#I don't say this to spark any controversy.

[demigods-posts]

Hello everyone!

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to address an issue that has recently come to light. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that some of my work has been used without permission. While I understand that mistakes can happen, it's important to respect the creative rights of others.

I want to make it clear that I take the protection of my work seriously. I have already reached out privately to address this matter, but I believe it's important to also address it publicly. As creators, we put our time, effort, and passion into our work, and it's disheartening when it's not respected.

Moving forward, I kindly ask that we all uphold the principle of mutual respect and refrain from using each other's work without permission. I'm always open to collaboration and partnerships, but it's crucial that we do so in a respectful and mutually beneficial manner.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

Yours,

@demigods-posts

[disneyprincemuke]

midnights, 7 * mv1

the news is out: three time world champion, max verstappen, and his girlfriend of 6 years have been broken up since the singapore weekend.

pairings: max verstappen x fem!reader

warnings: -

notes: wow i took thE longest break from this

(series masterlist)

(prev) // (next)

max isn’t typically the type to let panic settle in. at least, that’s what he likes to think. he likes to tell people he’s not bothered but outsiders are always quick to catch up with his suppressed emotions. 

alas, his worst fears have come true. news has broken that you’ve been broken up for almost 2 months. 

he has not been able to talk about it with daniel, so he can only imagine how things will break down in austin. 

he hopes that it’s not actually that big of a deal. plenty of other drivers have gotten themselves in messier breakups — the post doesn’t seem to touch on any speculations about how yours had come about. he can only bank on the hope that journalists are empathetic enough not to bring you up. 

but you’ve been very involved in his career and the cameras on the paddocks. they never missed the chance to have you speak into a mic or have a private conversation with you. 

pictures snapped of you together are never posted, but would be directly sent to either of you to truly encompass the privacy of your relationship. the respect shared between you and everyone on the paddocks was treasured, which is probably why your presence had been notable after you abruptly disappeared. 

he sinks into his couch, phone in hand as he stares at the pictures that sparked up speculations. it’s a low-quality picture of you leaving the red bull home, head down as your hair shied you away from the camera. the second picture is of him coming out of the building, hair dishevelled as he stood with his arms folded over his chest.

“what do i do?” max mumbles, his finger swiping over the screen again and again, staring at the two pictures. as if it would change the course of things if he did it enough. “do i talk to her?”

“i don’t know, man,” daniel sighs, his face in the far corner of max’s screen. “i mean, the best you can do is to wait it out, right?”

“rumours could spread,” charles mutters, looking away briefly with his eyes widened. “if i were you, i’d want to do some damage control. but that’s probably just me.”

max sits back, staring at the empty half of his hotel bed. your absence is always noted when he’s all alone and he's too awake for his own good, once having the luxury of your company and bright smile making him feel giddy.

the difference between this breakup and all of charles' is that there is no controversy in this one. as far as he's concerned, this is all speculation from photos that are now circulating the internet and your obvious absence on race weekends.

nobody can even really confirm if it's true unless you or max say something. for now, they're just rumours. right?

unless you've started speaking to people, and gossip platforms. but you wouldn't do any of that, or at least that's what he's telling himself. but from what he can dig out of the grave in his brain, there was nothing that happened between you that can be twisted.

but what does he know?

he can only keep praying to the fact that you'll keep it as private as you usually do.

his phone is buzzing endlessly, his other friends sending him texts as the news shocks them as much as the world. lando is asking him if he's holding up fine, martin is expressing how he feels for max, and his own mother asking him why he hadn't told her earlier.

only victoria's message will be getting an answer. after all, she's the first person that found out.

"should i talk to her?" max thinks out loud, maximising the facetime call to get a good look at his friends' reactions. "she never does well with things like this, what if people are bothering her?"

charles' picture is overtaken by alexandra's face, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. "you wanna talk to her?"

max shrugs. "i don't know. maybe?"

"would that be the best choice though?" daniel tilts his head. behind him, heidi is approaching cautiously with a small smile. "babe, what do you think?"

heidi shrugs as daniel's camera slowly turns to her. "my opinion is probably not - it's been two months. and judging by the comments that i read, i don't think there's much disrespect that has to be told off publicly."

alexandra nods as charles slowly comes back into the frame next to her. "it's up to you, max. as of right now, it doesn't seem that serious."

max sighs again, this time louder as he feels everything coming down on him. he drops his head back and stares at the ceiling. "i don't know, you guys," he sighs again loudly. "i just want to know if she's alright."

"maybe not now, mate," charles answers sympathetically, frowning at him through the camera.

"just wait it out. it could die down quicker than you think," daniel says hopefully.

max nods, now suddenly feeling disinterest in their conversation. he only craves to be by himself now. "alright, i'll catch you guys in a bit," his eyes turn to the cats sleeping peacefully on the cat tree, "i've got to feed the cats."

taglist: @merchelsea @leclercdream @labelledejourr @laneyspaulding19 @lpab @graciewrote @hollie911 @thatsojasminesworld @mycenterfold @princessria127 @ironmaiden1313 @dl-yum @crlsummer @brekkers-whore @minkyungseokie @honethatty12 @barelytolerabled @vellicora @lokigoeschoki @avg-golden-retriever

[sh00kspeared]

Can we talk about Johnny's bi erasure in-game? Because really, it makes me kinda mad.

Now, I'm not the kind of person who shouts 'homophobia' at everything because it's just not my way of things... but the amount that Johnny's attraction to men has been completely shafted throughout the game is really a disservice to him and to all the people who ship their male characters with him. A few examples:

Cutting or making really hard to trigger the line where Johnny says he got a lap dance from a man at a gay strip club (I've seen some people claim they experienced it, which is why I think it may still be in the game)

Johnny saying he didn't sleep with Kerry because he had a dick despite the official, director-sanctioned game guide saying that he did.

Johnny telling female V that the two are arguing "like an old married couple", yet telling male V that they're arguing "like two geezers on a park bench." (Johnny's definitely not the kind of guy to change his language depending on the gender of person he's with).

Never, ever alluding to any of his flings with male characters outside of the strip club line despite him saying that he did swing both ways now and then.

Now, why do I care so much about this? Because it's really sparked more debate than necessary. This post got hate for making him "gay" Cyberpunk 2077 on X: "Johnny Silverhand 🎤 Art by: @painperdues https://t.co/ABiBzSCZvm" / X (twitter.com) and so did this one Cyberpunk 2077 on X: "V and Johnny, Johnny and V… By: @hanbyeo0526 https://t.co/JlGNBmRYJH" / X (twitter.com) (I believe some of the comments have been deleted since because I don't see a lot of the meanest ones there anymore). Mind you, after the latter was posted, a fem V x Johnny post was made not too long afterward and it got markedly fewer hate comments. Also, funny story, my old male V x Johnny post is the third most controversial post of all time on r/lowsodiumcyberpunk at the moment (please go downvote it if possible; I wanna be first again lmao /hj).

But, all this to say, much of the playerbase sees Johnny as an alpha straight manly man when he's... well... not. While many people including me assume that the choice to keep his bisexuality under wraps is due to his addled memory in Mikoshi misremembering the fact that he canonically slept with Kerry, I just think this is a really odd thing to use to demonstrate that. Of all the things the devs could've chosen to display this, they chose one of the things that is most likely to get male V x Johnny shippers belittled and seen as the 'lesser' version of the ship for just existing.

They chose to erase a massive part of Johnny's identity, either to prove the point of his memories being addled or because they were scared of backlash. I just don't see how it would've been so hard for him to allude to some of his male flings more often, make the dicky twister line easier to trigger, and just not have him say that he didn't sleep with kerry because he had a dick. Ffs CDPR, stop being so dodgy your bi characters' identities.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Dubior

Debut: Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Kirby's Return to Dream Land is very realistic, because it accurately depicts the phenomenon that, when you go to space, you will encounter funny robots flying about! What is their purpose? We don't know! There is, however, a sort of controversy or misunderstanding revolving Dubior.

You see, Dubior grants the Spark ability. Because it is a robot that runs on electricity, and uses all sorts of electric attacks! However, many people do not like this, and think it should instead give the UFO ability.

Perhaps I am in the minority here, but I disagree! Dubior may be a flying machine in space, but at least to me, it does not seem all that much like a UFO! It is just a funny robot. The UFOs in this series have all had a very distinct design trend, which Dubior does not follow. Besides...

What is a UFO? An Unidentified Flying Object. Dubior is not unidentified. It's Dubior! It says it right there on its health bar! Objectively, Dubior is not a UFO. It is just a FO. And nobody says FO.

What Dubior HAS always reminded me of is those little handheld vibrating massagers! You know, the ones with a central round part and three or four orbs that vibrate and you rub it on your back? It is a fun thing to be reminded of!

Anyway, Dubior is a mid-boss, and a very special one! As Kirby and friends journey across Popstar, they will encounter various mid-bosses as usual, culminating in a classic Mid-Boss Tower Level in which they are fought one after another, each fight taking place higher in the tower.

This tower is so high that it pierces the atmosphere, and Dubior is fought last, on nearly the top floor! It is no coincidence that the most alien of foes is only on the closest point of this planet to outer space. This foreshadows that it will reappear, and more often, on the distant planet Halcandra! This seems to be where it was created, but for what reason? We don't know!

What we do know is that in Planet Robobot, the Haltmann Works Company uses Dubiors as part of their invasion! I assume they reprogrammed or recreated ones they found on Halcandra, since we know they have been there. It is the only of their returning mid-boss arsenal to not be mechanized, which is amusing. How are you going to mechanize a robot? You're not!

Geez. I can't believe I've said so much about Dubior and I have not even gotten to its wonderful antenna thing! It's clear by now I find Dubior delightful, but to me, the antenna is its best feature. When it first appears and sees Kirby, the three weird floating rectangles seem to freak out, growing and flashing red and white, as if it would be saying INTRUDER ALERT INTRUDER ALERT.

Dubior is also a parent! Happy birthday to Dubior Jr.! I love love looove when things are named like that. This is a machine! You would think it would be named something like Dubior Lite or Dubior Micro, but no! This was Born, and Named, after its proud robot parent. As were its many siblings, because many Dubior Jr.s can be spawned! Mollusc Fans may notice that Dubior Jr. looks quite like a nautilus, with a body like a curved shell, and a brim above its eyes like the leathery "hood" of a nautilus! It is a strange decision, since Dubior's design does not appear to draw from any real creature, but of course I am very happy about it. I'm Mollusc Fans!

Finally, we have Dubior EX, who I do not have much to say about, but am including because it would be wrong not to. This one is pink, and with only one eye, positioned to appear slightly menacing as opposed to regular Dubior's wide-eyed innocence! I prefer regular Dubior, but EX is very cool on its own merits, too.

If after all this you still consider Dubior to be UFO-like, I'm not upset with you.

[lightparty-fullparty]

Oh, would you look at the time? It's me having thoughts about Zenos O'clock.

This time, I want to break down what I think the central concept of who and what Zenos is. And why he lives in my brain rent free.

At his core, Zenos is a character who does not understand, nor is himself understood by other people. I don't think that's a very controversial or even new thing to say. It's repeared and reinforced at several points during the narrative, across multiple expansions. Lyse does not understand him at the Royal Menagire, Varis does not understand him at Garlemald, Jullus does not understand him at Camp Broken Glass.

They do not understand who Zenos is as a person. What he values, or what he cares about.

Zenos is shaped by absence. An absence of purpose, motivation, drive. An absence of connections, friendships, love.

Let's break it down.

The Absence of Purpose:

This is his boredom. What fuels his need to find a challenge. That spark of something, anything, to break through the utter tedium of his daily life. The short story claims that he has always been incredibly gifted. Learning and absorbing information with little effort and incredible speed. Before his new swordsmanship instructor, Zenos has never found anything difficult to do. He has not been sufficently challenged. Nothing has managed to retain his interest because he has mastered it too easily. He is a child, and he is tired of his life.

The encounter he had with the Corvosi tutor/assassin was the first instance where Zenos failed to achieve something immediately. Where he had to exert mental and physical effort. Where he developed a desire to overcome repeated instances of failing.

This is why he is desperate to recreate that feeling of challenge. Why he thinks that combat is the only available source he has. Because nothing, absolutely nothing else up to this moment, has done what his instructor did. Made him fail. Made him feel.

What this does to his outlook is narrow Zenos' world view. It gives him a single desire to recreate the feeling of motivation and drive he had towards finally besting his instructor. This is why I think Zenos was content to go along with the Empire's conquest of Eorzea and the rest of Hydalyn. Because it gave him the opportunity to battle. To test himself against other warriors who maybe, just maybe, would give him the same feeling his instructor did.

Nothing else mattered because nothing else made Zenos feel much of anything. It was all the same. Tedious. Bording. Easy.

To Zenos, the pursuit of a person's goal doesn't require any greater justification other than "It's what I want to do." You do things because they serve your greater purpose. You eat to keep yourself alive so you can train, so you can be strong enough for combat. That's it. There is no enjoyment, no pleasure, to be found in the daily living of life. The only moment of catharsis is finally reaching the end.

Zenos does not care about why the Empire is conquering the world. The Emporer simply wants to, that's it. To Zenos, all of the reasoning of "making the world better" of "spreading the glory of Garlemald" does. Not. Matter. Because it does not change the core belief that people do things because they want to.

Jullus asks him why? Zenos asks him why that even matters. People do things because they want to or because it allows them to achieve the thing they want. That's it. That's all. There is never a greater meaning than that. No dressing it up in philosophy or politics. It won't change the outcome of the actions. It doesn't affect anything at all. The dead are still dead. Zenos still wants his fight. Garlemald still wants its glory.

Jullus here is confronted by Zenos' nihilism. The realization that there is no justification. No meaning. Not for Zenos. Not for Garlemald. Not for anything. The reason is meaningless because the reason doesn't change a single damn thing.

And yet. How can we say that the reason never matters? Never changes things? How can we look at FFXIV as a story and say that this is right?

Reason is everywhere. Reason gives context and produces empathy. Understanding. Of course, you resent the outcome less when you understand that the problem was caused by someone trying to help. To make something positive. That it was a simple mistake instead of a purposeful act of harm.

This is where the second absence comes into play. This is where tragedy lies.

The Absence of Connection:

Zenos has no friends. No family bonds. No companionship. No understanding of other people. He sees people only in terms of his own goal. Weak and boring. Or strong and interesting. His emotional range is severely restricted. Fluctuating between bored or frustrated. Anything else only comes to the front after his encounter with the Warrior of Light. Where a faint hope is sparked that this person might just be the one to challenge him. This blazes to life at the Royal Menagire, and Zenos spends the rest of the game chasing that fading comet.

The short story shows us a bleak view of Zenos' life as a child. His mother is dead, and he has no memory of her. His father is absent, dismisive, and uncaring.

The servants and staff around are mere robots to Zenos. Implying they have little to no personal interaction with him. Or are so chained by the rules of Garlean High Society that they can not interact with him or risk punishment. On top of this, I believe that Zenos was also being taught due to the war propaganda, that these servants (possoble taken from conquered nations) were lesser. Were not people. Were to not be seen and not be spoken to.

His tutors were boring. Since lessons were easy and rote. Other children held no interest because Zenos was so far beyond them mentally. I imagine that given his genius that the average child his age must have seemed like a toddler to him. Zenos has never had a peer. Someone of equal standing. Someone he could connect with or was able to empathize with. I highly doubt that anyone else around him found lessons and training to be so easy. Who found living itself to be dull.

Zenos IS an island. Zenos IS alone. And this affected him deeply. He has never learned what a healthy connection with someone else is. His emotional development was so utterly stunted and warped that it left him unable to empathise. To Zenos, his life has been so empty of warmth and care for him that he is unable to feel that towards other. Due to this, he can not understand motivations outside of his own narrow scope. To Zenos, life has never had any meaning, outside of his pursuit of challenge. Whereas others around him, who struggle, who fail, have always had this deep rooted purpose of striving to improve and succeed. Their dreams and goals pushing them forwards because it doesn't come easy. So here we have this isolated, empty, genius. Who has never struggled, has never managed to connect with anyone. Chasing desperatedly after the one, singular person in his life who managed to change that. it's so important that he called the Warrior of Light his 'First Friend'. The first person Zenos has been challenged by, who has sparked insterest. Who he has connected to. I do believe that, as least for the 'cannon events' of FFXIV, the Meteor Survivor Box Art timeline, the Warrior of Light does have things in common with Zenos. The enjoyment of a good fight. A want to face tough opponents, to seek greater and greater challenge. Zenos sees this, and for the first time in his life, he is able to in part understand someone else. He is only able to return this gift of purpose and connection in the same way he recieved it. By throwing himself at the WoL in combat. To try and recreat that spark he felt. This is also the reason, I think, that Zenos didn't change his approach after he resurected into EleZenos. I don't think he ment to come back. It was an accidently biproduct of the Resonant. Zenos was suddenly faced with the possiblity that he was now immortal, and I think the implication that his life of utter tediom would never end drove him to chase the WoL all the harder. He needed something to give him meaning and purpose, or be faced with a bleak eternaty forevermore.

This is what Alisiae is able to see. Past all of Zenos' outward neutrality and boredom, she saw that desire in him to keep that connection with the WoL. That's why she called him out on it, becuase Zenos did not understand himself and his emotions enough to idenitfy what it was he really wanted. A friend.

[baby--charchar]

Okay okay okay I'm gonna say something that's understandably controversial...but...

...

Polyamorous Charlie x Vaggie x Lute...?

OKAY BEFORE YOU COME FOR ME- UH UH PUT THE SPEARS DOWN FANDOM- Imagine an AU where the only thing that was truly different was that Lute wasn't the one to maim Vaggie. It was any other exorcist. Because with that, I just don't see any feasible work around that could actually put Vaggie in a HAPPY relationship with Lute.

But Lute being Vaggie's toxic baddie ex girlfriend who gets trapped down in Hell after the extermination; tension ensues, literal fist fights ensue, and yet somehow over ongoing months, Vaggie and Lute just...fall back into their old rhythm. They bicker and argue and fight fire with fire, and that spark rekindles all their old energy. But now Charlie's in the middle.

However, rather than being a source of conflict or pain, Charlie ends up being the center of both of their worlds. There is no cheating or secrets, Lute just slowly falls in love with Charlie the same way that Vaggie did; Charlie's unconditional love and empathy heals something deep within Lute. And Vaggie learns to make space for all of her feelings for both women, even though the dynamics she has with each of them couldn't be any more different.

And yeah, it's 2 angry gays working on themselves, who are deeply in love with the 1 beautiful ball of sunshine that ties them all together.

[meraki-yao]

I don't want to spark any controversy. Just giving my calm point of view to that anon who claims that the fandom wants to force a friendship between Taylor and Nicholas by claiming that the two are simply colleagues. First of all, there is a very important thing to say that few people can understand: in that world 80% of relationships are only the result of courtesy and are due to the sharing of agencies, PR, management, stylists etc... and they are bonds that are often documented even during events for precisely these reasons. Another thing that we just can't make people understand is that a friendship can exist even without public interactions (the famous likes or comments on various social networks) so if you can't see it it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And I get to the point precisely because Nicholas and Taylor are part of that remaining 20% who manage to find a real friendship, not linked to external factors. But based on a real connection. And therefore like others, it does not need to be constantly documented. So when they decide to show up (like at the Oscars) they only do it because they feel like it at that moment. If one of the two comments on the other, ditto. Specifically and then I conclude this monologue 😂 I believe that they found each other immediately, but due to commitments that saw them often around for a year after filming the film, they perhaps weren't able to see each other so often, but they cultivated definitely bonding over the phone through calls and messages. And then, thanks to Nicholas' move to Los Angeles last August, it will be much easier for them to find each other. There is plenty of evidence of their connection since the famous piano scene in rwrb was filmed six months later, and the chemistry was even greater than the sweet and sincere declarations of both of them in recent weeks. Here no one forces anything, perhaps you should reflect on your prejudices that prevent you from seeing what is really there.

Throwing this out here real quick (I agree with all of what you said anon! thank you for this!)

[coldhndss]

──★ ˙ ̟Blue Lock mini matchups! No.6, 7, and 8

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.6: @somewhere-stuck-in-the-stars

Do you know what I mean when I say your request gave me autumn/fall vibes? Like all I could imagine was a fireplace, hot cocoa, maple trees and a nice cozy cottage home (I wrote this BEFORE reading that your favourite season is fall btw :0)

So, I ended up matching you to Yukimiya Kenyu!

Initially, I actually thought of matching you to Alexis Ness, but… I couldn’t do that to you 😬

So, we know that Yukimiya is canonically a model, dresses nicely and has a calm/soft kind of aesthetic. I feel like he’d dress more of a light academia with coats and scarves, contrasting nicely with your deep jewel and earth tone attire/aesthetic. I know MBTI tests aren’t usually completely true to someone’s personality, but with you being an INTJ, I’d imagine you bring a vibe of comfort and care that not everybody does. With Yukimiya having constant worries about his wellbeing alongside playing soccer, you’d be able to be able to bring him a breath of fresh air and take his mind away from worrying too much all the time. 

For a day where the two of you go someplace together, I’d imagine he’d take you to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, seeing as its one of the things that he’s interested in. He’d take sweet, candid photos of you, knowing the best angles to shoot from. Of course, he wouldn’t leave without getting some photos of himself. I get the feeling that he’d probably post an aesthetic reel of the trip on Instagram as well. It might spark some controversy amongst his female fans once they notice you being a little too close to him for their liking! Not that it’ll change anything between you two, of course. I have a feeling it'll just make him want to post you even more.

I think somebody like you is very in tune with other people’s emotions. Not like a psychologist or an ‘empath’ (whatever that is), and you’d be able to tell when he needs a little bit of a mood booster. You’d be a caring person who is able to watch over him and treat him with kindness that isn’t contingent on his popularity or skill.

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.6: @darthvada

I've said this before, but I don't always match people up with someone who is the exact opposite. So in this case, I decided to match you to Bachira Meguru!

Writing this matchup literally made me realise how lonely Bachira was for a majority of his time before Blue Lock (Bachira fic incoming very soon). So although he puts on an energetic and happy front most of the time, I feel like he definitely has some unspoken problems that flood his mind daily. For the most part, he's extroverted and positive most of the time, so I think he'd be able to easily get along with another person who shares the same/similar personality as him, seeing as he (alongside lots of people, but especially him) yearns to be understood by someone else, and I think you'd have no trouble bringing him that sort of comfort.

Bachira would probably love the fact that you do theatre. Seeing as he likes exciting things, I'm sure he'd definitely enjoy seeing the different characters you play and roles you partake in (I don't know much about theatre and choir so I'm sorry if you don't actually do any acting!). I'm sure he'd enjoy watching you practice. Here's a scenario that I imagined:

You've got an important play coming up, in which you take part as a person who gets rescued by a prince, king, or hero of sorts. Seeing as you don't have the male actor at your beck and call, you decide to give Bachira a call and ask him to help you. Elated, he immediately agrees and comes over to where you are. To your surprise, he's very enthusiastic, and plays the role with a lot of confidence! 'I wonder why he didn't pursue acting...' you ponder.

Seeing as the both of you are super enthusiastic about the things you're interested in, Bachira would definitely yap a lot about different soccer players, teams, which team he finds interesting, or which players he would love to go up against. He'd also be the type to spam you with reels of either incoherent memes with the most random audios, couple videos strung along with an 'us' or 'you', or edits that people make of him, with him sending '😳😳' emojis to you in response. He acts embarrassed but he secretly likes all the edits and saves them to a collection on his private lists.

Bachira would definitely love being around you at all times. He may get a bit attached sometimes, but you pay it no mind. He'd appreciate that you lend him an ear and always listen to his worries without shutting him up or making him feel worthless, seeing as others have ostracised him simply because they think he's 'weird', and that's why you'll always mean so much to him.

ﾟ𐦍༘ No.7: Anon who is super into History.

Honestly, I think this was arguably my hardest matchup. Probably because the character I ended up matching you to is always at the back of my mind (I don't hate him, I just don't really think about him at all).

So after spending ages deciding, I chose to match you to Ikki Niko! Hear me out on this one, okay?

Niko doesn't show it, but he's actually relatively passionate about the things he likes, and although he doesn't look it, he's interested in things other than soccer. Seeing as he enjoys watching Anime and is sort of a nerd in that regard, he'd definitely watch plays with you in the theatre or at home. He wouldn't really say anything to you about it at the start, but after a while, you'll find that he's randomly gotten more into it than before. I think Niko would definitely look into something that someone important to him really enjoys. That way, he can get closer to them without having to embarrass himself by asking them questions upon questions.

He also comes off to me as more of a listener than a speaker. Seeing as you enjoy talking lots and lots about the things you like, Niko would definitely sit and listen. I have a feeling that the two of you would sit on calls for hours, majority of the time would be spent with you talking about things you enjoy (aka, mainly history related things). He'd also take notes on the little things about yourself that you're interested in that you don't notice yourself talking about. Niko wouldn't want to show that he's overly into what you're saying, acting like he's doing work on his laptop over your call. It turns out that he's keeping track of what you're saying on a locked note called 'Her 🤍'.

Your comment about how someone told you that you dress like a dead grandma made me laugh 😭 however in this case its actually fine, as I don't think Niko is super big on fashion. Although he might make fun of you here and there, he's not the type to really care all that much about clothing styles. Also seeing as you say you're lazy in things which include sports, watching Niko play is just about the only thing you'd probably do in that regard. He doesn't say, but it secretly makes him super happy to know you're only watching it to see him on the field. For a little side scenario, I imagine that despite you not being overly extroverted, you might run up to him on the field after he scores the winning goal in a game, and hug him. He definitely wouldn't pry you off, but he'd get a little flustered. Though secretly he'd want everyone watching to know that he actually does have a special someone rooting for him and him only.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

I posted this in a reblog earlier but I think I should make it it's own post

Believe it or not, there are actually many different types of zionism as it is a complex political movement that existed for over 1000 years as a loosely connected set of ideas and saying it proposes that Jewish people are more entitled to Palestine than Palestinians is a huge oversimplification and for most types of zionism is just completely false.

Here's a little crash course on different types of zionism

Political Zionism: this is how zionism started and it is basically everything Theodore Herzl said in Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State). basically the idea that the establishment of a Jewish state (preferably in Palestine but anywhere will do) is necessary to prevent the genocide of Jews and for Jews to have somewhere to go when their lives are in danger. The belief here is that for Jews to truly have any sort of security Jews need to have sovereignty over their own state. It is a response to antisemitism.

Revisionist Zionism: this is the one that y'all are all familiar with. This one also formed as a response to antisemitism but with a bit less patience. It was most popular in central and east europe with Jews who were waiting to immigrate because of the astounding amounts of antisemitism in europe at the time. This one calls for mass Jewish settlement in Israel with the goal of making a Jewish majority in Palestine. They became very popular because they would facilitate mass migrations from europe to palestine during Holocaust times. This is the zionism of the Likud party which Netanyahu is a part of.

Religous Zionism: religous zionism advocated for the establishment of a Jewish state for religous reasons. Basically all the, it's a Jewish holy land stuff and how there are some mitzvot that can only be fulfilled in Israel. There was also a prophecy and stuff about Jews returning to Israel it's a whole thing.

Socialist/Labor zionism: This was the most prominent form of zionism for Jews living in Palestine just before Israel was established and many of Israel's founders were socialist zionists. They believed that the rise of capitalism would spark class struggles in other countries that would exacerbate existing antisemitism and working class Jews would be forced to move. The idea was that there had to be a Jewish state where those Jews could escape to to avoid antisemitism. These guys actually did a lot of really cool things under very bad conditions. They spread modern Hebrew, made uninhabitable parts of Israel into fertile land, and set up a lot of schools. Many of them had just recently escaped genocide or had families being genocided in Europe. At this point in time they were also being constantly massacred by Palestinian Arabs (there's a whole thing with Nazis spreading their propoganda in the Middle East at this time in an effort to kill more Jews then later the soviets did something similar it's a whole thing. There were also general tensions and the British did not help at all). Depending on the person or group, whether the socialism or zionism is more emphasized can vary.

Spiritual Zionism: these are the people who don't believe Palestine can hold all the Jews and rather than being a designated safe space for all Jews to go in case of emergency it should be a religous hub that would help the diaspora regain their spirituality

Messianic Zionism: this is an extremist group. This one developed around the six-day-war and is honestly kind of culty from what I'm seeing. They believe Israel belongs to the Jews by divine decree. They would like ban people from even interacting with Arabs and were only tolerated until Israel started trading back land in peace treaties. Then one of them assassinated Yitzchak Rabin (generally loved prime minister cause he signed a bunch of peace treaties). They're controversial at best terrorists at worst. we don't like these ones at all.

Christain Zionism: there's some sort of christain belief that all the Jews returning to Israel is part of the end of times prophecy so they will organize trips for Jews to move to Israel. They're actually pretty antisemitic. Christain zionists generally support the oppression of Palestinians and also a whole lot of other horrible things.

Please just understand that zionism ≠ supports Israel's actions against Palestine. For a lot of people it means Jews should have a safe space to go in case of antisemitism or Israel is a holy land for Jews too and we'd like to also live there and have a bit of sovereignty. There are in fact zionists who would like there to be one Jewish and Palestinian state where Palestinians and Jews have somewhat equal political power, that actually was one of the suggestions back before 1948 and it ended up falling through.

Also, please please please go research some history of Palestine from like early 1900s on. 1948 isn't the start of the conflict there's so much context that you lose if you start there. Just like, if an article or source starts telling the history at 1948, it's probably biased in some way. The wikipedia page is actually pretty good for this just read the British Mandate period and maybe check the sources if you want to.

[suffersinfandom]

People who hate OFMD really are going wild in the tag, dang. It's such a bummer when it becomes the in-trend thing to hate on something, especially when discussion turns into tearing that something down under the guise of activism.

There's just so much bullshit out there -- OFMD deserves to be cancelled because of this and that, it's a bad show, it's stupid, watch real media, watch something that matters. Comedies matter! Imperfect representation matters! Hell, bad shows matter, even if I don't think that OFMD falls under that category. Controversial opinion, maybe, but I think that any piece of media that speaks to people or creates community or sparks creativity or just makes people feel seen is worthwhile, even if I don't personally care for it. Say what you will about OFMD's writing and plot (I love it, but taste is subjective), but you can't deny that it has had an undeniably positive impact on a lot of people.

It's also far from the most problematic piece of media out there, which makes the trolling exceptionally bizarre. OFMD has a diverse cast AND a diverse crew and writing room. Maybe it's not the be-all end-all of queer media, but every protagonist is queer in some way and plenty of us see ourselves where we've never seen ourselves before. There's an indigenous lead. There's polyamory. There are middle-aged people! Starring in a thing! Do you know how awesome it is to watch a show that reminds us that our lives don't end after our twenties? That it's not too late for us to change for the better and live a life we want?

Nothing's ever going to be pure enough or moral enough. If people want to hate something for whatever reason (the fans are annoying, they don't like the people involved, they think the whole fandom is cringe), they'll find ways to couch their hatred in arguments that make them feel superior.

Block them and keep doing what you're doing. It's okay to like things, even if they aren't perfect. It's okay to be cringe and take real, earnest joy in something.

And if you don't like something? You can always ignore it! Tearing into a fandom that's having A Moment and calling it activism is bullshit. It's bullying. It's performative at best. Do better.

Anyway! Let's keep signing and emailing and keeping it polite, crew. Even if we can't save this show, we might be able to set the stage for future good.

[mischiefmanaged71]

Let’s Fall In Love For The Night - (2/10)

Summary: Being the eldest daughter of a Duke and Duchess means that Lady Y/N has been prepared for society; to fulfil her duties as the next heir to her family name and estate. However, she dreams of so much more than that, particularly, finding someone she truly loves rather than a political match. Intrigue sparks an idea with the introduction of Tom Bennett, a soldier she meets on a Press tour - forming a new relationship that could either make or break her apart should things turn against her favour.

Pairing: Tom Bennett x fem! reader

All of her attention fell onto the book in her lap as Y/N poured over the pages. The overcast sky shrouded the enormous front lawn in a dull light, suiting for the crisp weather. She found herself drifting from the pages, lost within a daze. Her thoughts wandered to him.

The young sailor she had met those days prior. Tom Bennett. His behaviour would have been presumed as controversial and arrogant, to ask such questions. And yet, she found his conversation quite refreshing. He was respectful in the way he treated her, not gawking at her as many men did. There was much to appreciate in both his conversation and his appearance. She wouldn’t deny there were many parts to his appearance that drew her in. His blonde hair neatly brushed atop his head. Those soft blue eyes which grew mellow with the contrast of the sky and sea. His strong bone structure, the curve of his lips-

Her train of thought was cut off with the approach of footsteps, followed by her door swinging open. She groaned as her youngest brother, Matthew, leaped into her arms. A laugh escapes her mouth as she excitedly embraced him back. "Someone's very excited today." She smiled, "What are you up to?"

Her smile dropped, meeting her mother's concerned gaze from the doorway.

"Something distracting you?" Her mother asked.

Y/N raised her eyebrows, releasing her arms from her brother's shoulders as he wandered off, probably to find some entertainment.

"You seem distracted, as of late."

"It’s nothing. I find myself absorbed in my books." She replied, eyes distant.

Her mother smiled, accepting the answer "How was the tour?"

Y/N didn’t meet her gaze, "It was perfectly fine. Although I wouldn't say I'm comfortable with the attention."

"I'm sure they were stunned for many reasons. It's not every day they grace a Lady."

"Yes, but they are also deprived of female attention." Y/N pointed out. "You should see the way they stare."

"I know how they do." Her mother replied.

"It's disconcerting. And dehumanising." she stated.

Her mother agreed, but what else was there to do within their world?

"I understand your father spoke to you already, but I’ve thought over it. Are you sure there isn't any possibility out there you haven't considered? Is there anyone-"

"My answer is the same, mother." Her expression hardened, "I do not desire the same things as you and father. I don't care for any of the men you’ve proposed."

"And that is okay. There are plenty of opportunities to meet someone."

Y/N sighed, "I do not believe I will find a suitable partner in the current circle you have me entangled in."

"Why not? Why have you dismissed them all?”

She raised her eyebrows, "Mother-if you'd only speak to them, you would understand. Many of them are ludicrous, pompous and entitled. The appeal ceases to be seen."

"But, not all of them will be like that." 

Y/N sighed, shaking her head. Her mother was relentless in her questions. She loved her parents, but their persistence on certain matters threatened to drive her to insanity sometimes.

"One of the things I adore about you, my daughter, is your passion and imagination. I've always hoped you would hold onto that keen sense of the world. But I'm afraid the kind of dreams you pursue aren’t a reality, especially for people like us."

"Ah, yes.” she smiled sardonically, “We are most proud of living with zero ounces of happiness in our lives in favour of supplicating the opinions of others." Y/N strained a smile, standing from her seat to cross her room. "Of course, one cannot be happy in our realm of the world, right, mother? Not with all our privileges, wealth and status."

"What has caused this pessimistic behaviour of recent?" She breathed in a low whisper.

The smile fell from her face as she stood tall before the woman, “I'm just being realistic, mother. Isn't that what you wanted?"

The Duchess' strained jaw and unwavering stare told her otherwise.

Her daughter sighed, grabbing her coat from the rack, "I'm going out. Don't wait up for me."

"Y/N-"

"-I'll be back later.", her tone of voice was curt.

"Take care of yourself." Her mother left her with that.

***

Usually Y/N would take the chauffeur and car, but that day she felt up for travelling without the extra pair of eyes. She headed to the garage, collecting the keys to her Jaguar for a trip.

It was freeing, pulling away from the winding roads of the manor to the main road and off to somewhere further. An enticed feeling rushed through her as the wind flowed through her hair. The time gets away from her while the towns pass by. Many hours have left her before she stopped in the nearest town. It was by the sea too, which was a grand idea to her in the moment. Another upside was, she'd never stepped foot in the town, increasing the appeal without, hopefully, too many wandering eyes.

Y/N wandered the street, scanning her surroundings with interest. Many identical buildings lined the street - evidently flats and store fronts on the opposite end. There was an essence of freedom laced in her veins as she wandered the streets aimlessly, studying her new scenery with interest.

A giddy feeling stirred in her chest at the sight of the beach in the distance. It was still daylight, although later in the afternoon, which was the perfect timing for a stroll. While the Manor was certainly lovely with its picturesque setting, horse paddocks, and gardens - it could not compare to the serenity of the ocean.

She slipped off her heels, digging her toes into the sand as she walked along the shore. A deep sigh left her chest, the calming crash of the ocean and the quiet swallowing her overactive thoughts.

Tom Bennett strolled down the street from his house after departing once again for some fresh air. In his running streak of behaviour, there always seemed to be something for his dad or Lois to pick out. Not that he wasn't perpetuating these behaviours. He was an instigator of many fights and arguments, inside and outside of his home. That's what made him a bit of a troublemaker and arrogant sod. At least that is what he'd heard.

He exhaled, a puff of smoke releasing from his mouth. The man halted in his steps, closer to the turn off toward the beach. Perhaps a walk would clear his head. Not that he didn't already spend enough time in the ocean.

Tom considered whether it was luck, fate or some other being at work. It was probably pure coincidence as he recognised the woman walking along the shore.

"What brings you back here so soon?" He called out, seeing as she was less than twenty paces away. He didn't want to frighten her by standing so close and addressing her straight away.

Her head whipped around in confusion, not expecting attention. Y/N gasped and faltered in her steps, recognising the man upon meeting his gaze.

"I'll be honest. I don't really know." She confessed, "I just kept driving."

"It's a bit far, isn't it?"

She nodded, "I needed a getaway."

"Troubles at home?"

She glanced at him, hesitant to answer. Tom continued, stepping closer.

"Nah, I know all about that." Breathing another puff from his cigarette. "What are you doing here then?" He gestured.

She shrugged, "I needed space, and this is the most quiet I'll get. It's so peaceful."

"I best be going then." He said, turning to leave her to her quiet/

"No-um. You can stay." She waved a hand, taking a seat on the sand. He smirked, enticed with her flustered face as she recovered. Tom watched her push the hair from her face. "I promise, it's fine."

"Alright." He agreed, taking a seat next to her, "I'll stay."

A silence passed for a minute or so as they watched the waves crash on the shore. It was a comfortable silence that stilled over the moment. And yet, Y/N felt something stir in her stomach as she anxiously thought over something to say. Tom broke the silence.

"So, what's got you down here? By yourself.”

She glanced from him back to the waves while the tightness in her chest returned, "My parents can be...overbearing sometimes."

Tom raised his eyebrows, allowing her to continue.

"They keep persisting about this one thing no matter how many times I've told them of my place." She continued, shaking her head in exasperation. "Do you know how infuriating it is? It's like they don't even want listen to what I have to say at all."

"I can understand that." he tilted his head, leaning his arms across his knees, “Have you tried another approach or...”

She huffed, shaking her head. What options did she have besides badgering her position over and over to a brick wall. “I couldn't possibly know what's good for myself, or what I want. As a woman, it doesn't matter. In the end, everyone judges me no matter what decision I make."

He glanced at her, his lips tucked in a tight line “What is it that’s bothering you, exactly? That is, if you don’t mind sharing.”

Y/N opened and closed her mouth, "They expect me to meet people. To be married one day to some pompous Lord, or even a Prince, despite my heavy dispute of the matter."

"Why? You don't like those posh types?" A smirk lining his lips.

She sent him a ludicrous look, "I do not want to spend the rest of my life under someone else's thumb. If you met any one of the possible options my parents put forth, you'd agree."

"Don't think I'd have to meet them." he murmured, humour in his tone.

Y/N continued, unloading the weight on her mind. "They are arrogant, overconfident pricks - expecting of a wife to do everything but share her thoughts."

He nodded, "They sound lovely. It's a wonder the bastards get so far without a personality."

“Yes, they all seem to share the same patronising stare and snobbish look.”

They laughed together, the conversation flowing back and forth for long until they realised it was hours later.

"It's been nice. Talking with you." She ducked her head, "I do hope to see you again. If that's possible." glancing at him briefly.

"Sooner rather than later." He smiled, leaning closer.

"Your crew leaves in two months." she stated.

Tom nodded, "Ready to ship me off to the next battle. Be lucky if we manage to sink their ships before they do ours."

"Be careful." She mustered a small smile, "It would unfortunate to lose you so soon after we just met."

"Worried about me, love?" He teased, "Don’t be. I've been told I’m stubborn, so they'll have to try very hard."

A beat passed before she whispered, “Are you ever afraid?" 

Tom swallowed, tilting his head "All the time. All it takes one mistake, one hit and we could all go down. What I’ve learnt is -you have to look out for yourself." He stated, "The world is fucked up. We're paying the price for someone else's war."

The breeze drew through her hair as she looked down at her hands, listening to him.

"I can't say I know the same struggle as you, but I can hope to understand your fear. I have two younger brothers...I fear what would happen to them if they were forced to fight. It is not fair that others should have to fight, while we reside comfortably in our homes."

"I assume your family don't share that view."

She sighed, a breathy laugh escaping her mouth "No. Many of them do not. Many of my relatives regard me as rebellious for my opinions. Because a Lady should not speak her opinions, no less controversial one's regarding them."

Tom laughed, and she chased the lovely sound, looking at him with wonder. "You'd get along with my sister."

"What is she like?"

"Lois is smart, and caring. We get along right. She takes care of me and Dad." He smiled, something sad there, "My mother died when I was young, so Lois took on a lot of her roles. Keeping us boys in check."

"I'm sorry." Tom looked down at her hand covering his. He hummed, clasping her hand as he nodded.

"It was a long time ago. Lots happened since."

"And where do you see yourself later?" She asked, bringing his gaze up. "You know, when you get back?"

"Why you asking?”

She shrugged, leaning back on her hands. "Just wondering. A lot can change in two months.”

"No plans." He replied, moving closer to her. There was only a small space left between them now.

"Have you travelled much?" Y/N asked, meeting his gaze. His eyes were this particular shade between blue and grey that she could find herself lost in. The subtle scent of something citrus and spiced filled her senses.

"Round England. That's about it. I haven’t really had a reason to travel.”

She mustered a smile, looking down "Maybe you could show me Manchester sometime? I could show you around where I grew up."

"Just say when and I'm yours." Her cheeks flushed and she turned, gasping at the gap between them. Tom's smirk fell into a stare as his eyes darkened, glancing between her eyes and lips. She felt her heart pound in her chest at his stare and the his warm breath mixing with her own.

Neither of them said anything, Y/N's own eyes falling to his full lips that seemed to instinctively twist into a playful smile that drove her mind into overdrive. Her eyes fluttered shut against her better judgement as she felt him lean closer and all logic left her with the thought of a kiss sending a rush of vertigo through her veins. That's what the feeling was with him, the brush of his hand and that stare sent shivers along her skin.

Something twisted in her gut as she suddenly realised what she was doing. She had only just met Tom. It wasn't suitable, and she wasn't going to rush into things. Y/N's felt her face flush as she exhaled. Her breath brushing Tom's face cheek as she pulled back.

"I should go. It's late." She smiled apologetically.

"Right." Tom nodded, his eyes glancing around before he helped her off the ground. She was hesitant to let go of his hand, allowing him to walk her to the car. 

She finally broke the silence, deciding to just go for it "What would you say if I came back on Monday? Around noon?”

"I'd call it a date." a grin grew on his face as he shut the door for her, "Drive safe, love."

TAGS

@pearlstiare @dothrckis @aemonds-sapphire @xcharlottemikaelsonx  @filipinamultifandom ​ @padfooteyes ​ @aemondsvhagar @batsyforyou @yentroucnagol @cl-0-vr @viviartsy @h3k3t @arcana-greenleaf  @yummycastiel @amysnowflake92 @lauraneedstochill @ladybug0095 @rntrsna @schniiipsel

[altocat]

Oh no honey, you got it all wrong. Genesis living in my head rent-free is NOT ironic at all. They all do, even the bad guys like Sephiroth and Hojo. I like them as fictional characters.

You not remembering me IS ironic. I can tell you we used to talk off anon before you decided to be rude to me and you wouldn't know which one of those people you were being rude to was me. That shy kitty cat act is ridiculous.

Tell those other anons that send nastier asks I say hello. I wonder if they are in a similar boat. You asked for assumptions about your person, I sent some honest ones and you freaked out. You should have specified you only accept compliments.

I'm more confused than anything now. Especially considering I currently have my entire chat history open and I can't find whatever it is you're referencing. Would be helpful if I actually knew who you were so we could settle this like actual adults instead of you hiding behind Anon making stuff up for shits n giggles.

Look, I'll level with you here. I always own up to any mistakes I make, whether that's having a bad take on characters or if I unintentionally spark some miscommunication. I don't do conflict. I don't do trolling. I don't look to ever intentionally hurt people's feelings regardless of whether we agree or disagree on things. When I'm attacked on my own blog unprompted, I defend myself. But I'm extremely self-critical and I always try to put my best foot forward. I'm not existing here to drum up drama or spark controversy. I just write about characters. I don't really engage with the wider community. I have maybe 2-4 other users I talk to on a weekly basis other than people sending asks or specific questions.

So with all that said, I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about when you say "we used to talk". Like I genuinely don't. And if you want to refresh me then PLEASE, by all means DM me. I encourage you, in fact. I promise I won't out you. We can clear the air in private without having a stupid slap fight over something as inconsequential as fictional characters.

Unless, of course, this is still just trolling. In which case lol guess that's on me for making an effort. But I'll feel better for it afterwards, I suppose.

[69consellationsinatrenchcoat]

✨Welcome to 69 Constellations* in a Trenchcoat✨

*alters (our increasingly misnamed system blog, we don't have 69 alters.)

As a general rule of thumb we're a system, not plural. We work together as a family to recover... we're a system, trying to recover. Singlar parts of a greater whole.

Welcome to our little corner of the internet. We go by Constellation, or TheConsellationCollective, or as some of you may know us; 69ottersinatrenchcoat.

We have diagnosed dissociative identity disorder (DID), autism, ADHD, and chronic pain… and a few other things that if you stick around you'll learn about.

We tend to post a mix of things we enjoy and informative content.

.°˖✧ Meet the Team ✧˖°.

Kaden, they/he (🐚): 18 years - bisexual - trans masc - INTP 5w6 I wish I could say I'm interesting but… I'm not really. I'm trans masc, a bisexual disaster, eighteen years old and a massive Swiftie. I adore stats and analysing patterns where I can, especially in personalities, human behaviour and the brain.. I play lot of the Legend of Zelda, and adore the franchise. I'm a massive nerd and proud of it haha. Atheist (humanist).

Kyle, he/him (💜): 21 years - pansexual - cis man - ENFJ 2w3 Dad to like, everyone... and madly in love with Lillia. Also, he's my older brother. He's seriously awesome, and does a lot of our religious related content at school. Christian.

Lillia, she/her (🪻): 19 years - bisexual - demigirl - INFP 1w9 Our resident creative genius. Loves painting, drawing, writing, and all things artsy.. she's an amazing poet (will deny) but I've read her work, I cried. She's softly spoken and can usually be found with her head in a book, quietly debating philosophical concepts or caring for our littles.

Amber (🔥) they/she: 20 years - bi ace - apagender/gender apethetic - INFJ 8w9 I'm the main protector of our system and I manage chronic pain where I can. As the original post said, I'm a writer, I wrote poetry a lot to escape this..absolute train wreck of a world. I often spark drama and controversy in my family by having rather unusual opinions, and because of how I word things (it's not intentional). I'm bi, but ace, and as Kaden said, a druid [edited 11/6/24 by Amber]

Link/Wild, they/she/he (🗡️): 17 years - bisexual - genderfluid - ISTP 9w8 Our fun-loving adventurer. Loves trying new things and having fun, and being... chaos on legs. He can and will, eat everything. My amazing boyfriend (..and yes, he's an introject from LoZ). Religion wise he follows Hylia and the triforce goddesses.

Some of us don't post here and don't want info up and that is totally okay, and will be respected. However, they may post at their leisure, but will usually sign off in the tags with "posted by [emoji]"

The list above doesn't include everyone :)

Littles post mostly on @fivelittlemuffins and will remain anonymous

.°˖✧ System Info ✧˖°.

We go by constellation and use they/them pronouns. We're bodily an adult, and studying to become a psychologist; we start our psych degree at the beginning of 2025!!

.°˖✧ DNI ✧˖°.

Syscourse: we believe that, psychologically, systems cannot be formed without trauma. If you are experiencing amnesia, identity confusion etc, it's best to speak with a psychologist or another mental health professional. We do not want to get involved in syscourse if at all possible.

Homophobia, transphobia, any kind of queerphobia, religious discrimination, hate speech etc, on our blog will be cause for an instant block.

Under 16s, please do not follow.

this is the better intro post (you can find the old one, here)

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

Friends to Lovers Tournament: Round 2, Side A, Match 4

propaganda under the cut!

Fuyupoly:

Submission 1:

they're from the winter troupe of the mankai company, and unlike the other troupes they're all adults. that said, they all have varying degrees of trauma and emotional stuntedness. it takes them some time to fully open up to each other bc they're all very cautious of each other's boundaries and don't want to cross any lines which initially led to some issues in the group's formation. over time they've learned to bridge the gap while still being mindful of hard boundaries. at one point they have a discussion about what exactly their relationship is (gay) cuz they were talking about how the other troupes have clearly defined dynamics (spring=family, summer=besties, autumn=rivals & teammates) but they don't,, and homare deadass says they're "people bound by a common destiny" which in and of itself sounds very Gay (like why are you as a man bound to other men by a common destiny), but it goes even further because homare starts spouting WEDDING VOWS: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" THIS IS A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE GAME AND THE MC EVEN REMARKS "i can already hear wedding bells in the distance..." 

gradually they become closer, in individual sub-units based on who's paired up as co-leads for a play, and as a troupe overall. also two of its members are childhood friends who had a messy 'divorce' in their young adulthood and it took the game breaking its genre to introduce a timeloop for them to finally make up if that means anything to you. one of their troupe songs "precious to us ~bokura no kisetsu" has some pretty beautiful and fruity lines: "The many kindnesses born in me here / Never fail to breathe life into my chest / Even all the pain and bitterness / Have now become dear to me (Ah…Stay with me)", "No matter how many times our season passes / Let us keep living together / Holding our hands, without ever letting go / Let us open up the curtain of tomorrow", "There is no need for words, because once our gazes meet / Joy sparks a light in your eyes", "Our journey, may it be a brilliant one / As our breaths overlap as one"

a lot of their plays has a LOT of homoerotic tension between the two leads too. their first play has tsumugi and tasuku play angels, and it's heavily implied that tasuku's character has an unrequited crush on tsumugi's character. their third play has azuma play a vampire and tasuku play Just Some Guy and it's generally agreed in the fandom to be one of the gayest, if not THE gayest, play A3 has ever written. obviously the vampire thing is very fruity, but there's also how the vampire was longing to bite the human but was holding himself back, and when the vampire left the human in the end, the human was absolutely HEARTBROKEN over it and was swearing they would reunite one day. the stage play of this takes it even further by having the vampire embrace the human from behind and BITE his neck. the fourth play is a watered-down adaptation of Phantom of the Opera where they genderbend Christine into Chris among other things and change the relationship between Chris and the Phantom to one of friendship.... ostensibly so, because there's still a lot of homoerotic undertones in their interactions. i could go on but this should be enough of a sampling taste 

Submission 2:

the writers rlly said "let's take 2 normal guys who are childhood friends and have been into theatre since their school days and have them go through a pre-canon messy divorce, an eccentric poet with a potentially controversial haircut, an amnesiac sleepyhead who can only be awoken with marshmallows but is also somehow extremely athletic despite doing nothing but sleeping and eating marshmallows all day, a man who is so beautiful and mysterious he breaks gender, and a supposed android from a fictional south asian country, and throw them into a blender, oh and for good measure let's throw in some theatre and angst and gay and angst and gay" and the end result was marriage. i mean it took them a lot of awkward fumbling around and conflicts to get there but they got there and thats what matters. ok *technically* in-text they're all rlly good friends and kinda found family BUT they are found family via marriage papers i do not make the rules chief

Submission 3:

The reason why they are so friends-to-lovers to me is because their relationship is founded on quiet and unconditional acceptance of each other—regardless of how flawed they may be or how heavy their burdens and trauma may be. When the troupe first formed (sans Guy who was in another country at the time), they didn’t have any major clashing personalities at the very beginning and generally they were mindful of each other’s boundaries, unlike the other troupes that came before them. However, it’s BECAUSE they were too mindful of said boundaries that it was difficult for them to break down their walls and bond as a team—and there were a LOT of walls to break down, as all of them had varying degrees of emotional baggage and trauma.

In fact, it’s only three plays in that they finally truly start opening up to each other, with Azuma getting the ball rolling by opening up about the deep loneliness that haunted him ever since his childhood. It’s during this conversation that they also discuss what their relationship as a troupe is, because the other troupes have defined their relationship as a team (Spring is family, Summer is best friends, Autumn is rivals & teammates), and Homare goes on to declare that they’re “people bound by a common destiny” and goes on to spew wedding vows: "In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, we shall share our laughter and our tears as those with an intertwined fate... How beautiful we are!" I mean… it can’t get any more obvious than this, really. They are married.

But anyway, Tsumugi says he wants their relationship to be one where while they respect each other’s need for space, they’ll also be there for each other and share their pains and burdens—or in his words: “supporting each other when our burdens become too heavy to bear on our own”—which I think is really sweet because it carries this idea of quiet, unconditional acceptance; they don’t push each other to share more than they’re comfortable with sharing, but with whatever they ARE comfortable with sharing everyone carries the load and pain because pain is easier to bear when you’re not bearing it alone <3 

A later part of the story focuses on Hisoka, a mysterious amnesiac, being terrified of regaining his memories and facing some “sin” from his past that has led to another character, Chikage, trying to take revenge on him. When he confesses this to the rest of the Winter troupe, Homare asks, “How heavy is this sin you bear?” and Azuma suggests, “Perhaps it’s just heavy enough for the five of us to carry together.” (at this point Guy hasn’t joined yet). The stage play adapts this scene into a song called Key to Memory. The key (pun unintended) part is 1:27 where there’s a back-and-forth between Hisoka and the other Winter troupe members (sans Tasuku because he wasn’t in that particular play)

Hisoka: “I’m scared…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s okay.”

Hisoka: “My unforgivable sin…”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “Let’s carry it together.”

Hisoka: “I might not be me anymore.”

Tsumugi, Homare, Azuma: “It’s all right. We understand and we accept you, so let’s go together.”

And it ends with Hisoka singing: “I was afraid to open the door of my locked memories. But if everyone is here, I believe I can do it.”  In both the game and stage play, Hisoka fully regains his memories and reconciles with Chikage (long story). He tells Fuyupoly he can’t go into detail about his past with Chikage because it’s dangerous but he’ll tell them when the time is right, and they accept this saying that no matter what his past is, they know and love him as their Hisoka which obviously is a very sweet thing for friends to say, but it’s also very Marriage-coded to me.

Later, Guy is introduced as an android from Zahra (a fictional South Asian country) and joins the Winter troupe as a temporary member—because he’s stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future—until they find a permanent member to replace him. The other Winter members have a conversation among themselves and agree that regardless of whether he’s really an android or a human they’ll accept Guy for who he is and help him improve his acting, which again harkens back to the idea of ‘unconditional acceptance’. Eventually it’s revealed that Guy is in fact a human who has forgotten his memories of the past and his emotions. He recovers his memories all at once which shocks his system and causes him to pass out. When he wakes up in his room, he finds the rest of the Winter Troupe asleep around the room—which I believe is symbolic of their whole theme of “quiet acceptance”: they don’t want to push Guy to share beyond what he’s comfortable with, but they’re always there to listen to him and share his load if that’s what he wants. He opens up about the memories he recovered, and they don’t treat him with pity like he’s a lost child, but still extend gentle empathy and understanding. They also emphasise that it genuinely doesn’t matter to them whether he’s human or android because he’s Guy first and foremost. It’s at this point that Guy truly lets himself become part of the Winter troupe/Fuyupoly and not just as a temporary stand-in member, because he’s found a place where he’s found himself again and people who will accept who this “himself” is, whether that be an android devoid of emotions or a human brimming with vivid beautiful emotions.[Mod note: There’s a LOT more but we’re afraid of crashing the post. I (Deli) summarised it the best I can since I’m familiar with A3, but if you want to read the full thing you can check it out on this google doc)

Sourin:

okay so i have a picture to crack explain the sourin supremacy

but i also have legitimate reasons lmao

1. sousuke and rin both GET what it's like to want something so bad but not be able to achieve it. they know each other's pain so well, and they know just how much effort the other person puts into swimming. AND THAT MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING STRENGTHENS THEIR BOND SO MUCH!!! this is also the reason why they are each others' comfort person because the other just GETS it, no need for any explanations

2. they're passionate as fuck about the same thing (swimming) and they help each other train harder and swim better,,, like get you a couple with the same obsessions as you!!!

3. THEY SWAM A RELAY TOGETHER and that means a lot in swimming because IT'S BASICALLY SMTH A TEAM DOES WHEN THEY HAVE ABSOLUTE TRUST IN EACH OTHER AND THEY DEPEND ON EACH OTHER AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND IT'S BASICALLY THE SWIMMING ANIME EQUIVALENT OF I LOVE YOU

4. when sousuke told rin about the shoulder injury he was literally so devastated because his love couldn't follow his passions anymore,, AND WHEN SOUSUKE RECOVERED FROM THE SURGERY RIN LEGIT CRIED HAPPY TEARS!!! and sousuke was always there for rin w/e he had a slump bc he compared himself too much to haru and others,,, like gods they care so much for each other

5. sousuke is the earth and rin is the fire,,, AND RIN LIGHTS A FIRE IN SOUSUKE WHILE SOUSUKE GROUNDS RIN LIKE PLEASE THE MOTIFS ARE LITERALLY RIGHT THERE EVEN IN THEIR COLOUR SCHEMES (teal + maroon) 

in short: sourin supremacy because these two bois are so perfect for each other"

[devisrina]

i wasn’t in the bear fandom last year, were fans this divided on the idea of carmy/sydney being a slow burn after last season? it seems like there are a lot of c/s shippers (but maybe i'm in a c/s bubble) but it also seems like there are a LOT of anti-c/s people and they’re pretty aggressive about it. some of the comments I’ve seen on twitter and instagram are unlike anything i’ve ever seen about a fandom ship. like if people don’t ship them that’s fine but it’s like they’re mad that some people do? it’s so weird and it also makes me wonder if it will have any influence on the writers. i also wonder if the overwhelmingly negative reaction to claire (like people spoofing their scenes on tiktok lmao) will have any influence like will they bring her back and flesh her out or just phase her out. like i wonder how reactions after last season may have influenced where they took the story this season?

I actually joined this fandom this year lol, so I'm probably not the best person to ask.

Attention! Attention! @gingerylangylang1979, @kdbleu, @abriaashley, @ribbon-of-brine, @hauntedstrawberrygiver please, help a sister out with this anon's question. "Was The Bear fandom this divided on the prospect of Sydcarmy/chefs kiss during season 1?"

I did join a month and a half before season 2 dropped though. So I have some kind of idea of how it was.

I think it wasn't this divided, but mostly because there were not many arguments about it. The people who didn't ship them didn't really pay attention to the people who did. But, the group of sydcarmys were significantly smaller because very few saw the potential after season 1.

Although, whenever it did get mentioned on Reddit, people would quickly shut the idea down. A lot of people would say that this show wasn't really for romance, that Carmy was very ace coded, and there were a few people thinking that Sydmarcus was more probable.

On tiktok, there weren't many videos. There was this one girl (bless her soul) who made this video about them and it was very nice to have someone validate your ship.

So, mainly Tumblr was the only platform you could go on where people wanted Sydcarmy to become canon.

Also, I don't think there was much mention of them on Instagram. Aside from this one comment a sydcarmy shipper made about wanting them to get together, it sparked some really mundane controversy.

Yeah, the amount of discourse on this ship is so outlandish to me. I had never really come across this dispute for a ship before. And, this ship doesn't even feel like a crack ship because it has all the basis and components to work as a slow-burn.

I doubt that the writers would let the anti-Sydcarmys influence the fate of them though. Incels on Reddit constantly harp on Sydney, but that doesn't mean that they're going to take her out of the show.

Also, Carmy/claire felt like it was meant to be temporary, so I'm just going to go by that.

I do feel like they are going to work towards the direction of Sydcarmy despite what they were saying before.

[1shadowhole]

(What I want to do with this post is to motivate writers who may see negative posts and get discouraged.)

So uhhhh. Not saying any names.

But criticizing the fanfic writers for not writing exactly what you want and being hateful about it is not that great at all. Especially when using very rude words.

If you want a certain trope of Merthur fics to appear more often just write it yourself! Like it was mentioned if "things don't change soon around here". Like an old man looking at a playground of kids laughing a bit too loudly. Writers don't owe us a thing.

Plus. If you really want to criticize the ability of our amazing writers you should probably learn to write yourself. Otherwise, you look like a massive hypocrite.

So. Since I would like this to be against negativity:

I'd like to thank all the amazing writers in this fandom.

Honestly, Merthur fics are the best I've ever read and some deserve to be acclaimed as the masterpieces they are!

And with kinkalot going on... I'd like to give you all a massive round of applause. You rock, babes (gender neutral) 💪💪💪

Your smut can be whatever you want it to be, and if you see a post complaining about it ignore it because no one agrees and we all love you.❤️❤️

On my end:

I'm someone who always has to have a controversial opinion. So you'll often see me saying stuff like:

"Hey, I think this particular trope doesn't really work well..." or "This is something that bothers me, because it's really common and doesn't acknowledge so and so..."

But I always make it clear that the post is not against the people using that particular trope. I always try my best to be respectful. Fic writers do this for free and I only want to spark conversations because, to me, that's the best part of fandom life. And maybe a few people get to see a new side to a certain topic and get inspired to do something with it.

Personally, I think the only time it's okay to openly criticize someone is if:

1) The writer knowingly doesn't tag trigger warnings even when asked.

2) The writer him/herself acted rudely or put other people down.

This is all really funny to me because I would have agreed! It's a trope I'd love to see more of. It's among my favorites! But it's not like I think people are dumb for not thinking the same way I do.