#im right. ofc. all of the time but it's also just. how interpretation works is that we are going to disagree

[thecoolerliauditore]

lrb there's something about the way this fandom is so into things like symbolism and personal interpretation but like. alot of the times it's framed through a lens of x thing we should agree on NOW instead of encouraging variety. the sun moon stars whatever the fuck stuff is like the most egregious example imo but it just happens that when something gets popular enough that's what's treated as What Really Happened (e.g. scott raising his sword to show his victory at the end of LL being in everyone's subconscious as a result of the curses animation)

personally i feel like all media interpretation often just comes down to a juggling act of what happened and applying personal thoughts onto it. but then you get this weird book club situation with fandom and interpretations start getting treated more like argumentative essays than analysis.

[forehead451]

stream of consciousness type deal.

[siloupy]

i have been working on this for a few days now but they are all done . all my designs so far for pin through all the seasons

(because she has been through a lot ... #1 situation haver)

i have lots of thoughts so this is getting put under a read more cause this post might get long

bfdi/season 1

very cutie patootie i think ...... so silly

FUCK ASS BOB . its a pivotal trans experience you see the fuckass bob and you know theyre gonna get so transgender with it eventually. LOL

shes kept her natural hair color up to this point but that most definitely is gonna change later

if youve seen my other pin related posts you know i make a whole thing out of the jacket ...... shes very sentimental about it its very dear to her because shes had it for as long as she can remember (during this season LOL). as of right now its a bit too big for her but the longer that she keeps it and loves it she starts to grow into it <3

hrmmm unsure of what else to say about this one. shes cutesy

bfdia/season 2

lot going on here Hi

I SEE A LOT OF HUMANIZATIONS OF PIN THAT GIVE HER THIS LIKE . super alternative fashion style and stuff. AND IT IS VERY COOL. but like i never really thought it fit her very well if that makes sense ??? like i never really saw it as being very in character but like maybe im just doopid

THAT BEING SAID THOUGH if she were to try and go into any of that now would be the time. i included like a little tiny bit of it. shes experimenting with a lot of stuff she dyes her hair a bit shes having fun and playing

early bfdia pin makes me so sad lowkey like she was so excited and she was so ready to have fun

then ummmm the horrors. you guys all know the horrors weve all seen em

i really like the interpretation of pin's mechy stuff as a wheelchair its very lovely to me

lowkey inspired by @/clarissasbakery 's bfdia pin design (peak) in the sense of like ..... her being all disheveled and shit at this point like shes going through it bad rn. no time to gaf about all that right now yk.

JACKET IS GONE . ive posted about it before back when likeeee i think around when bfdia 19 came out. but like my whole interpretation is that she gave it to coiny before the bfdia 18 challenge since that challenge was at night and probably colder and whatever. and its like this huge thing that she trusts him with it. and then everything immediately goes to shit HAHAHAHHA but coiny has it at this point and keeps it for a while because going to give it back means actually confronting the problems and why would he ever do that right

subject to change a bit based on how the rest of bfdia goes :) ooouu im SO SCARED ABOUT IT SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!

idfb/season 3 (VERY SUBJECT TO CHANGE/UPDATE SINCE WE DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THIS YET)

i really hope they also come back to this im very intrigued by it

ive mentioned it a couple of times but my hc for pin is that theyre genderqueer :)) any pronouns user but i thiiiink she/her still Mainly just because shes used to them. but like all pronouns are good and cool and awesome

ANYWAYS . this is the time they start figuring all that out i think ..... I SAY THIS LIKE ITS JUST ME HAVING THESE IDEAS me and junofriend scurried around with this hc together a LOT. BUT yeah idfb is when i think pin would be exploring that :) not preoccupied with Losing It in bfdia anymore so he can actually put some thought into that HAHAHA . relearning how to be a well adjusted person again and getting a little transgender with it in the process

im probably nonbinary but ive got a competition to win so idrc about all that right now. LMAOOOO

they cut and bleached their hair aaaaaall by themself. and it looks like shit. <3. again another pivotal transgender experience it simply had to happen

starts using a cane after having to figure out how to walk and stuff again :) ofc coiny helps her with some of that too (and all of the drawings ive seen of that specific thing are SO dear to me) but she has that too

inspired a little bit by some random person's outfit i saw in passing . LMFAO i thought it was cute

bfb/season 4

also maybe subject to change a little bit depending on how idfb goes/if that happens :)

the jacket has been returned :)) and fixed up a bit (this was like. what. 7 years at least of having it after all)

theyre still trying to figure out some stuff appearance wise.....she cleaned up her hairstyle a bit and is letting it grow back in its natural color but still experimenting with keeping it shorter

i LOVE. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT SO MUCH when people have pin and coiny have something like that together that theyre matching ive seen it a few times and i think it is the loveliest little thing in the world. they have the little matching necklaces (which i also included in my last drawing of them together that i posted)

outfit generally reflects him being a bit more reserved and stuff than before ... gotta gain that confidence back throughout the season she gets there eventually

tpot/season 5/current day

JOYPILLED !!!!!!!

during this time he starts getting SO silly with it again in terms of like. presentation and stuff. having fun and playing. hair is getting FULLY dyed again. bringing back some of the piercings. got little pins on the jacket now. having so much fun

in general is just a lot more confident in how they express themself and it brings me so much joy

the cane comes back out occasionally when shes having a particularly bad day and needs to use it again. its got a tiny little bit of decorations now :)

IDK WHAT ELSE TO SAY BUT SHES SOOOOO SILLY

OK thats all i have ........ this thang been Plaguing my mind as of late

[katz-chow]

im a ghost girlie but my love for soap is literally incomprehensible and i have this headcanon where its ghost x reader but soap third wheels all the time and its not like in a mean way at all, they’re just a trio that is basically inseparable. i also hc that they make so many jokes about being a throuple to the point where its not rlly a joke anymore lmao. anyway, this is all to ask if you’ll write some headcanons about that dynamic. fluff ofc! if u feel comfortable writing a little bit of poly soap x reader x ghost, i’d be very gracious 🙏🏽 but no pressure!

soap, simon, and the not-so-single parent

warnings: gn!reader, ghost x reader, soap x platonic!reader, my interpretation of ghost & soap, domesticity, fluff, johnny being johnny, simon being simon, reader being the concerned parent, third-wheel soap

a/n: this shit be on my mind constantly that johnny just loves to annoy and thirdwheel reader & simon. some of this is inspired by irl stuff. i'm not really into a poly triangle personally and i just can't imagine them, especially simon, to be okay with it, sorry!

humble beginnings

johnny didn't find out that simon had a romantic partner until you two reached past your 1 year anniversary. it happened by pretty much chance too, here's how that went: simon forgot a file, you were off of work, you drove to base, you dropped off said file using your dependent clearance, he kissed your cheek goodbye right in the doorway of his office (masked), johnny turned the corner, and as simon pulled away, you looked at johnny who was desperately trying to seem busy on his phone as he walked away hurriedly. he was on the calculator app. simon and you gave each other a look and he nodded, knowing that you've been wanting to meet the colorful coworkers (and his closest friends) for a while now. you called him over, soap, as you've remembered, not everyday you see a mohawk. johnny freezes and turned around to see you beckoning him back to the frame of the office, and simon with his arms crossed, staring a bit annoyed actually. he was chill when you two introduced each other, not wanting to embarrass himself. his eyes lit up though, when he heard you invite him over for dinner. "lovie..." simon started out, a gentle hand on your back. you hit his chest with the back of your head playfully, "no, no, this will be good for us. first diner party in our new house" "HOUSE? HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD SOMEONE" he wanted to scream at simon's face, what came out however was a "i dinnae want to be a bother to you both" you insisted and he felt bad (but also curious), so dinner it was. simon took off his mask to please you and well, it was the comfort of his home. he rolled his eyes as johnny quipped that he certainly was "quite the opposite". from that day forward, it was the three of you against...manchester i guess?

children, the both of them

johnny tags along whenever you two are running errands on leave or on off days when they're both stationed at home. sometimes it's just you and him, or him and simon, or all three of yall. it started with a "we're having brunch, wanna join?" and now it's more like "we're going to the zoo, 9 am, get there" they make up the weirdest challenges and it feels like you're babysitting them both. simon, doesn't see it, he's a grown adult man, he's not silly. johnny says it's just in his nature like how it's natural that wombats poop in cubes (he walked ahead to read that tidbit and walked back to regurgitate it back at the two of you). challenges include: simon and johnny getting into a long debate about which is better, the smoked salmon crepes or the chocolate crepes, and when they mix them together, who can eat it all without puking? who can get to the butterfly sanctuary the fastest without running? who can find your favorite fish in the 30,000 gallon (113562.35 liter) fish tank WHILE holding their breath as if they were swimming in the water johnny telling you that his jokes are the best, simon butting in and using the "i'm your boyfriend, surely my jokes are better" card. you wanted to throw them both out of the car as they kept going back and forth with the most stupidest, tasteless, dad jokes ever. johnny saying he can drive better than simon. simon saying he can fly a broken helicopter and land safely. you're in the driver's seat. simon quipped that he would be a good artist compared to this shit's canvas (picasso) and johnny saying that his cat can paint better. simon said dogs can do it better. johnny said- you get the idea simon threw up after the 8th time on a rollercoaster. johnny threw up on the 9th. you, however, went through a nice scenic boat ride :)

quiet mornings

you three are closer than yall think. whenever they're both away, you always miss the noise they bring in the kitchen, trying to figure out how to make muffins or...popcorn. the three of you doing the daily wordle, crossword, and sudoku. "what's c for?" "c4 is an explosive, bonnie" "no johnny, what does C STAND FOR? fucking idiot..." mornings when you both are expecting johnny are never quiet, especially when he announces that he's there by knocking on the front door and saying "it's johnny!" when someone opens it. even when he's not there, you can at least hear simon's almost silent breaths if it wasn't for how close you two were. you miss them when they have to leave, you know it can't be forever, but damnit you missed the buzzing of them both. you don't miss, however, johnny and simon playing drunk monopoly.

[joshusten]

love the sinner (albus york/faith koria, bastard warrior || good boy audios)

Albus York takes a bath and Faithful washes his hair. (angst, slight argument, hurt/comfort)

2.2k+ words [ao3 link] [masterlist] [CW/notes: religious imagery ofc (this fic was basically an excuse to write that), typical albus york language, lots of self-loathing and some suicidal thoughts. albus is just having a bad time but hes also so whipped for faithful. speaking of her, i didnt make faith's physical descriptions vague or made it so that she's a "listener" but rather a character of her own! and i based it off of gba's description of her + my own interpretation hehe.]

once again THANK YOU SO SO MUCH to @slushiepizza for all the AMAZING suggestions and support like omfg i SWEAR i keep on saying this but this fic rlly wouldnt be finished without them!! i appreciate it sm!! and im shaking and kissing my irls that ive also bothered with this fic that will probably not see this THANK U SM!! edit: I FORGOT THE FUCKING READ MORE LMFAO

—

Albus York steadily sank into the half-filled tub of one of the ship’s quarters—stripped of his clothes, and left bare to no witness.

Gentle waves of the bathwater rippled against hardened, battle-torn skin. He dementedly mused that if he could go down further, he might finally drown. 

He chuckled at the thought, shifted his position, and got to work. It's been a while since he last had an actual bath—way before he even agreed to this suicide mission of an adventure—with warm soapy water and scented products.

The constant near-death experiences and whatnot had interrupted the trio to get any time for themselves, much less to do any sort of basic hygiene. Since the route Devlin had charted for the ship to follow allowed for ample downtime, the Forgemaster had practically shoved his younger half-brother into the common bathroom and forced him to take a much-needed bath (Of course, not without a snobby comment about how his stench matched his personality perfectly well.)

Albus’ inexperience was made clearer with the stiff, awkward motion of his large, calloused hands as he attempted to wash himself. The unpracticed movement made the unfamiliarity of it all fully realized. How long has it been since he felt this safe? Does he even remember how to take care of himself?

Does someone like him even deserve this luxury?

The warrior submerged himself lower, down until his eyes were right above water level. He was thinking again. It was all that he had been doing for the past hour. If the gods wouldn't allow him to drown, then he hoped that the water would at least cleanse the grime and sin embedded into his flesh.

But he knew that filth clung to his skin like how a believer clings to the idea of repentance. No matter how hard—how desperately—he scrubbed (until pale skin turned into blood red, until rough turned rougher), it was all pointless. He had learned long ago that a bastard's prayers were never left answered. 

The mark on his chest was a bleak reminder of that reality. Damnation was basically his birthright. Albus York was dead the moment he came out of his mother’s womb—dead to his family, dead to society. 

Cursed to hell for being sin itself.

Life had a funny way to remind him—that goodness is something he can be in the presence of but never be a part of it.

"Albus?"

Speak of the devil, his ever-so-naive angel had arrived.

“Albus? Hello?”

Tender, serene, heavenly.

The voice was melodic—like the somber hymns he used to hear in his youth when his mother would take him into the temple and meet with her fellow brothers and sisters. At that time, he always felt drawn to the choir’s performance, despite not being old enough to understand the words (not that he was any more literate in the present). Back then, he was just a kid, blissfully unaware of the blasphemy he had committed for existing. 

He had grown since then—in every aspect of the word.

"Albus! Are you still in there?"

A deep grunt, muffled slosh of water, and the pitter-patter of droplets on the tiled surface were all that Faith Koria had heard from the other side of the metal door before a familiar, gruff voice answered back.

"Calm ya tits, woman. I knew you were eager to see my dick but I never knew you were this eager!" 

The outside replied with an annoyed groan, a sound Albus was all too familiar with, especially when it came from her. That being said, he couldn't fight the smile forming on his lips as he hastily dried himself up with a nearby towel.

"You've been using the bathroom for more than an hour, just what are you doing in there? Some people want to get cleaned up too, you know!”

The metal door swiftly slid open with a sudden 'woosh!', hot steam dissipating before the runaway nun to reveal Albus’ tall stature, half-naked and slightly dripping wet. Faith frantically averted her eyes on instinct, ears immediately burning with embarrassment. It wasn’t like it was her first time seeing him undressed—for gods’ sake, she treated his wounds like this when they first met! But to have him fresh out of a bath with his toned body exposed and his dampened long hair was—Wait! His hair!

"Alright, alright! I’m out, ya happy? I’m decent too so you don’t have to be a prude about it,” The bastard huffed, a little irritated with how his peaceful bath (or at least, as peaceful as it could be) was abruptly cut short.  

“Albus, your hair!”

The man scrunched up his face in confusion.  He gathered one of his dark locks and examined it with an intense focus. “Huh? Looks fine to me. What, you're not expecting me to be all prim and proper now, are you?”

“No, no, no! It's all matted and uneven!” The woman replied with a horrified concern in her voice that was rare for the warrior to hear directed at him.“It’s probably from all those monster attacks. Some of them must’ve managed to get to your hair! How long has it been like this? Does it hurt? Do you even have shampoo?”

“Uh…what’s that?”

“Ugh, never mind. Just—” Before Albus could process what was happening, Faith grabbed his arm with a surprisingly strong grip for a nun. She dragged him down near the bathtub he just got out of. He can even hear the water still slowly swirling down the drain. 

“Faithful, what are you—” 

“Stay right here. You got that, York? I’m just going to get something and I don't want you to move a muscle.”

A deep chuckle resonated within the man’s scarred chest—he always enjoyed it when she got this bossy. He gave her a mock salute and answered with a hearty “Yes, ma’am!”

The sister paladin made a face, letting out a flustered huff before hurrying to wherever she needed to be. So cute.

Albus had put on his clothes at this point while he waited (lest he risked Faithful suffering from a heart attack). A few minutes had passed by when she returned with a rather large pouch that Albus recognized was packed with the rest of her belongings. He deduced it must've been from her childhood with how worn down the embroidery was. Once vibrant floral patterns dulled from years of usage.

“Lean back by the bathtub,” Faith instructed. “I’m going to start detangling your hair. I might cut off some of the more unsalvageable parts too. If anything hurts or if I snagged on it too hard just let me know, okay?”

“Okay,” The man repeated simply, not really knowing how to react to all of the amount of consideration he was receiving. Abrasiveness was what he was more used to responding to, not the care that she unabashedly gave him.

She beamed brightly at his compliance (and no, his heart did not just skip a beat), soft hands found their way to his head and started brushing away the more manageable tangles before using a wide-tooth comb for the bigger ones. Despite the numerous warnings, her fingers were nowhere near to being rough. She was as gentle as a lamb—her slow brushstrokes eventually formed a rhythm that filled in the silence of the room. Albus decided to break the comfortable atmosphere.

“How are you so good with this shit?” He mumbled, voice heavy with drowsiness. Fuck, he felt like he could sleep until his next life. “Never knew sisters of Cindergorn get to be part-time hairdressers too.”

Even with his sluggish state, Albus could almost sense the nun’s eyes rolling above him, brushing out his hair with a slightly more forceful than usual tug.

“I'm the one usually taking care of the children at the temple. I’m used to seeing this kind of stuff whenever they play too hard. Obviously not on this level but you get the gist.” Faith snipped off the last of a particularly challenging knot. 

“I've also been doing my own hair ever since I was a kid, so really, it's like second nature to me at this point,” she followed up, running her fingers through his hair with a satisfied nod.

Now that Albus thought about it, he had seen Faithful braiding herself earlier on their journey when they had just…tastefully borrowed the flagship meant for his father. He remembered swift, practiced hands twisting sections after sections of dark, coiled hair and had mentioned in passing how it was a hairstyle she often did to withstand the Eastern Faithlands' harsher seasons (Fortunately, it also turned out to be great for going-on-a-quest-to-kill-your-priest-brother-and-save-a-child seasons too.)

Faith’s hands suddenly paused. Before the man could ask if something was wrong, she signaled him to stay still while she rummaged through the pouch to get a small bottle. She squeezed a moderate amount of product into her palm and spread it evenly. As she was about to apply the substance to his head, Albus jerked away, quickly stopping her hand with his own as a furrow formed on his thick brows.

“Faithful,” He chuckled. “Please, I’m a warrior. You don’t need to waste your fancy shit on me. My hair’s going to get fucked up again eventually so what’s the point?” 

Faith struggled to wriggle herself out of his grasp. “Wha–Albus, it’s fine!” 

“No, Faithful, I’m serious. It’s just hair. Hell, it’s my hair. Relax.” The man sat up straighter at this point, the water from his long, damp hair trickling down along the scarred tissue of his back but it was the intensity in those familiar brown eyes that made him feel a chill.

“And I told you it’s fine just let me—”

“Why are you making it a big fuckin’ deal? What do you want from me?” 

“What?” Faith’s voice cracked, appalled and confused. “Albus, what are you even talking about? I’m not asking for anything—”

“I’m just a bastard you hired to kill your brother! I was paid to do the dirty work for you, not to be your fucking toy—”

“Albus, wha—Y–You’re not a toy! Why do you—”

“If I’m not then why are you being like this to me? There’s a catch—there’s always a fucking catch. So what the fuck do you want from me?”

The nun managed to finally yank her hand away from his harsh grip and angrily slammed at the smooth surface of the tub.

“I just want you to stop being stubborn for once and let me do this for you!” 

The silence that followed between them felt suffocating.

Faith’s breath hitched, shocked by her outburst. She immediately straightened up her posture only to look down shamefully at the tiled floor. A shaky sigh left her lips, and Albus was doing everything in his power to stop himself from reaching out to her, seeking salvation he knew she shouldn’t give him because he was not sorry that he was like this. He wasn’t afraid to show his filth to the world because it was all he knew to do—all he was taught to do. There’s no excuse, no justification, no escape. She’s everything good and he’s just scum or worse yet—he’s a bastard. 

Because she’s an angel and he’s far worse than the devil.

“This isn't anything all that fancy…just something to keep it healthy and less stressful on your scalp. I just want you to feel okay. So please…” She trailed off. “Let me.”

“It’s…It’s just hair, Faithful. I’ll be okay, I’m a big boy,” Albus joked, but his words were sincere. He almost found the whole thing amusing—having the ever-so-snappy sister paladin fuss over him—if he didn’t get a feel for how much…his comfort seemed to mean a lot to her.

Faith pursed her lips, her gaze still fixed downward. “I just think…you deserve at least one good hair day.”

It's that word again. Deserve. Does she really think that? That he's worthy of all of this?

The man cleared his throat with a curt nod. Hesitantly, the nun's fingers slowly found their way back to the crown of his head, resuming whatever she was supposed to do. Steady, rhythmic brushstrokes filled the quiet once again. 

After what felt like hours of stillness, the bastard dared himself to shift his head and face her timidly—as if he was afraid he could melt under her piercing gaze.

"Thank you, for…for this," Albus grunted. He hadn't only meant for his hair.

Faith graced him with a dimpled smile—the one that made her eyes squint and showed the tiniest bit of the gap between her front teeth. She proceeded to tuck away a stray lock behind his ear, trailing down to hover over his cheek. Albus can practically feel the nervous tremble on her fingers as if she were hesitating on something. It all came to nothing in the end, closing her hands in a fist before withdrawing to her pouch to start cleaning up.

“Anytime, Albus. Besides, with how you always manage to find yourself in trouble,” the sister murmured, her voice playful (it never failed to leave Albus’ mind racing). Her eyes glinted as they locked into his almost like clockwork. “How can I not?”

Albus York sat by the empty bathtub of the ship’s quarters—fully clothed yet he had felt the most bare that he had ever been in front of someone. 

Faith smiled at him again and he swore he could make out the faintest halo crowning her head under the fluorescent bathroom light. ---- a/n: this is probably my most favorite fic that i wrote and i hope you enjoyed! lemme tell u this fic took way to long and got me so stressed for no reason idk ! i was worrying abt how this would happen in the timeline and all the lil details and then !! its a fic!! and im suppose to be having fun!! i am being self-indulgent!! (although i hope was able to characterize them well) again, feedback and comments r highly appreciated!! :DD have a good day/night and thank you for reading!!

[j0ypatron]

emerging from a hole under your askbox floorboards. hi! i really like your blp posts especially the ones abt hashida and murai! if you want could you talk a little more abt your thoughts abt them? hashida haunts my brain frequently i like talking abt him😅

man i’m glad i never got that hole patched up. this rules!!

full disclosure that i have a policy of waiting until i can buy the volumes in official english print to read them (not to shame anyone who reads the unofficial scanlation or anything ofc!! do what you want and more power to you, im just particularly fond of the phrasing choices in the official release) so all of my impressions of them are solely from up to volume 15. if anything i say is contradicted in later chapters please forgive me 🙇‍♂️

but basically

i think to get to the core of haruka hashida you really examine all the carefully cultivated external flags he throws. the braids, the unabashed artistic voyeurism, his entire body of art- it all begs to be read on a surface level and not necessarily discarded, but certainly… almost debased, i would say? it says ‘here is my laughable art. here is the laughable artist. wouldn’t you like to laugh at it?’ and there’s about a million ways to interpret that (he is the loving eldest brother to three sisters - he is jangling keys at the viewer, entertaining, the same way you might a small child; he is an appreciator of art first and foremost - a voyeur in the most traditional sense - and this is the product of his desire; this is his inscrutable body of work and he would ask you not to try and fucking scrute it, thank you) and quite honestly, at any rate, i think his reluctance to stay down-to-earth in any capacity is plain and simple misdirection. he has more to say, and he either isn’t saying it or he already has and he refuses to let anyone listen.

and the other thing of note for that particular flippant mask is that when it slips, he is Fucking Scary. haruka hashida is a man with the capability to be terrifying!! there’s always kind of an underlying unease with him (and i generally regard this as more of an uncanny valley thing than anything else- an air of inauthenticity, which makes sense, given the everything about him) but there are also times where he is truly fucking intimidating, plain and simple (that one panel during the summer teaching arc comes to mind).

and then there is yakumo fucking murai. his introduction comes right on the tail end of the geidai exams, where the naked body and what it represents was very much the question du jour, and the conclusions reached were not only textually that nakedness was a natural state, but also subtextually (kind of. it’s pretty overt) that there is an inextricable link between an unashamed relationship to nudity and a certain comfortability with death. and with this fresh in the reader’s mind, how does yamaguchi introduce yakumo? he presents a larger-than-life full-body nude portrait of his friend. it’s not only a stunning piece of foreshadowing, but also such a fantastic indication of yakumo’s character right off the bat. this is a man who is loud and boisterous and not afraid to die!!

that relationship between yakumo and nudity continues, and the nature of that relationship is so fucking fascinating- it’s treated as a gag, not necessarily by the other characters (though there is an amount of flippancy there) but by the story itself. it’s framed and staged as a joke. yakumo gets naked when he’s drunk or comfortable (or fucking comfortable!), isn’t that silly? that’s our yakumo! and then the summer trip arc comes in like a truck to the head, and holy shit. suddenly that casual relationship to his body makes complete sense. of course he’s ready to die.

until that point, though, yakumo is effortlessly embodying the very image hashida strives for. he’s a joke. he’s a laughingstock. he’s deeply skilled, but no one takes him seriously. and yakumo allows that to continue because he cannot admit to being anything else because he doesn’t feel like he’s earned it. he considers his grief stolen and unearned even as he hallucinates the form of his dead friend and has a meltdown at her postmortem exhibit.

and the inverse is also true, which is where (i think) the real meat of their dynamic could really come into play- hashida could effortlessly embody what yakumo wants to be, too. because yakumo wants his art to intimidate. he wants it to be powerful and impossible to ignore. that’s why he makes insanely detailed realistic pieces on canvas larger than he is!!! and hashida is intimidating and larger-than-life by nature!! it’s something he has to actively fight against!!!

yakumo’s art strives to demean and hashida’s art begs to be demeaned to. can you even fucking imagine the crazy shit that would result from them being roommates or doing a show together. the potential of their dynamic makes me insane

anyways here’s a picture i drew of them as a treat for reading my inane rambling

[mapoeggplant]

listen ik it's the "healthy" thing for shima to forgive his mom and allow himself to heal that way but I can't express how much *I* don't want her to. This might seem immature (im in my early 20s if that makes a diff) but I hate the idea that she gets to have her son back after abusing him. I hate that her only consequence was being isolated from his life for his teen yrs and now she'll get to be in his life again. She doesn't deserve it.

It already made me upset that she stared over w another kid and got to be (presumably) a good mother for him. That act itself is dismissive in my eyes especially considering her relationship w Shima.

hey, i honestly don't think you're wrong for feeling this way. you have every right to be frustrated and i do understand your points and i do think they are valid!! 

i want to give you my points on why i like this reconnection between them but i'm not here to say that you're wrong and i'm right, not a all. it's just a debate that i want to bring it up and we can talk more about it!

in my opinion, the first step to a reconnection came from shima. yes, we had the last school festival where his mom tried to see his play, but they never talked about it nor he even knew she was going to be there. she just went and hoped for the best. however, the first time they talk and she is invited to go see the play, comes from shima himself.

yuri respected shima's request to leave him alone and don't do anything at all. ofc this isn't the best thing to agree when you're a mother, but she was so scared of hurting him again that she decided to follow his wishes and let him be. instead of making their relationship better, it just drove them apart even more, to the point that neither of them knew how to reconnect. so, in a way, i do feel like shima was the one to put this boundaries and to break them.

i repeat: ofc it's not the best thing to comply when you're a mother, but, once again, they were both very traumatized. one thing that i'm very grateful for is that it does looks like his mother went after help for her mental health and control. when she says she was going to go to the hospital frequently, i interpreted it as if she's seeking professional help. this isn't easy to see in fiction, even worse in reality, but i don't want to focus on that, only in fiction.

her trying once again and shima opening up to her once more isn't going to be easy. they aren't going to be the perfect family from now on or be close very fast. it will take time, years. it's just that shima is finally inviting her to be part of his world and she's doing what she can to do so without disrespecting his wishes. 

it's a process, at the end of it. shima won't also be able to feel like he belong in that family for a while, it will need some work and some failures along the way, until they find their way. shima always loved his mother and the way he always talked about her gives me the impression that he missed her a lot and that he just didn't know how to protect himself if not removing her from his life.

as i said on my analysis, i don't think they will restore their relationship, but build a new one, with new boundaries and new understandings of each other.

once again, i'm not here to change your opinions or say that you're wrong. you're very valid, i'm just trying to explain my point of view, you know? 

let's see what sensei is planning and hope for the best, always. i'm here if you want to talk more and thank you for sharing your opinions with me!!

[buttercatrho]

Yeah fuck it im posting this THIS IS MY COBBLED TOGETHER CROSSCODE TIMELINE, MEANING IT LITERALLY SPOILS THE WHOLE MAIN GAME, PLAY THE GAME PLAY IT. There's some personal interpretation in here, I tried to make it clear when something is and something isn't but some things might have fallen through the cracks. There shouldn't be any dlc spoilers but i also wouldn't risk it i was also too lazy to spell check so l

Most of these don't have concrete dates and some things are kinda hard to exactly place, notably all the lea interactions with sidewell (except for the couple times he vents to her the bastard) which all feel somewhat disconnected (which goes to show how isolated lea was during that time). Also note the placement of the fifth dream in the timeline is pretty up in the air, I interpreted it as happening before Lea ever woke up as opposed to it happening after the induced seizure. I mainly came to that conclusion due to 1; Satoshi not mentioning making Lea forget when porting her over to his personal server (he says 'as a final attempt' but doesn't specify what that entails so this could be argued), 2; Lea being made to float when previously she was on the ground freaking out (they could have ofc made her float though since it limits her movement), 3; "It's possible that her pass experiences have lead to this" feels somewhat redundant as Sidwell already made the comment "do you think it'd because of the incident with shizuka?". It would also be satoshi throwing his sister directly under the bus by suggesting it, as opposed to passively saying "its possible" but not confirming (though the redundancy could just be there for the players benefit to make them connect the dots, and satoshi using shizuka's confrontation as a means to fake a malfunction as confirmed by him is already kind of him throwing her under the bus if less directly), and 4; It gives a direct reason why all evotars have trouble recalling their past life. These points are however all still arguable (as proven by the fuckin brackets) and this leaves the gap of us not really knowing how lea lost her memory the second time (If I had to guess(read 'make some shit up) it could have been a result of the trauma from the induced seizure causing a sort of 'factory reset' or yknow in people terms, memory repression). There's definitely more than enough room to say this happened after the induced seizure. My placement of it is just the one I prefer. I might add the dlc events roughly to this at some point but a lot of those are pretty up in the air and I am LAZY. Edit: WAIT IM FUCKING STUPID IT WAS A WHOLE WEEK (or 6 days if youre being more specific she reentered on the 7th day, if youre even more specific it would have been 6 and a bit) IN THE WASTELAND I CANNOT COUNT. Or wait did I miscount the days god i gotta double check now- Edit 2: OK i am now confused, so you do the dungeon and go back to the ship on the 5th(10th in total) day and reenter on the 6th(11th in total) so like i initially though it was a work week but the way i added an extra day in the counting?? maybe??? so there might be an extra day in there or i could have noted the wrong day.

I think because there are 16 dreams in main game that my total count of 17 days played is right, but idk how i cocked that up (yes i do its a simple mistake). Conclusion, emilie silly but so am i /lh

[glacial-heart]

sniling at u Hello i hear u have . sinner xenogender headcanons iim curious to know whst they are . if u dont mind . my friends the xenogenders . big fan of em n i like when ppl talk abt em and also assign em to characters i hope this is an ok ask to send u dont have 2 answer it if u dont wanna ofc

HIIIII thank you for asking me this. Big grin. I will do my best to answer. If the explanations get weird, just know that trying to capture how I interpret the gender of some of the Sinners is a bit Difficult. It’s like trying to put wind in a jar. They’re all either outside of the binary or gender apathetic or both, but i only listed the ones that i can explain the best since it’d be too long if i started rambling on about something i can’t fully grasp in label words yet >>

Yi Sang: my best descriptor for what i think of its gender is that it oscillates between… something in the binary and crowgender. the first time i had this thought it was a bit late, i assigned it the word crowflux but i fear that that’s not a thing.

Faust: “i’m probably not in the binary but i have a job so idrc about that right now” feels little connection to binary gender, but dae’ve got stuff to do. i associate Faust with the Celestial Alignment System though.

Don Quixote: solstian or helian, perhaps anything under the solarian umbrella. i like Galactic Alignment System Don in general, i associate that beam with space and stars!!!!

Ryōshū: infernic/hellgender, but I feel like she'd have a lot of labels, more than just that one. rather than them being their own separate things, all of the labels amass into one collective image, like a collage. i also sort of associate her gender with bugs and insects to some extent

Hong Lu: prior to Canto VIII i was like “oh yeah jadegender beam” but i feel like after that it’d be anything except jadegender. thumbs up. I remember being hazy the other day and conjuring the phrase jade-apathy, similar to gender apathy but with relation to being a jade/jadegender. until I feel that I can phrase it better, that is what I shall go with

Ishmael: whenever i think of Ishmael’s gender, all i see is an image of Ishy staring at her reflection in the water with no ripples distorting the image watching back. The Rippleless. I don't think that there's a label for this, but it's weirdly clear compared to some of the other ones i'm getting (cough Outis cough Heathcliff cough Gregor cough I can't put them into words)

Sinclair: ohhh I just thought of Sinclair label shopping with Ryō, im taking that and running. I often associate Sinclair with plants and fungi etc, der collection of labels have a similar way of working to Ryō, but for some reason I'm a big fan of mossgender Sinclair.

thanks for asking again, I hope this wasn't confusing. i had fun

[angelfevr]

nobody sent me an ask for one of the games i rbed (no pressure btw!!) so im just gonna write down what my answers Would be if someone did >:3

(1) share an excerpt you're proud of, and elaborate on why.

Yume takes the spotlight from Briar again, again, again. Audiences sympathize with villains. Not this one. 

well first off, i like the repetition . honestly the repetition in this was fucking stellar if i do say so myself <3 but also the fact that briars an actress and she plays a villain in an upcoming production, who mirrors her struggles so closely she'd rather punch her reflection than face the truth

(5) describe what [project] would look like if it were bad. (alternatively: list out what hypothetical horrible interpretations of the work would look like. fake socmedia discourse emulator optional but encouraged.)

honeslty this is my worst fear . i recently posted a fic where akane is so tied by grief that she ends up kissing junpeis corpse and .. ngl i thought i was gonna get harassed bc of the subject material even though i try to make things respectful and all that . i just like exploring fucked up subject matter!! nothing 2 see here

(9) who are your favorite characters from [project]? what do you want most from them as characters: to have them heal and be content/happy, or to run them under a cheese grater? how does this compare to what they undergo in the story?

i loooove ruri a lot, im so happy w how i developed her. shes soooo sigma klimcore and i want her to heal AND run her under a cheese grater <3

(11) is there is anything intangible or inanimate in [project] which qualifies as a character in its own right? (ex: a specific theme, setting, etc)

yes!! this is how i describe the chronis household in a short story i wrote recently

(19) what text/message have you sent about [project] which is most unhinged or incomprehensible out of context?

i forgot i wrote this:

guitar is temporary, briyume is forever >:3

(20) do you think there's anything about [project] which is predictable from your previous works/interests, or to anyone who knows you well enough? if the work was written by someone else, what would a recommendation designed to personally bait you look like?

oh absolutely . in the case of re/wind, ruri is basically modeled after sigma zero escape with how they both attempt to remake those theyve lost, except ruri is more of a flawed mother while sigmas a piece of shit GHFJDGHFDJ also the fact tht its a ghost story!!

idk if anyone knew me from 2020-21 (and if u did.. im so sorry) but me and a friend had an hxh au centered around kurapika and pairo where pairo came back to earth as a ghost . its a similar premise to aruri but ofc very different in terms of dynamic

if someone used re/wind as a way to bait me itd prob be like, old lesbians, time related metaphors/imagery, so on and so forth

[hylaversicolor]

i love your ocelots im so curious could you elaborate more on ocelot getting into drugs and what you think that looks like for him over the years and how it affects his relationships 🤨 again i love your ocelots sm i giggle and clap my hands together whenever you post

yes ofc!! keep in mind this is PURE headcanon and speculation not meant to be meta or anything like that by ANY means

i think he starts doing coke and other fun stuff in the early 70s bc he's partying with eva a lot and substances are plentiful. he's right at his mid 20s debuff so it's starting to get a little harder to pull multiple all nighters in a row in order to keep up with his like 7 full time jobs, and here and there he'll use whatever is on hand to help with that. but his drugs era (if you will) i think can be divided into 3 distinct phases which are:

les enfants terribles - i think after bb leaves the patriots ocelot takes on a lot of guilt which he carries with him for the rest of his life, culminating in his actions during mgs4. if you take the conversation ocelot and zero have in portable ops as canon, ocelot was technically the one who got the leverage on zero to have bb join the patriots, which resulted in bb being cloned without his knowledge or consent. ocelot would probably feel responsible for that and vows to stay behind with the people who betrayed bb to keep an eye on zero and para-medic for bb's sake, while bb gets out of there as fast as he can. bosselot doesn't really have a breakup moment but the fallout from the LET project is probably the closest thing we have to one. and i think ocelot begins using more heavily to cope with his guilt during this period

the latter half of the 9 year gap - i think ocelot really just starts to fall apart the farther he gets from big boss (for the above reason as well; the guilt endures, bc in his mind he's seen john off to colombia and only a short time later he goes into the coma). but he's also busier than ever with the diamond dogs, being a part of the GRU, working for the CIA, etc. he's tried just about everything at least once but in particular i think he uses a lot of amphetamines just to like. get all his shit done. when ecstasy starts going around in the 80s he gets into that too. this all is tough on kaz, who like ocelot did a ton of coke in the 70s, but unlike ocelot got out of the habit. the longer it goes on the more of a strain his use puts on their work/personal relationship (however you wanna interpret ocelhira) bc kaz is constantly picking up his slack and carrying narcan everywhere and nagging him about it. but the annoying thing is that ocelot is still infuriatingly competent even in the throes of addiction. it's more of a physical addiction for him so his body still needs it even if in his mind he's like noooo it's Fine i can stop. i think he might have a couple close calls.

post mgsv - i think he finally gets properly clean during/after (unclear timeline) the events of phantom pain out of concern for his own life lol. during mgsv i think he's down to mostly weed anyway. bb is back so he has no excuse for physically and mentally destroying himself when he can still give himself to bb completely. i think he still continues to smokes weed decades later though.

[aewrie]

chewing up tdp bc its been couple weeks now that i finished it and im still just. sigh

im just going to go in random order as things come to mind but first off, aaravos/his backstory

for a show that talks a lot about love and acceptance and breaking the cycle that whole thing is certainly. hmmmm you mean to tell me the powers that be got a young autistic child executed for not understanding/following rules, the justification for which p much amounts to Because Reasons, and thus the grieving father thus becomes the main villain by wanting to pay back for the suffering caused and tearing down the system that caused this death. this is literally why the entire main plot happens. and we, the audience, are supposed to root for the Good Guys working to uphold this status quo. bc this guy is just evil and therefore change bad. no need to examine these Rules even tho right from the start the main characters have been challenging them ALSO. callum becomes a mage and thats celebrated as something awesome. but its literally in conflict with the rules that say no magic for humans, magic for humans bad?? which is why leola had to die??? logic and consistency??? (and idk what the reception really has been for leola among the fans/viewers but i just feel iffy about how she was introduced to us like look how autistic she is! only to be immediately killed off arguably for being autistic.)

amaya. after season 1 or two i saw someone comment on how the representation was handled and how more often than not her scenes/how she communicates with others is written like she's mute, not deaf. and boy it just gets worse over time. p sure there'd be less to fix if they had made her mute actually. lip reading is Not that reliable! its a ton of guesswork! and wtf is her interpreter doing half the time. why's he standing behind her when on the job. why's she not looking at him when he is translating. i liked her character overall but this like. please.

characterization inconsistency hhhh wtf is claudia doing at the end. what's her end goal. "I know." then WHY. she was doing all of that bc she desperately clung to what family she had left, like it was concerning how far she was willing to go for that reason, and suddenly its nwm. she knew she's not getting her father back all along but she's still onboard bc ???? yes they were trying to make aaravos a father figure to her SORT OF but that was something he said, that HE sees his dead child in her and cares for her, while claudia never, to my recollection, expressed that she thought of him as a father figure. mentor, i could agree on. a family member no.

ezrans sudden thirst for vengeance and need to amass weapons of mass destruction as a scare tactic is. wtf. if you wanna do that story arc for your gentle caring child king you need to do it way sooner than halfway through the last of seven entire seasons only to flip it back around at last minute again this is where it felt particularly glaring how stilted Moving Speeches were exactly as effective as the writers needed them to be, regardless of if it made sense for the character to react a certain way

back onto claudia for a sec recovering from losing a limb isnt that simple and thats also Not how prosthetics work, im begging childrens cartoon writers to look up one (1) youtube video of an amputee explaining their prosthetic/showing how they put it on/literally Anything

final showdown callum why the fuck are you monologuing about how you are going to defeat aaravos instead of just fucking doing the damn thing. ofc i know this is bc we need the Emotional Impact of he is about to sacrifice himself and oh no rayllum no more :( but that was so stupid and drawn out. you could have communicated that information in other ways without relying on guy explains his plan to the enemy, thus obliterating his chances of successfully executing said plan ezran+zyms role here also was just. what. whats the deal with the nova blade. i forgot the damn thing. then just whoops it was right here all along!! didn't need to look further actually :) and then its just. not useful at all, or maybe part of some plan of aaravos' that just. doesnt get elaborated on. two child kings rush to the scene to save the day for absolutely no real reason, no gain.

ZYM. one of my biggest pet peeves with fictional creatures is when they are just Puppy, but not even a sorta realistic puppy, but rather the pop culture perception of how a dog acts. panting and yipping and wagging tail. the future king of dragons is a dog that follows around this human kid. whoo. that said i did like him at first. them he turned into little more than a cute/cool animal mascot, for the most part, and i was just. sigh. youd think the character after whom the show is named had more to him but i guess no. (him suddenly talking at the end was also. Not how i wouldve done that (he goes from yipping puppy to fully articulate teenager in no time??) but oh well)

speaking of animal mascots/companions i accepted bait. i am not a fan of this trope of cute/quirky animal companion just for the sake of cute/quirky animal companion, but i came around for bait. bait was good. then the toadlings came. i had no complaints about an episode where ezran wants to rescue animals in spite of it being a Risky move, but the toadlings tagging along after the fact was not it. they added nothing as companions. nothing except this forced look how cute, dont you love them? :) imo the team shouldve found another home for them, or at the very least, not taken them along for their adventures. rayla's monkey pet similar situation. couldve written that out and not lost anything of substance. think that was actually where it started feeling like Look at this cute/cool/quirky Marketable easy-to-make-into-a-plush animal companion! dont you want one? you do want one :) toward the end much of the magical creatures felt less like thought out parts of the world and more like marketing opportunities (you too can have an awesome super cool magical mount!! just buy all of our rpg game stuff!!)

tone was a struggle in points. the show was trying too hard. humour especially. at times its like i could feel them telling me i should be laughing now.

some of this i could brush off with its a children's cartoon, im just not the target audience, but many relevant criticisms are things i didn't like back when i was a kid either. eg funny/cute animal sidekick who serves no purpose beyond being funny/cute has forever been one of my least favourite type of characters. the toadlings are just prime example of that.

i was optimistic after the very start bc i knew the people behind this can do a good story, but then it just kept stumbling along with the writing, worse as the seasons went. last couple ones i wasnt really excited anymore as much as just thinking well i gotta know how it ends after getting this far, and hoping itd surprise me in a good way. and then the end felt less like a satisfactory wrap up for, again, SEVEN whole seasons of storytelling, and more like this was all just the setup for eventual Epic Showdown Against Evil part 2 electric boogaloo

[novakaiserart]

Rebirth Broke Me

i jusr finished rebirth and oh man i fucking love this game, it embellished the relationships between every character to well. worked on the plot so naturally and beautifully. i especially love how much they portrayed aerith and tifa, gave yuffie more of a connection to the group. i also adore how they explored the gi story and made it so much more relevant. i love how they worked out barret's struggles. absolutely in love with vincent, but i always did so lol. i saw some people complaining about cid, but imo i think he's putting up a good guy front just so he doesn't lose any business after his attempt at being a shinra pilot failed. i fully expect them to cover his story in part 3 and explore it more like they did with everyone else. im soooo happy we got to see cissnei, but so sad aerith and her didnt speak of zack :(. it's also cool we got to see some midgarian faces again even after the crew left. the trials had me actually crying, it was stunning. they really cooked

i was very confused with chapter 14 until I reached the end, but it makes sense to me. spoiler warning ahead ofc i believe aerith died. i also believe cloud is incapable of coping with the fact that she's dead, so he sees her still present with them. but i also believe she won't stay dead either, i think she was really there with cloud when they fought sephiroth. her line of "i'll pray to stop the meteor" tells me she'll come back. being a cetra and all, i think she'll find a way to return to the earth through the lifestream

my leading theory for the trajectory of the games currently goes as following; i believe that sephiroth went back in time to when it all started (crisis core time) in the hopes of changing how events played out, my biggest proof of this is his attempt at killing barret in remake and tifa in rebirth. he underestimated them in the og timeline and only took out aerith as he viewed her as the only threat, but he needs the others out the picture too sooner than later. especially tifa. hence why he constantly gaslights cloud about her being a fake or not being trustable; she's the only one that can help him put his mind back together. without her, cloud will always view the world through clouded lenses. but one thing changed about my theory with the whispers now being white and black; aerith followed him to stop him. she sacrificed her memory and recollections of events to make it back. the whispers were sephiroth and aerith's will fighting to keep the timeline intact, but they evolved and split into two factions. i also think aerith's white materia being hollowed out has something to do with that. i think she saw what he was up to from the lifestream (since shes dead in og timeline), sacrificed her memories to stop him once and for all. for a while i thought aerith was the one going back, but it wouldnt make much sense for her to undo what they did just to save herself and zack. it's possible this is an entirely different sephiroth, but i believe it's the one from the og timeline trying to reunite every world possible to make sure he wins everywhere.

it's hard to say for sure whats going on and we're only going to know once part 3 drops, but i know one thing for sure. neither cloud nor sephiroth are relliable narrators and their interpretation cannot be trusted. cloud's mind is still scattered, he's divided between denial and obedience to sephiroth. anything he says cannot be trusted. sephiroth is bad shit insane, he only accepts his view of the world. his vision is the only valid one, therefore what he says cannot be taken as matter of fact.

one final footnote i want to comment on is the "date" aerith and cloud had. yes, im a big cloti and aerti fan. also believe zack is the only right person for aerith, so maybe im coping but idc lol. i think it was all a dream or at least an altered vision of events. i firmly believe aerith still loves zack. she wrote to him for 4 years while he was taking a mako bath, waited for him endlessly day and night. she loved him dearly. but aerith is also one hell of a loyal person. i doubt she would ever be able to brush off zack like that. she also doesn't know if he died in the remake timeline. i think she projected her love for zack onto cloud; to relive the happiness she found with him one last time. she's been holding on to her grief for years, she still thinks about him. he dropped in one day into her life so suddenly and changed it for the better. as did she for him. he vanished the same way she found him. so when another soldier falls into her life the same way, carries the same sword as him, has similar mannerisms, reminds her so much of the man who she fell in love with; can we really blame her for wanting an escape of how much sadness she felt from zack being gone? i also dont believe for a second she used cloud to feel better about herself, i think she just wanted to feel the love he showed her again before she had to pass on. but cloud isn't zack, cloud could never love her the way zack did. aerith grew up without any real friends, no one that accepted her for being her. everyone viewed her as different or weird; but not zack. he was the first person to show her genuine care (besides her mothers). she misses him, as much as she's happy with all her new friends who also accept her for her; she wishes he was there too. i also don't believe that the real cloud has any romantic feelings for aerith. again, he took on the life of zack in his head. he feels drawn to her because of how much zack loved her.

it's really such a tragic story full of nuance and hurt. i noticed that zack and tifa are great parallels; both of them are the only ones truly capable of reaching inwards towards their respective partner. zack understood aerith much better than cloud ever could. tifa can touch cloud in a way no one could. but that doesn't negate the fact that cloud cares for all of them just as much. they all mean a lot to him and he means a lot to them.

also really appreciate how the devs still kept the canonity of tifa and cloud, but also gave the chance to fans of other pairings to be happy with the outcome and choose their path. its always been a divisive thing in the ff7 fandom, so its cool of them to try and make everyone happy

overall, im super excited for part 3 and i think i might recover from this by the time it comes out

[minquiec]

🎶 itsssss beeennnn 🎶 a hotttt minuuutteeee 🎶 sincccee iveeee went insane on here so let's just get into it yeah

Yall already know what it is

jia + the archer x not strong enough

When the trend first like got popular I was like eeehhhh that's not rlly jia

Haha lol

the archer:

'screaming who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay'

the spiderman curse

Or smth idk HAUSHA the canon events and everyone dyinnnggg

And also her own personal life like her parents didn't even stay soooo

Who would (COUGHCOUGHXOUGHOBJEHUHC)

And while jia isn't like uhhh how do I put it

She's not insecure yet she's also deeply insecure at a more ??? deeper level??? Idk how to say it

Like it's more like "I hate the way I have become because of things I cannot control and the way it makes me FFFFUUCCKING LONELLLYYYY"

but in a sadder way HAHSJS idk she copes by ignoring her problems (js like me fr)

So while at the same time she's like yeah I'm just a person I'm good with it 👍 she's also like what, could anyone possibly see in me to stay (side affects of distant parents!!!! Side note: THISNISNT TRAUMA DUMPING IM FINE)

'cause they see right through me'

They as in all the people she's known and don't know

That doesn't make sense gimme a

Like they as in the people of her city, people within the hq probably, people shes acquainted with, friends with, etc etc etc

They as in all people other jia herself sees right through her and fail to see just *her* per se

And it's probably her own fault tbh I mean she kinda like

Masks it so who's damn fault is that girl 🤷🤷 DAMN

But despite them never truly seeing the her that's incredibly lonely, she'd much rather prefer to keep it that way which then rolls onto the topiccc offffff

'can you see right through me'

okay this is kind of personal interpretation and changing the lyrical meaning to fit her lore BUT IDDDCCCCC IM RUNNING THIS SHOOOWWW LET ME BEEEEE

Y'all already know who this is directed at hirjejkejejkejekejejejjejejejks

hob

HEHIIEHHRBBBBDBBBB

Anyways

Like the last one I said she'd much prefer to keep her self under wraps and ignore the problem

But obviously since I'm FUCKING delusional and SOOOO fucking CRIMGEE ofc he's an exception HHHHHRHBBBHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRB&-!-!

And because he's the only one who's ever really gotten underneath that layer

She was

Sooooioioioooooo

Fucking confused by it

And because she's never addressed her issues properly, she's not used to this and so this line would almost be like

She's BEGGING him to just pllleaaase be like the rest

Please just see through her because this kind of thing has never happened before and she's SCCCCARREEDD to care too much and what if he leaves too and what if it's all for naught and what if what if what i

Girl we get it

But anyways the last line was

'I see right through me'

Would obviously be referring to her own denial to see herself by ignoring 🧚🧚 herrr fuckingnnnn problemmmsss and feeelinngggsss 🎶🎶 cause hey. Why be sad when u can be glad and very very silly

Anyways the next part

'always an angel never a god'

BITCH

I feel so strongly abt this line rn

Obviously I'm on,

Jjk tok and so I kind of got the train of thought from there but

Always an angel never a god cause she can save as many lives as she tries but she can never save all the lives she cares about

Always an angel never a god cause despite being blessed with a power that gives her the parallel of an angel she can never save her world that will inevitably be destroyed by its own deity that granted her that power (since ig angels work under god/gods and so she'd be that angel working under the deity which would be the god and do you get what I mean)

ALWAYS AN ANGEL NEVER A GOD CAUSE WHILE SHE WANTS TO DO SO MUCH GOOD, YET SHES NEVER A GOD BECAHSE SHE DOESMT HAVE THE BENEVOLENCE OF A GOD CAUSE SHE STILL CARRIES THAT SELFISHNESS OF NEVER WANTING TO BE SPIDERGIRL AND HAVING THAG RESPONSIBILITYAJNNNNWNNENEJDD AUAUAYAUUUUUAHGGEEEUUEUEUEUUEUEUE BREAKS DOWN AND STARTS DISNETNTEGRSTING

yeah okay that's all and this is all just personal interpretation btw so it might not match up to its original meaning but HEY

im gonna go draw them hugging now or smth idk bye bye

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

GODDD YOUR BRAIN. a lot of what you said is stuff ive been thinking about for literal years and esp now with my most recent playthrough of 1 and 2. the video was great and i also found a pdf for orientalism that i will be picking through as i have the time for it. ive had a post in my drafts ive been working on for a few days. specifically about how the crimson raider leadership (excluding moxxi and including the vault hunters) is comprised entirely of corporate settlers and how that still absolutely fuels their ideology when it comes to the bandit clans. tannis, zed, and pierce are all dahl, marcus has been both siding every conflict since the beginning of mankind, and roland and the ENTIRE military force of the crimson raiders (excluding the vhs) are atlas leftovers. and ofc its seen as necessary because there needs to be bodies between them and hyperion so every injustice against the planet is forgiven. its hardly even mentioned. even moxxi, who is pandoran born, profits in just. outright massacring the population with her fighting rings. (the underdome was sponsored by every corporation, including the shield manufacturers.) the desire that the raiders have to protect pandora just feel like protecting the. thirty or so people who live with them because everyone else is seen as not worthy to the point where mass execution and displacement is encouraged. im not going to talk about bl3 because im a bit rustier on it at this point but in FFS thats an issue brought up at the very start of the dlc: the crimson raiders are losing power and arent needed anymore because jack is gone. like they arent doing any great help to the planet. theyre not even wanted by the end of 2. side tangent but the two things that stand out to me the most on first thoughts are: destroying the eridium mine supplying sledges men in one (after already killing him and half the settlement) and doing straight up environmental warfare in 2 when freezing out the bloodshots. its just unnecessary cruelty. im sorry for taking so long to type this out i have. untreated adhd 😔

No no no it's okay speak your mind!!!

Also some additional things I didn't have the place to say in my answer:

One, you could very easily interpret bl1 and particularly bl2 as an extended metaphor for American destabilization and subsequent media treatment of the Middle East. Except Gearbox themselves is parroting the in-universe perception of Pandora as a "barren wasteland where nobody lives", i.e. the myth of terra nullius. Despite all evidence to the contrary.

Two, 2 specifically has an anti-colonialist narrative. Handsome Jack is a colonizer and you oppose him. But within this opposition is a DISTINCT subtext of "yeah he wants to kill off the bandits of Pandora but he also considers the Normal People, like Salvador and your friends to be bandits!", not "bandits are also humans with dignity". I'm not sure if the former is the conclusion the writers want you to arrive at, but it kind of feels like it.

Three, if I remember correctly the first time a tink (xenohuman/mutant) was not presented as part of the subhuman orientalized faction was fucking New Tales. And I think there was one in Debt or Alive as well (including a tongue in cheek joke about how calling your enemies slurs is kinda bad actually). Yet again, either the writers can't comprehend someone disabled in a not-"cool scifi" way being human, or the Borderlands universe has ridiculous amounts of ableism and baseliner supremacist (can you tell I love Rimworld's terminology for this sort of stuff) sentiment. But homophobia isn't real so that's funny haha right guys??????

As for 3... yeah there isn't much there. Ellie tells us that Pandora has been drained of all resources, Tyreen tells us what I already addressed, fucking Vaughn man. I'm sure I could say smth more coherent on all that but I can't rn, brain fried.

Then there's the Looters and Frostbiters and Devil Riders, who for gameplay purposes are reskinned bandits for the DLCs, but they aren't stated to be bandits for... what reason exactly, aside from geographic isolation (all the other bandits across the galaxy are universally homogenized so...)? I mean, frostbiters even associate into clans like bandits do...

And I do highly suggest you read Orientalism, it's a foundational text in post-colonial studies for a reason, but I find that it also applies incredibly well to media analysis :)

[sukunasun]

I finished the "Say It's Here" sequel and gosh, I'm bowled over! I feel like your understanding of each character's psychology has been heightened since the original was published and It's so impressive! I particularly enjoyed how economical you were with the descriptions according to each character's personality, motivation and dynamic with the protagonist

Also, my god, not higuruma hiromi being the highest quality rebound ever???? Currently obsessed with him and it's kinda funny/sad how many parallels people draw between him and Nanami, understandably, but I LOVE that you flesh out their distinctions here too. Not quite a cameo but he feels more fully realised and real(?) in his short scene than in some entire pics revolving around him that I've read! I quiver to consider what you'd unleash upon the world with a full fledged fic for him (with a different reader character ofc)

But Srsly how does she keep hooking such hotties

Higuruma's "ruthless" rationale and observations is rather kind in its own way, and I thoroughly enjoyed how accurate it felt and also that the reader doesn't mistake it for anything affectionate or coddling. I find that clarity extremely appealing about him, plus it must feel so ridiculously refreshing to the reader character after all the guesswork and her ordeal with nanami

I also think that's one of the more satisfying distinctions you make with their portrayals; nanami (initially) employs logic as a coping mechanism, whereas it's hiromi's basis for functioning, a bit like a bug versus a feature?

At least in accordance with canon events, I think that mindset translates well, nanami's response to traumatic incidences in his formative years whereas hiromi had this rationality inform his life's work?

Especially when ambiguity is often the fulcrum for romantic tension (will they/won't they), my mind short-circuits and a little shiver goes down my spine at the thought of Hiromi instead bluntly telling someone: Us? Sure, Why not?

And then calmly proceeds to decimate every excuse one tries to tank their own dating prospects. You can't filibuster flirting with this man, he's so fucking direct (and vice versa 🤭, sometimes a gal just wants a classic Dom yknow. God, i need help)

A N Y

W A Y

Nanami feels more than he lets on in this story, Hiromi is exactly what you expect - which is such an interesting lesson or refraction for the reader character in managing her expectations and self-doubt

Nanami's grovelling feels mostly earned, maybe because it's been a while since I read Say It's Here his interiority is a tad more obscured, or cause the sequel more heavily focuses on reader's POV, which is really well assisted by suguru's commentary/probing/ribbing. Special shoutout to satoru's point blank shit stirring (he and hiromi would be fabulous frenemies)

Also love the open ending because ironically it feels better than emotional closure??? Or probably the finality of her rejecting nanmi again, oof. It's such a satisfying coda oddly i (almost) don't want this story to continue. What a magic trick!

There's such finesse in all the characterisations here, even without my massive bias for higuruma I'd be rereading this a dozen times!

;__; im so sorry this response is so late but thank you so much for sending this in. i'm so glad you got to read the piece!

i care more for the opinions of nanami stans for being able to write/understand him and his appeal in a way i can't. still, i try my best to offer something worthwhile. the open ending was more because i couldn't decide the best outcome for the reader and nanami. there were moments i thought about writing an epilogue to hint at the possibility of them getting back together but i've decided it's best to leave it up for interpretation. after all, nanami comes off to me as someone who wouldn't need a 'yes' right away.

also re: higuruma— gahh i was so uncertain if i did him justice, so thank you for noticing that distinction. often i'll write and delete and write again because i worry if it wasn't clear enough. to me, he's very different to nanami. not even the same sides of a coin. still, i get the comparison. both have been strung into the dilf narrative so often i forget that nanami is literally three years older than me.