#I'm tired and I hope this is coherent

[thekaiserroll]

Hug

It's nearly impossible to have a quiet and peaceful day with the crew, like the strawhats. Nami is mostly used to the noise on Going Merry but one day she gets fed up with Zoro and Sanji arguing. Not only are they extremely loud, but they've also already broken way too many things during their fights.

She decides that If they want to act like brats, then she's going to treat them as such. So she makes them apologize and hug each other in silence for an hour. None of them are happy about this punishment, but Nami threatened to raise Zoro's debt, and Sanji couldn't say no to her. It could be worse.

It's awkward enough for them to not incite any fight for a long time and Nami is quite proud of herself. She knows it won't last forever but at least now she knows how to handle them. It inevitably happens again. And again. And again.

Much to her surprise, those fights became more and more frequent. And what's even weirder is that she could see the way both Zoro and Sanji occasionally glanced at her to make sure she was nearby. It's almost as if they wanted someone to make them hug each other. As if they needed an excuse.... these idiots.

Soon, they don't even need Nami's help. When they aren't busy training, cooking or fighting, they cuddle together. Sometimes Luffy or Chopper would join them, but most of the crew knew it was their time.

After two years spent separately, they became extremely clingy. It's no surprise when they start sleeping in the same bed. What is surprising is that despite them behaving like a lovey-dovey couple, those oblivious idiots are STILL unaware of each other's feelings.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I think people who are mad at Fyodor and saying he underestimates Chuuya forget something though - Chuuya's capable of all these impressive physical feats and stuff, but at the end of the day, he's not particularly smart. He's always easily manipulated by Dazai, Ranpo was able to trap him in a book by simply goading him, Mori is able to keep him in line despite Chuuya being way more powerful, etc. Idk I think the fandom put Chuuya on a pedestal for some reason but he has weaknesses too.

"people who say he underestimates Chuuya" as if... I am not one of those people...? I made a whole analysis on this anon??? I'm a bit confused why you sent this to me...

I'm going to assume this was sent in good faith and that you haven't read the light novels, because it becomes very clear from those that Chuuya is actually perfectly intelligent. I'd say probably above average, if I'm being honest - he picks up new skills very quickly with no formal education and he's really quite intuitive. It's just that the poor guy is constantly surrounded by strategic geniuses, and due to his hot-headedness, he comes across as less intelligent by comparison.

If he's so smart, why then is he always tricked by Dazai? Well, everyone is tricked by Dazai. It's kind of Dazai's whole thing. He runs circles around most people. He pranks and torments Kunikida, Atsushi, Sigma, and the list goes on. This has little bearing on Chuuya's intelligence, and is much more to do with Dazai's intelligence. Besides, this kind of becomes a moot point when their plans are very much a team effort, made and carried out with barely any verbal communication whatsoever. When it's time to get serious, Dazai is far from leading Chuuya - they're in step with each other. Chuuya keeps up with Dazai, and is capable of challenging him. That's why the partnership works.

Why was Ranpo able to trap him in Poe's book? Let's take a step back and think to the build up of that. Firstly, this is during Cannibalism arc, where each side had two days to save the lives of their respective leaders. Chuuya's family is under threat, and so he's already under a lot of stress. Second, Ranpo is well-known for being an intentionally irritating little toad and he knew just what to say to make Chuuya lose it - ordinarily, Chuuya is actually capable of keeping it together, but Dazai makes him angry enough to explode. Finally, I sincerely doubt Chuuya expected to get sucked into a book. There's no way he didn't think the goading was a trap, but really? He couldn't have known that and likely assumed his ability was strong enough to handle anything Ranpo threw at him.

So, there's a weakness of sorts, and it's actually highlighted by Hirotsu in Fifteen. Chuuya tends to jump into things because he expects he will just be able to "handle things", which is a consequence of growing up with a powerful ability. Hirotsu warns that people who overly rely on their abilities end up in trouble. This scene was likely a form of payoff for that warning. Either way, I'd expect he won't make that same mistake twice.

Why is Mori able to keep him in line? He isn't, because he doesn't have to. Chuuya serves under Mori because he sees Mori as the successful leader that he wasn't. To Chuuya, Mori has what he doesn't - he respects him and thinks he can learn from him. Chuuya sees the Sheep's betrayal as his own personal failure as their leader. This has nothing to do with intelligence, one way or the other.

Moreover, I think it needs to be said that Chuuya is often well aware when he's being manipulated. He's not oblivious, it's just that there's often nothing he can really do about it. For instance, he is very aware that Fyodor's intention in Cannibalism is to make the agency and mafia fight each other, but as they only have two days before Mori dies and that isn't enough time, he opts for the most direct and immediate course of action.

So, there's another weakness - Chuuya's really not a long-term strategist. He doesn't play the long game like Mori, Dazai or Fyodor - he prefers to sort things out as quickly as possible. However, I need to stress that this does not make him unintelligent or never strategic in the short term.

And that is all that is needed to turn the tables on Fyodor - Fyodor devalues everything about Chuuya other than his ability, but it is always Chuuya who wields that ability, not Dazai. I don't think anyone expects Chuuya to come up with a master plan to completely destroy Fyodor's plans for good... but I fully expect Chuuya to clothesline the guy after the way he continues to refer to him like he's little more than a tool. He's done it before.

Actually, I think I'm just going to wrap this up with a quick list of moments I can think of off the top of my head that demonstrate Chuuya's intelligence.

Every piece of media: Chuuya near immediately pieces Dazai's manipulations together in retrospect, from start to finish.

Main manga: Chuuya is sent to negotiate with the Agency, implying he learned negotiation well from Kouyou.

Fifteen: Chuuya awkwardly tries to shift the investigative focus away from Arahabaki and onto the Old Boss. While this doesn't change Dazai's focus, Dazai ends up entirely unsuspicious of him because he thinks Chuuya just wants to beat people up.

Fifteen: Chuuya expressly warned the Sheep against venturing into Mafia territory to avoid extra aggression.

Fifteen: Chuuya knew the entire time that Randou was the culprit and was gauging how much Dazai knew about his own connection to the Arahabaki situation.

Fifteen: Chuuya goes back to investigate the arcade, suspecting Dazai of having tampered with the game, and was correct in his assumption.

Stormbringer: Chuuya escapes Adam by entering a dark tunnel then hiding to give the illusion that he ran all the way through it. It works and Adam runs right past him.

Stormbringer: Chuuya fakes out Verlaine into thinking he's going to attack N while gearing up to attack Verlaine instead.

Stormbringer: Chuuya fakes out Verlaine again so Adam can launch a surprise attack with an anesthetic.

Dead Apple prologue: Chuuya pieces together Dazai's clue from a single piece of dialogue.

Dead Apple: Chuuya near instantly predicts the course of an incoming grenade while on his motorcycle in motion to ride the shockwave and avoid getting hit.

Also, I think it's important to note that Chuuya's ability is gravity manipulation, not telekinesis. He's not moving whatever he touches - he's manipulating one of the forces acting on it. This means he needs to adjust in the moment to other forces acting on the objects in his surroundings, which can and do change - my first thought was of wind affecting resistance. Either way, he's actually having to juggle a lot of sensory information in the heat of a single moment and that's very difficult to do.

If anyone wants to add any "Chuuya is not dumb" moments that I have missed, please feel free to in the tags or the comments.

Anyways, I hope this answered the initial question, anon!

[awesome-shoes-with-wings]

@hedgehodgy, this is my attempt at a Triton first sketch for your fic 'Mercy Upon Ourselves'! I hope he looks similar enough to your vision of him!?? I'm open to ideas so if you have an actor face-claim or something similar, I'd love to see it!

Happy writing! I really love your fic!!

[imminent-danger-came]

WAIT HOLD UP

When talking about Mei being like Monkey King. There was a really strong parallel in season 3!

It was kinda mentioned already? But I don‘t just mean thematically, in the execution too! The scene Wukong was willing to kill the host child and Mei was willing to burn him, because they felt they had no other choice.

(I think she even mentioned that this is what Monkey King would do. What a hero would do.)

They both even had that small confrontation of "Are you really willing to sacrifice a child/friend?". And both make the tough call that this is something they HAVE to do. Maybe with some guilt, yes, but always without question.

GOD YOU'RE SO RIGHT ANON.

Lady Bone Demon: "Stop! Have you forgotten? Destroy me and you destroy the host. Have you become so desperate to end me that you would sacrifice this blameless, innocent, child?"

Sun Wukong: "You're giving me no choice! All the time you spent locked away and you haven't changed a bit! I'm going to finish you, like I should have done a long time ago! I told you—you should have stayed buried."

(3x11 This Imperfect World) (Always manifesting this scene for eamk)

-

Lady Bone Demon: "*laughs* You think whatever happens to Wukong is of concern to me? He is a vessel—nothing more. You would really destroy your own friends to save yourself?"

Red Son Voice Over: "Harmonize the wild energies and emotions burning within us and focus them!"

Mei: "Wukong knew the risks, it's what he would do if he had to. That's the hard part of being a hero!"

(3x12 The Corrupted King) (Omg hi hand motif! Hi!!!!)

-

Bonus Secret 3rd Parallel:

MK: "I'm not gonna let you win!" Lady Bone Demon: "In your thirst to destroy me you used all your powers!" MK: "Not all of them."

(2x10 This is the End!)

-

Some extra thoughts under the cut!

What interests me the most about this parallel is the fact that Mei would totally sacrifice Wukong and Wukong would totally sacrifice that little girl—it's a simply trolley problem for them—but if that person were MK?

I don't think either of them could do it.

Here's where I get into more speculative territory, because personally I think Wukong killed Macaque, and I'm also a believer in EAMK, so I'm going to be plastering a lot of red string!

SO. Would Wukong willingly sacrifice someone who meant so much to him?

You could argue he already did so with Macaque—I think that's what they're setting up anyways. I think Macaque's death is going to fall into place with our continuing "do you sacrifice one person for the many" conflict we have going on here, one that was definitely built upon in 4x13:

Yellowtusk: "I know full well what would happen should Azure fail but- but he is my brother. I owe him my life!" Sandy: "We get it! I'd do anything to help my friends! But at the cost of the world?" Pigsy: "I'm sorry pal, but NOTHIN' is worth that price!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

-

So it seems clear: You sacrifice the one person for the sake of the world.

I think looking at this conflict and using it as a lens to look at Samadhi Fire Mei brings up some interesting points. If Wukong's had pulled off his plan without Macaque or Ne Zha's interference, and then hadn't been able to safely extract the Samadhi Fire from Mei...would Wukong have sacrificed her?

Everyone in 3x10 was willing to sacrifice Mei in a way, to leave her—except MK. MK refused to abandon her, risking himself and the world if he wasn't successful and the Samadhi Fire continued to burn out of control. But in this situation...choosing one person over the world was the right choice.

((Just wanted to point out that both Wukong and Mei are very willing to sacrifice each other which fascinates me. Moving on!))

Wukong himself isn't won't make that sacrifice if he feels there's another option: "You're giving me no choice!" (which I think echoes Mei's "We don't have a choice!" from 3x02)

All of this is a long winded way for me to say that at some point MK is going on the chopping block, either next season or beyond. It's going to be either him or the world, or at least it's going to seem that way, and our protags are going to have to make a very hard choice (omg hi "They will destroy you, harbinger of chaos!").

BUT, BRINGING THIS BACK AROUND TO EAMK.

Wukong won't destroy the one life if he feels he has a choice. This is where baby MK steps in: "all the time [he] spent locked away", and he changed EXTREMELY. To the point where he's basically not the thing that was sealed away in the stone, and very much just a "blameless, innocent, child"—meaning Wukong had a choice.

SO. Basically it's my hope that Wukong already chose MK over the world once, and him and Mei are gonna do it again.

[trianglesimpfordpines]

the fact that ford ultimately breaks down and is about to actually make a deal with bill to spare stan and the kids during weirdmageddon is like...a really powerful moment i think. this man has been trying to hold the line for three decades. but nobody could keep that up forever! it may have taken him longer to crack than it would have taken most people, and ford may be insanely determined and resilient, but in the end, he’s only human. even he has his breaking point and weirdmageddon was it. stan ended up finishing the job and delivering the final blow not because ford “was never really the hero,” not because ford’s efforts against bill didn’t actually matter, but because ford was worn out. bill’s defeat took a team effort from stan and ford because humans are meant to help and support each other and that’s what makes us great; we’re not meant to carry the weight of the world alone. and when that’s exactly what you’ve been doing for three decades, all to prevent something that ends up happening anyway...anyone would break down at that point. even the greatest heroes are falliable. even the most perseverant people can be worn down. even the strongest people need other people.

[au-wannabe-the-very-best]

So Where She Belongs Akari's parents were on the boat and got smote? 'Cause that does eliminate the wonderful option of "They fuck around and find out in Hisui" because if Ingo's adopted her, Sneasler probably did too. Thats the kind of stuff people pay money to see play out.

I think I along with everyone else have been assuming that Akari's parents were on the boat and died but you know what? I want Ingo to be the one to smite them. Arceus the well-meaning but kind of insane grandpa is like oh, you wish to kill my granddaughter’s parents? Yes alright I bless this blood sacrifice, here is a holy knife go get ‘em son. :)

Ingo is like. I wasn’t planning on killing anybody but Almighty Sinnoh Himself literally just told me to and honestly I wouldn’t feel too bad doing it anyways so yeah okay. I mean, it wouldn’t do for a Warden of the Pearl Clan to refuse an order from Almighty Sinnoh himself, right? 

Melli’s just sitting next to Ingo, who’s just casually twirling his blessed dagger around his hand, with a slightly traumatized look in his eyes like. Warden Ingo was given permission to commit murder? Warden Ingo was given HOLY PERMISSION to COMMIT MURDER. Okay okay okay cool cool cool cool—

Anyways Ingo goes on a quest alongside Lady Sneasler soon after to kill horrible disgusting parents :)

Meanwhile Melli thinks back on the conversation he just witnessed between Ingo and Almighty Sinnoh and is like. Hold on granddaughter? SON??? DID ALMIGHTY SINNOH CALL WARDEN INGO SON?!

[sailing-through-hawkins]

steve but he's a centaur and i don't even care that centaur anatomy/biology terrifies me because centaur steve!!!

he can literally give rides to dustin and robin! but only if they politely ask because it'd be very rude to just try to hop on

he'd be so tall! his hair is full of secrets and his tail whips eddie in the face whenever he stares

maybe eddie would be a satyr? and chrissy could be a water nymph?

alternatively robin as a satyr because we deserve more women satyrs tbh

and she makes a cute little flower crown for chrissy that makes her so flustered she melts into the river and nearly loses the crown

[littleblueberryartist]

We've talked about Venti's love vs Istaroth's and how they parallel one another

But what about the traveller? What about the exception to teyvat's laws? (Also them being an exception to the whole neverending loop of twin/doppelganger deaths maybe lol)

Something something the power of love gets me so what if the unforseen factor is the traveller's love. For teyvat, for their sibling, for their friends.

I mentioned how venti's own love may have sentenced him to his fate. But what if it's the traveller's love that saves him?

Who would be better to bend fate than one who exists outside of it?

[lycanthroprince]

just started persona 4. i think it would be funny if he was mean but i'm too tired to draw that so he's brooding

[sophieswundergarten]

Alright, alright, I know everybody and their pet peregrine falcon The fastest animal on Earth. When diving. has come up with ideas about the kids switching places some how, but I was consumed with the idea of SQ and Constance being switched.

Because. It would be fascinating to see, in my opinion. Especially with the concept of SQ being more coherent/traditionally visibly intelligent before Curtain brainsweeping him fifteen hundred times.

SO BUCKLE UP BECAUSE I AM APPARENTLY GETTING MORE DERANGED BY THE DAY AND MY SELF-CONTROL HAS SLIPPED A CONCERNING AMOUNT

First thing's first: We're staying mostly in the Show Universe for this, with a few book elements. Child Acquiring Methods are also switched, so SQ would have been adopted by Nicholas as a baby, and Constance got enrolled kidnapped at the Institute. Other than that, ages/appearances/personalities for the most part are staying the same

Now, since SQ's considerably older than Constance/the Core Four, his story starts first.

Also, since we're approximating that SQ is only a few years younger than Rhonda, she's not there yet

A short time after Number Two joined the Benedicts, Nicholas was alerted to a baby entering the childcare system. One of his old classmates, a scientist whom he had been fairly close to (up until he took a mysterious job opportunity and somewhat disappeared...), had passed away, and his only son was being held for processing because this colleague had named Nicholas the inheritor of his entire estate and also his child

(I can't remember the proper legal jargon at this time of night I'm sorry)

Nicholas is, of course, super surprised, because he hasn't seen this friend in years, but when he gets to look at some of this guy's papers he notices that things at his job are sounding super suspicious

He also notes that this guy has nobody to take his kid, and when he wrote the stuff about SQ in his will, he also wrote a note begging Nicholas to take him because he doesn't want his child to get thrown into an orphanage because with the Emergency and everything he knows they aren't being run well

(Although it would be really neat to see how it would have gone if SQ'd been friends with Reynie from the get-go)

So, Nicholas of course goes and signs whatever papers needed to take SQ home, and he kind of forgets to double-check with the others

Luckily, they knew there was no way he was coming home without the kid, and were taking bets on how long it would take him

(Number Two won because she said it was only going to take the minimal time for paperwork. Milligan thought it might take a few hours longer, but he was being generous)

So, the crew now has a baby!!

They call him "Shep" just like. So much. He goes by that as much as "SQ" and he's got so many other nicknames because his name is perfect for them

He grows up so well loved, and he has bunches more confidence. He's still very quiet, but he knows how to use it to his advantage and blend in when he wants to. He does art all of the time, and there is tons of his stuff hung up everywhere

(This does also mean he has a relationship with Violet Hopefield because I still really want that to happen)

He doesn't really call Nicholas "dad", just because there was a lot going on and they never had the time to really work out a parental title, and also Nicholas Does Not feel qualified to be a dad

SQ just calls him either Mr. Benedict like the girls or maybe Uncle Nick or something

He helps with the tests!! When they get everything set up and SQ is around the age of most of the kids who try he's the Pencil Kid!!

Or, at least he tries

He's great at the pencil part of it, and though he's a bit disheartened by the sheer number of kids who don't stop and help, he does his best.

But, the issue comes up with the "Offering to Help Cheat" part. Even as a ten/eleven year old, he can't get over the fact that he's tempting a child to cheat and lie about something, and he tries to be brave but the first time he gets so nervous he starts crying and Milligan has to pop in to save him

So, the cheating part gets put on hold for a bit, until Rhonda comes along :) She helps him, and he's older at that point, so by the time Reynie and everyone get there he can do the whole thing on his own

(They'd have done it with Number Two, but I get the feeling she can't lie very well. This could be totally off, but this is not vitally important to the altered plot so I am going to stop getting hung up on it now)

Once Rhonda shows up, she and SQ are thick as thieves, and since I think Number Two isn't that much older than Rhonda herself, they're their own little group of chaotic siblings

As they all get older, Number Two and Rhonda get more protective of SQ because it becomes apparent that unless no kids at all come along for the next several years, SQ will have to go to the island without them because he's the only one still young enough

Constance's story relies more on the books, and she ends up at the Institute because she isn't able to escape from the Recruiters who come after her

So, she gets dumped at the Institute as a kidnapping victim

(This is maybe six months to a year or two before Nicholas' team gets there, since we're mixing book and show and trying to keep a somewhat consistent timeline)

Curtain isn't sure about trying to brainsweep her, because she's a tiny young child, but after he gets a chance to actually speak to her, he decides he needs to at least try it because she's so obstinate

However, Constance somehow breaks the Brainsweeper

It manages to cover up some of her memories, and it actually hides even the beginnings of her psychic ability from her, but Curtain is so freaked out that he doesn't try again

While her brain is trying to adjust, he gets her to agree to stay for a bit because she is obviously super confused, and because her powers have been muted she feels like something vitally important to her is missing

So, Constance stays

And one day, despite her being. Just. Super bad at classes and all of the students/teachers being like "Why is he keeping her around she does literally nothing but nap in class and scare the older kids"

Curtain sticks her in the Whisperer to see what happens

(He's been paranoidly improving it since Constance arrived and is now fairly confident that it'll be fine. Or he can get Garrison to fix it)

And, lo and behold, something happens

The Whisperer is suddenly boosted really well

There aren't really any messages being sent out, but that just motivates Curtain to work on recording the messages so he can use the students who actually learned the lessons and then distribute them using Constance like a battery

Constance, for her part, feels closer to finding that missing piece of her than she has for weeks

Because the Brainsweeper buried her psychic powers, she doesn't immediately destroy the Whisperer, but they're still there, so she recognises that there's something in it that speaks to her

So, Constance is successfully persuaded to stay, because she wants to use the Whisperer sessions to figure out what she's missing, and Curtain is happy to let her do pretty much whatever she wants as long as she'll cooperate

About this time she meets the Executive Trio!!

Martina is not super fond of Constance initially, because she's a chaotic little gremlin who doesn't really care about tetherball

But, Constance comes to respect Martina for her ferocity and determined nature, and so they strike up a tenuous relationship of mutual respect and staying out of each other's business for the most part

Jackson and Jillson Are Not Fans of Constance because she Does Not Respect Them

However, J&J are not able to bust her on breaking any rules or anything because Curtain needs her, so all of the small stuff they try and report he just dismisses, and any of the bigger stuff like trespassing and snooping she's smart enough to get away with anyway

(She also doesn't do too much of it because she doesn't have a goal yet, she's just poking her nose into some "Employee Only" hallways and things)

By the time the other kids show up she's made herself queen of the school between Curtain's special treatment and her own personality

She doesn't rely on Curtain very much, because he's suspicious as all get out, but she isn't exactly sure what's going on either

Reynie, Sticky, and Kate show up about now!!

It goes much the same for their tests, except SQ is playing Rhonda's part

He does a great job, and they are all thoroughly confused by him, but they stop and, of course, they all stop to help him with the Pencil Problem

He offers them the test answers, and each of them avoids cheating (Which he's very excited about)

When they meet up again at the house, SQ apologises profusely for deceiving them, just like Mr. Benedict does

(Rhonda and Number Two roll their eyes a little because the boys are so nervous about that kind of stuff, and sometimes you have to do some crime in order to get good things done)

The Benedicts explain the mission and the Sender and everything, and that SQ is going to help lead the team because he has the most information about everything

He helps them prep and learn Morse code and walk through the steps of what they're going to do, while Rhonda, Milligan, Number Two, and Mr. B do their whole falsifying papers rigmarole

When they get to the island, all three boys are immediately super successful in class, and they work with Kate to help her

Sticky still gets caught, but this time SQ panics and gets himself caught too in an attempt to get the blame off his friend

(It's kind of like a whole "I am Spartacus" bit except they're both so obviously guilty looking that the teacher doesn't even consider letting Sticky off the hook)

Reynie and Kate are in a tizzy trying to work out what on earth they're going to do, but then Kate runs into Martina

And cue the Tetherball Plot point!!

Martina tells Kate about Constance (who has been skipping class in favour of wandering around exploring) and how weird it is that Curtain keeps her around when she just kind of breaks all the rules

Meanwhile, Sticky and SQ are being interrogated by Curtain

(Since there's two of them, it goes a bit different)

He gets both of them in the office first thing, and he works out that SQ is the "leader" in this incident (Because he keeps trying to take all the blame)

So, he puts Sticky in the Waiting Room and cracks down on SQ, since the kid feels responsible for Sticky it places a lot of pressure on him, and he just keeps telling Curtain that it wasn't Sticky's fault

But he's caught now because he doesn't want to give the other two away, and if he gets sent home himself, then he won't be able to help them at all

Curtain does his super mysterious and aggressive questioning, and then he sends SQ into the Waiting Room and interrogates Sticky

Sticky also refuses to give anything up, so Curtain just sends them both out, saying that he'll probably call them back tomorrow

So, the boys get to go back to Reynie and Kate, who are overjoyed to see that they're doing alright

AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ENDING IT BECAUSE MY BRAIN IS SO THOROUGHLY BURNT OUT IT'S RUNNING ON EXHAUST FUMES RIGHT NOW

[iffylogic]

Last Line

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or however many you like).

Ack I almost forgot about this! Thanks for the tag @riinoaheartilly, sorry for the delay 😅

"I heard you, even if it took me years more to listen."

Tagging: @thee-lionheart @barananduen-blog @pinnadraws @sunny-explosions @promised-meadow, if any of you feel like it! I'm stopping at five because I get self-conscious enough tagging people as it is, but if you wanna join in then go for it!

[avonne-writes]

Hello! Marine biologist here- I love your merman Aemond fic so so much, it makes my nautical 💜 so happy 😁 Question: since octopuses and squid are so intelligent (I.e. can recognize ppl, solve puzzles, use tools) is Aemond fond or fascinated by them? Or does he just see snack 😂? I like to imagine that octopus are like pets to mermaids- they’re amusing and fun but have unfortunately short lifespans.

Hi dear 😊 Oh, that's such a cool degree! Thank you for the great question. 💜

Merpeople consider squids and cuttlefish food, but some of them do keep these as pets. It's the equivalent of a human with a pet chicken. Unfortunately, Aemond prefers them as snacks.

Smaller octopuses are more common as pets. Merchildren often get into arguments with each other because they all have different favourites. Aemond, of course, was a big fan of blue-ringed octopuses because of their deadly venom. Alicent was horrified by this and banned all pets from their home.

Later, as he grew older, Aemond discovered his fondness for warm animals you can cuddle, like seals, but he keeps this a secret because it's decidedly not cool.

[some-teeth-in-a-trench-coat]

I find it important to have an open view of the world and take in and consider opinions of others that differ from my own.

Agreed yes. I assume this is in response to my confusion about the poll in this post? It's the only post I can find from last night (when this anon was sent but I was on mobile and going to bed so I didn't see it until now) that seems relevant so I will proceed under that assumption.

This is a very valid reason to stay on my blog while disagreeing with me! I hope my own perspectives can help enrich yours whether you agree or not! It didn't occur to me to interpret "you're straight up wrong" that way (but that may be my own fault for not including a more fitting option, I wrote the poll on my way to bed iirc and mostly thinking people were either uninterested or found me annoying so it isn't my most carefully thought out poll), I assumed everyone who disagreed saw no value in my takes, so it confused me they'd neither leave nor complain or correct me. But if the disagreement in itself holds value, that makes total sense!

Thank you for explaining this!

You don't owe me any engagement with my opinions of course, nor to satisfy my craving for attention and feedback, but I am still very curious in what ways people disagree, so if you want to enrich my own perspective in return, I'd welcome it!

Thank you, have a nice day!

[brotherhoodoftheblade]

Perhaps the only good thing about Percy so far seemingly not having been cast in the show is that -- aside from my fears of what DG and writers would do with him -- I don't have to look at the actor they chose and constantly think how he's not pretty enough to be Percy. 😅

On the other hand, maybe the casting gods would've miraculously blessed us with the perfect amazingly handsome, delicate featured, beautiful-eyed and soft spoken Percy of our dreams and we're being deprived of the pleasure of gazing upon him as we speak...who knows? 😢

Oh, the cruelty of (most likely) never knowing! Sometimes I'm not sure what I want anymore...😭

But I will always love and protect Percy Wainwright, come hell or high water -- that much at least is certain. ❤

[vindictes]

what would you consider your muse's lowest point so far? would they say the same? would they just pretend that it wasn't that bad?

HIS 👏 SELF 👏 IMPOSED 👏 EXILE

i really can't even describe how MUCH it changed him as a person. pre-gen-1 giovanni was very egotistical, shamelessly undermining his opponents in battle and living under the delusion that he, and rocket in extension, is invincible. he literally dubbed himself as the "self-proclaimed strongest trainer" (which he nowadays absolutely does not). by losing, he was taught a valuable lesson and following it, he spent those years in solitude reflecting on himself.

his decision of disbanding rocket was not a decision made out of humiliation, but guilt.

he never expected to return because he had let his underlings down in a way that couldn't be forgiven. and even post-return, even if his underlings did forgive him, he never fully forgave himself. and i doubt the whole ordeal is ever talked about and that'd be so fun to explore with any rocket muses because it really is a character-defining arc and it'd be fun to have giovanni have the TALK with someone.

not only did it change him as a person, but it really did rebuild rocket from the ground-up. there's no hastily planned public heists anymore. they work so subtly that many regular people may think they haven't been in operation anymore, or not at least in the same caliber as they used to be pre-gen-1 events, despite of having grown exponentially bigger since.

i go canon divergent post-hgss because duh, he did came back. and he'd grown as a person (literally for the worse in terms of threat), therefore losing a battle wasn't the end of the world anymore. rocket went underground for a year or two, only to emerge more dangerous than ever before.

[shadowkat678]

I know there are people here who'll absolutely misconstrue my words, so before I continue, this is NOT a justification for awful actions or choices or beliefs.

HOWEVER! (Yeah I know, always a great start to a post)

It seems very... unhealthy when I stumble across responses or posts in a certain vain talking about groups of bad people in the context, say, of like law enforcement or conservatives or military or whatever where people instantly paint them as "They JUST wanted to do x, y, or z because it lets them feel this or hurt these people or gives them an excuse to give into their darkest impulses".

Like. It's not necessarily always wrong. But I think there's a habit of going "No, they're lying when they say they want to (Insert positive intention here, such as serve their communities, Protect The Children, uphold values they believe help people, whatever), and that is an excuse to hide behind." and turning it into...I don't know.

Cardboard cutouts to put all our grievances and anger and pain on that simplify bad people into things we don't have to have any relation to. Something simple and straightforward and easy to dismiss without being hurt as much by their choices more than you have to already be.

But people often do fall into harmful ideologies and groups fully buying, still even to the end buying, the reasons they give. That's what justification is! People want to feel like they're backing something or doing something that matters! That makes them feel good or vindicated or heroic!

The road to hell IS paved with good intentions, and that's one reason people double down so much! Even with facts shoved right in your face, how do you reconcile everything you built around yourself being a lie? That you hurt people? That you're not even the story's villain often, but a pawn of lackey of a greater evil?

That's why we praise those who escape that, right? It's hard. It hurts. Your entire perceived reality crumbles around you. To face that and accept it anyway, then strive to be better, and find ways to undo the harm is an enormous life altering choice that could lose you so much. And it's terrifying.

And added on to that, you have to do so facing people who may rightfully hate you. It'd be so much easier to continue falling further in, with people who justify your actions and offer you compassion and kindness while everyone else is calling you a monster, but YOU know you're not a monster, right? You're just trying to do what's best. Your beliefs are justified. They have to be.

Of course you're a good cop, you bought that mother who couldn't afford a booster seat one instead of ticketing her, right? I mean maybe you couldn't let everyone off, and some people unfortunately get hurt or can't afford rent because you didn't let them off when you caught them going 10mph over the speed limit but they could control that more so why is that your fault? Yeah you defended the cop that got accused of shooting something wrongly, but it was a mistake. People make mistakes don't they? And you know his family. He's been on patrol with you.

He's a good guy, it was just a mistake. You're a good guy. If you hold him to his mistakes, what about yours?

This isn't, AGAIN, saying not to hold people to their choices. This is not a justification post. But there's a very real fear I have, that if you go too far in forgetting those in the wrong are complex, people who have love, redeeming qualities, and humanity...well, how do we recognize ourselves when we fall down our own holes?

When we justify our own actions. Because we're good people, right? Isn't that how exclusionists happen, leaning so hard into doing this to PROTECT other vulnerable populations from infiltration and abuse, for example? How The Good Feminists justify turning their pain and honing it as a weapon against sex workers, men as a whole always being a dangerous force to constantly guard against (specifically referencing the harm done by ignoring intersectional struggles and the way the patriarchy hurts literally everyone, which by the way I fell into for a while too), etc etc etc etc etc

It's easy to other those who've hurt us and paint them as monsters. But in forgetting the complexity of those who hurt us, we open ourselves to blindspots, and also further push away those who might be on the fence to turn away from these harmful choices and beliefs.

I think we do ourselves a disservice in not understanding the more scary evil of those we fight against. That they're just people, and we could very well fall into our own traps. That evil is often not that of cackling villains fooling everyone around them while enjoying the harm they cause, but individuals justifying their actions through their own fear, anger, distrust, misplaced intent, or prideful arrogance.

You can hate them just as much! Their actions are just as reprehensible!

You don't need to flatten the complexity of your enemies as fully fledged people to oppose them and what they've done!