#and idk how to explain bc I feel so conflicted at that very moment and I know I'll go back anyway but still

[themyscirah]

Started thinking about the Amanda Waller + Ben Turner relationship again.... fuck, I'm gonna need a minute

[maenimalist]

thoughts

[not-poignant]

I'm rereading utb and while i def understand and agree with ef being held accountable for things, at the same time, it seems like everyone is constantly acting as if he's supposed to know how to have a healthy relationship and to cope with his emotions, much less his trauma, without anyone actually explaining or modeling this

Like, everyone constantly brings up the fact that he tried to kill Kadek even once they've acknowledged why and gary is starting a relationship with him while also essentially his prison warden and with how little ef has experienced in the world, especially as a psychologist, gary still not doing anything to help him get better coping skills makes it feel like he's setting him up to fail

Like, temsen is technically correct that ef domestically abused gary but he has literally never seen a non abusive partnership and is literally a prisoner in his current one

Idk, I really love this fic so, so much and thank you for writing it and i don't even need a response or anything, I just get defensive of ef when I'm reading sometimes bc he's trying so, so hard basically all the time and it seems like people acknowledge it sometimes in the moment but then don't give him the tools to make it any easier

Answering this one publicly because I know you're not the only one who feels this way or has felt this way!

Okay firstly, some of this conflict I'm evoking in the reader is intentional. I want people to feel defensive of Efnisien. I want people to think 'hey, hang on a minute.' There's a lot of reasons I want that, including the fact that in reality, most people don't recover from being abusive even after they've been in horrifically abusive situations in a vacuum (i.e. the whole world doesn't suddenly stop and become soft as cotton wool just because you've been abused! If you go and interview a whole bunch of people in jail right now, a lot of those folks (especially those who have done repeated serious crimes) will have experienced horrendous and incredibly unfair amounts of abuse, y'know? It's complicated. Yes, they have a right to heal and a right to support. Some of them probably did some pretty awful crimes as well. *coughs*serial killers*coughs*)

Obviously Efnisien is nowhere near that level, but the dissonance remains. He's certainly tried to murder more than one person. But we root for the person whose perspective we're reading. Still, people do not heal in a comfortable vacuum. In fact, most people are asked to be accountable for bad behaviour usually while suffering terribly. Because most people - unless they're certain kinds of extremely rare people - do bad behaviour because they don't know better and/or they're suffering intensely and it can momentarily feel good or satisfying to make other people hurt too.

That's an extremely hard process for the folks who are in that situation. Anyone who has had to recognise they're being a bully, or being abusive, usually goes through a period of time where they can't just immediately change, and what's expected of them seems impossible.

Now to everything else:

This world is a dystopia. There are things happening which aren't going to feel good when you're reading - systemic issues, issues around unfairness - because it's a dystopia. If those things weren't happening, and people just felt blithely comfortable with the entire world, well, that's not actually what I'm going for. There are times it should feel extremely disturbing to read.

So there are times I want readers to feel like things are unfair. There are times I want them to feel very strongly in one person's defense and only later realise the other person was hurt too. There are times I want them to feel like everyone is being unfair to a character. And times when I want folks to feel like the situation just sucks all round. Like, my intention in amongst the hurt/comfort isn't for things to feel easy or nice all the time, I am absolutely challenging the reader by introducing things that feel uncomfortable.

So when folks like yourself tell me this stuff it's like - yeah! It's a dystopia! And - yeah! Unfair things are definitely happening. This is especially true in the beginning when no one really has a concept of how bad things have been for Efnisien, or that he's an alpha. It remains true because no one is perfect. But it happens less often, that's what makes it feel more jarring as the story goes on. If you're rereading it's going to feel worse in the beginning, that's on purpose. The story is doing its job.

it seems like everyone is constantly acting as if he's supposed to know how to have a healthy relationship and to cope with his emotions

I don't really know what scenes you're specifically referring to here (like, just the first few chapters? The whole story? Temsen's single lecture?), but this is absolutely not the case. I'm going to look at the whole story:

The majority of the time that Efnisien is rude and disrespectful, especially once Efnisien and Gary are living together, Gary mostly ignores him, brushes it off, doesn't react or responds like it's normal dialogue lol. He's not constantly correcting his behaviour and he's not constantly like 'hey rephrase that to be polite' or 'I have feelings too' (maybe he should say the latter sometimes).

Gary is more aware than anyone that he shouldn't be Efnisien's guardian and that he's not a companion. He says this, out loud, to several people, several times. So we know that he knows that the situation isn't great / fair re: Efnisien's care (and frankly his own. Of the two of them, Gary's the one who keeps coming close to potentially dying from the other person's actions).

especially as a psychologist, gary still not doing anything to help him get better coping skills makes it feel like he's setting him up to fail

Gary is not Efnisien's psychologist. And psychologists are not doing their jobs on absolutely everyone, 24/7! This one is so important to remember (both in real life and sometimes in fiction). He's categorically not Efnisien's psychologist and it would be even more toxic if he attempted to be this if they were living together!

Gary being a psychologist is his job in the same way being an artist is a job, it's not specifically relevant to their relationship, except that Gary sometimes has better understanding of the root/s of some behaviours.

Ask any psychologist how they live at home and most of them do not want anything to do with their psychology jobs in their personal life, because they're mentally fatigued/tired from talking to people all day. They are not perfect people, they don't have perfect control over their emotions, they aren't teaching everyone the coping mechanisms they need to survive (this takes a lot of labour! It's exhausting! People can't do that 24 hours a day and stay sane. It gets toxic fast.)

The majority of the time Efnisien has extreme emotional responses, Gary just tends to absorb them, acknowledge them, or actively care for him. It's easy to miss these moments because I'm usually not making you feel conflicted about it.

The times Efnisien has extreme emotional responses and then chooses to repeatedly hurt Gary, there are often extreme emotional responses that follow because you know, that's what Efnisien was aiming for! He was trying to severely hurt someone!

Let's move onto Temsen and Efnisien, because this might be more of what you're thinking of, since Gary almost never holds Efnisien accountable tbh. Temsen is a doctor, and a peak alpha who is a leading educator in academic omega rights and theory. He is the first to deeply understand how young alphas left to get away with their smaller abusive behaviours are the kind of alphas who grow up into rapists, murderers and torturers like Christian in Underline the Blue.

(I just want to add, Christian's own abuse and PTSD is real, I don't think any of us are rushing to hold his hand and pat his head, because we sympathise with Nate more than Christian. But Christian has real pain, and real suffering too. He's a great example of how 'you're still accountable for your behaviour though' at its most extreme).

So, Temsen sees Efnisien's behaviour and he lectures and shuts him down like he would any young alpha who is on a really dangerous path. Even within that, he acknowledges himself - out loud - that it's a complicated situation and the time he comes down on Efnisien the hardest, he says the timing is poor. The majority of the time, he shows Efnisien compassion and care, and listens to his opinions, even when they disagree. He is the first to validate his gender both repeatedly in words, and in hormone and medical support. He's the first to change his approach to Efnisien's medical care when Efnisien calls out his lack of respecting his right to privacy, and he's the first to correct Gary about it when Gary expects Temsen to keep giving him information. He offers pragmatic, compassionate advice about many sensitive subjects in Efnisien's life, his health, his secondary gender, his nesting behaviours. And I would say this is how Temsen actually models better behaviour.

Temsen doesn't expect Efnisien to have all of these skills, but Efnisien has to be told what he's doing wrong and how that's not acceptable behaviour and how he's hurting people, to start learning those skills! Otherwise why would anyone bother? Vindictively hurting other people in moments of rage can feel satisfying for folks who aren't being held accountable.

You say no one is modelling better behaviour to Efnisien so I'm just going to pose some questions that are rhetorical:

How many alphas at HIllview are mounting or torturing Efnisien every day? Does Efnisien have choices in what he eats? Is Efnisien's opinion listened to more and more, especially in matters of his health? Do they care about his pain and offer him painkillers when he's suffering? Are the characters in the story trying to enrich his experiences and help him to become a more mature person by helping him overcome his fears of things like going outside? Are the characters deliberately trying to expand his support network by helping him see new people and lean on them for help, instead of keeping him in a box and forbidding him from seeing anyone? While also taking into account the safety of others?

Are the characters largely gender affirming once they learn more about Efnisien?

Are the characters actively teaching Efnisien social sciences to help him understand more about the world and human rights, which includes his own rights?

Do the characters acknowledge that Hillview isn't an ideal place for Efnisien, just a good place for now?

Do the characters want Efnisien to have a future where he's happier?

Do the characters allow Efnisien to have his emotional responses as long as they're not also abusive responses? For example, is Efnisien allowed to cry, nest, seek comfort, or even be angry, provided he's not being domestically violent? (The answer is yes).

Do the characters to the best of their ability explain things clearly and maintain their own boundaries around Efnisien to remind him that he can also maintain his own boundaries?

Are Efnisien's wishes largely respected where possible? (The answer here is also yes - such as refusing internal exams with Temsen, or having control over what he does most days and how he spends his time etc.)

Can Efnisien see lots of examples of people talking civilly to each other and often with great care, and not being abusive to each other? Can he see alternative forms of conflict resolution, management and repair?

Is Efnisien offered opportunities to repair rifts that he's created himself, after being cruel to someone?

This is just a start, but these people through these behaviours are already role-modelling a ton of better behaviours than anything Efnisien has been exposed to in the past. And we can see that Gary himself role models a lot of these things to Efnisien directly, including apologising frequently and quickly when he realises he's made mistakes. This is how Efnisien learned to apologise! And he literally has thoughts like 'Gary does this / so I guess I should do it too.' That's literally role modelling a behaviour :D

Gary's actually a pretty good role model, and the only reason Efnisien's behaviour starts to improve at Hillview as well as his quality of life is because Gary and Temsen are role modelling these behaviours.

Like, temsen is technically correct that ef domestically abused gary but he has literally never seen a non abusive partnership and is literally a prisoner in his current one

Efnisien isn't literally a prisoner in his current relationship!

I feel like when folks identify really strongly with a character, it's very easy to miss the times when Gary and Temsen for example brainstorm ways for Efnisien not to live with Gary. Aside from at the very beginning, these characters have actually talked about - in the story, in dialogue - options for Efnisien to not live with Gary.

Like they literally talk about making Efnisien a new room in the headquarters and possibly even building him his own building down the track so he doesn't have to be with Gary! As they trust Efnisien more, they offer many options to him. As the story goes on, they are absolutely not forcing Efnisien to stay with Gary, and nor is Gary. Efnisien himself communicates clearly that he would rather live with Gary than be on his own. This is something that gets checked in on, and more than one option is given to him.

Missing this is understandable, it's a long story, but it also means it's not true that Efnisien is a prisoner in that he's being forced to live with Gary. That's only true in the beginning when they literally think he's just a murderer/attempted murderer who's going to kill everyone at Hillview. As the story progresses, it shifts to 'well he's not a murderer, what are his other options?'

Can Efnisien live a free life wherever he wants? No. That's where the 'dystopian universe' tag comes in. He's not safe to, but Hillview staff wouldn't be concerned with educating him and teaching him independence if they didn't want him to live as independently as possible one day. It's not like Gary has to try to get Efnisien comfortable with going outside and experiencing the outside world, and it's not like he has to encourage Efnisien to meet omegas and betas etc. to hear different opinions, y'know?

But yeah the role modelling is happening: Efnisien's showing more and more tools in coping all the time! He's been growing them since the beginning of the fic. He's learned to communicate better. He's learned how to articulate what he wants and doesn't want more clearly. He's learned how to care more for others even if he often misses that he has the power to really hurt them. He's learned more (not less) confidence. He's having less (not more) trauma responses. He's learned how to trust in the people around him more, so he's starting to talk more about his experiences of gender. He's learned that what he went through was wrong, and is sharing more about the abuse he suffered.

These things would not be happening in a story where people weren't giving him the tools to cope with his life or weren't showing him ways to communicate differently.

The reason Efnisien talks more clearly and articulately now in the story, the reason he laughs more, cries more (which is more open/honest imho and healthier than repressing it), talks more, talks about his past more, expresses his opinion more is because Hillview has been equipping him with more tools to live a richer life pretty much as soon as they realised he's not going to just murder people at the drop of a hat.

In some ways they're showing more trust than our society would because like, attempted murder could land him in jail for a while in our society, y'know?

The reason they haven't paired him with an actual psychologist is that they don't have any peak alpha psychologists and Efnisien can use alpha persuasion on anyone else, and would certainly get angry enough in therapy to use it. We only need to look at how Efnisien responded to Dr Gary in Falling Falling Stars sometimes in therapy sessions to see that yes, this is a guy who - if he had the tool of alpha persuasion - would absolutely use it to get a therapist to shut the fuck up when he felt like it, lol.

But yeah, as always, if folks are feeling really uncomfortable when reading something I've written, it's often intentional. You're right, Efnisien's situation is unfair. A few of the specifics you've brought up aren't true, and have missed things in the story, but it's still not a fair experience, it's not always a pleasant experience, and it's...pretty dystopian!

When we get really deep into our emotional connection to a character, it can still help to remember that the situation often isn't exactly the same as it feels. But this story also has the tags: darkfic / disturbing themes / dystopian universe for a reason! The visceral discomfort is a feature, not a bug.

[astrodoll2]

Moon sign observations part two. 🦄

I have no idea where people get the idea that libra moons avoid conflict because every libra moon I’ve known LOVES CONFLICT they’re so petty and ready to start a fight at any given moment, their sister sign being Aries is no surprise why they too have a short temper.

Aries moon is the easiest “toughest” shell to crack let me explain; theres certain moon signs that will come off as they don’t give a fuck, nonchalant and it’ll take forever to get them to be comfortable with you but with an Aries moon if you say a nice thing to them once they will suddenly love and adore you. (Possibly bc most are sidereal pisces moon)

Sagittarius moons are like pisces moons but more lowkey they’re just as spiritual but they question it a lot more where as pisces goes by blind faith, they’re also not as outwardly emotional. But they’re still none the less very inspiring to be around, they love learning alot so they can later on teach it to others (I would apply this moon in the 9th house as well).

I’ve also noticed that most sag moons tend to want to move away from their hometown to experience a fresh start or just want to have the experience of having lived in multiple parts of the world at least once.

Virgo moons tend to have very critical mothers especially about physical appearance, this later on causes them to not only criticize themselves a lot but I usually see them project this energy onto their friends as well and may unintentionally say offensive comments without realizing it.

Gemini moons tend to cringe at emotions and find it pretty hard to express them as well so whenever someone asks them how they feel their go to answer is “idk”, they like keeping things surface level with most people but when they’re by themselves they’re writing their emotions on notes app. They also love making random things up just to see how others will react or if they’ll believe them.

I love the energy leo moons carry because they hype you up so much they’re so loving and nurturing just like a cancer when they care about you, but they’re very confident in themselves and they try to spread that confidence onto others which is admirable.

I hate the stereotype of cancers as crybabies because at their highest most evolved version they’re so kind , their motherly energy just means they’re very giving when they love someone they pour their all into them, I think when they do get very sad with others it’s usually just because they give so much and feel as if people take advantage of that and don’t reciprocate the same energy, they also tend to be very sad and misunderstood just like a capricorn.

Lastly taurus moons I find them to come off very elegant because they always keep their emotions in tack and aren’t really the type to fly off the handle unless you really get on their nerves. They’re not the type to cry in public and find fighting in public embarrassing but they will if tested and (be careful bc most are Aries moon sidereal). Random but they also have really good taste in aesthetics you guys probably get copied a lot I also notice that with Gemini moons in specific as well, they want your vibe but they can never be you🤦🏻‍♀️

Synastry

moon and mars aspect specially (conjunction)

So as the moon person You feel a lot of loving feelings toward that person and you want more of an emotional connection, they make you feel safe. Mars takes care of you and is patiently impatient with you when finally expressing your emotions because they just want to know how it is your feeling about them, You can feel such strong emotions towards that person but be very shy to say it. You might feel as if mars wants to jump quickly into the sexual aspect of the relationship because they’re not afraid to express their desires for you. Mars feels an extreme amount of attraction towards the moon person. *non gender specific take it as energy* if you’re the masculine energy you’ll enjoy being the mars person and pursuing the moon person, if you’re the feminine you will hate being the mars person because 1. The moon will most likely not give in easily and you can possibly feel rejected or 2. You will hate how you’re in your masculine energy as the moon person tends to be more submissive and wants to be led by you.

Mercury conjunct mars

I was the mars person once and I felt so energized simply by being around this person and having fun conversations with them where as with anyone else I usually leave every conversation feeling drained

Moon opposite ascendent

I love this synestry placement because this usually means if your the moon person it’ll fall into their 7th house whole signs if not 6th house placidus and honestly both houses are great for a long term relationship, the ascendent is usually very attracted to moons more personal/ emotional side it entails a strong emotional support system 🫶🏻

Lmk if you guys are relating to these observations:))!

[enderwoah]

CLASSPECTING DOUBLE LIFE

i've finally got it. a complete, comprehensive, optimised list of classpects and lunar sways for all of the double life members (and a couple of others). by "complete and optimised," of course, i mean it's a complete list of my opinions! if you disagree, nifty! there are too many class/aspect/lunar sway combos for everyone to come to an agreement, this is just the result of my (and some lovely tumblr users) character analysis!

not only is this a list, it's also explanations for each choice i made, so this is going to be long as hell. hopefully it's a bit easier to understand for people that don't know tooooo much about homestuck (or maybe just not knowing too much about classpects bc lets be real that stuff is CONFUSING).

the little (+) and (-) at the end of each class is simply to mark it as an active (+) or passive (-) class. personally, i don't put too much weight into it, but some people might vibe w/ it idk. the other aspect at the end of each aspect is it's opposite.

unlike the twelve classes and aspects, prospit vs derse is a very black and white classification, making it difficult to fit every character perfectly in one slot. as such, you may notice that some people don't fully fit in their assigned dream moon! which is fine—that just means i feel as if they fit more in one over the other. derse and prospit were also said by Hussie to sort of indicate a player's active/passive role in the game, respectively. if someone has a passive class but are a derse dreamer, that probably means that they're utilising the qualities of their passive class in a very distinct and active way—same goes for the opposite. this is not always the case, however, because i honestly forgot about derse and prospit being active/passive until way after i was done slotting them all in. if it works, it works!

as there are fourteen double life members, expect a few characters to have the same class or aspect as someone else! that's just how the cookie crumbles.

hope ur ready. im not.

[disclaimer: technically, these in-depth analyses could be considered SPOILERS for the comic, as they're not fully explained until act six. there are no actual plot spoilers, though, so do what you would like!]

-

DREAM MOONS

Prospit - Flexibly optimistic, Prospit Dreamers are reactive and intuitive. They exist in the present, rather than looking to the future or obsessing over the past, and when making decisions they tend to rely on gut instincts and whatever they're feeling int he moment to guide them. They are quick to act and reliable in crisis, but they have difficulties thinking things through and are often seen as flighty. They are less rebellious than they are adaptable, instead finding away to coexist with authority than fight against it. They are naturally trusting and often project a self into the world that isn't necessarily them. ("-")

Derse - Derse Dreamers are marked by a distinct and restless skepticism. Rebellion is in their blood, and they are prone to fight against everything that moves, regardless of perceived importance to other people. They are cerebral and self-aware, and as such their identities are built on the control they have over their surroundings. They are often inflexible and pessimistic, but they are great problem solvers that face conflict with shrewd, calculating minds. They find sincere vulnerability difficult and often keep people at an arm's length. Living in the moment is hard for a Derse Dreamer; they look towards the future and analyze the past. ("+")

[adapted from the official extended zodiac page.]

-

CLASSPECTS

[all aspect descriptions were stolen from dahni, who probably has the best homestuck class/aspect analysis in the fandom. several of the descriptions of powers were stolen from kess, who probably makes the best descriptions of classpect-specific powers in the fandom. they also do lands and fraymotifs. check both of them out for all your classpecting needs!]

[if i call anyone an asshole or a dickhead, please understand that i am referring to them in a /rp sense. i am well aware that they're all lovely people irl! ^^]

Grian - Derse - Witch of Time

Witch - Starts off by breaking the rules and boundaries of their aspect, pushing and manipulating it to its limits at their whim. Must learn when use/manipulation of their aspect is really needed and when it isn't; self-regulation/control. (+)

Time - Repetition, mechanical. Destruction, endings. Precision, impatience, choice. Movement, velocity, music. Literal time. (Space)

Time players are very "fuck the system, fight everything" types of people. They're defensive, impulsive, empathetic and determined problem solvers. They're constantly in motion and it physically pains them to take things as they come, even when doing so may be the safest option. So basically, every iteration of Grian ever falls under Time.

Even if we ignore his current "literally interacting with a rift in space-time that drags things into my base from alternate timelines" lore on Hermitcraft, he's generally that sort of restlessly active, "doesn't know when to stop" kind of person. Goal-focused, values the destination over the journey...he checks all the boxes.

Witches also have that "does things for shits and giggles" swag, and they start of their journey very carefree and shirk responsibility in favour for messing around. Being a Time player, though that quality would probably get sucker punched out of him once their timeline spirals into a doomed timeline and he has to fix that.

In terms of powers, Witches can Manipulate their aspect—being a Time player, that is ridiculously powerful. When fighting an enemy, he could manipulate the timeline of their life—i.e., age them until they're nothing but dust or crank it back until they're a squealing infant (or just plain doesn't exist). All Time players can also time travel, so hopping from timeline to timeline would be absolutely no problem.

Scar - Prospit - Heir of Life

Heir - Starts off with an abundance of their aspect, basically inheriting it and having a natural proficiency regarding it. Must learn how to properly embrace their aspect and learn to manipulate that abundance of it to aide themselves and others. (-)

Life - Healing, positivity, energy. Growing, increasing/raising. Authority/power, luxury, wealth. Rebellion, recklessness, liberation. Literal life, plants, animals, food, youth. (Doom)

I feel like in every bit of content I have ever seen Scar in, he's always got some aspect of Life or another surrounding him. He's been the mayor, he's a savvy businessman, both of which fulfill luxury, authority/power, and wealth requirement. He's apparently a "luscious elf" in HCS9, whatever that means, and his base was a giant tree and he made cookies—plants and food. He's generally just an energetic, happy dude that dies laughing time and time again, always coming back with a grin and that same pep in his step that he always has.

Given these circumstances, I felt as if the Heir of Life was a title that suit him! He just radiates the energy of Life everywhere he goes, and it would make sense for him to need to learn how to wrangle in that innate recklessness that gets him killed over and over—you never know when the death might matter a bit too much and you don't respawn.

Power-wise, Heirs have full agency with their aspect and can sometimes literally become it—while I don't think it would be especially helpful to become a tree, it would make sense for Scar to be able to eventually control plants or even grant them their own agency to help him. Another idea is that he always magically takes on a form to help him just before he dies—i.e., growing gills right before drowning, boosting strength when he desperately needs it, which all might develop into him being able to properly shapeshift into any animal (eventually).

Scott - Derse - Prince of Mind

Prince - Often starts off ghosting their opposite aspect, but not always. They have a tendency to reject their aspect and actively work to fully destroy it within themselves and their surroundings. Must learn to harness their destructive tendencies and utilise them, either to systematically and purposefully destroy their aspect or to destroy using their aspect. (+)

Mind - Rationality, rational decisions, reason, logic, unbiased, impersonal. Apathetic, indifference, equal possibility. Disguises, blending in, perceptions, worldviews. Literal minds, brains, thoughts, memories. (Heart)

Princes are often assholes! Moving on.

In all seriousness, though, Scott gives hella Mind player vibes. He's probably one of the most analytically minded members of this entire group, to a point where it's kind of freaky in comparison to everyone else, but he does kind of do the whole "ghosting their opposite aspect" thing in a sense that he throws the impartiality aspect of Mind out of the window. He'll root himself in stubbornness based on one happenstance, he'll go through ridiculous lengths to maintain a partnership he has (even if it may not be the most beneficial thing in the world), and he's a serial, chronic flirt.

He's also a liar, manipulator, and he does it to benefit himself and his very close teammates. Princes destroy their aspect, and fucking with people's minds and gaslighting them sounds pretty damn similar.

Powers for a Prince of Mind are fucking raw. Destroying someone's mind could literally mean driving them to insanity, and destroying someone's perceptions could mean making them go blind or deaf. He could probably also destroy people's memories, making them an amnesiac in a particular place of his choice (think making them a full amnesiac vs making them forget how to fight). Destroying with Mind gives vibes of sending terrible images into someone's mind, or just plain Mind Spike-ing using telepathy and making people go into shock. Crazy ass mf.

Pearl - Derse - Mage of Blood

Mage - Starts off immensely suffering because of their aspect, be it an overabundance of it, a lack of it, or something in between. Must learn how to overcome that suffering and use the knowledge obtained from it to help themselves and guide others. (+)

Blood - Unity, connection, interpersonal bonds. Commitment, attachment, obligation, promises. Responsibility, dependence. Inflexibility, material, tangible. Literal blood. (Breath)

This one is pretty simple. Pearl has really had the ups and downs of Blood—and in terms of Double Life, it's mostly the downs. Being rejected by not only her soulmate, but also both members of her former team...ouch. Fans of the three Gs wept.

Throughout DL, she tried for alliances time and time again and failed basically every single time, but instead of being destroyed by it—or, at least, instead of being completely destroyed by it—she harnessed her loneliness and channeled it into strength and spite and won the entire game for herself. Suffering because of bonds, unity, connections, and overcoming that suffering to do herself some good? Very Mage of Blood, through and through.

Powers are vague, since Mages are probably the most elusive of the classes we know about, but something like being able to make Literal blood contracts that the game itself wouldn't allow you to break without severe repercussions sounds about right. Probably able to immediately point out what matters to a person most (be it a person, place, or thing), could also very possibly actually be able to see soulmate strings.

Tango - Derse - Heir of Rage

Heir - Starts off with an abundance of their aspect, basically inheriting it and having a natural proficiency regarding it. Must learn how to properly embrace their aspect and learn to manipulate that abundance of it to aide themselves and others. (-)

Rage - Unconditional anger, hate, fear. Refusal, defiance, rejection, skepticism, doubt. Negativity, despair, denial. (Hope)

Another decently cut-and-dry one, Heir of Rage Tango. A very, very fucking dangerous classpect.

As Heirs have an inherent abundance of their aspect, and Rage is, well...Rage, you can easily see what I was going for and why it fits Tango. The man is perfectly amicable sometimes but is prone to flying off the ragehandle and going absolutely off the shits when it comes to bad things happening to him and his allies/friends. He constantly has that bubble of anger underneath his skin that may or may not be be especially useful when it's out of control. Heirs need to learn when to and specifically when not to embrace their aspect in a crucial moment, but I think Tango's probably got it down pat.

That being said, it wouldn't be a good thing for him to smother all of that, either—inverting to a Hope player would do nobody any sort of good, mostly because he would be bad at it and probably bring Down the Hope by forcing himself into apathy. There is a healthy middle! This is why Jimmy and Tango are moirails.

In terms of powers...Jesus Christ. And I really do mean Holy Fuck. As previously stated, Heirs can often turn into their aspect—I would like for you to sit down and imagine what someone turning into the physical embodiment of rage, anger, fury, and every negative thought and feeling you can think of would look like...and then imagine the destruction they could unleash on an entire army of enemies. He would also be able to inspire Rage in others and manipulate it, cranking it up for his teammates to give that boost of righteous justice or cranking it all the way down for enemies, leaving them either hollow and useless or friendly and unnervingly pleasant towards them. He could project his own negative emotions onto others, so if he felt even the smidgen of fear his enemies would feel a horrible anxiousness and terror. Heirs are incredibly versatile, I could make a whole post taking about how fucking wild these powers would be, but one thing is for sure—be very afraid.

Jimmy - Prospit - Page of Doom

Page - Starts off with a lack of their aspect/lack of control of their aspect/at the mercy of their aspect. Must learn how to tap into their full hidden potential with their aspect and provide it to others. Once that full potential is released, they are one of the strongest players in the game. (-)

Doom - Harm, negativity. Caution, control/limits, necessity. Acceptance, withdrawal, equality/wisdom. Things decreasing/lowering. Literal doom, death, technology. (Life)

Pages! Pages are very odd in a sense that "having a deficiency in their aspect" is not exactly the most specific thing ever. It can range from someone with the "freedom, movement" aspect being literally crippled to someone with the "beliefs, optimism" aspect being actually pretty happy and joyful but a complete fucking moron at the same time and overcompensating.

Which basically means I can do whatever the fuck I want lmfao.

We all know about Jimmy's "canary curse," and a curse (or a virus COUGH) sounds like a very Doom-y thing to me—especially considering this curse literally makes him die, or at least become a catalyst for horrible things to happen in the Homestuck sense. He brings about Doom onto himself and others, a Page vibe through and through.

It would make sense to assume, then, that if Jimmy managed to get a handle on this curse, to tap into that inherent aura of destruction and death that he has within himself and simply can't control, he could be pretty fuckin' scary...if it ever happens. There is no guarantee that he will.

Aside from the death part of Doom, he's pretty garbage at all the other parts, too—caution (no), control/limits (no), necessity (no), equality/wisdom (no)—seriously, limits? Rules? The man tried to team with everything that breathed on Double Life, whether they had wronged him or not, and then turned around and remembered "oh yeah, this person wronged us!" and would start working to mess with them. Sir. Please.

Pages are very funny in a sense that they start off as the weakest class that is the least in-touch with their aspect, but as soon as they grasp that spark and utilise it, they are described as one of the most powerful classes. Period. Doom is a very versatile aspect, ranging from literal death to destruction to explosions to corrosion to coding and technology (including the coding and tech of the game itself). Because of this, the powers of a Page of Doom would be pretty nuts—basically being able to harness any sort of destructive, corrosive energy you can think of to fight, and also benefit other teammates with that (think making his teammates' weapons do more damage or deal corrosive damage). He could also somehow manage to exploit loopholes in the game or break shit to make the game skewed towards his favour, but that is DEFINITELY a very high-level thing and doesn't even need to be considered.

We're still talking about Jimmy, here.

Ren - Derse - Sylph of Space

Sylph - Starts off intensely meddling with their aspect, getting into other people's business with it (that is to say, about it and using it), never shutting up about it, forcing their ideas/ideals about it onto other people, and interfering and trying to help others with it in a way that often hurts more than helps. Must learn how to utilise their knowledge and abundance of their aspect in a way that actually helps and heals people and helps and heals their aspect. (-)

Space - Biology, beginnings, creation. Destiny, fate. Variation, ambiguity, patience. Creativity, big picture, literal space, physics. (Time)

Ren is such a good vibes guy, I just had to give him a good vibes Class. And his Aspect is easily the most important one, so the guy is particularly special when it comes to his session! Sylphs have a tendency to go on tangents about their aspect and basically shove it into everyone's faces, and I sort of just connected the fact that Ren is incredibly dramatic and wrangles people into his eccentric bits all the time to his inherent kindness and healer vibes. By "healer vibes" I mean the cool kind of healer, the kind of healer that would heal you and then whirl around with a sword and slice an enemy in half behind them. He gives those vibes.

Also, the canon description of Space players says that "[they understand] that sometimes you have to let something burn to the ground in order to build it back better and stronger than before" and that just reminded me of the whole "Rentheking" thing going on in Hermitcraft. They are endlessly creative and innovative, and they are focused on the big picture rather than the fussy little details...which sometimes makes them a bit vague and hard to pin down, but it's certainly not intolerable in Ren's case.

In terms of powers, Space players obviously have the whole "space, physics" thing going on for them, but a Sylph of Space would be able to do all of that whilst maintaining the least damage to Space itself. They could easily teleport and mend tears in space while also being able to create pocket dimensions if they so pleased. They could heal people by binding shit back together at the molecular level and also probably create healing-based objects.

BigB - Prospit - Rogue of Void

Rogue - Starts off with a feeling of awkwardness surrounding their aspect, believing that they aren't fit for it or it isn't suited for them or believing that it would be better off with someone else. Must learn to embrace their aspect, as it is a part of them, and trust their instincts regarding it and further their innate understanding of its applications so they can take it and redistribute it to help their team. (-)

Void - Secrets, doubt, confusion. Irrelevance, infinite possibilities, indifference. Literal void, lack-of-something, darkness. (Light)

Unfortunately, I cannot say I know too much about Bigb, but from what I can see he seems like a very nice, genuine dude with a penchant for generally being kind. On that same note, I don't think his little "secret soulmates" thing with Grian was born out of maliciousness—becoming "secret soulmates" with someone only to like gossip and trade items and give each other cookies and not actually have it be a substantial secret gives Rogue of Void vibes, especially considering how he seemed to let Grian initiate most of their "secret" interactions.

Ultimately, one could say his unfortunate demise came from him being too active, both as a passive class and as a Void player. Him rushing into a fight in broad daylight with Ren is pretty unbecoming of a Void player, and a bit of irony might be the fact that a) it was Ren died and not him, and nobody really saw him when he died because he was trailing behind and b) it was his "secret soulmate" that did the deed.

In terms of playing the game, I'd probably say that Bigb would have to fall back on and trust that aspect of being low-key that he has, as it will most likely end up being very beneficial for everyone considering a Rogue of Void's skillset!

A Rogue of Void would be able to Steal Nothingness in order to aide others. To steal the absence of something would be Making something, so he can just...create items. Very important items, if need be. Stealing secrecy and darkness and applying it to himself or others implies being able to turn himself and his teammates invisible or something along those lines, also possibly being able to travel through shadows like those mfs from the Princess and the Frog.

Bdubs - Prospit - Seer of Hope

Seer - Starts off passively observing and recording their aspect, forming their own stubborn opinions surrounding it. Must learn to be more open-minded to be able to learn every possible aspect of their aspect and use that knowledge to aide others and guide them into making the right choices. (-)

Hope - Unconditional love, trust, belief, literal hope. Confirmation, acceptance. Optimism, naïve optimism, positivity, euphoria. (Rage)

Hope—beliefs, optimism, trust, literal hope—plus a Seer—knows too much about and doesn't shut up about their aspect—equals someone really good to talk to about your problems and get advice from.

Bdubs simply has that Hope player swag, and he's got big eyes so he's a Seer move on. No, but seriously, he's very thoughtful and cunning sometimes, and I'd say that he often has pretty good plans and definitely has that "relentless fountain of knowledge" vibe that Seers do, especially considering the...[glances at bdubs and hermittwt] recent developments.

In terms of powers, Seers don't really have too much going for them. A Seer of Hope would most likely be able to see people's beliefs, people's loves (take that as you will), and most helpfully, people's intentions. If this was honed to a fine point, it could make him a literal PVP god, but he would probably do best working as a strategist or even a mole/spy. He could also possibly See the happiness level of someone, perhaps having a mood bar over the people he meets (just because it sounds funny). He could most likely also see the most Hopeful outcome in a situation/for one specific persona and guide that situation/person to the best possible outcome. As is a Seer's job!

Impulse - Prospit - Bard of Blood

Bard - Often starts off ghosting their opposite aspect, but not always. They often passively (accidentally/unknowingly/unintentionally) get rid of their aspect in some way or another before having something akin to a reckoning moment where they violently snap back to their aspect and use it to destroy. Must get a firm grip on their destructive tendencies and act more like a catalyst for the destruction of their aspect or destruction through their aspect. (-)

Blood - Unity, connection, interpersonal bonds. Commitment, attachment, obligation, promises. Responsibility, dependence. Inflexibility, material, tangible. Literal blood. (Breath)

Impulse's classpecting is probably one of the more tragic ones on here.

As stated, Bards often inadvertently destroy their aspect in some way or another, and Impulse certainly is no exception. In both 3rd Life and Last Life, Impulse basically got kicked in the ass by/because of his connections, attachments, and bonds—3rd Life being him getting betrayed by Bdubs for one (1) singular clock and Last Life being him being the last member of the Southlands that stuck with Grian and then dying in their wither fight.

Fortunately for Impulse, he's learned from the past two times—now that he is legally obligated to be paired with someone, he's sort of had his "aren't you tired of being nice" moment and proceeded to work with Bdubs, his own bond, to destroy other people's bonds—using Blood to destroy Blood. The man has gone for it both ways. All of this gives hella Bard of Blood vibes, and it's nice to see a Bard not being a complete and total dickhead for once!

Powers are sort of vague, as it is with Blood, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that while Pearl is able to create blood contracts that people are inclined to uphold because of a threat of something terrible, Impulse would be able to make contracts that are Made To Be Broken. Devil's deal type beat, I would recommend not shaking his hand because one way or another, you're going to fail to uphold your end of the deal...and it will not be pretty for you when you don't. Being able to destroy blood in a literal sense certainly makes one think of several violent things that I probably shouldn't type out—you can get the picture. Destroying connections and unity and bonds gives vibes of someone just making things go wrong around him—machinery and electronics simply stop working, and eventually his very presence could make an entire society break down. Rebel leader Impulse and Oh My Fucking God I just remembered his whole "I'm tired of being nice" thing on HCS9 GUYSSSSS THIS IS GENIUS

Etho - Prospit - Thief of Breath

Thief - Starts off rather selfish and/or self-absorbed, literally or figuratively stealing their aspect from people to benefit themselves without much of a second thought for who they're disservicing. Honestly, they don't really change that—they mostly have to learn how to not be a complete douche with it and grow and further their abilities to become the strongest they can be. (+)

Breath - Freedom, disconnection, detachment. Apathy, indifference. Independence, flexibility, options, liberties. Movement, separation. Literal air/breath, ethereality, intangibility. (Blood)

Etho simply gives vibes of a Breath player. A true Hermit that really gives no shits and teams with who he wants to team with and avoids who he wants to avoid and everyone just sort of has to deal with him or get fucking destroyed by him and Joel. You might even get destroyed by him and Joel while actively trying to appeal to them. Who the hell knows?

Big Thief vibes in him not caring about who he affects and even exploiting it sometimes, and I wouldn't say that he's necessarily selfish, but he certainly doesn't just give things away if it's not going to benefit him in return. Would probably make a pun about himself being "breathtaking."

Obviously, a Thief of Breath could literally steal someone's breath away—manipulating the air in their lungs to come Out of their lungs and making sure none goes back In. Breath also represents freedom and movement, so he could possibly magically slow people down to speed himself up like some sort of fucked up Sonic that actually makes the world around him slow down while he's moving super fast. He could probably eventually lock people in place and use the movement from them to boost himself—if he freezes six people, he can move with the combined speed of all six people. He can probably flash step, the fucking weeb, and can probably dash through the air like the Hollow Knight mc. Stealing using wind and breath, however, gives him more of a stealth aspect—he could move quieter than the breeze, his steps are light as a feather, you wouldn't be able to hear him if you were breathing, etc, etc. He could probably manipulate wind to steal items from people, maybe even doing a windy thing that takes stuff directly out of someone's sylladex (inventory).

Joel - Prospit - Maid of Rage

Maid - Starts off relying on others for advice regarding/for their aspect and having little to no agency surrounding it themselves. Must learn to seek it out on their own and create it where there is none, utilising it for their own needs whilst serving it for others in turn. (+)

Rage - Unconditional anger, hate, fear. Refusal, defiance, rejection, skepticism, doubt. Negativity, despair, denial. Physical pain, suffering. (Hope)

I think out of everyone listed, Joel already had his arc regarding his classpect the longest time ago. He's been acting out the vibe of a Maid of Rage probably ever since Last Life, or even before—I can't say I watched his POV or any surrounding POVs for him during 3rd Life, but I distinctly remember him just Having A Bunch Of Wolves by the end and going apeshit with that.

If Joel does anything at all, it's Creating Rage within himself and within other people. The man went red in session two of Last Life and was a menace until the very end—he stayed alive until the very end after being the first to go red. Rage is Anger, yes, but it's also Conviction and Strength, both things Joel has in pleasant abundance.

Maids make sure their aspect gets the furthest reach possible, which means a Maid of Rage would be spreading hatred, anger, and fear anywhere they can. Sounds Joelish (/mostly joking). He would most likely be able to make enemies feel fear, doubts, regrets, etc. He could amplify pure suffering in people, basically creating pain inside of them, eventually possibly being able to straight up make someone have a heart attack or go into shock from all of that raw pain. He could possibly be able to bring to life people's greatest nightmares and drive people a bit bonkers with that. He could probably root someone to the spot with mere eye contact, and he probably has endless strength and passion or something and simply never gets tired.

Cleo - Derse - Thief of Light

Thief - Starts off rather selfish and/or self-absorbed, literally or figuratively stealing their aspect from people to benefit themselves without much of a second thought for who they're disserving. Honestly, they don't really change that—they mostly have to learn how to not be a complete douche with it and grow and further their abilities to become the strongest they can be.

Light - Reality, awareness, perception, information, knowledge. Illumination, literal light. Luck, probability. (Void)

Thieves are often assholes! Moving on.

Okay, fine. Why, pray tell, did I give Cleo the classpect of one of the most hated character in the series? Well, you see.

She's manipulative. She lies. She hides things. She obfuscates. She's got the bluntness of a Light player and the knack for fucking with people (and proceeding to get away with it) of a Thief. Her constant tendency of blatantly lying to people's faces is, to put it in a metaphorical way, pulling the wool over someone's eyes. Shrouding them in darkness, the lack of knowledge of her shenanigans with Scott and what she's doing to people. Fucking with people's realities, awareness, perception...gaslighting...yeah. Thief of Light.

Powers for a Thief of Light basically had only one aspect of them explored in the comic despite being The Most Prominently Featured God Tier...which is the manipulation of luck. Cleo could steal the luck of other people to increase her luck, which, to put in video game terms, means that she'd boost her chances of getting eight critical hits in a row whilst simultaneously making it so her enemies have a much higher chance of missing eight times in a row. She could literally steal light, probably being able to grant herself night vision of sorts (and, if she felt like it, blinding everyone else in the room). Actually, blinding people would probably be another power, as would stealing knowledge from people, being able to make them useless in battle or even literal babies in terms of brainpower.

Great, that's two people that can basically remove the brains of anyone they come across and make them go blind. This really bodes well for this session. /s

Martyn - Derse - Knight of Heart

Knight - Starts off with a decent grasp on their aspect but a crippling lack of self-confidence in regards to it (also in general, sometimes). Must learn to trust themselves and their instincts in regards to their aspect and protect it/use it to protect others. (+)

Heart - Emotions, feelings. Personality, bias. Passion, impulses, instincts. (Mind)

Martyn, I feel, is one of the most passionate members of the Life series in general. He basically has a casting type of being a protector/defender and has ever since 3rd Life, where he was Ren's right hand. His passion and his handle on his instincts in a skilled manner really portrays how Knights use their aspect as a weapon: Martyn fights with his whole being and soul behind what he believes in, and he protects anything he's passionate about defending with just a bit more oomph than anyone else could.

Of course, being a Knight, they feel as if they have some sort of deficiency in their aspect despite them just...not. His relationship with Cleo in Double Life could be a good example: his stubbornness to change his mind about his actions in session one being helpful is Heartish, but the inherent confusion that came with Cleo not immediately changing her mind is sort of Knightish. His increasingly desperate attempts to "get her back" (including that horrendous red...box) all the while trying to maintain that idea of him being in the right when it's becoming more and more obvious that he very much might not have been actually gives vibes of a Knight who's powering through his Knight Arc (or whatever) and putting his foot down and trusting his gut about the matter. And lo and behold, even while he was blatantly refusing to accept responsibility, he and Cleo still managed to become acquaintances faster than Scott and Pearl did.

Him managing to pull that off just shows how good of a handle on his aspect he has, especially when he absolutely refuses to waver on it like he may have done in the past. I think after the situation with Cleo, he would learn that he has his own agency to make his own decisions about who and what he wants to protect instead of only relying on others for it like in the past. That isn't to say he can't latch himself to people and groups like he did before—it is in his nature after all—but post-this arc, I belive he would realise that he's down to break away from those or start his own shit at any moment he wants.

Powers for a Knight of Heart most obviously includes soul weapons. He left his sword at home and forgot to put it back in his strife specibus Oh No He Didn't. That Is A Glowing Sword Come Out Of His Chest. It could change into any style of weapon he wants, and once it becomes easier to maintain, he could probably just make any necessary tools or weapons he can think of. Heart players have this silly ability to splinter, which is basically fracturing their soul to make manifestations of themselves. Eventually, Martyn could possibly be able to summon a shitton of those guys with all their own strengths and weaknesses and individual prowesses. He would probably get a really sick boost of strength when defending himself and his friends.

-

BONUS (SPRITES):

Mumbo - Prospit - Knight of Mind

Knight - Starts off with a decent grasp on their aspect but a crippling lack of self-confidence in regards to it (also in general, sometimes). Must learn to trust themselves and their instincts in regards to their aspect and protect it/use it to protect others. (+)

Mind - Rationality, rational decisions, reason, logic, unbiased, impersonal. Apathetic, indifference, equal possibility. Disguises, blending in, perceptions, worldviews. Literal minds, brains, thoughts, memories. (Heart)

Mumbo is sooo Knight-coded it's insane. Yes you little skroinkle bimble-doo you are so good at everything you set your mind to and you do it with ease but you will never acknowledge it will you. You are so silly and Knightish. (<- going insane. this is the last analysis i have to do.)

This isn't to say that Mumbo has low self-esteem or anything, he's just fucking brilliant and he really never seems to embrace it or say anything about it. The guy is smart, maybe not necessarily clever, but certainly smart, and he's decently rational when you compare him to the rest of the Hermits. He could probably out-logic anyone that decided to try and argue logic with him, but as soon as someone like Grian comes in with his nonsensical roundabout reasoning, I'd suspect that Mumbo would crumple like a tin can.

Unfortunately, for this type of Knight, I can't really say "HE PULLS A BLADE OUT OF XYZ," but I will say that he'd most likely have some sort of mind control/brainwashing nonsense he could implement in people. His brain would process things like a supercomputer, and while Mumbo seems like he would be a pretty passive player, if it came down to it in a fight, he'd be able to analyse the enemy's fighting style like fucking JARVIS or basically slow-mo an attack in his mind to figure out how to expertly dodge bullets.

Lizzie - Derse - Witch of Light

Witch - Starts off by breaking the rules and boundaries of their aspect, pushing and manipulating it to its limits at their whim. Must learn when use/manipulation of their aspect is really needed and when it isn't; self-regulation/control. (+)

Light - Reality, awareness, perception, information, knowledge. Illumination, literal light. Luck, probability. (Void)

Okay to be completely real I don't have an in-depth explanation for this one with examples and everything you're just going to have to trust me alright.

Lizzie individually has the swag of both a Witch and a Light player, and together it forms a person who's as clever as they are vaguely ditzy. That is to say, she could outsmart your ass at any given time of day, but once the knowledge that would allow her to do that is deemed irrelevant, it's basically forgotten until an "oh shit, I forgot about that" moment happens.

Witches are generally friendly people that really enjoy messing around with their aspect towards the beginning of the game. As Light deals with knowledge and whatnot, this classpect implies dicking around with people (but not in a particularly malicious way, Unlike Some Other Light Players I Know) and knowledge and information, and having some sort of connection with light and manipulating attention. Bright pink hair and also fairy vibes, anyone?

Powers for a Witch of Light vary as much as the aspect does, but the first think I can think of is the fact that Lizzie can literally deal radiant damage. She could make lazerbeams of pure light or open up the colour spectrum to things Humans Shouldn't Be Able To See. She could also manipulate luck, which is hilarious—"hey, Lizzie, what are the chances of a comically oversized anvil dropping on this hoarde of imps in front of us rn?" "uh...id give it a good 100%" [CLANG]

Skizz - Derse - Knight of Blood

Knight - Starts off with a decent grasp on their aspect but a crippling lack of self-confidence in regards to it (also in general, sometimes). Must learn to trust themselves and their instincts in regards to their aspect and protect it/use it to protect others. (+)

Blood - Unity, connection, interpersonal bonds. Commitment, attachment, obligation, promises. Responsibility, dependence. Inflexibility, material, tangible. Literal blood. (Breath)

I watched two hours of Skizz content (a few eps. of his Last Life POV) to formulate this so kindly forgive me if it is inaccurate.

In the context of Last Life (as that is basically the only frame of reference I have), he assigned himself to the position of leader of BEST and took it incredibly seriously, dedicating valuable time to setting up plans, maps, and failsafes for the team—i.e., the secret respawn room in the bunker. He prided himself on making sure the team was a completely well-oiled machine that would stay functioning and stay together no matter what happened.

It did happen once or twice where he'd pushed the team a little harder than necessary in a very "just in case," "this needs to be perfect" kind of way, especially considering the practice regarding the TNT cannon. There were also moments when a team leader probably would have been most fit to step up and help the members sort through something (especially regarding interpersonal ordeals) and he did little to nothing at all, sitting back and letting Bdubs or Etho take care of it.

Overcompensating for and underestimating their ability to handle their aspect is a very Knightish thing, and as had been made clear, he was a very team-oriented guy. I mean, the man was such a good leader that the BEST team even managed to fully maintain itself while he was red and actively against them, and only started falling apart after he fully lost all of his lives, and even while he was red, he said himself that he couldn't bring himself to really hurt his team—his brothers—and still wanted to see them succeed.

So many damn Blood players...why did I repeat the aspect that we know basically NOTHING ABOUT.

As Knights weaponise their aspect, Skizz having a similar thing to Martyn would make sense, except instead of being able to draw weapons from his soul like a goddamn Crystal Gem, he could manipulate his own blood to turn into cool weapons instead. Alternatively, if the mental image of giving yourself a wound to make a weapon isn't your cup of tea, I could also potentially see him getting a specific weapon based on who it is he's fighting alongside. Hemokinesis is an obvious one, which can be used in several versatile ways—from healing to straight up bloodbending.

Skizz is a sprite because the universe had to fucking NERF HIM

-

CONCLUSION

This session is fucking doomed.

There are two Thieves. Two Active Rage players. A Thief and a Prince in an alliance. A Bard of Blood. A Page of Doom that's probably cursed/virused to Doom whatever session he's a part of or something like that.

The members of the team that would probably benefit their more unstable participants are all sprites.

Yeah, no. They all die at the end.

Thank you for reading!

-

CREDITS

Scar's Class - @sincerely-unidentified

Bigb, Bdubs, Implulse, and Cleo's Classes - @caubool

Reading Homestuck and Dragging Me Back Into this Hellscape - @chrisrin

[fduck0]

As someone who never stops thinking abt Wendy and Abigail, I've always seen Wendy's rework animation as less of a hallucination and more as a simple but effective rundown over Wendy's struggle with her grief through how she remembers Abigail's death. Most notably, I believe the last bit with the bush is either a slightly older memory stitched in or deliberate misremembering as a defense mechanism of sorts. My main reason for thinking this is partially cause yeah no that just didn't happen, but also because to me it makes the previous moments hit so much harder because of the harsh contrast between Wendy's attitude towards Abigail in the two scenes. In the previous, she's dismissive, and has to be dragged away from her books, and is clearly much more reluctant about doing things than Abigail. And in the next scene, Wendy is smiling, laughing, and playing with Abigail. This actually fits quite well with Wendy's dialogue too, but that's besides the point. And with the ending bit, I see it as a basic snap to reality from a deep daydream. Also, one detail I love is how Jack does look concerned for Wendy and briefly tries to reach for her before giving up, which just is soooo good like a big part of Wendy's hashtag issues was not just losing Abby, but also seemingly having very little support after that loss. In general, a lot of Wendy's messy and sometimes contradictory statements and actions are incredibly easily explained by the fact that she's a traumatized and grieving child who in no way has the tools to healthily cope with her emotions and very little support even outside of that. This is why Wendy makes me want to start biting things and why that's my favorite don't start animation 👍

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS THIS PERSON GETS IT.

Tbh while ive never thought ab Wendys animation like that, that is SUCH a good fucking take on it and tbh PRETTY GOD DAMN FITTING to wendys rapid change of emotions in the animation. and with this i have to say, YESSSS SOMEONE IS FINALLY POINTING OUT THE JACK THING.

I feel like a lot of Wendys fear of letting go of Abigail comes from this. Its like a god damn tragedy cycle. feel alone without Abigail- get no support from family- feel more alone and abandoned- cling to the fact Abigail WOULD have been the support and form an unhealthy coping mechanism around it- grow MORE dependent on her and restart. It is essentially what makes her SO god damn afraid and i feel like this quote from her forge vignette puts it best "Wendy clings fiercely to the grief over her sister's death, for fear that moving on would cause Abigail's memory to fade."

With the lack of support from her family and being "left behind", Wendy most probably feels to some extent she is the ONLY one trying to keep Abigail's memory alive. Abigail is the ONLY one she has ever had.

And with this last thing, another YES. A lot of Wendys contradictions can be boiled down to her conflicted and jumbled emotions as a child trying to cope and her fears getting the best of her. Wendy doesnt HATE colours, Wendy hates what memories those colours bring back and the cheerfulness she doesnt feel anymore. it is all a mockery to her grief, but there is STILL a part of her that longs for that part of her childhood back, which leads to a lot of the conflicted quotes as a kid who doesnt know what she wants anymore.

But yeah, we going off again bc WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH Wendy lore is both so cool and complicated and idk how to write down my opinions so they just come out in rambles but like YEAH Keese you are so fucking right

[lycocarpum]

okay i kind of floated the idea of aromantic laudna in the heat of the moment as a bit of a not-so-serious joke but i'm still thinking about it. so im gonna just... think aloud for a second. since character retrospectives are A Thing we're all doing, i suppose.

and let me be very very clear, im not against wlw laudna or imogen/laudna at ALL, and i don't think this is in any way, shape or form going to actually HAPPEN, it's just an interesting path my mind took me down wrt her character and how she could grow. no serious headcanons here, no predictions. pick up the legos and play with me.

thing is-- we don't really see a lot of aspec relationships In Fiction deal with aromanticism as a legitimate thing worthy of respecting, and not... a minor inconvenience, or something to compromise on, let alone and god forbid the 'fix-it' narrative.

i can very clearly see a scene where one of the other two BH members sits laudna down and explains that imogen is IN love with her, and laudna just has this '.... oh, that's. that's going to be a bit. hm.' reaction. bc tbh that's something i've gone through a lot, and it's something that friends of mine have been on the OPPOSITE end of, as well.

and tbh i would really love to see conflict between the two stemming from the whole thing. Not because its any one person's fault and not because anyone is in the wrong, but simply for the... lack of compatibility of it all. trying to piece together some way to hold onto this relationship when you need different things from it. whether that works out or not, i think it's a good rp concept and could even be cathartic in a way very similar to how imogen/laudna endgame would be.

this kind of revelation from laudna could be freeing in some sense-- she knows more about herself, things start to make *sense* finally-- but it could also act as the catalyst for finally addressing their codependency and mutual self-esteem issues. it opens up room for a conversation about BEING frustrated that your feelings aren't returned, feeling guilty for things you can't help, finding your identity even when it's in conflict to what your closest and dearest friends want.

And it gives imogen even more to kind of... fret over, which is when i think she's at her best, character wise. I like imogen a lot, but i want to see her grow. i kinda think shes being... idk if naive is the right word here, but shes being a bit short-sighted on this imaginary future shes created with laudna. and while i think laudna would love to DO those things with her, in this hypothetical, if shes not IN love with her... That stings, that hurts, even for the most saintly of people.

Idk idk i just think this would be an interesting avenue to go down. i 100% get why people WOULDN'T, its a very raw wound and it's extremely topical in a time when there's so much conflict regarding queer relationships and media and etc. etc. you all get this, we're adults here. I don't like them hurting for the sake of hurting ofc but i like the messiness of this bc it is very real.

[iuwon]

ok i ran out of things to say already I DONT SPAM ASK BOXES OFTEN so i’ll give u a moot game to do 😁😁 this is unoriginal but assign ur mutuals tropes so we can bring a little deluluism from twitter to tumblr

AUHHHH A MOOT GAME😍 this is so sexy of u i love ur brain SAWRY IM GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO ANSWER THIS

@jaeyunverse — you know that trope where the kpop idol goes undercover on twitter, so like undercover kpop idol x fan. YEAH, like whenever i see those tropes i just can’t see anyone who’d suit the role better than you i’m being so serious, like your personality radiates this vibe that makes a person want to get to know you more. i can envision a whole smau and you’d make the whole thing SO FUN i’ll be the side internet best friend who comments under ur every tweet

@tyunni — IDK IF THIS IS A TROPE but you know the plot wherein they’re oblivious to the fact that they’re in love with each other so their whole story is just their own friends trying to give them signs that the other likes them, and then both of their friends teaming up until they’re in the brink of just straight up telling them bc you guys are not getting the hint IT’D BE SO CUTE AND FUNNY GIGGLES

@yjwfav — THE PREVIOUS BULLY TURNED INTRO NICE DUDE TROPE. like don’t get me wrong, they wouldn’t actually be a bully, just someone who was misunderstood. this is so random but i would do anything just to see that trope with nadia😁 the conflict and confusion and misunderstandings i feel like slow burn really fits you SO SO SO WELL like do u guys see it cause i see it so clearly THIS TROPE JUST FITS YOU SO WELL IM SORRY

@fairybinie — THE FAKE RELATIONSHIP TROPE WAS MADE FOR U SHUT UP the slow burn and tension and hints and everything like i can envision this already and having u talk to me about it on twt dms and my hand would be over my mouth and all I DON’T EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF

@s-uwu-binie — THE BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS TROPE WOULD BE SO SO SO CUTE ON YOU MY ASAWA😭 or like the whole aspect of first love and🥺 it would be so wholesome and fluffy like having a best friend and a lover at the same time THIS WOULD BE SO PERFECT YOU DONT UNDERSTAND

@iyeonjuni — honestly the only trope i can really see on you is the love triangle trope LMSSMDNDNXD I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT just two people pining after you 😍😍 OR MORE we Never know but i really see that on you, i also see like one of them being someone from the past and then comes back as the one who got away, so you’re stuck in between choosing. i just cannot explain why .

@enhayos — I DO NOT KNOW WHY BUT I REALLY REALLYYY NEEDED TO PUT THIS: the trope wherein the both of you have changed and your relationship is on the edge so you’re just trying to find your way back to each other. GRRRRHHHHH THIS IS THE PERFECT TROPE FOR YOU ???? I’M SORRY IF IM WRONG BUT I JUST SEE THIS HAPPENING IF EVER

@junityy — the seat mates trope. I LOVE IT SM just hear me out and imagine this: seatmates. always paired up with each other. LIKE THEY COULD BE LOUD AF OR WAYYY TOO QUIET OR WHTVR BUT THIS WOULD BE SO SO SO CUTE UEUEUEUEUE😭😭 like them having this very obvious liking towards u and like to them everything is about you so like they’d notice all the little things about you and pick up your little habits or moods ok ill stop

@yyx2 — the enemies to lovers trope, honestly. this would be so sexy. like i wouldn’t say that you guys would be enemies but you guys wouldn’t exactly like each other and would disagree w/ each other a lot. you guys would be in the fine line between liking and disliking e/o it’d be so juicy HAUSHSHSBDH

@yeoforce — roommates to lovers but you guys are rivals that’s the spiciest trope so far. the tension, the awkward moments, the questionable moments I’D BE SO FUN AND SPICY i’m already envisioning scenarios I WONT EXPLAIN INTO DETAIL BC U DONT OPEN TUMBLR ANW

@ksjluvrbot — new url i lov it anw ur trope would be the amnesia trope like u forgot about your s/o and the memories so it’s a whole slow burn I FEEL LIKE IT SUITS U fr you’d be so skeptical of them at first and definitely avoidant because ur like WHO TF IS THIS DUDE GET HIM AWAY, but they’re very persistent towards you so you slowly get to notice all the little things they do yadayda I WON’T GO INTO DETAIL EITHER BC U DON’T ALSO OPEN TUMBLR

me when i don’t know who else to add i’m just tagging people off the top of my head I’M SORRY IF I DIDN’T ADD YOU😭

[levmada]

Real question, but ignore if it's bothersome or makes you feel uncomfortable or too personal.

Would Levi date/love you in real life or even in canon world? Like with how you have such a strong way of understanding him so fucking well I honestly LOVE how you interpret him as he would be in different situations, you know this answer best.

Again, if this makes you upset or uncomfortable to think about please ignore! I'm just a curious person.

thisss post is p personal so if you dont care about me as a person dont read😭 /gen

(I’m asexual so definitely not in real life. even if i didn’t know who Levi was and he was just There, iiii wouldn’t feel any attraction, or at least not nearly as much as with him being fictional. idrk how to explain it)

putting aside all the reasons i wouldn’t survive the canon world (💀), iiii really don’t know? i cant decide? mostly because of the personality disorder so i really can’t tell u what i’m like :| i get obsessed when someone tells me i’m actually really intimidating or funny for examples bc i didn’t know. or shy, bookish, excitable etc etc idk about any of it.

but enough about psychology. i used to be a really clingy person who couldn’t be by myself basically ever lmao, but i’m the exact opposite now. Levi would notttt like a clingy partner, or someone who needs him in order to stand on their own. he’s fiercely independent, and so he would need someone who’s his equal in that regard. yeah that’s me

i kind of kin levi💀 all the shitload of abandonment issues and trauma? check. will sooner eat glass than ask for help? check check. cant read social cues, all the emotional expression around others of a brick wall (unless i’m masking)? check check check.

and i feel like Levi would get along with someone who has experienced to some extent his kind of pain. in other words someone bubbly but especially innocent in any regard is not someone he’d get along with romantically. (so i pass that one.)

i’m kind of an intellectual too? you don’t necessarily need to be smart, but you should function a lot on logic and being inquisitive or introspective. same as him. so me.

Levi would have trouble with someone who lives with their heart on their sleeve or lets emotions guide all their choices. he’s badddd at emotions, wouldn’t be able to return that energy and wouldn’t know what to do with it all. he’d get overwhelmed. iiii don’t know which one i am sooooo… undecided.

seeing how Levi is so awkward and aloof as a person, he’d want to be around someone who’s notttt like that with their close friends / people they love. same reason Levi especially gets along with people like Furlan and Isabel, Erwin, and Hange. all extroverts in varying ways. i’m extremely fucking awkward but with ppl close to me i’m definitely more of a Hange or Isabel type💀 so that’s good at least. as Levi’s partner, being very reserved, defensive or shy wouldn’t go anywhere.

also similar to Levi, i stuff down basically all my emotions until i pretty much explode. i don’t really know how to decipher my feelings or what they mean. i don’t think that’s a significant factor to having chemistry with him, but it’s worth mentioning. about Doing Emotions, Levi doesn’t seek out support with his emotions, and in fact he wouldn’t want that. he would prefer your feelings for each other, and the things you each do to protect, comfort, or be there for each other understood. his partner doesn’t need to be the same as him, but it’s good they understand that. we'd be very comfortable with each other in that regard.

also same as Levi, i just avoid everything that upsets me in the moment, and can be immature or petty at signs of conflict. Levi is an extremely mature person, but he isn’t someone who’s emotionally intelligent, and he’s a sensitive character. thus his first instincts when there’s been a misunderstanding or he feels a sense of one of his biggest fears - abandonment - he can’t bring himself to reveal that vulnerability, so he either deflects, gets petty, pulls away, or all three. taking that into account alone, me and Levi would be a disaster to say the least lmao. he needs someone who encourages him to confront the issue one way or another.

i’m not sure if i’m more calm or hotheaded, but i have insane anxiety and the worst anger issues ever. maybe that would fall into the category of “feral-ness” like Hange has to an extent. Hange is also an intelligent and logical character (i mean they’re a fucking scientist), which i relate to so i think i pass that. maybe.

i can stay calm in a fast-paced urgent situation. also important not just if i want to survive in the aot world (i wouldn't anyway probably), but that's important to Levi. alongside strength (in the broad definition).

so my conclusion: OBJECTIVELY yeah.... maybe... if i live that long. but also we have a lot to learn about communication and getting over our own ingrained self-hatred/perceived worthlessness/fear of intimacy etc etc. Hange can be our couples therapist lollll

[diamondcitydarlin]

I guess in the end it's probably for the best that this season didn't really leave any cliffhangers to chew on and speculate about and just kinda reset us back to season 1 bc it's become pretty clear now that even the in-depth plot arcs that define most of a season (ex. baby colin and Laszlo raising him) don't really get the follow up or pay off that the set-up suggested they would get. Guillermo is revealed as vampire hunter to the group, only for next season to come around and it's sort of a passive fact they dance around while he still does familiar duties and is treated like a servant, Laszlo raising and becoming attached to Baby Colin, then he insta-grows up and nothing about that is explained, explored, we never hear about Laszlo's conflicting feelings about it, we're just back to season 1 with Colin, Nadja and Guillermo go to London and then by next season they're back and their time there is more-or-less glossed over with no real lasting consequences in the end, the Vampire Council is out for their blood because of Guillermo killing vampires and then, no, they really just decide that's okay, we're not going to be a conflict anymore byyyyyeee! (circus music for me thinking the council was still out for them in secret lmao but maybe that'll happen later) So, at least this time it wasn't like the episode ended with Guillermo becoming a vampire only for us to wait until next season to see them quickly wipe away the residue and make him human again and reset reset reset, they just had it happen within the runtime so there's no confusion about where will be when season 6 starts (back at the beginning for all intents and purposes). And like, this isn't me saying I hate Shadows and the writing is bad and I'll never watch it ever again, but I do feel a bit disappointed that 'nothing really matters ever' has turned out to be the underlying theme all along, when I don't think it HAS to be that way just to preserve the silliness and absurdity or to make a point about how vampires never really change. Because the truth is, they -have- all changed a bit despite the constant resets and dropping of plots, and THAT is satisfying but eschewing all the possible conflicts and issues that could arise from seeing some of these plots through just feels kind of lazy? Uninspired? It definitely cools my excitement on watching the show going forward, though I most likely still will. It's not a deal-breaker, just deflating.

Like others have said, I think I'm just going to start tempering my expectations better for whatever comes next, because there's not really any point going wild with the concepts and rotating them around in my head for months when nothing really matters or sticks long enough to be consequential, it really is just the poopfartsex joke show with some dramatic moments sprinkled in. It's a bit deceptive though, I will say, to build these things up and focus on them at all when they're just going to be discarded at the end, but maybe that's supposed to be the punchline? I don't find it very funny but maybe others get something out of that, idk.

In this vein, it's also frustrating (esp this season) that there have been so many disconnected cameos and weird storylines (donut lady) that don't mean anything and don't go anywhere meaningful either. Like, I guess I'm the clown for thinking the Djinn showing up for 5 secs was going to be relevant to Nandor reverting Guillermo or something? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT??

At the end of the day, it's still a funny, enjoyable show for me and I still like how they introduce and frame the dramatic moments even if they ultimately will come to nothing, and this season has still had gems of episodes that I loved, but I guess it's just kind of a reality check for me to stop expecting something the powers that be have no intention of giving.

Also I have brainworms and I still want to see Nandermo kiss or whatever, even if I don't like how that whole reverting to human thing was handled by either of them, but that's another post lmao

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

Hi Sarah :) I know you said you were working on AH scale asks, but just wanted to add my two cents! As an actual fat fan who previously had a longterm eating disorder... it's a highly relatable moment and not offensive at all! She's not saying she is actually fat. She's clearly saying she had a problem, it was painful and not healthy. Just like all the other problems in the song/video.

The entire premise is that Problem Taylor is the devil on her shoulder encouraging bad decisions and hurting her. Does anybody think Taylor is encouraging people to think everyone will betray them? Does anyone want her not to express that Problem Taylor experience? No.

Also, at the end of that scene, when she looks in the mirror and Problem Taylor appears? I fully thought we were getting a graphic bulimia reference. So it could have been something to actually complain about!

---

Initial Reactions

I’m so conflicted about the anti-hero music video :( The scene where she gets on the scale and it says - “fat” like being fat is her worst nightmare, it really hurt my plus-sized friends. As a whole, I absolutely love the video, but it could have been a really easy change to just not show what the scale said, or have a sad emoji. Or have a different scene which shows a conflicted relationship with food instead. I understand you can’t please everyone, but this effects so many people and would have been a simple fix. I’m not mad, just really sad.

hey sarah! wondering how you feel about the fatphobia discourse re: anti hero mv - basically for anyone who hasn’t seen it there are people who don’t like that the scale scene shows her “fear of fatness” and how that is inherently fatphobic and the people going against them are saying that what she did with the scale is representative of fat being a “state of mind” and something that many people with EDs go through. personally i agree with the second opinion and i don’t think that it is correct for random people to be “calling” fatphobia on a recovering anorexic because the very nature of the illness is the fear of gaining weight so she is accurately representing her lived experience.

Maybe it’s too early to discuss this but I’m curious your thoughts on the fatphobia discussion around the music video. My friend (who is fat) and I were talking about it. Obviously she should be able to discuss her ED freely and it is a serious illness and a very personal thing. But I do think it was mishandled here, and that’s speaking as someone who has always loved TS. We are in a changing world and shifting culture. People need to recognize that lots of actually, undeniably fat people suffer from eating disorders. Just because they are actually fat doesn’t make the eating disorder ok or good. Being fat is not bad, it’s not good, it just is, and the video portrays it as bad (because obviously that is the messaging she has received in her life). I’m split bc she is just being honest about her experience, but I wonder if it is something we need to see from her in the medium of a music video where she can’t explain the nuances, and can only say that she doesn’t want to be fat/thinks she’s fat and hates it. Idk. Maybe I just need an outlet. I just think a lot of swifties are unwilling to see the different sides of this. It’s no hate to Taylor. It’s part of our changing social climate. Hopefully we can change this kind of messaging. 

Response to Responses

I’m feeling super down by the way people are speaking about the fat scale on Reddit. My friend reached out to me to talk about how it felt hurtful to her as a fat person, and I was trying to explain what we had talked about there in a completely rational way (yes it’s a good scene for people who have struggled w eating disorders, no it doesn’t make actually fat people feel great to see), and I’m getting downvoted and bullied. I’ve been a swiftie since I was 12 (now 26). I’m not trying to attack Taylor or anyone, why can’t people try to open their eyes for 2 seconds and understand that the scene could have hurt people and those people are allowed to feel hurt?? It puts a bitter taste in my mouth over the whole weekend :/

Hi Sarah. No worries if you don’t publish this I just needed to vent and I feel heard even if you’d rather not host this discussion publicly! I just read an article critical of the “fat” on the scale in the music video saying it’s damaging and fatphobic and I’m so annoyed that people will literally bitch about anything. Maybe that’s how they make $$? I need to just ignore them I know. The whole point of that scene is she feels unworthy no matter what that scale says. People can relate to it.

Response To Video Being Edited

Trigger Warning for Weight/ED Recovery. Hi Sarah. News of updated Anti-Hero video edit just hit! I am so happy and proud to be a lifelong Swiftie right now. These moments are amazing to witness. Taylor and her team taking feedback and being sensitive to others' recovery. Not making it a big deal. Ugh. I just love that she did this. Super awesome of her and IMO shows her heart is truly in the right place (which we have always known). 

Theyve edited the antihero video to remove the scale scene. I dont vibe w the pacing of the new one. I wish she had left it or just edited the word fat off the scale if she had to, it wouldve accomplished the same thing

---

As you can tell, you guys had a lot to say about the scale scene in the "Anti-Hero" music video. I thought it best to group them by 'topic' in a sense to illustrate the range of responses to the exact same thing.

Not only to indicate differences in opinion (the beauty of life and TSS - I'd like to think!) but how oftentimes there is no 'winning' in a situation.

For me, I think there's many conflicting truths that occur here simultaneously.

The video documents the worst and unfounded fears and vulnerabilities Taylor has about herself and her life. They are the most bitter, sad, and dark pieces about herself that she knows are wrong and is spending her life trying to unlearn and rectify.

People who have been through, survived, and will likely always experience the lingering vestiges of an eating disorder should be able to talk about their experience - even when that experience is uncomfortable. Because diseases often are.

Fat people deserve respect. If the depiction of the scale using that word made them feel sad or hurt or less-than or any myriad of things - that is valid for them to feel.

The most uncomfortable part of this - and I think what is difficult for a lot of people to reconcile with - is that none of these things is more important than the other. They're all the truth and they're all real.

I think it's important to understand why that word and that scene was created (to painfully depict the shittiest things someone going through an eating disorder and body dysmorphia thinks and fears, and even in sickness knowing ultimately how wrong that is). Just as it is to leave space for people to have knee-jerk and emotional responses to it (why is my lived everyday reality being portrayed as this awful and doomed scenario? why is my mere existence seen as something so terrible?).

[sweaterlinkcafe]

I realize overtime, over the course of my 26 years of living, that I have a particular type when it comes to celebrities and fictional characters. This includes both men and women, but I will start with the men.

I love men who are ethereal, pretty boys, princely, protective, or some or all of the above. They typically have some kind of brooding front but deep down they are the most gentle and kind souls. For some reason, they all have light hair (silver or white) but doesn't have to be necessarily. But most do. I also love a good fictional man with a tortured soul. Bonus points if they are some kind of demon or vampire. Or a humanoid mixed with some other other-worldly entity. Additional points if they hate everyone but the person they love. Bonus bonus points if he cooks well.

Exhibit A: My first anime crush, Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket

I was gonna say he just has this princely vibe. But now that I think about it, he is lowkey kinda brooding. He just is not as prominent with it. And he has the Sohma curse, so he also does have a mystical aspect about him. And he's a pretty boy. It all makes sense lol.

Exhibit B: Zero Kiryuu from Vampire Knight

Zero's got somewhat of an ethereal vibe with his light features. He's also is the definition of having a super brooding front but deep down a very gentle and kind soul. I can especially because not only how he treats Yuki, but how he treats animals (like the horse White Lily for example). He's also a vampire. And a tortured soul. And hates everyone but Yuki. I get the vibe he's somewhat protective too, at least with Yuki, so I'm like like good lawd.

Exhibit C: Rin Okumura from Ao No Exorcist

I put him in here too because he's somewhat of an outlier. Not really but kinda? Maybe just because he has dark hair? Idk. Anyway, I liked him because of his humor and the fact he cooks well. He gives me somewhat ADHD vibes too. Teenage me was like damn. I would marry him. And his father is literally Satan himself??? Hell yeah. (No pun intended).

Exhibit D: Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss

Also has white/silver hair. Wow. What a coincidence. He's also. A demon. Wow. What a surprise. And he's brooding by all fronts. An element that makes him stand out is that he cooks and cleans well. And he has a somewhat like sensual vibe? And he has a past. A wild past at that bc, ya know, he's a demon.

He's also very protective of Nanami. So much so he's very possessive of her at times. Some moments in the show made me raise an eyebrow like...huh? But it all comes from a good place, so I don't mind it overall. He pretty much hates everyone but her. And don't even get me started on how he approached Nanami when they first meet when Nanami goes back in time. Like HUH. I beg your finest pardon? Why does it feel so hot in here all the sudden?

I would classify him as a tortured soul because he's pretty much betraying his nature as a demon (and Akura-Oh) for falling in love with a human. And he has a tendency to hide in great conflict and close himself in. So I'm pretty sure he's a soft boy at heart.

Exhibit E: Taemin

Do I need to explain? He's the only real person on here. And that's saying something. He's a pretty boy. He's giving ethereal. Giving sensuality. Sings and dances with so much soul and emotion like he's a tortured soul (and honestly I think he is). He's sensual. He's someone that makes me go, hm, I like him so much that I wanna be him. He's an inspiration for my fashion choices and my dance style. Because I dance here and there and I can say that I'm definitely not a terrible dancer. I've been watching his growth as a performer since 2011 and I just am in awe with Taemin. His music and performances makes my spirit come alive. Like I think yes! Someone gets it. But he could just be autistic and that's why I'm drawn to him more than others. (I'm autistic).

And more recently, the icing on the cake

Exhibit F: Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3

I remember seeing edits of him on Tik Tok in September of 2023. I think that was when Baldur's Gate 3 was released. Astarion was the primary reason why I bought it. I also heard it was a good game in general too and it is up my alley when it comes to fantasy RPGs. So that was a factor. First off, light hair? Second, he's an elf vampire??? Not a thing I would expect coming out of my mouth. And I don't mind it a single bit. And he's ethereal and a devastatingly beautiful being.

He is THE definition of a tortured soul. My guy was a slave for 200 years and had to bed thousands to lure them to an older vampire in the guise of a well-respected noble. And was tortured and had no control and had to do everything this vampire said no question. And for one of those years, he was put into complete darkness. For not wanting to lure in a sweet man.

He puts up a front, idk if it's brooding per se. It's more flirtatious and cheeky and diva-esque. Full of sarcasm too. I think the real him is full of anger/resentment. He is power hungry, but it makes sense because he was controlled. But I'm choosing not to ascend him and have him continue the cycle.

That's it. Thank you <3 (My post for women will be coming soon)

[ddarker-dreams]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID THE TRUTH.

I admit that i enjoyed act 3 but it feels like really rushed i have so much complain with that.

The build up until act 2 was so good it give us so much premise but the final blow si meh. Sorry that i want to share thing long rant with you

1. Why the final talk is with yae, no offense to her but we need ei to explain not to mention she witness khaenriah downfall so she can give us more information, i feel like they do it for the plot armor so they can just keep dragging this

2. So many things that quite inconsistant, the shogun is show no mercy to anyone that even did a little thing outside what she think its right, how come she can still have a talk with signora, when sara is falling like that, and also there is no clarification about sara right now.

The traveler was so done at first they refuse to help thoma and ayaka at the beginning. But they seem so happy and forget everything how come they are not RAGE ( okay maybe this is to bias and personal) when this nation provide nothing about our siblings information and also why they are not mention anything about their problem in ei stroy quest. Its nonsense! She is right in front of youu, ask about your siblings, ask about khaenriah, ask about ukmown god!!. How come they can just forget like that. Also mihoyo really waste the potential about twin things i thing ei will give us so much help bcs of the sympathy that we both rn lost our twin but noooo.

3. Kokomi seem lost some brain cell, she make a very succesfull grand intro but she become meh in act 3, how come a great strategist like her let the sus sponsorship slip just bcs they are desperate, not to mention her screen time is really small and her role seem so unsignificant and it feels lile she is a plain npc.

4. The awesome world quest that we have done doesnt get any mention at all! Inazuma owe us so much with cleansing sakura, thunder sakura, tatarigami, obarashi quest. It has so much potential that yae or ei or anyone else aknowledge what traveler has been done but nooo.

cracks knuckles... i suppose it's time for my promised dissertation. interestingly enough, you touched on a lot of the main issues i had with chapter III.

i think that if i had to pin the main issue, it's a lack of overall cohesiveness? we were jumping all over the place without the chance to ever flesh things out. inazuma is a smaller cast, but i feel like we didn't get to see any of them shine. since i'm most interested in the genshin characters, i'll break down my problems by going over everyone and their (lack) of impact on the story.

was ayaka not questioned or placed under suspicion for being close to thoma before his escape? i wanted to see her broken up over her duties as they relate to the yashiro commission, paired with having someone she genuinely cares about in danger. it would've been an interesting struggle if she was forced to choose one or the other. instead she just kinda took a back seat.

speaking of thoma, i don't even have anything to say, because he just... was there? for .0001 seconds. said "lol this sucks ig" and that's about it. i know we're going to get a story for him in the future since he's a 5* but i'm not getting my hopes up 😭 then in the raiden shogun's character story, man is peachy keen! be upset with the raiden shogun! have some inner conflict! even if it's just using loaded language because he's under surveillance for going against the raiden shogun, that'd be so cool. saying something like,

"Traveler, what's with that expression? Oh please, there's nothing to worry about. We're under the Statue of the Omnipresent God's protection. Nothing bad has ever happened here." *wink*

i also don't know what to say about gorou. he was... there....... i think. what is he fighting for? what are the stakes for him? what makes him place so much trust into kokomi? i'm out of things to say about him because i don't remember anything he did or said.

kokomi... oh kokomi... i was so hyped. so excited. i thought that maybe we could see a foil to the raiden shogun. that she'd have a moment where she's forced to realize, just like her opponent, sacrifices must be made that will hurt people who will never understand why she made them. or maybe something to show her military prowess. but instead she just accepts a mysterious patron's help (?), sees her people aging like the grateful dead from JJBA, and goes oh well. that sucks. what can ya do. oh bye traveler i guess, good luck with that. ????????????? HUH... similar case to thoma where she's gonna get a character story but like. she won't be the leader of the resistance anymore. that was her whole shtick. they took her shtick away. also she forced me to interact with more NPCs whose names i've already forgotten so i'm tilted about that still.

KUJOU SARA... AN INJUSTICE. A DISGRACE. a slap to my woman loving face. the build up was there. yae miko's comments about sara probably knowing the tenryou commission is involved in shady dealings, but is choosing not to think about it. sara being forced to confront reality and challenge her adopted father with the truth. being able to blaze a new path for herself in the process. when she started running to the raiden shogun i was ultra hyped up. sara, a devotee to the shogun for so long, was about to see her god interacting with the same people who led inazuma to this awful state. how would she react? would she stay ignorant, like yae miko so coyly said, choosing to look away in favor of following her god's footsteps? or would she be forced to recognize the raiden shogun isn't as divine as she once thought, and challenge her belief system?

we open the door to see the raiden shogun. the loading screen ensues. the camera pans to the ominous room, clouded in darkness, hinting at the ominous confrontation that is to come. the music takes a serious timbre. and then...

well fuck that potential character arc i guess. (we still don't know what sara made of any of this since she poofed out of existence from the story at this point)

kazuha also was handed a similar treatment. we've been with him for a while longer now. he is our introduction into inazuma, the one who first gets us emotionally involved by regaling us with the bittersweet tale of friendship that led him to becoming a wanted criminal. a kind soul who loves nature yet was dealt a cruel hand by fate, forced to watch his home nation turn into a hostile place, where his dear friend ultimately perished as a result. we get the scene with his friend's vision lighting back up. he parries a block from the raiden shogun, in the same area where his friend was killed by her. the parallels. the drama. except this time, he wasn't too late. he protected the traveler where he "failed" to protect his friend in the past. did he feel redemption at this? or was it a bittersweet reminder of what could've been?

WELL i guess we'll never know because we didn't get to talk to him again 😭 idk who got a bait and switch worse, him or sara. jesus christ mihoyo.

then we have signora. why is the raiden shogun talking to her? does she know about the gnosis being taken, and if she doesn't, what was her plan to get it from the archon? what does she think about scaramouche? and oh, okay, we're fighting here now. good fight + god tier music. pog pog. okay, now we've beaten her up, and raiden shogun wyd— wait no not signora her lore is still on CUPS not YET raiden shogun and— ah she's dead. okay. non nerds who didn't read artifact lore are going to know nothing about her. signora has such an interesting story, and yet... well. ok.

then we get raiden shogun redemption (?) arc. i was hype for this as well, though at that point, idk why i bothered being hype. i knew they were gonna do a cute power of friendship something or another, and i'm good with that, so long as it's executed well. what i was envisioning was like seven different buffs to correspond with the seven different visions, the dreams of those whose ambitions were stolen serving as the spear to penetrate the raiden shogun's heart of stone. maybe a hydro vision giving us extra healing for a time, with the voice acting over it being like,

"Even if the rest of the world forgets us, let our will carry you through this one final time. Succeed where we couldn't, Traveler."

so on and so forth.

but instead we got— you get the idea at this point. why bother spelling it out anymore.

at that point i was surprised the raiden shogun didn't go "oopsie woopsie!! we made a fucky wucky!!!" because that was the vibe i was getting. i love ei, don't get me wrong, but i wanted to see her challenged with what she had done to inazuma in the past year. maybe meeting NPC #2345259 who lost her sister to the vision decree or something, reminding ei of the love she held for her sister... being forced to come to terms with the extent of what she's done in pursuit of eternity.

anyway. please for the love of god mihoyo hire better writers for the main story. that is all i ask. thank you.

[mono-dot-jpeg]

aaitl hcs - zhongli

summary; i ramble about hcs i thought of while writing "another adeptus in the line".

a/n; will i make a series out of this? idk. i would love to don't get it twisted, i strongly enjoy writing found family and child reader bc i lack family affection. however, i just think it would be hard for me to write conflict to keep it interesting.

i thought about making it an open tag for those who like this and wants to write about it. making it like a cute wholesome community thing!

but also i thought just not making the series tbh. idk if my braincell can handle making another series and keep up with my other series.

here's a poll,,, so feel free to help my indecisive ass decide

so,,, you're a dragon hybrid!! you took on a form similar to zhongli's dragon form

you have small horns growing in from the top of your head, once they grow out, they become a really brown to pretty amber orange ombre

you also have a tail! it's sort of wide at the base and then thinner at the end

it looks like an axlotl tail!! it matches the color of your hair and it also has a pretty orange ombre at the end

anyways, the story of how you became a child to zhongli

you were merely just a protector of mingyun village, meant to protect those who mined late into the night to bring riches to their family

you had no physical form but rather a spiritual one. similar to venti and his past form of an wind spirit, you took the form of dust spirit. but you didn't have any sight.

it's not like you needed sight, you could feel and hear the world around you

but it was bitter. you heard everyone in the village be happy but then, the mining village was empty

no one lived in it anymore

you were tied to the village, unable to explore the world.

while you lived as long as some other gods or immortals (though you could be considered very much younger than those gods), you knew nothing of the world you stayed in and longed for knowledge.

you wanted to see the world.

zhongli had remembered your presence in mingyun village even after all these years. he visited you.

you had told him of your struggles and your longing to really see and experience everything

"i can help you with that, little one."

he offered a contract. you would live alongside him as a hybrid, but you would have to protect liyue as you become of age to do so

you were more than happy to accept, one small problem, you didnt know what he meant by living alongside him as a hybrid

and before you knew it, you were a small dragon hybrid, not even close to 1/4 of zhongli's height and with a sudden urge to chew on something.

at first your mind was much more mature than it was in the present, but you succumbed to the child urges within you and now here you are as small child with bonking urges

yeah, when your mind was much more mature, he explained how he had transferred your age into much more simplified human years

turns out you were only 300 in spirit years, soon changing to 3 years old once the deal was made

your love language is bonks, i do not take any criticism

you just bonk your forehead against whatever you want

it gets zhongli very concerned when you just keep bonking your head against his chest sometimes

like do you want his attention? do you have a headache? he never knows

when you grow up, you become as tall as zhongli, maybe a little bit taller and it makes xiao so mad bc you tease him for it

when you first you met azhdaha and you both have this weird staring contest before you shout "big puppy!" both him and zhongli are very much confused until you start trying to climb him

please give the old man a break, he lost his gnosis, that's enough for him 😔

you get zoomies like a cat or dog and you just run around the house, trying to sound like a scary dragon yelling "roar!!" in like tiny font bc you lack the ability to be loud

not only bc you're a child, but bc you never learned how to talk as a spirit, you're really bad at speaking or articulating your words

it's really cute to zhongli when you try to say some words

hutao fucking LOVES YOU SO MUCH

she always tries to make it bring your kid to work day, just to make zhongli bring you over but he doesn't do it often

he dreads having you learn the concept of death

you never knew much about it when you were a spirit, but even if you did know, your mind was regressed into that of a child, so you barely remember your memories as a spirit.

xiao is always ready to square up with you. pls he does not care if you're a child

he calls you brat, demon, troublemaker all affectionately

you always love playing with his necklace but you have really sharp teeth once you get past the terrible twos phase, and xiao keeps a close eye on you in hopes to have you not break any beads or the blunt arrowhead on the necklace

zhongli has bite marks on his clothes bc of you

he does have some bites on his ankles too bc of you

people think he has a dog, no it's just you

ganyu can never say no to you

you want to play with her? she has the toys ready. you want her to read a bedtime story? which one, she'll even make one up if you want.

ganyu best sister. send tweet.

you have the biggest fear of the dark. child mind you doesn't understand why, but zhongli understands. you can remember the feeling of loneliness and emptiness of not having eyes to see. but of course human you has not connected those dots

you literally speed run to zhongli the moment you get scared

he's always glad to help you during those times, letting you sleep on his bed with him, telling you a story, humming a lullaby even.

you and qiqi are best friends

when you meet childe, you are like an abrasive cat to him

you literally hiss at him

he is completely scared of you

"they don't bite."

"YES THEY DO-"

childe was right on that.

anyways, eventually you bond with childe. he starts to see you as his own kin often buying you some presents whenever he can

overall there's a lot sweet hcs i could talk about all day if i wanted to, but alas, this is all i could think of

[ectonurites]

Genuinely why are people being so biphobic in your inbox. I don't know anything about comics but attacking you for seeing yourself or your experience as a bi person in a character and saying they don't count as rep bc they're in a m/f relationship is??? Backwards?? It's obvious biphobia. I agree that sometimes companies are more willing to put bi characters in stuff vs gay characters because then they can "appear" straight, but the key word in that is APPEAR. And attacking bisexuals for liking the rep they get isn't going to solve the actual problem—that companies like to appear progressive while also seeming like they're not to people who aren't "in the know" so that they can also sell to conservatives. Like the technic companies use is to say a character is lgbt+ and then never show it, but this isn't exclusive to bi people. Companies like Disney will confirm it in promotion but never do anything more than a wink and a nod to it—and this includes gay characters. The problem isn't bi people or characters, it's rainbow capitalism. Its just that bi characters get subjected to this more bc their queerness has more opportunities to be invisible. And honestly, if the character is having a whole coming out arc, it doesn't seem like they're just sweeping it under the rug. Though again, I don't read comics so idk on that.

VERY good points on the rainbow capitalism stuff, thank you!!

While I know a lot of comics people follow me, a decent amount of people following me do not know about comics so to explain the basics of the situation at DC with Tim Drake right now:

Between June and August this year Tim had a three part story (one part per month, in Batman: Urban Legends #4-6) about how he suddenly broke up with his girlfriend Stephanie Brown (who has been an on/off love interest for him since the 90s, they'd most recently been together since 2016) off-panel because of some inner conflict he'd been feeling but wasn't sure how to deal with, and then reunited with his old friend Bernard Dowd (who hadn't appeared since around 2005, and had been a minor character to begin with). Bernard got kidnapped while the two of them were having dinner out at a restaurant, and ultimately when Tim later goes to rescue Bernard while in his hero identity as Robin, Bernard tells Robin (presumably unaware that Robin is Tim) to tell his friend Tim Drake that he'd helped him figure out who he was and that he wishes they could have finished their date. What Bernard says sparks what Tim calls in his narration a 'lightbulb moment' where he begins to realize that he has romantic feelings for his friend, and that this revelation is the thing that had been feeling out of reach within himself/causing that inner conflict. At the end of the last issue (released almost exactly two months ago on August 10th) Tim goes to Bernard's house and explains that he's not exactly sure what everything means yet, but Bernard asks him on a real date and he says he thinks he wants that. The comic ends by saying that the story will be continued in a comic that comes out this December (Batman: Urban Legends #10)

Queue the internet going nuts over this because, well. Tim is a Robin, (the Robin that had a popular monthly ongoing comic from 1993-2009) and that's a pretty significant thing. Tim is also a character that fans have been reading as being attracted to men for a very long time. Media outlets begin to say that he has come out as bisexual, despite the actual comic not putting a label on him. The writer of the story, Meghan Fitzmartin, specifies in an interview that at this point he hasn't picked a label yet. Her specific words are:

“I wanted to pay tribute to the fact that sexuality is a journey,” Fitzmartin told Polygon. “To be clear, his feelings for Stephanie have been/are 100% real, as are his feelings for Bernard. However, Tim is still figuring himself out. I don’t think he has the language for it all... yet.” (link)

Some people prefer to see Tim as bisexual or pansexual, some see him as gay, and some are content with him staying unlabelled. We know that there is still more to the story coming down the line (in December) so we're in this awkward in-between spot where everything is just a lot of speculation. Which means of course there's a certain amount of people getting mad at others over their headcanons/what they want the outcome to be.

I personally would like to see him be revealed as bi, because I am a bi person and it's the headcanon that I think suits him best based on how i've read and related to his character. I've thought of him this way since long before him becoming canonically lgbt in any way was a thing. I'd also be perfectly fine with things if he got confirmed as something else though! Bi is just my personal preference. Obviously that simple fact pissed some random anon off, and that spurred... all the shit i've been answering today about this.

The conversations about 'm/f pairings as bi representation' that started out of it is just especially out of nowhere imo because Tim is not even in an m/f relationship at this moment. Like, yeah he has only dated girls up until this point, but that's because him realizing he's attracted to boys (whether exclusively or in addition to girls has, again, not yet been made clear at this time) is a brand new development from two months ago. Most comic series come out monthly, these things... move pretty slowly! Especially because he is not the main leading character in an ongoing monthly book right now, his stories on this subject are all part of an anthology book that rotates what stories are in the issues.

This all got very wordy, but yeah it's just insane how mad and petty people are getting (and to me, specifically, for some reason) over all of this when we are in an in-between state right now where the only thing we know for sure is that Tim's not straight and we're getting more content about this two months from now. Everything else on the subject is people getting mad over nothing (me wanting to see Tim as bi does not harm anyone who wants to see him a different way!) or just like, ignoring the actual way comic books work as a medium.

[marshmallowprotection]

hey kait do you mind if just. go insane over here.

like, you see, i hate getting into arguments/drama/conflict. i hate it so much it causes me physical discomfort. it's horrible, really, like my heart clenches and breathing gets ejsjsksm (idk how to explain) and i start crying and i feel so terribly upset and icky for the rest of the day. its insane. and yet i still somehow manage to always, ALWAYS, get into it (more like i start it tbh but hcndbd) and it's always SO BAD. and the worst part is that right now, it's shipping discourse. SHIPPING DISCOURSE. can you believe this? this is like, the low of the low. jesus christ. i am actually feeling like shit over shipping discourse oh my god. and it's on TWO (2) social media platforms, as if it couldn't get any worse. now obviously i can't retreat, i have entirely too much pride for that, like that would be super embarrassing. i would rather get death threats, on god. so instead i settle for feeling like shit and also getting called crazy by other ppl. but anyways the whole thing is theres this ship in a fandom i rlly like and it's a pretty popular ship, every time those characters get any kind of content together everyone agrees that they're gay, you know? but i hate that ship and it feels creepy as hell to me. bc the characters met when one of them was 14 and the other 17 and they're currently 19 and 22. and i think that shipping them is weird bc one of them has been an adult for a while now and the other is just now becoming one, and like, the idea of the an adult catching feelings for a teenager they've known for a while right after they become legal has very groomy creepy vibes to it. i thought that this was something everyone agreed with. so i said it. but it turns out im wrong. and now ppl are telling me that "ppl can fall in love at any age" "they're both adults so it doesn't matter" and "they're almost canon anyways" like i dont care! i dont care. i dont give a single fuck your ship still sucks ass. and like clearly you can tell im not planning to change my mind anytime soon (bc i dont have to! im right!! jesus could come from heaven to tell me its okay and i would still say it isn't!!!!! bc it isn't!!!!!!!) but im also lowkey beginning to feel like im crazy? idk bro im exhausted

sorry for the huge rant i've been frustrated the whole day 😭 honestly even sending this is making me cry again bc im now paranoid that everyone is gonna disagree lol 😂

GE Saeran is always your rock. When you start to even show a hint of being distressed, he springs into action. He asks you if you want to be held and if you confirm that that is what you want, he's happy to put his arms around you with a sigh. You can have faith in him if you have nothing else.

He'll press lips against your forehead and murmur sweet nothings until you know, without a doubt, that you're going to be okay by the morning. "That's right, my love. Slow down, take a big breath, and remember that you're safe with me. If you need to cry, I will hold you until your tears stop."

Jaehee can be anxious when it comes to knowing what she can do for the people she cares about. She knows the natural do-good and can make sure that you've got water, blankets, and a cozy place to sit in the dark. She may not know what to say but she knows what will help physically.

Her ideal way of comforting you comes down to sitting side by side in the living room, curtains drawn back, sharing drinks, watching your favorite movie, and just talking about whatever feels right at that very moment. "I know it's not the best feeling in the world, but I'm here to listen if you want to talk. I don't have anywhere to be and I'd love to have my night spent making you feel safe."