#Sorry if this makes you sleepy

[sunshinebingo]

Gwynriel - 600 words - Just fluff

Inspired by the picture used in the title card, and a conversation with some friends on discord. I wish I remembered who was in that discussion so I could tag them specifically. Sorry guys 🥺

"It was a beautiful mystery, she thought as she gazed at him, how some people came together as intuitively as the laws of nature. Were such people born already belonging to each other, or..."

Gwyn pauses. She lifts the hand that isn't holding her book to cover her mouth as a yawn break from her lips. She turns the page and continues to read aloud, her hand going back to playing with the silky hair of the male who is holding one of her legs hostage.

"...or was it some gods who, after much observation, placed them on the same path? She had never truly unders..."

Her voice starts to come out a little slurred. Her eyelids droop. The words on the page start to merge, the c blending into the e, the same e that looks no different from an a. She yawns again.

Gwyn picks up the blue ribbon she uses as a bookmark from her lap and places it in between the pages before closing the book.

Her arms rise above her head as she stretches her body to get rid of the stiffness that has settled in after hours of sitting on this couch.

Azriel grumbles. He hugs her left leg tighter, preventing Gwyn from straightening it properly. She huffs and brings both of her hands to his head to push him away. But all pretence of annoyance is erased from her face when she looks down at him.

Gwyn can't stop herself from smiling at the sight of one of the scariest looking and broodiest male that she has ever known holding onto her leg like a child would their comfort blanket. His large body is turned on his side with one of his feet dangling off the end of the couch. His bare chest rises and fall with each slow breath he takes. There is a slight furrow to his brows, no doubt from Gwyn having apparently so rudely dared to interrupt his sleep.

She brushes away the few curls of his obsidian hair that have fallen on his forehead. The sound that rumbles out of him when her nails gently scrapes along his scalp is akin to the purr of a contented cat. Gwyn's whole body shake from her giggle despite her attempt to stifle it. Azriel grumbles again and tightens his hold on her. Any tighter and he will cut off the blood circulation in this leg.

"Can I move?" she asks with a light tug on his hair.

"No," Azriel mumbles, his deep voice barely audible. "You're stuck with me."

He nuzzles his face against her leg. One of his hands glides higher and stops at the seam of her sleeping shorts where his thumb starts caressing her skin.

She shakes her head. Of course she is stuck with him. She smiles. But there is no one else she would rather be stuck with.

Very slowly so as not to awake the grumbling sleeping beauty, she slides herself lower on the couch until she is mostly lying down and she can place her head on the armrest. She adjusts the few cushions she can reach beneath her head and at her sides. Gwyn sighs when she finally manages to get somewhat comfortable.

Unable to properly kiss him goodnight, she kisses her own fingers instead and lightly slaps them on the small part of his face that isn't buried between her leg and the cushion beneath it.

She picks her book back up and opens it again, intent on reading incomprehensible words until they put her to sleep. Her other hand returns to its rightful place in Azriel's hair. Tomorrow she will need to find a way to remind him that he is also stuck with her. She hopes that eternity won't be too much for him.

[heartorbit]

bugs when you lift up a rock

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for an incredible 500 days of love and support. I offer you: answers to questions that no one has asked.

(As always, more can be found in the tags <3)

[crybaby-bkg]

Bakugou asks you to join him during one of his photoshoots for a pro hero campaign. he doesn’t understand the point of it, nor why he has to only be in his underwear, but he doesn’t mind it much when he gets to look over to your shy little face.

you’re propped up in a corner on an old couch, laptop perched in your lap, its glare bright despite the way you never really look at it. you’re supposed to be catching up on some work, but you’ve been distracted by the glorious sight that is the love of your life.

when he looks at you, do you duck down, eyes suddenly focused on your screen again. it only makes him smile a little, step away from the assistant of the photographer who comes up to him, calls out your name.

“Huh?” your head whips up with a quickness neither of you expect, goes to show just how invested you really were with your work. but Bakugou only grins at you now, jerking his chin over to you as he grabs the bottle of oil the assistant was trying to pour over him.

“C’mere and gimme a hand, won’t ya?” he asks you, boyish smile gracing his face as he tilts his head at you. immediately, your face warms as you put together the request that’s suddenly dropped in your lap. everyone in the studio looks at you, with both envious and excited gazes, and it only makes you shrink in on yourself.

“I hate you.” you mutter under your breath when you finally rise up from your place on the couch, which he somehow hears. but Bakugou only laughs at you, grabs you by the waist when you’re close enough to kiss you breathless in front of everybody, before he’s handing off the oil to you.

“Such an attention whore,” you whisper when you’re close, the air between the two of you thick. everyone tries to look away, give you guys a bit of privacy, but it’s hard when such a soft and amused look passes over the usually rough and hardened hero’s face.

“Only for your attention.” he grunts back to you, holding his arms out for you to start dripping the oil down his skin. it’s a sensual gesture, the softness between you two sliding into something more, something that you only ever reserve for the bedroom.

you tip the bottle over his shoulders until it drips down his chest, massaging it all in with your hands in crude, circular motions. you can see the way he bites his lip, ignore the way he looks at you down the bridge of his nose lest you two create a scene not meant for the public eye. you gather more oil, warm it between your palms, kneeling in front of him to help massage it into the defined muscles of his stomach.

you ignore the twitch in front of you, swallowing thickly, glancing up to Bakugou who hasn’t taken his eyes off of you yet. you mouth at him to behave, but he only grins, something feral.

“We only need it above the waistband.” the photographer suddenly calls out, snapping you back to attention. you stand on shaky knees, nodding with your eyes casted low, ashamed, that your freak of a man had you doing something so…so—

“Go wait in my dressing room, yeah?” Bakugou asks you, pulling you in close to peck at the corner of your mouth. “Gonna wrap this shit up.” he promises you, and you can only nod silently, mind going a mile a minute. but before you go, you remember to grab the oil. just in case.

[purpledisastertwin900]

For all of the “Raph raised himself AND his brothers” fans out there I bring this train wreck of a thought (I’m a lil sleepy so sorry if it doesn’t make sense or if I repeat myself a lot-)

We do not in fact have any actual evidence that splinter was neglectful to the boys when they were little. In fact, we have the opposite.

All of these flashbacks indicate that Splinter acc spent a LOT of time with his boys-

With Mikey, he was obviously coached in his art, a smol child can’t paint like that no matter how talented they are so we can see that splinter put in the time/effort to get Mikey the supplies and teach him how to do it well. Which probably means he researched and learned it himself first, idk I just can’t really see Yoshi knowing how to paint/draw that well but that’s just a theory.

With raph and Leo, their lemonade stand is structurally sound: obviously not put together by an 8 year old, and there’s a lotta lemons lyin around that were probably a bit difficult to find, and just LOOK at their faces here they are definitely familiar with this kind of father/son shenaniganizing-also just LOOK at raph. That’s a happy child, one full of excitement and happiness, not a kid who had to grow up too fast. Also his dad is literally right there in the picture

And then with Donnie, I can’t really tell what he’s doing in the background (it’s a bomb) but what i take from that screenshot is that Donnie feels safe/loved enough to come to Splinter when he gets hurt. And Splinters taking care of him!! And, Donnie is wearing clothes, which shows that he went out and got clothes for them but also didn’t force the boys to wear them if they didn’t want to (see other screenshots lol) which also goes to show that he lets his boys choose who they wanna be and what they wanna do. At any point he could’ve forced all of them to train as ninja, at any point he could’ve made clothes mandatory, and at any point he could’ve forced them to drop things that made them happy like skating or science or art but nah. He was supportive every step of the way.

Now am I saying he was perfect? No. Am I saying he couldn’t have done anything better? No. What I’m saying is that Raph acc did not have to raise himself and his brothers. Splinter acc gave them a pretty good childhood, all things considered and it kinda makes me sad when ppl bash Rise Splinter or continue the neglectful parent trope. Again, I’m not saying he did everything right, he def could have spent more time with his kids on an individual basis and he should’ve been more present, but let’s cut him some slack bc he did a really good job at raising the boys. And he got so much better as the show progressed! But that’s another post lol. I’m also not trying to take away Raphs oldest sibling syndrome, he still def has that from being the leader and watching his bros while splinter was away-I’m just saying he didn’t have to do it ALL alone.

Look in the end he’s doing his best and his best was really good for what they had. He’s a good dad, he’s not neglectful.

[katsukiizmoon]

╰┈➤ ꒰🍓💌🌶 ┊k.bkg + birth control begone ꒱

『♡』 Stopping birth control has turned you into something akin to an insatiable succubus.

『♡』 @crybaby-bkg for the idea because she made an original post that heavily inspired this ! I stopped my birth control one time and stopped feeling attracted to my at the time boyfriend of almost two years Lmaoooo but anyways! This is like way fucking longer than I thought it would be.

『♡』 18+, mild scenting kink??, idk it’s like not abo but but like ..mm, raw sex,, mating press, breeding, mild degredation, pussy eating, one orgasm denial, finger sucking, biting, established relationship, f! Reader, squirting, some marking / biting

The idea was his. Birth control made you sluggish and less alive almost. He didn’t like seeing it, watching you struggle with certain symptoms. Over the years, he reached out to different contacts for an alternative. There were none, unfortunately.

Part of it was wanting to take burden off of you and your body. You’d been exhausted of the headaches and fatigue. Random ups and downs with your weight was beginning to cause confidence issues. So you stopped taking it.

And god, you’re thriving.

Katsuki piddles with the pen in his hand and watches tv. The blue light of the screen no match for the warmth of daylight. Click click click. He clicks the side of it, mild frown gracing his features at the characters on the screen.

Your head lays on the expanse of his chest. Tan skin against your own, cheek smooshed against the muscle there, listening to his pretty little thump of a heartbeat. His beefy arm relaxes on top of your body and rubs minuscule circles near your hip bone.

It’s relaxing. It’s peaceful.

Until your nose nudges near his throat and you inhale deeply. The skin of his neck is soft and smells so much like honey that your mouth begins to water. Heat pools in the pits of your tummy slowly as you press in and inhale again.

“What’re you doin brat?” The blonde sighs, thick brow raised and eyes flitting over to you.

Your tongue traces a little line up from his collar bone to his jaw. Suddenly the characters on screen don’t make much sense, haze slowly seeping into the air of your apartment. His cock begins to stir in his sweats, eyes flicking toward you again and tongue sweeping over the plush of his lips.

“M’ just.. you smell so good baby..” You drawl, nipping at the skin near his jaw a little. Your hand slides down the planes of his torso, low purr forming in the back of your throat, excitement building.

Katsuki snorts, “I smell good?” He tilts his head a bit and groans lowly, allowing you to have your way for now, letting you play.

You nod while sucking a purple mark on his collar bone. A shiver runs up and down his spine at the feeling of your nimble fingers sliding over the fabric, palming at his semi. His lips open to let out a puff of air and before he can blink you’re on top of him. Panties pressed against the fabric covering his cock, pussy slowly leaking and soaking through the threads.

“God you smell so good— makes me wanna lick every part of you and suck you dry.” You coo,hips rocking forward and lips finding his. He just smells so.. so him. It feels so good to smell like him.

“Oh—“

You’re rutting against him like a bitch in heat. He doesn’t know how the two of you got here this fast— you sniffed his neck and suddenly now you’re dry humping him like your life fucking depends on it. And god he loves it, he just eats it up.

Katsuki’s cock is so hard now that the pen is tossed to the ground. He focuses on the way your mouth feels against his, his tongue sliding toward your own, the way you taste. The dampness against his sweats is beginning to soak through. Precum leaks from the head of his cock and he bucks up toward you.

“God baby— what’s gotten into you hmm?” Thick fingers reach toward your panties, swiping over the soaked area. He groans and curses to himself before slipping them beneath the fabric and toward your clit.

The moan you let out makes his body heat up a few degrees. Sweat beads up on him and the smell has your pussy squeezing around nothing. You lean back and he lays you down on the couch and yanks the panties off of you. Before you can give him an answer his tongue is licking stripes through your folds.

You feel almost intoxicated. Possessive, high on him, obsessed with becoming part of him— you can’t describe it. But he smells just enough like heaven to make you sin.

Your pussy squelches when two of his fingers enter, feeling around and pushing in and out. His tongue circles your clit, lips wrapping around to suck. And he’s on cloud nine.

Ever since you’ve been off birth control it’s been like this. You pounce on him when he’s least expecting it, beg him to fuck cum into you, and then walk around in his clothing for hours after.

Your hips buck and your fingers grip wheat colored strands of hair like he’s your lifeline. Like he’s the only thing keeping you on earth, but your heart pounds in your ears and something similar to a coil is tightening in your tummy. Slick juice spills from you and onto the poor couch below despite Katsuki trying in earnest to lick it all up.

It feels good, it sounds good, it smells good— he’s got fingers in your pussy and his tongue lapping up juices. He eats like he’s starving every time, placing a little smack on your ass when you squirm a bit too much. Cherry irises look up to you, watching your face scrunch and your jaw drop. The coil feels like it’s about to snap, your toes starting to curl as you press your pussy against his face more. You’re practically using his tongue like a toy, rubbing yourself against his mouth and begging like a desperate whore.

And then he stops and sends you into a hissy fit. Your oversized tshirt is snatched off of you, tossed to the side.

“Katsuki what the fu-“

His fingers are shoved into your mouth before you can finish. One hand coming to palm with the mound of your breast as he now looks down at you.

“You see how you taste baby? Taste so fuckin good—“ He licks his lips, pulling his fingers out with a wet pop sound.

You look at him in a daze, fucked out and confused. Your orgasm ripped from your hands and the smell of caramel and honey thick in the room. You consider clawing at him, sinking your teeth down, finding a way to smell like him forever.

He uses a hand to guide his cock toward your slick folds, sliding the weight through them and against your clit. Sweat beads on his temples and chest while his pants are pulled down to his knees. And you’re losing it.

“Hnn fuck, fuck, baby I need it” you babble.

His cock sheathes in one fluid motion, burying to the hilt. Both his meaty hands push your legs up toward your shoulders and he’s so close your senses are flooded. It’s overwhelming, feeling him this close.

“Hahh.. pretty little thing.” Katsuki rasps, slamming his hips forward and up. He’s so deep that the tip of his precum covered length presses against your cervix. And oh, it makes him dizzy. A little too excited, too ballsy.

“Oh fuck me, god you’re in my belly— cmere baby,” You babble nearly incoherently and card your fingers through his hair and pull him in. Your nose nuzzles against his neck and you inhale again, getting high off it. It’s like you can feel it seeping into your veins, becoming part of you.

His dick is always so weighty, pushing up and pounding into your pussy. Squelching and clapping, frothing lightly at the base while you dig your nails into one of his shoulders. His eyes meet yours and keep the contact, like he’s swallowing your soul whole and replacing it with part of his.

“Yeah? You wanna be stuck with me forever don’t you? Bet you want to be scented and stuffed full of cum till you’re pregnant huh?” He pistons his hips up and holds you there, pressing down on your lower tummy a little like he can feel himself there. You make a desperate noise, realizing he took a peek into one of the books you read recently— and something you starts to snap.

“Yeah, yeah, god yeah I do ‘kats!” Your nails dig deeper into his shoulders and you sink your teeth into his neck.

He slams in again, so deep and hard it nearly hurts, and you fall apart. Your jaw clamps down, nails dragging across his shoulders and eyes rolling back while you take in his scent. It wafts around the room and makes you float. You can taste it, you swear, like caramel melting in your mouth.

Clear substance spurts from your pussy and all over your tummy and his. The blonde watches in awe with his abs flexing to still himself as you finish. Your pussy squeezes him and sucks him in so much he can’t stop himself.

He buries himself to the hilt and pushes his cock against your cervix. His head throws back, eyes squeezing shut as the air is taken from his lungs. The bite on his throat hurts and makes him dizzy in the best ways. His balls tighten, hands squeezing at your body as he cums.

“Oh fuck.” He whines, groaning and panting.

Cum fills your pussy up to the brim, slowly leaking out as he stays inside the heat. You begin to relax your jaw and lick at his throat like an apology. Your nose nudges near his jaw and you begin to unravel yourself from him.

Katsuki’s hair sticks to his forehead, he pants and pulls out, laying on top of you. The two of you lay like that for a while before he’s pulling up his sweats with a breathy laugh.

“God you pounced on me, you perv!” He snickers, poking the side of your tummy while you lay under him and look for your shirt.

“Yeah well you read my damn book!” You sit up, tossing on the shirt and grinning with a brow raised. He turns a little pink and rolls his eyes.

“That ain’t the point! Dammit, just gimme a kiss .” The blonde snorts, leaning over toward you and kissing your lips lightly. He still tastes like your pussy and you still taste like his sweat.

He’ll talk to you about it later. Maybe— just needs to let you sniff him a bunch again. Then he can pop quiz you, ask you what the fixation is about. You’ll deny it for a minute, but you can’t hide the pink on your cheeks when he comes in sweaty from work.

[kinokoshoujoart]

oops all rock (springtime edition)

i’ll be able to draw digitally again soon! ;w; in the meantime i’ve been scribbling a lot on paper…

could not wait for Soon, so i resorted to coloring it using the markup tool in default iphone photos app (don’t do that ever again)

[silverview]

"I think we have got some sort of insight into it. Without just thinking, Oh, these people are mad. And they love something too much."

[harundraws]

another commission art i forgot i never shared over on tumblr

a pouty Jackie wearing one of Shauna’s flannels for @/demon32835 ⁎⁺˳✧༚

[dykecubes]

something else I wanted to point out in my post abt misogyny behind the scenes on the dsmp is how, when Niki first came forward very shortly after the dsmp ended to say there was a lot of misogyny from major male ccs behind the scenes, dt fans quickly accepted this as true because she didn't mention any names so it was easy to point fingers at wilbur or other men on the server and pretend her allegation didn't also very much implicate the dt, now that Connor, Sophie, Andi, and others have backed up Niki's claims of misogyny and confirmed that the dt were very much perpetrators of it as well they've suddenly stopped believing her

like idk I feel like nobody has mentioned Niki being basically the first to come out about the misogyny behind the scenes at all and how much of what she said lines up with what Connor said at the beginning of his stream, I just feel like it highlights the hypocrisy and contradictions from dt fans trying to justify why their faves couldn't possibly be perpetrators of misogyny

[lesbianfakir]

Thinking about a princess tutu au where when the story ends drosselmeyer is like well that went badly! Time to wipe all of your memories and try it again!!

So they all go back to the beginning of the story but since Duck hasn’t been in the story as long as the rest of them the memory wipe doesn’t work on her so she (and dross) remember everything that happened in the show. And so the story follows Duck trying to regain the trust of the other three while Drosselmeyer specifically targets them to Make Them Worse.

Something about the isolation Duck feels as her best friends in the world no longer remember her. She feels them slipping away as drosselmeyer exacerbates their worst traits and feeds their paranoia. Something about Duck knowing how good and kind each of her friends can be and using that love for them to bring them back to themselves despite all the hardship they face at the hands of the story. I think no matter what drosselmeyer threw at her in the end she could do it. There’s no world in which Duck’s overwhelming hope doesn’t win

[heartorbit]

WHEEEEEE

[shadebloopnik]

I know Velvet keeps getting dubbed as like the adopted daughter of two gay idiots(and thats fine ig for people who love that angle) but how bout this-

Velvette and Vox in a QPR marriage, or normal marriage idk whatever but she's his boss ass wife, and VAL is the adopted sugar baby-

I know Velvette got there last, but we all saw how Vox talks to that moth, it screams 'this is an actual toddler, taking sugar baby way too literally". Velvette is staring judgily at Vox(especially after she finds out abt Alastor too) and going "Im gonna marry you, but I'm so judging your taste in men every step of the way."

[merlins-strawberriesandroses]

TO be honest. I don’t understand what it means when people say Merlin was Arthur’s bane. Mayhaps I misunderstand but. Arthur was a bit of an assassination magnet (not to mention all those magical creatures and bandits... so many bandits), and Merlin actively prevented Arthur's death for years, which would have occured without him anway in the very first episode. I can see why one might argue that Merlin was just delaying the inevitable, or that he didn't succeed in keeping Arthur safe until Arthur could enact the golden age, but certainly I don’t see how he could have been Arthur’s bane.

Also, it’s implied in the last episode that the golden age does occur, but under Guinevere. Which makes sense as she knew Merlin was the sorcerer and that she was pleased about it (and I recall it was confirmed in interviews), so I also don’t follow the twin train of thought that Merlin was his own bane or even Camelot’s. Camelot was already bane-d(?) under Uther. But partly because of Merlin's steady friendship, Arthur matured into a king who was kinder than his father. He also actively sought magic's aid on multiple occasions, so he knew magic had potential for good (like healing his queen) without Merlin needing to tell him about his magic.

I don't think it's fair to say Camelot's laws on magic remaining relatively static was because no one close to Arthur came out as having magic. There was still much risk in that, and for Merlin a lot at stake, not just his life. A law change was still possible (and almost seemed to be set up that way) without Arthur needing someone he was personally close to having to do the work to humanize it for him (in the sense that the episodes with the druids, the druid boy with Elyan, and the dolma seemed like they were pointing to a law change because Arthur sees the diversity of magic and those who have it).

At worst Merlin’s efforts didn’t change the status quo, but we do have things indicating that they did. And Merlin was not single-mindedly serving Arthur at the expense of everyone else. He saved Camelot as a whole multiple times. He was also very willing to stick out his neck for many others even during the height of his anxiety and agitation in season 5. (Also only being slightly silly when I say this, but he was also THE wingman for Arthur when he was getting with Gwen, so in a way Merlin’s help led to their courting being a success and thus contributed to her being in a great position to change the laws. so personally I give points to Merlin for that). Most of the decisions centering Arthur's safety seemed to stem from the fear that Albion would crumble before it began if Arthur were to die, so he tried his best to prevent that from happening in any way he knew. (Like, when Arthur is dying, Merlin asks "So I failed?" regarding the whole golden age thing, which I think is telling that the prophesy and his role in it was still VERY much at the forefront of Merlin's mind).

And this is a digression but I know people think Merlin should have done more for Camelot, or for folks with magic (like, as a revolutionary or something akin), which I understand but no one reached out to network with him really? It'd require resources, people (always confused why there weren't a whole bunch more folks offering Merlin material/intellectual/emotional support if they thought he should be the one to bring about the golden age. all he was told was that the forseen way it actually happens succesfully is through Arthur), time (I doubt it’d have been much of a ‘quicker’ way necessarily), and incredible planning + foresight if it's meant to be something that works out effectively + long-term. Okay I think I've digressed enough now. This is a whole seperate thought that I don't think I'm gonna do any justice here lol, and I'm already rambling, so I'll stop now :,)

But anyway, in terms of being his own or Arthur’s bane, we know Arthur will return, and we don’t know how Merlin spent his years. His magic can play with time and maybe he learns how to control that, or he could have entered a stasis like in various legends, etc etc etc. And I mean it is tragic on many levels, and it’s sad we didn’t see Arthur’s arc completed, and that Merlin sacrificed so much for a goal that didn't get much acknowledgment by the show at the end, but still. I don’t think Merlin was Arthur’s bane, or Camelot’s, or his own.

[feroluce]

how do u imagine natasha + sampo’s relationship?

I. Feel a little bad for leaving this in my inbox as long as I did, especially since I said in this post I could write a whole essay on them. But then when I tried to actually answer this, I realized ah shit, I can't really articulate what I think of them at all OTL

(so have a bajillion words of meta analysis of them instead fklajklasjf)

Just! Sampo is very mysterious figure, and we know so little of his background and his motivations! So it's really difficult to get a solid read on some of his relationships with other characters. Regardless, I do think that Natasha is perhaps the one he's closest with, and that she is the one person who knows him the most intimately in all of Belobog.

And a lot of it IS hard to pin down because of Sampo's slippery nature, but also because it's like. If you look at just Natasha's dialogues about Sampo, it doesn't really look like much. It only becomes more meaningful when compared to how everyone else talks about him.

Most other characters just comment on what Sampo does, as in his observable actions that are easy to see on the surface or from a distance.

Natasha is one of the very, very few that actually speaks to Sampo's personality or philosophy. Like she not only is able to describe a certain behavior of his, but she's able to explain the why behind it.

At least part of this is probably that they spend so much time together- Hook even comments on it during her companion quest.

And tbh I don't really think it needs more proof or anything with such a flat out statement like that, but this is actually further supported by the fact that Seele is the only other character in Belobog to sorta-kinda comment on Sampo's personality; if Sampo were hanging around the clinic with Natasha all day, Seele would probably be the person he would see second-most there. Of the dialogues posted further up in this post, Hook obviously sees him all the time, but it's not always in the clinic, and besides she's still very young...she wouldn't have the same read on him an adult would. Luka avoids the clinic whenever he can because he's worried about taking up Natasha's valuable time. And the Landau siblings aren't even present in Boulder Town until after the Stellaron is quieted.

Seele, on the other hand, is extremely loyal and devoted to Natasha, and seems to worry about her a lot. She doesn't have the same reservations as Luka, and it would feel right to see her in the clinic frequently, taking orders and missions and trying to make sure Natasha doesn't run herself in the ground. So it would make sense for her to see a lot of Sampo if he's always in there, too, enough that she would have things to say about his personality, whether she likes that or not haha.

Of course we know from Sampo's lines that it's not that he's sick, he's just reporting back to Natasha. Sampo not only smuggles in supplies across the border like what most people know him for, he's also Natasha's source of intel.

Bringing back intel doesn't necessarily have to involve a lot of conversation though, especially because it would make more sense for Sampo to be turning in written reports. It decreases the chance of Natasha mishearing/misunderstanding something or having to rely on memory alone, neither of which are really things you probably want to be doing when bad intel can mean the difference between life and death in her circumstances. So I do really wonder what it is Sampo does in the clinic all day haha. Given that he's a big believer in the power of small talk bringing in big clients, it's entirely possible Sampo is just in there being chatty, happily making conversation and keeping Natasha company most of the time...which is kinda cute. He also really could just be talking shop, too, of course- Sampo does a lot of work for Natasha, and I don't think it'd be a stretch to assume she's his main client. There's probably a lot to discuss about supply quotas, incoming intel, scheduled drops, etc.

My favorite option, though, is actually based on one of Sampo's options from the main quest, where he says:

Because like! The way he says this, the way he specifies that this is his opinion, but no one seems to care what he thinks? And how he calls them stubborn in particular? It really sounds like Sampo has been trying to get Wildfire to operate in a different direction. And if you look up the exact definition of "artless," you get this

which very much fits Sampo, and how he does things. He has guile and deception down to an art form. Sampo goes on to call Wildfire "do-gooders," but then cautions the trailblazer not to underestimate them because of that- indicating that Sampo sees that type of philosophy as something naive, or at least just ineffective. Something that you would underestimate a person for.

And the person Sampo associates with the most in Wildfire, the one he's always seen with, the one who would hold the most sway to change the modus operandi of the organization is...Natasha.

So I wonder if Sampo has been trying, possibly for years now, to get Natasha to see what he thinks of as reason, and start playing dirty to survive. I wonder if that's what he spends so much time in the clinic for, is because he does care, and he wants her and the rest of them to live, and he has been trying to convince her to go with his way of doing things, but Natasha has been refusing him, refusing to compromise her morals.

Because we know from some readables and from the general Vibe, both up on the surface and down below, that things were getting pretty dire. Rivet Town has fallen. The Silvermane Guards are being whittled down and broken. The Fragmentum was right on everyone's doorstep, and I'm sure that if the Astral Express hadn't arrived- and that if Sampo hadn't set the stage so perfectly, if he hadn't played his part just so- then all of Belobog would have eventually been snuffed out. Sampo had to have known it was happening. He must have known the end was upon them.

He doesn't even have a stake in Belobog- he's not from here. He could, assumingly, call it quits and leave when shit got tough by whatever means got him there in the first place.

And I'm sure Sampo wants to save all of Belobog, but I think he's particularly endeared by Natasha. He famously phrases his view of Elation as "true happiness always entails the manifestation of the dignity of mankind." And like. Who else embodies that so much as her?

Maybe it is a little vague and up to interpretation, but I feel like Natasha is FULL of that kind of dignity. She has been doing this since before the blockade. She willingly chose to stay in the Underground where she could do the most good. She has seen so, so much death and you can see how it weighs on her; she's become bitter, and wary, and weary. She has it out for the Guards (understandable), and she openly taunts Gepard and goes right for his throat when he shows up in Boulder Town, ten years too late, trying to help with the Fragmentum.

Natasha even seems to have given up any belief she may have once had. She's completely lost faith in Qlipoth.

All of this, and yet she still chooses to be kind. She still chooses to help people. There is something immensely admirable in all of that.

And I feel like you can see how much Sampo admires her in just how often he thinks of her, especially when someone needs help. Sampo smokebombs everyone and needs to get them somewhere safe in the Underground? He takes them to Natasha. Svarog is about to fucking kill everyone? Go get Natasha. He finds the trailblazer passed out in an alleyway? He carries them to Natasha. The trailblazer is seeing weird shit out in the Fragmentum? Recommend they go get a check up. Specifically from Natasha.

It's a little silly, but I think you can also see some of this when Sampo is being melodramatic about being caught red-handed in the museum event. He echoes a very important sentiment to Natasha and Wildfire;

And the mission where this ideology was displayed strongest was titled, "To Rot or To Burn."

(Hell, in the dream sequence of Penacony- regardless of whether that dream bubble came from Sampo or Sparkle, it had to be informed by Sampo's tales of Belobog. Sparkle has never been there herself. And the kind trashcan that immediately helps you and sets you on the right path, that tries to rally everyone together, the only one with a name so clearly and obviously taken from someone Sampo knew in Belobog? Is Shatana- an anagram of Natasha. Even from a meta perspective, they have the same VA. No other trashcan there gets that treatment. None.)

I think they have the same goals, and even hold some of the same views. Natasha's are much more obvious, but still. Sampo says this about Belobog's circumstances:

And he says this as though it should be obvious common sense. That when things are rough, you share and make sure everyone has enough. I think they both share this belief, it's just that they disagree on how to go about making things even. Natasha believes in rallying people for the cause and giving as much of herself as she can to make up for whatever people lack. Sampo believes that if some dipshit with more money than what they need falls for his bullshit and he gets to spread it around? Well hey, that sounds like a whole lot of their own fault.

Natasha is definitely aware of this, and she has no problem threatening Sampo whenever she thinks he's stepping out of line.

She keeps him on a very short leash, which like. Yeah no that's valid fjkdlsajfdklj

Even so, the way she talks about him, like... Maybe it's just me, and my rose-colored glasses, but she doesn't seem to dislike him nearly as much as she could? She kind of just. Says these things as statements about him, without any real vitriol behind them. This is just kind of how he is. She even seems to have a sense of humor about it.

And again! She has so much more to say about him than almost any other character.

I'd like to think part of her...affection? of sorts? for him is simple camaraderie. Circumstances are dire. Past, present, and future are all bleak. Things like that deepen bonds with your foxhole buddies. Sampo is dependent on Natasha for work and pay and a place to get away from the Guards. Natasha is dependent on Sampo for food and medicine and life-saving supplies. They both heavily rely on each other in this harsh environment, and they have a really nice back-and-forth that I appreciate with how they help each other out by owing favors as payment.

And the other part, I'd like to think actually IS because she knows him very well- maybe not things like his past, but she knows some of his personality and beliefs, and finds them agreeable enough. She even has the audacity to call him a poor liar at one point- Sampo! Of all people! Known by someone well enough to be caught out as a poor liar! He's either intentionally leading her on and letting her think she's caught him, or Natasha just really is that good. Neither would surprise me tbh

I think Natasha is also just uniquely prepared to understand Sampo, and is able to see his better sides without letting her judgement be clouded by his slimy manner. She's able to appreciate that his actions ARE extremely helpful, regardless of how he does them.

Even as she acknowledges that he isn't always trustworthy, she does still choose to rely on him and give him chances. She was pleasantly surprised by him here, but she still chose to trust him with this in the first place. She never treats him harshly, and she never seems to bear any kind of grudge with him.

But my favorite example of Natasha being able to understand Sampo? My favorite is this. This one little throwaway line, that didn't even involve him, wasn't even about him. I feel like Natasha is capable of knowing and understanding Sampo on a deeper level than most people can, solely because of this.

She gets it.

(As a fun bonus: In the current trashcan event, there's a simple mechanic where you get one trial character for the initial battle. Then, for the harder stage, you get that same trial character, plus a couple of extras. This is true for every Proof- except for Sampo's. In his harder stage, you use Asta, Black Swan, and Luocha. But in his initial stage, in an event all about friendship and relationships...)

[puffpawstries]

is honno self-conscious of their height?

Honno isn’t that much really self-conscious of their height most of the time, just very much aware! From when they were a little kid to teens, it wasn't too bad!

But since moving to Akatsuka Ward, they have managed not to be too bothered by their height much, though they tend to stay home a lot, so that's also a reason.

Of course Honno has other struggles dealing with their height, like buying clothes that fit them, but they manage, but if she’s lucky by getting her stuff tailored, most of the time some of the clothes are shorter, so she kind of just lives with it? Honno fashion is a mix of being mostly comfortable and simple, which they're the most happy wearing!

Though sometimes their height can be a problem with random people commenting about them behind their back or pointing them out and coming up to them out in public.

and sometimes even having their picture taken without their permission, which she tries to ignore because she doesn't like causing a scene and rather continues on with her day not thinking and worrying about that stuff.

Though when Honno does get in a relationship with Ichimatsu and actually starts to hangout with his brothers and gets to know them the matsunos have their own way of watching out for Honno...

Which includes either scaring or chasing off the person, though Honno does appreciate the sentiment....