#example: ‘so… you can’t see shit?’ ‘precisely. i can’t see shit.’

[hanzajesthanza]

i’m sure i said this already but regis swearing when quoting angoulême’s phrases is too dangerous. he could bypass his social etiquette, if only he prefaces it with “as our darling young angoulême says”

[thehypnone]

Hyp! You said, so you shall receive! Ofcourse only if you want to do something with it but this lil shit has been rattling around my racoon brain for a bit. So, for you 🤲

Rain has the most delicate wrist’s. They’re not even the smallest in the pack, Aurora for example has teeny tiny, fingers overlap, kinda wrist’s.

No Rain’s are a contradiction of themselves, delicate and soft looking like precious porcelain but there’s strength in there too, there has to be because the bass is heavy.

His Ulna is very prominent and after he’s been playing for a few hours there’s a vein that curves around it, cradling the bone.

It’s also a terribly erogenous spot for him, Dew would know. He’s spent a hours staring, stroking his fingers over the delicate joints, imagining how he’d make Rain into a weepy little mess begging Dew to just do something, stop teasing.

Rains wrists drive Dew absolutely feral and Rain knows it.

Or something like that, idk. 🤷🏻‍♂️

this made my brain go empty for weeks but here i am and i bring food. loosely inspired by @miasmaghoul's fic on dewther watching the ghovie, hope u don't mind

does not contain any rhrn spoilers!!!

“Should’ve made you take the jacket off sooner,” Dewdrop whispers right into his ear with another slow stroke over delicate skin.

It’s stretched so thin over the bones of Rain’s wrist, keeping all the tendons and veins not hidden, but veiled nonetheless.

The water ghoul grits his teeth and digs his claws further into his own thigh. Well, not claws, considering he’s got them glamored—they’re surrounded by tens of unsuspecting humans, after all—but his blunt, perfectly trimmed nails. The same ones that are still flashing on the big screen right before them from time to time.

“I’d get to see those pretty wrists even more.”

Rain can do nothing but keep his head straight and his eyes glued to the screen. He should’ve known. He should’ve known his little mate would go absolutely feral seeing not just him in general in the cinema, but the close-ups of his hands. His wrists.

Why the delicate bones wrapped in fair skin were Dewdrop’s undoing, nobody’s ever learned, even though nobody could deny that every single part of Rain’s body is absolutely perfect. He carries the precisely carved out and yet so natural beauty of renaissance statues. For some reason, the fire ghoul’s favorite part of him is one of the unassuming ones and because of this his mate’s own body was conditioned to betray him every single time a reverent fingertip would be placed over that spot.

“Dew, you can’t–” Rain mutters when the music is loud enough to cover up his cracking voice. There’s nothing more he wants right now than for Dewdrop to go on and work him up and up until he tips over the edge, but they can't, they're in public. And the water ghoul knows he won’t be able to control himself if his mate carries on his teasing.

“Sure I can,” Dewdrop turns to smile at him and if Rain didn’t know better he’d call it genuine, sweet, innocent. The fire ghoul is all but that.

Dewdrop lets his glamor slip the tiniest bit, just enough for one of his nails to return to its natural state. He scrapes it over the middle one of Rain’s flexors, pressing it down just enough to leave a straight red line following the tendon. His skin is so delicate, it takes barely anything to leave a mark.

The thought makes the fire ghoul let out a growl.

Rain whines pathetically like a kicked puppy and throws his head back against the top of the cushioned cinema seat. Another clip focused solely on his own fretting hand flashes on the screen and the water ghoul wants to scream.

Instead he throws his free hand over his crotch, pressing down onto the steadily growing bulge to take some of the edge off. It doesn’t escape Dewdrop’s attention—just as the smell of the fire ghoul’s cunt in arousal doesn’t escape Rain’s.

He leans into his ear once again.

“It’s actually a wonder you’ve never tried putting your whole hand into me,” Dewdrop whispers, moving his claw up Rain’s forearm as he shakes in his seat. “We should try that later. Wanna see your wrist buried inside me while my slick is dripping down this pretty veiny forearm all the way to your elbow.”

The next noise the water ghoul lets out makes the entire auditorium turn their heads.

[copperbadge]

i was thinking of you the other day and your discussions of your ability or lack thereof to visualize things in your mind, because someone asked me who all had been at a gathering, and i answered them by calling up the room in my memory and looking around it to see who was there. and it occurred to me after the fact that i suppose probably not everyone can do that? but i could even tell you at least approximately what everyone was wearing (color, cut, maybe not precise pattern, but the general style, sure). and while i can’t swear to you that it’s 100% accurate because i don’t have a picture to compare it to, i think it’s pretty close.

but now i’m curious - what would your thought process be if you were asked the same question? if you can’t just look around the room in your mind, is the memory interaction-based? or like… voices you remember hearing? or something else?

Well, bear in mind that I haven't got a great memory to begin with -- possibly the ADHD at work, but also there's a condition that's frequently comorbid with aphantasia called Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory -- people with SDAM have trouble recalling huge chunks of their lives and when they do have recall they often remember it as if they'd been told it, they have no emotional sense attached. For example, I remember a trip I took where I had to do some hard shit and it was really scary, but I don't remember the feeling of being scared, I just remember that I was. I have no idea how long the trip was, no memory of the hotel room, very little memory of doing the scary thing. I know I did it, but there's not a lot of attachment there.

This is not ALWAYS the case -- for example I have extremely fond memories of certain other trips -- but I don't really seem to be able to switch it on or off. Like when I was in Europe, I stayed in an AirBNB in London, but by the time I got to Rome like, five days later, I couldn't remember what it was like. I ended up spending a little time one evening kind of calling up memories of where I stayed in London and in Paris to try and hard-code them into my memory, and that worked, but I also needed the help of photos and tumblr posts I'd made to achieve it. ("What did it even look like? Well -- wait, I cooked some pizzas in the microwave while I was there. The microwave was on the counter, opposite the bed, and -- oh, okay, I remember now.")

So like, I would have no goddamn idea of the majority of people at any given gathering where I attended, but is that SDAM, ADHD, a function of my anxiety in social situations, or the aphantasia? Difficult to say.

I hosted a get-together on Sunday and because I was host and there weren't that many people in attendance I could name them off, but I couldn't tell you what they wore. The last party I attended, a week or two previously, was at a friend's house and it was mostly folks I was at least passingly familiar with, but I am bad with names and so couldn't NAME a lot of the people there -- but for example I could say "Well, the hosts were there, and I spoke with X, Y, and Z, so they were definitely there, but I also spoke with like four other people whose names I didn't get. I dunno what any of them were wearing even though it was a costume party." But yeah to even come up with that I would have to think about when I arrived, walk myself through whatever I remember of the event in linear order, and just note down who I spoke with. If I didn't speak with them, or if I didn't know them well, they didn't exist for me.

So I guess the answer is that my memory isn't visual and also just kinda...isn't there a lot of the time. It's not like amnesia, or the profound brain damage you read about where the person only remembers the last ten minutes or doesn't remember anything past a certain date in their life, but I just haven't got much memory for things. It's why I use a lot of lists and spreadsheets and make yearly photobooks.

My photo archive on my computer goes back to about 1998, and it's sorted by year, but the top level folder all the years are stored in is simply titled "Where I've Been" 'cause I probably wouldn't remember, otherwise.

[sharp-silver4795]

Hello!! So I’m pretty sure you haven’t answered a question like this,, (I haven’t read that much of thine content .I’m sorry😔) so I’m just gonna ask

The goggle boys (Cody & Toby)(& yes I’d rather pull my own hair out than type ‘bois’ just seeing the word fills me with a kind of rage ) have more in common than their name; they both have incredibly, vastly different to each individual person, although it is much more common to see for Toby..😅

So uhh could you share with us their personalities in your au/headcanon please

🙏

Toby + Cody Personality HCs

Omg! Ofc! I haven’t gotten a lot of asks, and I don’t have many actual posts- most of them are reblogs XD

And uhhh sorry to break this to you, but I say “boi(s)” all the time 😅

I don’t think I need any warnings here-

Sorry if this isn’t great lol I suck at personalities

Cody

A cocky little shit, but not in a completely bad way-

He more just likes to humble people.

He’s a field proxy and tends to go out in more missions than the high proxy himself (Toby).

He has enough experience to make people look stupid, and he loves doing it just to have those embarrassing and awkward moments (for them).

If you’re on his good side, he’s a big goof.

His sense of humor doesn’t make any sense and that’s why it’s funny

He isn’t too short-fused, but if you push him too much get ready for the biggest verbal beat down of your life.

He’s really smart, ofc.

He is good at manipulating people. Whether he uses it for good or evil is up to him. He really doesn’t do it often tbh

He got the name X Virus from the first concoction he made that he called “Virus X.” It would late be called “the changing death” due to how it changes based on how people react to it and how it is administered.

He thinks he’s slick, but he never is- he’s clumsy as hell.

He’s really easy to get along with, but not in a boring way.

He’s an ok listener… he’s a little scatterbrained at times, but if you catch him on a good day or really drill to him that it’s serious he will give you his undivided attention.

Bud is a gentleman. Whether the other person is a man, woman, or anything in between he drinks all the respect juice.

Despite his charm and humor, he is socially awkward. He can’t talk to new people without making himself look like a whole entire fool.

Man likes to try to be an edge lord but will cry if he actually offends you

He is secretly a sweet summer child…

Toby

He is the happy medium between knowing what he’s capable of and humble at the same time.

Toby is surprisingly serious. His humor is either really fucking hilarious or just dry as hell.

He just isn’t good at making jokes verbally.

But he is good at making jokes when it requires action.

For example, he was practicing accuracy and precision with Kat (Kat uses a gun and he uses an axe- duh). Kat got full bullseye. Toby’s response was to hit the tip of the axe blade in the exact place that the bullet hit. He then comically bowed to him.

It was a good laugh for everyone. No one’s feelings were hurt.

He can’t read the room very well, so he has friends do it for him (namely Jeff and Clockwork) and explain it in simple words.

Before I say anything else, I do this IRL with my friends bc I can’t read the room. I don’t see this as calling Toby stupid or infantilizing him at all. This is something that I feel he would do just cuz… head cannons 🤷

Ok, back to head cannons-

He is chronically sleep deprived.

He’s a great listener. If you need to vent, he’s the perfect person to go to. (This is the main reason him and Cody are so close)

He takes shit from no one

While he’s on the job, he seems very cold and rude at times, but he just takes his job kinda seriously.

He is the kind of person that starts something, leaves it on the desk or smthn, and never comes back to finish it and then randomly in the day with just be like: “OH SHIT-”

Sorry if it’s not great, when ppl ask me for personality shit I’m always confused as to what to fucking say. Anyway-

Hope this was ok!!! Have a good day/night/whatever the fuck it is for you! 💜

[willthespy]

How to anatomy?

okok i have been putting off replying to this because I’m shit at explaining and also mess up anatomy myself A LOT, but here’s some tips that have helped me.

Watching your surroundings/people IRL. I think this kind of requires for you to be more of a visual thinker, but this especially helps me with facial anatomy. You can also use pictures for this, in which you just… look. Looking and copying again and again really helps, but you gotta know how to look.

I think the most important things to study are the general sizes (of limbs, hands, etc.) and to play around with it a bit, which is easier if you are a digital artist. Then also the muscles and the shapes of every separate part. Also where they connect. For example where the arm connects to the torso and how that looks in different positions.

I also see a lot of people use thick lines in their first sketch, which I genuinely think doesn’t help. Loose, sketchy lines allow you to get a better feel of what you’re making and allows you to build a shape, rather than conforming to one shape at once. Sure, that’s got nothing to do with anatomy, but it helps when studying.

Art references. And also tracing and copying, but in a way that you don’t trace precisely, but check for general rules and use it to study the anatomy. Once again, sketching over instead of harsh tracing helps you understand easier and better imo. By tracing I also mostly mean the body, and I think you shouldn’t rely on it entirely, hence why it’s a study. You learn from it so you can stray away from actual references.

I also look at myself a lot. If I’m confused how an arm stretches? I’ll test it out. This adds onto the looking at others tip.

Breaking the (human) body down into simpler shapes for the sketch and working with lines to measure and guide? in a way (especially in the face area and to determine a clear middle throughout your subject’s body.

LOOKING AT ANCIENT GREEK (or inspired) STATUES. They were genius, I swear. They’ve helped me personally whenever I actually study anatomy to create more fluid and life-like poses, even if I do in fact fail to apply that to my art occasionally.

Limbs and other body parts aren’t straight, but actually more fluid, which is important to know. Of course stylization is a thing, but this fact helped me a lot. Also looking at how ‘fat’ is distributed between afab and amab people (generally) can be nice information to know, which adds to the muscle knowledge.

Practice…. so much practice….. I myself try to draw almost daily, but you also shouldn’t wear yourself out. Don’t draw if you can’t at the moment, but when you feel okay enough to do so, I do think studying helps a lot, even when you just draw a similar pose over and over again. Drawing shouldn’t be a chore, so from experience, don’t force yourself and be dumb like me and overwork the tiny artist working in your brain.

These are just a few! I might have more but I’m tired. If there’s more specific questions or more visual examples and stuff needed, I’ll definitely reply faster though… hopefully.

[ateohsixxxx]

Get yourself together, Eerie! We're all rooting for you.

I owe you a phone case? Hah. I’m fairly certain you have the means to replace it yourself. It’s hardly my fault that you’re so reactive, now is it? You can’t blame me for your own inability to control yourself. Ah, but at least you’ve finally admitted what I already knew—yes, I am perfect. It’s about time you acknowledged that, sweetheart.

To blow me is the only right option, of course. It’s the natural conclusion, really. Trust me, it would be better for both of us that way. You’d be so fucking pretty too… Those eyes of yours? A goddamn masterpiece. If they were looking up at me, glazed over, wide, desperate—fuck, now that would be a sight worth burning into memory.

Oh? You want to tell me about a double suicide? I’m intrigued. How would you orchestrate it? Would one of them go first, left limp and lifeless, only to be defiled by the one who lingers? Would the second one hesitate, savoring their victory over the body before them, before finally surrendering to the same fate? Tell me every little detail, I adore a well-thought-out plan.

Testing my limits, it’s not the smartest thing you could do. You have no idea just how deep that well of insanity runs. And you won’t, not until it’s too late. I keep that side of myself a cute little secret. But if you push, you might just find out firsthand.

Of course I do!! But when a blade is in my skin, my hands start to shake. It’s a thrill, but one that demands precision. So naturally, I’d have to go first. Lead by example. Show you exactly how it’s done. And then you can follow.

No, no, I’m a lost cause.

Im supposed to be unflappable, ughhhh, shut up. I know, Im flapping

It was a team effort, baby, I wouldn’t break shit if you didn’t push my buttons. You’re acting like my extreme reaction wasn’t intentional on your part. Youuuuuu knew exactly what you were doing.

Okay, fine, I do have the means, but like…you should still get me a new one. So, d’ya need my address? Y’know, to send me a phone case? And nothing else? Unless…?

Perfect, perfect, perfect. For me, at least. You're like, custom made. It's almost unfair, the hold your silly little blog has on me.

You're such a fucking tease. I hate it so much. ohhhmygodddd. Can we?? Fuckkkk, I wanna hurt you so bad. I wanna know what your blood tastes like. I wanna know what you taste like. I also wanna look up at you while choke on your—

Uh, I mean, if you insist, I guess I could blow you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am not telling you that for nothing. Whatcha wanna trade for the double suicide fantasy?

Cocky confident, dangerous, insane— hot as fuck. I can totally see you killing me if I pushed you enough ♡ or in like a super romantic ‘your forever is mine’ way

I’ll let you go first, baby, I trust you. Are you gonna lick the blade clean after you mark me up? Will you be squirmy? Am I gonna have to hold you down when it’s my turn? We gotta match, it’s important to me.

[mjrtaurus]

Dragon was running late.

It was no big deal really, a gala event like this had a way of loosening the rules so he had plenty of time to fuss with his suit before slipping into the crowd.

(And rest assured, fuss he did. The suit his grandpa left for him also left much to be desired. Thank Nika for his backup.)

The first inkling he got that something was wrong was seeing his brother and their two fellow cadets spinning around when they saw him and doing a three man block on the door. Dragon furrowed his brow.

“Is everything okay?”

Kuzan nodded, the ever picture of cool.

“Yup.”

“So can I go in?”

“Nope.”

“Trust us Dragon, you’re not missing much~. I mean, do you even like parties~?”

“Yes? Don’t most people? Like you three for example which is what makes this all the odder.”

Kizaru and Kuzan exchanged an awkward glance. Issho faced forward as he spoke up.

“We just believe it is in your best interest to not go in yet.”

If a person could buffer Dragon certainly was. What in the hell was going on?

“Well, it’s in your best interest to tell me what I’m being blocked from the event!”

The three cadets paused at that and quickly huddled (while still blocking the door). Whispers flew too low for Dragon to hear but he could have sworn he heard…

“Is this about Sakazuki? Is-is he with someone else or…”

Kuzan's straightened up. “You know good and well I would have jumped him if that was the case. But you’re right, this is about him.”

“I appreciate you guys trying to spare my feelings but I promise you I can handle it.”

The strong looks of skepticism he got back did not sway Dragon's heart. Kizaru stepped away from the door and clapped Dragon on the shoulder.

“I really feel like you’ve misunderstood us but at this point we can’t stop you~. If you need me, I’ll be by the fire alarm~. Just in case~.”

Kuzan and Fujitora watched as Dragon approached the door, opened it, eyes scanned for Sakazuki, face drops in horror and quickly (and loudly) shuts the doors again.

“..So you see this issue now.”

Dragon couldn’t even speak, all he could do was gesture wordlessly at the door like a muppet. Eventually speech returned to him.

“WHAT IS HE-HOW-WHY IS HE TALKING TO MAMAY?!?”

Kuzan threw up his hands incredulously. “Dude I have no idea. I turn my back for two seconds to grab a shrimp cocktail and BOOM! He’s just sitting at our table!”

“What are they talking about? They have nothing to talk about! How long has this been going on?!”

“I don’t know, I don’t have a watch!”

“Watches and I don’t really mix I’m afraid.”

A twinkle of light. “Like 17-ish minutes give or take~.”

“17 MINUTES?!”

“Ish~. Give or take~.”

Dragon pointed wide eyed at his brother.

“Ku, go make him stop.”

“Woahhh. He’s your aggro boyfriend, you do it!”

As if on cue, the door flew open and all four men jumped. A wave of orange curls burst through and yet another finger was pointed.

“Dragon come collect your boyfriend or I swear-!”

“What! How did you-?”

“You have a very predictable type.”

Sun God Nika, Warrior of Liberation and Laughter, give him the strength of your heartbeat…

The only way it could possibly be worse is if this was how his parents learned he wasn’t straight. It might be how Kong learns he isn’t straight, but he never really planned on coming out to that mean old fart anyway.

No, liking men wasn’t the issue. Liking Sakazuki was the issue. The Mad Dog of the Marines who bites first then asks questions later. Whose sense of justice was so absolute that it wasn’t even justice at all.

And he knows Dadan isn’t the only one in the family that’s going to give him shit for it. He can already see their mother casting a sidelong glance in his direction, her Mantra singling out his presence in the crowd with pinpoint precision.

He’s fucked. He’s so fucked. He’s never been more fucked.

He makes his way to the table like a it’s the gallows. Sitting between his mother and Sakazuki was the noose getting looped around his neck.

“I apologize for being late, I was having some issues with the dress uniform the Commander-in-Chief assigned for me this evening.” Oh good, he already sounds like he knows he’s in trouble. Small and frightened, deepness of his voice be damned…

“No harm done, brat. The old man can’t size a suit to save his life!” Garp guffaws, like the whole thing is hilarious. Dragon wishes he could crawl under the table and hide there for the rest of his life.

“No harm, indeed… your friend here introduced himself to us while you were gone, Waway. You never told us you were close…”

Oh god. Oh god, she already knows. Of course she already knows.

“Yeah, you never did.” Sakazuki seconds, eyeing Dragon like he can’t quite figure out what his problem is.

You, dickhead! You’re the problem!!! He wants to grab him by the neatly pressed lapels and scream.

[theemporium]

hi cece, how are you??🩵 i hope you’re doing well and getting enough sleep!!☀️

i’m coming in with a maxiel au that i can’t stop thinking about🙈 okay so the reader and max are this rich power couple, max is a ceo of some company and gives off very confident vibes when it comes to professional stuff but then he’s a bit uncertain when it comes to his sexuality because he feels that something is lacking in the bed for him… that being a dick to be precise, so he and the reader decide to hire a male escort to spice things up and see if max will be satisfied that way. that escort is none other than daniel, who is annoyed at first because he thinks max is just another rich guy who hides his homosexuality and cheats on his wife and will treat daniel like shit. but max is nothing like that, he’s very shy and new to this and daniel is instantly smitten by those innocent blue eyes. you (the reader) are just watching at first, being close to max for reassurance and letting him discover this new dynamic on his own so he’s not overwhelmed. and daniel, who is used to being sub for older men, sees that max needs guidance and switches to his true nature of a soft dom. he explains everything to max, constantly asking for consent and if everything feels good and is just very gentle with max who is on cloud nine. later on, the reader joins in and these meetings become more frequent while everyone begins to catch feelings, max and the reader for daniel and vice versa. just for entertainment, i think there needs to be some angst, for example that both the sides think that a relationship between all three of them is something forbidden because they were paying daniel to have sex with them and so on, but eventually, they confess their feelings to one another and daniel quits his job and becomes a trophy husband for max.

sorry that this is super long, i just needed to get this out of my head and i share it with someone because this idea makes me dizzy😵‍💫

CHRISTINE MY BELOVED!! hello, hello🫶🏽I am good (probably not getting enough sleep but good!!) how are you???

ALSO I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS

because there’s also this added level of angst where daniel feels himself falling and knows he has feelings for you both, but he knows this place and he’s just being paid for a job. and he thinks yous view him just as that—an employee

whereas, you and max deal with this angst that you don’t think daniel would want yous like that. yous think that he only keeps entertaining the dynamic for as long as you pay him before he moves on to the next job, and it hurts when yous two are blindly falling for him

BUT ALSO THE DYNAMIC? like it starts of with daniel dominating and guiding max because he needs that extra reassurance. but then it moves onto you too. and maybe there was never really any fitted roles or dynamics between you and max, so this is new to you too but daniel is so sweet and doting

AND THEN THE ADDED DRAMA AFTER??? people mocking daniel’s profession or trying to use it against max to undermine him??? daniel would feel so bad but max doesn’t give a shit😭he would chew those guys out and spit them off to the side before he lets them insult the loves of his life

[damnmmmmmmmmmm]

sweetheart, Hollywood doesn't work like that. If he wants to keep working, he has to do what his agency dictates, period. Not going to a ceremony without a good excuse is a maximum lack of respect that the directors, producers and agencies look at. //

This. Unfortunately, it’s very true. Seb may be acting like he’s this big man on campus who does what he wants, but that’s precisely what it is: an act. He’s not some powerless baby boy, but there comes a point in Hollywood where if you CHOOSE to surrender yourself in the name of fame, money, and personal advancement, you eventually make yourself someone else’s property. And that’s what we’re seeing play out. It’s one, big, dirty, and at times scary game. So it’s not as easy as “saying no.”

Unfortunately, Hollywood is run by people whose policy is “do what you want, don’t get caught.” Half of the people who talk about protecting victims dong actually give a shit about victims. You think Sean Penn or Gwyneth Paltrow, for example, have moral high ground over Donald Trump? Of course not. They’re cut from the same cloth. Penn and Paltrow just love The Apprentice because it makes them feel better about themselves to point fingers and stick it to the orange fuck. None of it is in the name of any good. It is all self-serving behavior. They are so messed up that there is a hierarchy when it comes to the “severity” of an assault. For starters, in Ali’s case, it was a man who was assaulted. Right off the bat, they’d throw that out because it doesn’t contribute to a narrative that the industry can spin, run with, get behind. Secondly, Ali is the man behind Hollywood’s new obsession: the crappy Trump hit piece that people are pretending is “bold” and “brave” but is a blatant grab at awards and a total elitist circle jerk moment. If you read his apology and didn’t immediately catch onto the fact that he’s going to try and spin this as Trump trying to smear him, then I’d advise you to really start paying closer attention. By the end of the week, this story will either be thrown out, or the crew of shitty people behind the most unnecessary film of 2024 will have spun it as yet another tool to play victim with. First it was “nobody will distribute our movie,” which was a multi-purpose tactic used to gain sympathy and attention, but also to buy enough time to release the film right before the election. Now it’ll be, “Trump is trying to smear our precious not at all creepy director because we really got to him with this movie he’s paid little to no mind to.”

Ali is as grimy as they come. He has used Seb harder than the succubus has, which is a really saying something. And granted, to an extent, Seb has let him, just like he let the succubus. But the unfortunate question is, in both cases, how much has he allowed, and how much has he been forced? And forced isn’t necessarily threatened or coerced, but more, “if you want this, you need to do this.”

“If you want to win an Oscar, you need to take this job.”

“If you want to win an Oscar, you need to champion The Apprentice.”

“If you want to win an Oscar, you need to follow this narrative.”

The list goes on and on.

I am not saying that he’s innocent. Whatever he’s being “forced” to do, he made choices that led him to this point. But I think it’s delusional and unfair to say that he could’ve not shown up at the last second or demanded a change in the seating chart. Especially if this awards season really has been him doing a bunch of shit he hasn’t wanted to. Why put yourself through all that crap only to have it go up in flames at the last second? Is it selfish? Yes. Does it mean he’s pure evil? No.

This stupid fucking season can’t end soon enough. It’s not even about merit anymore. It’s just a big, stupid, gross game.

[freakshowtwopointoh]

Come Home With Me - All I've Ever Known Part 7

Come home with me

Maybe because she'll make you feel alive

< prev | next >

If you had told me at the start of the semester that Jordan Li would become my closest friend on campus I would have laughed in your face. But it was November now, and I found myself looking for them in every room, letting out a sigh of relief when our eyes would meet. Even though I barely understood myself, Jordan seemed to really see me - the me underneath the layers of deception and anxieties. They would catch my eye across the classroom when one of our professors said something particularly inane, a shared moment of truth amongst the lies. 

If I was truly honest with myself, it reminded me of Sam. I could never hide my true feelings or intentions from him either. We used to have the same kind of moment when our dad would wax on and on about what it means to be a hero or whatever sanctimonious bullshit he was spewing that night at the dinner table. And it was an addictive and terrifying thing to be truly known. Especially when there are still skeletons in my closet, and threats looming on the horizon. 

Being with Jordan made it easier to push those worries away. They started crashing my study time at the library, sidling up to my table with their characteristic smirk, a coffee in hand. 

Today, they slid a cookie across the table at me. I raised an eyebrow at them in confusion but they pointedly ignored me, pulling out their laptop. But I swear I saw a small, satisfied smile flit across their face when I ate it. 

It’s strange, the things you notice about someone when you spend a lot of time together. For example, I had never paid attention to how someone moves before. But Jordan moves with precision, like they’ve mapped out what they’re going to do before they’ve done it. And yet, they move quickly - lightning fast reflexes. Despite being a supe, I still usually felt like I had to choose between speed and accuracy, and Jordan had both in spades. 

There are other things I’ve noticed. Things I wouldn’t dare admit to - it makes me sound like a creep. But I know the kind of cologne they wear (L'eau d'Issey - I may or may not have recognized the smell in store right away), I know the face they make when they’re biting back a quip, and... yeah, I’m falling for Jordan fucking Li. Despite my best efforts, despite the insane nonsense happening around us, despite the fact that I’m still keeping major secrets from them, I get fucking butterflies when they smile at me. 

They don’t need to know about my ... incident during the spring. They’re already helping me with my family shit, already drove me to the fucking cemetery, already help so much with the nightmares that don’t seem to be getting any better. The details are irrelevant, and besides - no one else knows. No one else can know. Even Robert, my dad’s lawyer, keeps certain details from him. The only one who knows the whole truth is Grace, and that’s because she’s the one who found me.

Last night was really bad. I might need to change my sleeping aid because I’m skipping the same number of days but I couldn’t wake up last night. I was trapped, choking, feeling his hand gripping the back of my neck and pressing me deeper into the water.

I don’t remember what happened properly either, which makes it that much harder. It’s like a series of scenes from a television show that have been put back in the wrong order. The doctors said that PTSD is like a memory filing error. My brain was trying to keep me alive, and it didn’t have time to organize the memories properly and put them away in the right place. To me, it feels like I’m still putting together the puzzle of my own life, and I can’t keep my hands from shaking so I keep dropping the pieces. I’m not sure if I’ll ever know the full extent of what happened to me during those few days, or why it happened. 

Jordan coughs, and I blink, only to realize I had been staring off into the distance for who knows how long.

“Earth to Maggie. Everything all right up there?” They asked, and despite the casual smirk on their face, I knew they genuinely cared. But that didn’t mean I could tell them everything. That wouldn’t be fair, and it would start me down a path of remembering that would just cause more problems. So I just smiled and nodded. 

“Just had trouble sleeping last night.” I said, hoping I sounded relaxed about it.

“Worse than usual?” They asked, looking up briefly from their screen. I nodded, and Jordan just gave me a soft smile before going back to their work. I was glad they didn’t push the issue. Then I remembered their tentative offer from a month or so ago.

By the way, if you ever need to, uh, train with someone

Maybe burning off some steam before bed would do me some good. “Hey, if you’re free tonight... would you be willing to spar for a bit?” I asked hesitantly. “If the offer still stands, of course.” They grinned at me impishly. 

“Hell yeah.” And so we ended up in the training room once more, decked out in athletic gear, but this time we were facing down each other instead of sandbags. I settled into my usual stance for sparring but Jordan just smirked and came to adjust my stance. They used their foot to move mine a few inches to the left, and then their hands were on my hips, grabbing them softly and adjusting the angle slightly. My mind went blank.

I didn’t think one touch could render me speechless, but it was all I could do to keep my face from betraying my emotions. My skin burned slightly where their fingers had been, and I swallowed hard. Then Jordan fell into their own fighting stance, their bob tied back, and nodded once.

Especially when fighting, Jordan is fast - and perceptive. Even when I’m trying to disguise my feints, they still seem to know exactly where I’m planning on striking. I sighed in frustration as they continued blocking every strike without breaking a sweat.

“Your lean is a bit too exaggerated when you feint.” They explained, taking a long drink from their water. I tear my eyes away from them before I can really start staring. 

We started exchanging blows again and I focused on keeping my movements natural. I even got a few hits in before I got over confident and ended up backed into a corner. And there was that stomach lurching, heart pounding, mind melting feeling as our eyes met. You would think that it’d be impossible to be intimidated by someone a few inches shorter than you, but I legitimately felt my breath catch in my throat.

“You’re improving, little mouse, but I still win.” They said lowly, with that fucking smirk again, and I swallowed hard. I knew I should have something clever to say but I couldn’t think about anything but their piercing brown eyes which were staring deep into my soul.

“One more round,” I said huskily. It would be three more rounds before we both went back to the townhouse to crash. And, surprisingly, no nightmares.

Luke’s POV

When my dad explained his plans for our future all those years ago, it all made sense. I remember sitting in his office, pleased to be included in the work my dad was doing.

“Luke, I’m telling you this because you’re the eldest - that means you’re the leader. Your mother and I have always known that you and your siblings would be incredible heroes. We made a deal with the people behind the seven to get you, Margaret, and Sam what you’ll need to be the best heroes you can be.” He said to me, holding my gaze to impress the seriousness of his request. “I’m going to need your help to make sure that your siblings stay on the right track, ok? This world is full of temptations - but you three have a responsibility as heroes.” 

A responsibility as heroes. That stuck with me - more than I think he intended. And it became clear throughout the years that my siblings did not feel the same way. They didn’t feel the sense of duty I felt towards society. I have these powers - shouldn’t I be using them for good? 

I knew our dad just had our best interests at heart, and I understood his motivations. So I was okay doing what he asked. Even when it felt... wrong. Like reading my sister’s journal and reporting on her research and inventions. Or helping them put Sam in that facility. I try not to think about that too much - he killed himself two days after he was admitted there, and it still feels like it's my fault. I isolated him from his support system - but he needed help, more help than we could give him. Dad had been right all along - unfortunately. Maggie’s insistence that Sam is alive when she doesn’t know anything is infuriating. She wasn’t there when Sam was committed. She didn’t see the animal look in his eyes when he was being driven away. After seeing that, it was much easier to understand how he could have killed himself. 

A few days before the gala, my dad called me to chat about Maggie and her ... attitude problem. I had noticed it, of course - she had no desire to actually put in the work to become a  hero or flesh out the story that had been created for her - to cover up her mistakes.

“Listen, son, I need a bit more help with your sister. Despite all the work Robert and I put in to get her this deal, she’s still dragging her feet, and we are getting a bit... concerned.” He said seriously. “We were hoping you could talk to her at the gala, and introduce her to some of my associates. She’s a good girl, and she means well, but sometimes I think she forgets what’s truly at stake.” We’d had this kind of conversation before. It was different when she and Sam were together - they brought out the worst in each other. Idealistic, stubborn, and selfish. They have no understanding of what it takes to become a hero or what it took for them to even get their powers in the first place. 

“Of course, dad. She’s smart, she’ll come around.” I said, and I hoped I was right. 

“She better. A lot changed when Sammy died. We can’t afford any more setbacks.” The casual way he spoke about Sam’s death - as if it hadn’t changed everything - made my stomach churn, but as usual, I ignored it. Everyone copes differently, I guess. 

That’s what I was thinking as I got ready for the gala, tightening the ruby-red tie I had picked out to match Cate’s gown. But little did I know, this was more than just a conversation, and Maggie wasn’t the only one in the dark about what was truly going on.

< prev | next >

thanks to @barbieprincesshilton for the edits

[vagueposting-femnb]

Saw this shit. Don’t make sense.

I’m sure that part of it is that it’s a dramatization, but still. It’s stupid.

Veganism perspective.

From the top- animals DONT suffer JUST like humans. The majority don’t exist in largely capitalistic societies as creatures expected to perform for 8+hr a day. Obvi idk how “deeply” vegan this person is, but to cover all the bases:

-Yes, animals should be protected MUCH more than they are. They should be considered living creatures deserving of love, shelter, and food, NOT considered property, EVERYWHERE.

-Yes, many if not all big slaughterhouses are fucking vile. Not only is the whole process start to finish rarely actually completed truly “properly” (& if you’re thinking “from the prevention of animal’s suffering, or from the quality of the meat?” Both. I could go into detail but I won’t. Simply put- it ain’t uncommon for the animal to be alive MUCH longer than it should be if they did shit right, and it ain’t uncommon for the meat, once fully sliced and chopped, to end up on the floor, coughed on, fingers in places they don’t belong for “giggles” etc and then back on the line)

-All that being said, plenty of hunters and small farms manage to be incredibly ethical about it. In nature animals breed, get hurt/sick, are hunted by other animals, etc. circle of life blah blah blah. Hunters aim for important spots (head/heart) w precision not just for the ease of collecting the body, but also bc most DONT want the animal to suffer. Similar w plenty local farmers. They raised these animals. They do love and care for them, so they do what they can to ensure their deaths are as quick and painless as possible.

-Not to mention, a wonderful example extending across the globe is often the indigenous people of the land, who stick to the old ways. Hunting is a part of the culture, some view all lives, human, plant, animal, as equal. Therefore they nurture the land in natural ways, only hunt what they need & use every single part they can, while being appreciative of the sacrifice of the creature. We could be learning from them, from the rural hunters who hunt to put food on the table, and the local farmers.

Transition/bridge

Ofc, some antinatalists from what I’ve seen believe that life in general is suffering. These ppl have quite simply lost the fucking plot. To live, in a non-fucked society, is to thrive emotionally, connect with those around you, and yes, to suffer sometimes. You’re going to lose people. Ppl will fall ill of things we can’t cure yet. To stop reproducing would also eventually doom someone the suffering of being the last, of being alone. There will always be suffering.

The goal should be more so geared towards ending the production of “cogs in the machine,” to stop making children that will more than likely have nothing better than a shit job that doesn’t pay the bills, can’t access medical care in a timely manner or affordably/free, can’t afford necessities, or at least not without considerable stress & therefore mental suffering at the hands of rich fucking bastards who could see all the current children eradicated as long as they knew that folks would simply make more.

To change society, to go back to the better parts, the more loving, mindful, and nurturing parts of our past, would likely put an end to… frankly, the large majority of these debates.

Non-Vegan Antinatalism

-firstly, obviously incorrect but I presume the “suffering” listed here is potentially NOT just referring to the horrid practices of those large companies that cause suffering for ALL of us. Domesticated animals, generally speaking, are not inherently suffering. Ofc there’s shit breeding. Ofc backyard breeding should be straight up illegal. Ofc breeding should be done not for appearances (god awful appearances they are for bulldogs, micro pitties, pugs, flat faced cats, and all others who have been bred to the point of health issues such as struggling to breath or reproduce naturally) but to ensure health and when required skills. Much like ants must build their mounds, utilizing their skills, this also provides the anteater with food. We all have skills and “jobs” even when we don’t officially have a job. It’s a part of survival to do tasks. Sometimes our tasks benefit others. The key is balance. Never more than NEEDED.

Basically: to own pets & livestock is not inherently dooming them to a life of suffering. If earlier points (protection & mindfulness) are adhered to and enforced socially, they can live happy, healthy, full lives.

-Just like massive companies in the meat industry cause suffering of animals and humans alike through shit standards & treatment, so do the companies who profit off of vegan products. The land it takes to farm obscene amounts of quinoa, the water, the labor often underpaid, undervalued, backbreaking… this causes the suffering of the natural flora, fauna, and humans in the region. Once again, the answer is balance. Locally sourced options, and getting what you NEED. Whether you choose to figure out how to locally gain all your sustenance from plant or meat doesn’t matter as much as ensuring that overall, neither overtakes the natural land.

-another point against a common antinatalist topic: the notion of consenting to existing. As stated, existing isn’t inherently being doomed to suffer horrifically, but yes in our current society, folks who don’t reproduce mindfully (disability, hereditary risk of illness, socioeconomic standing) are increasing the chances of suffering drastically for their offspring. That doesn’t inherently make them bad, many are simply ill informed, ill equipped, or in a god awful position themselves. Again, if we focused on returning to the better parts of our past, building community, valuing lives and health over wealth & greed, as well as ensuring everyone had the tools to prevent reproduction easily accessible to them, this could be largely avoided.

-“enslavement”… is an artist enslaved if you give them the tools and security to complete their craft? Is an architect or doctor enslaved if you gave them the chance to freely utilize their skills to build better & more accessible infrastructure that is also eco friendly, or provide medical care to sick & suffering people, respectively? No. Just like people have skills and passions, so do animals. Ofc this doesn’t include those being put in danger to fight in wars or chase after humans that cops believe are guilty of a crime, but animals being MINDFULLY given the chance to do what they want to do- hunt, track, herd, run, and even simply be a friend? They’re not enslaved. They’re being given the freedoms we all deserve. When being mindful of the common limit & not pushing the animal, when medical care in case of an accident is again easily accessible, then they’re being cared for & kept happy, safe, fulfilled.

Killing and eating? Again, nature. It’s all about how you go about it that makes it right or wrong, not that it’s being done at all.

Humans are not above the domestic dogs, raccoons, shrimp, or chicken. We are all animals, and learning to coexist- to be loving, empathetic, mindful, and nurturing, would dramatically reduce suffering to only what is natural, which is a part of the beauty of life. Light and dark, ecstasy and pain, peace and suffering… these are all simply a part of life. What is IMMORAL is the absurd amounts of the NEGATIVES we are ALL dealing with due to our absolute shit societies. The negatives dramatically outweigh the positives on the world scale.

Starting within your own home, making a change THERE, is the beginning. Reaching out, building your network, supporting each other, is how you spread the change.

“This sounds like a load of anarchist communist bullshit” fuck if I know bud! All I do know is this current set up, is fucked. The LOGICAL conclusion is to do everything in our power to tip the scales back into balance for all living creatures.

All this squabbling and bitching serves a single purpose. We end up too damn busy fighting each other instead of addressing the REAL problems. The cause of our suffering.

Hell, we saw a clear example as to WHY those in power keep us divided with “The Adjuster.” The rich fucking HATE that people from WILDLY different “belief systems” went “naw I agree with that dude, people who profit off of the suffering of common folk ain’t shit.” They’re terrified! They’re hiding CEOs, they’re clamming up and shutting down. They’re posturing. Why? Because we are genuinely so fucking powerful in NUMBERS that we could truly change EVERYTHING.

But! We can’t rely on these “big” events to be what brings us together. We have to become receptive to learning. We have to learn how to effectively communicate amongst ourselves and actively listen to each other, even if we don’t love what we’re hearing.

I don’t NEED bigots to suddenly have a huge change of heart & love transgender people, gay people, people of color, folks with different religions or a lack of. Bigots DO NOT NEED all of these groups to stop existing. Queer folks are not trying to indoctrinate kids. POC are not trying to flip the script on white folks. Marginalized people as a whole are not trying to make cishet, white, ablebodied, Christian men & women the new bottom of the social ladder.

What we all NEED is to sit the fuck down, and accept that people are going to be different. People are going to have different skills, different passions, they’re going to look, act, and identify differently. People are going to have different levels of support needs.

People do not need yachts. 1-2 person families do not need mansions. No one needs so much money in the bank that they’re having to shuffle it around, accumulating more by doing so, just for something to do with it. We don’t need sprawling golf courses that come at the suffering of the local ecosystem. We don’t need a million paved roads and billions of motorized vehicles.

We need to learn how to bite our tongues and hold our judgements and instead choose to dig out your neighbors who got snowed in and can’t get out of their house. We need to go check on the older folks who act like they, and maybe do, hate everyone. We need better public transit, communities where maybe you don’t know hardly anyone’s name, but if you saw them looking unwell, upset, visibly struggling to complete a task, you would still go “hey, what can I do to help?” And they the same for you.

Where I live, I’m either a shining beacon of weirdness, or a dark stain of a freak depending on the person. I still catch the dogs that escape late at night when I’m naturally awake. I still walk them around the neighborhood to find their home. I keep an eye on the kids walking to the bus stop and holler when I see them ganging up on some poor kid. I might not be capable of much with social anxiety, but even folks with merch on that clearly states they don’t agree with anything I am have routinely behaved at the very least begrudgingly respectful as I do the same, and we gripe about similar struggles and try to help each other out when it falls within our capabilities to do so.

All that to say- to buy into these little communities and turning towards vehement defense of the equivalent of a single piece of shattered porcelain, is to ignore the fucking wrecking ball repeatedly swinging into the China shop. Stop beefin with each other on the floor gripping these shards, and go beat the shit outta whoever ordered that crane operator to tear the place down. Then we can put shit back together.

It won’t EVER be like it was, but we can put shit back together, Frankenstein the pieces of society back together into something better for the MAJORITY instead of the minority. Kintsugi this trash into something functional, something stronger, something more beautiful than it was.

[ethelnol]

ok so like, in an everyday life only like 3 of these are useful without bring on a whole boatload of asterisks and catastrophic downsides

invisibility: first off, you’re blind when you use it. secondly, when are you really gonna use this… for something other than peeping (you perv) or like stealing shit (that you’ll need to steal blind)

telekinesis: a really good choice. can move shit in your environments making complicated tasks doable by just one person and/or doable in a fraction of the time

teleportation: pretty good assuming you teleporting doesn’t kill you and replace you with an identical version of yourself. idk depends on your outlook

mind reading: can help you alot in fields like therapy and law enforcement, but is morally reprehensible. only if you can sleep soundly at night. and assuming you can turn it off and focus in on one person

super strength: just pick telekinesis. strength is limited to physical contact whereas telekinesis isn’t. you can even use telekinesis on the things your lifting to make it look like strength

shape-shifting: other than the obvious trans answer, when will you *actually* use this? it’d be more of a party trick than anything else. also brings up the question of how does your brain handle the shapeshifting. do you maintain intelligence or do you gain the intelligence of the thing you shapeshift into? and if you gain the relative intelligence and downsize your brain into another animal, has that part of yourself been erased when you shift back? as an example, if you turned into a fly then shapeshifted back, did you just factory reset your brain and destroy all your memories and your personality? basically what is us, what is consciousness, and what happens if you try to stuff that in a brain that wasn’t made for it?

flight: just use telekinesis to make yourself fly and then you still get telekinesis do do stuff with

healing: really really useful. you could open up a clinic or something and could save the lives of so many people. might have limits based on exactly how you heal (is it magic, does it drain energy, come with side effects, etc.) but has alot of real world application

super speed: this could be red rush super speed where time moves hella slow for you permanently but assuming that doesn’t happen, you’d still be like walking to work. the walk might take 2 seconds normal time but would probably take forever for you. unless this is wacky super speed where you move fast but time doesn’t slow which has it’s own problem, most being that now you have to be hella precise and meticulous with detail

precognition: soooo many unknowns on this one. what do you get visions of? is it random or can it be tuned? if it can’t be tuned, you’d probably only see future events of random spots in the universe ie practically guaranteed you’ll never see anything close to earth. then we get to how time actually works. does our universe work on a single fixed timeline? then this is a curse where you see whatever’s in the future but can never change it. if it’s a single timeline but can be changed, then you create a grandfather paradox every time you use your power so you’d probably accidentally destroy time (or indefinitely loop it (same thing really) ). this only works if we live in a branching timeline universe where you could see future events and can change things

tl;dr telekinesis, teleportation (depending on your school of thought), mind reading (if your moral compass is a fuckin rock), and healing are the only good options. the rest just have too many risks/downsides/asterisks that them actually being useful or not inconvenient would be unlikely

i would say shape shifting (cause 🏳️‍⚧️) but telekinesis has just SSOOOOO many useful applications i can’t avoid it

[mattandsaraproductions]

So, I haven’t watched Good Omens season 2 yet, but I wanted to comment on what I’m noticing about how the discourse is going:

What I’m seeing is a lot of aro folks interpreting the kiss as romantic, and being justifiably annoyed that yet another relationship we’ve read as a QPR has become romantic.

Now, like I said, I haven’t seen the new series yet, and obviously context is what’s going to determine how that kiss is interpreted by fandom.

But the thing is, it is an interpretation. Because for one thing, it doesn’t matter what Gaiman or Tennant or Sheen think about it.

More importantly, I want to stress that there’s nothing intrinsically romantic about kissing. It’s not that kissing is evidence of some feeling called ‘romantic.’ Because it’s not that ‘romance’ has some internal coherence as a concept by which things like kissing just are romantic. Rather, it’s that for most people, they feel comfortable labeling the kind of relationship they want (which includes the kissing) as romantic.

In the aro community, we often focus on distinguishing QPRs from romantic relationships. And there are good and obvious reasons we do that. But I think those reasons are an effect of amatonormativity. We have to do this work, in other words, because amatonormativity is so pervasive. But, contrariwise, precisely because it’s so pervasive we shouldn’t underestimate how pervasive it is in our own thinking (for example, when sometimes people talk as if QPRs are “more than friendship”).

So while we spend time stressing how QPRs are distinct from romantic relationships, we shouldn’t forget the ways they can be similar. They can stand in the same place in people’s lives. They can share various features - like kissing. So they can look the same on the outside. Because precisely the point is that once you stop assuming relationships must fit into the dichotomous categories amatonormativity prescribes for us, it becomes up to the individuals in a relationship to determine the structure of their relationship. It becomes up to us, not up to the normative categories given by amatonormativity.

With regard to Aziraphale and Crowley, the problem is obviously that they’re fictional characters, not individuals in a relationship making choices. Which brings us back to: it doesn’t matter what the people involved think.

Suppose instead of starting from “kissing equals romantic relationship” we instead start from “these are friends” or “this is (heading towards) a QPR.” Does that change the kiss into something less objectionable? In other words, does that make the scene and the relationship going forward something other than “well shit another example of characters who I can’t find myself in”?

But again, I haven’t watched the thing yet. Who knows. It might just be fucked. I’ll have to watch and find out.

[cosmicjoke]

I feel like, when people talk about Levi’s choices, particularly in regard to his choice to let Erwin die and to give Armin the serum, they always frame their arguments in this sort of black and white, all or nothing perspective that completely ignores Levi’s nuanced thinking as a character.  They’ll say shit like “Levi chose Erwin over humanity” or “Levi cares more about humanity than any, single life”, and it’s not either. 

Levi always chooses to do, in any given situation, whatever his heart tells him is right.  He isn’t weighing ideologies when he makes a choice, or moral questions, or thinking of abstract concepts like “the greater good” or worrying over impossible to know ramifications or consequences or questions of ‘what if’.  He bases his decisions off of what his instinct tells him, whatever choice will sit most right in his heart.  He never approaches any situation with a black and white view, but rather adapts to and acknowledges that each situation will present different circumstances that call for a unique approach and thinking.  He knows that you can’t treat everything with the same solution, or with the idea of any kind of uncompromising moral certainty, and that not every situation is as simple as “the greater good” vs “the individual good” .  What Levi shows us through this sort of approach is that he’s actually an incredibly intelligent and sensitive person, capable of nuanced and critical thinking, and that when you go at every situation with a rigid, unmovable view of how things should be, or what you should do, morally or otherwise, you fail to acknowledge the complexity of the world and of people, you fail to acknowledge the ever shifting realities of questions of what’s right and wrong, how at any given time, one thing can take priority over another, and it can even be an individual life over multiple lives and still be right, and how, when you end up going at things with such a rigid uncompromising view, though your intentions might be well meaning,  you end up doing more harm than good.  We see this happen with, for example, Jean, when he refuses to kill, and ends up nearly getting the entire Special Operations Squad killed in the process, and saddling Armin with a burden that should have been his own.  And on a bigger scale, Eren, who is unable to approach his need for freedom with anything but a wholesale, all or nothing solution. 

This is why Levi tells people all the time to make the choice they’ll least regret, not the choice they think will gain them success, or victory.  This is why he never tries to impose any moral view or certainty on anyone, or tries to convince them to his side.  Why he lets everyone choose for themselves.  He doesn’t deign to present himself as the authority on anything.  Every choice Levi makes is a personal choice, guided by his own feeling and heart, and he lets everyone else do the same in turn. 

So when Levi made the choice to let Erwin die and to give Armin the serum, it wasn’t some basic question of Levi choosing Erwin over humanity, or handing the future over to Armin.  Levi made the choice he did, like he does with every choice, based off of what he knew in his heart was the right thing to do.  It’s why Levi doesn’t give in to his desire to kill Zeke right away, or why he follows Erwin so loyally, even when he at times disagrees with his approach to things, or why he saves Eren as many times as he does, etc, etc...  In that way, poetically, Levi is actually the character who most retains his moral center, and doesn’t compromise or betray his own morals, precisely because he understands that not every problem can be approached with moralistic, black and white thinking, or questions of absolutes.  He maintains his moral center better than anyone in the series because he never betrays his own heart. 

[outivv]

— random rambles —

Synopsis: I just wanna gush about these characters :’)

Warnings: a lot of my own personal headcanons on the characters lol, mentions of raw cookie dough (putting this here justtt in case), and it’s not proofread

Characters: almost all the twisted wonderland characters!!

Pronouns for reader: gender neutral/ not mentioned

A/n: heyyy, I know I asked for genshin requests but IVE HAD TWISTED WONDERLAND ON THE BRAINNNN for like no reason too… it’s very very strange tbh. Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you like it just as much as I do!! Have a great rest of your day!!

Malleus is absolutely the type to listen to every word you have to say. He isn’t very knowledgeable of a lot of more modern things, so he’s very interested in whatever you have to say :). Best boyfriend for anyone who has a major hyperfixation, this man will eat that shit up. He has a great memory too!! You could tell him everything about your current hyperfixation and he’ll remember it for the rest of his life.

Sebek and silver are weirdly the best duo to be friends ugh in my opinion. Oh my god imagine being in a little trio with them. That’d be so fun!! For example baking with them, Sebek would be very precise yet messy, and silver is probably the type to sneak a little bit of the batter/ frosting JVEJEHE. He definitely eats raw cookie dough straight from the bowl (it’s ok silver so do I, we can get sick together). Sebek probably yells at him for it too, like “MALLEUS WOULDNT APPRECIATE IT IF YOU GOT SICK SILVER.” “Bro wha” JVEJEHE. They’d just be so goofy to be friends with :]

Any time of the day. Anywhere. Any place. Idia is ready to dump his hyperfixations on you. AND IF YOU HAVE THE DAME HYPERFIXATION AS HIM??? It’s over. You are officially now his best friend uhhh would you actually like to just live with him???? If it’s not obvious I’m headcanoning Idia as autistic so. Anyways, if you stim with him? He gets really happy, but also really really nervous?? And pretty flustered. Ortho once walked in on you both just talking about your hyperfixations and he was like “idk what half this means but happy you’re happy” and just left MEVEJEH

Rook probably has a weird infatuation with fancy teas. You know what I mean? He just gives off the vibes, or someone who taste tests teas like they’re wine. Like “oh yes, I can taste the rose in this, mm.. yes yes, 1920’s rose tea, that was freshly brewed in a kettle. Very fine taste you have [name]” “Uhh I just bought this from sam’s shop for like $2. So. Sure??”

I think Jamil REALLY likes collecting random things with snakes on them. He gives the vibes of someone who just likes snakes of all kinds. Socks with a cobra on it?? Yes please. He wears them regularly. A cute little snake keychain, that is in his room somewhere, and sometimes he even puts it on his favorite bag. He just really likes snakes?? I know his last name is viper, so it’s super on brand, but despite all that, I genuinely think he just is one of those people that’s like “wow!! Snakes!! I love them :)” for like no reason. (I was one of those people. I would know a fellow snake enjoyer when I see one /j)

This isn’t a headcanon but more of a… random thought. How do Jack, ruggie, and Leona hold phones?? I saw Art of this once I forgot who made it but it was of Leona, and it just made me think like, their ears on on top of their head ok? So. When they take a call, mkay. Where do they hold their phones? Normally so they can’t hear? Or up to their ear, so then the other person on the phone can’t really hear them speaking, AND they look dumb. WHICH IS IT I MUST KNOW

Jade and Floyd mix in random mermaid slang with their regular speech. HSHEJHE imagine. Imagine just hearing “awww shrimpy you’re acting like a real starfish right now :(“ and then jade just “I must agree with Floyd, he’s saying the seaweed” LIKE WJEGSJVSKDHD IMAGINE. Oh my god- no because imagine being like “do you think this outfit is cute?” “Yeah I think you look absolutely stingray.” HSVEKEBS worst part about it is Floyd uses it the most and when you’re like “Floyd. Floyd why did you call me a pile of dried up and grey coral :(?” He just doesn’t explain, and keeps using it, and you don’t know of you should be flattered?? Or offended.

Lilia is an avid league of legends player. I’m correct. Don’t say I’m not. I don’t even play league of legends and yet I’m gonna headcanon Lilia as a league fan. Because, I am correct. (He also probably is a fan of guilty gear, and Elfen ring but you didn’t hear it from me)

Mkay now Sebek , Idia, and azul, are the type of people, that whenever their crush is around or whatever, they are absolutely not responsive. Literally freeze. Now with Idia after like a few minutes of trying to get him to respond, it’s a 50/50 chance (that you will lose.) that hell either run away and hide, or if you’re lucky he’ll actually try to say something to you before he gets too nervous and just leaves KEGEJS. Azul on the other hand will freeze, not responsive for like two seconds, then “oh prefect I didn’t know you’d be here.” “You’re right in front of my dorm.” “Oh.”. AND SEBEK JUST COMPLETELY DOESNT RESPOND AND LEAVES BEFORE YOU CAB SAY ANYTHING TO HIM WJEGKEGEKE

I like to think epel and riddle are close friends. They both have weirdly fiery, and yet calm personalities, and I think epel would make a BEAUTIFUL apple tart for riddle a lot. Like imagine all the details in the apples, cause he carved into them, and omg I would respectfully devour an apple tart made by epel. But I also wouldn’t… cause it’s so pretty :’)

Vil has a separate MagiCam account dedicated to fitness. And, AND cater follows it. Why? Because it’s “super aesthetic” (in reality it’s to encourage himself to work out cause vil is like obviously super strong and successful so like working out and being athletic MUST have something to do with that.) (cater also never works out SJSGEJE)

[the-ultimate-romanian]

Apparently you do not know how to read or lack reading comprehension because I’ve clearly said “Sincerely, a psychology student who’s neurodivergent & comes from a family of diagnosed neurodivergent people” meaning that I, too have autism and I have several family members who have been diagnosed with autism or who are suspected by psychologist to have autism AND I have studied this shit. There’s one thing to have it and there’s one thing to study it and know about it which is what makes us different, especially since I am BOTH.

Just because you claim you have it doesn’t mean you can talk shit about this especially since you’ve used insulting terms to the autistic community. Ffs many autistic people have said that they consider the term ‘handicappated’ to be akin to a slur. So yeah, I’d say you lost any right to talk about this shit when you used a slur to describe a group of people just because you didn’t like another neurodivergent person’s hc of a fictional character.

“You can’t just program autism into a computer” when did I, or OP claim that we can? ATP you’re just saying shit to seem smart, but you’re pulling at straws.

“I have autism and I ain’t any of the things you mentioned” Yeah because… autism develops differently in everybody? Just because your autism looks different to another’s doesn’t mean it isn’t autism.

While autism does present differently in anyone (which is why it is so hard to diagnose for some psychologists), there are still essential criteria that you have to tick to be actually diagnosed with autism such as (you don’t need to have all but you need to have quite a few to even be considered autistic) repetitive movement, understanding and use of language in social contexts and ability to initiate and sustain reciprocal social conversations, Repetitive and stereotyped motor movements, such as whole body movements (e.g., rocking), atypical gait (e.g., walking on tiptoes), unusual hand or finger movements and posturing, Inflexible adherence to particular routines; for example, these may be geographic such as following familiar routes, or may require precise timing such as mealtimes or transport, persistent deficits in initiating and sustaining social communication and reciprocal social interactions that are outside the expected range of typical functioning given the individual’s age and level of intellectual development. Specific manifestations of these deficits vary according to chronological age, verbal and intellectual ability, and disorder severity — criteria from the ICD 11 created but the World Health Organisation, and used worldwide by psychologist and to diagnose all types of conditions not just psychological released ones.

“There’s relating to a character and there’s grasping at straws…” Geo at no point is grasping at straws? Especially if you’ve read her other post, she has quite a few good points, that make total sense and are in line with Connor’s character. Grasping at straws would mean that she’s the only one who sees Connor as Neurodivergen except a quick google search would tell you that there are hundreds of autistic people and neurodivergent people who see themselves in him, so that’s why they relate to him, they see themselves in him.

“What happened to enjoying a character regardless of whether you relate to them or not?” Buddy do I have news for you! First of all of you go on Geo’s account here or on twitter, you’ll see that she enjoys characters perfectly fine without relating to them 100%. And second of all, “We connect with fictional characters through a complex mix of empathy, sympathy, and shared human experiences. We project our own emotions and experiences onto characters, allowing us to feel their joys and sorrows as if they were our own. Even when characters are vastly different from us, we can connect with them through universal emotions, struggles, and our particular attachment needs.” — Living Writer, thus relating to characters is a completely normal thing, wanting to see yourself in media you love is a completely normal thing. You’re acting like it’s a crime, something that only now started to plague fandom cultures, but ffs Dante Alighieri liked the bible so much he inserted himself into it and created the Divine Comedy which has been accepted by the Catholic Church and viewed it as accurate to the bible (keep in mind that at that time his Divine Comedy was just self insert biblical fanfiction)

“Androids having emotions doesn’t mean that they will ever be like humans” ??? Have you played the game??? That’s literally the whole point of Markus’ movement. He’s literally fighting for the rights of his people because they are as equal to humans as we are to each other. The whole plot of the game is proving that they are as human as us.

“And they still can’t have mental disorders” explain Ralph… Ralph who displays clear signs of PTSD… aka a mental disorder. A lot of mental disorders (or example PTSD or depression) impact the way we think and act, and if androids can think that means that they can have mental disorders. Thus that means that they can also have neurodivergent disorders or experiences.

I can talk about this because 1st I’m a psychology student, I study this shit, 2nd I’m autistic myself, I’m not just talking about facts and figures from my textbook, I’m also talking about my experiences which are bound to be different from yours and op’s and 3rd I have several members with either diagnosed autism, suspected autism or some form of other neurodivergence, so yeah I am plenty qualified to talk about this. Just having it doesn’t mean you’re an expert, if I had cancer, would that make me an expert? No because cancer is different in all people thus I wouldn’t have knowledge about the overall experience of others. Same thing with autism, just because you have it doesn’t mean you’re an expert because you have no knowledge of the overall experience.

I am in a position where I can lecture you about this because you clearly have no clue what you are on about but you still want to hate. Ffs you literally said “I’m autistic and this doesn’t match my autism so it’s offensive” even tho the NHS and National Autism Society in the UK have stated that autism is different in everyone.

Also, it just tells me how pathetic you are that you got offended about a random neurodivergent girl on the internet projecting onto her favourite character just because ‘awww I don’t like it 🥺🥺🥺’ and then when I told you you’re wrong — with sources — you still doubled down and replied to my other comment as well because you’re that fucking offended over a fictional character from a fictional game. Go get a fucking life dude, go find a woman or a man if you’re into that (if there are any who want to touch you, that is), go get a fucking job, finish your education, communicate with your family because this shit’s getting sad, go take a shower and do not use 13 in 1 shampoo. Especially since apparently you wanna be a professional hater but you’re just failing. How about you learn to block and move on instead of harassing teenagers?

it is so important to me that, no matter what path you take with connor, you cannot avoid him having humanity. him indulging in self-soothing, repetitive actions such as his coin tricks or rubbing his hands together, him lying to hank after seeing markus' speech and being visibly moved, him gently smiling upon seeing hank emerge from his room in the clothes he picked out for him — a sign of a want for a domestic life with him, perhaps? — hell he can even feel fear when he connects to simon, even though you may be going through with this in a machine playthrough.

in some ways, i find machine connor more deviant than deviant connor himself — because of the repression. as amanda says, it was planned from the beginning that he become deviant. it is extremely unlikely this is erased in the machine playthrough. him 'remaining' a machine is just repression of his true self.

...and not to make this post even more self-indulgent and insane, but fuuuck the autistic headcanon for him ties into this PERFECTLY. him 'remaining' a machine is masking — he is still a deviant (autistic), but hiding it to be accepted by amanda and cyberlife — while becoming a deviant means allowing himself to break free of what is expected of him (neurotypicalness) and unmasks, be loved for who he truly is.

i made another post about him being autistic here, so feel free to check that out for reasoning for the headcanon, but i cannot imagine a universe in which connor isn't autistic and doesm't have deviant tendencies. sure, he can be cruel, or a badass, or selfish, as a machine, but all of that still gives him humanity — to be able to feel, and hurt his fellow man. and his (partial or entire) lack of empathy is still a trait of autism, which can be paralelled with deviancy.

idk man i have many thoughts about connor dbh. the autistic agender aromantic asexual android ever. to me.