#thank you for the ask and also for coming to my ted talk ^^'

[exhaustedgayjew]

#vent okay but can we talk about the awkward silence and the way leftists get uncomfortable when i mention anything to do with my (((culture))) like yes im making challah, yes i lit candles... why does that bother you so much? why do leftists get so uncomfortable when i talk about my experience being jewish????? (its rhetorical because unfortunately i know why) like im in a gc with around 5 leftists (non-jewish ofc) and quite literally every time ive mentioned something like rugelach and they asked what it is, or i said i was making challah and they asked what is is and ive told them, or them talking ab golems in fantasy and me saying hey those are from jewish folklore, they literally every single time either dont say anything or change the subject.

tbh the ignoring honestly just feels worse than blatant antisemitism, like damn sorry for existing as a jewish person!!!! the indirect silent antisemitism is what pisses me off the most. and its not like them not knowing my cultural dishes or history is what bothers me, im more than happy to educate ppl! its the fact that they'll be, for over an hour non-stop, talking in the gc and then when i mention something to do with being jewish, the entire gc will go dead silent and not talk till someone changes the subject or they'll skip over my msg!!! being jewish and trying to exist in non-jewish spaces is so fucking hard and i am tired!!!!!!!

(this is also why dating as a young person is so fucking scary cause literally everyone in every political side hates jews and i feel like im only ever going to feel 100% safe in a jewish relationship but i also live in an area where i am 99% sure my family are the only jews and its sooooo fucking isolating. and also the nearest shul [which is quite far away btw like i have to train for over 2 hours to get there] only has old people or like extremely young people, even on holidays!!! i even went there for rosh hashanah and not even one njb my age!!!! [also all the honey cake was gone by the time i got through talking to everyone who greeted me and im still upset ngl] i also had to change unis cause the only uni nearby was flying the palestine flag everywhere and saying genuinely the most awful fucking things ab jews and israel(is) and i couldnt go there without having a panic attack so now im doing online uni and i literally never leave my house and i feel like im going a little insane #nothavingagoodtime)

#iamnotproofreadingthiscauseiamtiredandhungryandmildlyupset

thank u for coming to my ted talk

[void-botanist]

Happy STS! Have you ever had to cut an interesting part of a character's backstory/lore because it didn't make sense with the overall story that you were trying to tell?

Happy STS future! This is such an interesting question because usually the lore got majorly changed whenever I moved settings - not necessarily to the point of being unrecognizable, but over the last couple of decades the setting shifts have been pretty wild, especially in what is now locality space. And with the setting shifts, the story also changed, so it all kind of worked in tandem. As I've gotten older I've thought more about themes and motifs and such and been interested in overall story goals rather than just playing dolls with all my little guys, but setting is still a big part of that. All that said, here's a few major lore changes:

In pretty much every version leading up to the current canon, almost everyone on Pajiir was white by default. Which meant that Dez was white by default and built by white people. He was essentially an uncanny valley synthetic white guy, except I mostly ignored the uncanny valley part. But as I started developing the current canon, I realized that even aside from questions of technology, Dez looking like A Human at all added a lot of layers I wasn't interested in exploring and didn't really make sense with how he related to his human builders (a big part of his character before was how he would just blend in with everyone else). So the circumstances of his build evolved with his design, and he kind of paved the way for building out the biotech in the setting. By the same token, Syndy's old version looked human in the same way that Ratchet from Robots looks human (like, more than Dez but still not Human TM) but with all of the lore about the Navaren monarchy's intentions for her, it made sense to make her look Human TM and also like the archetypal Attractive Navaren Woman.

In old versions of locality space there was a MAJOR thread of queerphobia that WAS actually baked into the lore and the way the story unfolded (mostly in terms of the now-crew of the Nicea). But especially as I figured out how queer I was, I realized that wasn't the story I wanted to tell, and that weird worldbuilding aside I was also treading into experiences that were very much not my own (e.g. Catholic queerphobia) that I didn't need to get at the heart of my story. But it did survive a couple big setting shifts, and extremely informed the shape of Isabel's backstory (it still does, just without the queer = inherently bad part) and how Declan was allowed or not allowed to grieve Cady.

On a funnier note, Christina has always been a powerful witch, but there was also a time in past canons where she was highly theatrical about all of her spells, which kinda seemed to be a function of her wanting to impress people and make friends despite having -1 charisma otherwise. But I found that her conflict with Althea inside the witch council was more interesting, and I dropped the theatrics in favor of her being more like an expert who has forgotten how to talk to non-experts. And also not being alone because of negative charisma but for other people's safety, which is so much more compelling.

Also original Sid was ?dead? and ?trapped? in the space-timestream? so he could go anywhere in the 15 dimensions and be at any time (I think) but had his own rules of engagement to not mess things up, which meant that at some point he stole Horatio from the past to act as a midwife for an endangered magical creature? and ran around delivering cryptic messages and one-liners to various characters who were being arrested for actions related to said magical creature? and was generally just incredible and great but also probably was the thing that made me realize that all the dimension and creature stuff was just plot fluff because I wasn't focusing on the character level of the story, even though that was obviously what I wanted to write. This did not cause me to actually write anything better for some time, because you really can't top an overly dramatic ghost man.

Nicea taglist: @kahvilahuhut @kk7-rbs @outpost51 @writernopal @athenswrites

[starmocha]

Can confirm: Xavier is our garbage disposal boyfriend

[mikayuumouse]

Atsushi asked "why did you save me?"

Akutagawa wondered "why did you protect me?"

And that's just...sad

It's sad that they're so doubtful of the other's feelings. Atsushi doesn't feel like he deserves to be loved, and although he's connected to Akutagawa and they have a trust that runs deeper than words, I think he's scared that Akutagawa doesn't care for him, and he doubts and doubts and doubts

We don't know the full canon reason on why Akutagawa saved Atsushi, but we know it's because he *cares*, but Atsushi doesn't know that yet

I don't think that Atsushi doubts Akutagawa's strength or abilities, or his capacity to care for others. I think Atsushi doubts how lovable he himself is, he thinks he's not worth loving, not worth anything

And it's similar with Akutagawa, he probably thinks whatever he feels towards Atsushi is one-sided, and maybe he even fears that Atsushi hates him (although he obviously doesn't 😔)

They've been abused and traumatized emotionally so much that I think it's hard for them to realize how much they care for and about each other

I'm sure there will eventually be a chapter or two where Atsushi and Akutagawa can finally talk, and I can't wait for that because it'll really show their combined perspective on who are they are together

God they're so in love

Asagiri why do you do this to me

[fivewholeminutes]

EIA (the song) feels like preparing for a great battle to me. Is it vessel feeling finally ready and strong enough to fight sleep??

"Swing wide those gates" as in sleep being slowly closed off from vessel and vessel finally taking a stance and daring sleep to try to take control over him again?

"The gods we thought were dying were just sharpening their blades" - sleep being less and less invasive by the end of the trilogy just to sneak up on vessel again, but vessel is ready this time? (Alternatively: sleep and vessel having enemies in other entities, but that's for a different interpretation, the one where sleep is a tad more benevolent)

"Have you been waiting long for me?" being a dare and not a way to express longing, reunion. I imagine vessel behind the gates standing there with his bigass sword, asking sleep this when sleep opens the gates. You know, like a one-liner before an anime boss fight.

"I am the flood" - he used to be just tangled with sleep as branches in a flood, unable to set his own course, but now he is the force of the flood. Sleep's fucked

"And what was missing from those scriptures will be written in my blood" he knows this won't be an easy fight, despite him getting stronger, but he's willing to write that chapter, even if it costs him much to become free

"What good is all this talk of wings when there is nothing left above" deserves its own post tbh i am feral about the euclid references. I will just say that vessel went "fuck this, the glory is not worth it, it comes with pain, there's no great reward (heaven) in this deal, sleep lied, i won't get anywhere with those wings" (OH the icarus implications here)

The entire 3rd verse. Vessel sleep token when i fucking get you is2g--

"No matter how we feel" - they might fuck each other over, but they spent a good few years together. Codependent, i would even say (i don't wanna go into all my [often conflicting] interpretations of their relationship/deal rn, i just like to imagine sleep as one of those gods that will just disappear without any worshippers, so he was dependent on vessel too). So they had their ups and downs. Sleep did kinda give vessel the promised glory and they were there on that journey together. But it still doesn't mean sleep should stay with him

"We've got a taste for one another and a few good years to kill" listen. Listen i know this can be interpreted as romantic, but OHHH i see rivalry here. They've got a taste for each other's blood. For domination over the other in this tremendous relationship. But it will take time. Vessel can fight back now, but he's still up against a fucking deity. He's confident though, doesn't care fighting back might take years (hello mental issues allegory???), he is the final dawn. He is the flood.

"No matter what is real" - oh boy we're still fucking shit up in the dreamscape department, aren't we, sleep

"It seems that even in arcadia you walk beside me still" - okay yes i know this can reference to that someone walking beside him in all the other eia songs BUT here in this context i think of sleep still lingering in his mind. Vessel is safe in arkadia now, right? Sike! The bad things are still there with you, mate, you carry them in your heart (i'm sorry i might be projecting here) and this part goes so well with "i still need a dark side" from past self and "with the shadows longer to me than a lightyear" in look to windward.

So yeah. I see this song as the moment before a battle. One grand battle or just a first battle in the war? We don't know that yet. But it is going to be a tough fight either way.

[aka-indulgence]

Something that rots my brain about TFP is how Megatron has a 'Soundwave' voice. Everyone else he's out here growling and huffing and PISSED that they are even standing in the same room as him. Soundwave though? Bestie. He's relaxed around him. He laughs. He jokes. He says his name so softly whenever he asks him to do something. He was visibly trying not to blow a gasket when Soundwave got captured. Like.....I'm mentally ill.

YEAH!!! I LOVE THAT TOO!!! IF THE NEMESIS GUYS ARE MEGATRON’S ROWDY KIDS SOUNDWAVE IS THE FAVORITE!!! He always has something scathing to say to basically everyone in his roster, but he has nothing but good things to say to Soundwave. He even has casual conversation with him like, he never does that with anyone else, Soundwave is special 🥺 as he should be, considering he was one of Megatron’s first followers in Prime(???). It’s like to everyone else he’s lord Megatron but Soundwave is the closest person he’d call a friend?? ausghghg

He personally attended him when Laserbeak had issues and told Knockout to fix his visor for him earnestly 😭 also he always compliments Soundwave on a job well done I, hgfhgf

Also the direct comparison of how Megatron reacts to Starscream being captured by autobots being: YOU IDIOT HE’S GOING TO TELL THEM EVERYTHING HE KNOWS, to Soundwave being captured: Soundwave knows when to withold information.

He completely trusts Soundwave where he just straight up asks how loyal another Decepticon is, he knows Starscream’s activities behind his back because of Soundwave, he’s just the best

(I keep talking with Llama about how it’s second-hand hot that Soundwave’s the favorite because that means in self shipping you become Important because you belong to Soundwave— but I digress)

I love everything about the s3 finale but that part genuinely hurts me 😭 he’s done so much work and this is how they treat him in the ending like what

IS THAT IN THE MOVIE!!! Don’t tell me I haven’t watched it but!! Of course he did, because he’s the best and most loyal Decepticon he’d follow him anywhere 🥹

[ghostly-bat]

I saw your post about Tim being Damian's Batman and Damian being Tim's Robin because I agree I think Tim is one of the few members of the family that actually considers taking up the Batman mantle and he'd be really good in my opinion but I'm curious if you don't mind elaborating on that

Oh boy can I, it is a controversial take but I think it's pretty neat. So let's put aside complicated feelings and history and let's look at it at face value and both of them just as the characters they are because that's how I'm looking at it.

The dynamic between Tim and Damian is so charged with contrast and history that imagining them as Batman and Robin together might seem chaotic — but that’s why it could works.

*****

Tim as Batman to Damian’s Robin

Emotional Intelligence & Strategy

Tim is probably the most emotionally intelligent of the Batfam. He observes, analyzes, understands. That kind of Batman — one who reads not just clues but people — is exactly what Damian needs. Someone who doesn’t just give orders but gets him, even when he doesn’t want to be understood.

Experience and Patience

Tim has led teams, worked with Robins, Titans, Young Justice — he's adaptable and has patience. Even when Damian was at his worst, Tim didn’t write him off. He tried. He kept trying. That matters.

He Believes in Robin

Tim became Robin because he believed Batman needs Robin. Not for combat — for balance. For hope. That means he wouldn’t treat Damian like a weapon. He’d treat him like a partner, like someone worth believing in.

*****

Damian as Robin to Tim’s Batman

Skill and Drive

Damian brings fire. He’s ruthless, brilliant, trained within an inch of his life. Where Tim is strategy, Damian is execution. He acts fast, hits hard, and doesn’t waste time. He keeps Tim moving. And Tim reins him in when needed. It’s balance.

The Challenge Tim Needs

Damian forces Tim out of his comfort zone. Tim can’t just operate on logic — he has to feel, to connect, to earn Damian’s respect. And that makes Tim a better Batman — more human, more present.

Mutual Growth

This isn’t a perfect duo. It’s not clean. It’s two people growing into each other, rubbing off the sharp edges. Tim learns to assert himself and embrace emotional leadership. Damian learns that partnership isn’t weakness — it’s strength. They become what Bruce and Dick couldn’t: Batman and Robin who grow together.

They’re not a natural fit — they’re a necessary one. Built on friction, healed by trust. That’s what makes their potential so compelling.

[ahappydnp]

i love how since the pholnde reveal everyones kinda agreeing on how phil would be a butch (a princess, but nevertheless a butch) but what about dan?? i dont think lesbian dan would be a femme necessarily but he wouldnt be masc plz help

anon i'm so glad you asked because i have so many thoughts about this because dan is me i am dan. i think dan would have started out more generic goth that led into more femme scene vibes (basic razor cut with clip in extensions that'd she'd mostly wear for pics/going out and specifically vans slip on ballet flats NOT converse because she looks to "boyish" in them and of course a hello kitty phase because how can i be a dyke if i love hello kitty)

then that progressed into 2010s hipster normcore skinny jeans + cami + zip up hoodie combo. still with a razor fringe cut but her hair is long enough that she doesn't wear extensions anymore. makeup is still heavier black eyeliner but now she wears lipstick sometimes when she feels too "lezzy" (obviously she's still deep in the closet and i am once again saying can we talk about phan yuri lipstick gate where fi has lipstick that's not hers on her neck/pillow)

she did a "big chop" post coming out (standard issue new lesbian short bob) and honestly her style is pretty much the same as real life dan because gender is whatever and dan is a formless blob no matter what so like mostly jumpers and basics with some funky luxury pieces thrown in (and also more clothes stealing because butch phil has cooler clothes i think)

[salamispots]

hi! I don't really know if you can awnser this, but I really like fish.... but I don't know anything about them. I want to learn about them and stuff, but it seems so overwhelming!! do you have a starting point or any tips? tysm!!!!

hello fellow fish enjoyer :0 and honestly seeing a fish you like/ are curious about and researching about it (videos, articles, wiki, etc) is a good way to start!

this wiki article is another possible route/starting point I guess if you want more background; there's a few sections that talk about the different groups of fish/sea creatures (like are you interested in invertebrates or fish only, saltwater or freshwater, deep sea or coral reef fish, etc haha)

there's also museums and aquariums if you have access to them! aquarium websites will also usually have a section with what animals they have and little info blurbs about them.

blue planet 1 + 2 documentary series is also a neat watch/start as well if you don't feel like reading a lot at first!

(..actually thinking about it blue planet might've reinforced or started my deep sea fish obsession haha when I first saw it as a kid)

[ragri5]

Please draw demo doing the “my eyes are looking at you” thing with his fingers at medic but when he points at his own eyes he holds up one finger and he points four fingers at medic

My guy won't get uber for a very, very, long, time․

[anextravagantliar]

if i had a nickel every time the dwarf canonically cared about a mage offhandedly I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird this keeps happening

[arttsuka]

Octavius singlehandedly forcing me to label this as 'mature'

[nagitosstolenhand]

@lesbiansanemi mentioned wanting some of my genderfluid akaza thoughts so HERE THEY ARE.

okay first of all i LOVE any form of trans exploration on hakuji because he already goes through his whole childhood ignoring anything that didn't have to do with her dad or taking care of him, social rules and taboos aren't something they cared abt because they all seemed stupid and pointless and they weren't gonna help her dad get better so why should she care about them. and already being branded a 'demon child' by people means any abnormalities he did notice abt himself he probably just wrote off as 'yeah, i am a freak, what tf are you gonna do about it' (and even if they did want to express how they felt the only one who'd they ever trust want to tell would be their dad, and she knows, she knows, he'd just smile at them, and ruffle their hair, and tell them that he loves them anyways, but he'd worry. and he shouldn't have to worry about them. so she can keep it to herself, for dads sake) but then he goes and dies. (and its her fault isn't it. her and this stupid world that they live in. why couldn't he have had a normal kid, a kid without fangs who didn't feel like they did, who wasn't so useless they couldn't even pickpocket without getting caught. why did someone as deserving of a good life as his dad get stuck in this shitty world with a kid like her.) and then the next few years they're barley cognitive enough to even move let alone to try and process or consider any feelings they might be having.

but then they meet keizo, they meet koyuki. and for the first time in her life they have time to think about things other than survival. it's also the first time he's ever worried about societal rules in any form, because people already bad mouth keizo, they badmouth him for associating with hakuji. she can't make that worse by trying to express all the messed up ways they feel. but keizo notices her being distracted, being distant, and asks. and he wants to tell him, wants to tell him so badly how she feels, and so, she does. they tell him how they don't feel how they should feel, about being a boy, how sometimes they brush out koyukis hair and help her get all prettied up when shes doing well to cheer her up, and suddenly they want to grow out her hair like koyukis, to do her own hair in those hairstyles theyve made up for her. how sometimes keizo calls him 'son' and it makes him feel the happiest he's felt in years, but other times it makes all their insides cringe and their breath feel off kilter. how he likes being a boy. he does. it's fine. but sometimes he,,, wishes he could also be a girl, or be neither, or both. and they know it's not normal and theyve never talked about it before and. and keizo just, smiles at them, and ruffles their hair, and tells them he doesn't quite understand, but if they feel like a boy, that's fine, and if they don't, that's fine too, cause they're still hakuji, and he and koyuki care about him either way. (and hakuji knows, they know he's a bit worried too, but that maybe it's fine that's he's a bit worried, he's allowed to worry about them. it's okay.) and then they talk to koyuki too, and she says the same thing. and she says she thinks hakuji would be a very pretty girl if she wanted to be one, and then she squeaks, and her face turns red and she hides her face in her hands and starts stuttering around the rest of her words and. and hakujis never felt happier.

and then koyuki asks them to marry her, and says she doesn't mind if hakuji is a man, or a woman, or something else entirely, cause she wants to marry them. regardless of anything else. and now they're getting married, he still doesn't quite understand who he is, or how he feels, but it's okay, because they're happy, the people that matter know her and love her, and she's happy.

and then of course, there's poison in the well. and hakujis life comes crashing down.

and THEN they're a demon, they're akaza now. and akaza doesn't remember anything about gender or whatever feelings their human self had. that doesn't matter to them anymore, she's a demon, and she can shapeshift to fit however they want now, if he feels like having longer hair and larger breasts, he can. if they want short hair and smaller breasts, they can. if they feel like having a vagina, or a dick, or some combo of the two they just can. and no one really cares, akaza certainly doesn't, theyre fine as they are and shift whenever they feel like it, she's got other things to do and worry about now.

AND if we wanna get into some renkaza aspects, along comes kyojurou, honestly any version works, transfem kyo, transmasc kyo, another brand of enby kyo, or even just cis and gay kyo, and you get kyojurou surviving the initial fight with akaza where akaza looks one way, and then when akaza shows up again and again, and they look. different. at first kyo assumes maybe they just didn't notice things about akaza in their original fight, or maybe akaza just felt like growing their hair longer for a bit. but something about them changes or goes back to how it was almost every time akaza comes pestering him and so eventually he just up and asks.

and akazas like 'oh yeah i shapeshift to suit however i feel like looking, one of the many benefits of becoming a demon' and kyos like 'so, you just. feel like looking different, so you shapeshift?' 'yeah pretty much' 'but you're constantly changing your, um.' 'what? my tits?' 'your more gendered traits. is there a reason you do that?' 'you humans are so uppity about gender and how you think men and woman should look, why should i care about that, i feel like looking a certain way today, so i do that, easy as that.' 'ive referred to you as a man and you haven't had any problem with it?' 'you can call me whatever youd like kyojurou, doesn't much matter to me' 'do you, remember what you, originally were?' 'nope, and i don't care, it doesn't matter to me now, and it doesn't change the fact that this is who i am now,' and then conversation continues and veers off onto other topics.

and the AFTER THAT if it's some brand of trans kyo they're definitely gonna be stewing on that for a WHILE. until akaza eventually picks up on it and starts picking at what's bothering kyo like it's an open sore, and if she finds out what's been bugging kyo. immediately trying to crack kyos egg into a million tiny pieces. even if it's with cis kyo, it's still definitely gonna make them think because yk, somewhat repressed queer person meeting another brand of queer person who's unapologetically out and doesn't care about societal gender or sexuality norms, is gonna raddle the bars of your brain into confronting things about yourself and how you feel.

BUT YEAHHH that's most of my genderfluid kaza thoughts (tho most of them apply to any brand of trans kaza) i LOVE this hc and i love trans akaza in general and i hoped you liked my thoughts on them <3

[garpen]

YALLER

Yaller...

"Yaller need therapy once he's done with you."

I'm sorry. I have nothing to say for myself 😔

Yaller= yall will = you all will

I'm not even country or anything this is just gen how I speak. I try spelling out what comes through my head but sometimes I forget and just like spell/sound out what words sound like to me lol

A more accurate spelling would have been "Y'all'll" ? (ew the apostrophes make it look ugly) but the way I say it out loud sounds more like "yaller"

You all should be thankful you can't hear the way I speak it's honestly an atrocity

[skygemspeaks]

i spend so much time on the wiki pages of various marvel characters for research and like the more i read the more it confirms to me that i do not have what it takes to be a comics fan. Which i realize is an insane thing to say for someone who has been reblogging nothing but spideytorch for the last month.

[akkivee]

Hi again! Fanfic person here. Thank you again for your help, I have another question: Have we ever seen Kuko's room?

i’m not entirely sure we’ve seen samatoki’s room??? like ik we saw juto’s in that mtc➕💉🎋0️⃣ in jail event but i don’t think that’s been extended towards samatoki yet???? we do know what his living room looks like tho lol

as for kuukou, we have seen it and it def reflects his lifestyle as a monk, i can tell you that much lmao