#but i AM opposed to insisting that not doing so makes them bad and if they’re anything but uwu abt their trauma then theyre evil

[vaugarde]

another weird point about reborn is when they revealed that cal was abused by his brother and hes scared of being like him and then they show his brother and hes like. a gamer bro who says noob all the time and is a walking meme but youre still expected to take his abuse 100% seriously. did i mention that in postgame he gives a half assed apology after offscreen development and cal forgives him with little effort bc him being resentful of his abuse was painted as evil?

i have to emphasize that reborn advertises itself as a “complex and mature story that the mainline games can’t comprehend”

[olderthannetfic]

I deeply do not understand fandom creators who try to get people to stop reposting their creations on platforms where the OP doesn’t have an account. Asking people to credit them - absolutely! It’s reasonable to want credit for your work. But to insist that the work only be appreciated by people who have accounts on the exact platform the OP has? And to ask followers to harass any re-posters en-masse until the re-poster and all rebloggers delete the content? I’m baffled by this.

How is fans sharing your work and linking fellow fans back to your account a *bad* thing?!

--

Are you new?

Most creators don't want their work reposted. They may appreciate shares from Youtube and the like. They certainly do not appreciate someone making a separate video upload or whatever.

Fandom creators are even warier, particularly about their work escaping its intended context and finding hostile outsiders. Of fucking course they do not want their work on some other platform. That's the way to get waves of harassment sent back towards that fandom creator. It also often involves lots of asspats for the reposter and nothing for the creator.

I have no sympathy for reposters crying that they got harassed over art theft. Stop stealing if you can't take the heat, asshole!

Maximum audience is what shitty influencers want. It is not the ethos of fandom. Some people seek fandom fame more than others, but there has always been a strong sense of finding your corner, not of trying to get your shit out to the entire world.

WHY THE FUCK would I care about people needing the "convenience" of my fic on their own platform of choice? I use AO3 because I support AO3. I loathe Wattpad and will certainly not want to increase its popularity with my free labor and my content.

Yes, it does annoy me when people screenshot this blog and put it on twitter. I am intentionally not on twitter because twitter is garbage. I have no desire for my own writing to increase twitter's relevance. Fandom should stop treating twitter like The Place To Be. If people feel like they're missing out by being there and not here, good!

And obviously, I roll my eyes when some attention-seeker posts my shit to reddit and gets eighty billion upvotes. If you love me so much, go give my reddit account that karma. (If you're doing your own hobbydrama writeup or something, that's different though. I'm talking about c&p posts with little of your own content.)

There are different ways of sharing, and some of them are more annoying than others. Some platforms are irrelevant to a creator, while others they actively oppose being popular. Nobody is going to know or care if you post some fan art to a private discord with your friends.

Have some god damn sense, anon.

[familyvideostevie]

october twenty-sixth

day twenty-six: remus lupin you’ve been on three dates without a kiss. will today change that? | first kiss, early relationship, fluff | 1k

Three dates and Remus hasn’t kissed you.

Though your friends insist otherwise, you can’t help but wonder if there is something wrong with you.

He’s respectful, they tell you. He’s shy! You want to believe it. He’ll kiss you today.

God, you hope so.

Obviously, you could kiss him, but something in your gut tells you to let him make the move. It’s hard to resist though, as Remus is very kissable. He’s handsome in a way you don’t know how to describe. The scars on his face make him seem a bit severe but it’s cancelled out when you see the soft kindness of his eyes. He looks like someone who would give you directions in the middle of a rainstorm. He fills out his sweaters like they were tailor-made for him and his hands are huge.

And he’s tall, which you’re never opposed to.

And he likes to touch you. This is the main reason you haven’t given up hope on the kiss.

On your first date — a long afternoon of conversation at a coffee shop — he’d put his hand on your back on the way in and out, helped you take your coat off and held it out for you to put back on, and gave you a very lovely hug when you parted ways. On your second date he’d linked arms with you as you walked through a museum and held your hand when it got a little crowded.

He definetly likes you. Right?

Date three finds you at a bookshop. You’ve actually planned to go to a pub quiz down the road but you got the timing wrong and it doesn’t start for an hour, so you’re killing time.

There aren’t that many people milling around the stacks. Remus squeezes your hand and leaves you to browse on his own, which you appreciate. It can be kind of overwhelming to be under his gaze all the time, you’re learning. Maybe it’s just the force of your fancy, which is a bit outrageous after only three dates. You find yourself imagining him in your life — a couples Halloween costume, a fall weekend away, holiday parties and on New Year’s Eve.

Remus just makes it easy. He’s so…lovely.

So how can you get him to kiss you? It’s far too early for mistletoe. The bookstore is instead decorated with leaves and skulls and pumpkins. Maybe you’ll float the idea of a Halloween party, use some liquid courage to kiss him.

“Are you going to get anything?” Remus’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts. He looks at you patiently.

“Oh,” you say. “Not sure, actually.”

He hums. “I think I’m going to grab this.” He holds up a book you’ve heard of but not read. “If it’s good I’ll pass it along to you. You sure I can’t get you anything?”

Of course he’s offering, of course he’s ready and willing to share with you. He’s infuriating. “No,” you say, smiling. “Thank you, though.”

He squeezes your hand. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

True to his word, which you are learning he tends to be, he’s back quickly, grabbing your hand once more and leading you back out into the cool evening. “Is there going to be food at this quiz?” he asks. “I’m peckish.”

“’Course there is,” you say. “I’m not taking you to a pub without food, Remus. I’m not that bad of a date.”

He laughs. It’s quickly becoming one of your favorite sounds. “I’d never think that. I hope you don’t expect us to win, though, because I’m hopeless at these.”

You scoff. “I don’t believe you.” Remus is very smart and very modest about it.

“No, I really am!” he says. “I know useless things only. You’ll have to come to one with me and James and Sirius —” you know them as his best friends based on how he talks about them “— because they get really into it. I know you’ll being them to victory where I always drag them down.”

“You don’t know that I’m good at pub quizzes, Remus.”

His eyes twinkle under the streetlights. “I’ve got a hunch.”

He wants you to meet his friends. The thought warms you.

The light on the crosswalk changes and you stand, hands clasped, waiting.

Fuck it. You’re going to do it. You’re going to kiss him. You take a breath and turn to him, lean in before you can second guess yourself —

Remus turns his head to say something and your foreheads smack together.

“Oh my god,” you say, rearing back. “Oh my god, I’m so —”

“Are you okay?” he asks, hand on his own forehead. “What just happened?”

He releases his grip on your fingers to gently grab the back of your head, tilting your face this way and that as if he’ll find a wound.

You flop your face onto his shoulder. “Please, leave me to die of embarrassment,” you mumble.

“Never,” he says. “Really, darling. Are you alright? Didn’t hit you too hard?” His tenderness is making your stomach do something funny. Darling, darling, darling.

“No, Remus,” you sigh. You pull back to look at him. He really does look concerned, bless him. “I’m fine. I was trying to kiss you.”

“Oh,” he says, looking slightly surprised. “Sorry, I suppose. That’s my fault.”

“Yes,” you grumble. “It is, considering you haven’t kissed me yet, which is why I was trying in the first place.”

Your embarrassment is making you brave.

His eyes light up again. “Do you want me to?” His tone is slightly teasing.

“Remus!” He laughs and cradles your face in his warm hands. This man always has warm hands even when it’s cold out.

“Alright, alright, let’s try this again, hm?”

He leans in slowly. Your eyes flutter shut. When he kisses you it’s a light press of his lips at first and then a firmer pressure as he slots your mouths together properly. You let him do the work and you sigh into it until he pulls away

Your foreheads press together gently this time. “Let’s try to avoid any more injuries, alright?”

You smack his chest. He laughs.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, general masterlist here! promptober masterlist, find all fics under #fvspromptober23

[callimara]

I don't know what to do.

When I tried talking to a close relative of mine about Palestine, they went on a spiel. They insisted that it wasn't genocide, that Isr*el had given them their land, that Palestine was warned about the Hamas and still voted for them, that Palestine struck first, that Isr*el warned them and gave them time to move south before Isr*el attacked. They insisted the support for Palestine is spurred on by propaganda!

When I asked my relative for proof, they dodged the question, claimed they've known about the whole thing about Isr*el and Palestine for a very long time, and said something about something being in the quran.

Now I'm torn and I'm not sure what's true anymore!

I have so many asks to go through, but I think this one is very important to answer.

To start, I think you are very brave for asking questions and trying to find the truth amidst all the propaganda, so here's what I know.

For some context, I am an Indonesian, and Indonesia and Palestine have very close diplomatic relations and share many similarities in history. We were both colonized and had to resist occupation in a white supremacist world where you are seen as lesser if your skin isn't white and savages/terrorists if you resist or if you want your land back.

Palestine was also the first to recognize Indonesia's independence in 1945, and Indonesia has built a hospital in Gaza that is one of the last ones currently standing due to relentless Israeli bombardments.

People who have gone through oppression recognize oppression. And so far the only people I have seen supporting Israel have been people who had been indoctrinated with Zionist views from childhood, people who are NOT educated on the history of Israel (and why they were there in Palestine to begin with and it is NOT because of the holocaust, which I will explain further down), and Evangelical Christians who want to bring on the rapture. Even then, what they are so angry and appalled by are people calling to send aid, and their only argument for not allowing aid into Gaza because they will be used to create weapons and rockets.

They genuinely believe that Palestinians have a magical ability to turn things like food, water, and medicine into rockets.

So, I will go through your relatives' points one by one.

Firstly, it is not a religious issue. And it never had been. This is colonization and apartheid. Do not let the media or uninformed people tell you otherwise, because that is how they justify and defend its existence.

Israel gave them their land back

Lots of Israelis say that Israeli forces completely pulled out of Gaza in 2005. That isn't 'giving land back' that is 'withdrawing from taking more land.' The entirety of what is now Israel WAS Palestine, and Palestinians aren't even asking for ALL of it back, just the borders that they had in 1967.

Also, if you're wondering why they pulled back, it's because you cannot bombard your own occupied territory, which we see them doing freely now.

Palestine was warned about Hamas

Really? That's so funny because Hamas is backed and funded by Benjamin Netanyahu (his own words at a press conference with an Israeli news cite, not mine) and his US minions to try and oppose the PLO (Palestine Liberation Movement), who were seen as a more legitimate governing body that would make Israel and the US look bad for trying to eradicate them. So, they chose a more extremist group that they'd have an easier time selling as "barbaric terrorists" as a justification to bombard Gaza with impunity. If this sounds familiar, that's because it should. It's all part of their playbook.

Palestine struck first

This did not begin on October 7th. This has been going on since the Nakba in 1948. What happened on October 7th was tragic, but it was IDF bullets that killed those hostages. It took them 6 hours to respond (a survivor said that Hamas had to ASK them to call the IDF, because they were not coming), and when they came, they killed their own civilians and hostages in the crossfire. Watch this video for the full evidence.

Hamas took hostages for a hostage swap. For the thousands of Palestinian civilians that had been kidnapped and wrongfully detained (some of them WITHOUT CHARGES) in Israeli prisons, which included KIDS. And as of now, Israel has rejected the Israeli hostages 3 times even though they are killing them in the bombardment.

Israel has something called the Hannibal Directive. Go look it up.

Because no one in their right mind would agree that just because there is a school shooter hiding inside a school with hostages while using the students as human shields, the only course of action is to then bomb the entire school.

And ask yourself, if this is truly a war on Hamas and Israel valued Palestinian civilian lives as much as they do Israeli lives, then if Hamas was hiding in Israel, would the IDF be using the same approach as they are currently using for Gaza? And if not, then why.

Israel warned them and gave them time to move south

They gave 1 million people 24 hours to complete a trek that would have taken 72 hours. 1 million people who had mostly been women, children, and the handicapped. And during the evacuation, they were bombing convoys, ambulances, and safe routes. Then when they finally got to the south of Gaza, they were bombed there too. In the place where they were supposed to be safe.

Also, if Russia had warned Ukraine that they were going to bomb them and gave them time to evacuate, does that then make it ok for Russia to bomb Ukraine? Of course not, that's a silly argument.

The support for Palestine is spurred on by propaganda

Well, which one between Palestine and Israel literally has the entire western media in their pocket? Which one has been PAYING influencers to voice their support for their country? Which one has been proven to spread LIES unquestioned? (Like 40 beheaded babies, for instance? Or using AI generated images for proof?) Which one has been posting tweets proudly declaring that they have committed war crimes, deleting the tweets, and backtracking?

Which one has fucking social media accounts that are beefing with models and celebrities who are against them, and are using influencer's images without their permission to make it seem like they're on THEIR side?

So now, let's talk about Israel and Holocaust Survivors.

First of all, the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine began in 1917 when Britain signed the Balfour Declaration, which states that they are giving away their occupied colony of Palestine to a group of Zionists immigrating to Palestine from Eastern Europe and Yemen. First thing to note here, there were already Palestinians living on the land, it was not a barren empty land, and it was colonized by the British. So the British gave away stolen land that they had no right to give away in the first place.

The holocaust survivors didn't arrive in Israel until the end of WW2 in the 1940s where they were then scorned and laughed at by the Zionist settlers in Palestine for being 'weak victims.' The holocaust victims continued to be discriminated against and left to live in poverty by the Israeli gov't.

However, their arrival gave the west a reason to arm the settlers so that they can 'defend themselves' from all the 'vicious, evil, uncivilized Arabs' they were surrounded by. And they used this excuse and dehumanization to displace 750,000 Palestinians from their land. The Nakba.

And they continue to use the holocaust survivors (that they are also treating badly) as a shield from international criticism to expand until we have the borders we have today.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

I found this blog through a reblog and decided I’d poll Tumblr whether I’m the asshole. And the reason I’m concerned is because my mother (53 f) doesn’t think I’m the asshole, and that’s a bit of a red flag.

My sister (22 f) was home from college for break. She was to be traveling out of state to visit her boyfriend (23 m). Meaning, she was going to be flying in the continental US. As such, she needed a 1 qt, clear, plastic bag for her travel liquids. My family has several durable and clear plastic bags (as opposed to ziplocks) for this very purpose.

But rather than use one of these empty bags, she emptied my care bag.

This bag is fairly small. It usually holds my acne medication, including topical creams, tablets, prescribed moisturizer, etc… in travel sizes for me to take with me to work. I also include my migraine meds and lactose pills in this bag, among other things. And it fits perfectly within my backpack’s side pocket (which is why I bought it).

I noticed immediately that she had taken it as she had just dumped the contents all over my bathroom counter. So, I called her and told her that she needed to return it to me (at the time, she was only an hour away and her flight wasn’t for another week). She tried to play it off at first. “What bag?” Then she tried to reason that it wasn’t a big deal. Then she told me she didn’t want to make her bf drive an hour to return the bag to me as it’d put them an hour back in their drive, so I should just let it go.

And the reasonable part of me thinks… maybe I should? Maybe I should just go out and buy a new bag? Like… it’s annoying that she took it without asking and dumped everything out of it. It’s annoying that the bag doesn’t even meet TSA requirements as she claimed (it’s black and not completely clear). It’s annoying that I had asked her if she needed me to get her anything up for her night before and that rather than ask for help, she took something. And it’s annoying that she didn’t use the clear bags provided to her by our mother.

But the thing is… it’s not just the bag. This happens with all my stuff. It got so bad when I was a teen that my father put locks on all my drawers and doors that only I had keys to (my parents did have a spare set in the event I lost mine that they— ironically— “lost”).

EX: I have a pair of Levi jeans that I bought with a gift card from my grandparents. Levi’s are— well— expensive. Earlier last year, before she went back to school after break, I noticed they were missing. I called her and told her I was angry about this. She insisted I was “insane” and that she would never take them and that I likely misplaced them or lost them (I do have memory problems, combo of ADHD and whatever causes my migraines). My father helped me look for them. He even looked through her stuff. They *were not* in the house. But 5 months later after she came home from college, I found them under my bed (they were not previously under my bed). “See, I told you that you lost them.”

So, I told her that she needed to find a way to return the bag to me and that under no circumstances was she allowed to leave the state with it (if she did, there wasn’t much I would’ve or could’ve done about it, so I was hoping this ultimatum would work). And I said that if she didn’t return it, I would tell our mom about all the unused, unopened pregnancy tests she was stocking and hiding in her room (found when I went looking for spoons as she hides my mother’s spoons after using them). She told me “You’re insane. It’s just a bag,” but she did mail it back to me and I got it in time for work that Monday.

My mother says I was justified in demanding it back (she doesn’t know about the unused tests), but she is often petty and demanding and blows up or snaps at the smallest things. So, I am concerned that I made a big deal of nothing or that I took it too far.

AITAH? ESH?

What are these acronyms?

[qqueenofhades]

Is it normal that I’m legitimately so scared of saying pretty morally tame things like “I don’t want to talk about genocide because it makes me severely uncomfortable” or in general expressing my political opinion.

Like i’m not even kidding when I say that all my drafts are just my possibly offensive (probably not) political takes i’m just so scared of everyone leaving me it’s not even funny.

Anyway i also think that if you talk about Palestine but not Ukraine you are a victim of Russian Propaganda™️

I’m sorry I don’t know why i did this have a nice day ok baiiiiiii

Here's the thing. You and every other average social media user should not have to masquerade as a sudden in-depth expert on every single social, political, humanitarian, etc. crisis that we are dealing with in this wretchedly miserable excuse for a timeline. It should not be a baseline expectation on you that when you log onto your little social media in your little average life, you have to come up with The Correct Opinions on everything and if you don't, you're "perpetrating oppression" by not vigorously spreading misinformation, instead of simply admitting that you don't know what to do, you as an average citizen are not in a position of making this change and therefore don't actually have to spend every waking minute obsessing about it, and that maybe, just maybe, you'd like to spend more time informing yourself until and/or IF you decide you want to talk about it. This is the same as the Instagram Activists (TM) who traumatize themselves to the point of PTSD by constantly consuming torture and/or war porn and/or graphic content about murdered children because they "don't have the right to look away." Actually, you do. You are able to make choices to control your personal social media use and to set boundaries as to what you do and do not want to do and/or see, rather than insisting that the only moral choice is to literally mentally destroy yourself with all the weight of human suffering in the world and then expected to act as a de facto expert on all of it, on pain of being Cancelled. This is a stupid, irrational, unhealthy, and generally idiotic expectation. You should not have to take part in it. Nobody should.

Likewise, I think that this is a large part of why people are so scared to voice any opinion that goes against the Prevailing Groupthink: they are afraid of losing friends, of having nasty bad-faith internet trolls say mean things about them, being accused of being a "bad person," or otherwise being guilt-tripped, shamed, and blamed for not centering their entire existence around something that they cannot actually do anything about. Once again, people think the only way you can be Known to Oppose Something Problematic (tm) is if you post on social media about it all the time. Forget whatever you might be doing offline, in your real life, or otherwise; it "doesn't count" if you don't make a big virtuous display of your Rightthink, or you will be viciously harassed. Now, look, I am old and/or tired enough that I don't give a shit what stupid internet users say about me, but I can tell you that I sure did when I was younger, it was incredibly painful to be on the end of those kinds of attacks, and it's (again!) not something you should just have to expect as a baseline level of gaslighting and harassment. As I have said. This is Tumblr. It is a stupid blue website mostly for fandom and/or three in-jokes. This is not a platform where we are expected To Do Social Justice all the time, nor should it be. As for Elon Musk's Twitter: yeah. No.

Also: yes, if you do spend all your waking moments obsessing over Palestine, but say nothing whatsoever about Ukraine and/or openly support Russia, you are in fact very much a victim of Russian Propaganda and you 100% support genocide when it's done by an "anti-western" state that you support for that reason alone. You only care because you can use the cause to make yourself look morally superior, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with opposing genocide on a basic, universal, or fundamental level. The end.

(I hope you have a nice day too. The anger in this is not directed at you. I support everything you've said here and hope that you're able to set healthy boundaries and protect yourself.)

[hussyknee]

hi, i hope i am not crossing a line, please ignore if this is bad question. i am just curious

in one of your posts u said your caste is karava. this is the first time i am hearing a sinhalese talk about caste (i speak tamil and never really felt confident in my sinhala to make sinhalese friends)

can you explain about the castes or tell me where find information about it

Caste is a fucked up concept across the board, obviously, but Sinhalese castes are different from Tamil Hindu in that they involve the cultural and socio-political organisation of the Sinhalese community, and has no connection to religious scripture.

There are thirteen castes that still exist today. We used to be a chiefly agrarian society, so the majority of Sinhalese are Govigama ("Govi" means farming) and they're the kind of "bourgeoisie" of the social order in that few are above them and anyone else is below them. Those that rank below them are castes like Bathgama and Kinnara (who are meant to be agricultural labourers) Vahampura (something to do with making cinnamon or treacle) Navadanna (artisans, especially makers of jewelry) and Rada (launderers). Radala is the caste of the nobility, and afaik the only one above Govigama. They're all from highlands of Kandy, the last Sinhalese holdout against the Europeans for about 200 years. There's no nobility among the lowlanders (between the Portuguese, Dutch and British, they were either killed, assimilated or fled to Kandy) so the Govigama caste is the highest one everywhere else. This means Govigama used to be the only one that was qualified to join the Theravada Buddhist priesthood* and also receive education and job opportunities as government servants—right up until the mid-20th century, when the karava gentry turned into robber barons under the British Empire's demand for cash crops.

Karava people are the majority inhabitants in the Southern coastal lands, which are predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist, as opposed to the Tamil lands of the Northern coast (Eelam really) and the proliferation of sparsely-populated Muslim communities in the rest of the coastal belt. Karava is called the fisherfolk caste by the rest of country, despite their own strong objections. Caste is reckoned patrilineally. I'm Karava through my Dad and I married into a Karava family. Nearly every Karava person I know insists that we're actually the warrior caste and were given the coastal lands as reward for our service to the king. I'm sure there's a legitimate case to be made for this, (this site keeps being referred to me) but I don't care enough to find out because the Karava insistence that being called fisherfolk is a Govigama conspiracy is incredibly funny. I mean, it could be true, what do I know, but so much of the cope and seethe stem from our lingering inferiority complex and resentment at having been treated as inferior until a few decades ago. After being ground under the Radala and Govigama feet along with the rest for ages beyond record, suddenly us lowlanders were rolling in money from our toddy, coconut and rubber plantations, matching or surpassing the wealth of the nobility. We were chasing off Tamil and Muslim minorities to establish our own lost cultural capitals in Anuradhapura and Pollonnaruwa that predated the Kandyan kingdom and making our own sect of the Buddhist priesthood (Amarapura Nikaya) that would ordain Karava people. The robber baron types also got very chummy with the British colonial administration and were awarded cushy jobs in government over the Govigama, who still disdained industrialization and commerce. (To this day my mother's family looks down on business people no matter how rich. Merchants are considered grasping and untrustworthy.) By the time of Sri Lanka's independence from the British in 1948, we had two varieties of equally rich, snooty, virulently ethnonationalist Sinhalese elites who had gotten ahead by selling us out to the British, but with the highland Radala still believing they were too pure-blooded to mix with the hoi polloi and the lowland Karava resentful at being considered the polloi no matter how hoi they'd become. Post-independence, Sri Lanka's adoption of free education and free state universities saw masses of lowlanders, Karava, Durava and Salagama all, sending their kids to university to attain upwardly mobile careers in engineering, medicine and teaching. "If the boy is Karava he's probably in engineering" is a common joke. It's a clear shift away from our rural agrarian roots into urban sprawl and high socio-economic competition in place of social stratification.

We also have a caste of Untouchables called the Rodiya. In ancient times, you and all your family being stripped of their lands and titles and banished into the Rodi Rahaya was one of the punishments reserved for the noble houses that ran afoul of the monarchy. It condemned your entire lineage forever. This was such a dire fate that some would have favoured execution.

Rodiyas were not permitted to cross a ferry, to draw water at a well, to enter a village, to till land, or learn a trade, as no recognised caste could deal or hold intercourse with a Rodiya [...] They were forced to subsist on alms or such gifts as they might receive for protecting the fields from wild beasts or burying the carcasses of dead cattle; but they were not allowed to come within a fenced field even to beg [...] They were prohibited from wearing a cloth on their heads, and neither men nor women were allowed to cover their bodies above the waist or below the knee. If benighted they dare not lie down in a shed appropriated to other travellers, but hid themselves in caves or deserted watch-huts. Though nominally Buddhists, they were not allowed to go into a temple, and could only pray "standing afar off"

(Source)

Allegations of witchcraft and cannibalism aside, the Rodiyas themselves were known to be a proud folk that considered themselves the pure-blooded descendants of the royalty that were punished this way. Here's a Reddit post that expounds on them more, along with photographs. It seems that the strictures against covering up had fallen away between the turn of the 20th century and the '70s. Not much is known about their current living conditions, but I believe that, like India's own Untouchables and the low caste of Eelam's Tamil Hindus, they must have converted to Christianity to escape the stigma.

Casteism is still somewhat of a problem in the Sinhalese community, but it's lessening every generation. My maternal grandparents weren't entirely happy about my mother marrying my Karava father but conceded because he was an engineer with a stable career. My older cousin had to fight his Karava family to marry his school sweetheart because she was both poor and Bathgama caste (I think "Padu" might be a derogatory name for it). The fact that he succeeded is noteworthy because it would have been a huge scandal in my parents' time. The Radalas are still a bunch of insular dipshits who try to keel over and die if one of them tries to marry out. But many of them are also migrating abroad so Idk if it's too much to hope that they leave the caste shit behind when they assimilate into Western society. It certainly hasn't worked for the Brahmin Indians. But the outlook is better for the rest of us.

*There is no caste system in Buddhism. The Buddha in fact was an egalitarian social reformer who advocated against the Vedic caste system and ordained Untouchables as well as women. So obviously the Theravadin priesthood of Sri Lanka, that bastion of the Buddha's Word, would make sure that only high caste men could ever be ordained. Love the fact that the Karava social revolution just made sure they had their own sect instead of, y'know, pushing for anything more equitable. I always say that if we really want to protect Buddhism we have to abolish the Sinhalese.

[shimmering-dragon]

I'm Fictionkin-ish? Coining: Imagithrope.

@who-is-page and @frameacloud's panel at Othercon has gotten me thinking about writing essays about my own alterhuman experience... I was thinking maybe I should write something about why I write fiction, and how that relates to my own identity. But thinking about that made me realize that one of the reasons I write is because I identify as a fictional self-insert character that I created when I was a hatchling in make-believe games. Like, that's the way I view myself - not as a generic blue dragon, but as that specific character. Additionally, given that many of those games were based loosely in books I've read, it means that my identity is based in fiction as well. Though I don't identify as him, my name is even based on a fictional character's!

I've never really thought about calling myself fictionkin before now. When I joined the otherkin community initially, I had some bad reactions to talking about my identity in that way. And then some more bad reactions. My identity as a dragon is involuntary; I couldn't change it if I tried (and I have), and it isn't something I intentionally made into an identity. It's a bit of why I never really got why everyone insisted strongly on the distinction between otherkin and otherlinkers. Though I'm not opposed to the idea, I don't feel like my fictional identity was made by me channeling a past life either, which felt like it was the acceptable explanation for this back in 2016. Otherwise, creating a kintype wasn't "allowed."

For a while, I felt like I separated my identity into a dragon otherkin aspect, where I was just "a dragon", and had character me on the side as a fun thing - what I considered my "kinsona". But I think this is a false dichotomy. The two aren't really separable; who I am as a dragon was created through books and play. It wasn't really until @aestherians's posts in early 2021 - five years after I found the otherkin community - that I felt that the community had finally decided that the definitional line between kintype and linktype, voluntary and involuntary, didn't have to be such a strict line after all. (I'd been arguing that "involuntary identity" shouldn't be a part of the definition of otherkin for four years by that point, so yes, I'm still both smug and salty.)

So, though I didn't expect this to lead to me coining a new term when I started out writing out this post, I've decided to do it. I'm not sure if anyone except me is going to use it, but I think creating it as a concept gives it both a bit of legitimacy and permanence. I hope it will be of use to someone else, and if anyone else shares a similar experience, I welcome them to talk about it in more detail - at some point now, I think I definitely should describe mine.

Imagithrope - An alterhuman whose identity was created and/or formed, wholly or partially, through some form of imaginative play. This can include fantasy play, roleplay (tabletop, text, live action, etc), fanfiction, writing, art, and more.

[hotchsreader]

Watch it Begin Again

Spencer and Elle have been dating for 6 months and have been hiding it from the team, or have they?

word count: 2.7k

tropes: secret relationship

He always took a minute to put his gloves on, making sure every inch of his fingers were protected down to his wrist. If he had brought a rubber band, Elle would bet he would wrap it around the bottom part of the glove. She noticed he was looking down examining the evidence they had been called out to record as a part of the current case they were working on, and sent Spencer a small smile at the back of his head. She wasn’t one to allow people to know how she was feeling, and with it just being her and Spencer she still didn’t feel like making it obvious that she liked watching him work, he was always so focused and curious.

“Seems like this could be from Heather Daniels, it matches the description of the clothes she was last seen in. Plus, I see blonde hair hanging off the hooded part of the jacket.” Spencer spoke as he turned his head back to Elle, she was looking at the footprint in the dirt next to where he was working.

“I would be genuinely surprised if it were anyone else's Spence, but then again you never know. It always seems like people just lose their clothes all over the place.” Elle could never understand how people left their belongings behind so easily. She always knew what she brought into a place, and made sure she left with it on or with her.

Spencer let out a chuckle, finally standing up to walk back over to her.

“Yeah, not all people are like you Elle, and have an innate fear that they’ll accidentally leave something behind.” He offered her his hand to help her up and went to kiss her hand before letting it go when they both heard Hotch’s footsteps coming up behind them. They broke apart so quickly you would’ve thought they were opposing magnets.

Hotch’s demanding presence changed the entire atmosphere around Elle and Spencer, suddenly the only thing that mattered was the job and completing what they needed to do, no time for anything else. They both agreed that when this started between them, it was something for them only.

“I think we have what we need here, Reid if you could place the jacket in the evidence bag, we can head back up to the local station, we need to deliver the profile to the officers.” Hotch stated, demanding attention from all those around him with his voice. It was so simple for him to be able to make people listen to him, it never took much. His whole demeanor demanded people to pay attention to him. Spencer and Elle had to be careful around him, one wrong move or glance and Hotch would know everything, he was undeniably amazing at his job, no one could ever deny that or take that away from him. But ultimately, it did suck having to try to hide something from her boss who she respected and wanted to be open to, because while he was her boss, he was her friend as well. It felt wrong, but this was for the best.

Elle grabbed her bag off the ground by a tree, where it was sitting next to Spencer’s. She carefully moved hers trying to make sure she didn’t knock his over, knowing it was full to the brim and even moving it an inch would cause tons of the items he insists on bringing everywhere to be all over the ground collecting dirt particles, which would bother him.

“I’ll drive us back Spence, I want to toss theories around while we drive and you’re a way quicker writer than I am.” Elle threw her bag in the backseat while Spencer was already getting in the passenger seat. He knew what she wanted before she even told him, this had been common between the both of them before anything started. It was like he could read her mind, or he paid closer attention to her than anyone else ever did. He wanted to know everything about Elle, the good, the bad, the small things. It all mattered the same to Spencer, she was worth knowing everything about. If knowing one small thing about her would make her happy, he would spend hours learning everything he could.

Elle got in the front seat and turned the SUV, letting out a sigh as the engine warmed up. Spencer looked over at her immediately.

“Are you okay?” He asked a tinge of concern coating his words.

“Yeah, I just hate hiding things from the team. Sometimes it takes everything out of me to watch every word or micro-movement to make sure I’m not letting something slip. I just wish things like this were easier.” Before she finished her sentence Spencer’s hand was on hers, something that he knew calmed her down a bit and brought her mind back to reality instead of falling deeper into her anxious thoughts.

“I know, It bothers me too. Maybe we could take it slow? And see how it feels to be a bit more open? If we get uncomfortable we can stop. I want everything to be right with you Elle, you are the most important person to me.” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and smiled at her.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Elle grabbed his hand, and kissed it, returning the kiss that was lost in the woods an hour ago and started driving back to the station.

-

“We are looking for a white male mid-thirties. He would have spent time in jail, due to the way the crime scenes were cleaned up and how he folded the towels he used afterward. We believe him to be a sadist, meaning he wants to inflict pain on the victim and takes pleasure in seeing them hurt.” Hotch began the profile briefing to the local police department, always ready to get on with it and never stuttering his words.

“He would have prior convictions of sexual crimes on his rap sheet, something this sophisticated doesn't begin overnight. He had time to practice, time to plan, and he would have been caught previously. He thinks he can never be caught, so he is one to make mistakes due to his narcissistic personality.” Elle spoke, she always tackled the parts about sexual crimes, having previous experience in that field before becoming a part of the BAU. Spencer wondered what she was like when she first started in the FBI. Knowing her now, he had no doubts she impressed everyone she came into contact with. She was bound to be good at this.

The profile briefing went quickly. Spencer filled them with statistics and things to look for when trying to find the unsub and what they should do when they find him. Nothing about this case was typical, and he was ready to take a small break between going to the other scene. He sat down in the room the local office had given them to work in and pulled out today's Crossword. The first few words he fills out he does not mind the things around him until a brush of cold air hits him and pulls him out of his focus.

“Which one are we one?” Spencer realized it was Elle, sitting so close that their knees were touching and her hands were over his legs, motioning to his crossword in his hand.

He moved the crossword so that way they both could have their hands on it and do it together. This was a common occurrence between them when they were at home. They had been dating for half a year, and they spent a lot of time at each other’s places, going back and forth after work. They left separately to never raise attention to the fact they ended up going to the same place when they got back. It was a waste of gas and Spencer felt bad, but if Elle was comfortable, he would deal with it. This, this small little move in front of anyone, was a bright light on a hard day.

They sat there for a long time, laughing, knees touching, sharing the pen back and forth, and by the time they finished the crossword they looked up to see JJ standing in front of them, a sly smile on her face.

“Hey you guys, sorry to interrupt whatever is going on there, but we have another body.” She kept her smile on Elle as Elle got up and walked with her. Spencer saw Elle playfully land a punch on JJ’s shoulder and JJ gasped like she was hurt. He smiled looking at them, knowing Elle now felt comfortable around someone other than him with their relationship.

He went back to the crossword for a few minutes until Morgan came to retrieve him to go to the crime scene.

-

“PUT YOUR HANDS UP,” Hotch yelled, facing the unsub, who they found to be Terry Hamilton, the profile was right down to the way he was reacting to them trying to take him in. He was a narcissist at his core. This was not going to end well for him, and if he kept going in the direction he was going, it might not end well for them either. Spencer saw Elle creeping closer behind him, she had the element of surprise on her side, one wrong set and he would know that she was there.

Elle hit his side, knocking him off balance, he swung hitting her cheek. She tried to judge where he was going but was a half second off and his fist collided with her face. She stepped to the side as a gunshot rang through the air. The man collapsed to the ground as Gideon lowered his gun, and when he did Spencer ran over to Elle.

“Elle… are you okay?” He raised his hand to her cheek seeing the bruise already starting to appear. Elle has always bruised easily. When she started coming over to Spencer’s she would always hit her leg on his coffee table and by the time they went to bed, she’d have a giant bruise.

“Yeah, he got a few good hits in but I’m good, thanks to Hotch.” She smiled up at Spencer, his hand caressing her face until he realized everyone was looking at them and quickly let his arm down. A blush appeared on his cheeks as he fumbled away talking about how bruises appear and how fast they can disappear. Elle listened to him until she couldn't hear him anymore and laughed to herself, putting her own hand up to her face, starting to feel the pain.

“Elle, you good?” Morgan asked walking over to her as she started to walk away.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I've had worse fights.” She winked at him and he let out a small chuckle.

“What was that with Reid, by the way? He never touches people like that.”

“It was nothing, Derek, he was just checking on me.” She rolled her eyes as the team started heading back to their cars, this case was over and it was finally time to leave.

Derek didn’t follow behind her. He stood there for a minute taking it all in. Spencer touched Elle’s face, the way he talked so gently towards her, the way they looked at each other during the profile briefing. He could have sworn he even saw them doing a crossword together and they were sitting pretty close, hell, he didn’t even know Elle liked to do crosswords. Something was going on with them, he knew it. But he loved Spencer, and he respected Elle, they’d say something when they felt ready to. How long could they try to keep this quiet?

They got back on the plane, everyone going to their own areas, designated to them years prior. It wasn't a shock that Terry Hamilton ended his own life via cop. It was indicated in the profile. The only thing that wasn’t was that he’d try to fight his way out of it and that Elle would be on the receiving end of it. She just wanted to go home, to Spencer’s, have a warm cup of hot cocoa, and go to bed. But here she was, on a plane, in front of their coworkers and friends, and all she wants is the man sitting across from her. She wants him to hold her hand, to put the ice pack on her face for her, to take the pressure of being a strong woman in front of everyone just for a minute. Something was calling her over to him. He was currently asleep. His head lying on his jacket, he looked so peaceful and she wanted to be there with her love.

“Hey, Spence?” She whispered, loud enough to get his attention, but not loud enough to mess with anyone else.

“Yes, love?” He responded without even opening his eyes. He knew what she wanted to do. She got up, moved her things with her, and laid with him. Not a care in the world, not caring if anyone else noticed. She just wanted him. She was tired, in pain, and frustrated. Being next to him, took the pressure off for a minute. She laced her arm through his, laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

-

“Hey, it’s time to wake up sleepy head.” She heard Spencer’s voice break through the barrier of her sleep, and woke up to him slightly shaking her shoulder. The rest of the team had already gotten off the jet, it was not unlike Spencer to let her sleep for a little while longer. He knew about her insomnia and how hard it was for her to go to sleep and stay asleep.

“Did anyone notice?” were the first words out of her mouth.

“Yeah, JJ gave us a look and Gideon smiled at me.” He rubbed her shoulder as they walked off the Jet into the open.

The office felt, warmer today. Something was lifted off of Elle’s shoulders. Maybe it was the fact she no longer had to hide, maybe it was the want to be comfortable with Spencer in the open and around everyone. She never wanted to hide because she was embarrassed about him, she loved everything about that man. She just knew that when it was out and open, there was a fear that the real world could come crashing down and hurt their relationship. But the hiding also was hurting it. They had to be so careful about everything around the people they trusted the most, it didn't make sense. Penelope was going to be so happy about this, she wanted Elle to find someone who loved her, for her. And she found him, he was right in front of her the entire time.

“About time.” Elle heard behind her and Spencer as they walked into the bullpen. She turned around to see Penelope behind her.

“What do you mean, about time Garcia?” She asked sarcastically with her hand in Spencer's.

“Elle, my sweet Elle, everyone knew the entire time my love.” She patted her on the shoulder and turned to Spencer.

“Treat her well young Prince.”

“Oh, I will.”

“Wait, what?” “What do you both mean?” Elle was almost frantic at this point.

“You can try all you want to hide things from us, I for one, always pay attention when it comes to my friends finding love. The team knew after about the first week.” She winked and walked into the bullpen, smiling and singing.

“Did you know, they knew?” She spun her head over towards her boyfriend.

“Elle, we work with some of the greatest profilers, I knew they’d find out eventually but I wanted you to be the one to initiate telling them.”

She smiled, knowing that he would protect her no matter what. She felt like it was time, even if the team had already known this was HER time to let it be open to them. They never asked questions about it to make sure Elle would feel safe and secure in telling them herself. She appreciated it. It felt safe. It felt like she was watching her relationship begin again. This time, with no hiding. No stolen glances when no one was looking, and no having to hide when they desperately wanted to comfort each other when a case was hard or like this time, when someone got hurt.

“Come on, love. Let’s go show them what they’re all waiting to see. I bet Morgan is dying to say something to the both of us.” He squeezed her hand tighter as they opened the door to their future together.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Alright I think I’ve sent a ask in before and you answered it, I’m not sure if I’m just repeating myself but if I am feel free to ignore!

Alright I wanted to talk about changes in the gerudo culture, now naturally culture norms will change and fade as time goes on. But with the gerudo I can’t help but feel that they were forced to change much of their culture just to appease the other races.

Like why did they stop training Molduga? Why did they change their style to be more feminine etc.

Personally I feel like they were forced to change their culture so they wouldn’t get attacked. Why? Well example the sheikah, the sheikah are a tribe very close to the royal family. They will take out anyone who is a threat to the royal family, correct? Well who used to actively oppose the royal family, the gerudo.

I believe the sheikah still have a prejudiced against the gerudo because, you cannot find a single gerudo in kakariko village. You can find gerudo npcs outside the village thought, on the dangerous rode. Wouldn’t it be easier and safer for them to just cut through kakariko village? Unless there was still bad blood

I’m sorry to bother with my my insane ramblings I just wanted to share and I felt this place appropriate to share my thoughts.

Thank you for reading and thank you and have a nice night/morning/afternoon

Hey, thanks for the ask!

I mean, regardless of what actually did happen in canon, if anything did, I have to say that BotW, and then TotK's internal narrative regarding the gerudos feels rather worrying to me --for several reasons, some of which you do mention here.

The gerudos, by virtue of having the strongest culture that differs from hylians, is the one that is also the most dynamic in these games' shared reality (so TotK's mythical past, BotW, and then TotK modern era), the one that is the most malleable and ongoing internal change.

The first time we see the gerudos, historically, they have a certain political structure that seems to rely on kinghood, have certain skills related to war (the molduga situation), and even have fashion sensitivities that are relatively different to modern era's gerudos (the mohawk, etc, and I Will Not mention the ear situation for the inconsistent mess that it is). Then, the whole shenanigans with Rauru happen, we see the Sage of Lightning having a fashion sense that feels closer to what we know, and we get to see active collaboration happening.

Fast-forward hundreds-to-thousands of years later: not only are gerudos vassal to Hyrule pre-Calamity, but, while their town is still closed behind walls, the gerudos have a strong cultural focus on seeking (mostly) hylian husbands. We get to hear about the younger generations pushing against the strong rules keeping the city closed, and that the walls aren't as closed as they used to be.

In TotK, not only is the actual language evolving (so even if old hylian seems to have been a thing, the speed of language evolving is to be noted imo), but we see clear examples of the ancestral rules being challenged to the point of near annihilation. By the time we leave the gerudos behind, two hylian men have snuck inside the walls/forced their presence upon them, and we have heard of at least another group who have been working for years to make them bend the rules for their sake. Zelda came around and influenced their war techniques, and even their ancient legends get recontextualized as involving hylian men with the Eight Heroin, or as monstrously evil and something to seek forgiveness for in the case of Ganondorf. Subtextually, I'd argue we are assisting to a culture being assimilated in real time. It might be portrayed as a good thing, as old, useless or even arguably bigoted traditions being cast aside, but I still have to insist that while gerudos are yielding their cultural identity under (mostly) hylian pressures, hylians spend the *entire game* rediscovering and reinforcing their own culture and pushing forward a cultural heritage that is thousand of years old --even reinjecting lost elements of its roots into its prosperous future.

And, yeah. It's kind of worth noting at least.

[gunpowder-arti]

man i always hated the fanon arti so much too can you go off about why the "pebbles adopts arti" concept sucks (i also agree on this by the way)

okay right !! uh. this has been in my asks for a month sorry i have this thing called 'adhd'

well. okay first of all, (as i see it) five pebbles is not a child and arti is not a good person. i have, in fact, made two posts about those.

more than that, though--i really, really hate the interpretation of arti as motherly, or at least... the popular fanon for them is that they're female, right? which i have my own issues with. Ohhh Yes They Are A WOmen Because Mother (They Have Children And Care About Them Therefore Womanm)

^ that is not to accuse anyone of misogyny, or say that arti as a woman is wrong or bad, just that . Well i am not fond of the fact that... when you go into youtube comment sections (secret tenth circle of hell), or other such places, arti is the only slugcat that people will insist is female (as opposed to the vast majority of others, who are nearly always he/him'd)

anyways. it invents this whole new made-up fanon dynamic, which shoves the popular male character into the role of Child and the popular(ly headcanoned as) female character into the role of Mother. and it near always, as i've read it, terribly waters down both characters to the point where it just pisses me off--the trope usually makes arti Good and Motherly (and, in several instances i've read, just entirely glosses over the fact that she [because they're like always a she in these] is Maybe Not A Good Person) and pebbles Innocent And A Child. which. you know. once again, i wrote a whole post about that.

i'm sure it's possible to do the trope well, without watering down either character. but like... most people don't?

honestly, maybe i'd be less defensive if it didn't always have arti as a woman. or maybe i'd be less defensive if people still portrayed pebbles as an adult, or arti as morally very dark grey at best. or maybe--you get the idea.

the thing is, a slugcat imprinting on an iterator as a weird slugpup, in much the same vein as irl cats thinking humans are just weird cats who are really bad at being cats, isn't necessarily even a bad idea--it's just... the lack of variety, and the general leaning on fanon tropes I personally hate, that makes me dislike this particular trope.

[asmos-prettypet]

Regression

Contain +warning: Mentions a SFW ONLY (DO NOT SEXUALIZE THIS POST) caregiver age regression dynamic.

A/N: I was extremely tired while writing this, I am also not a great writer. These are my headcannons on how each of the brothers would react to MCs' age regression. These are all my headcannons. It's not proofread, + probably bad writing, plus my first post, lol

*MC struggles with age regression, but when they do show signs of sleeping into it, the boys are there to make MC as comfortable as possible*

Lucifer

-He is use to being in charge so taking care of MC isn't super difficult

-He enjoys the title of caregiver as opposed to other names

-Lucifer adores playing with MCs hair it relaxes him just being in the moment with MC

-Claims he doesn't but actually loves MCs favorite cartoon (he has a reputation to think of lmao)

-Will constantly reassure MC that they are amazing and that he loves them

Mammon

-Insist he must be referred to as "King Mammon the great", but will melt at any title MC calls him

-Refers to MC as his favorite tiny human when they are regressed

-Mammon gets a little caught up and buys a bunch of regression gear the moment he find out (100% got in trouble with lucifer for it)

-Mammon loves cartoons on his own but watching them with MC makes him 10 times happier

-He feels safe to let himself relax completely while caring for MC

-Loves to play cars, or even dolls with MC as long as they're happy

Leviathan

-Keep like a million blankets of different textures and softness, as well as suffies to ensure MC is comfortable

-Plays "little kid" games with MC, typically easy going animal games and gets excited when MC points out their favorite animal

-Constantly panics that he doesn't have everything to properly care for MC

-Blushes to death when MC says they love him, and refers to him as the best caregiver ever

-Likes to snuggle with MC and watch cartoons together or slice of life anime

-Will keep helpful regression items in a special spot/storage so MC has everything they need

Asmodeus

-Asmoeus definitely knew what regression was before MC told him about it, and loved the idea of being a caregiver

-Asmo definitely bought a few pacifiers in different styles in case MC was an age regressor

-Loves playing dress up with MC especially when they are regressed

-1000000% loves playing with dolls whether human or animal ones he loves the drama him and MC come up with

-Asmo loves to watch Disney movies with MC (Asmo has a soft spot for princess movies obviously lol)

-Asmo will also make sure all of MCs stuffies get a kiss goodnight and wishes them sweet dreams

-Asmo will also keep a cool nightlight just incase MC gets scared of the dark

-Asmo has no preferred nickname he enjoys both femme and masculine ones as long as MC feels comfortable



Satan

-Satan didn't understand Regression at first and was very confused by it but since it was MC he was willing to try it out

-1 million percent reads bedtime stories to MC with lots of big gestures and voices to make the story come to life

-He reads into they both fall asleep leaving the book on his chest while snuggling MC

-Satan buys children books of all kinds, mainly ones with pictures or kids first chapter books, which he keeps on a special self

-Definitely refers to MC as his little kitten viewing them as cute and soft as a kitten

Beelzebub

-Beelzebub is use to caring for Belphegor so helping MC regression is not a problem for him

-Beel loves to make MC's comfort meals while making himself a portion too

-Will always try and make hot chocolate even if its just for himself

-Would offer to drink out of a sippy cup/bottle if it would make MC more comfortable regress in front of him

-He 100000% says here comes the airplane

-Beel loves to snuggle with MC especially if they regress close to bed time

-Beel will softly hum to himself when he thinks MC has fallen asleep to enjoy the moment

-Beel likes the title bubba

- Would honestly play any game MC wants out color with them although he will always bring it back to food

Belphegor

-Struggles a bit to get use to caring for MC, but tries his best for MC

-Keeps a blanket for MC that matches his own

-Loves when MC regresses near bedtime, means double the snuggles and the easier it is to fall asleep together

-Keeps small snacks like gummies near his bed for MC to snack on

[clonehub]

I feel like aside from not white washing the clones the bad batch might be better if crosshair wasnt redeemed. Like he uses being a good soldier as am excuse for committing atrocities but he actually is just ok with it and he doesnt get a convenient out of it being a chip and he willingly works for the empire would imo work better

Sorry an pt2 to that ask but like I know timblr loves their redemption arcs and calling anyone who dislikes them cops or morally wrong. But I just feel like acting like anyone and everyone can be redeemed is also just a bad lesson to teach and that redemption has to start with the character realizing they're wrong and wanting to do better key word being wanting, and I dont see that in crosshair. He doesnt come off as someone who wants to be redeemed, he seems pretty into the warcrime and evil. I hope I'm making sense.

I also wonder what TBB would be like if they'd gone the much riskier but potentially more fulfilling route of not redeeming Crosshair. They could make him a tragic character at that point, but only if they simultaneously make all of the bad batch at complete moral odds with him, but also still have faith in him.

Crosshair as he stands now has two reasons for why he joined the empire: arrogance/superiority and because he wasn't opposed to the violence. his leaving only addresses the former, and barely. as in, he says he left because the empire wasn't loyal to him. But the violence he committed against innocents, and the violence the Empire committed against entire groups of people, don't mean anything to him. If they did, he would have mentioned them.

Sason 3's emotional arc for him focuses on all the wrong things as they try to force a redemption that, to me, doesn't feel earned. Does crosshair respect the regs? No. I don't see that, at least. He maybe, at the most, tolerates them. But the writers use saving Howzer's life as a stand in for Crosshair actually doing the work of owning up to getting a lot of Howzer's men hurt/killed. Crosshair should have had to own up to the fact that he likely traumatized Omega by a) trying to get her shot, b) trying to set her on fire basically, and c) knowing that the Empire foreced him to do (a) and (b) and still choosing them over her.

I also don't think omega should have been so gungho to forgive him.

If they keep Crosshair evil, this can give the Batch permanent emotional consequences and conflicts to deal with. Maybe they all think differently about how to address the Crosshair Question. Maybe they all beg and plead with him—really plead—to join them, and when he refuses, they leave. And then he hems and haws over maybe being good, but his fatal flaw is that he will always fight to be at the top of a pyramid that was designed to keep him at the bottom. Family be damned. He needs his superiority affirmed.

They also could still redeem him (blegh) but really show us that he respects the regs as much as he respects himself and his brothers. That he values their insights, thoughts, and opinions, and does want to see them saved from Tantiss. He doesn't do any of this, of course, and the writers make no effort to show that side of him. You'll get fans who maybe will say that he does respect regs. It'll be like struggling to plug in a lamp with a short cable into a wall and then insisting the light is on.

I saw someone else say that sometimes the conclusions drawn or themes understood in TBB are all things that could be plausible if you stretched. Like yeah, that's a conclusion you can reach, but the pieces aren't really there, you know?

Crosshair gets forgiveness for the wrong things and doesn't really work for them at any point, in my opinion. I said this on a podcast I guested on about a year ago, but saving someone's life doesn't always mean you actually, really respect them. Many people are simply not comfortable with having someone die in front of them. Crosshair, despite how severe he could be and how space-racist he could be, didn't seem the type (to me) to willingly leave anyone to die. he sucked but he wasn't evil like that, hence why I don't count him saving Mayday on that ice planet as a major leap in morals the way audiences are expected to view it.

because, again, when he says why he left the empire, does he say "Because they mistreated clones like mayday the same way they mistreated me, and i realized that the Empire was only ever going to hurt everyone regardless of how we value ourselves, which made me realize im not better than the regs and also that the Empire, which wiped out the jedi and killed civilians, is actually atrocious"? No. He puts himself first: loyalty, and loyalty to him. Yeah, he's learned to be loyal to his brothers, but their moral differences not playing a part at all in their emotional conflicts is making me believe that if TBB had all decided to join the Empire, Crosshair never would have left for any other reason. Again, the atrocities are a non-issue to him.

(Crosshair and hunter argue, but it's about HUnter's alleged guilt over not rescuing omega but Crosshair being the one to get him out. Not Crosshair's antics being part of the reason why Tech is dead. Not Crosshair repeatedly endangering the squad after his chip's out because he thinks they ow him loyalty before they're required to stick to their morals).

This post has gotten away from me, so I'm going to leave it here. I've been toying around with a rewrite of them for some time, and I might make Crosshair the epitome of lateral oppression and self-loathing in a marginalized person. He needs the oppressor's approval, the oppressor's power, even if it might cost him his life.

[twigg96]

Ummm you know I want like ALL of the fluffy alphabet for Murderface 😆. But for now, let's go with Q, R, and S (if that isn't too many!)

Grazie!🙏❤

Heyyy @amazonboatchurch I am more than happy to do the full alphabet for William <3 I truly hope you enjoy these!

A - Attractive (what about their partner do they like most?)

He will always tell people that it is their "schmokin' bod" or their "bangin' physique". But in reality if he put any real thought into it... those things didn't matter to him all too much. He truly apricated and loved his partner for their large loving heart and overwhelming amount of patience. He knew he was a lot to deal with on a normal day... so he always felt so loved when his partner went out of their way to help remind him that he was worth the love they gave him.

B - Banter (How do they tease each other? Is it always friendly/flirtatious or does it turn nasty?)

William is the KING of teasing and banter. He knows exactly what buttons to push to get his partner going in just the right ways that will start a petty fight and make them just mad enough. However he also is the king of pushing the envelope too far. He has spent many a night on the couch due to his proclivity to always insisting to making sure he had the last word in even though he'd been warned... twice.

C - Cute (Cuddles, Handholding, Sweet Touches, Caresses, Sneaky Moves)

Murderface would never admit it openly in a million years that he loved cuddling. But he fucking loved it more than anything. Holding his partner close to his chest at night, stroking their hair and kissing their heads so gently was so calming to him. It really cemented the relationship in a way he couldn't get across in words.

While he didn't always make the first move to hold his partner's hand that didn't mean he was opposed to it entirely. He actually liked holding hands a lot... he was just a really shy boy and needed to be guided into PDA in social situations. When he was just around the other bandmates he was fine taking hold of his partner's hand... sometimes... It was just in front of larger crowds he could never tell if his partner wanted to be seen with him in public so he tried to wait for them to make the first move.

Gliding calloused fingers up his partner's cheek and around their waist ever so gently to hold them as they kissed was one of the best thrills he could ever get in his life. Sweet goosebumps rose on his skin just as much as his partner's as he kissed their earlobes and caressed their thighs was just a taste of what could happen if he really let himself go. But alas Murderface was a Southern Gentleman TM and refused to let his desires drive him.

William would tease the hell out of his partner if he knew he could get away with it. Grabbing his partner by the back of the neck and holding them tight he would pull them in for a swift passionate kiss before walking into an important meeting. Smacking his partner's ass was daily must on his to do list. A smirk would be plastered on his lips as he ran his fingers up and down their spine making them shutter and moan out loud before simply shrugging and walking away with a wink.

D - Dates (What kind of dates do they like to take their partners on? Are they creative with their date ideas?)

Will loves to take his partner out on very expensive and lavish dates that push his wallet and expertise. On their first date he took his partner to a very expensive Italian restaurant that Nathan had once bragged about taking a date to that went bad but the bread sticks were banging. He tried all night to impress his date by "pronouncing" the Italian names of the food only to make the waiter expressly angry at him for using so many accidental cuss words and his partner laugh so hard they pissed themselves. He thought for sure the date bombed until he got a text a day later begging to know when and where they were going next.

While William is not expressly creative with his date ideas (he often steals a lot of his ideas from his bandmates) onve he really gets to know someone he is incredibly thoughtful in his choice of date. He will go out of his way and plan a date for a full week if he must just to make his partner happy.

E - Eat (Do they have similar tastes in food or do they share food at the dinner table? I. E. Swapping the tomatoes on the burger for the pickles on their partner’s chicken sandwich)

William is particular about his food. He was raised in the south by his grandparents and is a first generation Mexican American. He knows good food whenever it is placed in front of him. However he is never opposed to eating whatever is on his plate. (He is pretty sure he still has the bruises on his head his grandma gave him as a little boy for not cleaning his plate as a child.) That being said lettuce is not his favorite thing in the world. Neither are dick shaped foods... well maybe with a few exceptions in the privacy of his home... he is not opposed to trading things on his plate for his partner's least favorite foods.

F - Fire (What drives them the most in the relationship?)

The SEX- No

Murderface was first driven by an intense fear and need not to be forever alone when he first got together with his partner. However this evolved the longer he stayed with his partner. No longer did he fear being alone forever... he simply could not imagine a world without his partner specifically. He loved them so entirely that the thought of being without them his soul felt empty and hallow. He never wanted that to happen.

G - Generosity (How do they show their partner they care?)

It definitely shows more in his intimate actions than in his words. William is a very self conscious person. He often lets peer pressure get to him, or makes the odd comment, or simply gets in an off mood and makes his partner cry. However it is in the silence of the night when he and his partner are laying side by side together. When the lights go dim and the business of the day has come to a stand still that he rolls over to face his partner. He always waits for his partner to face him back before he speaks. But he knows some nights are better off silent when he's treated them so rough during the day. So he simply brushes the hair from their face or rubs their back waiting to see if they'll face him. If they don't and they fall asleep before he can speak he quietly accepts it and falls asleep.

However if they turn over he tells them how much he loves them while pulling them close. He apologizes for all of his short comings and kisses them sweetly. They know that change for him is hard. That all he wants to do is change but it will take time.

H - Hot Head (Are they quick to anger? Are they spiteful in a fight? Will they say things they don’t mean just to piss their partner off? Or are they easy going?)

Will is extremely fast to anger and could in fact be considered a Hot Head. He can be extremely cruel and spiteful in a fight and will bring up shit from 10 years ago as ammunition just to win an argument. He is an expert debater and will argue his point until he is blue in the face.

I - Interest (What are some of the interests they may share?)

Murderface and his partner love to chat for hours about history of all types. He will literally go on lectures about the things they don't know about and they will happily listen. Day long documentary binges are in order.

He would legit stab anyone in the neck if they ever found out but he loves to crochet and is actually extremely good at it. His partner has learned a lot about crocheting from him.

Horror (even though he's a little bitch baby about it). His partner and he love to sit and watch scary movie after scary movie on a weekend where they know they can stay up and do extracurricular activities instead of sleep in the early hours of the morning.

Cooking... While his partner doesn't love to cook they certainly love to watch William cook. He is a master in the kitchen (but don't tell the others in Dethklok they will take advantage of it!)

Cars! He and his partner can talk about old cars for literal hours. The old makes. The benifits of the older models. One time on a date they even rebuilt a 1950's hotrod from parts he found online.

J- Jealousy (Are they the Jealous type? How would they act if they were?)

William is an extremely jealous man. He is fine with his partner having normal everyday contacts with men. Hell he doesn't even have to be there for it to happen he trusts his partner enough talk to him if something peculiar happens or if someone talks to them inappropriately. But God rest the soul of whoever does make a move on his partner... He will be coming at them with whatever he has on him at the time. And if he has time to plan their demise... Charles will be making arrangements to hide a body.

K- Kids (Do they want kids?)

Yes he does but he fears nothing more than ending up being just like his father. It would take constant reassuring and therapy for him to accept that he is not his father and his father's actions do not determine his own for him to feel comfortable enough to agree to have kids.

L - Likes (Favorite things about relationship and partner)

Murderface likes that his partner is so open with their love. He likes that his partner has so much love to give, like an unending river that seemingly never runs dry. He likes his partner's ability to flirt and tease so openly without ever getting frustrated. He likes his partners extroverted nature. He doesn't understand any of this. But he loves it all, every ounce of them fully and wholly as who they are.

M- Marriage (Are they interested in getting married at all?)

Yes actually. He always saw himself with a life partner. He just never knew how to go about that before so he simply ignored those feelings until his S/O arrived. Instead of traditional tattoos he would insist they get matching tattoos on their ring fingers (mostly so that he would never have to explain why he took his off or lost it in the future). He wanted something bad ass like a snake, barbed wire, or something like that. But his partner simply suggested tattooing their ring's shadow onto their finger and then making a design based around it that was their own creation to poke out from under their real rings. William instantly agreed and got a viper crawling around his finger that bit into his wrist.

N- No (Pet Peeves in a relationship)

William really can't stand a partner who disrespectful partner. When he and his partner fucked around and teased each other he made sure it was a rule that their teasing remained between the two of them. If his partner ever tried fucking with his bandmates and hurt their feelings it was immediately over. He was the only one who could fuck with his band. No one else.

He doesn't someone to date him simply because of his money and possition in the band. He doesn't want to continue to feel like the stepping stone in the band, the member the fans use to get to the other members. When he dated (which was rare) he put his full trust into someone. He didn't want to be used.

O - Orange (What color reminds them of their partner?)

Gold. When they laugh it reminds Murderface of gold's brilliant shine. His partner was just as valuable as gold could ever be to him as well.

P - Proposal (How would they or how did they propose?)

He would get too in his head to ask first and always be his worst enemy. Freezing every time he tried to bring up the subject. Doubting his ring choice and choosing one he could easily return if his partner either didn't want to marry him or didn't like the ring. Pretending to be really interested in a random bug when he was actually kneeling down to propose. Dropping the ring more times than he can count. In the end he would most likely end up being proposed to first But he would insist they put the ring away and claimed he was the first due to the amount of times he tried to do it in the past.

Q - Queen (King) (What traits makes them a KING or a QUEEN?)

Murderface is extremely protective of his partner. That's not to say he doesn't know what they can and can not handle on their own. He does. He fully and completely does. However, he also knows their limits. If anyone were to fuck with his partner and push them to or even God forbid their limits. He would not hesitate to put them back in their place.

Our boy can cook like no other. Whatever food his partner craves he can make in no time flat and it will always taste amazing. Fried chicken with a side of carnalized carrots and mashed potatoes with pan gravy? He's on it. Fresh authentic fajitas? Coming right up! Pizza made just like Domino's used to make it when the boys all lived in their apartment? He's got that shit memorized. His partner will never need to cook again in their life. Cleaning on the other hand...

William comes prepackaged with Scary Dog Privileges.

R - Rain (What was the most romantic gesture they have ever done for their partner?)

One time after a date with his partner, he had dropped them off at their place and driven off in his prized Cavalier. Looking down he realized that his partner had forgotten their leftovers on the floor of the passenger seat. He mauled over turning around and giving them their food or simply calling them and telling them since he was already halfway home. But as his body made the turns he needed for him he realized he already knew what to do. Getting out once he arived at their place he grabbed the leftovers and knocked on the door. When the door open he blushed, staring at his partner wrapped in nothing but a towel after a shower. Shoving the food towards them he shook the bag. "Forgot thisch." He whispered. His partner smirked taking the forgotten Chinese food. "Wanna come in for a bit?" they asked.

S- Smooches (Who gave the first kiss? When do they kiss their partner? How often do they kiss their partner?)

William's partner was for certain the one to kiss first. It was a foggy night and the band had invited them out midnight golfing. They were loosing against the others by a wide margin when they took the opportunity to pull Murderface aside. The boys had thought it was to let him teach them his prized swing. But as the fog clouded their vision they stole a sweet kiss.

However he lays claim to that title after a trip to the caravel where he pulled his partner into the tunnel of love quickly. He went way past kissing in there. Ignoring the screams of the employees to at least keep it PG for the kiddos.

Murderface kisses his partner every single day. He doesn't like the idea of "being caught" so he tries to to sneak around the others even though they've known for some time. It is the thought that counts.

T - Travel (Do they like to travel with their partner? Where do they dream of traveling to?)

He loves to travel when it is with his partner, mostly because he knows he's on vacation then. Murderface really wants to take a road trip across the United States and stop at all of the historical spots along the way. He will complain 90% of the time that he travels however. It is a lot of work to put a trip together and make it work. But once he is at the location he wants to be at, he will be the giddiest guy there. He will narrarate the scene and tell whoever listens all about what historical event happened there. William will order only the food of the times in places of historical relevance and then complain that the food tastes like shit but be beaming with excitement.

U- Universal (How Public are they with their affection? Are they very open with PDA? Do they brag about their partner?)

Murderface is not open at all with his PDA. He really is quite conservative. He may brag to his friends but in the teasing way bro dudes chat, not in any real exposure of his personal life.

V- Valentines (First holiday together. How did they prepare? How did they celebrate?)

Holiday? What the fuck is a holiday? Murderface doesn't even remember those exist until his partner mentions something to him and even then they don't hold any real significance to him unless they do for them. His memories of holidays were always painful. He tried not to dwell on them. But if his partner insisted on celebrating , he would "try"... for them.

Their first holiday would be New Years. He never really did resolutions but his partner insisted that he write a list with them the night before while they made dinner for the party. Together they prepared a large meal for all the members of Dethklok and had some expensive Champaign imported for them all to drink once the ball dropped. Honestly... this holiday was something he could get behind. Booze. Food. Balls. Fuck why did he waist his life sleeping through this very important event all his life?! As the clock ticked down, the food was eaten and the band progressively became drunker and drunker, his partner pulled him aside smiling as the final seconds were said aloud. "10!" Everyone chanted. "So?" they whispered. "9!" Another scream. "What did you write for your resolutions, Willy?" They asked. "8!" William swallowed slowly picking up his Champaign flute. "7!" Weren't they supposed to be a secret until the next year? "6!" They wouldn't come true if he told now right? "5!" Opening his mouth he struggled to find the words. "4!" His partner giggled and shook their head. "3!" Their eyes gleamed in the dim light of the moon sillueted by the party lights. "2!" Standing on their tippy toes Will's partner wrapped their arms around his shoulders. "1!" Their hot breath tickled his ear as they spoke. "I might get my list started early tonight..." They whispered just as the ball dropped, confetti sprayed from around the television and dropped all around the living room to match the program they watched. "Happy New Year!" Was an echoing phrase that resonated through William's head as everyone screamed it all at once. A giant smile crossed his lips as his friends cheered hands in the air before they downed their drinks. His partner pressed their lips to Wills soft ones. Closing his eyes, William hummed and pulled his partner close loving the feeling that one item on his resolution list crossed off.

W- Wicked (What do they do that purposely pushes their partner's buttons?)

Murderface will purposely find that one that bothers his partner to no end and do it repeatedly until they break. If they don't like the sound he makes when he breathes through the gap in his front teeth he will do exclusively that for the next seven minutes or until he gets board of their reactions.

Murderface will piss them off on purpose simply because he himself is feeling unworthy. This is a defense mechanism he learned long ago to protect himself from ever being the one from being walked out on. If he gave them a reason to leave he understood, he could deal with it. His partner however is strong and smart enough to see through this and simply gives William the space he needs to get through these patches on his own most of the time.

Will is a six year old at hear. He will get petty to be petty if he feels slighted by his partner. One time when his partner refused to buy him ice cream like they promised after a date he drew a dick on their face with a sharpie during their nap before an important zoom meeting.

X- Xylophone (What song fits the relationship?)

I'll be nice and put two here XD

The real truth Vs How Murderface feels deep inside

Y- Yearning (When do they miss their partner the most? What do they do to placate themselves in the mean time?)

Muderface misses his partner the most whenever he is on tour and can't bring his partner with. He pretends that he is fine for the most part telling the others that he feels "liberated" even. But after week two he starts to get anxious. It get s to the point where Charles flies his partner in for a night to calm him down to continue the show.

Z- Zipper (Do they let their partner pick their outfits?)

No absolutely not. He has a specific way he likes to dress. I will occasionally let his partner pick his socks if he is wearing long pants but his style is very important to him

[jynjackets]

Sorry to ask but why did you call Adria sexist? What has she done?

I don’t mind the question. I think it’s important to back up my claims so here we go.

If you watch her interviews, she's weirdly consistent about this really odd opinion she has about women.

Here she basically says men and women have different attributes when it comes to strength and toughness (which is sexist). Talking about her character that is known to "talk like a woman, walk like a woman," I don't even know what this means. But it comes off that she thinks there exists a single way a woman should act. Her character being a typical feminine-damsel type also implies her preference for this stereotype.

Reading through her other interviews she has a very narrow idea of what a woman should be, especially when it comes to ‘taking care of men’ and whatnot. I want to be clear it is one thing with having personal preferences to how you want your female characters to be presented, which is totally fine, preference is preference. But why this is problematic and moves past mere preferences is because she is saying one is better than the other. That women should be represented in this certain way.

She's done this not with just her latest character, but a lot of them.

Here she says her character is a "real woman" implying that there is a way to be an authentic woman as opposed to an inferior type. She also implies that her character is a real woman because she takes care of people. I don't feel the need to explain the issue with idealizing this.

It's again, her weird notion there's a difference between "tough" and "strong". Here she adds that women should 'own their femininity,' as if the opposite is what women are experiencing.

Not that this completely applies but it’s common for women who perceive other women to be adopting too ‘boyish’ of traits, to believe they are misogynists and rejecting their own kind. But this generally isn’t true— and the real issue with this is that it’s actually those that show conventionally masculine traits that are typically a minority and/or marginalized across women. Studs, butches, and tomboys helped pave the way and redefined culture for all women. In reality, they can be considered the epitome of feminism – proving that you don’t have to look, think, or act “like a woman” to be a woman.

It's, again, fine she may have had a preference. But to make a whole career where women are meant to be portrayed a certain way is such a red flag for me. Especially when she likens herself to them.

The rest of her snippets, to be very honest, it's just a bad fucking vibe I get from her, man. Like why would you say this?

and this?

"Sexist," one might say, might be a rather strong claim for someone who may, arguably, insist on a certain portrayal for women?

No, it fits because not only is this "preference" already largely overrepresented in media, but there are several ways of being sexist. The actress especially is exhibiting what is known as benevolent sexism, a more socially accepted form of sexism prevalent among both men and women.

Examples of benevolent sexism include:

basing a woman’s value on her role as a mother, wife, or girlfriend

focusing attention and praise on someone’s appearance rather than their other attributes

believing that people should not do things for themselves, such as manage money or drive a car, because of their gender

A lot of these can be done without intentional malice very easily! It could be seen as a complement telling someone "wow! I love your braids and lipstick, you really look like a real woman," or "my character is special and great because she is such a good friend and so loyal to this male character" without adding anything else. These, no matter the intent, are still very stupid and sexist to say.

I guess it's important to note where I am coming from and it is that I fucking hate toxic radfems. I hate how lesbian spaces drown out studs and mascs. I hate terfs and people who gatekeep identities because a certain representation isn't good enough for them. And while this actress's crimes are likely a misdemeanor compared to these awful gatekeepers, I cannot stand the stupidity of any hint of lateral violence. Especially when you’re relatively rich and famous you have a responsibility to not hold people back.

I can see that for others it’s not a big deal, hence “socially acceptable”. But it’s ideas she spouts like these that are poisonous to progress. The point should be that there should be no expectation for women. You can be anything you want because you want to. It's when I see comments to the things she says that make my blood boil like “yea! I love women who aren't so in our face ” (aka I don't want female characters with agency or opinions or as the lead) or “this is what a real woman is, sensual and feminine” (aka sexualized, long hair, tits, and ass).

I’m not above giving her the benefit of the doubt that she’s just kind of dumb. Like she’s not out here with a tradfem agenda or whatever. Outside of sexism she’s just bad at explaining anything. This is the last time I’ll probably criticize this woman because I already blocked her tag and she’s a flop anyway so she's easily ignorable. I really hate hating on women because they’re criticized enough, but there is a standard to be met when it comes to being aware and respectful. I wish I was cherry picking but I found all these interviews in like a 20 minute Google search and that's pretty damn telling of her career. She's also like 30 something years old. It's difficult watching a full adult infantilize her own character or see people believe she's "just naïve" when you can just say that they're being sexist.

[senditothemoonn]

rusfra for the ship ask? i don't give this ship the attention it deserves.

Gives nose/forehead kisses: Fran would if he could reach! When they're lying down/snuggling, I think he would be very generous with his kisses. I am not really familiar with much in the way of characterisation for Ivan but I think the idea of him giving Fran kisses on the forehead while cooking is adorable so I will say he does it. A lot!

Gets jealous the most: Ivan. I don't think I need to explain myself. But I will say I can see Fran making him jealous on purpose and subsequently recieving the most gloriously powerful fucking of his life.

Takes care of on sick days: Fran is so motherly and will take of anyone when they're sick but there is something so 🥺😳💖 about Ivan being so gentle and taking care of flu-ridden Franny.

Drags the other person out into the water on beach day: Fran. But it's less of a 'drag' and more of a gentle nudge because I think that's all this big man needs to stop being self conscious enough to take a dip in the water 🥺

Brings the other lunch at work: Bringing people food is just synonymous with Francis at this point ❤️

Tries to start role-playing in bed: okay I can sort of see Ivan doing this shockingly close to the start of their relationship and Fran would just be like 😳...😏

Embarrassingly drunk dancer: I think Ivan would be an embarrassing dancer even while sober and Fran thinks he is the most adorable thing in the world for it.

Firmly believes in couples costumes: I don't think Ivan would be opposed to the idea of dressing up but I can totally see Fran being the one to get him into it, at which point they are so sickeningly extravagant with their costumes. FR the centres of attention every Halloween.

Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas: Francis. He's so used to not looking at the price tag, it's not his fault. Though, I do think he'd like about the price of a gift to avoid making the recipient feel bad.

Makes the other eat breakfast: Fran 😌

Remembers anniversaries: I'm inclined to say Ivan because in my mind, Fran is forgetful (thanks to the wonderful invention of smartphones and digital reminders he never has to forget again) like it's not that he isn't romantic, I just think he doesn't plan out his gestures; he is more spontaneous with his acts of love.

Brings up having kids first: Francis, maybe...? I think they'd both be nervous so I don't see either of them really being overly insistent with the request but I can see Francis having the confidence to say something long before Ivan.

Kills the bugs: Ivan.

First to define them as a couple: this one just seems like Fran's domain in most relationships. He's more confident, more comfortable, knows when to make that leap for his partner when they're afraid.

Who hides their guilty pleasures longer: tbh I can see them both being open about that sort of stuff.

Snorts while laughing: Francis (though only a select few have ever heard the elusive snort)