#now I have to debate whether or not I want to try out twitter again but that site is in flames too (plus I don’t really like posting art

[holydramon]

I’m honestly so fucking pissed about the deviantart thing, it’s the only other site I actively use art wise and also one that I have had some luck selling things on. i guess I’ll still use the site and just do the mass art opt out but jfc.

[ayyy-pee]

𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕀𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜

Discord 18+ - Twitter

Pairing: Tomioka Giyuu x Female Reader

Summary: Will he survive this war? 

Will you be alright without him? 

Will you be lonely if he never returns?

And arguably, the most important question – will his line end with him?

The clock is ticking and who knows if he will ever make it back to you.

He’d never given much thought to children, but Giyuu had also never given much thought to marriage before he’d met you.

or

Giyuu and reader get to work on making a baby.

Story Warning: BREEDING KINK GIYUU, LACTATION KINK GIYUU, Smut, Giyu and reader are secretly married, P in V sex, Profanity like yall should know, Vaginal Sex, Cunnilingus, Giyuu is a munch, Unprotected Sex, Multiple Creampies, Mating Press, Freaky ass Giyuu fr

Art by: michi_ia (Twitter)

A/N: This was a request from one of my amazing readers! This one shot takes place in the same universe as Hidden Affairs (Sanemi x Reader fic!) They can both be read as standalones as they involve different readers! Hope you enjoy!

It’s eerily quiet tonight. Just as it’s been for the past several weeks. A storm is brewing, slowly but surely. Giyuu feels it, they all feel it. It’s like a simmer just under the surface, waiting to boil over at any moment. That’s why all of them were called to Ubuyashiki mansion. The plan has been set in motion and Giyuu knows what his role now is.

But will he make it back alive?

That’s the question that plagues his mind at this very second as he approaches his home. He can see the dim candle lighting illuminating the space through the windows and he knows he won’t be alone once he’s inside. No, he’ll be able to see you. And it’s all he’s been looking forward to since he stepped foot on the mansion grounds.

“I’m home,” Giyuu murmurs as he slips out of his haori. He lays it carefully on the table beside the front door.

“Welcome back, my love,” your voice floats through the air like a song, calling him to you. You’re in the bedroom and when Giyuu enters, he sees you’re already snuggled into the futon on the tatami, clearly ready for bed. “How was the meeting?”

Giyuu sighs, crossing the space and falling to his knees at your bedside. He leans forward and kisses you softly, reveling in the way that you, as always, can melt away his worries with just your skin on his. “It’s…” He debates on telling you the truth. That it’s not looking good. That he and the other Hashira, the Master, are all in imminent danger and that it’s likely to come soon. But as he watches you, so sweet and caring, he knows he can’t lie to you. “I’ll have to leave…to be close. He will come soon.”

He, being Muzan. Though Giyuu doesn’t dare speak his name in his home.

“I see…”

You recover quickly, but Giyuu has already seen it. The sadness and concern that flashes across your features. He feels guilty that he’s the cause.

“And the others?” You question, trying to change the subject. You know Giyuu hates talking about matters like this with you. You dislike it as well. Because he can’t be as honest as he wants to be with you. It’s for your safety and honestly to protect your sanity. It’s enough that you’re fully aware of the position he holds as a Hashira, and yet you insist on staying with him. Not that he could ever let you go. Even though he knows it’s selfish for him to have you, he would rather be a selfish man than be without you.

“Same old, same old. Still a little strange without Uzui, but we are managing.” Giyuu kisses you again before standing. Just as you do every night, you’ve got a bath waiting for him, and he’d like to get in and soak so that he can get back to you before sleep takes you for the night.

“That’s good. Everyone is well?”

“Yes.” He purses his lips as he fiddles with the rest of his garments, debating on whether or not to tell you this. But he thinks you may find this amusing. “Shinazugawa looked as though he was seconds away from ripping my head from my shoulders before the Master appeared.”

He hears your soft giggles behind him. “Were you sitting too close to his lady again?” You tease.

Giyuu shrugs, though you can hardly see the movement. “For Hashira, they are very bad at concealing their secrets. They smell of sex every time they arrive.”

“Yes, but it’s very cute to see. I’m happy she continues to keep our secret even though she has no idea we know hers.”

Ah, yes. Shinazugawa believes Giyuu is interested in his beloved, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. See, what the other Hashira (aside from Shinazugawa’s love) doesn’t know is that Giyuu is married - happily, at that. His colleague only found this out after running into you in town, carelessly dressed in Giyuu’s haori as yours were in the wash. And when she confronted you about the very familiar garb you were wearing, you just “felt that you could trust her with their secret”. It’s worked out for you both so far. It’s made you and Giyuu’s fellow Hashira closer, and Giyuu is simply glad you have a friend who you can confide in. He doesn’t even mind playing the messenger between you two, typically passing along stories and jokes from you to his associate when you’re all called together for a Hashira meeting. 

But it’s also placed a large target on his back, a certain white haired psychopath surely waiting for the right moment to shove his blade down Giyuu’s throat.

“He believes I have feelings for her, you know? Almost blurted out their secret in a jealous rage in front of us all.”

“What?!” You gasp, scandalized. “You’re kidding.”

“No. He hates me because of it. It’s quite obvious.”

You hum, mind going a million miles a minute as you mull over this information. “Maybe it’s due to you being so unapproachable and distant. You don’t spend much time with the other Hashira. Perhaps it makes you unlikable.”

Giyuu winces, your words touching a sore spot because this isn’t the first time he’s been told he’s not liked among the Hashira. Kocho once said something similar.

“I’m not unlikable…” he grumbles, lips curling at the corners when he hears your laughter again. You tease him too much. “I’m going to take a bath. Don’t fall asleep on me.”

++++++++++

“Shall we try for a child?”

The question leaves Giyuu’s lips before he can talk himself out of it. He debated on saving this question for the morning as he joined you beneath the blankets, but his bath left him to sit in silence with nothing but his thoughts.

Will he survive this war? 

Will you be alright without him? 

Will you be lonely if he never returns?

And arguably, the most important question – will his line end with him?

The clock is ticking and who knows if he will ever make it back to you.

He’d never given much thought to children, but Giyuu had also never given much thought to marriage before he’d met you.

The prospect of a child never appealed to Giyuu before, but the closer he gets to this inevitable battle, the more it’s on his mind. If anything were to happen to him, he would not want you to be alone. He would want to leave you with something of his, something that you’ll be able to look at and be reminded of him if worse comes to worse.

“What brings this on?” You ask, more quiet than normal. “I mean you…you’ve never discussed children before.” You roll onto your side, propping your head up on your elbow. The moon casts almost an ethereal glow over you, your beauty clear even in the dim lighting of your bedroom.

He shrugs. “I suppose I’ve never thought about it.” His blue eyes gaze into yours. There’s something there, something behind your eyes that you’re not saying. If it were a no, you would say so. You’ve never been one to mince words. If it were a yes…well, you’d say that as well.

“Is this truly what you want?”

“Yes.” He sits up, pulling you into his lap. His fingers play with the strings that hold your top together, gently tugging. It loosens, exposing your collarbone to him and he can’t resist placing a gentle kiss there. “Wouldn’t you enjoy it?” His lips ghost your skin lightly, and the sigh that rushes past your lips is music to his ears. “Caring for this small person, a perfect mixture of you and I?”

You place your hands on his shoulders, head tilting to the side to make room for Giyuu as his lips explore your neck, your throat, the swell of your breasts. “Yes,” you whisper. The sleeves of your top slip from your shoulders, a new part of you exposed for Giyuu to now claim, and you let him. You let Giyuu do whatever he wants with you when it comes to this. You’re always so pliable as soon as his arms wrap around you.

“I want it,” you breathe, hands pulling Giyuu from your shoulder and cupping his face. You press a soft kiss to his mouth. “Let's have a child.”

Wide eyes beam at you in the moonlight, a look of appreciation swimming in them. How did Giyuu get so lucky to have a wife like you? His hands guide your top down, revealing your smooth skin to the night air. His lips caress your breasts, breaths ghosting over your slowly hardening nipples. He takes one into his mouth, groaning at how the soft flesh fills his mouth. Your body is beautiful — a face that would bring a god to their knees, curves in all the places Giyuu appreciates, a form that molds perfectly to his, made for him and only him.  

Giyuu lets his mind wander while his mouth presses sweet kisses to your chest. What will you be like when you’re pregnant? Will you crave for certain foods? He’s heard that that is common. What will you look like when you’re months into your pregnancy? Will Giyuu be there to witness your belly grow round with his child?

Something clicks in Giyuu’s mind at that moment. And while he’s not usually rough with you, he can’t seem to control himself when a guttural moan bubbles from deep within his chest and he wraps an arm around you, flipping you both over. He settles his hips between your legs, rolling his hips against your core, reveling when your back arches off the futon as you moan. And Giyuu dips down, capturing your mouth with his and swallowing each and every sound you make.

It’s all dry humping and moans, whispered “I love you’s” and peeling each other’s clothes off until you both lay bare. Giyuu listens to the way your breath hitches as he kisses his way down your body. His lips brush over all of your sensitive spots on the way down, only stopping when they reach the most sensitive. Your chest heaves with heavy breaths as Giyuu peers up from between your legs. This is one of his favorite views, particularly at night when the soft glow of the moon illuminates your body in such a way that he can’t help but be painfully erect.

Giyuu is a man of very few words. Everyone knows this. Even with you, he is not particularly talkative, but as Giyuu takes in the sight of you, legs spread wide and the puffy lips of your pussy coated with your arousal shimmering in the moonlight, he must let it be known. “You are so beautiful”. He licks his lips, groaning because he is eager to have you, eager to taste you, feel you, breed you.

“Wider, my love,” Giyuu commands, and you do as you're told, spreading your legs to further expose your aching cunt to him. “Perfect,” he whispers, hands coming up to caress the inside of your thighs where he plants tender kisses along the plush flesh. He leans forward, burying his nose into your core and inhaling deeply.

And this may seem odd to those whose jobs don’t revolve around breathing, but there’s something about your scent that has changed. Giyuu can’t place his finger on it. Maybe your scent smells sweeter? Or perhaps your scent is simply more intoxicating because Giyuu has reached a level of arousal that is new to him. But there is without a doubt something different.

He decides not to dwell on it any longer when a desperate and hushed “please” reaches his ears. He realizes then that your thighs are shaking, eager for him to proceed. So he presses a soft kiss to your glossy lips. You gasp quietly, back arching immediately and Giyuu takes that moment to lick a fat strip through your folds.

The groan he lets out is deep, animalistic almost. It vibrates through your core and the sensation makes you reach down, weaving your fingers through Giyuu’s dark tresses to grab hold.

“O-oh, Giyuu…” You gasp as he presses his tongue to your clit, his eyes roll back when he feels the slick pour from your core and straight into his mouth. He laps it up eagerly.

“You taste divine,” he groans into you and you moan in response, hips rolling up to grind your cunt against Giyuu’s mouth, begging for more. And Giyuu obliges, lips sealing around your clit and sucking, licking, nipping at your swollen bud until you’re practically fucking yourself on his tongue.

“Giyuuuuu,” you keen, back lifting off the futon again. You moan loudly, fingers clutching Giyuu’s hair and pulling him further into your pussy. “Right there–” you pant. “Right there! Please don’t stop–”

Giyuu grunts, wincing because his cock is throbbing painfully against his abdomen. He can feel the moisture beneath him, his tip leaking with his arousal. Surely this will stain the fabrics, but that doesn’t matter at the moment. He brings a hand to your pussy, pressing his thumb to your clit and rubbing tight circles. You’re thrashing, moaning his name over and over, damn near about to pull his hair out when Giyuu plunges his tongue into your clenching hole, and he has to will himself not to cum when you cry out and your soft walls clamp down on his tongue immediately. Your hips come up to meet his mouth, grinding your soaking cunt against Giyuu’s face. And he loves it.

Giyuu loves the taste of you. He’s not much of a drinker, he’ll admit. Never much cared for the taste of liquor and has never experienced being drunk in his life, but he imagines it feels similar to the way his head is swimming just off the taste of you.

By now, the futon is sticky with his precum, and it doesn’t help that Giyuu has now been mindlessly rutting against the fabric to find some sort of friction. He longs to make you cum on his tongue, but he also longs to bury himself inside you. But you make the decision for him, tugging his hair until Giyuu finally pulls his mouth away from your center. He crawls along your body, the echoing sound of his length separating from the stickiness of the bed filling the room.

He’s face to face with you, his lips and chin glistening with your wetness and it takes him by surprise when you run your tongue from the tip of his chin, all the way to his mouth where you press your lips to his in a passionate kiss. He groans, eyes rolling to the back of his head when you murmur against his lips, “how do you plan on putting a baby in me if you don’t fuck me?”

Giyuu thinks that if Muzan doesn’t end up being the death of him, you will be. He puts a hand to the back of your neck, pulling you closer and whispering, “Forgive me, my love. I got carried away.” He slips his free hand between your bodies, a fiery heat blooming in his cheeks when he feels the way his cock is dripping onto your cunt. This is it. There will be no going back once he goes forward with this.

“When I’m done, you’ll be with child,” he says, seriously, as though it’s a fact. Because in his mind, it is. Giyuu grips his length, stroking himself slowly, rubbing his tip against your clit as he lets his mind wander briefly, and lets your moans fuel his runaway thoughts. 

His head is consumed with the image of your breasts, swollen and dripping with milk and he has to halt his strokes to stave off the sudden urge to blow his load. He’s a little surprised, actually. Giyuu has seen and rescued his fair share of pregnant women, and didn’t think twice about it. Forgot about them the moment they weren’t in his direct line of sight. But you…you who consumes his every waking thought…the idea of you with leaking nipples, allowing Giyuu to taste the delicious nectar that your body has produced? It’s a thought so arousing, he has to tuck it away mentally, save it for when he’s alone on his missions so that in the late hours of the night, when he’s wrapping his hand around his cock, the image is still fresh.

He’s not sure when he slipped inside of you, let alone flipped you both over again so that he’s now on his back while you ride him. You take him all the way to the tip, moaning loudly every time you sink onto him. The intense waves of pleasure bring time to a standstill. Your nails are sunken deep into Giyuu’s abdomen, steadying yourself as Giyuu’s hips thrust into you at a bruising pace. On a typical night, Giyuu wouldn’t be so rough with you, so greedy with you. But tonight, while his mind is focused on a single goal – ensuring he leaves you with his offspring growing inside your womb – he feels like a crazed man.

Your cries grow louder, more high pitched and your movements stutter momentarily. When you cry out that you’re going to cum, riding him faster and faster, walls fluttering around him, breasts bouncing beautifully, Giyuu’s mind is back on his prior thoughts – dripping, swollen and full…

And then Giyuu is crying out with you, gritting his teeth as he fucks up into you, emptying his balls to the point that he’s lightheaded. His vision blurs as he keeps pumping into you. He hears the squelching, feels the splashing of his seed dripping from you and onto his abdomen, and Giyuu pulls you down to take his entire length again and again until he finally comes to a halt. His hands grip your hips tight, eyes honed in on where you sit flat against him as your sweet pussy cradles his cock.

“Don’t move,” he growls, surprising himself with the gravelly sound that just left his lips. And you nod, whimpering above him. Within your walls, Giyuu can feel his length still pulsing, spurting pathetic, weak strings of his seed. This orgasm has his chest heaving, hands shaking. He grits his teeth, using his hands to rock your hips back and forth.

“You’re going to be an incredible mother,” he coos, finally releasing his hold on you. His fingers ghost along your skin, from your chest, over your nipples, down to your abdomen where he places his hands flat against your stomach. He focuses on fucking you deeply, burying his cock as far as he can, pushing his seed as deep as possible. “Our child will be so lucky.”

“Yes, my love,” you breathe, eyes closed while you continue to take all of him so well. “And you’ll be an amazing father.”

Your words turn him on, more than he’s ever been. He rolls you both over once more and when you’re on your back, Giyuu takes a moment to pull out and admire his work. His eyes are locked on your core, dripping with evidence of him, pulsing and hungry for more. And he’s still so hard. He wants to give you more, needs to give you more. So Giyuu slips back into your pussy easily, the lubrication from the mixture of both your releases making you both shudder.

He’s so fucking sensitive, but he can’t bring himself to care. Not when your greedy cunt is still squeezing down on him, trying to milk him for all he’s worth. He hooks your legs over his shoulders, pushing forward until a knee rests on either side of your head. And Giyuu thinks he may black out, because he doesn’t know that he’s ever been this deep inside of you before. He can feel his seed spilling from you, slipping down to your ass where his balls are pressed so hard, it keeps the thick liquid from flowing any further. 

“One more…” he grits out, brows knitted together in determination. “Need to make sure it sticks.” Then he’s fucking you again, one palm resting on the back of each thigh, balls smacking loudly against your ass with every rough thrust.

“Oh my god, oh my god!” You gasp, fingers gripping the bed sheets tightly, and Giyuu whimpers in response. Your pussy is tightening around him, a vice grip already greedily trying to pull whatever he has left to offer from him.

“I want your baby,” you murmur into Giyuu’s ear and he groans, voice rough with desire. His thrusts pick up speed, searching for more pleasure.

“Do you?” He moans against your shoulder when he feels himself hit a particularly soft spot within your walls. “I’ll give you one. I swear I will –”

“Yes!” You practically scream. “Right there, Giyuu–”

“Fuck –” His eyes are closed, mouth slack as he pumps wildly into you. You’re so wet, so tight, so soft and as much as he wants to keep fucking you like this, he’s about to cum embarrassingly fast for the second time tonight. He can feel his balls get a little tighter with each sticky thrust. “Shall I b– ah…shall I breed you once more? Fill you up…ngh…until you’re dripping with my seed again?”

“Please–”

You hardly have to finish your words, because Giyuu is grunting loudly, bottoming out just as he spills himself into you, giving you every drop he has to offer. “Stay still,” he tells you, still thrusting into you, even though he can go no further. He pulls back once more, then sinks balls deep inside of you, breathing heavily as he empties himself. “Need you to take it all, my love.”

“I will,” you pant, his perfect little wife.

You stay like this for some time, Giyuu plugging your pussy until his cock softens inside you. Then he pulls out slowly when he has no other choice. You sigh in relief when you’re able to finally put your legs down as Giyuu lies beside you. He scoops you into his arms, kissing you all over your face, silent apologies for being so aggressive with you. You’re both catching your breath while Giyuu softly runs his hand up and down your spine.

“I wonder if we’ll be successful.” Giyuu mutters when the silence is too much and his thoughts become so unbearable he has to share them with you.

You wiggle out of his hold, sitting up to look down at him. You’re smiling, a cute and goofy smile that Giyuu only sees when you’re up to something. Or when you have a secret that you’re finding impossible to keep from him. So Giyuu sits up as well, brow raised in curiosity.

“What is it?” He asks suspiciously. His eyes narrow when your smile widens.

“It was successful…” You take Giyuu’s hand and press it to your stomach. “about two months ago.”

Giyuu is confused. His eyes are stuck to where you have his hand. Two months ago? Successful?

You can see the confusion clear as day, even in the darkness. “My love,” Your hand cups his cheek and like instinct, Giyuu leans into the touch. He still hasn’t torn his gaze from your joined hands. “Giyuu…look at me.”

And he does, back rigid as he stares at you with wide eyes. The cogs are turning, finally. He thinks he may have figured it out. But there’s a teasing smirk sitting on your lips, and Giyuu doesn’t know if he should believe you or not.

“A-” He swallows, mouth suddenly dry. “Are you…?”

You pull Giyuu towards you to place a sweet kiss to his lips.

“I’ve been with child for some time. I just wanted to wait to be certain. I planned on surprising you today, but your meeting ran so late and…” Your hand covers your mouth, hiding the small giggles threatening to bubble up from your chest. “Well, it’s just so cute when you get all serious and focused like that.”

You fall back onto the bed, your pretty laughter filling the room, and Giyuu can’t help it. He laughs, too. Your laughter is so infectious he can’t resist.

It’s a strange mixture of elation, fear, maybe relief. He’d accomplished his goal before he even knew it. But with him leaving to go to the mansion tomorrow, knowing what is planned, he’s now got a new sense of dread seeping into his bones.

But it also gives him a new sense of purpose, outside of returning to you. 

Giyuu must defeat Muzan. 

Giyuu must survive. 

Giyuu must get back to his wife, to his child, to his family.

No matter what.

[erinelliotc]

A few years ago I used to be that annoying "transmasc lesbians don't exist, this shit is harmful and invalidates both transmascs and lesbians" person, and now I'M the transmasc lesbian. Seems like the tables have turned, huh?

I've spent so many months, years, trying so hard to fit into these categories that I saw so many people talk about as if it were the definitive truth, and this shallow and simplistic vision seems to be gaining a lot of attention and traction here in Brazil. Isn't it ironic to free yourself from cisnormativity and heteronormativity and all these binary boxes to find yourself again trying to fit into other boxes and norms that don't actually describe your experience correctly? Because your experience with gender is so chaotic and confusing (as expected of a nonbinary identity, and even more so if you're neurodivergent too) that there's no simple way to describe it. Then when you find out what describes this, people say you can't identify yourself that way because two or more of your identities are "incompatible". I see people treating non-binarity as if it were an exact science, as if it were math, as if it were something simple and logical, as it is precisely the escape from what has been established in our society as the only two possible options, generating countless identities within a gray area outside this black and white vision, so of course it's something complex, abstract and subjective.

EDIT: One of my reasons for thinking this way was that I ignored that the transgender experience and the cisgender experience aren't and will never be equivalent. It's obvious that a cis man can't be a lesbian, but the same doesn't go for transmasc people, and I thought that admitting that was the same as being transphobic, denying the masculinity of transmascs, denying their male identity. I already had a debate on Twitter because people didn't want to admit that trans men and transmasc people in general can suffer misogyny and male chauvinism (as society can still see and treat us as women) because they also saw it as the same as saying transmasc people are women. The identity of trans people is a very complex experience that involves a series of factors that cis people will never experience. We cannot equate the trans experience with the cis experience.

I thought identifying as a butch lesbian was enough to describe my masculinity, but I realized that I felt like it didn't encompass everything I felt, I still felt like something was missing. Preventing and depriving myself of identifying with more explicit masculine identities was actually making me feel bad and dysphoric. So yeah, I've been avoiding identifying with male-aligned identities because I thought that would mean having to stop identifying as a lesbian, and I didn't want that, and I don't really feel like calling myself straight makes any sense.

I have a text in Portuguese talking about my experience as a butch lesbian, and I feel that now it also serves to describe my experience as a nonbinary transmasc (the part where I talk about not identifying with "traditional masculinity", but with a "different type", like "soft masculinity", is directly related to the fact that, in addition to being nonbinary, I don't identify as a man, I don't feel comfortable with the term "man", but rather with "boy"). I spent a few months wondering whether I was libramasculine or boyflux, and I ended up deciding that if I can't identify which one I am, maybe it makes more sense to just adopt both identities, maybe I am both then! I'm tired of trying to fit into supposed rules about being nonbinary. This is exactly how non-binarity shouldn't be. I'm supposed to feel free, not trapped again. My identity is my identity and that's nobody's business.

[velandvithestarlightgullwings]

Only the Knowingly Ignorant and the Privileged decide to sit out Voting

As a black women that has not only engaged in both online and offline canvassing but have engaged in tons of arguments and debates on Reddit, Tumblr, Tik Tok (not twitter because Nepo Baby Elmo Muskrat will never get my patronage), I've talked to many of people, Gay, Enby, Straight, Black, White, Rich, Poor, Young, and Old. I've been talking so much, I hate the sound of my voice. And I've noticed a trend. There have been so many people who need to vote refuses to do.

Whether its from a defeatist mindset that their vote means nothing, the "Enlightened Centrists" (That always tend to have more complaints about democratic party than the GQP) that like to preach that BoTh SiDeS bAd who will often invoke George Carlin (one of my faves) while not understanding that he was a staunch liberal and would actively shit on them had he lived to this point, voting Third/Green Party, or the Palestine-Israel conflict, and those that need the US to fall to bring a new, left leaning country from its ashes.

The truth is that those that live in privilege or willfully ignorant will often cite these excuses. Now, I'm not talking about the uninformed. That group are sincerely not in the know and just need a gentle push to get them on the right path of understanding. They legit only vote like every four years and need to be caught up because live is tough out there and they don't have enough time to be this deep into politics.

I mean the ones that purposely ignore any sort of information given to them and will choose not to vote for any of the reasons above. They will refuse reason to a near insane degree to keep themselves willingly ignorant and the privileged that believe "Oh, it can never happen in the good US of A!" or "I'm Rich as fuck, this won't touch me!" or even "I will make YOU burn for Palestine, even if they won't feel YOUR warmth because YOU have to suffer with them!"

You can lead those horses to water but they will refuse to drink.

They know about women rights being stripped away, they know that LGBTQ people are being seen as something they are not, they KNOW that predominately black and other POC will suffer the most from Trump's Agenda 47/Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, and they know that if America, being the leader of the free world (Whether they want to admit it or not) falls to Trump again, many other countries will follow suit.

And yet they will still say "Well, my vote won't matter/still voting Stein/MAGA 2024!/It won't happen here/Both sides still bad/Palestine needs to be saved, so nyeh!"

So, I want to go point-by-point to debunk all of this.

Both Sides Bad: Now, this one should be easy to debunk. While many of us is aware that both the Democratic Party and the GQP, much like us Poors, live by Wu Tang's C.R.E.A.M, there are a lot of fucking differences.

When one side is actively trying to strip rights away, burn books, call those in the LGBTQ family groomers, threaten teachers and librarians for teaching their students, make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion an outright slur, and other heinous shit in the name of their version of GOD aka while the other side is dragging them kicking and screaming toward progress, both sides are definitely not the same.

Hell, the GQP seem to not even life by C.R.E.A.M because the reality is that they are constantly making horrible decisions that are costing the country money. (But then again, if Black people and other "Undesirables" gain from it, they will do all they can to fuck everyone over but that's a discussion for another day.)

Green Party/Third Party Voting: When was the last time a third party won anything? I'll answer that. NONE. The only one who was close was Teddy Roosevelt and even he couldn't do it. Even Bernie Sanders, someone who ran as independent, realized that it was better to work with the Democratic Party to get anything done.

Until Ranked Voting becomes a thing, the Third/Green Party will never win anything. And even outside of that, let's look at our choices. Jill Stein, a known Putin Shill, Cornell West, a known tap-dancer for those sweet, sweet MAGA dollars, and RF-Oh wait! RFK JR is on Trump's side because he was always a stooge that was there to try to take votes from Biden, only to take votes from Trump with his dog-eating, sexual assaulting, bear killing, whale killing, self.

Hm, I see how that could happen.

So with a Tap Dancer and a Putin Shill as the leaders of the Third/Green Party, they are just shades of red.

Voting doesn't matter: Now this is just objectively false as the GQP have been trying to restrict voting in many ways from gerrymandering to outright purging voters (as seen in Texas) and if we look at history, so many elections (not only nationally but statewide) have been narrow as fuck with only a handful deciding it all.

It won't Happen Here: This one is also objectively false. People have often said that Project 2025/Trump's Agenda 47 is a "Leftist Boogeyman" while not understanding that a lot of what is in there is happening in many states already such as Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana for example with voters rights being hindered, women's rights being ripped apart and climate change causing plenty of damage, and CRT being under constant attack.

Look at how many doctors have fled from these states since RvW (Which was all thanks to Trump's two SC picks and surprise, also in P2025) was struck down, causing women to be in grave danger down there. Look at how Trans people can't even change their names and are being put on some kind of watchlist. and do I need to talk about the million of voters that were just purged and that Latino woman's house being raided for legally helping people register to vote?

Palestine: I've railed against the performers about this subject plenty and I'm honestly sick of it. This entire conflict has been going on for 78 years versus one year that people realized it was the next protest trend after their love of Ukraine died. All that Palestinians wanted was for us to make things known and donate to their causes and that turned into "We all have to die to make sure they live" which actually means "YOU have to lose all your rights and die so THEY can lose and die" because we all know that if Trump wins, his bestest buddy Netanyahu can destroy Palestine without impunity and without Harris calling for that pesky Ceasefire. Also with the help of Jared Kushner, Trump can make that beachfront property that would look oh so good.

Palestine already told us what they need to do to help and that is to make sure Trump doesn't win and many seem to not know that because they are doing what they THINK they want them to do. And if proof is needed, look at my Tumblr page as I have proof of all the points that I have made and tons of reblogs with FURTHER proof.

And finally...

Anarchists and Accelerationism: This one just pisses me off. A lot of people who have railed against people voting and voting for third parties and Trump believe that if Trump wins, a revolution will come and they will achieve their perfect leftist paradise from the ashes.

SHUT THE FUCK UP WITH YOUR FANFIC BULLSHIT!

Do you understand that with any revolution comes death and a loser? The first group of people that will suffer is not the rich fucks that rule, it will be you, your family, your friends and that's later on down the line.

The first group that will suffer immediately would be Black people and only minorities. We would be the first ones dying for this so-called revolution before anyone else would feel it. And not only that, you all act like you would win when the GQP would be the ones with the army and the hightech weapons while you have what? WHAT? You're just talking out of your ass.

It is very, very rare that the underdogs win and on the sliiiim chance the revolution wins, what will be left? Look at other countries who did the revolution and then look at the immediate destruction and destabilization that happened, which then gave way to more atrocities which put the "Winners" in an even worse state they were in at the start.

And those that want this don't even realize that they won't be the leader of the resistance. They will either be dead or an underling.

Wake up from that dream.

So if any of you see anyone saying "Don't vote" and they AREN'T Palestinians (because I will not hold them to this), don't even entertain their bullshit because they are in

[fatuiracha]

a/n: haikaveh drabble of them sleeping together. just sleeping. sleepy fluff. haikaveh images from hailailai2 on twitter : )

It takes little to rouse Alhaitham from sleep, even less to make him fully come to his senses before drifting off again. Normally, Kaveh was the exception to this rule; Alhaitham slept like he was on the brink of death whenever his beloved was near him, though he would deny it with every breath. Kaveh knew, though, he could see the slight furrow of Alhaitham’s brow smooth out with Kaveh’s touch and could feel his breathing deepen further when he curled up into Kaveh’s arms. It was a gift that Kaveh held close to his chest. What Alhaitham couldn’t remember wouldn’t hurt him, he supposed.

That unspoken knowledge is why their current situation was so…odd. Kaveh returned home drowsy and languid from the cup of wine he had shared with Tighnari not long ago, and he had stripped down and bathed not a moment after coming home. He wanted to get into bed as soon as possible, but he wasn’t so tired that he was willing to risk Alhaitham’s lecture about sleeping in his bed without being clean. Kaveh made quick work of it, his eyes closed as he lathered and rinsed off his aching body, and he had slid into bed like he always does, draping himself over Alhaitham’s chest and burying his head in the juncture between his jaw and his sternum. The sound of Alhaitham’s slow heartbeat was typically Kaveh’s favorite bedtime story, but this time it jumped soon after Kaveh had closed his eyes. 

A glance upwards showed Alhaitham’s lips twisted into a frown, his nose scrunched up in such an adorable way that for a moment Kaveh’s confusion gave way to unfiltered fondness. The soft whine he lets out brings him back into focus, and he slowly blinks as he internally debates whether he should wake Alhaitham or not. 

Maybe he’s having a bad dream, Kaveh muses, and he snuggles a bit further into Alhaitham, trying to offer his junior some comfort even in his subconscious. It doesn’t help, but rather it makes things worse. The younger man whines again and wriggles under Kaveh, almost dislodging him from his perch. Alhaitham’s mouth parts in a disgruntled noise as his eyes finally blink open and he stares down at Kaveh blearily. 

Kaveh finds the whole thing dreadfully familiar, even though he hasn’t had this particular experience since before he and Alhaitham confessed their feelings. Ending up in bed together was a frequent occurrence back then, and Alhaitham would always wake up with a cold set to his body and a shade of disappointment on his face. Now, however, it makes no sense; they had been together long enough for sleeping in comfort together to be their lived-in routine. 

“Haitham?” Kaveh tries, something in him bending and threatening to break. “Are you alright?”

“Mm,” Alhaitham tries his voice out, and it’s thick and crackly from sleep. “Something’s wrong.”

“Wrong.” Kaveh repeats, and he leans back a bit to create some distance. Alhaitham doesn’t let him, his hand creeping around Kaveh to secure them together, and Kaveh’s heart settles a bit. “What do you mean?”

“You smell weird,” Alhaitham says, sentences even more deadpan in his drowsy state than usual. “Different. Not like yourself.”

“Do I smell bad? I just bathed,” Kaveh feels a little insulted, he knows how to wash himself thank you very much, but Alhaitham shakes his head before the heat inside him can rise. 

“You don’t smell like you,” Alhaitham’s voice is tinged with desperation, his words shaped like a plea, and Kaveh is so confused. He tilts his head down, trying to smell whatever Alhaitham is claiming is so wrong and that’s when he realizes. 

He doesn’t smell like himself, he smells like Alhaitham. His skin is painted with notes of amber and jasmine, woodsy and heavy which was wholly unlike his preferred scent of fresh padisarahs and cotton.

“Oh,” he lets out a relieved breath, letting his muscles relax so he was melted against the other man. “I must have used your soap instead of mine.” 

“But I like the way you smell,” Alhaitham whines, and Kaveh is affectionately reminded that his lover is the younger of them both. It isn’t often that Alhaitham lets his childishness show, but even he is vulnerable to the emotional effects of sleep deprivation. 

“I’ll fix it first thing in the morning, I’m tired now,” Kaveh reasons, closing his eyes.

“Now,” Kaveh can’t see the frown on Alhaitham’s face, but he can certainly hear it in the single word he mutters out.

 “Think of it this way,” Kaveh smiles, pulling out something he’d been keeping close to his chest. “If I smell like you, then everyone will know that I’m yours.”

Alhaitham doesn’t answer, but Kaveh feels his heart jump under his cheek, and he hides his smile in the fabric of his lover’s shirt. Nevermind that the ‘everyone’ that Kaveh speaks of consists of their four walls and Mehrak. 

He adds possessive to his mental checklist of Things Alhaitham Is That No One Will Believe Me About, right between Not Feeble and Temperamental. 

[mariacallous]

While the finer points of running a social media business can be debated, one basic truth is that they all run on attention. Tech leaders are incentivized to grow their user bases so there are more people looking at more ads for more time. It’s just good business.

As the owner of Twitter, Elon Musk presumably shared that goal. But he claimed he hadn’t bought Twitter to make money. This freed him up to focus on other passions: stopping rival tech companies from scraping Twit­ter’s data without permission—even if it meant losing eyeballs on ads.

Data-scraping was a known problem at Twitter. “Scraping was the open secret of Twitter data access. We knew about it. It was fine,” Yoel Roth wrote on the Twitter ­alternative Bluesky. AI firms in particular were no­torious for gobbling up huge swaths of text to train large language models. Now that those firms were worth a lot of money, the situation was far from fine, in Musk’s opinion.

In November 2022, OpenAI debuted ChatGPT, a chatbot that could generate convincingly human text. By January 2023, the app had over 100 million users, making it the fastest ­growing consumer app of all time. Three months later, OpenAI secured another round of funding that closed at an astounding valuation of $29 billion, more than Twitter was worth, by Musk’s estimation.

OpenAI was a sore subject for Musk, who’d been one of the original founders and a major donor before stepping down in 2018 over disagree­ments with the other founders. After ChatGPT launched, Musk made no secret of the fact that he disagreed with the guardrails that OpenAI put on the chatbot to stop it from relaying dangerous or insensitive infor­mation. “The danger of training AI to be woke—in other words, lie—is deadly,” Musk said on December 16, 2022. He was toying with starting a competitor.

Near the end of June 2023, Musk launched a two-part offensive to stop data scrapers, first directing Twitter employees to temporarily block “logged out view.” The change would mean that only people with Twitter accounts could view tweets.

“Logged out view” had a complicated history at Twitter. It was rumored to have played a part in the Arab Spring, allowing dissidents to view tweets without having to create a Twitter account and risk compromising their anonymity. But it was also an easy access point for people who wanted to scrape Twitter data.

Once Twitter made the change, Google was temporarily blocked from crawling Twitter and serving up relevant tweets in search results—a move that could negatively impact Twitter’s traffic. “We’re aware that our ability to crawl Twitter.com has been limited, affecting our ability to display tweets and pages from the site in search results,” Google spokesperson Lara Levin told The Verge. “Websites have control over whether crawlers can access their content.” As engineers discussed possible workarounds on Slack, one wrote: “Surely this was expected when that decision was made?”

Then engineers detected an “explosion of logged in requests,” according to internal Slack messages, indicating that data scrapers had simply logged in to Twitter to continue scraping. Musk ordered the change to be reversed.

On July 1, 2023, Musk launched part two of the offensive. Suddenly, if a user scrolled for just a few minutes, an error message popped up. “Sorry, you are rate limited,” the message read. “Please wait a few moments then try again.”

Rate limiting is a strategy that tech companies use to constrain net­work traffic by putting a cap on the number of times a user can perform a specific action within a given time frame (a mouthful, I know). It’s often used to stop bad actors from trying to hack into people’s accounts. If a user tries an incorrect password too many times, they see an error mes­sage and are told to come back later. The cost of doing this to someone who has forgotten their password is low (most people stay logged in), while the benefit to users is very high (it prevents many people’s accounts from getting compromised).

Except, that wasn’t what Musk had done. The rate limit that he ordered Twitter to roll out on July 1 was an API limit, meaning Twitter had capped the number of times users could refresh Twitter to look for new tweets and see ads. Rather than constrain users from performing a specific ac­tion, Twitter had limited all user actions. “I realize these are draconian rules,” a Twitter engineer wrote on Slack. “They are temporary. We will reevaluate the situation tomorrow.”

At first, Blue subscribers could see 6,000 posts a day, while nonsubscribers could see 600 (enough for just a few minutes of scroll­ing), and new nonsubscriber accounts could see just 300. As people started hitting the limits, #TwitterDown started trending on, well, Twitter. “This sucks dude you gotta 10X each of these numbers,” wrote user @tszzl.

The impact quickly became obvious. Companies that used Twitter di­rect messages as a customer service tool were unable to communicate with clients. Major creators were blocked from promoting tweets, putting Musk’s wish to stop data scrapers at odds with his initiative to make Twit­ter more creator­ friendly. And Twitter’s own trust and safety team was suddenly stopped from seeing violative tweets.

Engineers posted frantic updates in Slack. “FYI some large creators com­plaining because rate limit affecting paid subscription posts,” one said.

Christopher Stanley, the head of information security, wrote with dis­may that rate limits could apply to people refreshing the app to get news about a mass shooting or a major weather event. “The idea here is to stop scrapers, not prevent people from obtaining safety information,” he wrote. Twitter soon raised the limits to 10,000 (for Blue subscribers), 1,000 (for nonsubscribers), and 500 (for new nonsubscrib­ers). Now, 13 percent of all unverified users were hitting the rate limit.

Users were outraged. If Musk wanted to stop scrapers, surely there were better ways than just cutting off access to the service for everyone on Twitter.

“Musk has destroyed Twitter’s value & worth,” wrote attorney Mark S. Zaid. “Hubris + no pushback—customer empathy—data = a great way to light billions on fire,” wrote former Twitter product manager Esther Crawford, her loyalties finally reversed.

Musk retweeted a joke from a parody account: “The reason I set a ‘View Limit’ is because we are all Twitter addicts and need to go outside.”

Aside from Musk, the one person who seemed genuinely excited about the changes was Evan Jones, a product manager on Twitter Blue. For months, he’d been sending executives updates regarding the anemic sign­up rates. Now, Blue subscriptions were skyrocketing. In May, Twitter had 535,000 Blue subscribers. At $8 per month, this was about $4.2 million a month in subscription revenue. By early July, there were 829,391 subscribers—a jump of about $2.4 million in revenue, not accounting for App Store fees.

“Blue signups still cookin,” he wrote on Slack above a screenshot of the sign­up dashboard.

Jones’s team capitalized on the moment, rolling out a prompt to upsell users who’d hit the rate limit and encouraging them to subscribe to Twit­ter Blue. In July, this prompt drove 1.7 percent of the Blue subscriptions from accounts that were more than 30 days old and 17 percent of the Blue subscriptions from accounts that were less than 30 days old.

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino was notably absent from the conversation until July 4, when she shared a Twitter blog post addressing the rate limiting fiasco, perhaps deliberately burying the news on a national holiday.

“To ensure the authenticity of our user base we must take extreme measures to remove spam and bots from our platform,” it read. “That’s why we temporarily limited usage so we could detect and eliminate bots and other bad actors that are harming the platform. Any advance notice on these actions would have allowed bad actors to alter their behavior to evade detection.” The company also claimed the “effects on advertising have been minimal.”

If Yaccarino’s role was to cover for Musk’s antics, she was doing an ex­cellent job. Twitter rolled back the limits shortly after her announcement. On July 12, Musk debuted a generative AI company called xAI, which he promised would develop a language model that wouldn’t be politically correct. “I think our AI can give answers that people may find controver­sial even though they are actually true,” he said on Twitter Spaces.

Unlike the rival AI firms he was trying to block, Musk said xAI would likely train on Twitter’s data.

“The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the company said grandly in its mission statement, echoing Musk’s first, di­sastrous town hall at Twitter. “We will share more information over the next couple of weeks and months.”

In November 2023, xAI launched a chatbot called Grok that lacked the guardrails of tools like ChatGPT. Musk hyped the release by posting a screenshot of the chatbot giving him a recipe for cocaine. The company didn’t appear close to understanding the nature of the universe, but per­ haps that’s coming.

Excerpt adapted from Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter by Zoë Schiffer. Published by arrangement with Portfolio Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2024 by Zoë Schiffer.

[cartoonscientist]

this has probably been touched on before but so much of fionna and cake ties into the theme of self-value and self care by making references to (what is traditionally viewed as female-centered) fan culture and specifically the debate around whether fanfiction should have “some basic level of quality” or whether it should be considered an unbridled form of self expression closer to art therapy than writing a professional novel (it obviously comes down on the side of the latter)

the theme of Simon not wanting to discuss his “old stuff” that he finds embarrassing and painful because he wrote it in a very bad place mentally, what he sees as mediocre, emotionally masturbatory wish fulfillment that says way too much about his psyche, although it’s shown that other people get a lot out of the Fionna and Cake series, suggesting that it’s a versatile work of fiction which readers can interpret to fit their own emotional needs even if it’s not exactly “high art”

or Scarab’s ultimately self-destructive obsession with wiping out what he considers a “mediocre” “abomination”, even though everyone around him is telling him to chill and let it go and focus on more important things because it doesn't really matter. for years, and even today, fandom has been plagued with (usually cishet male these days, but women used to make up a far larger portion of the snark/anti-fan community) fans who don't only dislike shipping and original characters, they actively seek out creators who do enjoy these things to harass them. or, I'm sure you've seen those people on twitter who get really mad about the fact that leaving long critical notes on ao3 fics (when not prompted or specifically requested not to) is widely considered Pretty Fucking Mean

both Simon and Scarab are basically being told by the narrative to take it easy, to not care so hard about like, the ontological definitions of "art" and "quality". Simon learns to value Fionna and her world, realizing that they have a life beyond the circumstances he believed he created them under. (but when he again tries to assume control, to sacrifice his own well-being for people he feels are more deserving of love than him, his space god girlfriend basically slaps him and says "you are so special and amazing on your own simon, you don't need to hurt yourself, you don't need to try to handle everything by yourself, and actually sacrificing yourself when you don't need to is kind of a dick move, and yes I know from experience because I'm omniscient now" [which ties into what's kind of the thesis statement of the show, Simon and Fionna both feeling like they're not special and don't deserve to exist or receive care and affection because they aren't exceptional, ie don't have magical abilities/live in an adventurous fantasy world; basically, you don't NEED to be super talented and amazing and saintlike to deserve to be happy, you just need to BE, and do your best as a human])

FOOTNOTE: when Scarab told Fionna that what she did wrong was exist, it was painfully reminiscent of transphobic (and anti-ND) harassment (and ultimately added another layer of satisfaction and validation to his defeat) and tbh it's hard for me to believe the writers didn't intend that at least subconsciously

[catholic-character-tournament]

Quarter Finals - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Shadow

In sonic destruction (the AI generated fan thing snapcube made a while ago) shadow was catholic or something which I think is reallyyyyyyy funny

Ok listen. I know this is a stretch but hear me out. He says “oh my God” in the Twitter takeovers so we know this is a possibility. I see him as a Christ-like figure because I saw his whole confrontation with Mephiles and was like “this is a thing that happened in the Bible??” and the pose Mephiles shows him in is literally like a crucifixion and Mephiles is meant to be a demon / false prophet reference. And also he’s called a demon in Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 then the guy who calls him that is like “I was wrong I’m sorry” and that also reminds me of a thing with Jesus in The Bible. But the biggest reason is his whole thing with Maria cause I think he’d come to earth and hear Ave Maria once and convert to Catholicism idk he’s like we’re comforted by a female familial figure named Mary sometimes called Maria?? And her color is blue????? Heck yeah I’m in because I Will Cry. Also feel free to share this as propaganda obv even if he doesn’t get in the bracket just. It’s funny.

I feel like he’d battle a lot with being seen or portrayed as a demon and how the aliens he’s related to very much look and act like demons idk lmao- and also I feel like confession would just be good for him I think he needs it for his mental health

There is a debate on the lovely website tunblr that Shadow T. Hedgehog is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

He is Jesus, idk what to tell you. He lived, he was sealed away, he was awakened again and deemed the ultimate lifeforms, he’s angry but not evil, does what he believes is best for people and the world at any given time. Total loser.

Vote for Shadow the Hedgehog

There seems to be some confusion in the notes. He is Catholic. It may not be explicit, but it can be inferred.

Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, and for the early part of his life, lived with Gerald and his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik.

Robotnik is not a made-up name. Google Search results may only bring up pages related to the Robotniks of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, however, it is a rarely used Polish surname. Poland is a historically Catholic nation, and… come on. Maria is the most Catholic name ever. The Robotniks are Catholic. Shadow was created and raised by Catholics.

Now you may be wondering to yourself: Does Catholicism even exist in Sonic? The answer is yes, at least in the Archie comics, where Protestants are explicitly mentioned.

Couple this with the fact that several characters, including Shadow, have canonically taken the Lord’s name in vain, it is reasonable to infer that Christianity, and therefore Catholicism, exists.

So… while Shadow’s own religious beliefs may not have been explicitly addressed… at minimum:

Catholic is a cultural designation that Shadow will always be allowed to claim based on the family that made him.

Whether he’d actually want to claim that designation is a different conversation, but the other propaganda does a fine job of explaining why it may be appropriate to headcanon him as a practicing Catholic.

Now that we’ve established that Shadow has as much of a right to be in this tournament as anyone else, there’s one very important reason you should vote for him:

It would be funny if he won.

Thank you.

Essays are done!! Here’s some Shadow propaganda because the propaganda we currently have sucks and I need to fix that. While yes, Shadow being Catholic is a meme, there is more to outside of the simple “fandub said so” and its not quite stated its Catholicism but just how he behaves and his actions. There’s a lot of Sonic content so I will try to keep this brief. Gonna get headcanons out of the way.

Shadow is Chilean and so are Maria and Gerald Robotnik because I fucking say so and they’re Catholic. He definitely had un rosario next to his like. Bed or test tube whatever he slept in. So did Maria btw. Alright let’s move on because I am 100% correct.

Let’s start with some background for Shadow. Shadow was created as a cure for a girl called Maria and he grew to care for her as a sister and loved her deeply. He was artificially created but still holds a soul that is similar to Maria’s. Long story short, Maria is killed protecting Shadow who watches as she’s shot in front of him. He has his memories tampered by Maria’s grandfather, Gerald, who manipulates him into carrying out revenge on the Earth, even if Shadow ends up as collateral.

Shadow struggles with frequent identity crises, even before Maria’s death and always wondered what his purpose was, what he was made to do. Was he a weapon? Was he a cure? He’s the Ultimate Lifeform, but what does that truly mean? ? He’s Shadow, but what more is there to him? He doesn’t know what his purpose is other than what others have prescribed to him, and he guides himself through the will of others (something that he breaks through afterwards but not yet). Shadow at his core is self-sacrificing and constantly punishes himself. This is where you can see some of that good old guilt that everyone has been using as propaganda, but we also see someone who is giving and kind.

He is snarky in the game, especially when interacting with Sonic, but he’s having what is essentially an ongoing mental breakdown but keeps moving because it is his duty to his sister. He doesn’t believe himself important enough to continue on after her and sees it in himself to act out on “Maria’s wishes”. After the revelation that Maria’s final wish for Shadow was for him to make those on Earth happy and to protect them, he immediately sacrifices himself to do so.

Okay, that’s a lot and you’re probably asking “Okay, you mentioned he is a giving person and yeah he has guilt, but that’s not really Catholicism” and yes you would be right! So let’s go into the more important part of being Catholic. The charity, the community, the kindness, etc. Shadow is a very reserved person and has the habit of being a dumb teenager because well. Yeah. Anyways, he definitely has a soft spot for those he cares about and while his whole arc (in my opinion) is about finding the freedom of self-autonomy, it is also Shadow growing as a person and deciding not to save people because others have told him he needs to, but because he wants to. It is born from his soul and its his nature to care for people. It is who he is, and he knows it now. He’s not doing it because he’s a hero or because he is told to do so. Shadow is a very giving person and I think people tend to forget about that especially due to bad writing from the past decade or so. He is also stated to help out at food shelters and volunteers a lot. He is proud and a bit prickly, but he cares so deeply about those he loves. He is stronger with his loved ones and will always do his best to protect them. These are minor, yeah, but you don’t need sweeping and enormous acts to get attention for the good deeds you do. Most of what you apply of Catholicism is done at the personal level, between your friends, family, and community.He also goes to Mass whenever he can and if he can’t he goes to the capilla and also does the sign of the cross whenever he runs by a church. Cutting this off because this is already 740-ish words and I had to send these across multiple asks I am so sorry Catholic mod

Harrowhark

I'm pretty sure you've already got plenty of submissions for her so I'll just say she was raised in what is basically a cult (technically a nunnery but let's be real) dedicated to keeping the body of the thing that will kill God behind the rock. One of their prayers is actually "I pray the rock is never rolled away". Harrow is extremely devout as penance for her earlier heretical actions in the tomb as a child (spoiler!) so the Catholic guilt really comes through

imagine being a catholic nun and you meet god, but it turns out he’s a twitch streamer from new zealand who became god because everything got a little bit out of hand. and just before you met him you gave yourself a diy grief-fuelled lobotomy with the help of your best frenemy. imagine how insane you’d be. now multiply that insanity by nine. that’s the fictional love of my life right there.

she meets god. she’s not inspired

she’s number one practitioner of space Catholicism. The locked tomb is chock full of Christian (catholic) imagery themes metaphors etc. just look at her she’s got a bone rosary

They're Catholicism with extra bones. Everyone is a nun. They have what is basically a rosary made from knuckle bones. They technically worship the same God as everyone else, but they're waaaay more focused on The Body in the Tomb (Mary) and we get a moment where we find out that while everyone else prays the equivilent of The Lords Prayer, they're doing the equivilent of Hail Mary. And they paint their faces with skulls.

She thinks leaving dry bread in a drawer is taking care of someone. She's in love with a 10,000 year old corpse (the same one they worship). She spent ALL NIGHT digging with her bare hands to make sure a field had bones every 5 feet so she could fight her girlfriend - I mean, greatest enemy. Spoiler territory: She's been puppeting her parents corpses since she was 8 years old. Instead of grieving her dead girlfriend, she gives herself a lobotomy. She makes soup with bone in it so she can use the bone IN THEIR STOMACH to try and kill them.

The author is/was Catholic and the entire series had heavy Catholic overtones. https://www.tor.com/2020/08/19/gideon-the-ninth-young-pope-and-the-new-pope-are-building-a-queer-catholic-speculative-fiction-canon/ A good breakdown of how it's Catholic

Anti-propaganda (spoilers)

I love the Locked Tomb series but Harrowhark has daddy issues with God, had a childhood crush on God's cryogenic partner, and is in love with God's daughter, not to mention that she's essentially a bone-bender. The religion on her home planet exists in a way that is technically against the will of the canon in-universe God, even. All of this to say, Harrowhark is heretical at minimum if not an outright witch. Terrible Catholic. Burn her.

[shiningwonderland]

Natsuki Shinomiya (Repeat)

Translator: Raz (Twitter: agnadance)

Proofreader: Nadie (Twitter: nmoniag)

Editor: Aoi (Twitter: AoiTsukihime)

QA: Rei (Twitter: wolfe_raine)

August — One Summer's Affetto

It's now August. Most of my classmates have returned home.

I debated whether or not to go back or not, but I was glad when Shinomiya-san said to me that we should do our best during summer break as well…

I've decided to stay behind and now I'm practicing at the school everyday.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Phew… It's so hot everyday.

Haruka Nanami: I agree, but at least it feels cooler inside the school.

Saotome Gakuen's air conditioning is top notch. It's always mildly air conditioned so it never becomes too hot in the summer.

Natsuki Shinomiya: There are many delicate instruments, so I'm glad that the air conditioning is reliable.

Haruka Nanami: Speaking of instruments… I was thinking about adding a violin in the musical accompaniment… 

Haruka Nanami: So… are you willing to play it?

Natsuki Shinomiya: … Me?

Haruka Nanami: Yes. I would love for you to play it, Shinomiya-san…

Natsuki Shinomiya: I… see. If I can be of service, but…

Haruka Nanami: Um… Don't push yourself… I know you have... special circumstances.

Natsuki Shinomiya: No, that's not it…. I just noticed that you went back to calling me Shinomiya-san again…

Haruka Nanami: Ah…

I've called him Natsuki-kun a number of times when I put in the effort, but I naturally slip back to calling him Shinomiya-san.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I know I shouldn't be forcing you to call me that… but I do feel a little lonely.

Select the Phrase!

1)　時間をください。Give me some time. (+5 Love, +5 Music)

Haruka Nanami: Shinomiya-san… You're older and composed, so I have a hard time calling by your first name so casually…

2)　ごめんなさい。I'm sorry. (+0 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: Um… I'm not used to it yet, so I end up calling you Shinomiya-san…

3)　努力はしているのですが・・・I'm trying my best, but… (+10 Love, +5 Music)

Haruka Nanami: I can't really get myself to call you that right now… but I want to properly call you by your first name one day. So…

Haruka Nanami: I don't dislike calling you by your first name, it's just… I just feel like a person like me isn't fit to call you like that…

Haruka Nanami: Once I feel more confident, I think I'll be able to call you by your first name, so can you wait for me until then?

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan… I understand. I'll be waiting…

Shinomiya-san puts both of his hands around my right hand.

Natsuki Shinomiya: You're a far more wonderful girl than you think you are.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I want you to someday be more confident, even if it may take time.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Your hands can make music–they have unlimited potential. Your music can change the world no matter what it could be like.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I understand lacking confidence the most out of anyone else… I was that way too.

Natsuki Shinomiya: … Huh? How strange, I was trying to encourage you, and yet….

Natsuki Shinomiya: I can say the same things I'm telling you, to myself.

Shinomiya-san breaks into a smile and hugs me tightly.

Haruka Nanami: Uh, um…

Shinomiya-san gently lets go of me and looks me in the eyes.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Let's make an entire world, you and I… I will sing the songs you make. If our song is recognized by others, would that give you more confidence?

Haruka Nanami: … Yes.

Natsuki Shinomiya: If that's so, then I need to do my best, too… If you wish, I'll play the violin and the viola in any way you please. 

Haruka Nanami: T-thank you. T-then, I'll bring the sheet music. I left them at the dorm…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Okay, see you soon!

I head to the dorms to fetch my sheet music.

When I return to the classroom, Shinomiya-san is sitting on the window sill while gazing forlornly at the scenery outside.

Haruka Nanami: … Shinomiya-san.

Natsuki Shinomiya: …

Haruka Nanami: Shinomiya-san…?

Natsuki Shinomiya: Ah… ahh, I'm so sorry! I was just deep in thought…

Shinomiya-san… Is he scared to play the violin after all?

Haruka Nanami: U-um! I'm sorry, you're still scared about playing, right? Well… we don't have to use this song. I'll return the sheets back to my room.

In a panic, I whip around and try to return to the dorms, but…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan, don't go…

Shinomiya-san hugs me from behind.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Don't say such a sad thing… You wrote that music, didn't you?

Haruka Nanami: … Yes.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Your sound… I don't want to miss one note of a melody you've spun to life. I want to feel all of you.

Natsuki Shinomiya: What you have here isn't just music notes lined up next to each other. It's your heart… I refuse to disregard it.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Can you show me your sheet music?

Haruka Nanami: … Okay.

Shinomiya-san looks at my sheet music, smiles, then plays it on the spot for me.

His performance back in April when he was introducing himself sounded lonely…

But now, his sound is kind, warm like a ray of sunshine.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan…

Shinomiya-san freezes in place.

Haruka Nanami: U-um… Is it hard to play…?

Natsuki Shinomiya: No, it's wonderful! So much so that I think it's a waste for me to be the only one playing.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan… Will you join me?

Haruka Nanami: Join…?

Natsuki Shinomiya: There's a piano.

Haruka Nanami: Ah…

I can play the piano, but…

Haruka Nanami: But I'm not that good… Also, I don't know if I can properly match your performance…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan, believe in yourself… Believe in me who chose you.

Natsuki Shinomiya: It'll be okay. You're an angel loved by the gods of music.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Feel me and my music… Go with your feelings and let the piano sing…

Natsuki Shinomiya: That way, we'll surely become one. We can communicate heart to heart.

Haruka Nanami: … I'll try.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Merci, Haru-chan! I'll begin.

Shinomiya-san weaves a melody… Following my heart, I let my fingers dance on the piano keys.

A momentary dream. It was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like an instant that could've been an eternity.

Even without thinking about it, I knew the sound in my heart.

I want to resonate and become one…

A voiceless chorus flows outward from my fingertips and spontaneously weaves itself into a melody.

Natsuki Shinomiya: …

We are like fairies who are music notes dancing on top of the musical staff.

I'm filled with pleasure, happiness, and sorrow…

Tears are about to overflow–this indescribable feeling melts and blends into our sound.

Natsuki Shinomiya: …

Haruka Nanami: …

Once we finish our duet, we gaze at each other and smile.

Shinomiya-san puts his violin back into its case, then puts his hand on mine.

Natsuki Shinomiya: It's been so long since I've felt such exhilaration! Your sound moves me and has gripped onto my heart!

Haruka Nanami: No, not at all… but I wanted the intro to be like this. I… enjoyed myself…

Natsuki Shinomiya: I enjoyed myself as well! It's been so many years since I've had so much fun playing the violin!

Natsuki Shinomiya: You really are my muse. I was about to forget what I hold dear to me, but you helped me remember once more.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I feel like maybe I can take back the past I lost that day as long as I'm with you… 

Shinomiya-san… As I thought, something happened in his past…

Maybe that's why his personality changes when he takes off his glasses…

Shinomiya-san, I want to know the real you.

I wonder if you'll show me one day…

Haruka Nanami: Um…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Ah, I'm sorry. I've said something heavy just now.

Natsuki Shinomiya: How about we change our surroundings and practice outside? I made a lunch box! We can eat it under the shade of the trees.

Select the Phrase!

お弁当・・・ですか？A… lunch box? (+0 Love, +0 Music)

Natsuki Shinomiya: Yes. There's octopus sausages and bunny-eared apples!

Haruka Nanami: That sounds delicious!

Natsuki Shinomiya: I have a favorite spot behind the mountain on the academy grounds where we can eat our lunch.

はい。Okay. (+20 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: Practicing outside sounds exciting!

Natsuki Shinomiya: Right? I'll show you my favorite spot. I've told no one else!

あ、いいですね、それ。Oh, that sounds great. (+10 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: That sounds very fun!

Natsuki Shinomiya: I'll take you to my favorite spot, but it's a secret between the two of us, hehe!

Shinomiya-san brings me to the forest behind the academy.

A cool breeze wafts through the air of the forest.

Haruka Nanami: Ah…

As I space out while walking, I stumble on a branch.

Luckily, I find myself cradled in Shinomiya-san's arms.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Are you okay? I'm sorry, it must be hard to walk in the forest.

Haruka Nanami: Ah… Sorry, I wasn't being careful.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Should we… hold hands?

Haruka Nanami: Huh?

Natsuki Shinomiya: We can't hold hands at a party, but I can escort you to the forest amphitheater.

Haruka Nanami: … T-thank you.

Shinomiya-san holds my hand as we walk through the forest.

Natsuki Shinomiya: We're here. Welcome to the forest amphitheater…!

The place Shinomiya-san has showed me is a spot where small animals come to rest among the rays of sunshine.

The small birds fly about as the squirrels and rabbits frolic among the pools of light.

Haruka Nanami: Wow! What a wonderful place… I didn't know there was a place like this!

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe! This is the secret flower garden… I often come here and talk to everyone.

One little bird flutters towards Shinomiya-san.

It flies around him and twitters as if it's talking to him.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, how do you do, little bird? What? You want to hear that song? Sure, I'll play it for you.

Shinomiya-san strokes the bird's head on his shoulder, grins, then starts playing his viola.

The animals of the forest gather around him, attracted by his performance.

… Unbelievable.

Truly wonderful performances not only enrapture people but animals as well.

The moment the song finishes, the animals crowd around him.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, everyone's been doing well, I see…!

He strokes the small animals' heads and necks as he talks to them. They all seem to be comfortable around him.

A cat walks up to him.

Haruka Nanami: Ah, Kuppuru…! Come here…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Is that kitty's name Kuppuru-chan? I've never seen him before. Is he your cat?

Haruka Nanami: Umm, I saved him once and ever since then, he's been attached to me. I've been secretly keeping him in my dorm room.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, that's against the rules.

Haruka Nanami: I'm sorry.

Natsuki Shinomiya: If you call me by my first name, I won't tell anyone.

Haruka Nanami: Uh…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, I'm kidding… There's no rush.

Haruka Nanami: I'm sorry.

Natsuki Shinomiya: That's no good, isn't it. I've been causing you so much trouble lately.

Haruka Nanami: Not at all…

Natsuki Shinomiya: No, I've been pushing your boundaries, and you're such a nice person… I've been asking too much of you without realizing it.

Haruka Nanami: You're always so nice to me… You're not asking too much at all.

Natsuki Shinomiya: If you say it like that, I'll start wanting to push you even more.

Natsuki Shinomiya: You're like an untouched canvas, completely open to me dotting it with foolish words. 

Natsuki Shinomiya: You always respond to me so honestly, which makes me want to see more of your expressions.

Natsuki Shinomiya: But if I do that, I'll end up causing you too much trouble.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I know I need to push down these feelings…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Even so, there are times I can't keep them in. For example, like this…

Shinomiya-san takes my hand and pulls me towards him.

He gives me not a light hug–it's a firm, deep embrace.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I want to feel you forever, just like this…

His soft whisper is not his usual kind tone of voice. There's a tinge of sadness mixed in it.

My heart skips a beat at Shinomiya-san's uncharacteristically serious attitude.

He has his childish, innocent expression. Now he has a mature expression.

They're both a part of him… yet why is my heart beating so fast?

Haruka Nanami: Um, uhh…

Natsuki Shinomiya: See, I'm already making you nervous.

Shinomiya-san chuckles.

Natsuki Shinomiya: But now… you're within my arms, and that makes me happier than anything else.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Feeling your warmth, I get caught up in this illusion that it's not just your heartbeat, but the beat of your soul that I get to touch.

Haruka Nanami: Umm, this is very embarrassing… But… I'm not hating it…

Hearing that, Shinomiya-san releases his hold on me.

Natsuki Shinomiya: If you say something like that, it's going to be hard to keep myself from teasing you even more.

Natsuki Shinomiya: It’s no good, I need to hold myself back… Shall we change the mood and start eating lunch?

He grins. 

Haruka Nanami: … Okay.

It's the usual Shinomiya-san and his kind, soft smile…

This makes me think there's a different side to him besides when he doesn't have his glasses on…

There are times when his atmosphere is so different that I become confused.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Come, Haru-chan. Sit here…

Shinomiya-san spreads a large handkerchief on the ground and gestures to me to sit on it.

He takes out a lunch box in one smooth motion.

If I recall correctly, the cookies he brought for his self-introduction were not very tasty–in fact, their flavor was beyond anyone could ever imagine. 

I briefly shudder at the memory.

The lunch box is decorated with cute illustrations of small birds. The usual fillings karaage chicken and tamagoyaki–rolled omelets–are packed inside of it.

I know Shinomiya-san isn't that great at cooking, but…

It looks quite nice, so I'm sure he must've improved his cooking skills.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Here, have a bite.

Select the Phrase!

いただきます。I'll have a bite. (+10 Love, +5 Music)

Natsuki Shinomiya: Okay, open up!

He holds out a karaage for me.

Haruka Nanami: Uhh…?

Should I open my mouth? I guess I should…

I'm a little embarrassed, but I open my mouth and chomp down on the karaage.

Natsuki Shinomiya: I've always wanted to do something like this. I feel like I'm a mother swallow feeding her chick.

あ・・・はい。Ah, okay. (+10 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: I'll have a bite.

I eat a bite of a tamagoyaki.

だ、大丈夫ですか？I-is it okay? (+0 Love, +0 Music)

Natsuki Shinomiya: Of course it's okay! I made enough for two.

No… That's not what I meant… But I can't outright ask him about the taste…

I steel myself and eat an octopus-shaped sausage.

…!

Haruka Nanami: Erk…

T-this is…! This is beyond mere flavor… My consciousness… is fading…

I have no idea how long I've been out. When I wake up, I find myself lying down with my head resting on Shinomiya-san's knees.

Natsuki Shinomiya: … Phew, thank goodness, you've woken up!

Haruka Nanami: Ah… Yes. I'm sorry.

I try to raise myself up.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Don't strain yourself. Rest a little longer…

I comply.

Shinomiya-san gently strokes my hair. I feel sheepish… but it's kind of soothing.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Haru-chan, you've been working too hard… You must've had a bout of anemia.

Natsuki Shinomiya: My apologies, I should've been more mindful…

Haruka Nanami: Huh? … Ah, umm…

Shinomiya-san… Does he think the reason why I fainted was not because of his food, but because of anemia?

If that's so… then I shouldn't tell him the truth. I'll go with anemia.

Natsuki Shinomiya: If you're in any kind of pain, please don't hesitate to tell me. We're partners, after all.

Haruka Nanami: … Okay.

Select the Phrase!

あの、さっきの料理なんですけど。About the cooking earlier…(+0 Love, +0 Music)

Natsuki Shinomiya: It's fine, I saved a portion for you. Do you want to eat it now?

Haruka Nanami: No… not yet…

I think about telling him, but I'll just keep it to myself for now.

ありがとうございます。Thank you. (+20 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: I'll make sure to depend on you more.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Yes, you can depend on me. I feel like I can make more delicious cooking if you did that!

Natsuki Shinomiya: My liver and spinach shortcake is delicious! It can cure anemia!

Haruka Nanami: I… see. Maybe if I ever had the opportunity…

I say that, but I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence with, "I'll eat it."

これからはちゃんと言います。I'll tell you from now on. (+10 Love, +5 Music)

Natsuki Shinomiya: Yes, please do. I never want to see your smile as beautiful as a delicate wild rose to darken…

Natsuki Shinomiya: It's getting dark, so we should go back to school. You can ride on my back.

Shinomiya-san turns his back towards me.

Haruka Nanami: No… I can't do that. I'm okay…

Natsuki Shinomiya: I can't make you walk when you've fainted earlier. Am I not dependable enough?

Haruka Nanami: No, no. That's not it… Umm… Okay, I'll do it.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Okay!

I let Shinomiya-san carry me on his back.

Night falls as he walks through the woods, revealing the moon and a brilliant star.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Ah, a star… The first star of the evening.

Haruka Nanami: Ah… It is…!

Natsuki Shinomiya: Do you like stars?

Select the Phrase!

はいっ！ Yes! (+10 Love, +10 Music)

Haruka Nanami: When I unravel the lore behind the constellations, it inspires music in my soul.

Haruka Nanami: I'm a real big fan of the moon, the stars, and constellations!

銀河って・・・ The galaxy… (+10 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami: It's so romantic… I bubble over with excitement when I see the starry sky in all its glory!

宇宙は・・・ Space… (+0 Love, +10 Music)

Haruka Nanami: I'm interested in it because it's mysterious and enigmatic.

Haruka Nanami: It gives me such delight just watching the stars above. They're wonderful!

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe! When I was a young boy, I saw the most beautiful stars one night!

Natsuki Shinomiya: I got to visit the beach with my parents in the south, and the starry sky and moon were shining bright. 

Natsuki Shinomiya: People tend to shed tears when they see something truly stunning. 

Natsuki Shinomiya: That was the first time I was so moved. The Southern Cross was shining bright and left an impression on me…

Natsuki Shinomiya: When I returned to Japan, I tried my best searching for that same starry sky, but I couldn't find it.

Natsuki Shinomiya: My parents said it's a constellation you can't see in the Northern Hemisphere and I was disheartened.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Stars are unreachable, but when I look up at them, they shine down on me.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Still, I wasn't even able to gaze upon them. I yearned for them, and yet they became even further out of reach…

Natsuki Shinomiya: But… It's not like I can't go see them again. I can always just go back.

Natsuki Shinomiya: When I decide to visit again, will you go with me?

Natsuki Shinomiya: If I were to take the Southern Cross out of the night sky and put it into a necklace, I'm sure it would look beautiful on you.

Haruka Nanami: I… would like to see that starry sky too.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, then if I were to debut, let's go there on our first vacation.

It sounds like a dream, but sounds like a possible future if we were to try.

Shinomiya-san carries me as we head back to the dorms.

Shinomiya-san's back is much more built than I imagined. He feels more like a man than ever before. 

Haruka Nanami: … You're warm.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, it's my pleasure.

Haruka Nanami: Eh…? Ah, I… said that out loud? S-sorry.

Natsuki Shinomiya: Why are you apologizing? I'm so happy! I would like to be like this forever.

Haruka Nanami: N-no, um… I'm heavy… so…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Of course not. You're as light as a little bird.

Haruka Nanami: … A little bird? That can't be true…

Natsuki Shinomiya: Hehe, but it is, my sweet bird…

Shinomiya-san keeps teasing me all the way back to the dorms.

MINI GAME

Ringo Tsukimiya: Today, I'm going to have you play a more difficult performance, but it'll be okay. I'll teach you!

Ringo Tsukimiya: Hehe, I'm a pro after all! I'm pretty skilled!

Ringo Tsukimiya: Even if the song is the same, you can change its feeling by your performance. Learn more and polish it up.

Ringo Tsukimiya: Anyway, music start!

RANK S

Natsuki Shinomiya: Wow, amazing! Let's do our best and make our dreams come true!

Haruka Nanami: Yes!

Shinomiya-san… He listened to my performance! I'm glad I did well.

Chapter End

[batneko]

I’ve decided to start saving the various AU threads I wrote on twitter since twitter could implode at any moment.

-

Some buds have a superhero au (keyword being "super" there) and I was thinking about it when I saw a gif about a supervillain ranting to their minion and so now I present to you a concept -

Mumen Rider: Accidental Supervillain

He just. He just made a lot of choices that made sense at the time. He's not sure how it got to this point.

In A World with superpowers and heroes and Unwritten Rules, Mumen is a low-level speedster. He's faster than most vehicles but can't throw (or take) a punch better than average.

What he DOES have is a lack of the problems speedsters usually face. His clothes don't tear under the pressure, he doesn't start fires when he tries to touch things, his metabolism is only as high as any athlete. No one's entirely sure why, but it gets him hired as a hero!

He doesn't do much - just patrols and fights whatever small crime he runs into. But he's happy.

Then one day he's taken on a team mission. Always good to have a variety of powers. The heroes have found a dangerous supervillain's lair and they want to arrest him for arms dealing.

It doesn't go GREAT. In the course of the fight the building catches fire, and it spreads quickly. The villain is trapped, Mumen starts trying to rally the others to rescue him, but they refuse. He's a villain. Him dying here will save paperwork.

So Mumen goes in alone, dodging falling rubble, and by the time he reaches the villain the whole building is coming down. All Mumen can do is throw himself over the old man as a human shield.

To both their surprise, it works. It turns out Mumen has a second power.

The force field doesn't stretch far beyond Mumen's body, but he's able to wait out the worst of it and get both of them out of the fire safely. By the time they do the heroes have all left. Mumen sighs and insists on taking the villain to the hospital.

Mumen's suit had taken a lot of damage so he gets checked over too. He gets home hours later to see the morning news announcing that his hero persona tragically died when a villain vengefully set his own lair on fire.

It's a lie. And now Mumen wonders how MANY lies Hero Org told.

While Mumen is dwelling on that, debating whether to tell them he's even alive, the villain finds him. He'd seen his face so it wasn't hard (according to him). And gives Mumen a whole sack of cash as payment for the rescue. Mumen tries to refuse but the villain is insistent.

After much polite disagreement, Mumen finally says he'll take the money... but he wants to spend it on the villain's research.

See, what made THIS guy so dangerous is that he ARMS the other villains. And Mumen could use a new suit, as well as a place to test his force field power.

The villain agrees, and introduces himself. His name is Kuseno. And if Mumen really is indestructible, Kuseno might have a job for him.

It turns out that the force field is why Mumen's never had problems with friction the way most speedsters do - everything in a certain range of his body is invulnerable. But there's a major exception to the things he's protected from. Humans.

If a human gets into his range they can hurt him just like normal. That's why no one ever noticed before. It's a bit ironic, being immune to bullets but not punches.

It does, however, make Mumen the PERFECT human shield.

Kuseno builds him a bicycle with as little friction as physically possible (his range doesn't cover a whole bike) and Mumen gets to be a hero again. On his own terms. Pretty soon he's got a positive reputation online as that bike guy who just shows up and saves people and leaves.

The Hero Org doesn't like it, they disapprove of all vigilantes and especially ones with good press. But they can't do more than put out occasional statements about how unlicensed heroes can't be trusted.

But a pattern emerges. Bike guy doesn't JUST save innocent bystanders

Since Mumen works for Kuseno that technically makes him a minion. So when the villains come to pick up or test new gear, Mumen ends up socializing with their goons. Some are in it for the money, some the thrills, some... just enjoy hurting people. But they like Mumen!

(The sadistic ones actually like Mumen the MOST because they think no one who seems that normal would ever work for a villain, so he must secretly be a freeeeeeak.)

Mumen's not entirely comfortable with ALL his new Work Friends, but he doesn't think they deserve to get shot! That's not HIS judgement call to make. So when he's out in his hero suit he saves everyone he can. Everyone.

One thing happens early on that at the time just seems to be a lesson to watch what he says.

Mumen explains to some goons that he helps Kuseno test weapons because "I've got partial invulnerability." And as soon as the i-word is out, a goon pulls a knife and tries to stab him.

To be fair, the guy just thought it would break on Mumen's skin and they'd all have a laugh. Luckily for both of them, Garou's reflexes are even faster than a speedster's. He grabs the guy's wrist and yells, "He said PARTIAL, asshole!"

Mumen thanks Garou profusely and they spend the rest of the visit sharing crazy coworker stories.

Neither of them realize this is the SECOND time they've met.

Another thing happens a couple months later. Mumen's hanging out with some different goons, they're talking about all the crazy shit their boss makes them do, and Mumen offhandedly says "We really need a union."

Dead silence.

"How... how would we do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. There's resources online."

"A lot of villains would kill us just for bringing it up."

"Sure, that's why you don't bring it up until you've got a solid plan of what you want. And probably some blackmail material."

"I used to work for a guy who put bomb collars on us so he could blow up our heads just for disagreeing with him."

"... See that is a thing that would not be allowed under the union."

The conversation moves on and Mumen more or less forgets about it. Until six months later when he's elected union president.

(There were several other candidates who were more involved in actually FORMING the union, but they also pissed a lot of people off.)

"I'm not even a goon! I'm like, a research assistant!"

"That's a kind of minion! We made the category pretty broad."

"I've never done anything like this!"

"Neither have we!"

He doesn't tell them he's also a hero. He CAN'T. Some of the less stable ones might try to kill him, and the rest would be heartbroken.

And so, seemingly overnight, Mumen has become the leader of every mook, minion, and even a lot of the low-tier villains in the country.

And there's something else... He got to know Kuseno as they worked together, and he knows about his real motives. He also knows that Kuseno really doesn't have that much money. It all goes into 1. Genos, 2. paying Mumen and keeping the lights on, and 3. R&D. There's little profit

The villain community knows Kuseno, knows he's the guy you go to for the BEST gear, but a lot of them don't really think about the gear aspect of it. They either make their own or steal it. When Kuseno loses a customer to jail or death, it takes a long time to find new ones.

Mumen mentions that it's a shame he can't advertise, but villains are big on Aesthetic and it just wouldn't do to have big Kuseno Labs logos on everything (especially since Genos is a hero and Kuseno keeps it a secret how he REALLY makes his money).

if more villains could see Kuseno's stuff and go "hey that's awesome I want that" he wouldn't have any problems! Too bad he can't just go out and stage flashy crimes as demonstration.

Then again... why CAN'T he do that? Not Kuseno. But someone else. Someone indestructible.

by this time Mumen has been in villain circles for months. He's gotten to see just how corrupt the heroes can be. And he's aware of politics enough to know that certain people can just bounce back from property damage. You blow up ANY ferrari and there is no downside.

he slaps together a costume, heads out, makes a big show, and skeedaddles before the heroes show up (he knows their strategies, he knows when to cut and run).

And then casually lets all his many MANY minion friends know that Kuseno made that new villain's whole kit.

It only takes one more show like that before somebody figures out MUMEN is the new villain. Garou, the one who saved Mumen from the knife attack that time.

Mumen doesn't know it, but they've met several times.

Mumen doesn't know it because Garou has a power too.

Garou is unnoticeable. He can blend into any crowd, he can look like he Belongs in any room. If he's VERY careful he can even make somebody think they're alone when he's standing over their shoulder.

He's met Mumen four times now, each of those working for a different villain.

Which is frowned upon, in villain circles. Even in the union. Unless you're a secretary or an accountant, you don't really "shop" bosses. You find somebody who vibes with your brand of crazy and you stick it out until the boss bites it or gets locked up.

but Garou isn't in this to BE a minion. He wants to be BIG, he wants to be the worst most super supervillain this world has ever SEEN. And if that means watching how the others do it and playing Wormtongue from time to time, so be it.

He's always whispering, encouraging, giving ideas for boundaries to push and lines to cross. Every boss he's had has just been a test case for him.

And here's Mumen. Who's more of a walking ad than a "real" villain. But if he's gonna be on TV he can at least LOOK the part.

Garou makes a few suggestions, is pleased when Mumen takes them, and thinks that will be the end of it. He doesn't actually intend to minion for him. But the next time Garou comes by Kuseno's lab - with another new boss - Mumen remembers him.

That's... not supposed to happen.

Garou's power has a weakness too, it only works when he WANTS it to work. If there's someone that he WANTS to notice him... they will.

And he would like it very much if Mumen noticed him.

(Garou nearly jumped his bones back when he suggested a union.)

With Garou's advice, Mumen starts to gain fame as a villain. And as more footage of him pops up, other minions recognize him. It becomes known that he's just the Face and Kuseno is the Brains, but still, Mumen has a lot of clout.

Within a year of his "death" and starting over, Mumen is well-armed, trusted by a veritable army of minions, and understands heroes better than any other villain.

Somehow it STILL takes him by surprise when his villain persona is named as the biggest threat in the country.

"I'm no supervillain!"

"Sure you are. Remember when you blew up that bank?"

"With no people inside! And fully insured!"

"And when that news station got a blurry picture of your face so we hijacked their broadcast to play disney movies and they got sued?"

"...okay that was funny. But I don't have any minions!"

"Sure you do. What about Spider, and that lady with the human finger bone earrings?"

"Tomie is the union treasurer and I'm pretty sure those are replicas!"

"Are you? Because she has multiple pairs."

"She... she's a very good treasurer."

As time goes on, Mumen starts to feel bad. He's still a hero in the little spare time he has left, and nobody but Kuseno knows about it. People are relying on him in all his other jobs, and that's fulfilling, but what he WANTS is to be a hero.

Garou has become the person he confides in (and more? They're still dancing around their feelings) so Mumen asks him to come over one evening for a serious talk. Garou thinks it's finally love confession time and prepares accordingly.

When Garou shows up in the nicest shirt he owns and an attempt at brushing his hair, Mumen almost breaks. But he mans up, he tells Garou the truth. That he was - and IS - a hero. That he never WANTED to be a villain. That he's kind of trapped now.

Garou walks out.

(If you're wondering where Saitama and Genos are in all of this, so am I.

There's too many options! I know Genos is a hero, but is he a pro? Was that before or after he met Saitama? Is he ALSO secretly a villain and hiding it from Kuseno?

If Saitama's a professional hero did he know Mumen before, or not meet him until after he "died" and went vigilante? Has he been mourning his friend this whole time? (Probably not, that might be too dark.))

Back to the mumarou! Currently stalled out because Garou is Pissed.

Not only did Mumen lie to him - lie to EVERYONE - but all this time Garou's thought Mumen was like him. A kindred spirit. A relatively normal guy who just likes villains for personal reasons.

That's not why he walked out, though. He got up and left after Mumen told him his old hero name. Garou KNOWS that name. That's the first hero whose ass he kicked so hard he actually felt (a little) bad about it. And Mumen has no idea.

Garou's torn between "Serves him right then!" and "Shit, now I'm never going to get to tap that."

Mumen was afraid that Garou would spill his secret - though he wouldn't have blamed him. But aside from not showing up for his volunteer work at the union, there's nothing.

After a few days, Mumen learns that Garou hasn't shown up for minion work either. He's just gone.

Mumen's not exactly WORRIED, he knows Garou can take care of himself, but he is concerned. Packing up and abandoning your life isn't a healthy response to finding out the guy you liked is a liar.

He tries to tell himself it's not his fault. It doesn't work.

Mumen still has to work though, and soon he's executing his next villainous scheme.

To his surprise, a new hero he hasn't seen before is on the scene in moments, and somehow gets close enough to take him down hand-to-hand. It's good technique. Mumen can't help but be impressed.

The next scheme goes much the same. And the one after that. As much as Mumen admires this new guy, it's getting frustrating. Since when could a hero predict him as well as he can predict heroes?

And then one particularly embarrassing fight later, Mumen's pinned down by the hero -

- who leans in and murmurs "I told you about the cryo-gun, didn't I? Only works for ice guys. Slips up anybody else. S'a good product but not for the wider market."

It's Garou.

That night Mumen looks into it and finds that Garou's hero persona is quickly rising in the ranks. He's considered a sneaky type and a close range fighter, and his costume shows off his figure so he's already got fans.

It's great but it doesn't make SENSE. Garou HATES heroes.

Mumen wants answers, but he can't exactly go through normal channels and ask Garou for a chat. So what do you do when you're a villain and you need to talk to a hero? Publicly call them out for a fight, of course!

"[Garou's hero name] I've had enough of your tricks! Face me like a real hero! Come to [place and time] ALONE or the city will PAY!"

Anyone who knows anything about villains knows it's a bluff. Mumen wasn't even standing in front of a bomb!

But Garou gets to play the "I can't take that chance" card and meet up with Mumen just as ordered. He's so pleased by the whole thing that he almost forgets he's still mad about the lying.

So why DID Garou become a hero?

"Revenge."

"That's not a very heroic motivation."

"Man tell that to my friend Genos."

"So you wanted to embarrass me?"

"I mean, mostly... kinda... I guess."

"You guess?"

"I guess I MAYBE wanted to... seethingsfromyourside."

"Aww!"

"No aww-ing!"

"What did you decide?"

"It's okay. I mean, that organization is fucking corrupt as shit, but... the hero part's all right."

"It feels good to do good, doesn't it?"

"Shut up. No. Maybe. ...Never been popular before. That part's nice."

"I'M a fan."

"You're a nerd. And I'm not a real hero anyway. I'm just gathering info. Biding my time."

"Okay. You're not a hero and I'm not a villain."

"Right. ...oh."

"Now you're getting it."

This is all I've got for now! Eventually they will be a couple but they already know they both want to, it's just a matter of hashing it out. And there's gotta be a plan to take out (or take over) the corrupt hero org. Maybe they switch places? Or both be both?

Mumen and Garou should definitely be Nemeses for a while. Really play it up whenever they clash. Garou would NOT be subtle about the subtext either.

He's got a bit of an exhibitionist streak to begin with and tussling with his secret boyfriend in public is THRILLING. (It's not a secret when they're in any guise but these, everybody in villain circles knows Mumen is dating his #1 henchperson.)

Garou also really likes to scandalize his fellow heroes by hinting that the sexual tension he has with his nemesis is both intentional and resolved. He'll never admit it outright but he makes a LOT of innuendos.

[mindmeltonabun-blog]

Alchemy of Souls Part 2: Evidence The Soul In Part 2 Was Not The Same Soul From Part 1

Hello Readers,

Thought I should post some more evidence to that what I said in my Theories and Analysis post for Eps 29-30. When I had initially shared a link to my blog post on Reddit, I thought things would have calmed down by now and people would not be so toxic. I also thought there would be more open minded people who would consider alternative arguments. However, I was wrong. Many there did not even choose to read what I wrote and immediately said things like "you are confused" or "you do not understand the show" or implied I was stupid for even proposing such things. If I did not understand the story in the first place then how would I have gotten some many things right during Part 1?

Things progressed to even more people jumping on the bandwagon and hurling more insults at me when all I did in the first place was provide a different prospective on things. It became apparent to me that it was futile to continue to discuss such things with these types of people. What I observed among these people is that they could not fully establish any logical counter argument other than saying Naksu=Cho Yeong. That was pretty much the gist of what they said.

They also accused me of not wanting to be wrong when in reality I do not care if I am right or wrong. I have stated as much repeatedly both here and my Twitter. If I could sit there for hours and debate about my own thinking, they should at least be willing to do the same. In my profession, all we do day in and out is internally debate with ourselves whether our logic is flawed or not. Therefore, I have no qualms about being wrong. At least in my field when we tell someone they are wrong, we provide reasons, examples, etc. You do not simply tell someone just because. If you do so, it just makes you seem like you are the ones who are afraid to be wrong.

What I sought to do here on my blog was to try and make sense of everything, connect things to see the bigger picture, and consider everything there is to possibly consider. When I formulate my theories, I at least explain my reasoning behind it by giving examples from the show. So, if there is anyone who disagrees with all that I will say below then please enlighten me. Provide me with a rational counter argument with examples from the show. Otherwise, if you are unable to, then maybe you should consider that what I say could be correct.

Thinking caps on! Time to do a mini analysis!

More Evidence Proving The Soul In Part 2 is Mu Deok/Cho Yeong

Before I start this section, I want to add that if you want to discover whose soul belongs to whatever face, alternative name, real name, and body, just turn to these three characters: Soi, Jin Mu, and Seo Yul. These characters had known either girls the longest in comparison to other characters (Soi-Mu Deok and Jin Mu and Seo Yul-Naksu).

Now in Ep 26, Soi tells Seo Yul Naksu's soul is in Jin Bu Yeon's body. She adds the current face of Jin Bu Yeon is Naksu's face (GYJ face). Soi's logic was that since the soul inside is Naksu's soul, Jin Bu Yeon's current face must also be that of Naksu's. Side note, this is where assigning souls to alternative names to faces to real identities will get you into trouble.

Flash forward to Ep 29, Seo Yul hears some information which causes fireworks to go off in his head. During the flashback, Soi talks about how the girl she knew from Sari (Mu Deok) had consumed the soul potion which caused her to go crazy and die. What did this mean? Eureka moment, anyone?

It meant Soi thought it was "Mu Deok's soul" who resided in Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1. However, we as viewers knew it was actually "Naksu's soul" who was in Jin Bu Yeon's body during Part 1. Since Soi thought it was Mu Deok's soul in Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1, she erroneously deduced it was Naksu's soul in Jin Bu Yeon body in Part 2 (Ep 26). Just read that statement again and let it digest before continuing on. It should be noted Soi never found out it was Naksu's soul who was living inside of Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1.

It was only after Seo Yul talked to Soi's worker in Ep 29 did he realize Soi had mixed things up and that the soul currently residing in Jin Bu Yeon's body was not the same soul from Part 1 (aka Naksu's soul). If it was not Naksu's soul in Jin Bu Yeon's body, whose soul was it? It was Mu Deok's soul. The question became "what is the real identity of Mu Deok's soul"? There are two choices Cho Yeong or Jin Bu Yeon. If you know the soul inside transforms the face to match its true appearance and the real name of the GYJ face is "Cho Yeong" then you can conclude Mu Deok was Cho Yeong. Therefore, if Mu Deok's soul=Cho Yeong's soul then Naksu's soul=Jin Bu Yeon's soul through the process of elimination. If you said Mu Deok's soul is Jin Bu Yeon's soul then her face would have transformed into the JSM face. However, since it did not, then you have to accept that Mu Deok's soul is Cho Yeong's soul.

The only reason why many did not catch this is because they were too distracted with everything else which is understandable. The Hong Sisters purposely presented this piece of information near the very end (vs beginning) because they wanted people to think Naksu=Cho Yeong. In turn, this caused many to either completely overlooked or disregard the statement made by Soi in Ep 29. If the Hong Sisters had presented the following scene from Ep 29 much earlier, more viewers would have caught on that the soul in Part 2 was not the same soul as in Part 1. And who knows how that might have affected the ratings. Anyways, the pattern among many viewers is when anything becomes confusing or does fit the narrative they have in their head, they will disregard it to soothe themselves into thinking what is easier to comprehend.

In the world of AOS where soul shifting happens, a soul's alternative name can sometimes be different from the real name of the body it is in. The real name of a face does not always mean it is the real name of a soul who had previously resided in that body (AOS has made it clear there is a fine distinction between body and face). I will admit it is convoluted, but this is why you should not immediately jump to conclusions and assign faces, bodies, alternative names, and real names to souls before thinking about everything. If you keep your beliefs flexible and consider the alternative then you will be more likely to find the truth. Instead of being face or body trackers, maybe all of us should strive to be better soul trackers. Anyways, I will gladly welcome anyone who can disprove all that I have stated above. And simply stating "Naksu is Cho Yeong" does not cut it. You should formulate a logical argument that is backed up by evidence from the show.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, it made no logical sense for the Hong Sisters to introduce Naksu as a powerful soul only to have her be reduced down to a damsel in distress, soul food, relic detector, and Jang Uk's shadow. I saw Naksu's journey as being one of self discovery, personal growth, and enlightenment. If Naksu was really Cho Yeong, the Hong Sisters would have introduced more things about the Cho clan. Instead, they had completely wiped out the Cho clan from the start while placing a heavy focus on the Jin clan. Furthermore, they had associated Naksu with many bird related things to show her connection to the Jin clan. For me, it made more logical sense the show began with her being an assassin fighting on the wrong side of things and ended with her discovering her true authentic self (Jin Bu Yeon) so she could save all of Daeho. And sure, her journey may have ended rather sadly (or it may not since she is a divine soul now), but at least she managed to accomplish so much during that time. She was able to correct everything, find out the real truth about herself and the events that surrounding her multiple deaths, and take responsibility for her past actions.

Finally, to all of those who are not convinced by what I have said (Naksu=Jin Bu Yeon and Mu Deok=Cho Yeong), I will end this post with excepts from Lee Jae Wook's interview so you can decide for yourself of whether the soul in Part 1 was the same soul in Part 2. Note: the translations below were done using Google translate so there may be some inaccuracies.

Source:

Back to hibernation I go until the next great fantasy drama comes along!

P.S. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them!

[foxymoxynoona]

i have a question to ask you because i know you’re american:

why do americans wear shoes inside the house?

like im genuinely curious. im trying not to judge (very much trying here), but i just. i truly want to know why.

this topic of debate always comes up on twitter and while there’s a lot of americans who DONT do this, there’s also a lot that DO. those that DO, their reasoning is—i cant believe this—it’s that… they think it’s nasty for your FEET to touch the floor/carpet. their logic is feet = nasty = so please don’t taint my precious floor/carpet with feet, whether it’s MY feet or yours.

my brain just cannot… compute that. like. huh??

and then every time a non-indoor-shoe-wearer points out that shoes are nastier than feet because your shoes STEP ON DIRTY GROUND OUTSIDE, the indoor-shoe-wearer will counter that with “um, no, actually, my shoes are not THAT dirty”.

LIKE?? HUH??? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???

and it also doesn’t help whenever i read a book by an american author, their characters ALWAYS wear shoes inside their houses. also in movies. i just… what. why.

do you wear shoes inside? if so, im sorry for this question, but i genuinely am trying to understand.

We don't wear shoes inside in my house, no, nor did I grow up with outside shoes on inside the house on purpose though now that she's older my mom does usually wear shoes in the house --in her case, she has to wear shoes all the time for foot issues, and while she has indoor and outdoor shoes, she sometimes just forgets to change her shoes. As a kid, it wasn't really a big deal though if we forgot to take our shoes off.

This isn't something I spend a lot of time thinking about lol but here are some random thoughts:

For us, we have small children and pets and spend a lot of time "living" on our floor if that makes sense --things get dropped, we sit on the floor and play on the floor, so we want it to be as clean a space as possible, especially since I don't have time to clean the floors every day (though we did just get our roomba working again!!!)

That said, we have pets who shed and whose feet do not always get washed when they come inside, so I know that our floors aren't impeccable; we were more diligent when we had crawling babies/toddlers. Also because of kids and pets making our floors dirty (WHERE DO THE PILES OF SAND COME FROM), we don't require guests take their shoes off if we weren't able to clean the floors right before or they're uncomfortable, and instead we clean the floors after they leave instead.

Related to ^, guest slippers are not common here. Whlie I have worn guest slippers, I really don't like wearing someone else's shoes, and I dont want to be barefoot at someone else's house, but socks are fine to me as the compromise. People who come over frequently (like childcare) will sometimes just keep a pair of slippers here because we have hardwood floors that are coooooold in the winter.

I think there is some general sensitivity to bare sweaty feet being on someone else's couch, floors, or furniture, or for sweaty socks too. Especially if it's sandals or someone's been walking a lot, their feet are a type of dirty, which I suspect is what people are calling out. I wonder if there's some regionalism about feet being dirty or private that influences this too? I was definitely raised that feet are inherently dirty because they are feet and i hadn't thought about that until you said it

I know there are people who don't live on their floor the same way our family does, and so they just think of their house floor as ground just like if they were somewhere else. If they drop food, they don't eat it, or they clean off something that falls, and they take off their shoes before they get in bed so they consider their living space clean

There are just people with different opinions/concerns around germs or dirt or what they want for their household 🤷‍♀️ Those are all my thoughts, I have no more haha. I know there are things in my house that others would find not up to their cleanliness standards (I dread the day my dad comes to visit 😭 and it took literal therapy to come to terms with my mom's standards).

[bitemezine-krbk]

Re-post from Twitter. We would like to give you a little treat created by our wonderful Mod Trish!

Summary: Bakugou asks a very sick Kirishima out, but the thing is, Kirishima isn’t actually sick. >:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There aren’t a lot of things in this world that Kirishima Eijirou knows for certain but he is pretty freaking positive that rejecting Bakugou Katsuki’s invite to the movies now means there is a 100% chance he will never receive another invite again. So, despite what feels like an impressive gale force sickness looming on his horizon, Kirishima gives his crush no, his best friend, as big of a “yes” as he can muster.

His body will just have to cope.

After an impressive nearly 48 hours of eating nothing but vitamin C chewables, his entire body weight of chicken noodle soup and drinking enough tea to drown an elephant, Kirishima’s plan to force his body back to perfect health goes….well, it goes horrible. Somehow he feels even worse?? He spent most of the last night sweating bullets with his body aching so bad you’d think he just lost a fight with an Alpha Prime. Even his teeth hurt! Still, a date with Bakugou (maybe the lingo wasn’t accurate, but a Beta could dream right?) was not something he was going to pass up no matter how close to death he might currently be. With great effort, Kirishma manages to get ready, ignoring the dizziness and body shivers and eventually finds himself leaning against the door of one Bakugou Katsuki.

He reaches out to knock, but before his knuckles drag across the wood, something punches the wind right out of him.

No, not just any something, a smell. And not just any smell, he somehow registers that it’s Katsuki.

Pressing his face against the door like some sort of wild animal, Kirishima inhales as deeply as he can. His lungs fill with the sharp scent of pressed oak, the metallic zing of the hardware and there, after another inhale it's so strong he can practically taste it on his tongue. Honey and clover, dripping down the back of his throat through his nose until his eyes roll and his mouth begins to fill with saliva.

The onslaught of scent and flavor are so overwhelming he doesn’t even have the brain capacity to figure out how he had never noticed this before? Has everything always been this sharp, this clear, this fucking delicious?

No. Even in his fuzzy sickness brain, he’d have remembered something like this. The smells, the insane urge to jump through the wood and to sink his teeth into the source— wait, since when do Betas have the desire to bite anything?

He wracks his brain trying to come up with an answer but his question seems further and further away with each inhale. Feeling deranged, he sniffs the door again, a moan involuntarily slipping past his now open panting mouth, shocking even himself. Every second he stands here gets worse, his hands are even beginning to twitch, wanting to start clawing at the door to fight his way in. Just as he is debating whether or not to lick the paneling, the door suddenly yanks open and there with blown pupils and a smirk that could have lit him ablaze even before his fever is Bakugou Katsuki.

“Thought you’ve been smelling different,” he says, grin widening.

“Huh?” Kirishima replies stupidly, having to suck back in drool that threatened to spill out of his mouth.

Bakugou rolls his eyes. “I always had a feeling you were an Alpha, but I didn’t peg you as a knothead. Catch up dummy.”

“A-a-alpha? No, ‘m a Beta,” Kirishima croaks out, brain trying to surface through the fog. Sure he’d never actually presented, but that's what made him so sure he was a Beta! Maybe his dick was a little bigger than his other friends, but surely he’d have noticed a knot right? Right? He takes another breath, trying to clear his head.

Big mistake.

It takes all of his power to stay put. He wants to reach for Katsuki, to stick his face in between the spot between his shoulder and neck. Just for a second, he reasons with himself, just to see if that's where the smell is coming from. Or maybe a taste? One taste, that’ll be fine, right?

Bakugou chuckles, but it’s not unkind. “See, you keep saying that shit, but Eiji, my Omega is tired of waiting and so am I. Here.” Moving too quickly to stop, Bakugou shoves a hand down the front of his pants and then pulls it out just as fast only to smear the wetness over a very startled Kirishima’s nose and mouth.

Everything goes black after that.

A few days later, a very exhausted looking Katsuki grins up at him from his destroyed and horrifyingly sticky nest. There's a bite mark, no several bite marks littering his pale skin but he looks pleased all the same.

“So,” he asks, stretching out like a lazy, sunsoaked cat just to stoke his index finger against the edge of his surely swollen rim, pressing just hard enough to feel Kirishima’s knot through his skin, making them both shiver, “still think you're a Beta?”

With his rut brain still too slow and horny to allow him to communicate, Kirishima answers his Omega by biting into his soft flesh and claiming him for himself, for his Alpha, one more time.

[yanderefairyangel]

*sight*

So I STILL see people debating and arguing on whether or not the Fell twins are Alear's sibling and I am tired of it so allow me.

According to the current data, Nel and Rafal aren't Alear's siblings because they come from a universe where they aren't Alear's sibling. Yeah, that's as simple as that.

It's echoed in Rafal's S support inferring that Alear isn't considered to be part of his Father bloodline.

"I was surprised to find out that here, you are the same as me... of Father's... No. Of the Fell dragon's blood"

You don't need to be a big brain to deduce it but the "No" indicates that being of Fell dragon's blood is here supposed to be different from being of his father's blood.

Moreover, Nel straight up stated that in the Fell Xenologue universe she and Rafal have different ancestor's then Alear and Veyle because of the Sombrons having different ancestor, so even if you try the "DNA" argument, you are basically incorrect.

And that's from what the game says.

If you still doubt it, if it still bugs you to the point you need to scream at people telling you it's just an option and that if it bothers you this much you aren't obligated to do it, then .... why don't you ask the writers ? You know ? IS ? They have a twitter official account, they have an official website and you can pretty much search for the staff, so go ask them directly to obtain confirmation.

If you don't care enough to do it, then I will conclude that you actually don't give a single damn and you are just trying to stir out drama by being a weirdo

Now can we please move on and never bring that up again ? I don't want my favorites blorbos to be perpetually involved in a discourse that pop up every time a la Rhea x Byleth and I am sure everyone is tired of it. And I already had to write several paragraph to explain to people that Zephia is NOT Veyle's mother, so really, I'd love to never ever again have to think about dragonic DNA because it just makes you ask the weirdest thing...

Like, for example, since they were able to have kids and that you need enough of the DNA of the same specie for that to happen, does this mean that in Shrek Dragons have some of donkey DNA or that donkeys have dragon DNA ?

[arcanehobo]

I ask that respectfully because your blog doesn’t specify otherwise and it’s important to me to make sure men aren’t interacting with my blog.

I know it is presumptuous to see a masculine person with he/him pronouns and say “that’s a man” but for my own personal boundaries I need to check.

[This was preceded by a message asking "Are you a man?"; I have no other context whatsoever.]

So, obviously this answer doesn't fit with the general theme of this blog. But the anon posting the ask is, well, anon, so I don't have much option in replying to them, and it feels kind of discourteous to not reply, since the answer is clearly meaningful to them. I'll leave this up for about 48 hours, so the anon can see it, and then - probably - take it down again. [ETA: Although now I've spent a chunk of time thinking about and writing an answer to it, maybe I'll leave it up. It is, regretfully, a bit on the mansplain-y side, but with the lack of context, it's the best I can do.]

So, anon, that's a big question. I don't really feel qualified to answer it as written, because the culture I live in makes it pretty clear that "man" is something other people tell you you are or are not, not something you can claim for yourself. There are debates and accusations around the term "real man". I am not attached to the term, and have been generally amused by the attempts of others to tell me that I am or am not one.

If you're asking if I'm trans in some way, I'm unconvinced that that is any of your business, and your asking makes me suspect you're some kind of TERF. I've deleted TERFy asks here before, and dealt with some mild hostility from people who object to my he/him pronoun badges in real life too.

If you're asking if I'm biologically male, I feel that's also not really your business, any more than your sexual characteristics are any of mine. But out of an excess of courtesy, I can say that as far as I know, yes, but I've never had any examination of chromosomes, or any of the myriad other conditions and states of being that would make that debateable. However, "biologically male" starts to verge very close, again, to TERF stuff, and if that's the gist of what you're asking, you can fuck right off and continue to fuck off a bit further after that; my use of pronouns on my profile is mostly to help establish a cultural norm for the people to whom they are important, and partly to politely give people a set of pronouns they can use to refer to me.

If you're asking if I identify as a man, or male - which are two different things, related only by social construction - I'm not sure if I do or not. To be honest, I identify more as a wizard or as a GM or as a cook than I do as male or a man. It's not a question that's important to me, and hasn't been since I was a child (and even then my main question was whether I was "allowed" buy the Sylvanian Families toys or not).

I hope that goes some way toward answering your question, anon, because frankly, it's a bit weird to just post up out of nowhere and ask it.

It is possible, given the "interacting with my blog" line, that you are in some way asking me to post some DNI stuff in my profile. While I try to respect other people's DNIs - I don't want to read stuff written by people who don't want me to read it, unless they're legislators - I also think they're complete nonsense (and if I hit "follow" from a post or Tumblr rec, I don't see them). More broadly, if a tumblr blog is viewable, there is nothing stopping a malicious actor from viewing it while not logged in, or logged into an alt account. There are a lot of ways to establish safe spaces into which you can allow people on a whitelist; discord, newsletter subscriptions, private email, locked Twitter accounts, etc. Tumblr doesn't have the technology for that. Notwithstanding my fervent desire for TERFs and Nazis (to pick two meaningful categories) to not participate in my life, I don't have even the slightest expectation that either group would comply. So I will not be posting any such stuff on mine.

Some more context would be very nice, if you're inclined to give it, anon, because this ask has arrived in out of the blue, and I'm still half-thinking it's a new variety of spam.

[sailorzakuro]

Actually I'm going to use this space to put all these thoughts down cos I keep thinking about it and idk maybe someone can relate but although I'm still very much a part of fandom culture (I recently joined the Stranger Things fandom if anyone's at all interested) I really just Don't give a fuck about shipping. Like it's not even like I'm actively trying to not care about it. I truly don't give a fuck.

So for example, I joined the Stranger Things fandom (very late I know I'm sorry I watched the whole series I'm obsessed with Robin Buckley if you want to see me talk about that my twitter is smalltownrobin) and that show is like ships galore, especially with the group of characters I have the most interest in. The "older teens" group of characters (like Robin, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Eddie, that lot) get most of that, and I've just never found myself caring. People heavily debating whether Nancy will "end up" with Jonathan or Steve? I don't care. I'm chill with either, I'm chill with none. Even people who ship Nancy with Robin, or prefer Robin with Vickie, honestly I just want Robin to kiss a girl I don't give a fuck who it is. THE STEDDIE RAMPAGE I'm glad it's making people happy but I'm fine either way, and I don't actively seek content for it out. I'd say the only pairing I care about on that show is Robin and Steve's platonic friendship, THAT I love I am obsessed but like. they've already reached the "goal" of their relationship so it's not like there's any official title that the show writers or fans can give to them or take away. It's an easier life overall and I'm pretty happy.

I really don't know what's done this to me, cos I used to LOVE shipping, I remember in high school my friends and I used to have seriously intense conversations about which Fairy Tail characters worked best together. I made two entire videos on why people should ship Cheryl and Veronica from Riverdale (and even now ages after I stopped watching and it turns out they had a 100% platonic fan service kiss I DON'T CARE THAT IT HAPPENED). The point is something's just happened to me since those days and now I just don't care. Maybe it's cos my main fandom is kpop where shipping is Not okay and I don't wish to involve myself in the romantic lives of real people dictating to them what I think they should do with their personal endeavours, but yeah. I don't care. It's not a bad thing if you are into shipping, you know, enjoy yourselves, if it brings you joy and it's not hurting anyone go ahead.

All that being said I still very much care about Thasmin but we're never going to get any more of them now so. fuck.

Did anyone bother to read that I'm sorry 🙃 I know I barely post on here anymore, I converted it to my SCD blog but then couldn't be bothered talking about it so this is kind of empty now. I talk about the fandoms I did talk about on here on my twt so I guess if you're still interested in my fandom opinions go on there? I cannot promise I'll convert this blog to anything to make it active again I might just pop in every so often and rant about something completely random ✌️