#by being a very VERY specific kind of Guy i expected to hate and then the vibe check passed with flying colors actually

[spontaneousglitterbees]

WIP of a comic, but I overwrought this panel by lots and I think it’s kind of just a painting now.

woe, hydraulic angst be upon ye

[jrueships]

IHATE men REAL

[noaestheticacademic]

On the Identity of "Chat"

Like all the linguistics folks on Tumblr, I've been sent the "chat is a fourth person pronoun" post by a bunch of well-meaning people and and I've been thinking waaay too much about it. @hbmmaster made a wonderful post explaining exactly why "chat" ISN'T a fourth person pronoun, and after reading it I wanted to go a little deeper on what it might actually be doing linguistically, because it is a really interesting phenomenon. Here's a little proposal on what might be going on, with the caveat that it's not backed up by a sociolinguistic survey (which would be fun but more than I could throw together this morning).

On Pronouns

Studying linguistics has been really beneficial for me because understanding that language is constantly changing helped me to become comfortable with using they/them pronouns for myself. I've since done a decent amount of work with pronouns, and here are some basic ideas.

A basic substitution test shows that "chat" is not syntactically a pronoun: it can't be replaced with a pronoun in a sentence.

"Chat, what do we think about that?"

"He*, what do we think about that?" (* = ungrammatical, a native speaker of English would think it sounds wrong)

Linguists identify pronouns as bundles of features identifying the speaker, addressee, and/or someone outside the current discourse. So, a first person pronoun refers to the speaker, a second person pronoun refers to the addressee, and a third person pronoun refers to someone who is neither the speaker nor the addressee (but who is still known to the speaker and addressee). This configuration doesn't leave a lot of room for a "fourth" person. But the intuition people have that "chat" refers to something external to the discourse is worth exploring.

Hypothesis 1: Chat is a fourth-person pronoun.

We've knocked this one right out.

Hypothesis 2: Chat is an address term.

So what's an address term? These are words like "dude, bro, girl, sir" that we use to talk to people. In the original context where "chat" appears - streamers addressing their viewers - it is absolutely an address term. We can easily replace "chat" with any of these address terms in the example sentence above. It's clear that the speaker is referring to a specific group (viewers) who are observing and commenting on (but not fully participating in) the discourse of the stream. The distinction between OBSERVATION and PARTICIPATION is a secret tool that will come in handy later.

But when a student in a classroom says "wow chat, I hate this," is that student referring to their peers as a chat? In other words, is the student expecting any sort of participation or observation by the other students of their utterance? Could "chat" be replaced with "guys" in this instance and retain its nuance? My intuition as a zillenial (which could be way off, please drop your intuitions in the comments) is that the relationship between a streamer and chat is not exactly what the speaker in this case expects out of their peers. Which brings me to...

Hypothesis 3: chat is a stylistic index.

What's an index in linguistics? To put it very simply, it's anything that has acquired a social meaning based on the context in which it's said. In its original streaming context, it's an address term. But it can be used in contexts where there is not a chat, or even any group of people that could be abstracted into being a chat. Instead, people use this linguistic structure to explicitly mimic the style which streamers use.

And that much seems obvious, right? Of course people are mimicking streamers. It doesn't take a graduate degree to figure that out. What's interesting to me is why people choose to employ streaming language in certain scenarios. How is it different from the same sentence, minus the streamer style?

This all comes down to the indexicality, or social meaning, of streamer speak. This is where I ask you all to take over: what sorts of attitudes and qualities do you associate with that kind of person and that kind of speech? I think it has to do with (here it comes!) the PARTICIPANT/OBSERVER distinction. By framing speech as having observers, a speaker takes on the persona of someone who is observed - a self-styled celebrity. To use "chat" is to position oneself as a celebrity, and in some cases even to mock the notion of such a position. We can see a logical path from how streamers use "chat" as an address term to how it is co-opted to reference streamer culture and that celebrity/observer relationship in non-streaming mediated discourse. If we think about it that way, then it's easy to see why the "fourth person pronoun" post is so appealing. It highlights a discourse relationship that is being invoked wherein "chat" is not a group but a style.

[tropicalcryptid]

Ok so She-Ra pulled such a great hat trick with Hordak's characterization, and I LOVE it

One of my favorite things about 2018 She-Ra is Hordak's story and development (and Entrapdak cough but that's not the point of this particular post), and the cleverest thing is that so much of it is actually being set up and told to us in seasons 1 and 2 before we even realize that that's what's happening.

When we first see Hordak in the show, he's giving "generic evil overlord" vibes. Garden-variety baddie. Maybe a little more reasonable than some and clearly capable of long-term thinking, but that just serves to make him intimidating. Everything about him--the way he runs his empire, his armor, his color scheme, his minion, his Villainous Eye Makeup(TM), even his name--are all projecting to the audience "yup, Acme Bad Guy here. Move right along."

But then, backstory. And everything snaps into focus. Not only is it one of the first big oh SHIT moments of the show, where we suddenly zoom out and realize that there is SO much more going on than we realized--it's also the start of the audience seeing Hordak as a character rather than an archetype. Suddenly we realize that he's not conquering Etheria because he wants power, or hates happiness and sparkles, or whatever--he's doing it out of a desperate attempt to prove his worth to his brother/creator/god. This moment where Hordak lets Entrapta in is also the moment the show lets us in on what makes our favorite spacebat tick.

On top of that, we've also seen him bonding with Entrapta and opening up to this person that he respects and trusts...probably the only person he's ever respected or trusted apart from Prime. And she's Etherian--someone of a lower species, someone he's supposed to subjugate, someone who he has been raised and trained and programmed and mind-controlled into believing is below him in every way.

But instead she's brilliant and creative and mesmerizing. She's not afraid of him, and she's fascinated with his work. For the first time since being abandoned by Prime, Hordak finally has someone that he can talk to, who is on his level and both understands and cares about the science! (because he is a giant nerd). She's kind to him, a mere defect. And it just sends his whole worldview into a spin, and that's all before--

Bam, mans is a goner. Entrapta's "Imperfections are beautiful" comment punches right through all the toxic bs that Hordak has been steeped in his entire life. You can see on his face here--I think it's the moment Hordak fell in love with Entrapta, but this is also the face of a spacebat reevaluating his entire worldview. If Entrapta, who is amazing, believes something different from Prime...what does that mean? If Entrapta, who is brilliant, believes that he is worth something, and that she herself is a failure...

Well. We know what happens after that, and how Hordak begins to doubt, and eventually fights back against Prime (and remembers his love for Entrapta after TWO mind wipes help my heart ack). But we also get to see what life in the Galactic Horde looks like: the only life Hordak ever knew before coming to Etheria.

It's not nice.

It's really not nice.

Prime operates in a very specific way, and we learn a lot about it in season 5. Prime expects complete obedience, devotion and worship from his clones. He allows no individuality from his subjects, not even a name. Failure or deviations are punished, mind-wiped, or destroyed. We even learn from Wrong Hordak that facial expressions are considered a privilege reserved for Prime (apart from, presumably, expressions of rapture caused by being around Prime).

And once we learn all of this, suddenly thinking about season 1 Hordak becomes very interesting indeed. The time we spend with the Galactic Horde and Prime throws absolutely everything that we know about Hordak into a whole new context. Now all those traits that made him a generic villain are actually hugely effective characterization! And what that characterization is telling us is that Hordak had already moved much farther away from Prime than we (or, probably, he) had realized, even long before he met Entrapta.

Horde Prime does not allow his underlings to have names, personalities, or any differences of appearance. Not only does Hordak allow this among his own troops, he chose a name for himself as well! Season 5 tells us that his very name is an act of blasphemy against his god. And yet Hordak took one for himself, and that name is part of the core identity he is able to hold on to when rebelling against Prime.

Horde Prime cast Hordak out when he showed signs of physical imperfections. Hordak not only keeps Imp (who is by all appearances a failed clone or similar experiment) around, he treats Imp more gently than we see him treat anybody or anything before Entrapta. Imp is not simply "generic evil guy's minion," he is proof of Hordak's capacity for compassion, and evidence that Hordak cannot bring himself to cast aside "defects" as easily as Prime. Considering where Hordak came from, Imp's existence is a huge, flashing neon sign telling the audience this guy here is better than the hell that molded him, and we don't even realize it until 4 seasons after it's been shown to us!

Very cool, ND.

There's more, though. Hordak's red and black color scheme? His dark eye makeup and lipstick? Very Evil Overlord chic. But nope! Actually these are actually expressions of individuality on a level that Hordak knows would be abhorrent to Prime!

Reading between the lines, I see this as Hordak desperately trying to reconcile two diametrically opposed beliefs in his head: (1) devotion to Prime, whose approval he desperately craves, and (2) maintaining some degree of unique personhood, of Hordak, from which to draw strength. Because a failed, defective clone cannot survive on a hostile world, cut off from the hivemind and from Prime's light. A failed clone cannot create an empire to offer Prime as tribute, nor build a spacetime portal from scraps and memory to call Prime back. A failed clone cannot create cybernetic armor to keep his hurting, weakened body alive; to force himself to keep going no matter what, to fight through the pain and the doubt by sheer force of will.

But maybe Hordak can.

And so there it is. Hordak had plenty of time to gain and explore his individuality while separated from Prime, but I think the reason he did it so effectively (while still deluding himself that Prime would forgive him for these little sins, if only Hordak could prove his value) is because he had to.

Wrong Hordak gained his individuality surrounded by kind, quirky people who took care of him; Hordak was ripped from the hivemind by Prime himself and had to fight for his survival against all odds. And that produced a dangerous and damaging foe for Etheria. But it also produced the one clone with the strength of will to defy Prime himself.

This is long and rambling, but ultimately my point is that 1) I love Hordak, and 2) I love love love love that the show was so clever about his characterization. We learn so much about him and how much progress he's already made in breaking from his psycho abusive cult upbringing, and we don't even recognize it until the show wants us to. Hordak had come so far, all on his own, before he met Entrapta. She just helped push him over the edge and finally realize (at least consciously) that Prime's worldview might not be the correct one.

Idk, I just don't know if I've ever seen all the trappings of Basic 80's Villain(TM) so successfully subverted, where looking back 4 seasons later is actually a smack in the face with the "effective character building" stick. Amazing.

[earlgodwin]

The tragic disconnection between Lucrezia Borgia and Juan Borgia::

What I find sad and compelling about Juan and Lucrezia's relationship is that every time he genuinely makes a gesture to make her happy, it inevitably ends up being misguided, resulting in her getting hurt in some way. Like the debauched play he had prepared for her as a surprise at her wedding to make her smile, not realizing that it would anger her husband and cause him to hate her and her family even more. The Paolo situation is where their dynamic changed forever. Juan, as someone who was assigned as the protector of the family by his father and is already feeling inadequate and incompetent in his position, already saw Paolo as a threat. A guy who could expose his sister, calling himself the father of her child, making demands to see her? Had Juan known what Sforza did to her, the hell she was living, and how she found solace in Paolo, most probably, he would've let Paolo live. He legitimately believed getting rid of him (and he was motivated by jealousy as he has incestuous feelings for Lucrezia)—was the right thing to do—and expected applause for his misguided notions of protecting his family's honor. He didn't realize how much he hurt Lucrezia and tried to make her understand that he did it to protect her honor and didn't mean to hurt her. When he realized that she tried to avenge Paolo and kill him, he made a speech about how their family triumphed because they weren't dysfunctional when they came to Rome, that they should always stick together, and that he's motivated by wanting safety for all of them. After he came back from Spain a changed man, he gifted his sister something that positively represented her—a stunning rare panther in a gilded cage—a genuine gesture to reconcile with her and earn her respect. However, it bites her, and they're unable to make peace. And after Cesare betrayed him at Forli, he spiraled once again, and he realized that no matter what he did, he would never earn his siblings' respect, specifically Lucrezia's. This realization hurt him and made him act on his impulsive as by lashing out at her and dangling her baby from the balcony, which also gave Cesare the motivation to do what he always wanted and justify his jealousy by murdering him.

"I had an amazing personal journey to go on with that character and hopefully I presented it with a sense and reality and hopefully you will feel a bit sorry for the guy. I don’t think he’s useless. Everyone says he’s a useless coward. He’s just placed in some shit situations. He’s not afraid of dying in that sense, he’s afraid of not being liked or loved and being left by his family. Whether they know it or not, they have been ganging up on him from the very beginning of the first season. What’s the problem with him? I think he’s lovely. I think he’s really kind and compassionate and cuddly." — DAVID OAKES

[tumblingxelian]

Near Uniquely RWBY - Main Characters

I was chatting with my sibling the other day and we were joking about the fact in 90% of the media I consume I generally don't like the main characters.

Not in the sense I necessarily hate them, but I generally don't find them to be the most interesting, engaging or enjoyable person on screen or page. Instead I tend to gravitate towards secondary or minor characters and even minor antagonists before any of the big names.

Some of this is rooted in my often rooting for what tends to feel more like a real underdog or characters that feel like they got dealt a bad hand by the author unfairly. But its also that in a lot of media the main characters tend to immediately, slowly or quickly go into personality lockdown.

Becoming less a personality and more the embodiment of expected tropes and themes, or they lose their unique edge or circumstances because the plot demands one benefits or personality changes be heaped on them to keep the tone and story going.

Some examples of this would include say:

Ichigo from Bleach, with him and his supporting cast being very unique and super interesting during the initial arc. But as Soul Society came in, he became a much more standard Shounen determinator a the expense of his personality and his supporting casts were largely watered down & left behind.

Or how in Naruto or Dragon Ball the whole underdog/hard worker aspect of the characters felt undercut by legacy power ups and an endless wellspring of natural talent, alien biology, ETC.

I know these are just two examples, but they cover the general gist of what I mean.

So, what makes RWBY different?

Well, off the cuff, is simply that the four main characters are women.

I've often felt simply putting anyone other than a cis-het guy into the main character slot of say, a battle Shounen, or Isekai stands a good chance of making it more interesting by default. Even if the author does nothing with it the audience reaction would be different because the MC would be an exception to the norms.

In that vein, while one can call RWBY some sort of Shounen or adventure fantasy or magical girl show the main four are unique in how they manifest on screen at the very start. From how they participate in action, to how said action is structured and framed and the kind of adventures and topics they tackle.

But being unique alone is not enough, that would simply make it more interesting than the bog standard but what elevates RWBY is the execution and exploration of such elements and its characters.

Going into every aspect would be difficult, but in light of what I said above would be how each of the main four are initially presented as familiar archetypes, only to subvert or deconstruct them.

Ruby is a peppy goth who just wants to be normal but has inborn powers from her mysteriously vanished mother and serves as a beacon of optimism to others.

Except Ruby's version of normal still involved fighting death monsters with a sniper rifle scythe and she is actually one of the more ruthless characters. Her peppy persona obscures that she can have a pretty vicious temper when pushed and has displayed strong bloodknight tendencies.

Her unrelenting optimism and desire to fix the world is a complex mix of true beliefs, coping mechanism for trauma and her grappling with positions forced on her against her will. Her inborn power is potentially useful but also not that much of a game breaker outside specific contexts & said power sure as hell didn't save her mom.

Weiss Schnee is the Tsundere heiress of a powerful family, with a haughty attitude that hides her loneliness.

Except the "Tsundere" is more of a defense mechanism born of coming from an abusive home where every member of her family manifested a different trauma response. Freeze (Mother), flight (Sister), Fight (Weiss) Fawn (Brother).

Despite her upbringing & some projected trauma, she's far from ignorant as to the worst excesses of her nation early on, and her journey was more about overcoming the impacts her abuser had on her and finding a family in her team that let her be safe enough to let down her walls. Also despite being "The ice queen" she's actually one of the characters least inclined towards more ruthless actions and is extremely empathic.

Blake Belladonna is a mysterious and silent rougish woman, something of a shrinking violet even, but she carries with her a wounded heart thanks to her old flame, the edgy Adam Taurus.

Or more accurately, Blake is the daughter of activists and politicians who represent the worlds main discriminated against minority. She spent her youth on the road as a protestor and where even her father could be nearly killed by a lynch mob. She was targeted & groomed by a man who claimed to want to fight the same injustice she did but who was only interested in using the movement to grow his own power.

Her initial aloof-ness was a trauma response to having spent years under his thumb and overcoming him and the idea she had to 'save' him was one of the main corner stone so her character. Also, despite the "Revolutionary fighter" backstory she like Weiss is much less inclined towards ruthlessness than her team in large part because her past experience with it.

Yang Xiao Long, introduced as the fun loving big sister of Ruby & boisterous bruiser of the team who loves to party & flirt.

Except no, Yang was parentified as a child and forced to raise her own sister as their family unit fell apart. Her "Party girl" persona was outright framed as judging a book by its cover in her own trailer and something she put on or took off as she needed.

She became disabled over the course of the series run as well as entered a Sapphic romance with her partner Blake. Unlike the stereotype of characters with her design, Yang is actually an excellent student, fighter and engineer/mechanic. Plus much like her sister she tends to be of the more ruthless and pragmatic persuasion despite being from the "Normal" background.

Character Conclusion

So, all the characters break out of their initial archetypes, which already makes them more interesting. What's more, these sorts of characters just being oput together and made the main characters rather than circling a dude is in of itself unique.

But there are other aspects of the writing which endear me to how it handles the main characters and what keeps them interesting.

Anger & Violence

See, while in various media women do express anger at times it is still often far less so than men. What's more, often women's anger tends to be presented in... Less flattering lights.

With the anger obscuring fragility while in a man it conveys strength. Or implying a sort of hysteria rather than an appropriate or controlled response. Or worst of all being demonized in general unless its rooted in or coming from traditionally feminine places.

The same tends to be true when it comes to violence with a lot of media either trying to find some way to make women in battle less... Brutal than their male counterparts. (More more like fanservice) Along with rarely letting women fight men, unless they are a special exception to the norm.

RWBY does not do this.

The main characters, hell, all the women in the series express a multitude of different forms of anger and violence. They battle men, they battle each other, they battle monsters all with no distinction nor fanservice shot in sight.

What's more though is that said anger and violence are not presented as, for lack of better words, wrong. The writers don't draw overt attention to this fact, they don't hang a big sign up saying "Girls can fight & shout too" or the like.

They just present these women with a range of emotions, motives and actions that are treated according to what fits the theme of the show rather than hewing closer to gendered lines.

This isn't to say anger & violence are lionized, but more that the experience and usage of them is not demonized or undermined because of the characters gender.

I suppose what I am saying is that CRWBY by and large lack double standards when it comes to exploring these things that I see so often in other media. The women in the main cast, among the villains, both sides respective allies and beyond can be flawed, or angry or do both good and terrible things.

But the writers are always treating everyone's pain as equally valid regardless of gender or situation. Which means that the situations that cause anger exist within a tone of respect that forms the depiction and framing of anger itself.

Which is just something I really enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

[hobie-enthusiast]

LOVE MY LOVE !

— hobie brown x gn!reader + specified reader hcs

— tons of fluff, hobie being ur bf hcs, mentions of injury and blood, petnames, hobie being so hopelessly in love, specific hcs at the end for transmasc, cultural, and dyed hair reader, plus one for bad parents

— some classic hcs for hobie being in a relationship with you

— i have a small section on hobie’s hair, so if any info about his wicks is wrong, pls feel free to correct me! also the last 4 hcs are “if you are/have” kind of scenarios but everything before that is for everyone!

— starting off strong he definitely writes songs about you. he keeps his whole punk scene with his band, but these songs are written to himself. he keeps them in a notebook, with random lyrics scribbled in and chords to match them. his songwriting process is messier than most, so sometimes you can barely understand the order of the music or how it sounds. but this works in his favour; because then he’ll play it for you, gauging for your reaction and maybe that embarrassment you may show when he pours out his feelings.

— i mentioned this one in two fics before but i will do it again; he’s so for matching stickers and pins. both of your interests are smacked on his clothes, guitar, and whatever you chose to sport them on. he doesn’t care if they clash with his “punk persona”, after all, being punk means not conforming to societal expectations. so yeah matching stuff is definitely a thing for him. he’ll also match bracelets and rings with you if you’re down for that

— he is such a petnames person. his faves to use on you are sweetheart, darling, love, when it comes to the standard ones (with those he varies between throwing in a “my” in front of it and not just depends). he also likes referring to you as his “partner in crime” and “his/my star” (since he insists he doesn’t like labels ofc). he would also really like if you use petnames on him, or even a nickname. if you ever call him using “hobie”, he knows you’re upset and will fix things. now, if you call him “hobart”.. he’s running.

— okay please please hear me out on this; he’s such a flower boy. loves getting and giving flowers. picking them while he’s out swinging just to bring them back to you is one of his main love languages. and he loves receiving them back. please give him flowers please. surprise him with them. put them in his hair. FLOWER CROWNS TOO FLOWER CROWNS! he just loves flowers, all kinds of flowers.

— his love language is physical touch and words of affirmation. he loves being in contact with you. hobie loves holding your hand, putting his hand on the small of your back, or patting your head. but his all time favourite? intertwining fingers. he loves the small and intimate feeling it provides, as well as comfort. hobie will praise you a ton. always congratulating you, telling you how amazing you are, that sort of thing

— hobie is very protective of the things he loves, including you. he would never take it lightly if say one of his enemies threatened him with you. he tries his best to keep you out of his spider-man work, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen. but trust, he will pull out all the stops to protect you. if you’re threatened, he’s with you 24/7, eyes always watching for the enemy who had the audacity to say they were going to hurt you

— he’s actually so smitten about you it’s insane. will never stop talking about you and how you make him feel. he loves it. loves seeing the way his friends roll their eyes whenever he says “s’ [Name] said-”. everyone who knows him knows he’s crazy about you. there was a time where he felt so alone in his life, but now that he has you, he remembers he isn’t alone. he remembers what he’s fighting for after your pep-talks to him whenever he feels down. you’re his pick-me-up, so ofc he’s gonna brag about you to his friends.

— hobie hates making you his “guy-in-the-chair.” ofc he’s hella grateful for you helping and supporting his cause, fighting for what’s right. but, one of the parts of that is fixing him up when he’s hurt. he hates seeing your face so worried when he swings into your window, blood pooling at his side as you grab a first aid kit. hobie never wants you to worry, he feels terribly bad about it. but he forever appreciates how you always help him, always welcome him home, always manage to make him feel better

— hobie brown said it himself; he is not a morning person. he gets up everyday like after 10, and so he likes to have you in bed when he wakes up. on the weekends, he’ll beg you to stay in bed and sleep more, holding your body close to him and coaxing you with soft neck kisses and raspy whispers (his morning voice btw its gotta be- oh my god). on the days he does manage to keep you to himself, he wakes up in a better mood with a small pep in his step a good amount of the day

— okay so his hair. he’s very very picky on who touches his hair. i wanna say that he would trust you to touch it, but it would take a while. the way hobie grew up and has ideals that makes it kinda hard to trust people. so it truly does take a while. but once he starts trusting you, he realizes how much he loves when you take care of his hair. he loves feeling your fingers mess with his wicks, combing at his scalp. i wrote a whole fic about this but he also loves when you decorate his hair, especially flowers (fic found here!). and once he truly trusts you, he’ll ask for your help when he washes his hair, since it could be time consuming.

— okay so politics and ideals; it’s very important to hobie you hold the same beliefs as him. i really can’t see him with someone who won’t fight and protest like he does tbh. because he needs that support. sometimes things like that just don’t go right, so he wants his partner there next to him to help him fight for what’s right and what they deserve. this is really important to him, hence why i just can’t see him with someone who won’t support him like that. so yea definitely gotta agree like that, and fight for the cause with him

— THIS ONES FOR ALL MY FELLOW TRANS BOYS ive been needing some of this. okay he takes no shit from anyone about your identity or his own. he’s very supportive of you and anything you need. no surgery and no t? he’ll help you bind and assures you you don’t have to conform to any trans agenda anyone sets for you. if you got surgery, he’s constantly helping you, making sure you take care of yourself afterwards. his favourite affirmations are “you’re so handsome.” and “you’re my pre’ty boy, y’know that?” god he’s so-

— now this one is for all my fellow cultural people. he would love to be taught all about your culture. make the food for him. show him the traditional clothing. tell him the history. he wants to know it all! hobie fights everyday for minorities who aren’t heard, and he always wants to know more about who he’s fighting for. he genuinely finds this stuff interesting, especially considering the different types of people he met during his youth. so please, immerse him in that side of you! he’s all ears!

— here’s one for my homies with bad parents (we matchin fr i see you). oh man hobie will not let your parents treat you like that, ever. if he sees them, it’s not good for them. he’s going to ensure you know that you never deserved that treatment from your own parents. he reminds you that you deserve love and affection, and he will be the one to give that to you. he’s very good at helping you through anything you need, with affirmations and his physical presence, he will always remind you that you are safe and that your parents truly are a joke

— this one for all my fellow dyed hair besties. hobie is so down to help you dye your hair 1000%. get the supplies and invite him over and he’s going go help you out. and trust, he knows what he’s doing. i feel like hobie definitely experimented with his own hair in the past, which includes having crazy colours. so he’s got your back, and will also recommend any colour he thinks is gonna look absolutely sick on you

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Hello, I see that questions about relationships and courtship are open :D If it's okay with you, could I have Jamil and Leona, please?Number 5, 12, 16 and 28 ;)Thank you in advance!! You have a great blog! <3

Leona Kingscholar:

5. ♥ Do they wait to be intimate until after marriage or break all the social rules?

Leona breaks rules because he can, or pushes the very limits just to see how far he can go before it all falls apart. All eyes aren’t on him, at least most aren’t, aside from his nosy family members and those in the guard who may not trust his ambition. He knows how to pull the wool over Fareena’s eyes for the most part, though his sister-in-law is a different case. He’s not a patient man but he’s not pushy either; if he only wanted a night or two of fun he would’ve never committed to begin with, so you can take that to heart if you doubt his feelings.

12. ♥ Do they seek to find a partner purely to further the bloodline and name, is it for true love, or is it for pleasure alone?

Leona laughed at the thought of furthering his bloodline. Subject his child to 2nd place by default their entire life? Yeah, right. It’s a thought that drifts with time as he can’t help but want an heir himself, he refers to it as his natural kingly want even without being a king, but you think he just wants to raise a fighter willing to look out for the ‘little guy’ too just in case Cheka doesn’t do a good enough job. There is something to be said about the kinds of people he’d choose to date, ones that would be suitable for family life if they wanted it. Dating is mostly left to his own whims and he doesn’t do it often, if at all, as getting to know new people was a hassle and he hated wasting his own time.

16. ♥ Do they have at least one bonding activity they devote to doing with their partner exclusively?

Napping. Yes, yes, very stereotypical for the lazy lion but he didn’t trust just anyone to join him. Sleeping soundly around another person was like exposing your belly in a room full of predators; you wouldn’t do it if you felt like you’d be torn to shreds. He’s placing his trust in you to keep him safe and warm while he slumbers. He doesn’t reveal his expectations of you being his pillow until it’s far too late for you to run.

28. ♥ Do they understand their partners/person they are courtings feelings without them having to say anything?

Leona is as sharp as a carnivore’s claw. Many things could be said about him but his intelligence was rarely in question. He might not always verbally confirm things, but the longer you’re together the more familiar he is with you. Conscious or unconscious, he noticed the way you move or hold yourself, the way you speak and the specific words you pick whether you’re coddling someone or in an argument. He’s aware when you divert from your norm, whether its due to anger or sadness or embarrassment. It’s like chess, a game he’s quite good at, and you’re always stunned when he finally calls you out when he asks for the ‘why’ behind your changes.  

Jamil Viper:

5. ♥ Do they wait to be intimate until after marriage or break all the social rules?

Jamil doesn’t have any strong feelings one way or the other, but you do notice he’s the type to take it slow. He’s not embarrassed by physical affection per se but the closer you get, the more you feel him tense. He’s worried about getting too attached too fast, and while the sanctity of marriage isnt the first thing on his mind, there are some interactions you have that are so domestic Jamil can’t help but daydream about what married life might consist of with you.

12. ♥ Do they seek to find a partner purely to further the bloodline and name, is it for true love, or is it for pleasure alone?

Jamil isn’t entirely game to have children, for a variety of reasons that include not wanting them to be in servitude from birth. He has doubts, feeling guilty if a family is something you had always wanted, but he had never really seen that for himself. But he also can’t say he’s seen romance for himself either, or that anyone would want to date him despite his loyalty being sworn to another, so there’s a chance for change and he might be willing to reconsider a childless future.

16. ♥ Do they have at least one bonding activity they devote to doing with their partner exclusively?

Sightseeing. This only applied when you were out of the country, likely at the whim of Kalim going on his royal duties, but Jamil is given enough ‘personal time’ when he’s surrounded by the royal guards of other families. He liked to drag you around with him to places of interest, from the markets to the ruins that seem to line every city; his eyes always glow when he’s left to adventure on his own with no obligations to reassure the safety of who he’s with, though he is wary about going anywhere dangerous when you’re tagging along with him.

28. ♥ Do they understand their partners/person they are courtings feelings without them having to say anything?

Wires can get crossed from time to time, but Jamil isn’t stupid. He knows how to read people to an extent and he can be hyperaware of his surroundings due to his job, so he noticed plenty about you. Some little habits, the way you acted when you were happy or upset or contemplating existence, he just never knew how to use that to his advantage. Learning how to use the information you present him is more the issue he’s presented with but never doubt that Jamil will figure it out for the sake of keeping you as his.

[wanderingswampbeast]

Long Post: Why I Don’t Like The Drow

I’ve been ranting about this to a friend on discord (a lot of points I make will come from him) but I’ve finally figured out what my issue with the drow is outside of inherently evil groups being dumb.

The drow are boring. Drow lore is less of a dive into a unique culture and more of a list of fucked up things they do. Like, I cannot name a single interesting aspect of typical drow society that does not directly involve murder, sexism, or slavery, or Lolth. And even then, most of those things are written about in an incredibly bland fashion with them.

The Drow don’t really have much depth to them, and are just kind of evil for evil’s sake (or “because Lolth said so”). They do slavery, but the only real purpose of doing slavery for them is “because Lolth said so”. It isn’t for cheap labor, it’s to be more evil. They betray each other purely because that’s what evil people do. They’re misandrist, not for any real societal reason, but because Lolth hates men. There’s none of what would make slavery an interesting topic or story element, no justification for why they should be allowed to commit one of the worst injustices possible, no real economic reason for it. They just do it because Lolth says they should, and from a writing perspective it hammers home the fact that they’re evil. They aren’t evil because they enslave and murder, they enslave and murder because they’re evil, if that makes any sense.

Them being written as comically evil as they are also hurts them from a worldbuilding perspective. They’re so reliant on slaves for menial labor that the lower class of their society struggle to get jobs. Drow culture so obsessed with betrayal and dumbass house wars that even when actively under attack from the outside they sabotage each other. They’re so decadent that their buildings are held up with magic and semi regularly collapse when a spell fails. To put it bluntly, drow society feels like one that should have collapsed in a few centuries, which, funnily enough, is way longer than D&D elves live.

Their culture being so monolithic also makes writing anything about them difficult. Every drow antagonist is going to have near identical motivations, methods, and ideologies as every other drow antagonist. Every drow protagonist is going to ultimately feel very similar to Drizzt, because leaving their fucked up society to become a do-gooder is such a common backstory element that they added a whole extra god just for doing that. In fact, you can divide 90% of drow characters from any official materials into these categories:

Manservant

Ambitious male, usually a wizard (5 bucks says he has long hair and a widow’s peak)

Dommy Mommy Warcrime Woman

Drizzt Do’Urden or one of his many duplicates

Self-loathing and/or resentful Drider

And finally, their existence almost purely to be humanoid enemies you can fight at nearly any levels is just kind of lazy. This is a problem that I have with the “evil races” of a lot of fantasy but having a group that’s evil by birth just feels like an excuse to not have to write actual motivations for your antagonists. It’s the difference between “go attack this camp of soldiers because they’re part of the SkullMurder army and their general wants to use our land to build a dread fortress” vs “go attack this camp of soldiers specifically because they’re drow/goblins/orcs/the dreaded peepee-poopoo folk”. Using stuff like this just feels like an excuse to not have to write an actual antagonist since it comes pre-written in the group’s lore. This has the side effect of whenever such a group is the antagonist of the plot, the players or audience know near exactly what to expect. The orc is here to conquer, the goblin is here to steal, and the drow is here to enslave or do some dark ritual.

I’ve legitimately heard people say “well if XYZ can’t be inherently evil anymore, who will we use as bad guys?” It’s very simple: whoever the fuck we want. Write an evil queen, or a scheming wizard, or an underground slave trade network. For God’s sake, anyone can be evil, you don’t need to tie that to a specific ethnic group and write it as “they’re just like that”. Write an actual character for your antagonist.

[decolonize-the-left]

Reminder that liberals aren't leftists and are in fact closer to being centrists and conservatives. Leftists are people like socialists.

Leftists want everyone's needs met. Healthcare, housing, food, etc and within the USA where the GDP is 23 trillion those things should be provided by the government. Workers should equally own the businesses they run and distribute profit equally as well.

Being a leftist can look like a lot of things- like calling for the straight up destruction of a government- but most can agree that until that happens then everyone's human rights and basic needs should be provided at the very least. Lots of leftists work towards this.

Remember that when leftists ask you to vote for 3rd parties with platforms that include universal healthcare, housing, and police reform.

Because liberals who stopped their political growth in 7th grade will try to make leftists out to be "Russian psyops" or white supremacists because we vote with principles and values and that don't allow us to vote for people who commit genocide, let single moms and their kids starve, and/or call environmental protests terrorists.

They'll reduce all this nuance to us "being immature and splitting the vote"

Quite frankly, I refuse to fall for this narrative in 2024.

We are ALL exercising our right to vote for the person who represents us. No, my beliefs don't line up with Democrats so I don't vote for Democrats ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not "splitting a vote" because I can't split my own fucking vote and I'm not a member of your party. I don't owe your shitty genocidal party any of my loyalty, quite frankly idk why You even vote for them since you say you care about human lives but I digress.

If your guy loses that means your views aren't the majority.

It does NOT mean I'm a Russian Psyop. And because I've already seen a post floating around about how The-Russian-Tumblr-Bots-Were-Real-And-Pretending-To-Be-Black I'm asking y'all to use your brains and critical thinking skills this election.

There's a REASON why they specifically wanted to undermine your trust in BIPOC. So let's think about this for a second.

Why would anyone want to undermine your trust in BIPOC? What kind of things do BIPOC say about the government and it's history? What are the political leanings of BIPOC? What would happen if everyone started to agree with those politics? Which party would those views harm most?

It's crazy to me y'all think those bots were there to help Trump when it's obvious as fuck to me that the Real concern is that BIPOC would make y'all more left which would only be trouble for Biden/Clinton. The only people that would lose votes if y'all voted more left like BIPOC bots told you to would be Democrats. We want Republicans to vote more left, remember? That would be a good thing.

They were on the site to keep liberals from going left and voting for someone like Sanders or Claudia de La Cruz instead of Clinton/Biden. They weren't helping Trump. They were helping Democrats. Republicans aren't the people listening to BIPOC Tumblr bloggers, are they?

And that psyop is STILL working cuz now liberal goons put in overtime to accuse anyone who criticizes the 2 party system of being a Russian bot 🥴🥴

Yeah. I'm sure the two parties who rely on that system definitely didn't expect or want that outcome at all. And I bet they really didn't want you to refuse to vote for anyone outside those 2 parties either. I'm sure they hate how this psyop ended with you having more trust in a corrupted 2 party system and less trust in 3rd parties that challenge the corruption of the system. How awful it must be for them, that the Russian Bots Ordeal ended with MORE trust in the current government and people being less willing to change it :(

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

one of my batfam hot takes is that alfred having a very kind and understanding grandfather-like role is a boring spin on the character and lacks a lot of nuance around his backstory.

like he is a classically trained british butler which means he very likely comes from a working class family. and like, as a working class brit myself, i sometimes find the kindly, well-mannered grandfather thing grating because, a lot of white, working class men his age are unfortunately not nice people. some of them are like my great grandad was a really great guy, but hes really the only one i know who is or was not awful.

because their generation werent as exactly raised with ideals about mental health and emotional regulation. a lot of them were traumatised due to ww2 either because they saw it firsthand when they were like 15, they were old enough to remember things like rationing and the blitz, and a lot of them lost their dads in the war.

i dont expect american writers to understand how much ww2 affected britain (modern britain is still so steeped in it, its insane) and that generation specifically, BUT id love to see that explored more with alfred. like depending on where he grew up, he would likely have been separated from his family during the blitz and sent off to the countryside like most of the kids in cities were, (this is how narnia starts) and like, a lot of them were horrifically abused or used as free labour. a lot of them also lost parents and never got to say goodbye to them. many came back to destroyed homes. some kids also remained in the city or their parents requested them back so theyd experience the blitz first hand and would know the sign of air raid siren meant they might die that night.

you can see how a lot of that generation were permanently scarred. and for a few decades now, alfred would have been part of that generation.

plus he was also a secret service officer which is just like more opportunities to be traumatised and more reason for him to not be this gentle old man whos in touch with his emotions.

and like, as a classically trained butler, he would likely be more reserved because you know, thats how he was trained. also british men that age would also likely be very hands off in regards to emotions.

but the biggest reason as to why the gentle, kind grandfather take doesnt really make sense is that he raised bruce wayne.

like bruce has a whole slew of emotional issues and problems, and obviously some of that is going to come from alfred raising him because you know, thats kinda how that works. i know a lot of batfam folks want bruce to be this great dad, so i guess their take on alfred fits that, but canonically, bruce wayne is an emotional mess and not the best father figure at the best of times.

you cannot look at that bruce wayne and tell me alfred did a good job.

listen, this shouldn't even be a hot take. it's just an opinion that differs from the most popular interpretation of Alfred as an endlessly giving grandmotherly old man.

the thing about Alfred is that more than anything you have to recognize that he's an enabler. and I love the man to pieces, but at absolute best he was extremely negligent in Bruce's upbringing, if not actively encouraging the world's worst coping mechanisms.

I hate to give Gotham credit for anything, especially when it comes to Alfred since I hate their Alfred, but the show was bang on in its insistence from day one that Alfred should not have been Bruce's primary guardian. it's painful to watch how often Alfred encourages Bruce to tough it out and suck it up, and it never really stops. in one of the latter seasons (four, I think) he hits Bruce hard enough to give him a black eye during an argument, and this is ultimately written as a situation in which Bruce needs to apologize to Alfred for being a bratty teenager, rather than Alfred owing Bruce an apology for hitting him when he's a grief-stricken teenage boy cracking under stress.

and like, listen, I understand there are Watsonian and Doylist layers to this. Alfred fundamentally can't have been a good enough guardian to stop Bruce from channeling his trauma into fursuit vigilantism, because then there's no story. I get it.

but jesus christ.

I don't think characterizations of Alfred as a stoic caregiver are wrong, but I do think people don't want to think about how he got there. when I see the aged Alfred patching up Bruce's wounds and nagging him to eat, or doing his best to offer advice to the kids who have gotten mixed up in Bruce's crusade, I see a man who realized a long time ago that he dropped the fucking ball and has dedicated his life to doing as much damage control as possible. okay, so, completely failed step one (raise a well-adjusted child). can we at least make sure that this basket case adult man doesn't go completely over the edge? can we make sure he doesn't become a killer? can we encourage him to take off the mask and be Bruce Wayne sometimes? can we keep the children safe?

I do think Alfred loves all of them, for whatever its worth. his care for Bruce is real, that is his son, the Batgirls and Robins are his extended family. he'll cook their uneaten meals and clean the entire, massive house himself and stitch them up every night forever. he would die for them. hell, he'd kill for them. he loves them. but none of that means he raised Bruce right.

that's kind of the thing I like most about the Bats: they all care so, so much. but the way they love is terrible.

[yanderederee]

Alright, let’s talk about Ken Wakui’s newest work

Negai no Astro

Or Astro Royal, whatever you prefer.

I will be giving no blatant spoilers in this post, only speculations:)

Manga PV here; ITS SO GOOD!!!!

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, Ken Wakui has a very distinct art style. And I love it! A lot of people are making fun of it (mostly on Twitter/X), and it’s really sad. I love his style, and character development.

I have high hopes for this manga, and want to paint a picture of what to expect for those who also want to get into it♡

Let’s start Character Designs

—our main-trio—

We’re only one chapter in so far, so we’ve only met the main two boys, Terasu and Hibaru (left to right).

Terasu Yotsurugi - 12th Son

Loving Terasu’s take-no-shit personality so far. Simultaneously, he seems very kind and loyal to Hibaru’s ideals.

Terasu is giving Ryusei/Chifuyu lovechild.

Hibaru Yotsurugi - only Biological Son

I love Hibaru’s chivalrous/“old-fashion” ideology. He may seem ‘generic shonen protagonist’ right now, but i don’t care. I will appreciate him.

Hibaru is giving Mikey/Takemitchi lovechild.

As for our blue eyes beauty over here, we have yet to see her yet. She seems very cute though.

She’s also giving lovechild vibes; Senju/Hina specifically…

—The Yotsurugi family—

There are 13 Siblings of the Yotsurugi family, whom has a history of being Yakuza.

12/13 Siblings are adopted.

So far, we only have designs for 11 siblings.

We do not know a lot of names thus far, WHICH I NEED BTW, so let’s go over what we do have, and my first impressions of them.

—Names going Left to Right per image

Shio Yotsurugi - Eldest Son

He’s giving Timeskip!Taiju vibes. Anyone who says he looks like Ran…. I can’t see it. He’s too beefy- sorry.

I just know I’m not going to like this guy.

Has a lot of the people’s support, but not mine.

Probably thinks he’s going to make the family better when he’s really ruining it:(

Unnamed Glasses Guy - maybe 2nd Son?

Mmmmm no thoughts.

Token megane character—

Probably corrupt.

I hope he proves me wrong.

Kou Yotsurugi - 11th Son

Middle child vibes

He will be deranged and misguided.

Probably “hates” Hibaru because he’s so much like their father, who I assume he respects, but doesn’t agree with.

He probably secretly admires them both though.

Unnamed Hottie - maybe 9th Son?

MINE. 👹👹👹 RAPID. FERAL. BARKBARKBARK—

I NEED NAMES, NOW WAKUI. NOW.

Who is he. Where was he. I must know.

also lowkey giving Angry’s blue-ogre vibes…

Based on vibes alone, I lay claim. Awoogaawooga♡

Didn’t appear in chapter 1 though so:( </3

Unnamed ScarGuy - maybe 10th Son?

Eyes always closed, speaks with ♡ at the end of his sentences…

Seems charming. I mean, look at those eyelashes…♡

Wanna give him a kith.

I have a feeling he and Unnamed Hottie are biological brothers… not sure.

Wakui please, sir, just one chance—-

Unnamed BraidGuy - maybe 8th Son?

Mr. I’ll just stay in my lane. Respect.

Realistically, I think he’ll be my first/second favorite eye candy, depending on how these characters personalities/canons end up being explored.

I’m sorry I have a thing for men with long hair!

Cool earrings too lol

Seems neutral to who’s in charge.

Wakui, seriously, I CAN TAKE HIM—!!!

BENKEI???? - maybe 5th Son?

Has lion-like eyes and sharp canines….big nose

My size kink is acting up—no, please nO—!

Okay but seriously. I’m not sure what to expect from him yet.

He seems honest, but I can see him getting power hungry:(

Handsome Lady - Maybe 3rd Daughter?

Cooler older sister vibes.

Awoogawooga

Please be a lesbian or at least bisexual—

Seems logical and cool. Probably doesn’t coddle innocence.

Mr.BigNose - Maybe 4th son?

Uh-uh. No thanks. Not bc of his appearance, but bc his character is depicted as insufferable so far.

Probably sexist.

Probably too coward to admit it, but if things with the family bond start turning south, he’s the first one OUT.

Hehe I may have left this screenshot wide to show off the One Panel that shows Mr. Unnamed Hottie *twirls hair*

I mean seriously look at him I’m going to scream without the s

Story Direction and Expectations

I trust Wakui. The way he explores his stories is through character bonds and personal ideals.

This is one of the reasons why I grew so fond of Tokyo Revengers.

Plus… it’s Found-Family Gang activity. It’s my soft spot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I would say Yakuza but I want to be respectful in how I throw that word around, so I’ll avoid it for now if I can.

The supernatural powers that get involved will surely lead to a type of succession war between the siblings.

“What it means to be strong” will probably be the fundamental lesson of the story.

I am so excited to see how Negai no Astro will progress!

Please support Ken Wakui however you can by reading Chapter 1 onwards!♡

[vanilladove]

This request is a bit long and specific but I hope that's not a problem efvevefvrgb I'm sorry

So if that's not a problem I would want headcanons for gn reader who is Atsushi's sibling (a year older), has the same ability and also is in ADA and is in love with Akutagawa and he hates them at first but then fall in love. Also reader has very similar personality to Atsushi. (I know, readers description is almost Atsushi, I kin him okay tgbrbrgbrbg 😭)

So fluffy sibling headcanons with Atsushi, romantic (and suggestive/nsfw if thats okay (I'm 19)) headcanons with Akutagawa and also headcanons about dynamics between reader, Akutagawa and Atsushi.

I'm sorry that it's so specific rtgefbefbefg And thank you in advance if you'll write this erfefvvejad ♡

hihi tysm for being my first request, anon! this is actually so cute ahhhhh :,) i felt like keeping this pretty fluffy. engagement is always appreciated (from anyone & everyone:D)! thank you guys for all the support + requests so far ♡

pic creds luvpngs

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ pairing: akutagawa x nakajima!gn!reader

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ genre: fluff + a lil suggestive (hickeys)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ content warnings: none!

~being siblings with atsushi...

Since you're a year older, you've always been quite protective over your younger brother. Despite having very similar personalities, you're a bit more rational and street-smart than Atsushi.

You made him his first ever ochazuke (green tea over rice) at the orphanage one day to celebrate his birthday, and since then it's been his favorite food ♡

You cheer him up a lot and are kind of like his strength:,) After the kids at the orphanage cut his hair, you convinced him it looked cute and yelled at them to never mess with him again.

You always keep extra tissues on you for him bc he’s a lil crybaby sometimes :(

Both of you train together since you have the same ability. Luckily, neither of you are super competitive, so you both are at the same skill level.

You both share one brain cell...

~being akutagawa's lover...

You fell first, but he fell harder :D

The first time you saw Akutagawa, you were enamoured by his beauty. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't reciprocated since he held a grudge against you and Atsushi (*cough* bc of Dazai bragging*cough*).

Dazai sent you to negotiate with the Port Mafia on behalf of the ADA once, and you saw him again in a meeting. Higuchi was gone, so naturally you sat next to Akutagawa--much to his dismay.

He was side-eyeing you harshly the entire meeting until his lung decided to act up and send him into a coughing fit...

You gave him your untouched cup of tea and fished some cough drops out of your pocket (always prepared bc you're the older sibling lol). This surprised him (along with the other Mafia members).

He didn't have the luxury of declining, so he took them without thanking you and stubbornly looked away (you swore you saw a faint blush on his cheeks though...)

After the meeting, he pulled you aside and demanded to know your favorite café, so he could take you there, warning you, "don't get the wrong idea, I just don't want to owe you". (he's awkward ik :,) )

Somehow your little 'dates' went back and forth as you kept bringing him more things to ease his condition (handkerchiefs, tea w/ honey, medicine, etc.)

Akutagawa fell for your bubbly personality and giving nature (which he would've regarded as weak before). As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was nice to have someone take care of and genuinely look out for him. It's the reason why he secretly hopes he'll never stop 'owing' you.

His love language is quality time and writing you poems/love letters. Anytime he isn't working or with Gin, he spends with you. His go-to is a romantic moonlight walk by the ocean (he def hates water tho and refuses to even dip his feet in--black cat energy hehe)♡

Expect a lot of subtle affirmations from Akutagawa. Not many “i love you”s but a lot of “the moon looks beautiful tonight, doesn’t it?”

Also lots of affectionate head bonks hehe.

SUPER POSSESSIVE!!! Will constantly hold you/your hand when you're alone together or out in public and leaves hickeys to show you're his.

One time Atsushi saw one on your neck and asked about it...you told him it was "from Akutagawa", and he immediately got defensive thinking he'd hurt you. You awkardly laughed and told him it was a "hickey". Poor, innocent Atsu asked Dazai what that was and obviously Dazai's evil ass explained it in the worst, most suggestive way possible :p Afterwards, Atsushi wouldn't look at either of you for a week...

~dynamics between the three of you...

Although at first Akutagawa refused to hang out with Atsushi, he began to tag along more after you expressed that it made you sad to leave him out. When they did fight, you were the middleman breaking it up.

Akutagawa has been nicer to Atsushi lately--scoffing at his jokes instead of clapping back, claiming "it's for your sake and definitely not by choice".

Nicknames! You call Akutagawa "Ryu" when you're alone together. Aku calls you by your name but still refers to Atsushi as 人虎 "Jinko". Tried to call Atsushi by his name once, but it felt wrong, so he never did it again lol.

Dazai likes to tease that you guys are "Triple Black". You're a powerful trio, and you often strategize and provide support to the other two.

Since you guys are so similar, you once asked Akutagawa why he liked you so much but couldn't stand Atsushi...

Mans was absolutely dumbfounded. The question made him realize it was because he loved you, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it flat out. The thought of that made his face red like a tomato. He was so flustered, he couldn't even think of a cute, poetic thing to say.

He brought you close to him in a hug to try and hide his crimson face, burying himself into your neck.

"Your haircut isn't stupid like his, that's all".

[marzipanandminutiae]

The post about "we need feminism because there's a men's rights movement in LGBT" is from radfems. "Baeddelations" has a pinned post about being a baeddel, "men's rights" in this context pretty much means trans men speaking about being trans men. (I'm not denying issues in the community but I know you've wanted it pointing out when you've missed dogwhistles before, and the post is all very thinly veilled references.)

I did some looking into this, because I was not familiar with the term "baeddel."For anyone else who didn't know: It's an Old English word generally meaning "effeminate or castrated man" as far as I can tell, and some transfem people adopted it primarily back in the 2010s (although some still use it, like the user in question). Baeddels in the modern sense claim to focus on transmisogyny and trans women's issues...but as you say, some can lapse into prejudice against trans men. To the point where, while it doesn't seem like they ALL hold that view, it has become one of the most prominent things about the movement. Kind of like radfems and transphobia. The poster in question seemed, when I looked through their blog, to come down in the middle- there were some comments that raised my eyebrows, but not as extreme as things I saw on other blogs.

I went back and forth about what to do re: the post in question, though. Because I don't want to be associated with hatred of trans men, since. You know. I don't hate trans men. However, I do feel that the modern left, and even the LGBT community, believes misogyny has been fixed and refuses to examine the undercurrents thereof that women in these circles still struggle with.

(Trans men can be misogynistic. NB people can be misogynistic. Anyone can be misogynistic, and the community letting misogynistic people off the hook because they're not cis men, or the expectation thereof, is a real issue that I have witnessed/experienced IRL. Shoutout to the trans guy who insisted I let him do everything for me out in public, and got mad when I didn't want to, because it "made him feel more masculine" so I should apparently just shut up and act helpless, for example.)

(There's also been a lot of "not all men" going around in response to women expressing frustration with the bullshit we face for our gender, which is like. Come on. I thought we all figured out in the 2010s that no-one sensible is talking about LITERALLY all men; we just shouldn't be expected to water down our anger to make men comfortable. Tacking "but what about trans men?" onto that doesn't negate the entire rest of the conversation.)

I disagree that the post is "all thinly veiled references" because it looks like most people reblogging it are like me- folks who aren't familiar with that term but feel that there's a still a misogyny issue in progressive and queer spaces. However, because of the association with a specific movement I am not part of and largely disagree with an apparent key point of, I will be deleting it.

Do not mistake this for me recanting my personal sentiments on the matter. There is a misogyny problem in my community, because the misogyny problem in broader society remains. Trans men and NB people are not exempt from being misogynistic. This needs to be talked about, and it is deeply frustrating to me as a queer woman.

Do I even have to say "this is not for t*rfs?" Well, just in case, it is Not. Fuck off.

[hollygracesworld]

You’re Mine | Josh Lambert x Reader

fandom : Insidious (especially Chapter 2)

pairing : Possessed!Josh Lambert x Fem!reader

summary : You knew Josh when you were little. Two of you grew up together with Josh’s mother. You are an orphan and your mother used to be Josh’s mother’s best friend. You’ve known since childhood that Josh can see ghosts, more specifically the ghost of a woman who always bothers him. You two went through that kind of thing until you grew up and got engaged. But you didn’t expect that what happened to Josh this time was the worst….

Except you fuck Josh while he’s still possessed.

warning ⚠️ : Josh being possessive. sexually explicit content, fingering, rough and angry sex, unprotected sex, p in v sex.

That morning was the peak when you felt that the person sleeping with you was not really your fiancé, but someone else. Since Elise died, you have had an uneasy feeling that you swore you didn't want your hunch to be true, but as each day goes by Josh's behavior, you are increasingly convinced that your hunch about Josh killing Elise is probably true.

And now you feel so afraid of your own fiancé.

Josh hugged you from behind, his pale face exposed to the morning sun through the window, smiled at you, “I want to make hot coffee, do you want it too, hun?”

You rubbed your eyes, took off the blanket that was originally on your body then you said, “I hate coffee, do you remember?” you said quietly. You were a little scared by the change in Josh’s expression. You know that your fiancé is being possessed, but you have no other choice, you have to assume you don’t know anything for your own safety.

“Tea with a less sugar is enough for me.” you said again, then Josh smiled broadly and kissed your lips gently.

Since Elise's death, the most different thing that you feel about your fiancé is that he hasn’t slept with you again. Of course sex isn’t everything in your life, and you don’t mind if your partner just wants to cuddle and kiss while sleeping all night, but this isn’t like Josh Lambert at all. So far, you have never asked to have sex openly through words, but what you have done is only through touch.

You once tried to have a hot and intense kiss with your fiancé and started touching his cock, but he just smiled and didn’t seems care about it.

“thank you,” you said in a low voice as Josh handed you a cup hot tea.

You and Josh sat at the dining table, facing each other, you said, “Josh… I want to come with you to buy some breakfast on the road later. I haven’t had time to buy food supplies. When you get to school, can I borrow your car to go to the Grocery Store?”

“Yes, yes of course hun..”

Josh smiled, holding your hand gently. You act very awkward in front of him, how could it not be? You literally live at home with your fiancé who is being possessed. But then again, you have no choice, you have to stay calm, until you can contact his mother.

When you arrived at school, you got out of the car. Josh, with his face still looking deathly pale, smiled at you as you adjusted his tie. He touched your face really gently, and then kissed your lips. He did a French kiss by playing with his tongue, you breathlessly said, “stop...Josh...stop. We’re at school.”

Students passed by you and Josh and they giggled and smiled.

You smiled at him, “you are a teacher, there are a right time when we do that. Now go, be a good teacher and not mislead.” You said while pushing Josh’s back.

“Your woman is very sexy, sir!” said a student passing them with his gang. That guy chewed his gum while staring at your butt.

Josh turned his head and looked at the child angrily. you say, "please don't get carried away."

Josh didn't say anything, he just stared at the child's back as he walked further away from them. You noticed that Josh was looking at the man with hatred.

“Josh…”

“I want to go first, it's my time to teach.” said Josh briefly.

When Josh was about to leave, you patted his shoulder, “I’m sorry, I almost forgot to put the breakfast we bought earlier in your bag.” You said, then quickly opened the car door and took the lunch box containing gourmet sandwiches.

“Just give me that…” you said, grabbing his briefcase and opening it.

You gasped and were shocked when you were about to put Josh’s breakfast into his bag. You almost dropped the bag, he was really confused.

“Are you okay, hun?” Josh asked with a confused face.

You covered your mouth, your body felt cold sweat now. Because what you see is a sharp knife inserted between the book and the document paper.

You were so shocked that you couldn't even speak a word. With a shaking body and very scared, you opened the car door and locked it as you got into the car.

“What’s wrong, hun? What’s wrong!” Josh asked, his facial expression changed to anger, and became so scary.

He hit the car window several times, “What's wrong? You can talk to me, don’t just go away!” When you started driving your car, he was still trying to open the car door and hit the car window, but you quickly left the school.

You shed your tears. Your body is still frozen, and you are very, very scared. As you drive, you turn on your phone and open Lorraine Lambert’s number to call her.

It didn't take long, after the cellphone rang, Lorraine voice began to be heard amidst your sobs.

“What's wrong, Y/N? What's wrong with you?” Lorraine asked panicked.

“I saw a knife in Josh's bag earlier, and… and I….” you stopped because you feel out of breath.

Lorraine from the phone line tried to calm you down, “Please calm down, I know you’re very scared right now...” said Lorraine, you turned the steering wheel of your car to the right, towards a quieter road.

“I’m going to your house now, please be careful on the road.” said Lorraine then quickly turned off the phone.

When you got home, you saw Lorraine waiting for you in the yard. You quickly ran and hugged her. Your body is shaking because you’re still very scared. You guys went into the house and from there you told Lorraine everything.

“I think that when Josh went into that other world, something else came back.”

I know, I can feel. I think he's possessed. you said while lowering your head, “He’s different, I... I feel like I live in this house with a stranger.”

“You have to leave this house quickly.” said Lorraine in a serious tone.

“No, I’m fine. I can live with him as if nothing had ever happened before,” you said, wiping your tears, “I know he’s there, Mom, I know,” you said. You really consider Lorraine like your own mother, considering that she also raised you.

“Y/N…. you have to be careful. I will ask them for help, you hold on.”

You hated that this was all happening to you again, but you had no other choice.

After a long conversation that morning, now Lorraine has left you alone at home. This is your decision, to face everything alone. Even though you are often haunted and followed by the ghost of a woman dressed in white, you are okay with that and you know you can survive in that house until...

You feel someone’s breath on your chest then the breath moves towards your neck. A soft and seductive breath making you wake up and realize that you were fast asleep on the couch after Lorraine’s visit.

You saw those blue eyes that looked so perfect with that deathly pale face that showed so much lust.

Without warning, Josh grabbed your body which was still on the couch. He bit your neck aggressively and full of lust. You froze, and surprisingly, you didn’t fight back at all. You just woke up and suddenly your fiancé who is being possessed is try to fuck you after you haven’t done it for a long time.

You know that he’s being possessed, but you’re suddenly weak, because miss that body…

and that dick.

“Hun, I’m really sorry... I should have explained to you about earlier. What you see… it was a carving knife. The art teacher there asked me to bring an art carving knife for wood carving leather crafts, because I used to have one..” Josh said in a very soft voice against your cheek.

“No, it wasn’t a carving knife, I saw it!” you said trying to defend yourself.

But Josh held your body, “Shhhh, hun, please stop being like this. You left me like before, all this time you were also scared and paranoid.”

“No, but…” you said but Josh quickly covered your lips with his index finger, “don't ruin this moment, bitch.”

Josh’s expression changed drastically to become very scary. He bit your neck causing you to let out a moan from your mouth. He put his body on top of you, his lips moved to your jaw and he kissed and lick your jaw very aggressively.

You felt Josh’s breath rising and falling on your neck and jaw. He said, “Your fragrance makes me even more crazy… than what I did before.”

You don’t understand what Josh means, about what crazy things he did before. You try to fight him, but you can’t. You were too weak for him, and he put you in paradise.

Josh’s right hand entered your thin shirt and he immediately opened your bra from behind. His fingers traced the perfect shape of your breasts through your shirt, and he played with your nipples with lazy movements.

You can’t deny it. He look dead and pale but that made him look even hot.

Josh opened your thin shirt roughly, almost tearing it. He unbuttoned your pants, and now inserted his fingers into your clit. He played with your clit then inserted two fingers into your pussy, he’s making you moan so loud.

He looks at you with a satisfied smile because he has made your pussy very wet.

Josh opened your leggings roughly. He starts to take out his hard cock and insert it into your vagina very quickly.

You can feel the couch that you’re laying on is very wet now. Josh fucked you very fast. Makes you moan very loudly all the way to the end of the room. Josh- who incidentally you know that he’s not really Josh because he’s being possessed, honestly…. whoever he is now, he fucks you really good.

“You’ve been waiting a long time for my cock into your pussy, right… slut?” said Josh then he started to speed up his movements. “You know what I’m doing, but you choose to stay here because you are a miserable bitch who wants me to fuck so hard like this?”

Josh kissed your lips very aggressively, then he choke your neck. He speeds up the movement of his hard big cock in you, making you even more out of breath because he’s choking you harder.

“Please...” you groaned, trying to pull Josh’s hands away which were choking your neck.

You thought at that moment he was going to kill you, but apparently he didn’t. He released the choke when he was cum in you.

Josh this time hugged your body, and continued his movements, which this time were gentler than before, he continued without removing his cock from inside you. It's like, he won’t stop until you’re completely cum.

“Why are you so beautiful...”Josh said hoarsely in your ear, he kept kissing your lips brutally, “you’re mine, no one can see your body and praise you except me.” Josh said against your lips.

He bites your neck again, and now your neck is very visible with red marks. You felt his big cock speed up in your pussy, and Josh kissed your jaw, you were instantly at your climax. Josh quickly takes his cock out of your pussy and then you cum everywhere.

Josh kissed you, “It was all worth it.”

You looked away and said, "Josh.. what were you doing before?” You emphasized the last word as he said it earlier.

Josh smiled as if he didn't know anything, “What? What do you mean?”

THE END.

[rainyamidala]

authors note; if you dont like the "has kids and is pregnant" trope, this is not for you !!!! this is basically a headcanon explaining why jake is so tough on his sons in atwow !!

d/n = daughters name

s/n = sons name.

i didn't want to make up names in case readers would like to do that on their own. personally i imagined the kids in way of water lol

theme; you tell jake he's being too hard on your kids - he tells you why.

pairing; dilf jake sully x reader

warnings; bad ending !! clearly what i need to work on the most. mentions of death and war. intentional lower caps

"Jake." I began, looking at him with that look on my face as he finished lecturing our son. This conversation we were about to have must not be had in front of the kids, as that might make it seem like i don't respect jake when he sets a boundary or makes a decision. if thats what it looked like to our kids they could start not listening to him - which is the last thing i'd want.

but it was getting out of hand, and it made me uncomfortable.

we had three kids, one on the way. two boys, one girl.

i always thought him being much more strict with our sons was because they were older and needed to take more responsibility than our daughter had to - because i agreed with that. he did lecture d/n when he had to (so she wouldn't get a suffocating attitude and behavior as a grown up. parenting !) but with our boys it was very different. he'd lecture them about everything, and being very harsh and closed minded when he did so.

jake caught on, nodding.

"you guys go ahead, your mother and I will be right behind you." he said, patting our oldest sons back twice before they went off, mumbling to each other.

"i told you he'd freak out!"

"shut up, jerk. it was your idea."

"oh, yeah? you're the one who started it!"

i waited until they were out of hearing distance before i began again, turning from their direction and to my mates.

"you are very hard on them." i said as i turned around, gaining a sigh from jake in response.

"we've been over this, y/n. they're teenagers. they can't grow and mature with kisses and hugs."

"but it is more than that. you cannot expect them to make no mistakes." it is hard enough already for them with their father being who he was. but like every other na'vi they wanting to make their father and anyone with his name proud - that wouldn't be such a fight if he didn't have so high and unrealistic expectations.

"i don't." Jake responded fast, sounding over it already. he hated having to explain his reasoning - having to explain and defend himself.

"they think you do. that's whats important - they think you have expectations they will never be able to fulfill."

"they said that?"

"once. but they do not have to. i see it - i feel it." i felt very close to all of my children, like if they were physically hurt, I was too.

"I'm their father - its my job to be hard on them. toughen them up for the real world."

"your daughter is growing up in the same world - you don't treat her the same and they see it, jake." the absolute last thing id ever wish for is for jake to be so tough that it creates a wedge between two sons and a father.

"what do you want me to do, hm? let them run off and break every rule we set for them? that is not the kind of example i want to set for the youngest; that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want with no consequences." as he said the word youngest, he placed a hand on my stomach. ever since i got pregnant, he had gotten even more strict. i thought it was because he didn't want to stress me out with our kids (specifically boys) being wild, doing things they shouldn't be doing, but i'd never asked.

"talk to me, ma jake. why are you like this?" before we had our oldest, s/n, jake was very fun. definitely the wildest man i had ever met, always doing something he shouldn't. he was still like that, but less than before. i knew it was because he had matured massively since then, but i wish he'd seen himself in our sons before being so quick to judge their excitement for the world around them.

"because that's how my father raised me and my brother - i think i turned out alright. that's what i want for them. to turn out alright. more than alright - i want them to be the men they were born to be." he explained, struggling a little to keep the eye contact between us.

Jake was not one to talk about his family or his life before Pandora. i knew about his brother and his warrior background, but his parents weren't a subject he'd heavily touch on unless heavily forced.

"when i was a marine, i could be careless. it's more to the story but in the end, i lost my legs because i wasn' thinking two steps ahead. i didn't have my father to correct and lecture me, so i'm giving it to my kids." Jake was very grateful for this chapter in his life, more thankful for this than anything. being able to wiggle his toes and run in the forest was a gift he did not recognize until it was lost. not being able to do so as a human threw him to the wolves of depression - same affect as losing his brother.

he'd hate for one of his sons to get badly injured or even worse: one losing the other like he had lost his brother many years ago.

i opened my mouth to respond, but he quickly shut me off by continuing.

"my father raised me like this and I will continue raising my sons like this. you might not agree with me on everything, but i know i'm doing the right thing."

In response, i just nodded, looking down. i felt slightly bad for bringing it up, seeing the direction it had gone in. Jake had lost his brother and didn't want our kids to fall in his footsteps of fate.