#I can probably go more in depth later when I'm not at work

[molsno]

yknow I might as well make my thoughts clear right now because I already know how a certain subset of tme people are going to react to the nashville shooting. disclaimer that I haven't read the news extensively myself because I'm going through a bunch of shit and I don't want to make myself even more miserable. so I'm coming at this with only the basics.

that being said, it's fucked up that the news media is misgendering a trans person, even one who's a mass murderer. it serves as a reminder that to cis people, the recognition of our genders is conditional - it will only be granted to us when we're "one of the good ones", if it's granted to us at all.

however.

the fact is that the media has overwhelmingly been using this incident to stir up even more genocidal fervor aimed at trans women. isn't it odd how a trans man can literally commit the mass murder of children and trans women will be blamed for it instead? isn't it strange that the actions of one person who wasn't even one of us are used to punish us collectively? if this doesn't open your eyes and make you understand the mechanisms of transmisogyny I don't fucking know what will.

[iceunhie]

“and i can go anywhere i want just not home” : genshin men

premise. home is where the heart is—perhaps it's why they feel so empty whenever they're away from you. or, what it's like when they miss you while they're/you're away.

featuring: kazuha, lyney, wanderer, neuvillette.

notes: gn!reader (you/your pronouns), welcome to the depths of my drafts, you can tell where i got lazy and when i got motivated tbh 💀 an attempt at humor (i am unfunny) reblogs are appreciated! like usual, might make a part 2 idk

...alternative title: 3 twinks and a dragon

NEUVILETTE: wait, why's it raining so hard?! 😱 “oh, it's just the monsieur sulking ^^”

neuvilette finds that one of the most inconvenient things granted in his power is the fact that his emotions can be broadcasted live over fontaine at any given moment.

subsequently, it's pouring; buckets of rain that clearly weren't on the daily weather report yesterday. he can see parents ushering children into their homes, the melusines providing umbrellas to those who had the unfortunate problem of not bringing one at the side.

all in all, fontaine is as is, but neuvilette feels even emptier than before.

it's probably because of you. it's definitely because of you. as fleeting as the rain on a summer day, you'd come and went, wishing him well before you'd leave for liyue for a short vacation.

2 weeks....

(the rain showers even more, heavily pouring over the nation.)

his shoulders tighten uncharacteristically, and if you were to see him, you'd tell him he'd resemble a sad fontainian otter with its seashell taken away.

. . . .

BONUS:

"i'm back- GAH! why are the streets flooded?!"

"oh, mx. [name]! welcome back! i'll tell monsieur neuvillette that you're back now!"

two hours later, the sun shines back again as if it hadn't poured consistently during the entire duration of 2 weeks. the people of fontaine rejoice.

KAZUHA: like a bird longing for the sun to shine again (the most normal) 😭

kazuha isn't the type to brood. he isn't, because he knows he has nothing to brood about. well, most of the time, anyway.

this, however, is partly because you're usually with him, you in all your glory, nourishing him with affectionate kisses and letting him feel the breath of fresh air he desperately needs after a long, enduring trip on the crux.

the days you aren't there however are the days he finds himself most appreciative of his reclusive nature. as the rock of the ship against gentle waters make it sway, kazuha thinks of you.

you, you. were you at liyue, doing well as he hopes you always are, trudging away as you work wonders in the kitchen, preparing meals and watching day turn to night, waiting for time to pass, missing him too?

he hopes you are. (he feels like every time you're gone, a part of him can't erase the sense of homesickness. even if liyue wasn't his home, you are the closest to it.)

"you look a bit blue these days, kazuha. missing a certain someone?" a certain captain guffaws, to which the white haired vagrant can only smile to, though the smile betrays his rather dour mood. beidou's tease is only indicative of his longing.

he does miss you. a whole lot. he misses the way you run up to him as he finally steps off the crux's arms, embracing you with fervor and inhaling the cool scent of your hair. only then, kazuha thinks, he could really feel at home. "only a fool wouldn't miss the one they hold most dear to them."

beidou pats him on the back, sympathetic of his plight. he feels a bit embarrassed. beidou always saw through him. "gotta tough it out, kid. just a few more days and we'll be back to liyue in no time."

he wasn't a kid—beidou knows this, but she felt the need to emphasize so, what when kazuha looked akin to a kicked puppy waiting for its owner in the rain. "I'm well aware."

and so she's gone, warbling an old sailor's tune, leaving kazuha to deal with the ache of you behind.

he also misses a lot of things about you whenever you're gone. though temporary as his wanderlust may be, because he promised you—"i will always return to you"—this has brought him to associate everything he sees in your likeness.

is it the poet in him? perhaps. but loving you is as natural as him taking in the sights of nature, as lovely as the moonlit nights he spends, alone, and without you.

tough it out, as beidou says. that's difficult.

watching as the moon seems ever perpetual in the sky, kazuha only hopes he can tough it out well.

(when he comes back, he's thinking of running towards you this time.)

. . . .

"welcome back, kazu-" you don't even make it to the harbor's docks before you're being tackled and literally thrown off your feet. "what the fuck are you doing?!"

or should you say, swept off your feet? you feel every ounce of shame right now, and burying your head in the crook of kazuha's neck. profanity aside, it's hard not to be ashamed when almost every person with a pair of working eyes can see you being carried by your lover.

you can hear the playful whistles and cheers of the crux crew from behind, and beidou's knowing, knowing smile.

"i'm home." kazuha's breath is close to your nape, and you feel the soft press of his lips to your neck. you flush. face him, and you see his dreamy, lovesick eyes.

if he was looking like that, how could you be ashamed? you laugh, even if you see people side eye you into oblivion. brush your noses together, and close your eyes.

"welcome home, kazuha."

he smiles. the day is bright today.

BONUS:

"kazuha?"

"mm, what is it, love?"

"if you do that ever again i will literally drop dead on the floor from the shame, so don't make it a habit."

"haha, i wouldn't dream of it."

(one voyage later, you find out kazuha is a liar.)

LYNEY: 😐 'insufferably insufferable,' given by lynette

if lynette could choose between smelling every perfume in emilie's shop (and put herself through an attack to her very delicate senses) and seeing her brother mope like a deflated balloon over his absence in fontaine, she'd pick the first option.

you are to blame. rather, maybe it's her brother's utter lack of propriety, proclaiming just how much he misses you with almost enough talk to make her want to rip her cat ears out.

or maybe she'd actually claw at him. lyney was just that infuriating. is this what they mean by love changes a person?

(if so, then lynette reckons her twin has changed for the worse.)

okay, she was exaggerating a bit, because she loved you very much and considered you family as well—but she would gladly dropkick lyney any time. they'd been stationed at poisson for a while, set by father. it was cleanup for the remnants of the prophecy, but it provided them sufficient time away from the court of fontaine, away from distractions.

and, in lyney's mind, it also means he's away from you. in lynette's opinion, he should've stayed. that way, she won't get to listen to him prattle on and on about—

"do you think [name] will still love me even if i've been away from them for far too long? ahh, and lynette, these rainbow flowers, do they need a bouquet matching their eyes instead?"

and of course, her brother being the drop-dead love-drunk fool he is (bless your heart for being able to tolerate her sappy and corny brother) has not. stopped. talking. about. you.

you'd probably accept a bouquet with a dead fish in it if it meant lyney gave it to you, but lynette doesn't voice it out. in a corner of her mind, she wonders if she should just actually become a clockwork meka so she could voluntarily tune herself to tune out lyney's voice.

she crosses her arms, putting her (4th) dessert aside. "they'll like anything you give them. and there's no way they'd get sick of you just because we're away for a week, lyney."

her brother sighs, dreamily looking away at the sky. probably thinking about the flutter of your eyelashes and your smile that makes a magician want to bottle it up and never let it show to anyone else—

blergh, she was beginning to let lyney get to her.

"a week is far too long for me." lyney sulks. lynette resists the urge to roll her eyes. you and me both, brother.

"what if they might be in danger somewhere I can't reach?"

but because she's such an amazing sister (factual), she lets go of her temporary reprieve and comforts her utterly hopeless (factual?) brother.

(for your sake too. because lyney has changed. though she may say it's for the worse, that's not true at all. in fact, it's the opposite.)

"relax, lyney." her tone is sincere this time, that in which always gets lyney to look up to her. they're children again, and lynette is facing her older brother, and they're hand in hand together. "[name] will be fine. as long as it's from the heart, you know that they will cherish anything you give them."

because it's you, someone that accepted them, every part of them. lynette doesnt show it much, but it's one of the reasons why she's so fond of you. she grateful, really, that you love her brother.

thankfully, (to her great relief) it seems the hint that you'd rather have him home without anything than not be home at all, has gotten through lyney's mind. he goes silent, and lynette takes it as a successful mission success. another lovesick crisis averted, her brother's relationship with you stabilized.

at last, peace.....

. . . .

"alright then!" lyney says enthusiastically, with an unhappy lynette and a sheepish freminet in tow.

"let's commence operation steal their heart the moment we finish this mission!"

"the what now?"

lynette facepalms. she shouldn't have said anything....

BONUS:

"uh, lynette, what's that?"

"headphones."

"why?"

"....noise cancellation."

freminet looks at lyney, who's pacing around the room, muttering to himself as his grip on the rainbow flower-marcotte bouquet tightens.

"oh." lynette nods at him wearily.

WANDERER: warning! ⚠️do not approach, he bites (scowls) 😨

there are many times when wanderer wants to bash his hat and let it squash the traveller's flying companion, and today was one of those times.

"hey, hat guy! why are you looking even more scary than usual? your scowl can be seen from miles away!"

he can hear her irritatingly cheery voice in the distance, undoubtly exposing him to the eyes of others. damn it.

"paimon, shh...!" aether silently prays to whichever god may hear (hopefully nahida), because for someone so small, wanderer was emitting a very ominous aura not akin to an aura of death.

"quit your nonsense, you-" wanderer barks back, insult at the tip of his tongue, but he tempers his temper (heh), going quiet instead. "forget it. i don't want be pissed off even more from that disgustingly chatty pet of yours."

"what did you just say to me?! urgh, you, you- ugh, paimon can't think of an ugly nickname! help out here, traveller...!"

"i think you should just let it be this time, paimon..."

he ignores the chatter of the two—mortals—thumbing at his vision, and then tenderly at the little doll he's sewed in his likeness, as well as.... your doll.

(you gave it to him once as a keepsake, in exchange for him sewing you the mini him he painstakingly made. when you got your wish, you made the two dolls kiss, saying something so ridiculous as, "that's us now!" his face burned the entire way back home.)

instead, he finds his thoughts lingering to you. you'd seen him off, staying back at sumeru city with nahida as company, leaving him to escort the traveller and paimon to the desert to clear out some ancient ruins. how boring.

you kissed him breathless back there— much to his chagrin at seeing nahida's knowing smile; but he finds himself longing for your voice and your hands in his hair more than ever. at least then he'd be able to solve the ringing in his ears from paimon's voice.

he's long stopped denying his erratic, tumultuous feelings, but he misses you. unbearably, because at least you were better than the two he's forced to babysit accompany.

and he also misses how you would take shelter in his hat in the sweltering desert heat, kissing his cheek when he flew you around to explore the pyramids, and when you would hold his hand as you complained about how long you two would be walking up, all sand and sweaty.

(he'd tease you about leaving you for dead, but was always the first to worry whenever you get dizzy from heat. a walking contradiction, this one.)

"hey, wanderer, you there?"

"you're a little red. are you overheating?woah, so puppets really can do that.... ah, you're spacing out, too!"

ugh. "what am i, a tea kettle?" he scowls, crossing his arms.

he's already counting the days he can finally return to your arms.

paimon stomps her feet at the nonexistent ground, "we're just a tiny bit worried, you know!"

"yeah? well you should do me a favor and shut your mouth a little. otherwise you'll end up overheating from the amount of nonsensical words you spit out."

"this guy's a real piece of work, only being kind to [name], jeez..." to his glee, the pixie mutters angrily. something about being a meanie and insufferable. well deserved.

aether watches the exchange with the soul drained from his body. 800,000 mora, 800,000 mora.....

. . . .

"uh... wanderer?" you chuckle nervously, not knowing where to place your hands as he buries his face head-first into your chest the moment he's home, allowing you to gently caress the soft strands of his hair.

"..."

"so are you gonna talk about it, or?"

"just let me hold you, will you?" he bites, but there's no bite at all. you kiss the top of his head as his ginormous hat is taken off his head completely. he nuzzles deeper into you. "....i missed you."

that shut you up real quick. you try to hide the giddy smile you have, but he lifts his face up to see it anyway.

"i missed you too."

BONUS:

"[name], is that an insect bite on your neck?"

"huh?!"

aether squints at you, "what kind of insect leaves that big of a bite-" his eyes pop out. turns red. "oh."

you look away. one less pure soul in the world.... sorry, aether.

(in a corner of the house of daena, wanderer sneezes.)

more hsr content soon, also for very important reasons: do you think sunday would let you bite the wings by his ears yes or no

© 𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐈𝐄 : do not repost, copy, or plagiarize my work.

[the-s1lly-corner]

How they react to you telling them you're pregnant

Obligatory reader is afab but like most of my posts they're gn/gendered pronouns aren't used

Slenderman;

Cue the confusion

Pregnant?

Surprised more than anything, he didnt think that he could get you pregnant considering you're both different species

And also he didnt think he was fertile; at least not in the normal sexual reproduction way

Kinda just

Accepts it

Now do I think he would be a good dad?

Maybe? He wouldn't be horrible or absent, but some human things are still foreign to him, including raising a child.. so hes probably going to need a decent amount of guidance

I feel like he'd also be a helicopter parent? He already watches you like a hawk, he'd probably start doing the same with his kid as they get older

"Hey (kid name) who's that tall white boy following you??" "Oh that's my dad"/j

Becomes more protective of you during the pregnancy and the weeks after

Takes it in stride tbh

Splendorman;

Pause

Before you start to worry he scoops you up

Also thought it wasnt possible, but is hyped when he finds out the news

He WILL pamper you... may also dip into overbearing territory, though

He just doesnt want you or the baby to get hurt

He says goodnight to the bump later on in the pregnancy tbh

Oh you know hes gonna be decorating their room and giving them loads of toys

Would be a good father but may dip into unhealthy habits

This dude struggles with toxic positivity imo, so that's definitely something that's gonna need to be addressed

Laughing Jack;

Okay obviously ALL of them are probably going to be sat down and told the news, but Jack is gonna need the most talking to given that he probably doesn't grasp the gravity of it

He KNOWS what pregnancy is, he KNOWS what a baby is; but he doesn't know the intricacies of pregnancy if that makes sense

Like he doesnt know about the soreness, or cravings, or how fragile those tiny human beings actually are. Dude already struggles with being gentle with adults

So it's going to require a long and in depth talk about everything that's going to happen if you guys decide to keep the kid

Reaction wise, he takes it seriously. Kind of uncanny compared to his usual silly demeanor

Again, due to him being a lil dumb hes almost under reacting

As a parent I think...

Okay he'd probably kinda suck

He would love the kid but he would be so so so irresponsible I'm so sorry

Gives the kid candy for meals (bro cant cook)

Get that man into some parenting classes PLEASE

Eyeless Jack;

Another "I'm surprised because I deadass thought I was infertile" one, given my whole lore/Hc for EJ

The most worried out of them all

"What if they're like me and are cursed? What if they hate me? What if they grow to hate me? What if-"

He baby proofs his cabin... before insisting that the baby stays at your place primarily (if you haven't moved in with him) because he's scared of his whole... eating people thing

Please give him loads and loads of reassurance, hes gonna need it

He'll work hard to be the best father he can be, though!

He takes the kid out for walks in the woods, teaches them different plants and bugs and tells them which are dangerous

"Oh I don't want to hold them, what if I hurt em?" *falls asleep while holding his baby after reading them a story*

Masky;

You gotta baby proof him and the house im sorry, hes feral

Another "you're gonna have to sit him down and lay down the rules" type deal

Hes already mellowed out around you but he needs to mellow out a touch more for an infant

Hard to gauge his reaction but he seems.... excited? Hard to tell when hes sitting still and wearing a mask

When the baby comes he, like slenderman, also watches them like a hawk

You will walk in on him sitting over their crib at 3am/hj

Surprisingly gentle when it comes to handling the kid, just casually walks around with them and shit

Great for looking after the kid during the night while you rest

Hoodie;

V similar to Masky but he's already naturally calm

Putting this here now before I forget but he would take his mask off to make faces at the baby to try to make them laugh

Mf doesn't take his mask off for you though ☝️🙄/hj

Surprisingly good at calming down screaming infants for some reason

Similar reaction as Masky; hard to read but way easy to guess its positive since he lightly boinks where his mouth would be under his mask to your cheek while papping your stomach

Hes a lil silly

But hes got the spirit

Good dad, me thinks

[sideprince]

Eileen Prince

I'm relentlessly curious about how a witch from Slytherin, a house that values cunning and ambition on paper, and bloodlines/nobility in its culture, ended up living in a muggle slum.

Unfortunately for me, she's a barely mentioned character written by an author who consistently fails to portray female characters with depth or dimension. The women in Harry Potter are portrayed as either maternal or villains, or, in Ginny Weasley's case, as redeemed by their masculine traits (because Rowling's Thatcher era feminism dictates that equality for women = emulating patriarchal ideas of manhood). About as much as you can expect from an author who's as unable to acknowledge the personhood of trans women as she is to write women as actual people. This leaves a lot of room for interpreting or delving into what Eileen Prince's life may have looked like, and how that would have affected her son's development.

There are three direct mentions of Eileen in the text :

“The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.”

HBP Ch. 25

“I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a" “ — murderer,” spat Harry.

HBP ch. 30

“Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him.”

DH Ch. 33

(Shoutout to Harry James Potter, who didn't recognize Eileen's fifth year photo despite her resemblance to Snape, the teacher whose classroom he got his used Potions book from. Shoutout also to Harry James Potter who didn't connect the dots between the Prince's handwriting and Snape's, a teacher who regularly wrote instructions on the board. "I needed to make the plot work, ok?" - JK Rowling, probably.)

Other relevant excerpts:

“Snape staggered - his wand flew upwards, away from Harry - and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner ”

OoTP Ch. 26

“Harry delved into his trunk and pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion-Making before getting into bed. There he turned its pages, searching, until he finally found, at the front of the book, the date that it had been published. It was nearly fifty years old.”

HBP Ch. 16

Supplemental material re: Gobstones from JK Rowling:

"...it remains a minority sport within the wizarding world, and does not enjoy a very ‘cool’ reputation, something its devotees tend to resent. Gobstones is most popular among very young wizards and witches, but they generally ‘grow out’ of the game, becoming more interested in Quidditch as they grow older.  ... Gobstones enjoys limited popularity at Hogwarts, ranking low among recreational activities, way behind Quidditch and even Wizarding Chess." [There's an additional sentence on the Harry Potter wiki's Gobstones page: "...it is also known as 'the thinking wizard's Quidditch.'"]

A few conclusions can be drawn from what little information we're given about Eileen:

She's described as "cross and sullen" around the age of 15, and as "sallow-faced, sour-looking" when she's older.

She's captain of the Gobstones club around her fifth year, so she likely marched to the beat of her own drum - given that Gobstones isn't particularly popular - and owns it proudly enough to take, or even seek out, a leadership role.

The sport is described as "the thinking wizard's Quidditch" which would imply Eileen was more interested in intellectual challenges and was clever (and can be paralleled with a young Severus' comment about "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy" to James Potter when they first meet on the Hogwarts Express).

Her marriage and the birth of her son are both announced in the paper, which might mean the family she came from was of some importance or note, or perhaps something else... but we'll get to that.

If we assume that Severus' secondhand copy of Advanced Potion Making was originally Eileen's (reasonable, though there is no textual evidence) then its publication date is likely around the time she was a sixth year, given that this particular text was specific to students beginning to prep for N.E.W.T. exams. Harry begins his sixth year in 1996 when the book is "nearly fifty years old," so we can assume Eileen was 16 years old sometime not long after 1946. Severus was born in 1960, which would mean Eileen was in her mid-late 20s at the time.

Her marriage was dysfunctional at best, abusive at worst. As per a Pottermore post that is still up on WizardingWorld.com: "...the desperately lonely and unhappy childhood [Severus] had with a harsh father who didn’t hold back when it came to the whip." Based on this, we can assume Tobias was abusive, and given Eileen's cowering as he shouted at her, she presumably feared him.

From these bits of information emerges the image of a woman who either had a surly personality, or at the very least was guarded, though perhaps just formal. There isn't really any difference in how her face is set when she's in an everyday setting like King's Cross, or when she's having her picture taken for the Gobstones Club. It's possible she was a stern, unsmiling person, but it's also possible - given that her wedding and child were announced in the paper - that she came from a family of some standing and was raised to conduct herself with hallmarks of British class, such as dignity and unaffectedness. After all, there are several wizarding families - such as the Potters - who are wealthy purebloods with social standing but are not part of the Sacred 28. Additionally, the Gobstones Club portrait would have been taken around the mid-1940s, when portraits were formal and their subjects did not often smile, and given that we see only a snippet of Eileen, we don't have enough information that she was unhappy or sour. It's also important to remember that we see her portrait and Snape's memory of her through Harry's perspective and, like his perception of Snape himself, this may convey Harry's biases.

We also know from the text that Snape had a house in a deserted part of Cokeworth, a fictional Midlands town that presumably had a collapsed milling industry, at the end of a street called Spinner's End. There's a great thread that goes into details about the kind of 2 up 2 down house it would have been, and we can assume that this is Snape's family home given that we know he and Lily grew up in Cokeworth. For all intents and purposes, the conclusion we can draw from this being the Snape family's home in the 60s is that they were working class and cripplingly poor. Most estates like this had been cleared by the 60s, and no longer exist today.

This begs the question: how did a witch from a possibly well-off family end up in an abusive marriage in an irrelevant slum?

Buckle up kids, we're leaving the world of textual references and veering into deep meta territory now. I won't label any of this as head canon because I'm not set on these interpretations, and am just drawing conclusions from the text, but some of it may be a bit loose even for meta.

If Eileen was 16 years old not long after 1946, then she would have finished school in the late 40s, possibly even 1950. While some people (including past me) posit the theory that Tobias may have been injured in WWII and his injuries debilitated him, forcing him to go on the dole and affecting his mental health, I'm increasingly skeptical of this theory. It would make more sense if Eileen had known him before he was drafted/enlisted and had committed to a relationship with him, which would then have changed when he came back from the war and was altered. If we assume Eileen's age based on the idea that it was her own copy of Advanced Potion Making Severus used, then she would still have been at school during WWII (which makes an interesting parallel with Severus' own experience of spending the bulk of the first wizarding war against Voldemort as a student at school).

I do think, however, that there's merit in the theory that Tobias suffered some kind of altering injury and that he wasn't necessarily abusive before Eileen committed herself to him. It makes little sense for a Slytherin graduate who was confident and self-posessed enough to be the face of an unpopular club to be drawn to a partner so abusive his shouts caused her to cower and who whipped his child freely. If, however, he was a charming, happy man when they met who suffered a life-altering injury, the trauma of which left him a shell of his former self, then someone like Eileen might stick around for the sake of the parts of his old self she can still see in him.

It's interesting that she didn't seem to use her magic to protect herself or her son, or even to dress her son in clothing that fit, but we know from the text that depression can cause a wizard's powers to wane:

“...it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen”

HBP Ch. 13 (Dumbledore talking about Merope Gaunt)

The fact that the Snapes retained the house in Spinner's End seems to indicate that they continued to live there even when the local industry dried up and the slum was cleared as workers were moved to other parts of the country where they were needed (presumably what happened given *gestures at British history*). The most likely explanation for this would be that Tobias wasn't able to work, and perhaps did suffer an injury, only it was at work, and not during the war. This would mean the family lived on the dole (ie. welfare) and also that he would have spent a lot more time at home. It would also explain his anger and frustration that led to abusive behavior (which isn't to say that disabled people are abusive by any means, but it would have been emasculating for a man who considered himself the breadwinner in the 60s, and chronic pain coupled with limited abilities would give anyone a short fuse).

Moreover, this living situation seems to indicate that there is no additional support coming from anywhere. Where is Eileen's family? Why were they not helping? There's no indication in the text that there is any connection with them at all. We can infer from Snape's memories that, as a child, he learned what he knew about the magical world from his mother. This implies that she talked to him about it a fair amount, and his conviction that he and Lily were going to Hogwarts well before they got their letters also implies that Eileen expected him to go there and was set on her son having a magical education, despite how little she seemed to use her own powers.

Severus knows a lot about the wizarding world as a child, including that prisoners are sent to Azkaban and that it's guarded by Dementors, Hogwarts' house structure and what to expect when he and Lily get there, and about the Statute of Secrecy and the laws around it. When Lily asks him if it makes a difference being Muggleborn, Severus hesitates before replying no, presumably because he's aware of pureblood bias being a part of wizarding culture.

Perhaps that's the reason Eileen's family doesn't seem to be in the picture. My own theory is that Eileen hadn't planned to commit herself to Tobias long-term, and Severus was an accidental outcome of an innocent tryst in which a young Eileen, an educated witch from a well to do pureblood family, was having fun slumming it with a working class muggle and ended up pregnant. While we don't know the wizarding world's attitude around pregnancy and abortion, we do know it's a conservative and classist society that parallels muggle British culture fairly closely, and that the late 50s/early 60s were a time when an out of wedlock baby would have been considered a disgrace.

Add to that the anti-muggle bias of a pureblood family and it sounds like Eileen was disowned her for her mistake (and don't @ me, but even though I know that not all Slytherins are purebloods, it does seem to be a persistent cultural value of the house reaching back to Salazar Slytherin himself, so Eileen's being sorted into it can reasonably be taken as an indication of her blood status). Perhaps the marriage and birth announcements in the Daily Prophet were put in by Eileen herself, if she was a woman from a family where this was customary. It may have been her way of letting her family know of the events, or even of asserting herself and even deliberately defying them, announcing to the whole wizarding world that a Prince married and had a child with a muggle. It makes sense that the girl who wasn't just in the Gobstones club, but became captain, would also say to herself, why shouldn't I have my marriage announced in the paper like everyone else in the family?

It's worth noting that mid-late 20s is pretty young to have a baby in the wizarding world, where the life expectancy and child bearing years are much longer than they are for a muggle. According to the Harry Potter wiki:

"Wizard life expectancy in Britain reached an average 137¾ years in the mid-1990s, according to the Ministry of Divine Health ... Wizards in general have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles, usually living two or three times as long as their non magical counterparts, some living even longer than that depending on circumstances. In addition, seeing as James Potter's parents had him "late in life,” witches likely have significantly longer childbearing years than Muggle women."

Although we see several characters in Severus' generation getting married and having kids not long after leaving school, there's a mention in the text that a lot of people were doing this during Voldemort's reign, as the fear he inspired made people more eager to get a move on with life since they thought they might die any day (I think Mrs. Weasley says this but I can't find the quote, @ me if you do). It's clear this wasn't the norm in the wizarding world. Eileen was a Slytherin, a house that values cunning, ambition, and strong wizarding heritage. Something must have gone very wrong in Eileen's life for her to end up having a child so young and living in a muggle slum.

And so it's possible Eileen Prince found herself pregnant and alone, having been disowned by her family to save face in light of her disgrace, and dependent on the only person she was still close to, the father of her child. It's the kind of storyline that Rowling would write, and it would parallel fairly closely the story of Voldemort's mother, thus adding another to the long list of similarities between Voldemort and Snape.

Lorrie Kim makes an interesting point when she talks about how Snape has a strong reaction to other people having a love life or romantic experiences (the context being Rowling's intention of his love for Lily being romantic and unrequited), but doesn't react particularly strongly to mothers sacrificing themselves for their children, whereas Voldemort does. Her insight, and I think it's a reasonable one, is that Severus accepts the idea of mothers making sacrifices for their children, whether it's Lily giving her life for Harry or Narcissa risking all she did to ask for his help in protecting Draco, because his own mother protected him from his father as much as she could.

There's a lot of room for interpretation on what Eileen's relationship with her son looked like, and what it says about her own state. She may have prioritized not angering Tobias to protect Severus, who as a child might have perceived her actions as a form of rejection. At the same time, she seems to have prepared him thoroughly for life in the magical world, perhaps in the hope that he would find his place in it and escape home. Perhaps she missed it and told him so much about it so she could live through her own memories.

The only time we see her argue with Tobias, in Severus' memory, she's cowering as he shouts. We know from JK Rowling that Tobias used corporal punishment liberally, which implies Eileen didn't stop him despite her magical abilities. We also see in the text, however, that while at school Severus stood up for himself against bullies and fought back, and that he was an exceptionally clever and powerful wizard. As an adult he was brave enough to face Dumbledore when he betrayed Voldemort, and later fought against Voldemort right under his nose (or lack thereof). So it stands to reason that at some point Severus began to stand up against Tobias too.

How much of that was Eileen's influence, or the result of Severus seeing her acceptance of her fate and rejecting it for himself, is hard to say. As for what happened to Tobias and Eileen that their house was Severus' by the mid-90s and they were nowhere in sight, I don't think there's enough information in the text to infer.

[eldritch-spouse]

So I'm a sick fuck. One of my favorite things is when an obsession is getting ravaged and they can sense that their "partner" is going to cum. She panics and desperately screams and begs them to cum outside, that she doesn't want to get pregnant, that she doesn't want a baby. Subsequently she is in a state of shock when they do as she feels just how thorough a claim that was.

Which of your ocs would find sick pleasure in doing this to their obsession and seeing her in this state of terror?

[I could probably put more here... If this was a single character scenario, I would have gone more in depth.]

TW: Noncon; Non-consensual impregnation.

Morell simply doesn't give you a choice. Sooner or later you're going to try for that kid, and you ought to get it through your skull that it is happening. He can't deny the thrill of the fear in your eyes, that doe look, just like when you first saw him, recognizing the predator he is. Morell can already feel the headache of having to undo this all, but he won't deny he wouldn't do this a hundred times. Gladly.

There's nothing Kalymir loves more than conquest. He's conquered Wrath, he's conquered you, now he's taking control of your womb. And you're trying to fight him for it, you poor little thing. It makes him so wild Kalymir nearly shatters your pelvis with his thrusts, laughing and outright moaning at your weak nails clawing down his front and face. It's almost like you want to make him cum faster, hopefully hard enough that it hits your brain.

Zizz is lazy. His pullout game is fucking weak. And, on top of that, he doesn't like to be denied creature comforts such as coming in you. It could be your mouth, your ass, who cares- He knows he's going to finish in that hole and you can't possibly do anything to dislodge him. The King tries to shush you the whole time and covers your mouth so you make less noise, shivering in delight when you freeze at the sensation of his ropes painting you.

Pinter thinks he knows better than you. They're always the same- "I'm not ready to move in with you", "This is moving too fast", "I can't have a kid yet", yes you can. And you will, stop stressing over nothing. Just enjoy yourself and don't pretend you don't like the feeling of his cum deep inside you. You're whining now but you'll get over it, you even squeezed so tight around him!

Miara thinks it's silly of you to get worked up over pregnancy. If ever there was a time for you to possibly conceive, it would be now- Protected by a goddess of fertility and conception, loved infinitely! You are scared by your mind's twisted perception of reality, by what centuries away from siadar did to your species. Although she cradles you lovingly when the shock of her seed entering you sets in, she throbs with pride that you are now destined to likely conceive a brand new generation of monsters.

Sybastian's role in the escape floor has taught him one thing. He really likes the hunt. He's always loved trickery, but that sweet span of time where he has to wrestle to get his way is phenomenal- And even if you two play at that often, you've already had to squirm and struggle to get his cock out before he could come inside more than once. One day Syb's just going to get too into it to let you stop him, and he's going to pant like a shameless mongrel while you quiver and freeze under him. He thinks he should have done this sooner, honestly.

Sever doesn't get why you'd want him to pull out, honestly. To him, that kind of reads as you rejecting him as a mate, and no yandere reacts well to that. Some other, more primal side of him affirms that it is indeed normal for you to thrash around some, so he doesn't really perceive anything to be wrong until you start giving him shit afterwards. He's very quick to secure you with several tendrils and to take his time milking his own orgasm inside you, enjoying what he assumes is your eventual submission.

*Hellion is a dick. Hellion likes to come inside you. You're physically too weak to stop him anyway. It all adds up in a horrid little concoction that is bound to go wrong for you. He does visibly thrill in your panic the more you notice he's getting closer to orgasm, sometimes playfully slipping almost all the way out only to slam even deeper on the next few pistons. That look of horror on your face is exquisite.

*Nebul decides where he comes, not you. This is something you ought to get through that thick skull already, and he'll help you understand it, by consistently coming inside your cunt for as many times as he wants. Screaming will earn you punishments, and physically attempting to fight him will have you regretting even thinking of such in the first place. Nebul takes advantage of those key moments where you're in shock to slip whatever messages of acceptance he wants in your mind, forcing you to focus on him with gentle contact.

*Vesper doesn't even give you a real chance to protest. It's so silly, the way you think. Don't lie to yourself, once you feel him come in you, you won't want anything else. It's laughable to even think you'd protest -You won't- But fret not, before it starts, Vesper promises he'll come everywhere, not just in you. You'll soon start asking him to fill you more, to the brim, and he's all too happy to oblige really.

Dishonorable mentions: Santi; Ludwig; Vinnel.

[* These characters have different methods of reproduction and/or certain traits that don't permit conception in specific settings, so their assault may not result in pregnancy.]

[kairi101]

Very Few Friends

CEO!Rafe Cameron x fem!Reader

Warnings:Smut, 18+, fluff, soft!rafe, oral (f receiving), p in v, swearing, 1st person

Summary: Rafe returns early from a business trip, which leads to some changes in your relationship

A/n: probably doing a continuation of this bc i have writers block so it kinda ends abrupt (sorry abt that). Feedback/requests appreciated.

Also it's based on a song thats been in my liked music for like over a year and I recently rediscovered it

The afternoon sun appears through my curtains as I sit down on my bed, a cup of coffee in hand. I checked the messages on my phone to find 18 missed messages from Rafe Cameron. Jeez, I was only asleep for 45 minutes. What the hell could he possibly want? I think to myself. Before I could open any of his messages, I hear a knock on my front door. I go and answer the door despite already knowing who it is. "Rafe? I thought you weren't coming back for another 3-" He cuts me off by pressing his soft lips against mine. The kiss was gentle, unlike others we have shared.

"I fucking love you y/n" He pulling me in for a much deeper kiss. He lifts me up by my ass as we do our familiar waltz towards my bed. My heart flutters in anticipation as he lays me down on my unmade bed, stomach up. "So, so beautiful" He says as he kisses a trail down to my stomach, and slides the designer panties he got me off my leg, the cold air making me shiver. He places a kiss to my clit, earning a loud moan from me followed by several others as he teases my clit with his tongue. I grab the top of his head, buring it deeper into my core. He sticks one finger in me, and then another, thrusting in me at a relentless pace. "Fuck, Rafe" I moan. I feel a knot building in my stomach "rafe I'm gonna cum"

"Do it for me, baby" and I do. His face and fingers cover in my release. He licks his lips and sticks his fingers in his mouth, cleaning off my juices. He kisses me on the forehead and says "Don't move I'll be back in thirty." And I didn't move, aside from shifting into a more comfortable position. I sleepily gaze off staring into the depths of my wall, waiting for Rafe to return. After all, only I know what happens when I disobey Rafe.

He walks back into my room, exaxtly thirty minutes later, and throws his shirt off and lays next to me in bed. "I'm serious y/n, I love you." Tears begin to form in my eyes from his words, but Rafe kisses them away before they have the chance to fall. He brushes my hair back smiling at me while tears of happiness continue to fall from my eyes. I place my lips against his and whisper to him "I love you too, Rafey." He kisses the top of my head and pulls me into his bare chest, his arms wrapping around me. Never have I felt so small

"I'm never taking another work trip if I can't take you" He says , his chin resting on the top of my head.

"You only came back because of me?" I ask him. He hums in response, and my face flushes. "You didn't have to do that Rafe." I plainly state, half of me guilty I interfered with his business trip.

"I had to, baby" He responds "I was thinking about you the whole time and I didn't get shit done while I was there." I grin lustfully.

"Oh yeah? What kind of things?" I challenge, wanting to get whatever I can out of Rafe.

"Baby, I think you already know." I pretend to be clueless and shrug. He sighs before continuing "Just how kind you are and pretty" his voice deepens "and your body of a fucking goddess and how good it would feel around my cock."

"Show me, Rafe" I demand, and he doesn't hesitate. His lips collide with mine, forming electricity that only we can feel. He pulled my body in as close as possible on top of him and I grind my hips into the material of his shorts. I moan at the unfamiliar feeling of fabric hitting my clit. He throws my nightgown over my head, grabs me, and flips me over on my back, almost animalistic. I gasp as he undoes his belt and pants to reveal his cock, already leaking precum. I try to sit up, so I could put it in my mouth but he held me down to the bed, pinning me down with his arms and his lips. He forcefully shoves his cock into my already dripping pussy and I let out a painful cry. Rafe stops for a moment, letting me adjust to his well over average size. He slowly begins to move, bottoming out with every thrust, but I craved more. "Harder rafe" He speeds up his pace little by little until the headboard starts to hit the wall, but he doesn't stop there, my moans fueling his sexual desire. "Rafe" I moan "I'm gonna cum"

"I'm right with you, sweet girl, cum for me baby" I moan one last time as my cunt tightens spasticly around his dick, causing him to release as well. Warm ropes of his seed filled up my pussy and I just held on to Rafe, holding him close.

He pulls out, making me feel empty as his cum spilled out of me. He lay down next to me on my bed and pulled me close to him again. He smelled like a mixture of sweat and bourbon, but I loved it because it was Rafe. "I have a business trip to Paris next month" Rafe casually brings up. "You're coming with me."

"Rafe, I have a job, I can't just leave..." I say hesitantly.

"I'll provide for you from now until forever." He slips off his gold ring that he never takes off and places it on my ring finger though its way too big. "You're mine Y/n"

"Did you just force me to get engaged to you?" I tease him while giggling sleepily, moving. the ring to my thumb so it will somewhat stay on.

"No way is that an engagement ring y/n" He laughs with you "I'll get you the biggest, brightest diamond you've ever seen on that." He says touching the tip of my nose with his thumb. A moment passes between the two of you in complete silence

"Yes" I say.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll go where you go." He grins "always and forever"

He places another kiss on my lips, but this time because he, for the first time in a long time, was happy. He quit the life he lived not so long ago and managed to bag the girl of his dreams. How could he deserve that?

"Just so you know, I'm taking you out tonight." He says.

"Rafe it's already four!" I exclaim. "We both need to take a shower and I gotta put makeup on," I complain, but Rafe is a step ahead of me as he lifts me over his shoulder into the shower and turns the water on. I squeal as the cold water hits my back, and he sets me down on the shower floor, holding me close to him. Both of our bodies are slick with water. My hair droops into my face and Rafe pulls it back, tilting my head up to look at him.

"So fucking perfect," he mumbles, looking down at me. He squeezes shampoo on his hand and massages it into my scalp with his fingertips, the same ones that were in me earlier.

I stand on my tippy toes and wrap my arms around Rafe's neck, planting a kiss on his soft lips. I then bury my head in his chest, nails scratching his back softly. "My Rafey" I mutter into his chest and his face reddens.

Eventually, we get out of the shower and go out sometime around seven. He took me to the most expensive Italian restaurant in the area. I begged him to go get ice cream afterward, and we go into a small ice cream shop in our fancy dinner clothes.

"I'll share whatever you want" I tell Rafe

"Dang it, I was going to say that to you." He browses the assortment of flavors for a few minutes and finally picks out a flavor. "Carmel Iced Coffee" He picks. I squeezed his arm because that was the one I would pick. He runs one of his hands through my hair and kisses the top of my head as the clerk scoops up the ice cream. Rafe pays with his American Express gold card, and we head outside, a chilly breeze kissing my exposed shoulders. Rafe takes off his sport jacket and places it over the top of my shoulders, and I smile and look up at him.

"You're so good to me Rafey" I praise him and reach my hand up to touch his jaw as he grinned down at me. We walk towards his truck and he opens the passenger door for me.

On the way home he let me blast Speak Now (Taylor's Version) the entire way. He places his hand on my thigh and hikes his hand up my satin dress until he loops his index finger around the elastic of my lace thong. I grab his hand away from my panties and lace my fingers with his with my hand his ring is on.

I lean into his shoulder and drift asleep.

I wake up in my bed the next morning, Rafe laying shirtless next to me sound asleep. I decided to let him sleep and curled up as close as possible to him. Ten or so minutes later, he woke up, and I place a soft kiss on his lips.

"G'morning sunshine," he grumbles out of tiredness. "I gotta go into the office today. You're coming with me though."

"Rafe I don't to sit and do nothing all day" I whine to him.

"You won't" He replies. "You're my new secretary."

I groan but eventually get out of bed to get dressed.

"Rafey, I don't know what to wear" He sighs and gets up reaching into my closet to pick out an outfit way too revealing to wear in an office setting. "Rafe!" I exclaim. "I can't wear that!"

"I'm just kidding!" He picks out a blouse and a skirt. "Here" He says throwing the outfit at me.

I get dressed and come down for breakfast, preparing both of us for our day of "hard work." Rafe had me in his lap the entire day in his office, so neither one of us got anything done.

This continued for a month and then Rafe's business trip came up and I found myself in his lap again, but on his private jet.

"You excited baby?" He asks into my ear, playing with a few strands of my hair.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I reply.

[referrix]

Dorm Floor Plan

"I have a floor plan I'm pretty happy with" I said 4 iterations in. This is... maybe seven eight. And three days later. I've just gotta fling this one out, I can't keep nitpicking it.

I'm still not entirely happy with the nook, I probably could have gotten the proper fit if I'd been willing to move the bathroom out (and mirror it over to the other side) but I need to be done with this or I'm going to send myself completely barmy.

fellow tumblrina @dagstar7 passed along a link to a copy they'd made of what may have been the official copy of the dormitory floor plan, unfortunately the source has been lost to the depths of the internet, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was however pretty pleased to discover that my floor plan looked pretty similar, although their copy's nook was slightly more rupee shaped, and their bathroom was flat.

I've assumed a bit of mirroring in the dorm that should be just the other side of Stella's wall judging by the windows and balconies from the outside. (the windows and balconies that really don't work once you start measuring from the inside...)

My last edit was to slim the common room from 5m to 3.5m. I have previously calculated the balcony windows/doors to be at least 4m across, but looking at the space they have I realised it looked pretty similar to one of the main living spaces in my house which is also 3m (and change) across, and it's more than enough space for that.

*Edited the pics as I was typing, just greyed some step lines in the rooms and removed the outer stair line on the nook. The steps in the room are only two deep, but they do have a different colour than the rest of the carpet in the bedrooms, so the original step outlines included that, making it look like there was three steps per room.

Apart from the nook and the bathrooms, the biggest liberty I've taken is centralizing the window in Stella's upstairs room, because her bedroom window is mostly central in her room, the only window above it should be directly above it, and there's just not reasonably enough space between floors for the stairs to wind back and forth for them to come out where they do, unless the stairs are a ladder.

I was actually looking for a shot of someone falling down Stella's stairs when I found the bathroom, because I remembered it happening, and I feel certain I remember a shot looking down the stairs proving they go in a straight line, but the only fall down the stairs I can find is in episode 6.19, which is the new apartments, not the old dorm, and didn't have the angle I remembered.

Here are some older iterations, staring with the one with the "5m" wide common room on the left, and a more squared in version of the nook in blue.

Actually, it's a little weird/interesting, but for the last iteration I actually flipped which way I was viewing the map?

[viviennevermillion]

Relationship Headcanons

notes: this was supposed to have 6 more characters but I decided to post it now and do the rest later. Third piece of writing today and I feel like I'm running on gasoline for humans.

contains: character x gn!reader, relationship headcanons

characters included: alhaitham, childe

warnings: none

Alhaitham:

Alhaitham is, unintentionally, hard to get and according to Kaveh even harder to want. Nevertheless, Alhaitham actually makes for a very great partner if you have captured his heart. 

To start with, he’s very upfront with you. He sees no point in concealing the way he feels or dragging out the process of confessing to you to unnecessary lengths. Of course, he’s not going to straight up walk up to you and tell you how he feels, but once he notices he has fallen in love with you, when the next opportunity presents itself he asks you out. 

“Would you like to have dinner with me sometime? As a date?”, he gives you that same warm smile he had when he told you he’d see you at the celebratory banquet that Nilou had organized and his tone stays polite but his care still shows just as much. 

Alhaitham wasn’t particularly nervous. He had known you for a while now and he wouldn’t have fallen for you if he had taken you for someone who’d give him reason to be anxious about what was intended to be a nice evening and the start of something good. He’s also rational and has a good sense of self-care; enough to be able to move on fast if you two wouldn’t work out; knowing it’d be the best for him. However, this also makes him unafraid of doing his best to make your first date as enjoyable for you as possible; hoping you’d stay by his side for a long time. Even if you’re nervous, Alhaitham can handle this and makes sure you warm up to the idea of being on a date with him fast and become more comfortable around him. He’s a calm presence, ready to reassure you that he’s considered you a good friend for quite a while now and that he will continue to do so even if your relationship evolves into something else. 

Alhaitham dresses casually but still elegantly for your first date, handing you a rose when you meet him.

For as much as he never cared about sugar-coating the truth, Alhaitham is very observant and has quite a good amount of emotional intelligence; probably more than people usually give him credit for. So he’s quick to pick up on what pace you’d prefer for the development of your relationship; whether you’re fine with a goodnight kiss after the two of you part or whether you’d like to give things more time. He adapts easily to your preferences and boundaries. 

Alhaitham is very honest with you; if he wants to be in a relationship with you; you’ll know at the latest by the end of your first date.

Dates with Alhaitham are usually spent having dinner or a nice picnic in a place he thought you might enjoy. You discuss all kinds of topics from his research as a scholar to your own passions to the future of Sumeru. Being able to hold a thoughtful and in-depth conversation with you for quite a while is one of the things that made him seek out your company over and over again. 

When he feels like the time is right, Alhaitham asks you if you’d like to be his partner. He’s very straightforward and calm, holding your hand and gently caressing your knuckles with his thumb as he waits for your answer. When you tell him that you’d love to, a smile finds its way onto his face and he gently pulls you in for a kiss.

A relationship with Alhaitham starts off with a long discussion about what’s important to you both, your boundaries and plans for the future. He makes sure not to overwhelm you, but before Alhaitham commits to you he wants to make sure the two of you are compatible and that both of you can expect the relationship to be fulfilling for you.

Alhaitham himself doesn’t need a lot of affection or attention, but he enjoys it whenever he’s on the receiving end. He makes sure to give you the affection and love you need, in the ways that work best for you. 

He never leaves for work without giving you a goodbye kiss and he’s happy to pull you into his arms at the end of a stressful day. 

When he sees things he remembers you liked, he often gets you a little gift to see your smile. 

When looking back on your time together, what makes Alhaitham smile the most are those little idle moments that make him feel like you’ve been together for a century. The way he kisses your forehead gently and pats your head when you achieve something you’re proud of. The times you’ve both spent cooking dinner together in his kitchen, helping each other out and talking about your day. Walking the streets of Sumeru; holding hands as you select groceries to buy or look at the products the vendors are selling; picking up lunch at the tavern on the way. How Alhaitham would be there for all your big moments to support you and you would for him in turn; walking home together at the end of the day as the street lights illuminate Alhaithams fond expression when he looks at you and reminisces about how far you had come together. You don’t even notice the way he’s looking at you as your attention is directed towards the stars in the night sky, wondering what else the future holds in store for both of you.

Loving Alhaitham feels like he’s always somewhat unreachable before you get together; and like you’ve been married for 30 years, but you still consider him your best friend, after you’ve started dating. Loving Alhaitham is a series of idle moments; of knowing another person is your home that you can rest at when the sun sets, no matter what the day throws at you.

You know in Alhaitham you have found a partner who will always support you through hard times, albeit in his own way. What he lacks in emotional support he makes up for with solutions and acts of service. When you need comfort, he simply holds you for as long as you need it and then suggests doing something together to take your mind off things. He’d read a book to you or take a walk with you, hoping you’d feel better soon enough. 

Arguments happen very rarely but when they do, they usually get resolved with civil discussion and compromises, as long as you’re ready to talk things out. Alhaitham remains calm on the outside, focusing on sorting things out with you. 

Alhaitham is an aquired taste but he’s easy to love if you can live with his many quirks and find a way to make it work together. It takes a long time for him to fall in love but when he does, he intends to make it last.

Childe:

When Childe falls in love with you, he becomes quite flirty. He always makes sure not to overstep any lines, though. He doesn’t hold back on the compliments either. If he thinks you look beautiful today or he appreciates your passion for something, he’ll tell you.

You might think he’s just like that because the flirty demeanor fits a lot with his typical laid-back personality and the way he often seems carefree but with time you notice that you’re really the only person he flirts with. And that he genuinely seems to like you.

His first time asking you out is when he challenges you into a fight. Considering he’s in love with you, he goes a little easy on you but he won’t just let you win either. He’s like “the loser has to buy the other dinner” so regardless of who wins the fight, you end up in a small tavern with Childe sitting across from you and it’s starting to dawn on you that this was intended to be a date.

“I quite like you, you know?”, he smiles at you, gently linking his fingers with yours once he notices you seem to be enjoying the date so far. He’ll be honest with you about the fact that he likes you, since he prefers to know the answers to his questions right away and doesn’t want to be left second-guessing about whether he has a shot with you.

Dates with Childe are never boring. Of course he keeps the serious harbinger stuff a secret, but he has no problem telling you about a lot of the funnier moments he experienced while being part of the Fatui. He tells you about the harbinger banquets, about his colleague’s quirks, the fights he had...

He knows he lives quite the dangerous life so he’d understand if you wanted to take a step back but he would always make sure to protect you from harm. 

Once you’re officially together, Childe introduces you to his family. He brings you over for dinner and you learn that he’s already told them all about you. You can tell he’s a little awkward about it, since he doesn’t know how the evening is gonna go but his family loves you and you two often play together with his younger siblings. He sometimes likes to playfully tease them, so they’re delighted when you chuck a snowball at your boyfriend instead, taking their side. Childe acts offended, but enjoys how you’re making his younger siblings laugh. He’s willing to take a few snowball hits for that.

But just as happy as spending time with both you and his family makes him, he’s glad once he gets to be alone with you again as well. He’ll ask you about your impressions of his siblings and is relieved when you enjoyed the day just as much as he did. “They can be quite a handful sometimes, but they’re good kids. I suppose I’m not one to talk either....I was probably the worst”, he chuckles and wraps his arms around your waist as you both look into the mirror. “We’re pretty cute together, don’t you think?”, he smiles and presses a kiss to your cheek, “you’re almost as adorable as me.” This results in you chucking a pillow at him and ends in a playful fight followed up with some exhausted kisses. 

What Childe values most about your relationship is the understanding and acceptance he receives from you. That you know what he’s like, know his past and the uglier parts of his work; and still choose to be with him and love him. In turn, he tries to keep you out of the dangerous waters he thrives in and make your life together as normal as possible.

He’d love to fight anyone who causes trouble for you. If you hold him back, he respects that. Though he always tries to impress you with his fighting skills either way. Whenever he gets stronger, he first looks towards your reaction. He adores when you appreciate him for his battle prowess. 

He’d definitely take you ice-fishing. When you agree to go with him, he’s like “wow, that’s going to be great...just the two of us in the cold night...” He makes sure you’re warm throughout the whole thing. Snezhnaya’s snowy landscapes can be brutal if you’re unprepared and Childe wants you to have fun, not freeze to death. He’ll warm you up himself if necessary. He makes a little campfire for you and befitting for the occasion, the two of you grill the fish he caught last time over the fire. “Just you wait, I’m going to catch us a whole sea-dragon this time!”, he boasts as he prepares the fishing rod, “I’ll wrestle that thing if I have to. I’m getting all fired up just thinking about it.” He hears you laugh. “This is a lake. I doubt you’re going to find a sea-dragon in here.” “Let a man dream, would you!” Of course he lets you try to catch something yourself plenty of times and he gets a little bit pouty if you actually catch a bigger fish than him. But you can soothe him with a soft kiss to his lips. 

As much as Childe tends to get in (and out) of trouble frequently and seems quite enthusiastic and motivated most of the time, in contrast he actually prefers for your affection to be more relaxing and gentle. He loves holding you in his arms whenever he has some spare time and he enjoys kisses without hurry or expectations. His favorite are slow and long kisses, just indulging you for a while and being able to relax and melt into your touch. Though he absolutely does not mind to be surprised with a kiss as well. Catch him off guard and it always manages to make him smile.

Overall, Childe readily accepts you into his family and tries to keep you away from the harbinger business. He values the bond you share a lot. He likes to let loose in battle and on missions and enjoys coming home to you at the end of the day and slow down; relaxing while holding you in his arms. 

[ingravinoveritas]

Why do I feel like this post just got personal and going in for the attack like she did for the radio one on twitter I'm not shocked or surprised by this cos the behaviour is getting more stranger and nasty and a fan on twitter shared this on her page saying we got ur bk u got a whole army behind u. I'm sorry what army and I'm sure if they spilt the fans wouldn't be behind her them they literally making it worst

What do u think ?

So, I saw/got a whole bunch of DMs over this Insta story this morning, but didn't have a chance to talk about it until now.

My first thought was that this was almost certainly in response to the negative reviews and backlash coming out for The Way in the wake of episode 3. The two biggest culprits in terms of media outlets seem to be the Daily Mail (Fail) and the Telegraph, and while I won't link to them here because I don't want to give either site any traffic, both reviews can easily be found via a Google search. Adding to those were a stream of vicious comments, both in the comments sections on the respective websites and on social media, largely from what seem to be right-wing/leaning accounts and public figures.

Knowing that, it made me think that Michael had to have been aware of what the potential reaction to the show could be. We know he was, actually, because he's talked about it in several interviews over the past few weeks, such as this one. And I think with Michael being who he is, he would be entirely amused at knowing he has pissed off exactly the right people. So while I could certainly see him in private having a reaction like the one in AL's story--more than understandably so, given how nasty some of the reviews and comments were--that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good reaction to have publicly. And I think Michael knows that, too.

What also adds to the disconnect for me is that a few hours later, an article that Michael had written as a rebuttal came out in the New Statesman:

What Michael wrote is a brilliant repudiation of remarks made by a Tory MP--a piece that is intelligent, snarky, direct yet unfailingly eloquent. It wasn't just Michael defending his show, but using it (and Nye) to make a point, to make clear what he believes in, and to stand for the truth. And in much the same way that Michael's acting and oratory skills elevate any piece of work he performs, his writing conveyed that same depth, and it came across as effortless as everything else he does.

Which again left me with that feeling of disconnect when looking at Michael's article side-by-side with Anna's Insta story. It's not even that I disagree with her in this instance, as I do think the reviews were unduly harsh and devolved entirely too quickly into personal attacks in the comments. It's that when it comes to acting/directing, criticisms are part of the job, and whether she intended it or not, an Insta story like AL's conveys a sense of unprofessionalism. And when you put it next to Michael's writing, it looks more like a teenager throwing a fit instead of an adult giving a fierce clapback, which again probably was her intention.

Also keep in mind that everything I just wrote is predicated on the idea that someone seeing this story knows what AL is talking about. But I have to wonder how readily apparent it was, because it's so vague that it would probably be difficult for most people to suss out what she is referencing. So it's confusing to me that she is seemingly charging to Michael's defense...but without actually saying his name or the name of the show. Again, it feels like there is a disconnect/sharp contrast between Anna vague-blogging and how specific and incisive Michael was in that article, and it seems like they're not even close to being on the same page.

Those are my thoughts on Anna's Insta story from this morning. It's definitely a fair bit of whiplash, especially given the drastically different tone of her last few recent posts. But I'm interested as always to hear from my followers with your take, regardless of whether you agree or disagree. Thank you for writing in! x

[jingchu-time]

Spoilers for all of DRDT so far (all the way to the end of Ch.2 - Pt.1)

(This is my first attempt at a character analysis, so forgive me if it's a bit messy, I'll try to fit it up later. Also my first time using tumblr, intimidating but I'll figure it out.)

-

(TW: Talks about parental death and neglect. Mentions of racism, not talked about in much depth)

---

Intro:

Whit is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters in Despair Time. Despite being so well-loved by the fandom, his character is not taken nearly as seriously as I believe he should be. Objectively, Whit has one of the most in-depth characters, which isn't talked about with how often he gets reduced to a possible love interest for Charles. I also love their relationship (and ship it as well), but compared to Charles, Whit's other traits are ignored in favor of their relationship, which is unfair with how complex Whit's character actually is. Likes his backstory for example.

Part 1 - Whit's Backstory:

Whit's backstory is still shrouded in mystery, since it's only Chapter 2, but that isn't to say we know nothing about it. During Episode 4 of Chapter 1 Whit talks about his home life. He reveals that he's an only child, and briefly mentions that he thinks having a sibling would be cool, since he could be friends with them. This will be mentioned again later in the analysis, so keep this fact in mind. He then goes on to talk about his parents. First, he talks about his father, Lin or Steve. Whit says he doesn't see him a lot since he works overseas. All Whit is able to say about him is that he's quiet. Then Whit goes to talk about his mother, Elizabeth. Whit shows actual happiness when he talks about her. He doesn't go in depth, but he does call her pretty and sophisticated. He says he even bleached his hair to be like her. He clearly admired her a lot. He finally goes on to talk about his since nobody is ever in their house for long periods of time, he couldn't have pets. His home seems decent solely based on this information, but we have gained another part of it recently. In Episode 9 of Chapter 2 (what a jump) the secrets of all the cast are finally talked about. During the trial, Whit admits his secret is, "Your mother is dead. You always omit that truth." This isn't all that surprising when you consider how Whit deals with stuff like death (which well talks about in a different section) or his secret quote, "We tend to idolize the Dead."

So that's all of Whit's backstory, right? Insert *Sore wa chigau yo!" meme here. Is it all we've seen in the story, yes, but there was a Q&A done a while back that gave us an even greater idea of Whit's past. Anon asked if Whit was Biracial. The creator said yes, since his father is Chinese and his mother is American. It's also mentioned that for the first part of Whit's life, he was raised by his mom, so he doesn't have many Chinese experiences. What is mentioned next is what I care about the most. It's said that his father was very absent from his childhood (and life in general it seems). I think this makes it safe to say that Whit probably experienced some form of neglect from his father. He could barely say anything about him, the house is so empty that he can't even have pets, the way he talks about having a sibling. His mother is dead, and his father is never around. Whit was probably a lonely kid. The idea of having a sibling could fill the void because of his basically non-existent family. Also, regarding his mother's death, I'm gonna guess it was around his teen years, though I'm not sure.

Why mention his backstory first? Because this fandom never acknowledges anything about his past besides his dead mom when we clearly have more to look at. I also think this backstory can explain a lot of Whit's actions throughout the game. Speaking of…

Part 2 - Whit's role as comic relief, and how he (and Ace) subvert the stereotype:

Whit is easily seen as comic relief by most (I hope). Comic relief is a character used to defuse tension from certain scenes in shows/movies, plays/musicals, or video games. Whit is clearly made for the role, but another character, Ace, plays (or did play) the role as well. How can they both share the same role? You see, all roles have different stereotypes that are repaired with them. Comic relief is no expectation. I would say that comic relief tends to come in two types.

Characters who take absolutely nothing seriously. The lack of seriousness can be so bad that their jokes can fully screw over the tone of a scene, or story as a whole.

Using flanderization, which is just exaggerating a certain trait (or even sometimes traits) in a character. Character traits like paranoia, anger, happiness, or even sadness will become so amplified that you, much like the story, won't be able to take them seriously.

Whit and Ace fit these two stereotypes very well. After Whit's introduction in Episode 4 of the Prologue, Teruko calls him frivolous. A word, when used as a trait, is characterized by lack of seriousness or sense, which is a fairly accurate descriptor for Whit. Ace fits the second very well. Ace is characterized as both extremely aggressive, and as an extremely large coward through the entirety of the Prologue and Chapter 1. It's hard to take either character seriously at first glance.

Yet both Whit and Ace manage to subvert the stereotype and do interesting new things while doing it.

Ace goes through (negative but natural) character development after Chapter 1. He takes on a fully aggressive persona so that he's not seen as someone that can be easily killed off, the more intimidating the better. If he's seen as all bark no bite cowards, then he'll be an easy target. The cowardness is replaced by more anger and now the anger isn't funny now since we see it negatively affecting both the rest of the cast and Ace himself. He loses the role as comic relief by going through his natural character development. He subverts the trope by getting proper development, which leads to him losing the role entirely.

Whit subverts the trope by fully admitting that he's trying to be it. In Episode 4 of Chapter 1, Whit talks about how his constant joking is just him trying to lighten the mood. Whit wants to find a way to make the others happy, or at the very least lessen the stress they have because of the current situation they're in. He does this by joking and teasing. Whit subverts the trope by admitting he's trying to be the trope.

Both Whit and Ace subvert the same trope in vastly different ways, which are both effective for both of them. This does lead me to a question. Why does Whit do this? Well…

Part 3 - Goals vs Motive, actions, and what differentiates Whit and Hu:

When discussing characters' popularity, Hu and Whit are basically opposites. Whit, as mentioned earlier during the intro, is one of the most popular characters in the DRDT fandom. Hu, on the other hand, has gained a distaste by a majority of DRDT fandom because of how she's acted during the course of Chapter 2. This is very interesting, since the two are fairly similar. This is probably surprising to many, since the two seem so, so different. Hu is a serious mom friend, while Whit is a jokester.

I won't deny their differences, but what makes them similar is actually really important. The biggest similarity between the two is their goal. "Help the others through the killing game". This goal is special to these two because while the others are all (mostly) actively trying to find a way to either get out or end the killing game. These two don't though. They don't make any active attempts to find a way to or escape like the others, or their attempts are way more subtle than everyone else. So, if they have the same goal, why do they go about it so differently? Motive. A goal is what a character wants, a motive is why your character wants to achieve their goal.

We already know Hu's motive. Her motive is feeling useful. I'll discuss it more whenever I get to making a Hu analysis, but Hu has self-worth issues, making her believe that if she isn't doing some then she is completely useless. The idea of being useless seems to scare her. The reason Hu wants to help the other through the killing game is because it will make sure she isn't useless. Her actions to achieve her goal are by giving all her love to certain people, since she's aware that she can give equal love to everyone. She'll do whatever it takes to keep those certain people safe and happy, even excusing their bad actions. She plays favorites so that there will always be someone that finds her useful.

Whit is very different in regard to motive, since we don't really know fully what it is yet. We can make assumptions, but we can't be fully sure yet. Our best answer currently is simply, nobody can. This leads me to the next section…

Part 4 - Whit's calm persona, and it's relation to his motive:

Whit likes to make others happy. Whit also likes to help others. I believe these two traits heavily influenced his persona. Whit doesn't show emotion. We've seen happiness, concern, surprise, regret, confusion, and neutrality. He legit says "Jeez" after watching Min's execution in Episode 12 of Chapter 1, which is very tame compared to the others. Then he says, and I quote, "Oops" after seeing Arei's dead body in Episode 8 of Chapter 2. That is not a normal/socially (and morally for that matter) appropriate response to a dead body. What does this mean? Well, Whit doesn't show a real hint of sadness, or what he has is a very closed off version. Why does this point matter? Well, Whit is doing what nobody in the cast can. Whit is able to be a kind while being a reasonable/neutral force in the killing game. Hu and Eden, while kind, are both easily swayed by their emotions. Whit is less swayed by emotions like that and is shown to be logical when it counts. Like when he reminded David that they only knew Xander for a few days, so there was no real way of knowing if how Xander acted was in or out of character during the scrum debate in Episode 8 of Chapter 1. Whit can manage the role of a jokester and calm person very well. However, his calm side has grown a lot over the killing game.

Whit has always been generally calmer compared to a majority of this cast. You can take his dialogue after the killing game was revealed during Episode 5 of the Prologue as an example. However, his persona is something growing in intensity over the course of the series. When Min was executed, Whit showed off at least some form of sympathy, compared to when Arie died. He barely acknowledges her death, focusing much more on comforting Eden. This is all odder considering that while he and Arei didn't always see eye to eye, he still had more connections to her than Min from what saw. While everyone else slowly descends into madness, Whit just keeps amplifying his calm persona.

How does this relate to his motive? At the very least, for Chapter 2, Whit's motive is something along the lines, "Because someone has to". Whit likes helping others. If he doesn't help the others through the game, literally nobody else will. Mainly because this cast is extremely mentally unwell. Also, having a goal and motive doesn't mean they'll be good at achieving said goal. Whit hasn't been particularly helpful despite his efforts, but I'll explain why this is a little later. Anyway, if you compare Whit and Hu's motive to help others, then it makes sense why they're so different. It also explains why Whit is more easily likable compared to Hu. Neither of them are bad, not by a long shot, but we still have to wait for more of both. I would like to move into my next section, since this section does reference something in there…

Part 5 - Whit's ability to see the best in others:

This is one of Whit’s lesser known traits, which is so odd because this trust is seen so much in his character. Whit’s main relationship is with Charles. He and Whit have lots of interactions. Like during the Prologue, where half of Charles’ introduction is him and Whit. Or during Chapter 1, where the pairs' friendship begins to develop. And Chapter 2, where we get to watch their friendship fully develop. At the start, both of them disliked each other. Charles disliked Whit for his jokester person and how often Whit would use him as an object for humor, which didn’t mix well with how much Charles hates being looked down upon. Meanwhile, Whit didn’t like Charles for his very rude and arrogant personality, which make sense considering how much of Whit’s persona(s) are based around being kind to others. What happens in Chapter 1 is what I’d like to discuss in relation to the topic of this section.

During Chapter 1, Xander tries to pin the blame on Charles by using Charles’s hemophobia. Charles’ phobia makes him breakdown when he sees gory or dead bodies because of his unresolved childhood trauma. After Charles gets lured into seeing Teruko’s dead body and runs away, he ends up running into Whit, who was in the cafeteria, mid-breakdown. At first, Whit assumes that Charles is messing with him, but ends up realizing he wasn’t. Whit ends up making the choice to stay and help out Charles. Levi brings up in Episode 9 of Chapter 1 that Charles could have been faking it. In a game where any wrong moves can lead to your death, Whit decision to stay and help could’ve gotten him killed if Charles had been. Yet Whit choice to stay, ignoring his own opinions about Charles at that point, decided to see the best in him. He chose to see the best in Charles despite only really having his intuition as a reason.

To continue this point, I’d like to bring up Teruko and David. Teruko is fairly straight forward, as during the dressing room scene in Episode 2 of Chapter 2, Whit says he doesn’t think Teruko or anyone else in the cast is a bad person. We get a small look into Whit’s thought process. He believes that, despite everyone acting callously, they aren’t bad people. They are human. They are just human with emotions and weaknesses, and that’s fine with him. He believes, even when Teruko herself doesn’t, that there is still a good person in her. That despite the current asshole she is being, she is still a good person, even if it’s a little deeper inside. This thought process also relates to how he handles David. Whit is the one who had David’s secret. David’s secret is, “You exist to manipulate others, others exist to be manipulated.” It is very hard to see this secret and believe whoever it’s about isn’t a bad person. But Whit having it actually makes this makes sense. Whit, much like Hu, likes to see the best in others. Unlike Hu, however, Whit keeps this fact to himself unless he’s having a moment of vulnerability. It isn’t hard to believe that he, despite how obvious the secret is, convinced himself that David wasn’t a bad person. Hell, we get some confirmation of this during Episode 11 of Chapter 2, when after David’s real personality is reveled, Whit makes a certain comment. “I was keeping that secret out of concern for your career. But if this is how you really act, then your career might be in trouble for reasons out of my control.” A majority of the fandom think he’s lying, and I won’t deny the possibility, but I feel like we should look at this comment from more than one angle. If we bring up the idea of him believing that the secret was simply worded badly, then it’s no wonder he of all people wouldn’t wanna take that risk. I don’t think anybody would want to ruin someone's whole career based on a secret that could be purposely worded badly. “...reasons out of my control”, this quote basically confirms that if David hadn’t gone insane in Episode 11, then Whit would have blamed himself for David’s career. Whit is a caring person, so this idea is very plausible.

If it was anyone else, then the idea would be unlikable, but it’s not unbelievable if you consider Whit’s character so far. A person who cares for others and has risked his life holding onto the idea of seeing the best in them. Whit is the only character who would hide a secret like that. Since I brought up Charles, Teruko, and David, that brings me to a different section…

Part 6 - Gaining importance through others:

This section should be fairly brief. Whit, while has not really been a major player, keeps having connections to characters who are. If most had to assign the DRDT cast cliché Danganronpa roles, then it tends to go Teruko is the protagonist (obviously), Charles is the support (stretching but okay), and David is the antagonist. Whit, as mentioned in the section before, is connected to all three. However, that isn’t all when it comes to his connections to major characters (this wouldn’t be a section if that was the case). Let me bring up Eden, Arei, and Hu. Whit has come to Eden’s defense twice now. First in Episode 5 of Chapter 1, when Arei and Arturo are insulting the cake which she was actually really proud of. Whit makes a joke about how cake=birthday song, which is able to distract the group from the insults and everyone becomes much less hesitant about eating the cake. Then in Episode 9 of Chapter 2, he buys Eden some time, since Teruko was asking about the note (that made Eden super suspicious), by bringing up the alibis. In Episode 1 of Chapter 1, we get to see that Whit and Arei were investigation partners. It’s not big, but is still a point of connection. Finally, he and Hu had a a fairly long talk about the killing game during the dressing room scene during Episode 2 of Chapter 2.

Whit keeps being given importance because of his connections with major players in Chapter 2. No matter how big or small. I honestly don’t have a good translation to the next section, so…

Part 7 - He is very different compared to the rest:

Whit handles most stuff in a very special way. Firstly, while a majority of this cast will become aggressive or start fighting with each other. Whit, however, is very different compared to the others in this case. Whit will make passive-aggressive or sarcastic comments. He is also very conflict avoidant, which will be dissected later for reasons. And second, his method of investigation. Compared to the majority of the cast, who go the logical route of investigating the body and scene of the crime in depth, then investigating other areas. Whit is one of the three character (the others being Charles and Rose) who don’t examine the body. This is odd considering that Whit doesn’t really seem to have a reason to not too, I think I know why, but it will have to be talked about a little later (I'm sorry, but this is the last time I promise). Anyway, as mentioned earlier, Whit is a very calm person. His type of calm (yeah type) is different from that of Hu or Veronika. Hu is calm but is very easily angered by her situation and constantly struggles to keep composure. Veronika is much more similar, but unlike Whit, Veronika finds joy in their situation. She finds the killing game fun and interesting, completely fine with her situation. She’s only calm because she doesn’t find the danger frightening. She’ happy because she hates being bored. Whit is only calm because, as mentioned many times, he had to be. Someone has to be calm and kind during their situation. One is more selfish than the other, and that makes them different. All the talk about Whit’s differences reminds me of one thing that only her has…

Part 8 - Whit’s intuition:

Before I get into Whit’s intuition, I want to talk about what intuition actually is. Intuition are just gut feelings. They are ideas that, while there i no logical reason to believe it, you just feel like you do. Whit’s intuition has been mentioned during Episode 4 and 9 of Chapter 1 and during his and Charles’ FTE. He claims, using his intuition, that one day, Teruko will be happy, that Charles isn’t faking the breakdown he is/was having, and that one day him and Charles were going to be friends. His intuition hadn’t been mentioned once through the first part of Chapter 2. I think this mostly because of the calm persona, He has to be more logical. This doesn’t mean his emotions won’t influence situations, but now he had to try to rationalize his decisions based on those emotions. He can’t just say it’s his intuition anymore, not with how the group is currently.

I still don’t have a good way to transition so let’s just-

Part 9 - Whit’s social life and conflict avoidance:

Whit isn’t a fan of fights, unless it for the sake of someone else. In Episode 2 of Chapter 2 (it’s a great scene okay), Hu and Whit are discussing how much the Mastermind knows about them. Teruko, being Teruko, finds a way to twist it into distrusting others. Whit then makes one of his passive-aggressive comments towards her. Then, only a little while later, Teruko is equally rude when Whit tries to call her a good person, and this time Whit keeps quiet. Whit won’t argue with someone unless what that other person is doing negatively effects others. His conflict avoidance is seen during Episode 4 of Chapter 2, where he refuses to try and break up any of the fights. His reasoning is that his talent isn’t couple counseling, therefore he can’t be the one to break up any of the fights. This is an excuse that Charles quickly shuts down. So yeah, Whit doesn’t like conflict, which is probably part of why he became a jokester in the first place, but we’ll come back to this though after the next section. Speaking of the next section…

Part 10 - The 4th wall (and finding information):

Whit is the character that shows the most awareness of the 4th wall. In Episode 8 of Chapter 1, Whit legit tells the audience to pause to read the list, since it would be useful. There is no way that he was directing that at the cast, since they can’t fuckin’ pause their lives. Then in Episode 10 of Chapter 2, Whit breaks the 4th wall, but in a far more subtle way. Whit says he doesn’t remember which secret Eden got, which leads to us, the audience, to be shown the list. Whit gave us a direct way to relook at the secret list, which is very weird since he could have just looked up and silently read the list. Something that Ace points out (kind of). Whit is the only character to show this much awareness of us, The weird thing is why would Whit want to help us? We’re the whole reason that he and the rest of the cast are stuck there, dying for our entertainment. So why would he want to help us? This is a question we’ll have to wait for an answer, since even I’m not sure yet. A downside of only being through half of the 2nd Chapter.

This section is the one I brought up earlier during Part 9, and will be connecting some of the mysterious points I didn’t expand upon earlier…

Part 11 - How does his backstory influence him:

You’ve probably noticed that despite his backstory being brought up first, I haven’t given it much though since. This is because I believed we all need a better understand of Whit before I could describe how his backstory affected all of what we’ve discussed. Before that, however, there is one part left.

If you remember, I said that Whit was a lonely kid. Along with what I said earlier in the backstory section this is also because of his talent and love life. Whit’s talent is something others have to pay for, mentioned in the Q&A earlier. He sets other people up as a way to earn money, which begs the question of why Whit took up the talent in the first place. Since we don’t have a proper answer yet, so we’re going to move one, just keep that as food for thought. Anyway, Whit is said to have a pretty bad romantic life despite his talent. He apparently just can’t find a partner, despite his efforts. This isn’t all that surprising when you consider that Whit isn’t all that socially competent at times. It’s hard to describe, so well use examples instead. During the FTE, Whit is shown to be completely shocked at Charles’ anger toward him. Whit hadn’t even considered the idea that the stuff he did earlier could be seen as negative. Even when it’d probably become obvious to anyone else at that point. Then, during the Computer Lab scene during Episode 7 of Chapter 2, Whit makes a dark joke about Min’s death in front of Teruko and doesn’t even think of the bad implication till Charles points it out to him. He is able to apologize and fix those behaviors, which is an interesting pattern of behavior. Not understanding a wrong till someone points it out to you, and then you improve it. Unless you point it out to Whit, he probably won’t notice the problem. I think these behaviors say a lot about his past and it’s effects on him.

Whit’s past would explain his social incompetence at times. His father wasn’t there to be a good example and his mom probably wasn’t there for his teen years, which is a huge time for development in minors. This leads to him not having the proper role-models.

(This is an off section, but I felt the need to bring it up. Whit is biracial, Asian American, American/Chinese, a race that faces a lot of discrimination in America. The DRDT creator is very well versed in his research of the topic and ideas he handles. Ace is a lovely example, including the higher chances of anxiety and chances for eating disorders they have. I won’t say I know anything, but I wouldn’t completely discard the idea of him facing discrimination in the past.)

So yeah, Whit was a lonely kid, why does it matter? It matters because if he is as much of a former loner as mentioned, then that would also explain why Whit keeps people-pleasing. (I think there is a want for acceptance, but a struggle to believe that it’s possible without the personas.)

His backstory also explains his seeing the best in others' mindset. People tend to think that the only way to look at negative events in life is through negativity, but that’s wrong. When you have nothing, then you’ll leach onto anything to hold onto, like optimism. This idea was used in the canon Danganronpa games with Nagito, and I think a similar principle is shared with Whit. Whit probably attached onto something positive because he literally had nothing else. Optimism, in that case, is the easiest answer. Whit deals with life, and the killing game by trying to find the good. Whit's life might not be great, but that doesn't mean he has to see it that way. It's probably why he keeps omitting the fact about his mother's death. Why look back on the past when there is so much left to do in life. He probably thinks this is what she would've wanted, based on his idolization of her.

This all brings me to my last section…

Part 12 - His belief in privacy:

Whit is very adamant in respecting others' privacy. In Episode 1 of Chapter 2, Whit brings up the idea that everyone keeps the secrets to themselves until they have more time to work through it properly. This gets ignored by Arturo, who does it anyway. I've already gone into depth talks about privacy with Charles and David. What I wanna talk about is why Whit is so big on it. Because that is a question we haven't gotten an answer to. Why? Well, while I'm not sure, I think it has something to do with his past.

I have also lost my mom, like Whit. When I lost my mom, people wouldn't stop questioning me about it. Whit described his mom as sophisticated, so that makes me think she could've been fairly known in the community. Whit probably had a lot of strangers question him about it, despite his feelings about it. Mix this with Whit's pleasing other mentality, then his adamantly about respecting others' privacy. This is the only part of his mentality that goes against his more logical character. Charles even says he gave Teruko the secret he had because he wouldn't trust Whit to sacrifice someone's' privacy when it's necessary. Charles has a strong understanding of Whit's, so I'd trust him. This is the only part of Whit that he never changes, even when he has different personas on. It's consistent.

This concludes the final section to this analysis, so onto the conclusion.

Conclusion:

Whit is a character that gets overlooked by a majority of the fandom despite being pretty much universally loved. His past is so much more than what we've seen or is talked about. His caring nature is something that has so much hidden depths. And, unless he is the Chapter 2 killer, there is so much left to find about Whit.

---

(Thanks for reading. Again, sorry if it's a bit all over the place. I hope I could shed some more light on Whit's character for ya'll. Have a good day/night.)

[adventureswithteddy]

quick question! what camera do you use to take pictures with you and teddy? you've inspired me to take pictures of my plushies when we go out but i'm always in awe of the quality of your photos! i appreciate any and all advice given. have a wonderful day!

Thank you! Maybe a not so quick answer.

All the photos of Teddy here have been taken on a Canon t2i, most all on the stock lens. At this point you could get the body for pretty cheap as it's such an older model.

I always shoot in manual so I'm deciding the settings for each shot. I started off shooting in aperture so I picked the depth of field/amount of light coming in (think small aperture more light with smaller depth, large aperture less light more depth) and the camera chose the shutter speed (how long the shutter is open exposing the frame - light) for me. I have always chosen my own ISO (light again) in part because if you get too high on that your photos will get pretty grainy. As I gained knowledge of the camera and figured out a feel for things (maybe 20k frames later?) I started shooting all in manual. I decided that I needed more control of my shots. Definitely still a work in progress but as I'm getting to over 200k frames on this camera and it's thinking about dying on me I feel pretty comfortable looking at a scene and having a decent idea of what my settings should be before I take a shot. Then if needed I end up dialing in the settings a bit. The most important thing when starting is go take a ton of photos! Play around with the camera and get comfortable! Practice, practice, practice, 10,000 hours to mastery, all the sayings that all come back to: do something a ton to get good at it.

There is something to be said for having an 'eye' for a shot. The Rule of Thirds can definitely help guide you to better photos. Paying attention to lines in the shots, seeing where your eye is drawn naturally and trying to set things up to play on that. I have a few shots that I am extremely proud of, a lot that I am happy with and still others that bother me because they are just not quite right. Then untold numbers that are for me to remember a place but aren't worth sharing away from my eyes.

Doing some color correction in Photoshop can help photos to the next level too, personally I try to keep things pretty natural and don't like a photo when it's been touched too much. But everyone has their own style. To be blunt you don't really see photos anymore, at least ones that are widely consumed, that haven't been touched up in some way.

I could probably ramble away for a lot longer and would happily dive deeper on anything that you want more information on. Keep a sense of wonder in the world, explore and know that there is always more to learn and you'll be off to a good start!

[actual-changeling]

Hey there Alex! So, I've loved your content for a bit of a while now and your explanations/insight really gives a lot of clarity to people who either might not understand certain points about Good Omens, need a reality check, or may have missed something. You've also really helped me stop being so shy about my love and defense for Crowley in response to Azi apologists weaponizing his trauma as excuses for the way he treats him.

Anyways! I don't know if you've talked about it before, I think you mentioned it briefly in passing but could you possibly go more in depth about the scene in s2 between them about the Bentley situation. The first time I watched the scene, I remember thinking it was so adorable how Crowley trusted Aziraphale enough with his car and how Azi changed the color of it. However, there was always.... something! Idk that struck me the wrong way and you realize upon watching it again that it wasn't as straight forward at at. I'd like your opinion, since I feel it really plays into that constant dynamic of Crowley being uncomfortable for Aziraphale's sake once again.

Do you think he was actually okay with it in the end?

Why did Azi choose this rather than by train?

Does the Bentley truly like the Angel?

If Crowley is connected to the Bentley, how come he doesn't seem to realize when Shax was in it with Aziraphale?

Thank you, that's really nice to hear! I'm glad that my posts have been helpful in a number of ways 💚

Now, I have THOUGHTS on the Bentley scene, excellent questions!

It is another one of those moments that seems sweet on the surface but is actually deeply uncomfortable to watch once you look past that. Let's start with the easy ones and then work our way through the scene in chronological order.

Why did Azi choose this rather than by train?

Aziraphale is basically roleplaying at this point. His weird obsession with his "Clue" has turned into a performance similar to his horrible magic acts; his facial expressions and body language change and become more theatrical when he talks to Crowley about it. At this point, he has probably already decided that he will pretend to be a journalist for no other reason than fun. Driving a car instead of going by train is presumably a part of that, it's an elaborate fantasy he's trying to live out—similar to the ball later on.

We have to keep in mind that while Crowley is aware of the gravity of the situation, Aziraphale is actively choosing to ignore it. Going to Edinburgh for fun is a horrible idea considering the danger they're in, but Aziraphale does not care.

Does the Bentley truly like the Angel?

I think the Bentley likes him exactly as much as Crowley likes him, simple answer but tbh that's really it.

Do you think he was actually okay with it in the end?

Now, the one million pound question: Did Crowley willingly give him the Bentley or did Aziraphale coerce him into doing so? Before we answer this one, there are some more things to consider.

Firstly, the circumstances.

With Shax in his flat and Jimbriel in the bookshop, Crowley has exactly one safe place left: the Bentley. It is HIS, it is mobile, it does not belong to anyone else, and he has a connection to it, meaning that he protects the Bentley but the Bentley also protects him.

We saw Crowley's intense reaction to Gabriel's presence, and it's not 'funny' or 'dramatic', it is Crowley being deeply traumatized by heaven, his fall, and the trial, and there's a very high chance Gabriel was involved in his fall, too. What Aziraphale is essentially demanding of him the entire season is that he locks himself in close quarters with his abuser, who can literally kill him on the spot.

Crowley is fucking terrified, he cannot sleep, he is hypervigilant and even more paranoid than usual, his mood swings get worse, he is a mess—and Aziraphale does not take any of his concerns, emotions, or needs seriously.

Secondly, past experiences and boundaries.

Whenever Aziraphale needs a lift, Crowley is happy to provide one, he enjoys driving him around. Emphasis on him being the driver. Aziraphale has not once driven the Bentley, and it is safe to assume that Crowley has never once OFFERED that he could drive it. That alone should be enough for Aziraphale to not ask that question in the first place, but it isn't.

It also means that Crowley does not expect the question and—when probably at some point asking himself the question whether he'd be okay with Aziraphale driving it—decided he does not want anyone but himself in the driver's seat.

So how does Crowley react when Aziraphale demands the keys to the Bentley?

Oh right, yeah, let's actually talk about that first. He does not ask.

Aziraphale does not ask. I cannot overstate how important it is that he does not ask Crowley if he can drive the Bentley. This is how their conversation goes:

There is no question. "I will take the car" is Aziraphale informing Crowley of a decision he has already made without consulting him—wow, I wonder when that will become relevant again?

final fifteen *cough*

Before he asked, Crowley was rather relaxed (or as relaxed as he can possibly be in his situation), but that changes immediately.

First picture is when he asks Aziraphale about what time his train is, the other two are when he says 'what car'.

His back straightens, his shoulders tighten and freeze, he snaps his jaw shut and grinds his teeth, chin up, mouth lips pressed together—I interpret this as initial panic plus a spark of anger over "our car".

Crowley denies Aziraphale ownership of the Bentley, saying that no, there is no "our" car, this is MY car. It is clear, simple boundary, but Aziraphale went into this conversation having already decided that he will take the car, no matter what Crowley thinks about it.

While he might sound all cheery and excited, look at his body and the expression on his face. That smile is fake, it's bordering on angry, and it is sending a very clear message to Crowley: I want this car and you will give it to me. Once again, my way or the highway.

Bringing up the bookshop is him trying to "out-logic" Crowley, but it does not work because

a) Crowley very much does not consider the bookshop to be "theirs"

b) even if he had, the bookshop is no longer a safe place because of Jimbriel

c) Aziraphale KICKED HIM OUT of the bookshop in the first episode, establishing that Crowley is a guest and nothing more.

He then intentionally misinterprets Crowley saying that he "can't drive [his] Bentley" and mentions his license. Again, entirely irrelevant because that is not even remotely the problem.

Throughout their conversation, Crowley becomes more and more uncomfortable and panicked. This is not a squabble or banter, this is Crowley trying to protect the one thing he has left and Aziraphale not giving a fuck.

Now, the REAL banger here is that after pushing Crowley this far, he then suddenly dumps the rest of his "decision" on him: stay with a person that has severely harmed you, alone, without a way of escaping. This is where Crowley grows from panicked and angry to genuinely frightened.

He stops Aziraphale from touching it—rightfully so—and then reaches out himself to calm himself; it is right there, my car is right next to me, it's okay. Aziraphale ignored all of his attempts to set and enforce boundaries, ignored his panic and emotional state, ignored what Crowley was telling him, ignored everything Crowley told him BEFORE, and keeps pushing pushing pushing until the very end.

So to circle back to your question, no, Crowley is absolutely not fine with Aziraphale taking the car by the end; he fights him right up until the moment he begrudgingly gives him the keys.

It is a very good example of their current relationship dynamic, and personally it actually hurts to watch it happen. Anyone who has gone through trauma around privacy, safety, and personal effects knows how terrifying and traumatizing it is to have your boundaries repeatedly violated like that.

Aziraphale is being manipulative and coercing Crowley into doing what he wants; it's fucked up, and this doesn't even begin to deal with happens later.

If Crowley is connected to the Bentley, how come he doesn't seem to realize when Shax was in it with Aziraphale?

Maybe he did but did not really care because Shax has been in the Bentley before (just like Beez), maybe he is too distracted by Jimbriel and potentially being murdered in his sleep to pay much attention to Aziraphale on his way back.

Maybe he DID notice since he does ask Aziraphale if something happened, and then once again makes the mistake of trusting him when he denies it.

Without more information I can only speculate, but, personally, I think Shax being in the Bentley was not too big of a deal for Crowley even if he noticed it.

As always, if anyone has follow-up question, feel free to ask!

[booburt]

Hi, I've been wondering for the photography AU what general time period it's set in, what type of camera(s) does Koby use (it looks like a canon to me but seems to make polaroids, at least that's the surface level observation I can make from my extremely limited knowledge on cameras), what type of photography he personally enjoys and the type he usually does for work (if he does it as his profession too). What does Koby aim to capture with his images, the casual mundane life of an average person, an unreal, etheral sight in a place the average person can't go, Luffy's luffiness, etc? Also what's the general budget Koby has towards camera equipment (doesn't need to be that exact, just a general "he's broke" or "He spends all his money on lenses" would suffice)? My questions are kinda vague here because I'm going to research more about photography later. Thanks in advance :D Oh yeah and also does Koby travel, if not what's the general landscape of his nearby area. You don't need to answer this since I'll probably make it up but it'd be good to know.

okok i wrote this all in the few free periods i got earlier take what you will ^_^

also a doodle i did ages aaaaago with a bit of slightly illegible info in my awful handwriting (sorry)

actual answer vvv

- its a modern au!! so set like. now!

- koby uses sony cameras primarily but yes he does have a few canons (nikon confuses him)

- he has a seperate polaroid camera!!! he usually prints digitally from sd though

- for type of photography, he started with a passion for ocean and landscape photography, mostly beaches and any scene with water in focus. he also has an interest in portraiture but his love for portraiture only comes to play when he meets luffy. cheese cheese cheeeesyyyy because luffy smiles and hes IMMEDIATELY enamoured. anyway, he starts to study and practice portraiture in depth because of the pretty boy he met in maths class and eventually works up the courage to ask him to model for him. they get super close and eventually start dating; luffy likes how dedicated koby is to his work and how cute he is when he blushes.

-SORDY got carried away with the sappy lovey stuff. koby sells his landscape/wildlife photography at local stores as a side hustle thing haha. but he doesnt really do it professionally, he much prefers to keep it as a hobby / simple income.

- koby aims to capture the beauty of colour! he loves vibrancy when shooting with a softbox or some other source of light he will usually use something to change the hue rather than plain old bw on a simple white bg

- following on he HATES shooting black and white photos unless theyre negatives because idk i think he would think it looks cool. what a guy

- with luffy photography he just likes catching luffys smile or just luffy in general; whipped dud!!! he thinks he is gorgeous

- ahahhhh budget budgettt. lenses are fucking EXPENSIVE!!! he uses a 50mm that helmeppo got him for his birthday one year (rich kid stuff. he knew koby likes photography and searched Best Lense For People Pictures and bought the first one he saw) the 50 is canon as consequence so koby uses canon for loofy pics. he has an 18-55mm he uses as well.

- he is broke yes. koby does have a minimum wage weekend job to pay for living expenses but all in all that boys pockets are empty. luffy is the breadwinner (miss rabbit with the one zillion jobs) he works about 4 different jobs and is happy to pay for anything koby wants despite kobys adamant NOs. like i said he gets helmeppo to pay for a bunch of stuff and helmeppo pays on his dads card LOL.

- koby does travel! mainly by train or boat, not often does he go to an entirely different country but he has previously a few times. when he does go abroad he takes luffy with him!!!! (he looks pretty in the snow. he likes taking pictures of him in snow)

IM SO GLAD SOMEONE LIKES MY AU ENOUGH TO ASK ME THIS MANY QUESTIONS LMAO i had fun answering all of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[soporificshoebill]

spitballing pining amangela + disaster amanda thoughts for my own perusal later:

When it comes to pining amangela unfortunately my brain is so enamoured with the concept of the rpf au Amanda who is SO down bad and is Not Making Good Decisions About It. I think the more composed/well adjusted/well reasoned Amanda is about things normally/is about other things happening the better it is for her to be a goddamn wreck about this. Like she can be deeply, wildly, hilariously in denial for a while, realize, and then handle the realization terribly. And it can be a trainwreck the whole time!

She can be HORRIFICALLY undercommunicating! She can be straight up lying! She can be lying poorly! Avoiding Angela! Avoiding people who would ask her about it! Fumbling other shit because she's trying to regain equilibrium. Doubling down in the worst ways possible: going on bad dates, avoiding conversations more after being called out, lying and then double lying, etc.

(I'm just a sucker for the trope of "character who normally has their shit together becomes a complete and total disaster about their feelings regarding a specific person".)

And like disaster Angela is fun- DUAL disaster Amangela is fun- but for me there's an extra layer of satisfaction of an Angela who also has a Lot of feelings about Amanda but is actually more at peace with/better at handling her emotions about it in comparison. Love a development to a relationship that unveils/highlights extra depths to both individuals, and I think the sort of fandom assigned roles of "responsible one/chaos gremlin" are VERY fun to flip in this scenario.

Like specifically the dynamic being "Amanda, normally competent and put together, absolutely putting her foot in her mouth during a regular convo with Angela/avoiding Angela blatantly and badly bc she JUST realized her feelings and is Not Fine About It, vs Angela who spilled her coffee in her car on the way over and is late for work, but has generally accepted she loves Amanda being very ????? about whatever weird gymnastics Amanda is doing."

(This also opens up for either angst OR comedy). (Or both!! ideally both. if i write it, it will probably be both, because i wont be able to resist.)

(Or, if the feelings are unrequited... even more opportunities open up.. ALL angst for sure, then. But more opps.....)

[mixelation]

In the reborn au, do you think over time Tori's techniques derived from her medical knowledge would eventually get noticed by other ninja to be developed further, or would Minato actually seriously have to consider banning it if it got to that point? Or do you think it would just stay an unspoken secret Tori's techniques are breaking some rules but no one is interested enough in the topic to investigate?

hmm i think there might be some assumptions/implications in this ask i don't quite understand, but i'll answer anyway.

most of tori's research is the biology of chakra. this is slowly getting developed in plasticity-- she gets interested in it because it's the basis of all these insane things in ninjaworld, but also it's an inextricable part of every living organism's biology, but also she has literally no background understanding on it. her approach to chakra is also fundamentally different from 99% of other people because she was just trained to think about how bodies work differently, so a lot of research questions she gets fixated on seem very off the beaten track from everyone else. her main thing is that, instead of looking at chakra as something very individual like most ninja, she goes: why CAN'T i just use bacteria? why are we using human blood instead of an animal? we all presumably evolved chakra from the same source. and the answer is there's enough differences in the chakra properties you have to make a lot of modifications, but yes you can use non-human chakra. and that's what's really game changing. you don't need to be limited by your own chakra and you don't even have to be a ninja

and also she's been learning to do this under extremely unideal circumstances and she's very much like "well i have no control over my environment, so i should be able to modify fuinjutsu to it instead of trying to force my surroundings to be ideal." so it's like

kushina: what does this part of the seal do tori: that's so it still works if i paint it on an uneven surface like a rock kushina: huh. smart. minato later: listen i'm very glad you could still use this under adverse conditions minato: but WHY is this the default jutsu. this takes you twice as long to draw.

the later part where she makes insane versions of seals is only really "breaking the rules" in that most people don't get the in depth training to know how to do it themselves. more adept users also sometimes do things like this as the need arises, although most people believe the more elegant solution is "just figure out a way to to it with hand signs." so very little tori does on this front is apt to be banned for fear of people stealing it.

i think in mutagenicity she keeps down the lines of research for using non-human chakra, but ALSO with access to a real lab, she probably also starts on looking at how chakra is manipulated within the body, what the limitations are, and what the biological basis of chakra is. (these questions also seem more likely for a ninja village to want her to ask lmao.) so she might ask something like "how is direction of chakra flow determined, and is the body wired to only be able to use it when it's going in that direction, and also why the fuck is it correlated with hair whorl" and what people NOT in the lab see is that she made a jutsu to reverse chakra flow and it won't kill you but it will fuck up your ability to use chakra indefinitely. like she made it to use on mice and see what happens when chakra gets flipped around to make inferences about how chakra and physical biology interact, but it just seems like wild mad science if you don't have that context. and i think this later category of jutsu is more likely to get branded "forbidden" to prevent users from hurting themselves than as, like, security concerns.

however i will say that tori has fundamentally different beliefs on sharing knowledge than most ninja. she gets protecting clan secrets of bloodline limits, but she also thinks everyone has the inherent right to understand how biology works in a general sense. so while minato might consider it a security risk if, for example, another village stole one of her seals to do their own chakra research, Tori would just be like: oh cool, collaborators. so i can see there being some friction there.

(tori is going to be SO offended when the other ninja research team literally just wants to make a weapon and doesn't care about the genetics of chakra production at all)

[youredreamingofroo]

📩 Simblr question of the day: Who's your biggest inspiration/s on Simblr? Mention them! Tell us why you like them!

honestly probably could've made an 800 page essay on people who inspire me on simblr, but these are my BIGGEST biggest inspirations :P

@minimooberry : Honestly, she's the reason why I even pursued rendering in blender and her stuff is probably the only reason why I even joined Simblr to begin with 🥹

@stellarfalls : Bree, the LEGEND, has inspired me in a lot of ways but the biggest one was her GIFS... I remember seeing her post of Rohan and Hana's first meeting and that sparked a light in my chest... I wanted oh so badly to make Gifs as good as her... I'm getting there but we all have different styles so it'll never be exact and I know my gifs will be good in their own way 🫶

@birdietrait : Their overall sim style just... idk its so good and loved it when I first saw their posts 🥹

@groovetrys : Her general editing style was a HUGE inspiration for me, I can't quite explain or pinpoint it but I LOVE her editing its sooo aesthetically pleasing

@slightly-ludic : This is a bit of a smaller detail, but I just LOVE how Jade edits her globetrotter screenshots, I love the sort of narrator perspective in the text and I've started to try and do something similar in Make the Most of It :)

@mattodore : So i've always loved being passionate about my characters (hence why Roo still exists 5 years later), but seeing River's blog and how IN DEPTH they go for Theo and Matthias (and their other OCs ofc) and how much passion they have for their characters inspired me to get more into the blood and guts of my characters, I don't think I'll ever get there exactly cuz I feel like u could ask River what Theo was doing on February 9th 2018 and they'd have an answer and I would not LMFAOO

@rebouks : I am just overall VERY inspired by Becca, but she's one of the people who got me inspired to start making more poses (albeit I was already into making my own poses, she definitely bumped that inspo) and I'm very inspired by her storytelling, its SO good and feels soooooo human

@buttertrait @miralure @acuar-io : squishing these three together because all their vibes just make me so happy and inspired or at least allowed me to feel like I can be myself in this community (mainly cuz their vibes are similar to the vibes of people I like and am friends with irl)

@torissims : her whole aesthetic is just something that I ASPIRE to have... like the vibes of her yesterday save posts are just MWAH chefs kiss man

@missatan : (nat getting all my love today damn LMAO) I don't think my renders will ever be as 8K ultra HD 5 billion pixel quality as hers, but the symbolism behind them and just how good they look have inspired me to at least WANT to do/get better at rendering

some of these might not really be classified as "inspirations" but I still felt like sharing my adoration for these people - There's SO many more people I could've @'d but felt these were my very VERY best inspirations.

I should mention that all my mutuals inspire me one way or another, the community as a whole has inspired me to be kinder and inspired me to just spout my adoration for peoples' work