#and more of 'no unless you really can't find anyone else and in which case here are the conditions'

[the-lark-ascending69]

> be a robin buckley fan

> be lesbian

> project on robin

> look up "internalized homophobia robin buckley" on tumblr because it's cathartic

> 3/4 of the posts are about st3ddie or just about steve

[presumenothing]

achievement: successfully said no to a thing today

[adventuringblind]

Breathe For Me

LandOscar x Reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst

Dialouge: "It's okay, you can rest. We've got you. Just Breathe."

Summary: Marks on your soulmates skin appear on yours. Oscar and Lando hope they find whoever it is before they run out of time.

Warnings: SELF-HARM, Alcohol, scars, blood, panic attacks,

Notes: This is Part of my 1000 follower event. Feel free to click the link and throw me a request!

Masterlist

It's not every day you meet your soulmate. It's certainly not rare, but it also isn't an everyday event and is supposed to only happen once. If you're Lando Norris, then you get to go through it twice.

Originally he thought only one. I mean, maybe his souldmate is just clumsy. That is not the case however, because Lando has more scars, cuts, bumps, and bruises then anyone else he knows. He would be fine with it if he wasn't on national television all the time.

Max and Charles were lucky and found each other in Karting. Max had a bruise on his face from his dad and showed up to the race with it still getting darker. Charles had one to match. Now they're happily in love and the public doesn't now (is what they tell themselves).

So Lando finds himself stuck in between a soulmate who bruises every occasionally and on who gets scrapes nearly every day. He feels for whoever the first is because Lando is clumsy and is always running into things. Between himself and whoever the latter is, he probably is already exasperated.

Aside from his family, Carlos is the first person to notice. He double checks nothing is happening in Lando's own life that is causing all the marks. He assures happily that he's clumsy and the two soul mates certainly don't help.

Lando has heard of people carving names and addresses into their arms to find their destined partner. He lets it happen naturally. It's supposed destiny and who is he to rush it?

Daniel admits to an extreme worry of Lando. The older driver kept a close eye on him and Lando has to reassure him non-stop that he's clumsy, but it's not that bad.

He soon realizes that it's not the bruises Daniel is worried about, it's the scars. When his sweatshirt sleeves roll up the red lines are visible. It's something he's gotten used to over the past couple of years, but he dosen't think about it when he's not being filmed.

They cover a good amount of space on his body. Biceps, collarbone, thighs, stomach, and shins. It wasn't that bad until 2021 when it got significantly worse. It's stressing him out if he's being honest with himself.

He's is pieces when Daniel tells him he's losing his seat. No other driver lined up yet. Another teammate gone.

Daniel reassures him that Oscar looks like he'll make a good teammate. Lando is skeptical. Oscar is younger and a rookie.

The first time he meets Oscar is at the MTC. They shake hands, two sets of sleeves role up and Lando can't help but stare.

They match. Their wrists are completely identical.

They don't talk about it until a while later after spending the off season getting to know each other. They determined in Febuary they would be really close friends. It obviously escalated and now Charlotte keeps tell him to make it less obvious.

He's nit afraid to say he's weak for Oscar. A calm in his storm of emotions. The one person who can get him to actually rationalize his anxious thoughts.

In 2023, three rookies came to the grid. One of them being a female driver for alphatauri and a good friend of Oscar's. She then consequently became a friend of Lando's.

Which would be so terrible if Lando didn't know for a fact she's hiding something. She's shy and closed off to everybody unless it's him or Oscar. Mostly because he's forced his way under her skin.

"There is something about her, Osc. I can feel it in my bones."

"Are you sure it's not the cup of milk you downed getting to your head?"

"Rude!"

Oddly enough, it's max who approaches them about her later. He'd gotten to know her through media things and race weekends and often asked Lando about her or vice versa.

He pulls Oscar and him aside early one morning in the paddock. Oscar is still half asleep and Lando doesn't know what's happened until Max slides their sleeves up.

The ones they decided to wear to the cameras didn't pick up the fresh scar close to their elbow on their forearms. Completely identical to each other.

"You said you have another soulmate right?"

"Yes?"

"I think I might know who it is."

This is how Lando and Oscar find themselves in front of her hotel room door after the race. A DNF that wasn't her fault had ended her race early. Max had been about to go get her himself, but Lando and Oscar had said they would. If Max is right then they have a higher chance of getting through to the female driver.

Max sent them with the key card he has to her room. The one he forced her to give after he found her last night with a blade in her hand.

They knock out of curtosey first. No answer, as expected, but at least they tried. Maybe She’s asleep? Lando knows that’s probably not the case but he really doesn’t want to and see what is most likely happening. If the sting on his thigh says anything, it’s definitely not sleep.

Oscar keys the door open and hesitantly steps inside. Lando follows right on his heels. The lights are off and he would probably think it was empty if it weren’t for the visible blob of blankets in the corner that’s sobbing violently. to close to hyperventilation for Lando’s liking. He takes immediate action and pulls her out of the blankets.

Immediately, he keeps her body from curling in on itself so her chest is open and can get air easier. Oscar manages to find a lamp switch. She’s a wreck. So incredibly broken that Lando doesn’t know where to start.

“Breathe.” Is all he can come up with. "It's okay, you can rest. We've got you. Just Breathe."

Somehow he coax’s her to sleep. Him and Oscar combined manage to get her to bed, wrestle her shoes off, and bandage what they could see without removing clothing.

Oscar practically forces Lando into the be with her and he takes the floor. He’d said he’d take the floor with him, but Oscar claimed that Lando is the lighter sleeper and would know if she moved at all. Curse his soulmate and his logical thinking.

She manages to sleep until five in the morning. This time she just cries and huddles closer into Lando.

“I’m sorry you have to see me in such a state… I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

Lando maneuvers then int a sitting position. He then takes a pillow and throw it at his lover on the floor. Oscar stirs and groans.

“Must you.”

“Yes, It’s funny.”

Oscar makes his way up onto the bed and looks immediately like he’s going to fall asleep. Lando consequently throws another pillow at him.

“You should know something…” Lando starts. He doesn’t finish because the word are not doing what he needs them to. They jumble on his head and he can’t figure out where to start.

He’s entirely to grateful for Oscars presence. “Max thinks that the three of us are soulmates.”

Lando was thinking it would be like the first. Realization followed by smiles and laughs. This is not that. Instead it’s panic. She defends into the depths of her mind as she studies the match scars, even revealing her own identical one.

The pain, embarrassment and shame are written all over her features. She’s mumbling through some kind of an apology.

“Breathe.” He repeats. He says it over and over again until it’s all her own mind can hear.

Oscar looks gutted and lost. He’d helped Lando through many panic attacks, but this is completely different.

“I didn’t think I would ever find you. The doctors had tried to cut me off because it was a mistake since there were two. They said I wasn’t supposed to have one.”

Are the two boys shocked? A tad. Why would a doctor do that?

Lando doesn’t get time to ask as she pulls out a bottle of medication from the drawer in the nightstand. It’s stuff he’s heard of, but never actually seen. “This has been suppressed to sever the connection, but it hasn’t worked. They said to take it in higher doses at smaller intervals until it stops.”

She pops open the lid and pours a couple into her hands. Thank goodness for quick reflexes because Lando goes to get the ones in her hands, and Oscar goes for the bottle. She's too focused on Lando to notice the Aussie who manages to swipe it from her.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Didn't feel relevant."

"But this is incredibly dangerous! I've heard most people who do it end up -" Oh. It dawns on him why she's doing this to herself. The connection between them was already rough for her. She had been trying to 'fix' it like her doctors said. Had been told her entire life that the people who are fated to lover her unconditionally won't because she is nothing to them.

"How long have you been taking the meds?" Oscar's voice is so careful. The Brit would love to swoon, but it feels impolite at the moment.

"Years. They've tried everything. Put me on different kinds and change the dosage."

"Thirteen?" Lando whisper asks. His voice was barely audible. The small nod from the female confirms it. That's when the first scars arrived.

Lando places his hands on either side of her teary face. "You are not a mistake. You have never been a mistake. We've been aching for you. Scared maybe one day there wouldn't be any more marks and the implications of it. I've wanted nothing more than to tell you for years that you are loved and wanted."

He didn't even notice his own tears. Everything is just so overwhelming at the moment. They came so unexpectedly that it almost startled him. Screw Oscar and his ability to be amazing emotional support. The hand on Lando's knee is the only thing keeping him grounded.

They don't let her go until Max comes to get her. She's flying to do some filming with him. Neither of the males want to let her go, so they don’t. They end up flying with her since McLaren hasn’t filled their schedules.

But then they don’t leave. They spend every moment possible reminding her she is loved. That they want her. That nothing between them is a mistake.

Soon the scars start to fade.

But have no fear, Lando is clumsy enough to make up for it.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

If you get pregnant from a ghoul, what would the kid be like? Human? Ghoul? Some weird freakish third thing? Even Gulpers are just mutated humans so anything is possible.

(I'll put a trigger warning here for "mild discussion of pregnancy loss/premature birth", in case that upsets anyone.)

My official answer to this is: "looks human, but closer to a freakish third thing when you get down to the details".

The pregnancy certainly wouldn't be a cakewalk. Frankly, I think you'd have to have a pretty preternatural resistance to radiation to successfully conceive with a ghoul to begin with (which we see is achievable for some people; otherwise I think there would just straight up be no successful fertilization/implantation). If you were able to make it happen, I think the fetus would be quite radioactive itself early on, and you'd struggle a lot. You might be able to get away with the occasional dose of Radaway if you're incredibly sick, like too sick to function, but too much of it and I think you'd be risking unfavorable outcomes. With luck (and maybe a higher-than-average endurance), things might taper off the further along you get. I imagine the birth would be unremarkable, all other regular health factors considered, unless you found yourself so ill from the baseline radiation that you were unable to continue carrying to full term and were forced to deliver prematurely. The odds of that certainly aren't zero. Your breast milk would make a Geiger counter go nuts.

It's hard to imagine the 50% genetic spawn of a ghoul wouldn't be significantly more radiation resistant, right? Like, at minimum? Personally, I think if you had a baby with a ghoul, that kid would be constantly drawn to play in puddles of nuclear fallout, to drink from dirty sources, to want to go outside during rad storms. Radiation is healing and refreshing for ghouls, so I would imagine at least some of that would transfer, no matter how much it makes you worry. You'd probably find the kid sucking on a power core if you turned your back for too long.

I, personally, would think that a kid like that would age normally, but since we know ghouls have that super-regenerative ability, maybe there's a chance that they'd shoot through the puberty phase really quickly? I mean, that "growing" phase in adolescence is basically just a bunch of cells dying off and being regenerated/high rates of cell generation to build muscle and bone mass. Again, I'd like to think they'd grow pretty typically, all things considered, but it's certainly something to think about.

That regenerative ability could certainly prove quite...tricky at times. We've seen how quickly it can heal wounds, which is great for something like a puncture or a stab wound...but what about a broken bone? I can't help but be reminded of an audio diary you can find in Bioshock 2 that talks about the Little Sisters' insane regenerative ability and its disadvantages. At one point, one of the girls escapes from the researchers studying them and throws herself over a balcony (trying to escape or end her life, though which is unclear), shattering both of her legs. But by the time they've made it to the bottom where she's lying, her legs have already healed at a bunch of fucked up and unnatural angles, so they have to break her legs over and over again until they can set them correctly. With as quickly as we see ghouls heal in the show (and in the games), it's hard to imagine you wouldn't run into the same issue, as horrific as it is.

Can you imagine your child having to go through that because they fell playing (or fleeing, god forbid) and broke their arm, or their collarbone or something? Can you imagine having to be the person doing the breaking? What if there's no one else to do it?

I'd also assume that, as they age into their teen years/early adulthood, their aging would slow, though I think exactly how much it would slow would depend on the individual child and their circumstances. I do think half-ghoul children would be able to be turned fully ghoul through some conventional means, just maybe over a longer period of time and with much higher doses of radiation.

[luimagines]

I dare you to do one with your favorite trope to write (unless you've already done it)

Oh my goodness, this might be longer that usual. XD

And I really had to think about what I wanted to write. I think I'll make this a one-shot. (unless you guys want more anyway) Prepare for this to be as self indulgent as hell. :D

And I'll make it Time while I'm at it.

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

This was the third time this week that you found something like this. You didn't know who was doing this.

A basket, filled to the brim with goodies and trinkets alike, sat properly outside of your window sill. It would be charming if you weren't on the third floor. Someone was climbing up to your balcony and leaving the baskets for you to find.

It was creepy- to a degree. There was never anything malicious about it though. The baskets typically held a flower, a warm meal (or groceries) and some little thing for you to put around your apartment.

You see, you moved to the Kingdom of Kokiri with nothing but a backpack and small child's wagon. Your apartment wasn't even on a nicer side of town. But it hard to be worried about robbers when you're home is bare and empty.

Slowly, that's been changing though. The baskets always had a poem attached, but no name. You secret admirer would give little things from time to time. The baskets are getting more frequent too.

What used to be a small monthly thing, turned weekly then bi weekly- and you're beginning to suspect that they're turning into a daily thing.

Part of you worries that whoever this is, is spending too much on you.

But seeing that the last basket had a new set of dining wear with plates and cups and a some nice utensils to match- you're not inclined to have them stop anytime soon when they're improve your very living conditions as it is. Even if you feel a little guilty.

That being said, this basket had a warm meal already prepared, still steaming in the glass tupperware. There was a small bouquet of roses near the top and a small little box that you opened to see a single slice of chocolate cake.

The card was attached on the inside but it lacked the typical poem. It simple read: "Rest well, Love. You've worked hard today. Dinner's on me. I just want to see you smile in the morning."

You smiles and tucked the card back into its place, bringing the basket back into your apartment.

You have to figure out who this secret admirer of yours is. It has to be someone with access to your floor but it can't be a neighbor. Right? You're on the corner so it can't be anyone to your left. But maybe your neighbor to the right? That's a creepy thought. You hardy ever see him and you don't think he showers throughout the week.

It can't be him. Or at least you're going to deny it.

Maybe it's someone from above? That's more likely. There is this cute guy that you know lives on the floor above you, but you don't know which apartment. It wouldn't be hard to drop the basket secretively onto your balcony from above if that was the case.

The thought rotates in your head as you eat the food. It's delicious. Decadent, even.

Gratitude fills your heart and soul. you have to return the favor somehow after everything this person has provided for you. But how?

You head to bed with a smile on your face and a full stomach. You'll have to start small but you can think of something.

The next morning you head to the castle and walk straight to the throne room.

It was a deal that the king had proposed personally to you. You get to work concern free in his kingdom but you have to report to him every other Tuesday. Seeing as you had nowhere else to go, you didn't think it wise to refuse.

You've grown somewhat close, but with his power and status by his side, you couldn't help but slightly intimidated by him even now.

The king- like most Royals of Kingdoms of Hyrule- was a dragon. Sure, he could take the form of a typical man, but he stayed in his half form more often than not. His age and strength add to his credentials. As the current senior amongst dragons, all you've gathered is that he's lived longer than he appears. The older the dragon, the stronger they are.

King Link is a force to be reckoned with.

However, he's kind and patient with you. He's not all that bad.

You nod and grin at the Captain, who's affectionately called Warrior. Another dragon hidden among the people. You don't know his story, but he's a hard working fellow. He also came to the king in a time of need, looking for asylum and has been working under his employ ever since. He is the king's right hand man.

Warrior smiles back and salutes you softly as you enter. You'll never understand why you've more or less been given free reign of the castle, but with his approval, you feel better to head on in.

You meet the king and curtsy clumsily, still feeling rushed. He's asked you call him Time and he stands from the throne. His face is kind, amused even. A chuckle tumbles out of him as he walks toward you, his marble like tail swinging behind him. "I thought we were passed the formalities, my dear."

You clear your throat. "Were we? I don't recall."

He laughs again. "Come. We have much to discuss."

You nod and follow. He leads you to the back room with a gentle touch the small of your back. It's a familiar routine that you've grown comfortable with.

There's a small rounded table with a pale blue laced table cloth. There's a delicate tea set and it's covered to the brim with snacks and treats alike. You think you see a few of your favorites and your eyes light up at the sight.

King Time notices and he smiles, pleased. "Sit."

You nod and take your usual spot. Time sits across from you and serves you the pieces that you eyes earlier. You almost feel bad. You're still full from the night before.

Time notices. "Something wrong, dear?"

"No." You shake your head, afraid of insulting him. "Someone gave me dinner last night and I'm still a bit full from it."

Time seemed to be shocked by the tidbit. "Really?... Was it good?"

"It was delicious!" You can't help but gush. "I would normally cook for myself but they send food from time to time and it was still warm so I couldn't resist."

His smile turns a little tight. "Is that so? I'm glad that you were fed adequately then.... May I ask who?"

You falter, the smile on your face turning more soft and shy. "Um... I think it was my neighbor..."

"...You don't know who it is?"

You blush and look down onto the table, playing with the treats on your plate. "I know that I should be more cautious. But they've only ever left it on my balcony... It's a secret admirer so to speak. They've given me trinkets and flowers and food. It seems as if they've slowly been furnishing my house for me. I don't know... I've been trying to think about who it may be, but I'm coming up short. Regardless, enough about my lack of love life-"

Time abruptly puts his hand under the table but you catch the reason why before he can hide it.

He's bent the fork in half with his hand, seemingly without realizing it. He smiles brightly, as if nothing happened and the thought gets put on the back burner for now. "Right... Well, you can always ask for my assistance, Darling."

You shake your head with a small smile. "Thank you, but I'm here to report my work. Let's get to business then."

Time clenches his jaw slightly but nods in agreement. "Right. I believe last time you mentioned that you were following a trail of some suspicious individuals on the property of the farm lands for relief efforts. Did that bloom into anything substantial?"

You pull out a manila folder with a smirk and hand it to the king. "Did it ever."

The time passes before you know it. Little by little, as you give your report, if drifts away and you're talking about your lives as much as you can before you leave.

Warrior comes in, informing Time of another meeting has to attend. He looks apologetic.

The king winces but you're quick to stand up, mid panic. "I'm sorry. I've overstayed my welcome."

"Impossible." Time blurts, standing abruptly as well. He reach out as if to stop you and moves around the table as if to block your path. His tail curls around your ankle, stopping your in your tracks. It's gentle but firm. Even if his grip is painless, you can already tell that you wouldn't be able to escape on your own.

You freeze and after a beat he lets you go. Time gulps and stands, seemingly more aware of what he was doing. His grip falls away and he takes a step back. "R-right... I won't keep you from your work much longer then."

You can't help but blush. He's always been fine with putting a hand on your shoulder or your back... but the tail is one of the most sensitive parts of a dragon. And he just grabbed you with it. For some reason, you find yourself blushing.

You nod dumbly, as if your schedule is jammed packed like his. Your heart is pounding. You follow Warrior out of the room as he leads you back to the main gate of the castle.

"Sorry." Warrior says quietly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Nonono-" You're still shaken by the phantom feelings of the scales around you. Even if it was just a brush, there was a power there. You don't know why you're so out of whack suddenly. The act was more intimate than you were able to admit. "If you didn't say anything, I would have kept going. Honestly, I swear he's just humoring most of the time."

"This is the only time we get him to actually take a break." Warrior tells you. "He'd work himself t the bone if it weren't for you. It's not like he can't afford it. He's two years ahead of his work. By all means, keep him there longer."

You flush and look away, walking out of the gate. "Oh please, he'll get sick of me before we'd know it."

Warrior is quick to bite his tongue, biting back the instant retort that no doubt sat on his tongue. He takes a breath and shakes his head.

"...He likes you." Warrior looks pained. Like there's something there that he wants to say but can't. You don't see it. "Would you like me to walk you home? If I recall you live far enough away-"

"Not enough to cause concern, Captain." You smile and pat his shoulder. "But thank you."

"His Majesty wouldn't like it if anything happened to you." Warrior tries to push it a little bit.

You shake you head. "And take more of your time away? You work just as hard, if not harder, than the entirety of the castle staff. I think only the King works harder than you."

He presses his lips into a thin line. His own scales poke from under his skin. Something is riling him up but you don't know what. You've never seen his dragon form or even his half. He seems to hide it more often than not. You would never know he was a dragon if the King hadn't said anything earlier.

Warrior sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Very well... Just... be safe, yeah? I don't think the goddesses themselves would be able to calm the king should things go wrong."

"Like what?" You snort. "I end up in the hospital? I'll be fine. No worries."

You wink for good measure and head home, happy, fulfilled and ready to take on the rest of the week.

You miss the next three visits.

Part 2

[yanderes-galore]

Hi can I request yandere romantic Itto (genshin impact ) with a kitsune female darling please , who recently joined his travel group , hcs please 🙏

Sure! I hope I get his character right :) First time writing him so I hope you enjoy the concept idea.

Yandere! Arataki Itto with Kitsune! Darling

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female Darling, Obsession, Possessive behavior, Jealousy implied, Some stalking, Kidnapping mentioned, Dubious/Forced relationship.

I like this pairing as the only kitsune Itto has met is Yae Miko.

Kitsune are not that common anymore, so seeing another one in Inazuma is a surprise to Itto when he meets you.

Even more so when he finds you, a young kitsune woman, asking to join his gang.

He thought you'd want to be around Yae Miko more than anyone else.

However it seems the Oni's mischief has attracted you.

Itto's antics are very harmless, but as a Kitsune you adore harmless fun.

As a result you become a friend to the Oni, showing intrigue in traveling with him.

Itto is very kind towards you.

He's loyal and sometimes competitive with you when it comes games you play together.

Itto isn't malicious, he also isn't really the smartest.

Meanwhile you're kind, loyal, and mischievous... along with being cunning.

Itto's obsession with you isn't anything overly manipulative.

It's more like Itto adoring you and wanting to please/impress you.

He follows you around, stunned by your beauty as a kitsune.

He didn't think he'd feel all warm towards you.

But here he is... feeling fuzzy as he interacts with the kitsune woman who has probably just caught his heart.

When you leave to go do your own thing, Itto finds himself trying to follow you.

He doesn't want to leave you for long, at first just out of curiosity.

Although said curiosity grows into infatuation the longer he lays his eyes on you.

Everything from your ears, tail(s), and piercing eyes attracts him.

There's no doubt you're smaller than him too, which makes him want to just squeeze you against him to feel your fur.

Itto for the most part can be a yandere whose controlled.

Especially in this case, since kitsune are cunning.

Itto loves everything about you.

He loves your playful nature, like when you sneak up on him to pounce on him.

Itto is smitten by you, his feelings are as strong as him.

While he can easily be controlled by the kitsune he adores, he can also get the upper hand.

If you considered leaving him for too long or not reciprocating his affections... he may just catch you off guard.

If you slip up a little and underestimate him...

He may just hunt you down and trap you for himself.

Despite me thinking he'd be a himbo, he's possessive.

If he really wanted you all for himself... he'll find a way to trap you.

After all... you can't leave his gang now!

He's loyal... Kitsune should be loyal too, right?

So why do you try to leave him?

Itto doesn't want to hurt you, he wouldn't dream of it.

But he just... loves you so much.

He loves you to the point he feels it's fate that you met.

You're both youkai, too!

Which must make you perfect for one another in his mind.

Itto can be such a sweetheart, especially when he confesses to you.

That is unless you tried to run from him... then he's more of a beast than you thought.

So if you stick by him, Itto can be a yandere who just wishes to please you and cling to you.

But if you don't... he ends up keeping the sweetheart demeanor... all while locking you away where no one can find you.

He has such a smile on his face, telling you he loves you, all while you have a chained collar around your neck.

You may be able to outsmart and control him at times...

But if you play with his heart too much, he may just decide to trap you like the fox you are... just to keep you as his pretty kitsune forever.

"Thought you could outsmart me, huh? My pretty little kitsune... can't you see we were meant to be together?"

[atthebell-moved]

i think the thing about qcellbit is that people see him as like a moral center, both of the narrative (as in to them he fulfills a protagonist hero role) and of the island, and while he's far more against the federation than most are, he's still not like. idk his morals really are not that different to roier's, in that they both care far more about the people they love than about any kind of moral standards; cellbit just likes mysteries and investigating which makes him seem like a morally good (as media often portrays them, this is not objective) detective archetype despite that a larger sense of morality not really factoring into his decisions. and also the federation is such an imposing, obvious evil, that anyone so ardently against them seems objectively morally good.

like, cellbit hates cucurucho because he wants to find out the island's mysteries, and cucurucho is hiding them, and cucurucho has directly tortured, kidnapped, and lied about basically all of his family members as well as other islanders, AND personally tortured him. it's more a relational kind of morality than anything to do with a larger moral compass-- cellbit does not think cucurucho is inherently morally evil in any real philosophical sense, aside from that (unwarranted) torture is obviously evil to him.

now, where he draws the line as to what is warranted violence and what isn't is pretty blurry, and often relies, again, on people he cares for or views as on his side against the federation. notice there's an "or" there and not an "and"-- cellbit loves jaiden and foolish despite what they've done for the federation (and to other islanders, in foolish's case), and continues to give them more information than he ought to, because he views them as morally good, even when they take actions he disapproves of. is this fairly hypocritical? yes, if you view morality through an objective lens. if you're like cellbit, though, and several other islanders, you view morality as something more malleable and more reliant on your personal relationships with people. jaiden is not evil, despite working for the federation, because cellbit loves her, and anyone he loves can't be evil; that is the more significant reason, to be honest, than his belief in her attempts at getting information from working with the federation.

cellbit himself is not evil, in his eyes, despite working for the federation, because he is doing it for a greater purpose-- one that will protect and possibly save the people he cares about. and his own safety and moral toll aren't really even a factor, as we saw with his attempted martyrdom.

cellbit doesn't really care how good anyone else thinks he is (unless he's having an argument over/with someone he cares about), because any punishment or judgment he receives for others' perceptions of his actions does not matter. it's about the eggs, it's about getting off the island, it's about figuring out what's happened to them. he wants people to trust him, obviously, because he cares about and trusts them in turn, or because he wants information, but at the end of the day, his soul is not at stake, and he will do whatever it takes to find out what's going on and save everyone else. he does not have some larger moral instincts guiding his actions, especially not anything black and white. he protects the people he cares about, and anything else is either situational or excusable.

[sweettjrose]

Quick question for you cuz you seem to know very well the little guy

Do you think Mickey has any bad sides? Bad qualities/Habits

Ooh! I was hoping someone would ask this question. It was sitting in my mind for a while. I love sharing my thoughts on this little guy.

I do think it is important to remember that when it comes to characters like Mickey it can be challenging to ascribe specific traits to him since there are so many interpretations with differing personalities. Mickey in the black and white shorts is different from Mickey in the Gottfredson comics who is different from Mickey in the Paul Rudish shorts and etc. So some traits may fit better for some versions than others.

I don't know if I can say I am the Mickey expert. But I do think about him a lot and if I came up a list of what I think are bad habits or flaws that he has, based on how is generally portrayed and my own personal interpretation, I would say:

Stubborn - To start off, I feel like a common flaw for Mickey is his stubbornness. Once he sets his mind on a certain idea or situation, he has a hard time being convinced of anything else. It can be really difficult to change his mind, though not impossible. I don't think it comes from a place of seeing himself as better than anyone though, but rather from his desire to hold fast to what he believes in. And in some cases, it can have beneficial results. Such as when he is investigating some kind of mystery he tends to drop everything else, unable to change focus until he finally solves it. This usually gives him the push to solve problems most people give up on. But unfortunately, it tends to result in him ignoring the world around him which can be frustrating at times, especially for Minnie. Sometimes I think Mickey even uses these situations as an excuse to push aside things he doesn't want to do and focus on something he would much rather do.

Untamed Curiosity - I feel like this is actually an offshoot of his earlier personality. He was much more mischievous in his earlier appearances, but that was somewhat tamed over the years. However, I do think one element that has remained is this mouse's curiosity for the unknown. It seems like Mickey can't help himself but stick his nose into things he probably shouldn't. Whether it is listening to a conversation, checking a locked room, testing out a weird machine, or even following an odd feeling. I also feel like his stubbornness doesn't really help as it seems like once a curiosity is in his focus, he can't let it go. Mickey rarely likes to cause problems, but if his curiosity overtakes him, he usually ends up being a troublemaker. Sometimes this usually leads to him catching a crook. But other times it results in a big mess that he would have to clean up. I do think though that his mischievousness isn't entirely gone and does pop up every once in a while. Especially when trying to get out of things he finds boring or doesn't want to be in. And sometimes he just wants to be a prankster and have fun with his friends and family. Which is funny until things get out of hand.

Overthinks - Mickey is very intelligent and can come up with pretty clever plans when trying to solve problems. Unfortunately, this comes with the side effect of him overcomplicating even simple situations. This is usually why Goofy is such a vital friend for Mickey. Mickey tends to come up with complex solutions while Goofy tends to show the easier option Mickey tends to overlook. I think part of this does come from Mickey being afraid of being wrong and making mistakes, so he tries his best to be as thorough as he can be, which unfortunately can lead to more mistakes.

Lack of Self-Protection - One positive about Mickey is that he cares about others and would stand up to protect them. But unfortunately, this doesn't always extend to himself. He is not a doormat but tends to lean more "Turn the other Cheek" approach when he is the only one getting bullied (unless things go too far or if others get involved). To be fair, it is important to know when to pick your battles, but this tends to lead into other areas as I feel like he doesn't really share his problems and tends to keep personal issues to himself. I personally see him as the kind of guy you really have to pry to get him to talk about what he is feeling as he would much rather bottle it up to not cause any trouble. I also feel like he rarely is one to ask for help and tends to try and solve it all on his own, especially if he is worried that others may get hurt. The issue is, he doesn't seem to worry about whether he would get hurt.

Takes on Too Much - I also feel like this connects to another flaw as he tends to take on too much and constantly puts himself in risky situations. Whenever a life-threatening situation comes up that could help everyone but is extremely dangerous, he is usually the first in line to do it. It feels like Mickey doesn't even consider his own safety or limitations at all. Sometimes it feels like he is overconfident in his abilities and just believes that he will be okay, which works until it doesn't. It also doesn't help that Mickey has a hard time saying "No", so even if he didn't want to do something or knows he is not capable of doing it, he would probably still do it, not wanting to disappoint anyone. He rarely thinks of himself. And seldom considers what would be best for him. Usually, his friends are the ones to think about his safety and needs.

Need to be Perfect - Though I feel like part of the reason Mickey takes on so much is his need to be the hero. He feels like he has to be a perfect, selfless, and brave role model who does everything without a single complaint. I feel like he overexerts himself because he is afraid of what happens if he doesn't. He is afraid of not being needed or wanted. He is usually the underdog, a small mouse in a world with characters twice his size, and if he isn't constantly proving himself people will leave him behind. I also feel like he has a hard time admitting to mistakes (which connects to his stubbornness) because he feels like he can't make mistakes, or that would show that he isn't as capable as people think. I also think this explains why he has more of a heated rivalry with Mortimer. Mortimer somehow taps into his insecurities in the ways others don't. I feel like Mickey is kind of jealous of Mortimer because he tends to be taken seriously (at first) while Mickey usually needs to earn it. I also kind of wonder if he is worried that if he starts messing up, Minnie and the others will leave him for someone like Mortimer, so he feels like he can't mess up. Ever.

Lack of Self Worth - Unfortunately this means that he is very reliant on others for his self-worth. Luckily Mickey is really good at making friends. But he tends to rely on the existence of his friends for his worth. I can imagine that if for some reason they all stopped existing, I don't think he would even know what to do with himself. While he doesn't need everyone to like him. He does need at least one person to like him to help ground him or I can see him going into a deep depression. I feel like he would really struggle with being alone for too long unless there was some hope of being able to be with his loved ones soon.

But yeah these are the bad qualities that I feel like Mickey generally has. There are probably more, especially ones more specific to certain interpretations, but these are the ones I was able to come up with. As nice as Mickey is, he isn't perfect and his insecurities, overthinking, stubbornness, and curious nature tend to get him in trouble. But fortunately, he is also just as capable of getting out of trouble.

I would honestly love to see other people thoughts on this as well.

[iknowicanbutwhy]

a question about full cast! when they're.. acting like the rest of the party??? who's who? (as in, 'the FIRST siffrin is odile, the SECOND siffrin is mirabelle,' etc - completely random picks there and not intended as actual guesses) what's up with bonnie-loop?

or is it just Rule Of Funny?

OKAY so I forgot to tag a post, but like, This Post is very relevant to your questions!

GETTING ALL THE WAY UP TO 36 LOOPS IS LIKE. BOTH THE WORST CASE SCENARIO AND AN INCREDIBLY DEMORALIZING EXPERIENCE. It was just too fucking funny not to draw the Universe breaking under the strain of this Black Hole of a person.

Which is to say!! It's said it takes a village to raise a Siffrin but nobody there is playing any particular role at that point. There's no way to tell anyone apart beyond "A Loop" and "The Siffrin," "a New (hopeful) Star" or "an Old (jaded) Star." When you become one of the many, many failures, and the Universe won't let you walk away, you just. That's all that matters anymore. You can't even take yourself seriously, let alone those around you.

BUT!!! Say we keep it to Four Loops, a much more manageable number. I mentioned in the previous post somewhat about how they don't differentiate very well - except for mini-loop, who was fortunate enough to at least look different - until they all decide on what role they're going to take up in their silly little one-person play. They just Don't intrude on each other's lines, on each other's characters, too caught up in their own - unless they're being Siffrin, just to tease him. They're as happy as they can be, having found a way to be.. well, not themselves, per se. But not a group of failed Siffrins. Not all the same doomed narrative. And in a way, they get to experience the people they love again.

When they have the energy to keep up the act, they talk differently, they walk differently, they focus on different things, and it's enough to tell one from the other half the time. And they'll keep going with this until it inevitably gets to them, just how much they're still. Worse versions of someone else.

Oh, but mini-bonnie-loop was made that short both because they worded their wish weird trying to find a loophole (tee hee) and also because the Universe was like. I'm gonna make this really funny. And well if the Universe is making them out like they could replace Siffrin's entire cast, who are they not to follow?

[flamedraco]

OCs in Fandom

This is something I've been thinking about more but why is the DSMP and MCYT fandoms specifically more OC repulsed than other fandoms?

Like this is a very strange trend I've noticed where when I introduce an unnamed, unimportant character meant to fill a role (usually to die or get droned in Aurelia's case) why does everyone ask "oh who was that btw?" or "ooo I wonder who this character was! You said she was a woman so she has to be one of these select few characters from the series!" Like. No? No that's not how that works.

In every other fandom I've been in I see art and stories surrounding the OCs that people make. Original Characters with their own powers and abilities, their own relationships to the canon characters. OCs made to fill roles in stories that other characters in canon simply cannot fill because they already have a role in the story somewhere else or because it wouldn't make sense.

This is a behavior that is present in a lot of fandoms. Especially in places like BNHA (the fandom I was in before DSMP). But for some reason not here? And I find that weird.

I'm not judging anyone for this btw I just find it strange because us viewers are CANON to a lot of MCYT mediums. My friend @emi-writings pointed out that the viewers are CANON to the DSMP. We were the ones who voted in the L'manburg election. We are The Voices in Techno's head. We're Phil's flock of crows.

And when you think about it we're canon to other MCYT mediums too. Any time "chat" is brought up in lore, that's us. Any time our suggestions make it into our favorite series and becomes part of the lore? That's us. We're here. We're existing. We're canon.

So why aren't there more OCs? I'd expect a lot more of them seeing how we are quite literally canon.

And yeah, there are a lot of characters to pull from in these mediums so maybe the need for OCs to fill plot points in our fics aren't as needed. But sometimes they are? And I find it so strange that they're kinda frowned upon or not normalized because you go to any other fandom and sometimes you can't tell an OC apart from an actual character in the lore!

In YWNTMBAH, for example, I wanted to give the readers more insight into Quackity's backstory in the AU. And so I decided I wanted to introduce a small handful of OCs as his family because I couldn't lean into the generally accepted family (head?)canon of Sam being his father because Sam already had a role in the fic. And I had already established that Quackity got his shrike wing power from his mother and there's not 'mother' character in that specific family canon. So what am I to do? Make OCs.

Right now I'm considering making a Minecraft Diaries AU as my next major multichapter fic. But Diaries has so many characters with very specific roles that half the cast of the DSMP is pretty much useless to me because they don't fit into these roles I need. Obviously a Diaries AU wouldn't be one to one because the characters are different with different personalities and temperaments, it's a completely different setting I'm throwing the DSMP characters into. But I also don't want to use certain characters unless I absolutely have to especially when the DSMP cast is so large I don't even know the lore and personalities of half the characters. And hell, some of the people whitelisted on the DSMP never even participated in lore or were just there and didn't really roleplay so I wouldn't use them to begin with. The answer here is to use OCs. In any other fandom everyone would tell you to just make some OCs to fill the roles you need or use the characters that were already present in Diaries (which isn't something I'd want to do because I want to create an AU not a crossover).

But for some reason in this fandom that's just...not a thing? Or at least that isn't a thing most people would recommend or do because I rarely see it. And readers will look at some unnamed, undescribed character, and assume I intended for it be someone in the DSMP cast. Had a specific character in mind for it.

And...no. No I didn't. That's just some dude that Wilbur killed. That's just some random ass hero Quackity plucked out of the cell to experiment on. That's just a character meant to fill out the world and make it feel more alive.

I guess the point of this really is just...make OCs more normalized in this fandom? Like it's not everyone's thing obviously and you don't have to if you don't want to. If someone in the DSMP cast fits the role you need then hey, less work for you as the writer, right?

And I'm not saying that this is a huge problem or anything because it's not. There are other people that do use OCs as writing tools or hell, collectively accepted OCs that the comment section of a fic will adopt because the concept of there being this one specific dude everyone bullies is funny. I remember a fic being inspired by YWNMTBAH and it was a story about someone's OC that they made and I thought it was cool as hell that my fic inspired someone to make an OC!

But I just think everyone should be more aware that it's okay and normal to make OCs in fandom. Hell, my take on Wilbur, Sally, and Sapnap are all pretty much OCs at this point. I made the Fridge an actual character with the help of Em. Me and Double added OCs in Arsonist's Waltz to fill out the DSMP Pantheon more because it wasn't explored enough in canon.

I think we should have more OCs. I think it should be normalized. I think the general expectation shouldn't be that every last character mentioned in the story is someone in canon. OCs are a really useful fanfiction writing tool and they aren't even hard to make really! You don't even have to name some of them! I never gave Q's parents in YWNTMBAH names, just descriptions! Half of Wilbur and Quackity's drones in Aurelia are unnamed OC characters they just yoinked off the streets!

OCs are things you can pour a lot of time into, give backstories, give cool concepts. But they can also just be easy writing tools when you need to kill something off but don't want to use one of your more major characters. They can just be there, chilling, making your world more alive and more full.

Because not every viable character in the canon cast can be used for the roles you need.

[sysmedsaresexist]

Hey we've been thinking about that "OSDD was a temporary diagnosis" post for a while and. it makes complete sense what you guys said but like. we can't get ANYONE to diagnose us as anything CDD, let alone anything that isn't going to give us the treatment equivalent of slapping a bandaid on a stab wound. Is there like, anywhere we could look further into P-DID/DID research on the subject? We're not comfortable moving off of the self diagnosis of OSDD-1b yet so we wanna be triple sure to get as much information as possible.

Thankies 💕💕💕

- 🐑 & 🌸 of the Constellation Collective

There's places all over to find that info, but I want to encourage you not to overthink it. You can dig deeper, you absolutely should, but the label... it doesn't matter. It's really, truly okay to get this one wrong and switch around between the labels or use them interchangeably. I promise. You don't need to be right, because you're right regardless (unless it's a misdiagnosis, but I'm going to talk about that at the end of this, because it's important).

I am diagnosed OSDD, but I call myself DID. It's easy, I understand that there's not that big of a difference, no one is going to yell at us (me or you) if it turns out that we have the other one. We're not misrepresenting ourselves. If it turns out I would only ever be diagnosed with OSDD, that doesn't mean I was wrong using the DID label, or that I was even mislabelling myself.

Whether you're diagnosed with DID or OSDD largely depends on where you live. I made a post about this a while back but I can't find it. The US is more likely to diagnose OSDD with minor amnesia than the UK. They're more likely to call minor amnesia DID (as they should). It's literally a dice throw, and not that important.

To quote my BFF, Colin Ross,

The dividing line between DID and most cases of dissociative disorder not otherwise specified is arbitrary [or OSDD]. Most cases of DDNOS are partial forms of DID which lack either clear switching of executive control, full amnesia barriers between identity states, or clear differentiation and structure of identity states. They are partial forms of DID with the same patterns of childhood trauma and co-morbidity.

Also this quote.

So on the one hand we have a vast swathe of people who are, or would be, diagnosed with OSDD as opposed to dissociative identity disorder but who show almost all of the symptoms of DID. Many people therefore see DID and OSDD as appearing on a spectrum, and prefer to conflate the two conditions so that DID/OSDD represents a range of dissociative experiences with more or less amnesia and greater or less elaboration and distinctive identity states or parts of the personality.

It is also what happens in practice: very few people would realistically distinguish between DID and OSDD.

And,

Both OSDD and DID are the result of the spontaneous action of the brain in response to trauma. Both contain different self-states, holding shards of memory and ‘unformulated experience’ (Stern, 1997). Both can be helped by similar approaches to therapy which encourage neuronal repair and result in brain growth such as increased hippocampal volume. Above all, all forms of dissociation need to be validated for their unique contribution to survival.

P-DID is a bit of a new one. Here's the ICD link to it, if you want to read more, but it's going to be the same as above. It's really not that important. Its main difference is that the system doesn't really switch, it's mostly intrusion (like feelings bleeding between alters and host).

These are really only useful for describing how your system generally functions.

Finally, misdiagnosis.

It's okay to be wrong completely. Maybe it's just BPD or OCD, autism, any of the number of disorders that come with identity confusion.

When someone self DX something like BPD and they finally get to therapy and find out it's literally ANYTHING else, we celebrate with them. Good job, you found answers! You're on the right path! You can get the right kind of help now. You did what you had to do in order to get by, and you did your best to try to understand yourself with the tools you had. The use of the first label wasn't malicious, you didn't hurt anyone by using it, and you probably got yourself pretty knowledgeable on the topic.

You are now a resource for those who are also trying to figure themselves out.

Who knows better what the difference between BPD and OSDD is than someone who tried out both and found the answer?

Being wrong doesn't mean you're bad, I don't know why we don't celebrate a misdiagnosis of DID like we do some others. We're all just trying to understand ourselves, and sometimes we're wrong. The point is that eventually we figure it out, and the journey there... recognizing a misdiagnosis is a GOOD part of your story, and it's an important story to share. You were still struggling, regardless of what label you used and what you're being diagnosed with.

Use the label that feels right to you. If you want to keep using OSDD, that's fine. You're describing how your system works right now, and that's perfect. Using DID or OSDD, you'll end up in the same place regardless-- hopefully this means with a good therapist who's going to take your symptoms seriously, but you're going to end up in that same chair no matter what label you're using.

I really hope this helped.

Also, I didn't really touch on it, but I'm sorry you're struggling to get a diagnosis. That must be incredibly frustrating. Don't give up. Unfortunately, the average is about 5 years for most. Keep advocating for yourself.

[nancynancydrewdrewdrew]

Noisette is Bad at Making Treasure Hunts

I'm really not sure if Noisette actually wanted anyone to find her treasure, or if she still harbored a ton of resentment and fear towards the city and wanted to clear her conscious before death by making it appear that she had done the work to ensure it would be found without actually making it possible for someone to do so. If she really wanted the stained glass to be returned, she could have just written in her will "the stained glass is in xyz, please give it back the following places:"

Instead, if her goal really was to have someone find the hidden stained glass after she died (as she states in the game in her final letter) she was bad at following through on her goals. The fact that Nancy was able to do so is due to so many contrived coincidences that would completely make it impossible for her treasure to be found in the real world. To find her treasure you need:

a) access to her moulin. This is in IMO her stupidest move in the whole game, she was director of public works (or something like that) and instead of trusting the moulin to the city when she died she did nothing and let it go to auction to a private buyer. Literally the only person in the entire game who gives a shit about her and the treasure (Lynn Manrique) can't do anything to find it bc Noisette didn't ensure that the treasure would be accessible to the public

okay, so maybe she intended for whoever purchased the moulin to find her treasure. Nope! because...

(Okay, I have a lot of thoughts here and this ended up being really long so the rest is under the cut!)

b) you would also need access to another completely private residence, Hans's old apartment. Nancy is lucky that Dieter still lives there and he works in the fashion industry, which coincidentally the owner of the moulin is in. But what are the odds of that?? Also, it states in the game that Hans went to Germany after the war and never returned to Paris. So did he just hang on to an empty apartment that whole time or did Dieter randomly end up in the same apartment as his grandpa? Paris was fine with a German soldier occupying an apartment during the war and never wanted to re-allocate it afterwards?

okay, so there's someone that has access to the moulin and Hans's apartment, they can find the treasure, right? Nope!

c) you need a very specific mechanic key to open the panel in the apartment wall. A key that for some reason only Hans had? She never spoke to him again after the war, so I'm assuming in order to hide her diary afterwards she had her own key, but that's not a part of the treasure hunt or clues at all. Nancy got Hans's key out of pure coincidence, so how was someone else supposed to open the panel? okay, someone living there managed to open the panel, maybe some construction workers discovered it during renovations. So can they find the treasure? No! d) The panel is locked, and you need to 1. know that the hazelnut symbol refers to Noisette and 2. know her life story to the point that you'd know her life fell to shit in 1945. if you weren't connected to the mystery, good luck!

So you made it in the panel, you have her diary, and you have the paper with the eyes. That doesn't help at all unless you...

e) know what Noisette's last words were! If that was an important clue, why not write it down somewhere??

also...

f) YOU NEED A FRENCH RESISTANCE WWII DECODER. Noisette was said to have died recently when the game came out in 2006. You're telling me that in the sixty years between the end of the war and her death she never once noticed that no one has one of those just lying around? She couldn't have changed that step or at least hidden "ma cherie" in one of the lock boxes? In the game we get incredibly lucky that we just randomly stumble on one, and even in that case it's known to be so rare that we need to jump through hoops to get it.

That's all well and good, but there's more! g) you need to be able bodied enough to use ladders, swim through tunnels, and more. And you also have to be willing to break the law and go into restricted areas of the catacombs, AND swim through flooded areas?? of the catacombs?? where they have dead bodies?? who would do that?? h) once you do that, you need to have a working knowledge of the metro system, otherwise you need to go back and do it all twice. And that's assuming that there are no line changes or renames in the time between making the puzzle and someone finding it! You also have to hope that no one has made any changes to the art in the park in that timeframe

Okay it took a while but you found the treasure!!

I) Now you're locked in so you better hope you know how to use the code she likes to get out, otherwise you're stuck there forever and you're dead. If you didn't pick up a random code book while visiting the park, sorry!

This ended up quite long, but my overall point is that it would be completely asinine to assume anyone would be able to discover the treasure. Even Nancy finding it was contingent on a ton of random coincidences and deus ex machinas that would be unreplicable in the real world. I love the puzzles and the vibes of this game but the I hate the plot and after writing this I'm realizing how much I really hate Noisette as a person lol

[seltzer-tastes-pretty-good]

Some Pico, Darnell and Nene headcanons

-Pico stims by scratching the side of his gun with his thumb. In the events he's without a weapon, he'll just scratch his own palm.

-Darnell is the smartest among his friend group. He also serves as most of his group's impulse control.

-Nene has a mild case of spectrophobia. Her bathroom mirror is covered up by a hand towel, and she'll generally avoid rooms with mirrors unless she needs to.

-Pico has a small hard drive connected to his PC. on it, contain a shit ton of sfw files of various flash pieces, mostly from Negrounds, as his own private archive. His long standing grudge at Adobe for killing flash is, thus far, unsatisfied

-Darnell, whenever he's home, will put on one of those "ambient fireplace noises background noise" Youtube videos. He can't really sleep or even relax without one of those playing

-Nene was really big on the show '1000 Ways to Die' while it was still airing. She bought a bootleg 'complete series DVD' of the show once.

-Pico's favorite food is macaroni and cheese, Darnell's is onion rings and Nene's is cinnamon toast

-Pico and Darnell spar kind of a lot. Sometimes when angry, sometimes when just bored. Darnell is usually the one to patch both of them up afterward

-Darnell usually walks Nene home at the end of the day, once the three are done hanging out. He's mostly just wanting to make sure she doesn't try to hurt herself on the way back. Pico tags along too, just in case anyone else tries to jump on them. Safety in numbers and all that.

-Nene can and will run her mouth off to anyone to listen to her special interest, seals. Usually, that person is Pico. He doesn't exactly care for the animal, but he hates not having any noise going on, to keep any bad thoughts away

On their relationship with Boyfriend (when not hired to kill him at least):

-Boyfriend and Pico, of course, dated for a bit of time, having met when BF was on an unguided tour of (read, broke into) the Newgrounds hq. The two hit it off pretty good, at least, at first. Boyfriend found Pico's contract killer life a bit too much for him, something that gave him a mild case of insomnia. Pico, having experienced what he did and having never forget what it did to him, agreed he didn't want BF to go through what he did and agreed to break it off after they talked it out. He didn't exactly feel he could leave the life behind, anyways, what would his friends say?

-Darnell and Boyfriend get along great. The two of them follow each other on Soundcloud at least, and they often hang out. The two actually collabed on a song. "Fresh - Boyfriend Mix" - which was a gift for GF.

-Nene, as soon as he heard BF and Pico broke up, immediately went like, "Oh, you want me to kill em then?", something Pico had to correct pretty fast. BF thankfully went by unharmed, mostly, but still gets a little nervous around Nene. Pico assures him that Nene won't just up and kill him without reason, but BF likes to play it a bit more cautious. She does love her knives after all.

On their relationship with Girlfriend:

-when the ex of your lover is still their friend, things can usually be a bit contentious, but GF doesn't want it to be that way. This is why she's usually super nice to Pico whenever he's around. She's usually the one to pay for stuff when she, BF and Pico's crew hang around, rich parents and all. Pico finds it a bit odd, but isn't gonna just turn down her hospitality. He does find it odd, though, that BF broke up with him because his lifestyle was too much...and then went on to date a demon.

-Darnell and GF both have a mild fascination with fire, so they usually bond over that. Sometimes, they go out back to her family's trash pit just to throw shit in and watch it burn. Boyfriend sometimes joins as well, but he has a bit habit of leaning too close in and getting his hat caught on fire.

-Nene and GF are fairly good friends. The two hang out a lot for 'gal's nights out', where they chat about their friends, family, and usually just watch shit on Newgrounds together. One special time, GF was going on about how BF and GF protect each other, and Nene mentions her contract killer gig, and brings up if anyone wanted to hurt Boyfriend. Girlfriend shut the idea down there, stating 'if anyone tries to hurt boyfriend, their not even gonna have time to smell his breath before I come in to take them out.' Nene was all, 'heh, yeah right. I'm sure if I wanted, I could kill 'em', Girlfriend wanted to challenge that, something that Nene agreed to and, no less than twelve hours later, Nene woke up in a hospital bed from the fight she tried to start with her. Thankfully, GF agreed to pay the medical bill.

[ravetillyoucry]

PUPARIA

Chapter 16 - The Flower Called Nowhere

prev - chapter 1

It wasn't unlike Jules to bring the shifter off of cases that seemed to have to utmost importance to deal with all the trivial dirty work. Today was one of those days, someone called with a problem, something so petty and insignificant that it could've probably been solved in the travel time it took Hosah to get there, as long as they just knew how to communicate.

But, as expected, that would never happen. At least now he had Teddy to drag along with him to these boring open-and-shut cases he'd constantly be set to cover.

He thought he'd recognised the name as the pair pulled up to the address. Of course, Arthur Emily was a rather significant figure around the city, having his own radio show that everyone seemed to have playing in all the little shops and supermarkets in the area. A man of such great influence deserved to have a house of great size, his front driveway being about the size of Teddy's entire apartment, and the manor itself was the size of the whole complex, just about. He had one of those grand gates with a little speaker machine that buzzed you in, similar to the office but slightly more high-security, which was honestly more of a cause for concern given the shifter's current predicament.

Hesitantly, Hosah took a step outside of the yellow taxi which he'd become so familiar with, taking his time, step by step, up to the gate until he stood face-to-face with the button. Of course, there was no other option but to press it.

The static was sudden, causing the shifter to jump a little as it crackled away, as if the entire contraption were about to set ablaze.

"Hello?" A familiar voice from the other side of the speaker called out. He'd only called about a half hour ago, there was no way he'd forget about the private investigators he'd ordered to come immediately in such a short space of time.

Hosah sighed, clearing his throat as he spoke; "Hey, it's Detective Levi, from the agency you called, uh, we're here."

He didn't even need to elaborate before the line was abruptly cut off. It seemed to work though, as the gates slowly dragged open accordingly, creating a horribly loud, grating sound as they dragged across the brick-laid driveway.

From here on out, the shifter and his partner were to walk up to the front door, getting a much clearer view of the house on the way. It truly was humongous. Incomprehensibly so, in fact. Radio can't pay that good, but if he were doing anything else, the last people he'd want inside would be detectives, so it probably wasn't paid for in blood money, unless he was some sort of vigilante bounty hunter who took out those in law enforcement that would get in the way of his extravagant plans. That kind of thing only really existed in comics, Hosah told himself as he swallowed down the lump in his throat. He couldn't count the possibility out entirely, as his life had seemed to take a rather harsh shift into one similar to the likes of fiction.

Teddy gave a little whistle of admiration as he stopped to stare at the mansion, "Jesus christ." He muttered.

"Right." The shifter stood by his side, also taking in the grandiose structure in front of them, "It's always the ones with the big ass houses with the most to hide. Probably why he called a private agency. Anyone sees the cops pull up, it'll spread like wildfire, bad press and shit."

"Mmm," He hummed in agreement, "Let's go in and find out what we're here for, then."

Hosah was, in fact, extremely curious. Usually he'd receive a little synopsis of what he was being sent down for before he'd leave, but this time, he had nothing to go off of. Jules just told him an address and that he was needed immediately. So suspicious. Just on the entrance, the shifter could spot at least three different cameras. Come on, he's not that famous to need all this security, Hosah thought to himself as he knocked briefly at the door. A nice, thick, double wooden door with stained glass all around the frame.

The wood opened just a crack, an eye peering around the corner, just to make sure it was who they said they were at the gate. He stared for a few seconds, really getting a good glimpse at the two men on his doorstep. Hosah could just barely see a glimpse of his face, his eye large and wide, standing out brightly against the dark circles surrounding it.

"Come in," He whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy.

And the two detectives did as they were told and came right in. The first thing Hosah noticed was the floor, a bright marble that sparkled against the little bits of sunlight that shone through the cracks in the drawn blinds, it looked clean, almost too clean, especially when in comparison to Arthur Emily himself. When seeing the man on billboards or on posters, he looked like any other celebrity of the time, slick hair, sharp features, bright eyes and white teeth, but in the flesh, he looked much more mundane, in fact, he looked almost like a bum in his white wife-beater and red adidas shorts, his socked pulled up over his ankles and his hair ratty and disheveled. He could hardly stand still either, as he paced around a six-foot radius and fidget as he spoke.

"There's, there's something going on. It's strange. It's so, so, so strange. You, hah, you probably won't believe it," The familiar voice laughed almost manically, "I.. I'm being targeted. I can't go to the police because there'll be people on my ass, I.. I don't.. It's something to do with that guy."

"..That guy?" Hosah questioned, already done with whatever shit show he'd just stepped into.

"You know.." The radio host leant on his knees until he was eye level with the detective, "Fifteen shifter bodies. Him." He whispered as if someone was listening in through the cracks in the blinds and the gaps in the door.

He wanted to say the gender of the killer hadn't been discovered yet, and the victims were all, you know, shifters, but the detective decided nitpicking the fine details wouldn't be effective in a case like this.

"And what makes you think that?" Hosah questioned, prepared to humour the theory as long as it was as ridiculous as the man's appearance and demeanour was.

"Weelllll..." That was never a good sign. "I have... a lot of relations with shifters. You know. I see a lot of people, I.. Pay for many services."

Ah, that was it. There wasn't really many options for shifters in the work field, if they had little control over their.. curse, that is. One extremely common place they'd end up is in the entertainment industry, not really as entertainers and public figures like Mr Emily, but more like private, living toys for those that could afford to rent them out. Dehumanising work that still left the lingering feeling of self hatred and shame behind with it, even if it wasn't exactly typical or even all that physically demanding. You just had to be there or he square, and you probably had to have the patience of a saint to put up with the same few lines from everyone you'd deal with.

It was people like this that Hosah had grown well acquainted with. Secretly going onto dating websites and forums for guys that particularly liked the idea of being with shifters, as he felt there would be no one else in the world willing to love him, they'd always say the same sorts of things, things Hosah didn't even want to think about, not because they were outwardly dirty or degenerate, but because of how deeply they shook the shifter to his core, as the first time he'd ever actually gotten what he'd always wanted, coming from the last people he'd want it from.

"Hmm," The noise Hosah let out in response was disgruntled at its best, "Right, and?"

"And I've been noticing some shit going on. Handwritten letters on my doorstep with no return address, no signs of arriving through the postal system, stuff disappearing and ending up in different places, seeing the same fucking car in my rear view mirror the whole way home," Arthur's voice sounded progressively more panicked with every detail he gave, fidgeting with his hands and brushing his hair back about five times in a minute.

Sounded a lot like what the shifter himself had been going through.

"..'Kay, we can take the letters from you if you still have them, get some comparisons done, the usual." Hosah spoke bluntly, looking forward to getting the fuck out of the eerie foyer.

"That's not it, that's.. My, um, partner, believes to have just gotten away in the nick of time from this guy. Hence why I called.. I've dealt with stalkers before; but that, that's what fucking scared me, you know?"

The house looked empty asides from Arthur, not that the entire pad could be seen from just this specific place the three of them stood, of course.

Hosah felt a shiver up his back despite the weather being rather warm for such a late September, almost October day. He thanked whatever god there was that it didn't have to be him they had to count on to get there to save the day.

Although he wanted to continue to be unbothered, to sigh in annoyance and tell Arthur Emily to pave the way so he could get this over with, the shifter couldn't say a word. He probably looked just as frightened as the radio host himself when they'd first entered his home.

"If they're still here, speaking to them would do a great deal of help," Teddy spoke up as his partner silently freaked the fuck out beside him.

Mr Emily nodded, muttering a quiet 'Of course' as he led the way up the marble stairs, of course, asking a bucket load of questions on the way.

"So, you're a shifter specialist unit?" He looked to Hosah, disregarding his assistant entirely.

"Mhm,"

"And, are there shifters like.. Working under you guys or are you just well versed in how to approach and deal with them or something?" There were so many aspects of that statement Hosah could've felt offended about, but was too focused on the main issue at hand to really process as the words were spoken.

"I am, he isn't." The shifter put it bluntly.

"Really! Wow, I wouldn't have guessed. You don't seem like the type!" Arthur Emily wasn't even looking at where he was going now, too busy trying to make conversation with the detective.

Hosah scoffed, taking no notice, "Not really a certain look or requirement." He muttered, hands in his pockets, his posture slumped lazily.

"Oh, no yeah, yeah of course." Mr Emily clarified.

Suddenly, he stopped dead in front of a door, causing the taller detective to almost trip over his own feet which brought Hosah great, brief amusement.

"In here." The owner of the home whispered, giving the door a gentle knock before hesitantly peeking through the crack as he did earlier, "There are some detectives here to take a statement," His voice turned overly gentle and sweet, like it would when talking to a crying child in an attempt to comfort them.

Behind the door was an incomprehensible voice, so small and quiet it was barely heard, but clearly it was enough for Arthur to open the room up wide in order for the pair to waltz in as he did himself. A guest room, no bigger than Teddy's own bedroom, plain and hotel-like with minimal decor and no sign of being lived in as the bed was still perfectly made and not a thing looked out of place. Although, by the corner, where Hosah could barely make out anything with his deteriorating eyesight, there seemed to be a shifter on the windowsill, sitting with their knees to their chin as Hosah often did himself.

"D'you think it'd be better if I shrank down to speak to them?" Hosah tilted his head and squinted his eyes, looking to his assistant and not the man who's house they were in for his input.

"I don't know, would you feel better if it were you sat there and not the other way around?" Teddy kept his voice down as he was aware that speaking about others in front of them was highly rude.

That was about all he needed, as the shifter pushed past Arthur Emily and headed toward the windowsill himself, signalling for Teddy to follow on in order to lift him up onto the structure, and that he did.

Putting himself into the, now to his own scale, man's shoes, Hosah decided he'd rather be left alone than to have two giants lingering around them if it were him he was standing opposite.

"You can go now, wait outside." He waved the two off like it was nothing, like they weren't grand beings with all the power in the world over him, and they listened.

The man continued to stare off silently out the window. To be fair, it was quite scenic. Out of the way of the city with artificially planted palm trees, the weather being uncharacteristically warm, especially around this time of year. It looked almost like LA, in fact, a little suburbs for the rich and notable to pretend they were living it up where all their coworkers were.

For once, Hosah didn't quite know what to say, as he stared at the back of the man's head. He looked wild. Long dark hair past his shoulders, curled and clearly ruffled as it seemed to stick up in every which way it wanted to, his clothes didn't quite look like the detective's own either, hand-made, probably. A lot of shifters just chose to make their own things, now that he really thought about it. Despite having existed since the beginning of time, there weren't many brands really interested in catering towards them, their clothes and living options resembling that of a doll more than a person, much like the people Arthur Emily liked to hire. He wondered if the man sat before him was one of them that overstayed their welcome.

"..Aren't you gonna interrogate me?" The man spoke, unmoving, his voice muffled by the fabric of his hand-sewn hooded coat.

"No, no," Hosah laughed awkwardly, "We can go at whatever pace you'd like. Just your recollection of events, start to finish, if you remember any finite details that'd be helpful too."

Finally, he stood, turning and facing the detective. He was quite a bit larger than Hosah, as shifters with seemingly small height differences on paper usually were, they came in all kinds of different sizes, but it was usually no more than three and a half inches for the largest and maybe three, or just about three, maybe slightly less but there about, for the smallest. Sounds like nothing, but when beside eachother, it was more like a foot or two in regular measures of height. His eyes were puffy and his cheeks as well as his nose were reddened, although it was hard to see with his messy hair and patchy beard.

"What's your name?" He asked, leaning over, becoming uncomfortably close to the detective's face.

"Detective Hosah Levi, sir." He stuttered, his feet edging back to get away from the man he previously pitied.

"Hmm," He thought for a moment, before sticking out a hand, "Constantine."

Hosah returned the gesture, "Cool, very cool." He commented.

"Thank you, I agree. Most people just call me Connie, if that's easier." Constantine nodded, now finally smiling. He didn't actually seem all that much in a state really, he probably just needed someone his own size to talk to in order to feel calm, to feel normal again.

"Connie," Hosah shrugged, his hand still being held captive by the man he addressed, much like how Teddy wouldn't let go of his when they first met. The memory made him smile, but he had to get back to the topic at hand, "What are your version of events?"

"It was a few hours ago, maybe, I was walking around, not too far from here. Guy had his eye on me; not unusual, you know how it is, giants stare at little things like us. But this guy was everywhere. Covered up, too, it's a hot day, there's no need for a hoodie and a scarf and a cap and even fucking gloves, man. He was following me, for sure, and thank fuck I was meeting with Arthur or I would've been done for. It's not all that crazy though, I mean, who the fuck asks a shifter to meet them in the middle of fuckin' nowhere, you're just asking for them to get swiped on the way."

As he ranted on about the finite details the detective wasn't really bothered about, Hosah took note of the description. It was similar to that of what the police passing by had given on the day the bodies were initially discovered, a guy covered up even when the weather didn't call for it.

"Right," Hosah wasn't quite sure how to respond to the influx of information, "How far did he follow you for? Just around here, or did you have quite a journey?"

"I mean, first he was on the subway, and that was in the city, I didn't really take notice at first, but I had got on around Soho, and I noticed him on that specific train that I got on, so from there til I got to where we met up, when he saw Arthur he turned around, so it was me for sure that he was after." That was a pretty big distance to travel for such a small person, and to outrun just a giant's walk was almost admirable.

Hosah debated whether he'd let the man continue on with his life story just out of sheer curiosity, or if he'd choose to stay professional and keep to what he came for.

"..How did you meet Arthur exactly?"

"God.. Long story. I needed work, he wanted to pay me, turns out we had pretty good chemistry and he's not all that bad, so I do stuff outside of getting paid now. It's cushy, it's fine, I get to stay in this big house without worrying about eating or rent, and he's not too degenerate so, I'd say I'm living it up. Only problem is I can't be seen, who knows what the public'll say, you know, have to keep it real secretive. Not my thing but, I do what I have to do, right?"

Hosah suddenly felt very grateful for his position in life, and how he didn't have to settle for so little. The sad truth of being a shifter, was that their whole lives were based around compromising as to not get in the way of those bigger, and more important than you.

"Right on. Well, thank you for your cooperation, if I could take your full name and email address, I'll keep in touch and let you know if anything moves forward with your information."

-~-

The whole thing took maybe an hour or so at the most, but upon leaving, Hosah felt truly exhausted. He couldn't find it in him to grow back, much to Arthur Emily's delight, of course.

It gave him a new outlook for the time being, one that was much more appreciative of the man who's shoulder he sat on as they rode the tube home, each harsh stop calling for a hand twice, maybe even three times, the size of his whole form to instinctively wrap around him in a protective layer, an unconventional seatbelt of sorts. He wondered if Arthur Emily did the same for Connie, if he'd not even think before gently cradling the shifter in order to keep him from harms way as Teddy did. The answer he'd instantly came to was too saddening to stay thinking about.

He really did have it easy, a real, naturally formed love, one where he was an equal and not an object to be flaunted or whatever Mr Emily had intended with the poor shifter that's found himself in his grasp. Hosah was lucky to get away just in the nick of time from that fate. He was lucky to be cared about, and he was lucky that it was Teddy and not anyone else that got in the elevator with him that day.

The shifter dug his face into the neck his back leant against, taking a breath in as big as he could, as if it'd be his last time ever smelling the giant's cheap aftershave. A strong, woody and honestly overbearing scent that on paper would be terrible but, to Hosah, it was perfect. That was just the thing with Hosah, though, the worse smells always were the best on other guys, he thought.

"What's up with you?" Teddy half whispered in a laugh, his head turned even though he couldn't see the shifter from where he was sat on the shoulder.

Hosah sighed, rubbing his face as he spoke, "It's nothing," he said, not wanting to worry Teddy, or to give him any reason to tease him, as it was quite a mushy string of thoughts to have.

The giant took a brief look around the unusually empty carriage before deciding it was appropriately unpopulated enough to swiftly scoop up the man sitting in the crook of his neck. Fingers wrapping around the shifter's shrunken frame caught him off guard, stumbling and frankly falling upon being released into the open palm, much to the giant's amusement.

"I don't like not being able to see you," Teddy muttered as the tiny man in his hand collected himself, "Because you weigh, well, basically nothing, I'm always scared I'm gonna reach for you and you won't be there anymore."

That's right, he had an irrational fear of being alone in the city, Hosah recalled. Or maybe it had nothing to do with that at all, maybe his true fear was just losing the man whom he'd only just confessed his love to, that's what the shifter hoped, at least.

"It's okay," The disheveled shifter patted the pad of the thumb almost the same size as himself, "I'm no gonna go anywhere, unless the.. What did Scotty call it, the shifter snatcher is around."

"God, don't joke like that. That's like, my number one fear actually," Teddy used his other hand to massage the space between his eyebrows.

Although it probably wasn't particularly nice for the giant to say, Hosah couldn't help but feel his heart rate fasten, the sides of his lips curling into an involuntary smile of satisfaction at the answer; "I thought it was getting lost in the city," He questioned.

"I'd be lost if I didn't have you, so. It's the same thing really," The confidence in Teddy's voice died down, his words trailing off into an embarrassed silence.

"Aww," Hosah's head tilted into his hand, "So cheesy."

Now that they'd become more open with eachother, Teddy was less inclined to really sit and worry about the shifters safety when doing things like pushing him over with a finger against his chest, which he of course took full advantage of his ability to do so in response to Hosah's teasing. They were both lucky the carriage was practically completely desolate, aside from the sleeping business man that had probably missed his stop an hour ago. Although the shifter had always thought of Teddy to be quite cherubic, it was in moments like these where he realised the man had a side to him that was quite the opposite.

"Stop- stop," Hosah struggled to get his words out between laughs, also considering the fact he'd had the wind knocked out of him on his way down, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Begrudgingly, the giant took Hosah's entire form between a finger and a thumb, as if he were holding the newspaper, picking him up and placing him back upon his feet in the palm, although the unsteadiness of the moving subway was quick to bring him back down to his original position either way.

"You should be! I'm trying to have a nice intimate moment with you, you dick."  Teddy huffed, his finger moving to ruffle the already messy hair on the shifter's head.

Usually, this kind of gesture would bring great displeasure, but since it was him and not anyone else, Hosah didn’t mind all as much.

“Fine, let’s have an intimate moment,” The shifter covered his face to try wipe the smile that had been spread across it, starting afresh with an encouraging “Go on,”

Teddy tried his best to keep a straight and serious face as he pondered his next words, but all attempts were fruitless, “I can’t focus now, you’ve crushed the- my aura.” He said with a pout.

“I killed the vibe?” The words sounded so wrong coming out of Hosah’s mouth, a man who was not usually up to the times with his weird analogies and phrases.

“You did, but it’s okay, I guess I still love you,” Teddy said in a wistful sigh, purposefully making it sound as sappy and clichéd as he possibly could.

Luckily for the shifter, an influx of people hopping onto the carriage had stopped the giant from getting any cheesier, if that was even possible. It seems not many people hang around the stops located in the miles upon miles of flat, yet to be used land, although that would probably change soon as the city forever grew in both size and population. It was only a matter of time before it outgrew Hosah himself, becoming nothing but a spec of sunlit dust through the morning beams creeping out of the cracks in the blinds, slowly but surely consuming the space around it until the light swallowed the room whole.

That fate didn’t actually sound so bad, in fact, the shifter had always felt that would be his end, slowly fizzling out until he’s nothing at all. He thought about doing it often, although not physically possible, sometimes he’d sit alone on an empty desk and imagine himself getting even smaller, until there was absolutely nothing left of him possible. That seemed like the type of thing the original Hosah Levi probably did. In fact, a lot of the things the detective did mirrored his uncle, from what he’d been told about him at least. The shifter wondered if it would’ve been possible to swap places, to meet somewhere in the vacuum that is the universe and to make a trade, that the original Hosah would get to live as long as he himself, sitting in the hands on the subway, would’ve never existed in the first place.

Nowadays, even if given the opportunity, as he really thought about it, Teddy in his direct line of sight, the shifter would say no.

[utilitycaster]

One of my least favorite types of post in fandom, particularly for actual play, is the "why isn't everyone dropping everything to focus on my blorbo's mental state," and I wanted to talk about why.

The most obvious surface reason, of course, is that unless you are watching something with a very clear single protagonist and that is the character you're talking about, and the story is explicitly about people helping them heal, this is simply not a thing that's likely to happen in most works. It doesn't mean you can't want it; but that want is best explored and expressed through transformative works rather than trying to get the "let's watch blorbo carefully work through every trauma they have" blood from of the narrative stone. (I'll admit my own interest in such works is very limited, but that shouldn't stop you.)

But even when that is the stated purpose, that's just not the sort of story I'm drawn to. It feels too artificial and dishonest to the human experience, and leaves a strange taste in my mouth. I think it derives from a set of intertwined fantasies this represents, and they are admittedly a very seductive pair of lies.

One is the idea that there will come a time, amid seemingly insurmountable external challenges, when everything can pause and during that magical lull all will be resolved. It's the "this weekend I'll get my life together" fallacy. The truth is that this stoppage almost never happens, and in the cases when it does it is rarely a gentle hold, but rather a screeching involuntary halt. The fix is often not enough to truly fix, but rather just enough to get one moving again before being thrust back into the unceasing world. It's magical thinking, of a magic that even fantasy worlds (perhaps especially heroic fantasy worlds, where all the stakes are impossibly heightened) cannot provide: that the world will stop turning long enough for a complete fix, and that a complete fix is even possible or attainable, and that it will not require any ongoing work to maintain once the world has started up again.

The second is the fantasy of being understood without effort: that this quiet period will come without you needing to speak up and say "stop". That your walls will be broken with no contribution from within; that someone else will do all the work and love you despite that. And why not? As anyone who has dealt with any sort of mental health issue knows, it is exhausting. Wouldn't it be nice if someone else just...knew exactly where to place the leverage to pop you out of that rut as you sat unmoving?

It would be! It's also not going to happen.

I am, despite what I say, not against projecting on characters. That's what characters are for. I'm just not particularly interested in seeing characters who get what I sometimes want and know pretty much no one can have. I want to watch characters experience what I might, and succeed, but I do need the struggle to be as real for them as it is for me. I want the character to be in the same hole and know how to get out because they've been here before, not turn to me and shrug and say "honestly, everything went great for me - you're on your own, pal" and levitate out.

There's much more to it too - I love character dynamics, and so the idea of everyone else fading to flat grayscale tools to help one character is uniquely unappetizing. I also find a lot of the discussions surrounding this sort of premise believe that this magical fixing also occurs without anyone ever saying anything even remotely challenging to the person being helped. It really is just essentially reduced to a flavorless hand waving a magic wand over the character in question, which makes for a very short and bad story.

There are other fantasies too, all tied up in this, and all both understandable to have and tedious to watch, most notably the ideas that suffering is purification and that the blorbo who needs help is eternally blameless and never complicit in either their own pain and their actions towards others; and that give and take (and on a meta level, focus within a story) are easily and meaningfully quantifiable and are required to be kept in some cosmic balance (usually one rather heavily tilted towards a fan's favorite character) for a story to be good.

The question ultimately needs to not be "when will everything stop and center and therapize and fix the character I most relate to" but rather "will this character's traumas and issues and past be explored in any meaningful way during the narrative, or, if they are not, will the fact that they are not explored carry its own weight." Ironically, the stop/fix/magic wand wave away fantasy does away with any possibility of meaningful exploration, and that's really why I can't fucking stand it.

[s1urpjuic3]

Hi guys, it's me again, here to give my 2 cents on a another fandom.

Now, I felt the need to do this because as I pleasantly scroll through some Jarley content, I see 'Shipping a toxic couple is gross' 'Jarley is weird' 'Their not even together anymore' (If I could find the original post, I would so tag whoever made it because TODAY I CHOOSE VIOLENCE'

This literally might be my first ever (Omg they're so cute together as a kid. THis is my childhood right here. Jarley. Now, I respect and love her and Ivy as much as the next, but as a child, I didn't see the toxicity and the violence of Jarley, all I saw was my favorite cartoon villians, and it's just carried along to who I am now.

The main flaw about this is that THIS. IS. FICTION. Not even like, Game of Thrones or King of the Hill fiction. THIS SHIT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR FUCKING KIDS! Mf an 8 year old don't gaf abt or know about no abuse and shit. (Unless they come from that type of household, in which cases I completely respect that) Like, it's no reason that people should be this pressed over CHARACTERS that you literally can write them to act different. The writers of DC comics decided that 'Hey, this is how we want Joker, and he's never gonna change or treat Harley right' They could just as easily wrote it another way, henceforth, fanfic writers writing it a different way.

It's not about them being toxic it's about them matching each others' freaks. Everyone acts like Harley isn't fucking insane either like be so fr. She was gonna break eventually either way. The freakyness is rooted deep down inside her fr fr.

I personally/secretly wish their relationship was more like Cleo and Deuce from Monster High (Yes, I'm comparing them to someone again, I can't think of anyone else rn) Where; Yes, the Joker is mainly still and evil shitty Batman-obsessive weirdo, but he was always nice to Harley, and Harley was just like "Radical dude" (Lmaoooo) But in all seriousness, a plot where they both mutual respect each other, make realistic mistakes and hurt each other, but work it out in the end would have been great.

But I love the fact that the writers touched on the topic of abuse. I feel like not enough comics/media or anybody really talks about things women go through, or they romanticize it. I don't think anyone who ships Jarley wants to take away from what she went through. You can love them together and still not like what The Joker did to her. These feelings don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Anyways, this is too long again. Love y'all open minded Jivey fans. To the rest of y'all though? Eat dick and ☠️

(Side note: I reblogged a post on my page that talked about fans making Poison Ivy a one-dimentional character by making her entire personallity about Harley so HA SUCK ON THAT)