things, and still be someone's abuser. 🙃

Two things can be true at once. It's important never to forget that.

#zutara discourse #the colonizer argument #anti anti zutara #text post #long post #anti maiko #anti mai #tagging just in case #anti purity culture #this is not an anti-ship safe space

[pogueswrld]

*•.¸♡ make up sex ♡¸.•*

pairing: fred weasley x fem!plus-sized!reader

summary: Freddie talks too much, and his girlfriend is exhausting all the ways she knows to shut him up. Softly, of course.

warnings: smut🦢!1!1!1!1! there's plot and fluff, and everyone's of age ofc, although it is hinted that reader is still in Hogwarts, kinda sub!Fred top!reader, like he's whining and panting and begging and shit (bites lip) ANYWAY, dick riding hehe, no usage of y/n.

note: it is 2:59 pm on a Friday, let's see how fast I write this shit. note 0.2: Okay so it's 5:54 pm on the same day, I think I'm done. This isn't edited, but it took me 3 hours to write 😁

He was still talking. Why, in the name of Merlin, was he still talking?

Dating Fed Weasley is fun, there's no denying that, but Good Heavens isn't that a boy a handful. Both literary and figurative. He's got a wide imagination, a never-squelching desire for knowledge, and a big heart. That is a dangerous combination for a somewhat intelligent and never-quiet man.

She's a saint, his girlfriend, and Ginny made a point to always express that to her. "How do you put up with that all the time?" Gesturing to Fred, who was using his hands in elaborate motions as he went on his fourth rant of the morning on the same subject to George. She'd only shrug, lips engulfing another spoonful of whatever ice cream the girls were sharing. "In one ear and out the other darling."

Not to say that she hates it, or that it bothers her- quite the opposite actually. Fred's excited and hyper personality is what made him so interesting to her, it was what drew her to him in the first place. She enjoys listening to him rant, even about the most random things -he stopped her the other day and explained in great detail how penguins mate and how once the female accepts the male's proposing gestures, they're together for life- and she adores it.

Yes, it sure can be a bit much at times, but she wouldn't change it for the world. Imagine loving a man who was as boring and dry as his older brother, Percy? She would have to jump out of Ginny's bedroom window!

Today was her first day back in the Burrow from Hogwarts for summer break, and she was exhausted, to say the least. She was up from dawn, finishing up the last bits of her packing before leaving for the train station with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And because she's a good friend, she made sure each of her friends made it to their transportation safely before she and Ron were picked up by Fred and George.

In the car, Ron opened the untameable can of worms by mentioning Bill who was staying over at the Burrow for the summer as well, taking a couple of months' worth of vacation away from the dragons and such. That was the spark Fred needed to blast off into a hundred rants one after the other.

He spoke about seeing Bill again, which is understandable, he hasn't been home in years. He spoke about the dragons, which led to his excited mention of his favorites and how he's going to ask Bill how it was training them. Then he turned to Quidditch training, and even though both him and George had left Hogwarts a year or so ago, the both of them still found time to play the game as a side hobby. After that was all done, George gave her and Ron and update on the shop, and Fred went on and on about all kinds of new candies and flavors and combinations they were working on to add to the store by the beginning of next year.

She was understandably tired by the time the Burrow came into view. And as much as she adores her boyfriend, she needed him to shut the fuck up for twenty minutes. But he's so sweet, and his eyes light up when talking, and he gets this beautiful energy surrounding him when he does it that she doesn't have the nerve to ask him to be silent for a bit. So she excuses herself and tries to bury her body under the covers of his bed.

But he finds her there, and he reports to her that dinner is ready, and that Bill is here, and that she looks so gorgeous on his bed, and that there's a strange animal in the backyard, and that Ginny tried to curse the bathroom when he went in to use it, and that he doesn't understand why she'd do that, and that George is out in the garage, and that-

She jolts up on his bed, her eyes twitching as she stares at him. He looks so beautiful, but he's talking too damn much. She cups his face, and he goes silent and stares at her with wide eyes.

"Wha'?" He mumbled, his lips squished together as she squeezed his cheeks.

"You talk too much, ya' know that?" She said, her thumb slightly caressing the apples of his cheeks.

He opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water, and tilts his head ever so slightly. "Do' it bothe' yo'?"

She giggles breathlessly and lets go of his face before pressing her lips tightly against his. "Not all the time, but times like today..." She rests her forehead against his and sighs, "It can be a lot, and I need you to read the room and tone it down a little bit, d'ya think you can do that for me?"

He stares, something in his gaze changes, and he nods. "Of course, baby. Whateva' you want."

Great. Now she feels bad. She sighs and pushes past the blankets swallowing her to sit up on her knees. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and pulls him into a hug. "I love you, truly love you, and I don't mean to be mean to you, and you know I love it when you ramble, but I'm really overwhelmed today, darling. I'm sorry."

Fred wraps his arms around her waist in return, hugging her tightly. It's true that he can't always read the room, and now that he's no longer attending school he's got much more free time on his hands than he knows what to do with. It takes him a couple days to be able to read his girlfriend's body language like he used to once she's home from school, and he feels terrible that he was one of the reasons for making her feel so incredibly overwhelmed. He also feels slightly ashamed of his non-stop rambling all day.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, mumbling something into her skin that made her shiver and giggle away from him. "Stop," she breathes in a giggle, "It tickles."

He chuckles, his hands squeezing at the skin of her waist as he stares at her dreamily. "I said, I'm sorry I made you feel overwhelmed, I promise to try and do better."

She grins at him, so brilliantly, that he can't help but lean down and capture her lips in a soaring kiss. "I love you." He mumbles against her lips, and she smiles while trying to kiss him back. "C'mon now, love, let's go have dinner."

Her eyes darken; her pupils widen, and she smiles that mischievous grin that he adores so much, and he groans while throwing his head back. He knows exactly what is on her mind.

"I have a better idea." She whispers, giggling as she throws herself into his lap and kisses him with such force that she's pushing him down on his bed. He yelps, his hands traveling to the bed and her waist, holding on to her for stability. Bubbling heat travels across his body through her kiss, and he sighs when her cold fingertips trace down his arms, sending goosebumps across his body.

Her kisses transfer from his lips to the sides of his mouth, his cheeks, down his jawline, until she's pampering open-mouthed kisses across his neck like stardust.

He sighs, his eyes closed and his head thrown back on the pillow. "Please," He breathed, a low whine undertoning his voice. She shivers above him, her teeth grazing his skin in a teasing bite.

She's always hated the effect his voice has on her.

"Please what, darling?"

He whines. It's low, for her ears only, it's a barely-there breath, but his mouth is right next to her ear and she hears him loud and clear. Her panties dampen almost immediately.

"Please touch me," He whispers. His hands gripped tightly to her thighs. He knows better than to roam her body without permission. She pulls back slightly, blinking up at him with a soft smile and long lashes. "But I am touching you, Freddie."

He knows this game. This cruel, cruel game she adores to play. He whines in pretentious of hating his role, but his hips buck, and his cock twitches underneath the fabrics of his boxers and trousers.

He slowly traces one of his hands from her thighs to her palm before letting her fingers rest on his aching cock. He guides her hands to gently rub him through his clothes and he lets out a breath when her fingers squeeze around him. "Touch me there." He gasps.

She entertains him, allowing him to set the pace and buck into her hold. He releases deep breaths and low whines, stuttering moans every time she tightens her grip around him. She can feel herself getting wetter by the second, how his eyes are shut desperately, his teeth bite down on his bottom lip, and her name is gasped out of his throat with every other movement. It makes her feel powerful, it makes her entire being vibrate.

"That's enough." She mumbles, pulling her hand out of his grasp and bathing in his complaining whines as she pulls off her shirt. He blinks up at her, watching her boobs bounce in the push-up bra she's wearing before she unhooks it and slides it off her shoulders. He blinks again and swallows whatever drool and saliva has gathered in his mouth, causing his Adam's apple to pop along with the action. She smiles at the sight and quickly bends down to leave a swift kiss on it.

"Take off your shirt." She commands him, and he does so without hesitation, throwing the garment somewhere on the floor of the room he shares with his twin brother. He watches her hands intensely as she teases him by running her thumb on the inside of her trouser's elastic, before slowly pulling the item down and off. He groans at the sight of his favorite panties on her; a partially lacey red thong that settles up between her butt cheeks. She always told him how uncomfortable it made her, but the look on his face when he saw it on her made every second she spent wearing it worth it.

"You're trying to kill me, love?" He groans, daring himself to take a dangerous leap and push his thumb against the damp cloth, pushing down on where he knows her clit hides. He glances up at her, watching the way her lips part and her mouth hangs open at his action.

"And what am I to tell George when he asks? Death by a red thong?"

He grins up at her, picking up the speed at which he's rubbing on her bud of nerves. "Only if you're the one wearing it."

She shudders, forcefully holding herself back from grinding against his thumb. Instead, she grips his wrist and pushes it away from her. She hooks two fingers on each side of his trousers and boxers before meeting his eyes, watching as he licks his lips and nods before pulling the clothing items down his hips and legs.

His cock bounces out from underneath the fabric happily, it smacks against his lower abdomen and she giggles at the sight of precum beads rolling down his slit. He whines, throwing his arm on his face to cover the embarrassing blush that matched his hair color. "Don't laugh at me, why're you so mean to me today?"

Her giggle grows louder, and she leans down to push his arm off his face. "I never intend on being mean to you, my darling, you just bring it out of me. I'm sorry." She mumbles as she meets his gaze, her hand cupping one side of his face and he leans towards her touch. "Don't hide from me, yeah?"

He nods.

"Good boy."

He whines, his eyes squeeze shut and his jaw drops when her fingers wrap around him again, but her thumb is collecting his precum before spreading it down his length before she works a steady rhythm going up and down. His whines slowly turn into moans. His noises were so heavenly that she could swear her wetness was flowing through the fabric of her thong and onto the skin of her thighs.

She sees his muscles contracting and she stops, removing her hand from him altogether. He opens his eyes, blinking up at her in confusion as a noise of complaint slips out of his throat. But he swallows it back up when he sees her push her thong to the side and spread her folds before sitting on his length, and she grinds back and forth on him without actually allowing him access to her.

He groans, throwing his head back. She's coating him in her juices and there's a delicious squelching noise coming from between them and it's driving him insane. He sucks air into his lungs through clenched teeth and shudders when she allows a single moan to slip through her parted lips.

Suddenly, he's engulfed in her warmth and he hisses. His hands grip tightly to her thighs, hips, and any plump skin he can find. He squeezes her, hissing, and pants until he's sheathed completely inside of her. "Slow down," He gasps, "Slow- slow down, slow down, slow down." His voice turns from low breaths to almost high-pitched whines, and she leans down and captures his lips in a silencing kiss.

"Need you to lay here and keep your pretty mouth shut, darling, can you do that? Can you stay quiet for me so your family doesn't hear us fucking?" He whines, hips bucking into her warm cunt causing his eyes to roll to the back of his head as he nods mindlessly. "Yes, yes, yes. I'll be quiet. Fuck- please, baby, please fuck me."

She giggles at his desperate whines, and slowly rocks her hips back and forth, just enough movement to send pleasure jolts but not enough to get them going. She was testing the waters, trying to see how loud he could get without giving him much of anything.

Fred was losing his mind, he could feel her walls clamp down on him every time she moved back, and he could feel himself nudging against her feel-good spot every time she moved forward. Her wetness made a mess out of both of them, making it easy to slide into her and pick up the pace.

He arched his back slightly, just enough to hint at her to go faster. Because she was starting to feel frustrated, she obliged. She switched from grinding down on him to bouncing, her knees and hips working overtime to not make a noise every time her ass cheeks met his thighs.

She's now moaning, leaning down to muffle her noises by his neck or breathe them directly into his ear. Fred's eyes roll to the back of his head every time, and his hands grab onto the fat of her hips to help her.

"I-" She gasps, pushing herself upwards, clamping down on him tightly before forcing deep thrusts with her movement. "I'm gonna cum." She whimpers, and her legs begin to shake and fail her. Fred let out a loud breath that turned into a whimper before pushing himself up and, with a tight hold of her hips, forced her up and down his cock.

"Wa- wanna feel you. Wanna feel you gush around me. Give it to me, please." He whines, his words muffled into her temple, his eyes closed as her walls flutter around him, her body shivering against him and her lips part in long whines. One of his hands sneaked in between them, and his thumb drew quick circles around her clit, just enough to electrify her over the edge.

She freezes up, squeezes down on him and Fred is gone. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly down on him, the repeated squeeze of her walls stimulated him over the edge and they were shaking through their highs together. Her hands were buried in his hair, his hands holding onto her hips, while their lips interlocked in an overflowing kiss.

A few seconds later, their mouths parted as they gasped for air, holding onto one another as their highs dwindled. He traced random shapes on her bare back while she scratched at his scalp in a way she knew he loved.

He was the first to pull back, looking up at her with nothing but love and adoration. He tilts his head and grins, "Do you still want to go down for dinner?"

She laughs, heartily and loudly out of his arms and back onto the bed. "If you'll be going downstairs for a plate, get me one with you. There's no way I can look your mum in the eye after this."

#fred weasley #weasley twins #bill weasley #george weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x fem!reader #plus sized reader #harry potter #hp fandom #hp fanfic

[coyotes-rules-of-change]

Have we as a society lost our sense of acceptable public behavior?

Picture it: me, a swanky bistro, and an elegant patio adorned by the warm glow of string lights. I'm having a nice dinner—just me and my current favorite menu—until a couple is seated near me. It didn't take me long to hear that they were celebrating a six month anniversary and—given their gradually escalating volume—it was a night out at my favorite restaurant that was not going to fix their obvious relationship problems. In the short time it took the fresh rosemary rolls and whipped butter to arrive at their table, their loud talking had become peaks of yelling quelled only briefly by an unsatisfactorily hushed "quit talking so loud" or an ironic "you're embarrassing me."

Do you hate them yet? Because I definitely did. Except unlike you, I can take care of this; after all, knowledge of my methods is becoming more widespread. All I have to do is wait the thirty seconds it will inevitably take for the volume to boil over yet again.

"I can't take you anywhere!"

There she is again. Time to work my magic—

"Same shit again! I can't fucking take you anywhere! Everywhere we go: "miss, could you quiet down", and "sir, could you tell your date to stop yelling.""

"I'm not the one screaming f-bombs in public places! You need to learn some manners!"

*Whoosh.*

"Babe, I just can't have a conversation with you if you always yell." Already he's speaking at a much quieter volume.

"I just never feel like you're listening to me."—and she's also followed suit. Maybe that was all I needed to do, now I got my peace and quiet... but I'm not one to stop once I've started, and I suppose I'd rather not disappoint you either—after all, this isn't very interesting yet, is it. She continues: "I told you to dress nice and all you can manage is a t-shirt and shorts."

"I love you babe, but you can't tell me that you showing that much skin in a place like this is appropriate either."

No one sees it, but a slight grin crosses my face. I wave my hand and...

*Whoosh.* A light breeze passes through and their outfits shift.

"I'm dressed showing skin?! You're not even wearing a shirt."

"Babe, you're basically just wearing a sports bra and shorts."

"I look good. You don't work out enough to pull off not wearing a shirt in public."

*Whoosh.* A light breeze again. He's sporting some nice light muscle: square pecs, a nice six-pack, and some toned arms.

"Babe, I know I'm nowhere near my bulking goals but I know I look good enough to pull off being shirtless. Look, if you're gonna be like this, maybe we reschedule and have this dinner when you're not on your period."

...

...

...Look. What I did here may have been inappropriate... but would you expect anything less from me. I don't claim to be ethical, and I'm pretty sure you are well-aware of my biases by now... I'm not proud of what I did... I'm not... Okay maybe I am.

The ebb and flow of the conversation took a radical tone when one masculine voice was met for the first time by another. "Well then it's a good thing I'm not a girl."

"I guess that's true. Why would I even say that?"

"Because you're trying to avoid the subject again. Between you're time at the gym and your time at work, I never see you."

"I can't help it. At least I have a job."

*Whoosh.*

"Being an influencer is a job. I just wanna know how you can spend so much time working out when your job is being a personal trainer."

"My body is my sales pitch. I've build so much muscle now my co-workers are telling me I could enter a physique competition. Maybe if you worked out more, you'd actually get followers, and make money."

*Whoosh.*

"That's why I wanted to come here with you. Ever since I started working out with you, I have been gaining followers just as fast as I've been gaining muscle. I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you: I have 1 million followers."

"Babe, that's great news. I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, and there's more. The videos that gained the most traction online were the ones I shot with you. So I wanna go in a different direction with my page from now on."

"Wait, you've built it up by yourself. Why would you change it?"

"I wanna make it a couples page. Health, fitness, and gay pride."

"Most people dating for three years usually get proposals involving a ring."

"Do you wanna do this with me?"

"Yes, of course!"

A couple in my favorite bistro rise and embrace beside their patio table and share a passionate kiss. They seem happy, although I sit there and wonder if they'd be interested in a third for the night.

Have we as a society lost our sense of acceptable public behavior?

No. Not in this case. It could absolutely be much worse.

[yurinaa-world]

hello!! platonic dr ratio with a teen!student reader who excels at one particular subject but is bad or average on the others? also lacks social skills

(kinda inspired by me lol 💀)

Characters: Dr. Ratio platonic! x Gender-neutral Reader

Synopsis: with student reader who excels at one subject but is bad at the others + lacks social skills

Warnings: Fluff and spelling mistakes, got lil personal

𝒱𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓈 𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜

He’s so strict about your grades, looking at you with disappointment as if a parent would when their child an F. What? does the information just go through and out one ear? (it does for me 😀)  Can your brain handle one sentence at a time since it doesn’t look like it to him with these embarrassing grades?

He immediately got you into summer school so you could at least try to get good at other subjects, one subject won’t get you a future. Even worse with fact you can’t even talk without staring endlessly at your paper contemplating just to ask him the most simple question.

The man knows no mercy, making you write out several essays over the whole summer but just like every teacher that wants to suck the souls from students he’ll make you plan every tad bit of detail, even refuse you from starting to write if one detail isn’t explained and well thought out enough for him.

Then oh don’t forget to make the rough draft of the essay (it’s more like writing the real essay itself with the way he’s being strict with every typo & grammar mistake, but oh don’t think you're going to get this using simple and basic words like “in conclusion.” or “well, I believe.” Throw those out the window along with every other basic sentence that people use to put up the word count or just get the whole thing over with. He isn't accepting it. No exceptions.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Blank.

You’ve been staring at the next part of your sentence but unsure how to use the word “Magnanimity”. How were you even supposed to use this in a sentence?! (he made you pick several high-level words to use in an essay), you look up to silently curse your teacher, Mr. Ratio out in your head before immediately looking back down when your eyes connect.

You begin to contemplate, that maybe jumping out the window ain’t bad, it might be your only way to get out of here. you sigh, just giving up on your constant stalling, getting up from your chair (with your paper in hand) and walking over to your teacher, dreading every step you take.

Before stopping at his desk, “Mr. Ratio, could you tell me what the definition is for magnanimity again?” He just sighs, closing up the book he always reads. (You don’t know why he always reads the same thing, it’s so boring.)

“Magnanimity means the loftiness of spirit enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to display a noble generosity.”

you stare at him blankly, he wasn’t kidding, he seriously expected you to know what he was saying?! “I’m sorry but what does that even mean?” you whisper your voice cracking with frustration, you just feel a blood vessel getting bigger.

He sighs once again “Showing kindness towards an enemy or you had been defeated in battle. using it in a sentence would be like he showed magnanimity towards his enemy, understand?” 

“Oh, okay. Thank you Mr. Ratio” You nod taking in his words. “Let me see your essay.” He tells you out of the blue, holding his hand out to see your paper, which makes your mouth dry. “you have something written, correct? Let me see it.”

You give him your paper and watch in nervousness before he begins to read out loud “A great man once spoke mighty wor-“ “Mr ratio please read it in your head!”  you cut him off with panic, yet what a fool you are since when was he merciful? “a great man once spoke mighty words…”

Listening to him read your essay made you cringe and close your ears. He’s the worst!

if you liked this, consider tipping me on ko-fi! it'd mean a lot!

#✧*:･ﾟ✧:･ Yurinna's Writing :･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x you #honkai star rail x reader #star rail #star rail x reader #hsr x you #hsr x reader #hsr dr ratio #dr ratio #dr ratio x reader #honkai dr ratio #veritas ratio #veritas x reader

[akutasoda]

you make everything special

synopsis - how are they with a s/o that has autism and gets overstimulated?

includes - dazai, yosano, ranpo, chuuya, akutagawa, poe, sigma, nikolai

warnings - gn!reader, reader has autism, fluff, slight crack, wc - 682

a/n: this was requested by @rattyrattyratty!

osamu dazai ★↷

↪he would be very good at helping you avoid anything that overstimulate you.

↪if it's sounds, he'll put his hands over your ears and take you away from the area, if its textures, he'll make sure they never enter the same room as you.

↪but if you did have a break down he'd feel rather helpless. it's no surprise to anyone that he isn't that good with feelings, so he isn't much help.

↪but he'll still try his hardest, even if he can't really help that much he still will try.

akiko yosano ★↷

↪the absolute best person for anything like this. as a doctor, she would be prepared with the best solutions to anything.

↪if anything makes you uncomfortable she would be there as quick as she can to help you and prevent you from reaching a break down.

↪so much so, that you'd rarely ever experience a break down. but if you did reach that point she would have all the best methods to help you.

ranpo edogawa ★↷

↪he may have knowledge of the subject and know ways to help you avoid certain sounds or things but he does have the best emotional intelligence.

↪so if you did get overstimulated he would feel pretty useless. he'd try to help with things he thought would help (things he'd do) but they probably would make it worse.

↪so he would most likely make up for not be able to help you then after you've calmed down. showering you in his undivided attention.

chuuya nakahara ★↷

↪ he'd be rather good at preventing you from getting overstimulated. he'd always have a way to help you out no matter where you were.

↪but if you did get overstimulated or have a break down, at first he would be rather helpless. he'd want to help but he feared that he could make it worse for you.

↪but after a while, he'd be just as good at helping you overcome overstimulation as he would be at preventing it.

ryūnosuke akutagawa ★↷

↪ it's very known that he doesn't do well with people especially their feelings. but when it comes to you, it'd be the only time he actually tried to understand someone else's feelings.

↪so he wouldn't really get at first why you became so overwhelmed at certain noises or such. he wasn't dumb and did know about it but he didn't quite understand enough.

↪he also wouldn't be that good if you had a break down or got overstimulated. he would try but he'd probably make it worse so you probably would have to help him understand.

edgar allan poe ★↷

↪ he'd be great at helping you avoid any noises or anything that would overstimulate you.

↪so he really did help you avoid having a break down or becoming overstimulated but if you did actually get to that point he would be rendered useless.

↪he would want to help you and he probably could, but he'd panic. he didn't want to make it any worse so he'd start panicking about what to do. but if he did help he'd probably be great about it.

sigma ★↷

↪ probably the least knowledgeable person on the subject. while he probably knew about it it wouldn't be an extensive amount of knowledge.

↪so if he noticed something was bothering you he'd start panicking. ultimately would be great at helping but he'd always stress about not being able to help properly.

↪ he'd be great at helping you in any situation as he'd always want to but he always initially panics. he worries he wouldn't be able to help but he always does.

nikolai gogol ★↷

↪it would be one of the only times he'd ever get completely serious. not really serious but would be so focused on helping you it would only seem that way.

↪he probably wouldn't be great at helping you avoid certain things that overwhelmed you because he isn't exactly the calmest person.

↪but he'd be excellent at helping you calm down and would always shower you in administration afterwards.

#x reader #x gender neutral reader #bsd x reader #bsd x gender neutral reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungo stray dogs x you #bsd x you #bsd dazai osamu #dazai x reader #bsd yosano #yosano x reader #bsd ranpo #ranpo x reader #bsd chuuya #chuuya x you #chuuya x reader #bsd akutagawa #akutagawa x reader #bsd poe #poe x reader #bsd sigma #sigma x reader #bsd nikolai #nikolai x reader

[hotpinkstars]

Can you do a Hu Tao, Shenhe, Ganyu, Raiden and Amber with a werewolf reader?(or any characters you want)

-> werewolf

synopsis -> you're a werewolf. how will your significant others move on with their day-to-day life with you?

warnings -> brief mentions of blood, mostly just fluff. raidens is alot shorter than the others for some reason, i can re-write if needed!!

a/n -> hii! sorry if this isn't the greatest.... i don't know about too many werewolf abilities and what not but i looked it up and tada here we have this!!! anyways thanks for the request!!

w/c -> 2.1k

-> hu tao

hu tao is fascinated, to say the least.

she always knew there was something different about you. she’s the 77th director of the wangsheng funeral parlor, after all. she works with corpses and walks around an unsettling forest in liyue, so of course she will be able to understand.

you hadn’t told her at first- she kind of just found out. you both happened to be in the same place at the same time, that place being wuwang hill. it was dark outside, nearing midnight, and hu tao needed to check on a grave that was reported to have the wood rotting on the tombstone.

when she saw a werewolf, she didn’t try to run. she had a vision, she could fight it off if need be, but she was more curious than anything. she stopped all movements and looked at the creatures every move, before you transformed back to your human form.

hu tao laughed under her breath before continuing to treat the wood and making sure the burial sight was good enough to wait for her to fix it up more tomorrow. the whole walk back home, she thought of ways she’d approach you on the subject. so, as soon as she walked through the doors,

“what you did tonight was pretty cool!” hu tao wrapped her arms around your neck, breathing in your scent from your hair. “i wanna see more!!”

you froze. “what exactly did you see…”

“you’re a werewolf. you look so fluffy in that form! did you not see me tending to a tombstone not too far away from you?” she chuckled before continuing. “i was watching your every move. it’s not incredibly common to see a wolf running through that place.”

you sighed, and then nodded. “i was going to tell you sooner, but i didn’t necessarily know how,” you put a hand up to your forehead. “you’re not scared of me though, right?”

“me? scared of you?” she jolted up before hopping over the back of the couch. “no way!”

you exhaled, relieved. you were happy that she seemed more interested than freaked out.

as time went on, she came to discover your personal abilities. you can change through forms whenever you please, your senses are heightened (comes to explain how you can see so well in the dark and hear even the faintest of things) you’re an incredibly fast runner, and you can shapeshift! she’s asked you to demonstrate your powers on so many occasions, asking you questions, and taking this advantage to cuddle with your werewolf form! you’d sit on the ground while she cuddled your head, usually setting it down on her chest before running her hands through your soft hair.

she was fortunate to have you around, considering you could always sense her injuries and you could smell blood from a mile away. you were always able to alert her if there were dangerous enemies (or just danger in general) around her due to your sense of hearing. you probably saved her life over a dozen times.

she always loves to take advantage of your werewolf form for cuddling. if its really cold outside, she wants to hug your furry self, you’re like a golden retriever in a sense. super gentle, never bearing your claws or fangs her way. sometimes you wonder if she loves your alternate form more than your human form.

she doesn’t really tell anyone about your form unless you tell her its alright. if you do, expect xiao, ganyu, zhongli, and probably all of the important people of liyue to know your not-so-secret secret.

-> shenhe

she probably already knew, to be honest.

she picked up on how well your senses work and your agility. she also noticed how sometimes you’d sneak in and out of bed for a few hours at a time in the middle of the night, and always end up showering at the most inconvenient times.

so, she just asked you about it straight up.

“are you human?” she asked over a rather silent breakfast, due to you being extremely fatigued from being out all night last night.

“what do you mean?” you damn near drop your fork on your plate, your eggs being untouched.

“are you human,” she asked once more, clearing her throat. “you’re not a werewolf or a husky or what not? you sure seem like you are, due to your advanced abilities.”

you lowered your head, nodding slowly, before attempting to apologize on why you said nothing sooner. she stopped you mid-sentence, reassuring you that it’s okay, and she understands why you didn’t tell her until later on.

she likes to accompany you during your midnight trips. it doesn’t scare her or anything, which you found rather surprising at first, but she just said that living with the birds and the beasts all her life has taught her that having an animal form is normal and the woods are no scarier than cloud retainer calling out to her people at the tip-top of a mountain.

she was also another one who appreciated how well your senses worked, and appreciated that you could locate danger approaching from rather far away. it gave her more time to prepare a brutal attack, and she even practiced sneak attacks due to your ability. theres another skill she mastered.

she likes you better when you’re in human form. don’t misunderstand, she loves you either way, but she’d rather cuddle and snuggle with someone that was human, and strictly because she did not want a mouthful of fur. you laughed when she first said that, and you got where she was coming from. if you were her, you wouldn’t necessarily appreciate that very much either.

but when you do transform in front of her, she won't mind giving you small hugs or rubbing your fur. she knows you’re not dirty and you have no fleas or ticks, so she doesn’t really mind running her hands through your beautiful gray fur. she wont be like hu tao, who's all over you, but she’ll certainly be interested.

she likes that you’re not very phased by blood. in her whole adeptal life, she's been exposed to ruthless bloodshed, and creates it herself sometimes. she knows of so many people who would throw up even at the mere mention of blood, but you can look at it and just shrug. it makes it much easier to bring you on missions, thats for sure.

ps: cloud retainer loves you and your abilities! she may or may not have teased shenhe a couple times of stealing you for the adepti benefit…

-> ganyu

she was incredibly freaked out at first.

she’s never really seen a werewolf, maybe only a handful of times in her 2500 years of life. they’re rarely in liyue and she’s never out late enough at night to witness one.

but tonight was a little different, she had something to do in the mountains rather late at night, and saw a werewolf trotting right up to her. you didn’t remember at first that you hadn’t told her of your abilities yet, and you also didn’t understand that seeing a werewolf just walk up to you is really freaky.

so, as any sensible person would do, she ran. and when i say ran, she RAN.

you stood there, dumbfounded, wondering where all that speed was in the amount of time that you knew her. she was either half asleep or preoccupied with something else all the time, so you never really had the opportunity to see her run at full speed.

you chased after her, but waited until she couldn’t really see you, as not to scare her. as soon as you saw the harbor come close to view, you quickly morphed back, catching up to your girlfriend in your human form, tapping her on the shoulder a couple times before she spun back so fast she nearly fell into the water. you were by the railing in the middle of the bridge, listening to ganyu tell her story while catching her breath.

“did you see that werewolf? it walked up to me, and i ran as fast as i possibly could to get out of there, because i forgot i had a vision and that i could easily defeat it and-”

you zoned out in the middle of her story, thanking every archon to exist that she forgot about her bow and her vision.

you settled her down soon after, explaining to her that the wolf was actually you. you had demonstrated your transformation and rubbed against her leg, showing her that you were harmless.

she giggled before petting you and letting you know that she knew you were not harmless.

she found your abilities quite cool! she was another one who loved to cuddle you while in your wolf form. you just let her, you were her fluffy guard dog that she’d hug and cuddle to sleep. but she loved your human form just as much.

your heightened senses saved her from many heart attacks, and allowed her to sleep in the grass under the shade of a tree without an issue.

it also helps her know when enemies are nearby. when she’s with you, she feels indescribably safe, and she knows she can count on you to alert her of any oncoming danger.

she also loves how you’re able to see some things that might be a little hard for her to see. as an adeptus, she’s nearly fearless, but can be caught off guard. sometimes, she gets a little queasy when she sees some nasty shit in a danger zone.

-> raiden

she is unphased and honestly treats you no different from before.

she once caught you transforming, and when you noticed her, you immediately changed back and started to ask her what she thought, how much she saw, etc in a panicked tone.

she just shrugged, told you it was alright and that it was cool that you were part wolf, and went back to doing whatever she was doing before.

she might want to see it again though, but doesn’t mind if you don’t want to show her. she gets it, she really wouldn’t want you to see her in her plane of euthymia. it’s a personal thing, and she doesn’t want to cross boundaries.

sometimes, she’ll indirectly ask you for cuddles in your werewolf form. you always pick up on the hint and transform to let her hug you or pet you or give you shy kisses in your form.

she dislikes sleeping with you while in wolf form, and always wants you to be your human self. she likes being able to feel you hold her, and she doesn’t want a mouthful of fur in the morning.

she doesn’t really have a reason to utilize your enhanced senses, but she thinks they’re cool anyways. she also appreciates that you’re able to take care of yourself and you don’t need someone to back you up all the time.

shes also really happy that you’re able to escape situations before they’ve even started (for example, a treasure hoarder swarm). it saves her the worrying and it saves you from the injuries, which are never fun to have. they almost always get infected, treasure hoarders don’t carry clean blades, etc.

-> amber

poor girl almost passed out the first time she found out you were a wolf.

she saw you trotting along before seeing you change back into human form, and she screamed. she ran up to you, standing in front of you, demanding an answer.

“amber, listen, i didn’t tell you because i knew this was gonna happen. don’t get scared, i’m obviously not going to hurt you,” you started, being cut off by the brown-haired girl.

“i know, it just startled me a little bit. but i’ll get used to it!!! maybe once the realization settles in, you can show me all your abilities,” she clapped twice, giving you a big hug. “i’m sorry for screaming. it just caught me off guard.”

you nodded, letting go of the hug and walking into mondstadt together.

she loves your wolf form! sometimes she’ll even take you on walks on the outskirts of the city (don’t get her wrong!! she just wants to have the dog experience i guess) and then having you transfer into human form to have a little picnic date under a shhhady tree.

she’s very grateful for your heightened senses. you’ve probably saved her from death once, and all of the injuries you’ve saved her from is probably not even countable on both hands. to say she's very appreciative of you and your presence is an understatement.

depending on her mood, she’ll sometimes want to cuddle your wolf form, and sometimes she just wants your good old human form. she loves both equally!!!

she’s glad that you’re able to protect yourself, too. she couldn’t imagine a life without you, she loves you too much! she’s not obsessed over you, but she’s sometimes rather… overprotective. tell her you’re going to be okay and make sure she knows and she’ll settle down.

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin x reader fluff #raiden shogun #ei #raiden #shogun #ganyu #hu tao #amber #shenhe #shenhe x reader #raiden shogun x reader #ei x reader #ganyu x reader #hu tao x reader #amber x reader

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Himeko with a much younger s/o who tries to seem older (it isn't working)... But people still mistake him for her nephew or something

(Honkai: Star Rail) Himeko with an S/O who looks young

I'm in my twenties, and people still think I'm a high school freshman...

Himeko is not that old, but the aura she gives off is much more mature than the other members of the Astral Express, excluding Welt.

As for S/O, they seemed to have the opposite problem.

They were about the same age as her, but people constantly mistake them for being far younger.

It makes her laugh at S/O's annoyed expression.

(Himeko) "-...And this is my beloved S/O."

(S/O) "You must be the new addition! I heard what you did on the Space Station, impressive work!"

(Stelle) "..."

(S/O) "...Um-"

(Himeko) "Is something the matter?"

Stelle stared at S/O, then back to Himeko.

(Stelle) "...So you're a cougar?"

S/O almost chokes on their drink as they begin coughing violently, putting Himeko's cup gently on the table before flying into a rage.

(S/O) "For the love of- I am NOT that young!"

Honestly, Himeko attributes it to the height, the fact S/O managed to keep their youthful appearance, and whenever they say "I'm not a child".

Even March 7th looked older than them, hilariously.

Himeko finds it an endless source of amusement to tease them on, but she at least teases them gently, while everyone else used the force of her satellite cannon.

(Himeko) "You know what they say, S/O. Drinking milk can make you taller."

(March 7th) "Well, that still wouldn't take care of S/O's baby face!"

(S/O) "You won't have one left when I'm through with you, March!"

Himeko's beautiful laughter goes unappreciated by S/O as a vein is about to burst. No matter how many times she sees the situation, it's hilarious. At least with close friends.

If anyone's trying to start actual trouble, she doesn't hesitate to step in.

The only person who gets to truly bully S/O is her.

===

(S/O) "Ugh, think we can find something that can make me look older on our travels?"

(Himeko) "Hm...Well, there's simply being planetside with March, Dan Heng, and Stelle. That's enough to put some gray hairs on you."

(S/O) "I'm trying to look older, not get years off my lifespan, Himeko."

(Himeko) "Welt?"

(Welt) "Please do not involve me in this subject."

Himeko smiles as she shrugs at S/O.

(Himeko) "Then I got nothing."

(S/O) sigh

#honkai star rail imagines #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail headcanons #himeko honkai star rail x reader #himeko hsr #himeko x y/n #himeko x you #stelle honkai star rail #march 7th honkai star rail

[simplydnp]

hey there!

I kind of consider you the resident dnp expert (at least in dnp culture) so I wanted your opinion on a question that's been building for a while now.

What are the boundaries for dnp now?

There are so many things that I feel have changed even in the last four years: writing smutty rpf was Gross and Weird, along with art along that line, speculating about their relationship was ABSOLUTELY a no-go, all things that I see happening on Tumblr now. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing!! I'm just acknowledging things have changed over time. They're different people now and so are we, and the "we know you know" era is lots of fun.

I was browsing reddit today (bad idea, do not recommend) and came across a post from a new Phannie asking if DnP were in a relationship. And while I agree that we cannot say for absolute certain that they are, the responses had a VERY different vibe than on here, emphasizing how bad the speculation was (true) and essentially saying "don't even think about that, just enjoy their content." (or something to that extent.)

Which... is very different from this here website in which we joke about them being horney for each other constantly lmao.

Being a very rules-driven person, I like expectations to be made abundantly clear for pretty much everything. So that's why I want to ask: Is there a line here? Are we crossing that line? How defined is that line? (All of this, of course, I recognize is your opinion and yours alone, and if this is posted I encourage anyone else to share their two-cents in a respectful way.)

Obviously, trying to find out where they live/things like that is very clearly crossing a boundary. But is there some sort of limit or boundary I (and tbh the rest of the phandom), in your opinion, should be keeping in mind?

thanks xx

hi!

'resident expert' is a hefty title, i'm just here trying my best!

'what are the boundaries for dnp now?' is really a great question. cause the thing is, we used to know. there used to be a fairly well-defined and mostly agreed upon line, and ever since the dapg revival in particular, the line keeps moving.

i'll be honest, i never really saw phanfic as rpf, even though it is. my stance on phanfic is the same as dnps: it's a beautiful expression of art and creativity and is so, so important. they've always been pro-fic (even though we subjected them to some absolutely horrific crack fics), so i don't think 'smutty' fic has ever been gross or too far. they've given their blessing, and, as the conversation has been in fandom communities the last few years, rpf isn't 'for' the people in them, it's for the fans. so i digress.

art is much the same way. they love art! they even included art of them kissing in a tumblr tag video back in the day, so to say that's not allowed especially after they're out is kind of crazy to me.

i think the line with stuff like that was showing it directly to dnp--tagging them in explicit stuff, that kind of thing. but creating it? go for it! it's always been a green light. (i think fans have previously overpoliced this and we lost a lot of great fic, art, and community members over it)

browsing reddit is always a Choice. i've never participated on dnp reddit before but i am aware that it is an entirely different space than here. something that's important, i think (and i think you think this too as you're asking about them), is to respect the fandom rules of the place you partcipate in. tumblr is generally one of the most phan-positive places on the internet, especially publicly facing. we make a lot of relationship jokes, particularly because we run on the assumption it's already true, based on what they've both said publicly (mostly dan).

i won't comment on reddit specifically just because i'm not a part of the community there, but the speculation about dnp online was a Lot for a long time. but the worst part of it was the stalking, the digging into personal lives, the contacting family members--that is what was bad. dnp have always had a connection--and, honestly, they kind of love flexing it and kind of always have. they absolutely play into things now, but they certainly did even way before coming out too. i think a certain level of speculation was to be expected, especially in that era of online fandom. but it wasn't just the 'teenage girls' who cared, the media did too, and so did many others.

i think one of the biggest differences now is 1 the awareness of 'our' past and trying to make up for it, and 2 the broader societal conversations about parasocial relationships.

you see this reflected on the snippets ive seen from dnp reddit and dnp twitter. they tend to be Very 'cautious' about the words they say, often undercutting perfectly reasonable statements with 'but whatever their relationship is'. on one hand, they don't want to cross a line, and i can respect that. on the other hand... it's 2024 babes. they just put out merch of them holding hands. dan's directly, intentionally, and explicitly called phil a bottom on dapg. they reacted to all of the pinofs, made jokes about 'theyre touching', and even joked about the tackle being 'wrestling 👀'. dan posted half-naked catboy pics and showed us phil was taking them. the 'watch your step babygirl' tweet & their reactions to it. phil is credited in WAD. they're making threesome jokes about themselves as a unit. i could go on and on.

to me, there's a few things that have 'moved the line' for us, so to speak.

1 - DAPG returning. for the last few years they specifically were not a duo (for projects) anymore. (and no, not because they hated each other). they just weren't. they wanted to focus on their goals and projects. they didn't have to resurrect dapg, but they chose to. marketing and money aside, they knew that if this went over well, it would well and truly revive the 'dan and phil' brand again. it would be specifically returning to being a duo in the public eye. (however they've also fully embraced this in all aspects, including merch, videos, and general attitude)

2 - pinof reacts. even though they'd been out since 2019, we hadn't had regular joint content from them since before that, therefore, while they had become more comfortable with themselves and their 'outness', we hadn't (in terms of them making explicit gay jokes together). so i really think dnp had to de-fang a lot of the 'theyre touching' of it all, because we didn't really know where we stood on it anymore. i think they succeeded, too. we couldn't be here, with the content of the last 3 months, without them tackling it head on (well, as head on as they're want to do).

3 - dapc. genuinely another big shift. they did this for the real fans. purely a passion project, and a specific choice in doing the handhold. they know what we're like. and this wasn't a brief, unplanned, unscripted moment. it's a specifically blocked out scene. they know it's opening a door, and they chose to. this is doubled by the fucking iconic merch selling, and furthered by phil's twitter likes of arguably romantic phanart, and then dan's full straddle like.

even throughout the current 6 months of revival, the line has moved. i don't know where it will settle. dnp keep moving it, in my opinion, and, genuinely, i don't think it's going to leave much to the imagination. as you say, obviously not the stalking or the contacting, but beyond that? especially here on tumblr? i wouldn't get too worried. obviously people will have their opinions, but as long as you're generally respectful and recognize that humans will see your posts and humans interact with them, i think you're good.

my rule of thumb is anything they intentionally put on the table, we can joke about or at the same level. but in terms of art/fic? go off, live your dreams. dan and phil would want you to.

#i didn't include a cut because people don't always look under them and this is generally a whole statement. feel free to add things. #there's specific discourse i dont partake in. doesnt mean you have to avoid it entirely. but just dont bring it up to dnp and you're fine. #dnp #dan and phil #phan #<- for the fandometrics #c.text #answered

[some-weebs-posts]

Ok, so I've been obsessed with Monster High since it came out, and my favorite character has always been Jackson Jekyll. And you know what? Not only is he an underrated character, but like, they made his background super detailed and complicated for like no reason. I couldn't tell you how many times I've gone on long rants trying to explain it all.

Think of this like a combination of different wikis. This is based on Generation 1, the movies from Boo York Boo York and previous, the diaries, the webisodes, and some of the books. I have not watched anything from Gen 2 or 3, which really doesn't matter because Jackson isn't in any of the reboots.

Basic Information

Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde are two people in the same body. They have different memories and different personalities.

Jackson Jekyll is 16 years old. His favorite color is yellow, his favorite food is mac & cheese, and his birthday is May 30th.

Holt Hyde is 16 years old. His favorite color is orange, his favorite food is hot wings, and his birthday is May 30th.

They both have a pet chameleon named Crossfade.

Jackson is a bit of a nerdy type. He enjoys wearing bow ties and sweater vests. He likes to play video games. He's crazy smart, and his favorite subject is Mad Science.

Holt has a rocker style with his everyday outfit being a red leather jacket and purple pants. He also shows more of their fire elemental side than Jackson, so he incorporates flames in all his outfits as well. He loves music, so he always wears headphones (not to mention that later becomes his trigger), and music theory is his favorite subject. He has a hot temper and can become angry very easily.

Jackson Jekyll is their default character. However, he transforms into Holt due to different triggers. His original trigger was it being either day or night where he was Jackson during the day and Holt at night. Later, his trigger changed to music with a 4/4 time signature, which is most music. In the diaries, Jackson states that his doctor believes the trigger will change at least one more time, and he is deathly afraid it will be something important that he can't avoid like taking a shower.

Jackson and Holt did not know of each other's existences until they were 16. Since their memories were different, they thought they had consistent black outs. Holt considered it just a way of life and how it was, but in the books, Jackson (thanks to the suggestion of Melody Carver) thought is was due to his extreme anxiety.

Family

Jackson Jekyll is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Jekyll.

Holt Hyde is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Hyde.

Jackson was born half normie (mom) and half monster (dad). The thing is, his dad is not the Jekyll/Hyde. That's his mom. His mom is the normie half of the Jekyll and Hyde combo. His dad is a fire elemental.

Holt is a full monster. His mother is the Hyde, and his father is a fire elemental.

This makes Jackson and Holt half-brothers. They have different moms but the same dad.

They know they have different moms or at least more than one mom. They call her Moms in the books and diaries. Their mom (in both versions of Jekyll and Hyde as far as I can tell) is named Sydney, who is a science teacher at Merston High and likes to go by Mrs. J.

That adds on another layer because that means his dad took his mom's last name, AND his dad's last name changes depending on who his wife is because he married both the Jekyll and the Hyde. So does that mean every time he is asked his name, the dad has to be like, "I don't know. Let me call my wife,"? Like, does he just change his name every day or is he just Dr. Jekyll by default and then changes his name if he gets a call from his wife? And he's not Dr. Hyde but Mr. Hyde, so does he loses his doctorate when his wife goes crazy?

Anyway, Jackson and Holt are cousins with Heath and Harmony Burns. Harmony is Heath's older sister. Their mother is Jackson and Holt's dad's sister aka their aunt.

Friends

Jackson's best friend is Deuce Gorgon.

Jackson first met Deuce in the diaries where they played some pick-up casketball. Then, they met-met and actually started to hang out after the webisode Fear Pressure. In the episode, Jackson had started to attend Monster High but was being bullied for being a normie (or at least appearing as one), so Deuce decided to take pity on him and let him sit at his and Heath's lunch table. Later on, Deuce introduced him to others like Gil.

When they first moved to their neighborhood, which made them change schools and start attending Monster High, Jackson only became Holt during the night, so Jackson was the first one to meet their neighbors. One time, Draculaura made him a welcome-to-the-neighborhood cake, and when he returned the tin, he met Dracula of which he was not afraid and actually made a joke about stakes. This was considered weird because both normies and monsters were afraid of Dracula, for in the diaries, he was described as being like a creepy, no-nonsense Nosferatu. Later, Draculaura invited him to Clawdeen's Boo-B-Que where he met The Wolfs.

During the night, Holt would come out and walk around. There, he studied his neighbor's houses and saw them very occasionally.

Holt actually went and became a DJ with the nickname DJ Hyde. While working a party, he met Draculaura. She was dancing the Transylvania Trance. He thought she was attractive and approached her by calling her Ula D, but she became confused because they had never met before.

That adds on another thing. Apparently, they can share some memories.

Romances

Jackson and Holt had many romances.

In the books, Jackson went to Merston High. There, he met a siren named Melody Carver. They started to date, but Melody met Cleo, because Cleo also went to this school for some reason, and they hated each other. So to get Melody jealous, Cleo ended up kissing Jackson. But he felt nothing for her. Then Melody started a band and revealed Holt, which started a love triangle except Jackson didn't know about Holt, so he didn't know what she was upset about. They ended up breaking up where she then got with a gargoyle named Granite who was also into music, but unfortunately their relationship never went anywhere, and Melody and Granite never became official.

Then there was Draculaura. Jackson and Holt both liked her, but she only ever tried to date Jackson. She said in one of her diaries that they ended up "breaking up", even though they were never officially dating, because he never went to their evening dates and could never remember exactly why he didn't the next morning. Little did they know it was because of Holt.

Then there was Frankie. She slowly fell in love with him over the course of Volume II of the webisodes in episodes such as Miss Information, Hyde Your Heart, and Hyde and Shriek. She originally liked Jackson because he was the new kid, and she was fairly new too and remembered how hard it was. She even stood up against his bully, Manny Taur. But then she met Holt and became conflicted because she thought she liked both of them and had to choose between them. After she found out they were the same person, she introduced them to each other, which is how they found out about each other in the first place. She then would record them talking on her phone so that they could talk to each other, but that got old fast, so she gave them separate phones specifically for texting each other. She decided they couldn't date until they got over their differences.

There was Operetta. In the diaries, Holt said that he liked that she liked music, so they went on a date at a concert. But then Holt got angry at someone, and due to his anger issues, he got into a fight. He and Operetta were kicked out. Her dad did not like that, and they weren't allowed to date anymore.

Then there was Clair. Clair is my personal favorite and is my OTP. In the movie Ghouls Rule, Holt got arrested while he and other monsters were vandalizing the normie school of New Salem High. He transformed back into Jackson while in jail, so they let him go thinking that Holt somehow kidnapped Jackson and swapped places with him. He became a fugitive, so Jackson hid by attending New Salem High. There, he met Clair. She stood up to bullies for him and even later defended him against the police after they captured him and tried to behead him (and no, I'm not joking). They had a discussion at the end where Holt commented that while Jackson and him don't agree on much, at least they can agree on women. He tried to kiss her, but she swapped him to Jackson first and then kissed him because, well, she didn't know him that well yet. She's an anti-police, anti-racism/speciesism, goth baddie, and I love her for that.

Side Notes

Despite being a huge nerd, Jackson is actually really good at sports. Jackson and Deuce only initially became friends because of a game of casketball. In Deuce's diary, he went to the court to play, but only saw "a lame human kid" aka Jackson. He was initially going to ignore him, but then Jackson asked to play. Then it turned out that Jackson could play very well. Quote, "I was gonna slide out of there, but he asked if I wanted to play some one on one. I figured it wouldn't take long to make him look like a statue out there, but I was wrong. He had a scary good jump shot and even crossed me over a couple times. I had just started to play really hard when my glasses got knocked off and broke. Now I have to figure out a way to get home without stoning someone, but dude just took off his shades and handed them over to me. He said to keep them until I got home and he'd get them later. Told me his name is Jackson Jekyll. He said he wants a rematch. I told him any time, any place. Not a bad guy...for a human." Also, in Friday Night Frights, Jackson attempted to join the roller maze team before he was stopped by Manny Taur. Edit: I just remembered he also plays volleyball in the Gloom Beach line.

Additionally, Jackson and Holt have facial piercings and tattoos. This is very rare and somewhat strange given they are only 16 and would at least need parent's permission for the tattoos. The only other G1 characters that have tattoos, that I know of, are Operetta and Wisp from 13 Wishes. The only other characters with facial piercings, not counting ear piercings, are Clair, Cleo, and Manny Taur as Cleo has the gem under her eye, Clair has a classic lip piercing, and Manny has a septum piercing. Jackson has one tattoo of a Ying & Yang symbol on his back, and he has an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow. Holt has two tattoos with the same Yin & Yang tattoo and an additional face tattoo around his eye. He also has a left eyebrow piercing.

The tattoos admittedly confuse me because the fact that Jackson doesn't have one of Holt's tattoos may imply that they got the tattoos separately, so they both just so happened to pick the same tattoo and then Holt got one extra. Also, their parents had to sign off on allowing their 16 year old son to be allowed to have a face tattoo.

Edit: Some people have mentioned that Holt's face tattoo may actually be a birthmark due it being mentioned in one of the diaries. However, this doesn't make sense to me because Jackson does not have a birthmark. So like many, I believe this mention of it being a birthmark was only added after they made the design as an excuse, and it should be left up for interpretation.

That's alI can think of for now. Info may change later, but that's the story of The Strange Case of Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde.

#monster high #jackson jekyll #holt hyde #heath burns #deuce gorgon #draculaura #operetta #i should go to bed #friday night frights