#for example coding badly

[chaosinciter]

The STEM major isn't STEMing 😾

[firstroseofspring]

memory, death and life as komerex zha, the perpetual game; klingon culture as depicted in the final reflection, by john m. ford

[spiffy-sea-dragon]

Learning programming would be so much easier if programmers actually learned how to name variables

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

#what i love about this is that to bertie it's a foregone conclusion that it's Their Car#it isn't 'you should take the car' it's 'why on earth would you take the train? we've got a car you know!'#the employer-employee relationship has become the thinnest possible fiction for married behaviour#and honestly this is making me feel a lot better about the spinoza thing. like. to bertie being mindful of jeeves is just normal.#why WOULDN'T he take the car. it's easier. bertie might not have remembered to tell jeeves to take the car#if jeeves hadn't told him when the train was leaving but it isn't because bertie doesn't care. he just assumes jeeves would take the car.#the guy had to order the spinoza. we know we don't see a lot of the conversations they have and basically all they do whenever there isn't#any plot going on is talk to each other about daily news literature history whatever jeeves is reading.#so it seems a lot more likely that we just didn't see that bit of communication happening than it is for bertie to forget briefly about#the book he wanted to give jeeves and then decide oh well let's hold onto it until christmas. because that doesn't make any sense - that's#a level of unthinking that's more about 'well who cares' than about 'i had a very busy few days and was at my aunts place so i couldn't#pick up your book'#the same in regards to bertie interrupting jeeves - because he (iirc) usually only does it when Something Is Going On#he likes hearing jeeves talk about poetry! he asks about his family! but he doesnt want to hear about jeeves aunts while he's In A Situatio#(and honestly. 1) jeeves sometimes has very bad timing. see the bicycle story. the 'cheesewright is going to crush you like a fly' thing.#the 'that's a lot of money you're owing and captain biggar is not patient' thing from RFJ. he just gets a little carried away#2) having started tally ho (thank you for recommending it btw!) this is so incredibly stressful. like. i have been underestimating#just how stressful the situations bertie gets into are. jeeves must have nerves of steel. we know that bertie does not.#and if i had to deal with not even an unwanted engagement but just a situation like 'this guy's fake moustache might fall off after#i went to some lengths to smuggle him in' and someone tried to talk to me about their aunt i would also think that This Is Not The Moment.#Can't You See Everyone Here Is An Idiot And I'm Somehow Responsible. this is the most stressed i've been in my life. (i am having a lot of#fun aside from and during the stressful! it's just stressful af) so really bertie should get a break for that#very long story short this is absolutely married behaviour

tags from @noandnooneelse

While we’re on the subj. of Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, this earlier scene drives me insane too, because speaking in just black and white, contractual terms, Bertie, you literally DO have the option? You’re the only one who has an option in this situation. You have the power to tell him he can’t go, you are literally his employer. And then he offers Jeeves use of the car to go to London, even though Jeeves never would’ve asked! Married behavior! Married behavior!!! This is the sort of negotiation spouses have with each other, we are fully out of the realm of master/servant now

[moonastro]

groom persona chart

north node in the houses

what is a groom persona chart? this chart exhibits qualities that your husband will have and possible placements that can be seen in their chart. it is simply a chart all about your spouse in a woman's chart. the asteroid groom can be identified using the code 5129.

the nn in the groom persona chart can symbolise what we will learn from each other from our husband and he from you. its also what fate events are stored in for the couple.

reminder: this is my interpretation from observations and first hand experiences, so don't take this to heart.

nn in 1st house: this placement may have some identity issues with their partner and its not like omg he's so much more better than i am no no, this placement can usually question you whether you are doing a good job of being a partner to your husband, always worrying about them, making sure they have the same feelings towards you, constantly may battle your mind into thinking they dont love you as much as you love them, its more of concern or worry rather than anything else. the fate of your relationship with your husband can be tied down to creating an image of yourself through your partner or through their eyes. constantly this placement may encounter fate to do with rumours of their relationship, and being forced to live with others peoples opinions about their marriage or their partner, some may think that you could have done better or vice versa.

nn in 2nd house: the thing that you and your husband can have to go through is learning how to live with each other. it may be strange and there can be some invasion with personal space and getting used to having to share your stuff with them but its what you may have to work through. i feel like you two may have to go through a certain time with struggles with money if this is aspected badly, like there could be a time where you may be unemployed during your relationship with your spouse or vice versa. what i also noticed with this placement is that you and your partner could have to got through some sort of asset situation, depending of the aspects, this can be losing things, being prone to breakages/burglars/ stealing, or just spending money on useless things that done serve you for good.

nn in 3rd house: this placement can go through phases of communication blockages. often misunderstanding each other but it gives great opportunities to work on it and take time to understand one another, their intentions and their motives. the destiny for this placement allows the person to teach one another and especially learn about each other, constantly finding things about each other, however, i did realise some misunderstanding that comes with this placement that can make you think why your partner lets say acts the way he does or vice versa. language barriers are very common with this placement, often having a spouse who speaks another language.

nn in 4th house: this placement offers some time to getting used to each others comfort and energy. this attracts your partner and yourself to accumulate how to comfort each other and make each others safe place which indicates differences in style of living, agreeing on how to decorate your home according to both needs as you may have different styles and way of living. the destiny set for your relationship is creating a family dynamic between each other, having kids or having lots of it can be common for this placement. usually you can have difficulty expressing ones feelings for one another and can have your own way of expressing your love which can be quite indifferent for each of you, can be as simple as approaching this unconventionally, for example love language instead of expressing ones emotion could be making a cup of coffee every single morning, or agreeing to every tantrum they have etc.

nn in 5th house: you can actually learn how to be more carefree and loosen up when in a relationship with your husband. they will teach you how to be more creative, how to take initiative in different ways such as having a different approach to life. destiny set for this couple is definitely having different creative motives, one can be very creative, always creating new things, being active with art, music, developing etc and the other can be the opposite so that may be something this placement can have to work with and go around with.

nn in 6th house: fate with this placement can be rather difficult, you may have to go through different stages of reflection with your partner, always trying to find time for each other, work can be crazy for both of you or for one of you, this placement really needs to slow down with life and focus on each other rather than your own individually. usually the couple can be too busy for each other and with that could cause some trouble with creating a bond as they may even view each other as room mates at times as their lives can literally be like a schedule, wake up, work, home, sleep that kind of thing. usually destiny associated with this can be learning how to live with each others flaws, differences with their home styles, like one can be cleaner than the other or one may always clean and the other hates to clean etc.

nn in 7th house: destiny set for this couple can definitely be learning how to be loyal with one another. there can be some struggle associated with relationship issues such as cheating or being unfaithful for your partner. also having crushes and liking other people while being in a relationship with your partner can also be something that could happen for this placement. creating enemies while in a relationship with your spouse can be common, usually because you and your spouse could be very attractive and others may have crushes on both or one or the other and so this creates some enemies because you chose each other rather than the other people who thought they had a chance with you.

nn in 8th house: north node in the 8th house can bring an extreme intense change of outlook and setting of your life. with your husband, everything can completely change in your life from you comfort to your surroundings. the lesson that you may learn from each other is learning how to share emotions that suit both partners. there can be a missing piece to your bond but your fate with your husband can be to settle down with whatever transformations you may go through, talk through it and create comfort for one another. also, there can be rather extreme moment that happen between you two so it is important to be there for your partner and him for you in these hard moments. you may bond through your hard moments as well and that can create a very close relationship between you two.

nn in 9th house: so for this placement, the couple will eventually learn from each others previous experiences that they had and share them amongst each other and that may mould you or you husband. this placement has full faith in their partner meaning that whatever you may mention to your spouse, he may take it personally and have the same impressions as you. your fate with your husband can be tied to having same opinions and learning how to get over the indifferences in each others views and values. your relationship with your husband can thrive if there is a healthy solution to where you both agree to disagree or find a viewpoint in which you both agree with. there can be some getting used to your in laws as well.

for example-my mother has this placement and she has a difficult relationship with her siblings therefore whatever she says to her partner, he believes her and most of the things she talks about them is negatively and so my father has the same negative outlook on her siblings as well if that makes sense. even though he didn't see it happen or didn't experienced the negative experiences with them, he still hold a grudge towards her siblings even though they did not do those things towards him. its him believing her and her opinions. this also makes sense as the sign its in is in cancer so the emotional, trust, and family topics relates to her opinions and the fate that both share.

nn in 10th house: this placement often has some struggle with career and public image. usually one may view their career as the most serious thing in the world and may put it before their partner. also one partner can act one way at home and completely different when in public and in front of other people which can be something you would have to work on as this can be caused from being scared to be viewed a certain way. being too strict on your spouse, constantly arguing about things, having misaligning attraction towards each other, one may love the other more than the other does to them.

nn in 11th house: this placement has destiny set with their partner to do with social life, usually friends or anyone that either you or your partner hangs out with can cause some issues for the relationship, maybe causing less time to hang out like always being with friends rather than your partner, or going out to a friend or with a friends instead of hanging out with your partner and this can go both ways also. differences in goals, sympathetic reasonings like you may have different approaches to the problems with the world or people who have it way harder than you and your spouse could not care less, this can cause problems.

nn in 12th house: the thing you have to go through with your future spouse is that you'll have to learn how to spiritually connect with your husband. the destiny set for your relationship with your spouse is to finish something from a previous life with them, completing business and thriving in the place you are supposed to be with your partner. also being able to combat and talk through addictive substances for either you or your spouse as one of you may have an addiction to smoking, drinking, vaping whatever it maty be. it may be an issue as this can mean that you may not like it how your spouse does it or vice versa. another thing with this placement is that you'll have to get though unrealistic expectations of your spouse, you may think or idolise your spouse to a point where you can be disappointed so that could be an issue also.

[lovetrouble123]

You Look At Me And I’m Weak

Synopsis: Batman has Catwoman, and Nightwing has Kitty.

TW: n/a

A/N: oh Jesus Christ I pulled this out my ass lol so here’s my 2nd fic on tumblr ig???

★⋆. ࿐࿔

Once becoming Nightwing, Dick Grayson expected the code name ‘Robin’ to never come up again. It started with him and it would end with him, but when Jason, Tim and Damian all came into the picture, he realized that he had created a legacy.

It probably wasn’t the best legacy to have created, especially since he was the first Robin but also the oldest, which left the others to have a lot to live up to. But in some strange way…it connected all of them.

Though all the siblings had their own lives, their roots were connected to being a Robin at some point. But for Dick Grayson, there was one thing that separated him from his siblings.

One person.

One girl.

Bruce had lead by example, cats and bats don’t get along and a relationship would be strenuous and complicated.

But Dick wasn’t a bat anymore…well, technically at his core he was. But now he was a bird, meaning that cats and birds could get along, right?

He had moved away from Gotham City and to Blüdhaven to investigate some murders, only to stay when he realized how bad off Blüdhaven was in comparison. At the time, he assumed the cat wouldn’t follow, but she did.

“Birdy~,” a sweet voice called from behind.

“You know I hate that name,” Dick replied as he sat on the edge of a Blüdhaven building that was tall enough to overlook the city.

He didn’t have to turn around to know who was behind him. He was long past the days of her sneaking up on him and scaring the daylights out of him.

He was way past his Robin days.

Her boots clicked against the rooftop as she approached him, her steps barely heard. “Well, you shouldn’t have stuck with being a bird then.” She sassed as she sat down beside the Blüdhaven vigilante, her legs dangling over the ledge like his were.

“What would you rather I be?” He asked with a small head tilt as he looked at her face that was illuminated by the bright moonlight above.

“Not sure.” She trails off, “I can’t really imagine you as anything but a bird.”

His blue eyes were hidden behind his domino mask, but he was sure she could feel his gaze on her. “And why’s that?” He asked as he reached a gloved hand out and traced the scar on her arm that ran from her shoulder all the way down to her wrist.

He had always had a habit of tracing that scar. A scar that he had given her back as Robin, and something he still felt guilty for.

At the time, the two were enemies—rivals.

He was still fairly new to the Robin gig when the two met that night at the museum. He remembered Bruce handling Selina Kyle (his situationship that was still going on after all these years) while he handled Selina’s new protégée—Kitty.

He hadn’t had meant to hurt her that badly, but who knew baterangs were so sharp?

“Birds are cat’s natural prey.”

“Still trying to catch me, huh?”

“I’ve already caught you,” Kitty replied with a smirk.

He moved his hand away from her arm but continued to look at her, this time with a small and amused smile. “And what do you plan to do with me?”

She shrugged, “not sure…but I’ll keep you updated.”

“You could always let me go. You know, fly away?” Dick suggested as a small snort of laughter escaped the girl beside him. She tried to hide it and keep a straight face, to keep up her seductive persona, but she ultimately failed.

“You think I would?”

“Why not?”

“What if someone else finds my bird and captures him?”

Her words made Dick feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, as if he was a teenage boy again.

He had been here too many times with Kitty.

And this feeling wasn’t anything new.

“Should’ve put a collar on me then,” Dick joked as he shifted closer to her.

“You can’t put a collar on a bird.”

“No, but you can put a collar on a cat.” Dick quipped, his eyes flickering to her lips for a moment.

Kitty’s eyes widened at his words and looked away to hide the ever growing flush on her cheeks.

Oh. He had struck a nerve.

A gloved hand found the girls chin and gently guided her to look at him again, in his direction. Their faces were close.

Too close.

“Don’t get all shy now, Kitty.”

She was warm.

When had the two of them gotten so close?

He ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

They were so close that they could feel the others breath.

Just kiss her already. Dick’s mind encouraged, you and her have been dancing around each other like this for years now. You can flirt with her all day with no problem, but you can’t even kiss her?

The world around them ceased to exist as they stared at each other.

He had been pining after her for years now, and it all started at that museum whether they knew it or not.

It started with an apology.

And then she seemed to find him wherever he went.

And now, the lines between ‘just friends’ and romance was becoming blurred.

“Screw it,” Dick said aloud though it was to himself. He moved the hand that was her chin to her cheek and he placed his other hand on her other cheek. With both hands cupping her face, he kissed her.

And he had been waiting to do it for years.

And now, it was finally happening.

Over the years the two had gotten close, but now, they were closer than they ever expected—both mentally and physically.

Kitty’s hands found Dick’s shoulders as she held his shoulders in an attempt to steady herself in the deepening kiss.

Ever since he was a teenager and found himself falling for the cat, he had dreamed of her—of this moment.

She was a thief.

A pretty thief who had stolen his heart all those years ago whether she knew it or not.

He needed air.

He was the first to break away from the kiss and they stared at each other in silence.

She was breathtaking with her flushed cheeks and the small pants she let out as she tried to regain air.

He cupped her cheeks as he came down from his high.

God, he wanted to kiss her again…and again…and again…and again until he forgot how to breathe or how to form a coherent thought or sentence.

He wanted her like air.

Kitty was the first to break the silence as she removed her hands from Dick’s shoulders and placed a hand on his chest, giving him a small and light push to create some distance.

“So, uh…that happened.”

Dick removed his own hands from her face, “master of words.” He said he poked her side playfully, causing Kitty to let out a small squeak of surprise.

“H-Hey—!”

“Oh so you can handle all the flirting but you draw the line at poking?” Dick mused with a smirk.

Kitty used all her strength to push Dick harshly which caused him to tumble back onto the rooftop, but he caught himself on his elbows. He grinned, “strike another nerve?”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Dick said as he sat up and tried to cup her cheeks again.

Just one more—.

Kitty shoved his hands away, “you practically assaulted me.”

“How?”

“You kissed me without my consent,” Kitty answered as she flicked Dick’s forehead. “That’s assault.”

He rubbed the spot she flicked once she pulled away from him. “Was it that bad?”

She crossed her arms with a huff, “of course it was.”

Dick playfully scoffed and dropped his hand, “yeah cuz you totally didn’t kiss me back.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol or something?”

“And aren’t you supposed to be stealing something?”

“Not tonight.”

“Oh yeah? Why not?”

“Cuz,” she trailed off with flushed cheeks and a meek voice. “I think I’ve been stolen.”

Dick’s breath caught in his throat at her words but he quickly composed himself, “I’m a thief now?”

“Role reversal I guess.”

Did she even realize how charming she was?

“And if I don’t return it?”

“I would typically claw your eyes out.” She then softly smiled, “but I don’t know anymore.”

Dick’s gaze softened beneath his domino mask at her admission. His heart sped a little and in that moment the only word he could muster out was her name—her real name.

She was speechless at how he said her name, her real name. It wasn’t often she called anything but her code name Kitty, but with how he said it like a prayer?

It caused her to shiver.

“Yes?”

He shifted his body to fully face her as he took in her appearance. Her eyes sparkled under the moonlight, her hair flowed gently in the cool midnight breeze…

She was breathtaking, and he was in love with her.

He loves her.

It was something he had known for years now. But it suddenly hit him how much and how deeply his love ran for her…

Bruce taught him and lead by example.

Don’t get involved with cats, and keep relationships at arms length or better yet, don’t have one.

But how could he keep an arms length relationship or not have one at all when he was a lover boy?

Stolen glances, brief touches, compliments, playful banter that could easily be mistaken for flirting—he was in love.

Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson, the formal Robin and now Nightwing was foolishly, idiotically and hopelessly in love.

“Can we..?” Dick trailed off, “what if we stopped playing this game?”

“Meaning..?”

He stopped for a moment.

Was this really happening?

Was he about to confess his love to her?

Was he really going to confess how weak he was for Y/N?

Yes.

He was tired of this same song and dance they had preformed for years, even if the two of them hadn’t fully understood it themselves.

All it took was a kiss, and he suddenly realized how much he loved her.

He understood how much he wanted to touch her and kiss her until he ran out of breath.

“What if we stopped this whole…cat and bird thing?”

“Which would make us..?”

His gloved hands gently grabbed hers, and for once, he dropped the playfully persona and focused on how her hands seemed to fit perfectly in his own.

He focused on her.

He focused on the now.

“I want this to be more than a silly game…I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine.”

There he said it.

He brought her hands up to her mouth and gently kissed them.

“I want to be able to kiss you without holding back. I want to be able to hold you and call you mine. I want to take you on dates and—.”

“Me?”

“You.” He took a breath in to calm his nerves. “I love you, Y/N and I’ve loved you for years now.”

And then, she kissed him.

He had expected plenty of responses from her, but a kiss was far from his mind.

He expected her to laugh and turn him down.

He expected her to yell at him.

He expected her…not to kiss him.

It was short kiss but one that held so much passion.

She pulled away, “but if you want me so bad…” she stood up. “You’ll have to catch me first.”

And then, she took off into the Blüdhaven night, her figure being seen running and jumping away from him.

From Gotham City to Blüdhaven.

From Robin to Nightwing.

Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson was hopelessly in love…

[cosmosluckycharms]

can we get more incorrect quotes?

like this time with miguel + reader but also damion and penny

i mean like if you INSIST (i love making these)

spider!reader, peni & damian : *screaming*

miguel: *runs into the room* What's wrong, damian ?!

spider!reader: Wait, why are you asking damian that when peni and I are also here?

miguel: Because damian wouldn't scream unless it's an emergency. You two scream whenever you have the chance.

spider!reader: The scariest president had to be Rushmore because he had four heads.

peni: Yeah, it’s a good thing we captured him in that mountain, even if we have to live in fear of the spell wearing off.

miguel: Do you two still believe in that legend? Come on, Rushmore was killed a hundred years ago! We’re safe now.

damian : You people have clearly never taken a history lesson. His body was never found.

miguel: Are you laughing at that video of peni and damian fighting?

spider!reader: No.

spider!reader: I'm laughing at the comments.

*The squad is visiting a store late at night to return a DVD for spider!reader*

damian: I forget—what happens if we don’t return the DVD before midnight?

miguel: Then spider!reader gets charged extra. It’s called a “late fee”.

peni: Or was it zombie apocalypse? Eh, I don’t remember, but we can’t afford either.

peni: *clicks pen*

spider!reader: *clicks pen in response*

damian: Stop that.

peni : Stop what?

damian: You’re talking about me in Morse code!

spider!reader: Yes, that’s what we doing. In our very limited time, we took a class on a very outdated, very unnecessary form of communication just so we could talk about you in front of you. Congrats, you figured us out!

*later*

spider!reader, to miguel: That’s actually exactly what we were doing.

peni: Can I be frank with you guys?

damian: Sure, but I don’t see how changing your name is going to help.

spider!reader: Oh! Can I still be spider!reader?

miguel: Shh. Let Frank speak.

miguel: I just watched peni jump off of a spinning chair. Luckily, she wasnt hurt that badly. But the whole time, damian was screaming for help, which caused spider!reader to run in to help peni. Just note that all of this happened in the span of six minutes.

miguel: What do you three have to say for yourself?

peni:

damian:

spider!reader: Oops?

damian: miguel, we're hungry!

peni: miguel! What's for dinner?

spider!reader: We're hungry, miguel!

miguel, frying a bottle of ketchup over the stove: *screams*

miguel: Why are you two always out during rainstorms?

spider!reader: It’s so peaceful and refreshing. I love the smell of rain.

damian : peni bet me I couldn’t get struck by lighting, but she's WRONG.

miguel: *points at peni* A human turtleneck, *points at damian * a narcissistic monster, *points at spider!reader* and literally the dumbest person I’ve ever met.

spider!reader: And who am I? Describe me now.

peni, pointing to the wall: What color is this?

damian : Gray.

spider!reader: Grey.

peni, turning to miguel: Now tell them what color you think it is.

miguel: Dark white.

spider!reader: What’s wrong? You look 10 seconds away from ripping someone’s throat out.

miguel: Fucking damian and peni were trying to invoke one of the minor gods again last night. I didn't get an ounce of sleep, thanks to their bloody chanting.

*The gang when they drop food on the floor*

miguel: Aw man. *Throws it away*

spider!reader: Five second rule!

damian : Foolish germs, thinking they can stop me!? *Eats it off the floor*

peni: *Sobs on the floor*

spider!reader: damian's out the will.

damian: That’s honestly fair. I deserve that.

miguel: Wait, you have a will? Already? You haven’t even graduated.

spider!reader: I’ve done some things in my life. Upset the wrong people. peni, you have a will too, right?

peni: Lots. Good luck figuring out which one’s real.

spider!reader: Small creatures are much more vicious because they have a smaller body to bottle up all their emotions.

damian: Ridiculous. Give me some examples.

miguel: Wasps?

peni: Terriers?

spider!reader: damian.

damian: What’s it like being tall?

peni: Is it nice?

spider!reader: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

miguel: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

peni: Could you guys at least try to see this from my perspective?

damian : *crouches down*

spider!reader: *kneels down*

miguel: *sits on the floor*

peni: peni: I hate all of you.

peni: damian got into a fight.

spider!reader: That’s bad.

spider!reader:

spider!reader: Did he win?

peni: Hey, spider!reader, have you thought about having children?

spider!reader: ...

spider!reader: Does looking over you and the others not seem like I already do? Because I promise you, it sure feels like it.

peni: But we're not childr-

spider!reader, already distracted: DAMIAN, PUT THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER DOWN!

damian: You're pathetic!

peni: You're pathetic-er!

spider!reader: You're both losers.

damian: Comparing spider!reader and peni is like comparing apples and oranges.

spider!reader: We’re both unique in our own ways?

damian: Apples are superior in every way and all oranges should be eliminated.

peni: Which one of us is the orange?

spider!reader: damian, peni, I love y’all and all, but can I ask what in the hell are you doing?

damian, trying to stabilize a tower of folding chairs that peni is sitting atop: Oh nothing much.

peni: I love you too :)

peni: I know we’re not exactly friends, but-

damian: What do you want?

peni: I've been stuck with spider!reader for 2 weeks and they've been drinking all the soy sauce.

peni: Help.

spider!reader: I will find us a covered wagon and horses. spider!reader: If you two can manage to not kill each other while I'm gone.

damian: Oh, please. We're not children.

*spider!reader leaves*

damian, casually: ...Eat shit and die.

peni, also casually: Yes, fuck you.

spider!reader: damian, we need that!

damian, holding peni over a trash can: Nope.

spider!reader: Gimme it—

damian: It’s garbage.

peni: How are we supposed to put a tracker the size of a penny on spider!reader without them noticing?

damian: Hey, spider!reader, I bet you 5 bucks that you can't swallow this penny.

spider!reader: *takes and swallows tracker* Pay up, loser.

peni: ...

peni: What’s your favorite color?

damian: Stop asking stupid questions. Ask me something logical and mature.

peni: How many moles of sodium bicarbonate are needed to neutralize 0.8ml of sulfuric acid at STP?

damian: My favorite color is red.

damian: We vegetarians love the environment. Carnivores are sick freaks.

peni: How can vegetarians possibly love the environment.. you keep eating all the fucking plants.

haha i love damian and peni my sillies for weal

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

I was talking to my mutual about Cole when I had a surge of Thoughts so per usual you all have to hear them now. I was considering a couple things, namely his development and place as the "strong guy" on the team and his masculinity (and how it presents in the show vs in fanon).

Cole's pretty often typecast as the gruff strong guy in a lot of fan-media (from fanfics to fanart etc) which isn't wrong because he was like that, especially within the early seasons. The way he spoke, the way he acted, his place as a sort of leading force. In season three you even see him in that stupid lumberjack fit (said affectionately), it's all very traditionally masculine. Which fits his whole Strong and Big guy of the team role (the five man band archetypes etc etc). However, it's interesting to say because at his core, he's very emotional and very driven by a strong sense of internal compassion (with a canonical affinity to children). Which obviously none of that is opposed to masculinity but these traits begin to show more as the gruffness pulls back. The first real example of that I think is in ToE with his fight with Jay. I don't read him as being invested in their fighting the same way Jay was. Jay was fueled by insecurity and a very strong sense of jealousy and possessiveness. Cole? I think he was just reacting to Jay's aggression, which didn't put Nya in a better position but it is a difference. 

So when their match rolls around, he's the first one to realize what they're doing is stupid and give in. He reaches out emotionally to Jay. However, Jays still is a friend so that is easy to write off as a symptom of friendship. And then following ToE we have possession and DOTD which I think are where he really begins to develop, and have the strongest examples of what I'm getting at. I'm going out on a limb and saying that I really see his prior gruffness as a sort of armor, to be good enough for the team (insert that one Wu note of him staying up late before missions) and also there his whole rebellious streak against his father trying to force him to be someone he's not. (Note: I wouldn't be surprised if how Lou raised him really had a impact on all this) Then, we get to Possession and both his self worth and self image are shook badly by literally dying. He outright says he's not a ninja anymore, which I think he based a lot of who he was on (<- which is why struggling with it hit so hard).

Finally DOTD comes up and I think we see the strongest example of where his compassion really become a core trait. It's his fight with Yang. He had no reason to reach out to him, to be honest he had the right not to, but he did and it worked! He didn't get out of DOTD in the end with brute force, he got out of it with emotional support (his team showing up), a stubborn adherence to his moral code, and reaching out to Yang with empathy. From that point on, I think he's softer and more prone to being emotional, it's like there was a very real shift. To circle back to Jay, because I think he makes for a good comparison, he does not develop like that post ToE. Actually, the issues carying from s3 (though, they do exist prior just not as starkly) all the way to Skybound where it gets violently (literally) addressed. Jay fans can probably say it better than me but the season is about his insecurity and treatment of Nya and there's a reason both Nadakhan and Cliff are like that (read: they're parallels). It's just interesting because both Cole and Jay have issues with self worth and image but they present and develop very differently. 

There's also the fanon aspect with those two that's really funny. I think everyone's aware of the infamous fanon-bruise, the 2010s-yaoification. Uwu Jay, Big Strong Man Cole, and how weirdly racist it is. It's just funny to note because the issues projected onto Cole in fanon are ones Jay has, like, in the show. Cole's the more emotional and compassionate one of the two, but because of the strong guy role, it gets flipped around in fanon. Going by the 'traditional' (read: toxic) masculine standards, in terms of personality and character, I think Jay more closely aligns. It reminds me of this post I saw once, it was of Hunted where Jay was making the plane (?) and Cole was with baby Wu. It called Jay the 'mom' and Cole the 'dad' which I find kind of funny because if you look at it through that hetero-normative lense, it really should be the other way around. Cole's the one caring for the baby pretty consistently, Jay's the one making a machine and Working. Did Jay just get called the 'mom' there because people think of him as smaller and weaker and therefore more feminine? Did Cole get called the dad just because he's strong and considered bigger? It's interesting. Fanon does Cole really dirty sometimes.

To get back on topic of Cole's narrative development, then we get to MOTM (like a bajillion years later which no I'm not complaining except I am). Cole's characterization in MOTM is so fucking good. MOTM does a fantastic job at tying together several of his strings. It ties in Lilly, his self esteem, his staunch morality, affinity towards leadership, and compassion into one, pretty bow. MOTM puts Cole back into a leading role, and it gives him several groups to reach out to (Vania, the munce and geckle, the uppily). It draws back the insecurity present in him, letting it show again to be addressed. It even ties in his relationship to Wu in a really lovely way to me. MOTM is the season where Cole finds who he is, his identity and his place as his mothers son.

Speaking of that, I have a very strong love for male characters who exemplify who their mothers were and what they taught them. The scenes with Lilly really put his entire character into a different perspective. At the start he was this tough kid fresh off grief and pressurized so strongly by his dad and himself and he goes through loops and hurdles of strength and identity and by the end he finds himself exactly where he needs to be. Where he's the strongest and it's in his mothers footsteps, as someone both emotional and strong. It's a really lovely character arc to take him on, and though I haven't watched DR, I've heard they continue that on. 

Anyways, consider it positive masculinity, consider it anything else. I just had a lot of thoughts to share and hope I don't sound too 'reading-too-deep' about it. Bye bye Kar ramble over.

[foone]

Games are kinda weird as a creative medium because it's one of the few where it's possible to be incredibly incompetent at one of the major parts of it (the programming) and it not be noticeable in the end product.

Like, if you're a musician who can't sing or play your instruments worth a damn, that definitely comes across in the final product, no matter how good you are at lyrics or composing.

Making a movie? It doesn't matter how great the script is, if your performers can't act and your cameraman doesn't know which end points towards the action, your movie is going to be noticeably bad.

But games? There are games that have sold a bunch of copies, developed by one person, with brilliant game design, highly playable, not noticeably buggy, but if you look inside them it'll turn out it's just absolute dogshit. They barely are holding up against the strain of just existing.

The kind of game that when the sequel comes out, they just throw it all out instead of reusing any code, because it's all so terrible that it'd be more work to adapt any of it than to just burn it.

That happens so often. But you would never guess it from just playing it. Like, if you think about "badly programmed games" you get things like "skyrim", which is just... Not exactly right.

Skyrim has lots of bugs but that's because it's trying to do so much. It's simulating a huge world with so much interactivity and so many complex interacting systems, that it's almost inevitable that it'll have weird glitches. It'd take so much playtesting and careful bug fixing to make that game glitchless, and they clearly did not do that. The game is known for glitches, but not crashing (unless modded), suggesting their QA approach was "weird unexpected stuff can happen, but the game must continue working".

Or Pokémon red/blue! That game is so glitchy, with so many bugs, but a lot of that is that it is just stuffing way too much game on a tiny cartridge. Its only failing is that of Icarus: it flew too high, too close to the sun, it did too much.

Skyrim and Pokémon gen1 are examples of amazingly coded games, even if they have their glitches.

But there's games that seem to work just fine that are held together with toothpicks and duct tape, at best. They're immensely fragile, and they only work at all because the crash bugs were fixed, painfully and slowly, far more painfully than they would have been if the program had just been designed correctly in the first place.

Just absolute disasters of game programming, but then those games go on to be critically acclaimed and start entire mini-genres because of how influential they were on certain gaming niches.

But you'd never know! That's the weird thing to me.

[twipsai]

ive been wanting to do something like this for a while, so here we go

Silver's straightforward attitude and anxieties: a poorly formatted analysis

Silver's anxiety is something i havent seen talked about a lot, and im really just barely going beneath the surface here -- i hope i did it justice in anyway sfdkSKHJFDSKFH i think about his obvious anxiety disorder a lot

transcript of all the text i added under the cut incase its hard to read for some ppl ^_^

image 1 (source: IDW #8): "isnt really used to banter, got worried he actually offended Sonic"

"he worries a lot about not being useful, because thats pretty much his entire purpose in life. if hes not doing something, he will find something to do (badly) or panic. he gets nervous at the slightest insinuation that he mightve messed up because the last thing he ever wants to do is get in anyones way."

"for how powerful he is and how much shit he talks, Silver doesnt really think very good about himself or his own worth."

image 2 (source: Sonic Universe #82): "its hard to say anything here that i havent already said, its just another example os Silver having issues with his self wroth, and also a lot of his motivation coming from protecting the people he loves (and, more generally, protecting the world), considering a page after this he gets up and completely wrecks the Second Devourer"

image 3 (source: IDW #8): "Silver will take pretty much anything literally. he lacks the social skills to identify when someones being serious bc he grew up completely alone"

image 4 (source: IDW #14): "he cant lie (is both bad at it, and it really just doesnt cross his mind to do so), but he can change the subject"

"he also really doesnt like it when people are worried about him -- almost every time people show concern for him, he tries (and fails) to lie or change the subject"

image 5 (source: IDW #14): "he didnt see anything suspicious about [Starline giving the "vault code"] because he doesnt usually assume people lie directly to him, its just not something that usually crosses his mind"

image 6 (source: IDW #60, TSR interview): "Silver's rudeness, his naivete, misunderstanding of jokes/quips/banter, inability to lie, it all stems from his straightforwardness. its simple, but but oftentimes effective (yes i chose a bad page to showcase when it works, ignore that)"

"Silver doesnt like to beat around the bush or show off too often. go in, defeat the bad guys, get out. it ties in with his anxiety of the future -- time is always of the essence"

"Q: What are some of your favorite items to use during the race?

Silver: [...]but the Jade Wisps' "Ghost" is the only one I like. I can disappear and focus on the race."

"it does make him forget to stratagize and cooperate with his friends sometimes, though, when his first instinct is "hit it until it stops moving""

image 7 (source: Sonic Rivals 2): "im not really going over his bluntness in this, but literally the entirety of Rivals 2 covers that. he doesnt think to hide what hes doing because he knows hes in the right, so he just expects everyone else to know that. he expects people to believe him just because hes telling the truth. he doesnt see why he would have a reason to lie, so he never thinks to justify his actions."

"a lot of this bluntness is also shown in IDW #64 -- Silver cant be stealthy and observe someone from afar to save his life when he knows hes right about them. he really takes no time to explain that Duo is Mimic before Whisper steps in and attacks Mimic, even though if he took the time to talk through what happened, he probably couldve convinced Lanolin of Duo's true nature"

image 8 (source: IDW annual 2022): "Silver has pretty much zero idea how to navigate the world outside of helping other people and saving the world. he is almost constantly in "survival mode" and doesnt know how to handle low-stakes"

"(he sometimes takes casual conversation too seriously because of this)"

"he is constantly worried about the future. to an almost unhealthy degree sometimes, its often all he thinks about. when he knows exactly what to do, he comes off as confident and powerful, but when he doesnt know what to do..."

"...he completely spirals. to him, an uncertain future is worse than a doomed one. not knowing how to fix things is one of the most terrifying thoughts to him."

"if Espio hadn't been here to calm him down, i think its super likely he'd have had an anxiety attack."

image 9 (source: Sonic Generations, IDW #64, Team Sonic Racing, Sonic Universe #79): "like, i truly cannot emphasize enough how he cannot relax. anything can be a threat, and if he doesnt see an immediate one, he will find something that is one. "

"he can rarely calm down, because every second hes in the past is another second he should be saving the future"

"i cant properly showcase it here, but if you run past him in Gens, he'll immediately be on-guard."

"he has to always be looking for the next world-destroying foe, it's pretty much his default setting."

"there are tons more examples of his overt anxiety, but these are some of the more prominant examples."

image 9 (source: Archie Sonic #235): "we even see in the traitor arc in archie how Silver is constantly paranoid. the idea never crosses his mind that there is no traitor, because something is always wrong. hes like a machine built to find a problem with no off switch"

"almost anything can set him off and make him untrusting of anyone, because thats the only way he knows how to live. anything can be a threat in his eyes, and when there is no threat, he will either find one or panic that he cant find one."

"because when you spend your entire life fighting,"

"how else are you supposed to live?"

[creatingblackcharacters]

hey there! so, im making a character who's Black, anddd i need help with them. badly so.

(sorry in advance bc this character isnt That developed or at least not as much as other OCs i have)

alright, they're an afab teen under the non-binary umbrella (im not sure on what gender i should give them). they're in a friend group with two other teens, one of whom found out she's trans, and that made them go like "wait maybe im not cis". they live in an extremely conservative christian town, and they're one of the few black kids there (it's an awful place to live, i make that very clear), which makes it so that they're not very connected with LGBTQ not POC communities - which is why their friend was the one who introduced queerness to them. they're the quietest of their friend group, quite autism coded but i dont think I'll really specify it, and they're a pretty normal kid all things considered (a bit of a self-insert personality wise lol)

when i first thought this character's gender arc, as the story will be very visual (animatics probably), i thought of them experimenting with gender by trying on their older brother's clothes. seeing they like how it looks, they decide to pick up a pack of scissors and cut their hair themself.

now, i remembered "oh fuck, POC usually don't like to have their hair messed with do they?" (i have read a bunch of posts abt that so im 99% certain lol-), then noticed how white the whole arc looks (i need more contact with POC i live in White Hell i have no other reference ;;), and that kinda discouraged me from writing them to the point i almost scrapped the whole character arc and even the concept- which is also why they're not as developed as they should be.

now, the actual question! how to write their transition arc, while also remaining respectful and realistic? also, have you noticed anything in this ask that's kinda fucked up, and how can i fix it if so? im doing my best to represent many groups of ppl with my OCs and i want to be accurate sorry if this ask is very long ;;

thank you so much for answering, and thank you for this blog!! you're very cool :)

So first, I deeply want to apologize for how late I am on answering this. I didn't want to answer without being informed, but I also know how much you want advice.

First, if this character is Black, say "Black" not "POC". Even in your head, start making that decision to be specific every time. We have a specific identity, we are not every man, and it's annoying to be referred to so generally when we have an identity.

For the hair part, check out this lesson. If your character decided to cut their hair off themselves, then it's not exactly an issue- it's their hair! It'd be different if it was someone they didn't know and trust touching their hair. You may feel free to refer to my entire syllabus if you want to do the reading to see if there's anything else you may have missed!

As for your question on their transition, this is the part that I was wavering on answering, because I'm currently doing the reading myself for a lesson I'm writing. So at the moment, all I can really say is to read narratives about and by Black trans people, and what that meant for them! That's a cool list I just found, I'm gonna save it for later as a reference.

It's not going to be received the same way as a white person transitioning, no; perception of gender identity and expression are going to be different depending on who's looking. For example, what does 'Black androgyny' look like to white people if they already believe that we have 'masculine' features? Thus the existence of the term 'stud'. Or how long hair is deemed feminine, but there are plenty of Black and Indigenous people whose hair growth is essential to their identity and has nothing to do with "making them girly".

I think what I plan on getting into more detail on in my lesson- and what you'll need to understand- is that following or even subverting gender "norms" is dependent upon what those cultural norms are, and how they might conflict at times. So to write a respectful narrative, you're going to have to understand what it means to live at that intersection. I hope this all made sense 😅 this is why I'm not confident in that lesson yet.

[inertiablogz]

CHARACTER HEADCANNONS

🪓 ; —PETER SPANKOFFSKI

- The reason that Peter is so concerned with doing so well at school and just floating by and succeeding is so that he doesn’t turn out like his brother, because hes grown up with Ted and their parents arguing about Ted amounting to nothing in life.

- He can’t stand the taste or smell of alcohol. (I HC that Ted leant heavily into alcoholic behaviours and Peter was always the one to fix him up and take care of him.)

- He’d rather sit and squint at a board than get new glasses with a stronger prescription because he hates getting used to new glasses.

- He’s the kind of person to send Steph a photo of anything he found remotely adorable and caption it “you”.

- He shares his notes with Steph and he’ll let her take them home to study from. When he does this, he leaves her little post it notes on the pages with encouraging messages on like “you’ve got this” and “you can do this, I love you!”

- Peter’s main priority is his friends and they have a code word or phrase that they say, something science related, to indicate one of them is unsafe. An example of where this has been used is Ted and Peter’s parents having an argument and Ted storms out. Peter calls Richie and slips the code phrase into the conversation. Richie then knows that Peter isn’t okay and invites him over to get him out of the house safely and without raising suspicion.

- Every anniversary of them starting dating, Steph and Peter go to Pasqualis.

- Peter went to bible camp once when he was seven, and when he first met Grace he turned his house upside down to find his pocket bible to give to her as a gift so she didn’t hate him.

- If Richie recommends Peter a song, he’ll always recommend it to Steph and vice versa because Richie and Steph both like more rock music than Peter.

- Peter loves cats but he’s badly allergic so he cries whenever he sees one because he wishes he could pet it. It’s just Peter sobbing followed by Stephanie finding it slightly adorable and comforting him. To combat this, Steph got him a Build-A-Bear cat for his birthday. He cried at this also.

- He still has a panic attack every time he sees kids playing with Nerf Guns or Water Guns.

- His favourite book is The Outsiders. He sees a lot of himself in Ponyboy.

[0viraptoraskblog]

Hii, i hope you're doing okay, i really love your tumbr! 🫶

Any ideas of how the btd/tpof characters would act if they found out they are in a game and are not real? Also how would they interact with the player (or if they would even try)

Idk if i made the question suond right but i hope so 😭

I combined these two since they’re basically the same question.

Strade- He would be confused and lost at first, but he might actually take it as encouragement to hurt more people, because that means fewer consequences if they aren’t ‘real’.

Ren- Would be very unnerved, but he’d make a connection with shows he’s watched/games he’s played, and that familiarity would give him a bit of comfort. He’d definitely try and talk to you about it to understand. He might develop some kind of separation anxiety when you aren’t playing, because you’re his only connection to the real world. It panics him when you’re gone, because this is all so new and hard to comprehend.

Lawrence- Lawrence would panic at first, because that situation is unfamiliar. However, he’d eventually conclude that it doesn’t matter if he’s in a game— this world is fake regardless. The River is all that’s real. (He doesn’t consider that fact that the River is also part of the game),

Sano and Akira- since they live together, they’d talk to each other and try to figure out their point of view on this. They’d likely try and communicate with you to get more information. Sano would want to try and access the game files for info, but he doesn’t know how. Akira would rather talk to the player directly.

Vincent- he’d be lost for a while, he doesn’t know what to think. That means he’s not real, his life isn’t real.. but also, all the people he’s hurt or killed aren’t real either. So does that mean he isn’t at fault? He might have some mental crisis along those lines, but he’ll be alright,

Farz- He might actually freak out a little. Not anything crazy, but that’s something that can seriously catch him off guard.

Cain- he might try to talk with the player, but first he may try to talk with people he knows. Other fallen angels, relatives he hasn’t tried to kill, that sort of thing. He might be skeptical of you at first and want another opinion. I think he’d be very confused and even concerned if you managed to prove yourself.

Rire- He wouldn’t believe you at first. It would take a lot of convincing (maybe killing the MC repeatedly, only for them to come back and say the same thing). He’d be badly thrown off, and for once he’s worried about lack of power in the situation.

Derek- He’d flat out say you’re wrong, at first. You’d have to convince him. It gets to the point where he’s just lying to himself by saying that you’re wrong— it’s undeniable. He’d probably be nervous, but he can’t show that. His whole family still doesn’t know. How’s he supposed to live with that? He too, like Strade, might take the opportunity to hurt you more, though. Especially with his frustration at the discovery.

Celia- would try to communicate with you somehow to get some answers. Maybe she’d try and get on your good side, so you can sway things in her life. Like, if she’s in a video game, maybe you can adjust the code to make things better for her? (She doesn’t know yet that MC is not the creator)

Mason- He probably wouldn’t be able to grasp the concept. Even if you explained it well, he might not understand. If you gave him proof (something only he could know, like his backstory for example) he might assume you’re some sort of inhuman creature, because no regular person could know that. He’d hunt you regardless.

[taeggukxiie]

Movies like Dead Poets Society make me want to be a boy and experience boy friendship so badly.

Like maybe it was said before but I feel like people identifying themselves as women don't have movies like this, with a bunch of girls experiencing teenage years.

A movie with like no sexual tension, just a group of girls being girls and talking about their thoughts and existential aspects of life, not as women but as humans. Because I feel like (it's my opinion, I can be wrong though) when there's women involved in any friend group in movies or book there's always some romantic interests.

And I know romance is important, love is expectations and beauty and life, but it's not the only aspect of a woman life right? What triggers me is that the romance is often the main part of a woman characterization.

A thing I love about dps is that the romance isn't the main aspect of the plot. However if you take Ginny and Chris for example, the only plus they're adding to the film is romantic interest (with respectively Charlie and Knox). Same for the two girls Charlie brings to the cave. And I get that in this movie particularly the story is centered on the boys, but why aren't the girls, I don't know, integrated in the club too? (they kinda are in the book I think but still).

Anyway, I feel like there's not really a problem with how girls are depicted in the dps movie (not the book, book Knox doesn't exist to me), but I wanted to point out that fact. I also know that this movie's from 1989, so there wasn't as much gender questioning as nowadays.

However, a thing why dps is so good and life-changing is because there's no gender-coding. You can be a girl and relate to Neil and his passion for his main intrest and his relationship with his father, you can be any gender and resonate with Todd's anxiety and quietness, you can be anyone and relate to how profoundly sincere Keating is in his want to transmit and help and share to those young boys.

In dps the boys are just being friends and experiencing life, and it's so real and true that it ends up painfully good. I want a movie like that with girls so bad. If you guys have some recommendations, I'll gratefully take them!

[borkthemork]

I think a lot about how Naegi has had a lot of moments with uncertainty despite being given the title of The Ultimate Hope, and how Kirigiri was one of those people who pushed him to keep going.

Because Naegi does have this voracious tenacity in moving forward, that is apparent throughout the series, but there have been multiple moments where he felt listless and cornered despite this strength to keep going. He does get pessimistic and hopeless during the Killing Game, and Kirigiri being there so that they rub off on one another is one of the most important arcs between these two regarding that.

While they do seem very different on the surface, their focus towards compassion is there. It is genuinely one of my favorite parts of their dynamic, because Kirigiri isn't a heavy pessimist (or I guess sour sport) as people believe. Actually, she has the same optimistic drive just as much as Naegi, to the point that there were parts of the game where her optimism was stronger than Hope Boy's himself.

Here's a quick example of this:

Before the game began, Naegi has always harbored a pessimistic and self-aware streak to him despite his optimistic attitude. We see that in how he downplays himself, the bitterness towards his bad luck in the short story, how he snarkily thinks about how he is being used by Togami again later down the game, etcetera. There's a ton of moments where he doubts there's a way out, if people are being genuine with him, and if things could be okay.

What saves him is his ability to keep moving forward despite those stressors. It's a new development prior to the time of HPA, since he takes on this realist philosophy from an old man he met in his short story, where instead of fully resisting or leaning into fate, he takes the world for what it is and focuses on something else to keep mushing onward.

This helps him direct these anxieties and fears into something that keeps him moving rather than stagnant in fear. However, when the Killing Game occurs, we see the limitations of this mindset when it comes to reacting to the suffering around him, which can be found with the case of Maizono Sayaka.

For the early game, we can see a Naegi who has very much placed his all into being there for Maizono, and how much this betrayal felt to him that even his optimism didn't allow him to think of a softer interpretation towards what she'd done. No matter how he sliced it, Maizono did plan to double-cross him. He doesn't blame her or Leon due to the complexity of the situation, but there's this pain where he acknowledged his compassion, and how much he'd been blindsided to someone he put his heart and soul into.

Keep in mind, Naegi at the beginning of the story really honed in on Maizono's safety above all else. She was the only one he recognized from being in a previous school. While he loves helping people, he and Maizono latched onto one another as safety nets for good reason, and this became a bigger priority compared to the others' security despite Naegi wanting everyone to be okay.

Naegi doesn't know who to trust in the games during Chapter One, after all, and has even felt wary over people like Celeste and Owada due to their suspicious impressions. Out of anyone he went to first, he chose the girl who reached out and showed she wanted to protect him.

So when Trial 1 finished, we can see how melancholic he is over the reveal, and since he's a realist, he's not able to really confirm or theorize what happened when it came to Maizono's reasons and justifications.

Naegi is canonically very grounded, especially with societal rules, and what is considered normal logic and evidence. By being part of the normal world, his early-game self didn't think outside of the box much when it came to himself and what he could possibly do/think in a situation, since he lives very much up to codes and ethics.

Jokingly enough, this can be seen in the many times where Naegi wanted so badly to beat up the cameras, or how he's adamant on not going into the girls' bathroom. He fears the idea of breaking these rules and the punishments that come with it, and knows the societal repercussions when one goes against the normal, societal logic of the world. He wants people to survive, he cares about others' and his own safety, so he shows it by not taking risks against the guidelines.

He follows this status quo not just within the Killing Game, but in Japanese society itself as well. While the government sees the Ultimates as people who can commit change and are destined for greatness, Naegi can only see himself as a working class teen who got here out of sheer coincidence. Under societal expectations, Naegi isn't anyone special or someone worth looking at, and it affects his perception of his own capabilities. Of course, he's going to move forward and take the opportunity anyway — since he does have a voracious optimism — but overall, Naegi's sticking towards code is what veers his priorities more towards working within normal societal and logical confinements, rather than pushing out of it.

In Maizono's death, this is where his pessimism comes from. There is no way to confirm what Maizono was thinking towards him during that point in time, all he knows is the certainty that she betrayed him, and that he is sure of it due to how massive the evidence is towards that conclusion.

It stings, it hurts, and it's hard to brush away that feeling of betrayal.

Add in the factor of his low self-esteem, you also get a Naegi who interprets the worst outcome on whether Maizono's remark of "I need you by my side" was genuine, since Naegi doesn't know if Maizono was actively lying to him at that point, or if the thought of betraying him came later after this scene. There's not much evidence from Naegi's perspective to help prove what she was thinking. And yet, he can't help but wonder if she only saw him as a tool, rather than someone she cared about.

But then Kirigiri comes along. In this scene, she pulls him away from the group for a second, and we see how different her interpretation is on the subject:

We find Kirigiri trying to comfort him with the idea that Maizono wanted to protect him, and that she was thinking of him during her last moments alone.

It's interesting, since keep in mind that Naegi's right during this conversation. If Naegi assuming the worst over Maizono's betrayal is not founded on substantial evidence, then Kirigiri telling him that Maizono was thinking of him is also not founded on substantial evidence.

There is no true way on whether they can confirm what Maizono was thinking during those two separate scenes. No matter how much they could hypothesize, infer, and try to connect what potentially happened, these deductions won't have every detail explained due to their limited point-of-view. And if we go by the DR manga (the one which showcases Maizono's perspective), we see that there are elements within the killing that the class never was able to uncover fully, due to this point-of-view.

Naegi focuses on the realist options of the situation, and while he can easily adjust to multiple perspectives when given reason to back it, his mindset at the end of Chapter One is...stuck. He didn't believe in the hopeful idea that Maizono did try to protect him, and if Kirigiri didn't intervene, he probably would've continued with this mindset while moving forward.

Because Kirigiri pushed on with hope anyway. She knew her theory was one interpretation. The dying message could have other reasons to exist, such as outing Leon as the killer, but we'll never know for sure; that's something she won't be able to refute. And yet, she doubles down on her optimistic hypothesis with certainty.

This is important. Kiri doesn't usually say her hypotheses in this very confirmed matter without solid or substantial proof. Her words here are a very pathos-oriented choice, and one that she never backed down from.

We see a similar thing happen later in Chapter Five. Even when there isn't definite evidence over the headmaster, she followed her heart's interpretation more than logic.

There are multiple factors that fuel her reasons to say this to Naegi, and that comes down to a few things: she sees Naegi as an asset, someone who has a similar goal and drive as her; and that she genuinely cares over giving him reprieve.

Kirigiri is driven by the truth. Out of anything in the series, uncovering the truth of a mystery is what motivates her into taking action, and this allows her to save lives by giving people closure despite the risks she takes to unveil it. It's one of the big reasons why Enoshima utilizes this desire against her, and left her in despair over her father and the Tragedy.

Her detective credo is making sure truth is the priority compared to a sense of ethics and justice, and while that makes it sound like she's very cold, it's what makes her come off as a leader in times of turmoil. By having proof, by getting clarity, by doing whatever it takes to reach towards a goal despite societal repercussions, they're all actions that force a new pathway to open and help people who are in pain. So when the Killing Game began and Ikusaba got murdered, Kirigiri is wary of everyone else due to the possibility of betrayal, but she knows that the opposite of caution is true — if no one cooperates, then no one will get through this game alive.

She says, includes, and omits things carefully so that she can get ahead of the Killing Game. She will do anything like blackmail, risking her life, getting hated by the rest of her peers, or going against the rules to prevent more murders and find an answer. This leads to a lot of risk, and doesn't even have to involve the safety of people as a priority depending on the situation.

On the other hand, she also uses these qualities of her articulation, deduction, and risk-taking to give people closure, comfort, and hope in moments where one feels trapped.

A great deal of this is motivated by care.

That's where Naegi comes in.

We see that Kirigiri finds a similar drive in him. Out of anyone in the group, he's one of the few people that actually shoved his despair aside to investigate Maizono's crime scene extensively.

He is the guy who was the closest to Maizono, after all. Out of anyone in this group, being confronted with the dead body of someone he cares for showed how much he put his own anxieties aside to uncover what was needed. She saw his ability to note details, to formulate inquiries, and his determination in the face of adversity, and decided to test him.

Test him to see not only if he could become useful towards investigations, but if he had the ability to think outside the box and take the risks to bring people to safety.

There's a great post that talks about how she's taking risks with Naegi's responses. She is careful in wanting to preposition him over his role as another anchor keeping the group from despairing, and that's where she gets a bit wary when Naegi talks to her about the reasons he's driven towards moving forward.

While she cares heavily towards people, Kirigiri shoves down her emotions to allow herself to help without getting impulsive; control and deception is needed to press and prod at the Mastermind, and it's essential in not outing her intentions away, even if that means she has to compartmentalize her feelings of loss and move on from their deaths. Naegi, on the other hand, is driven so much by empathy and love that it's written in every action, expression, and declaration he takes. Even while in agony, he passionately lunges if he has to, and that has lead him to almost getting killed by Monokuma two times due to his anger getting the best of him. So in this situation, he states he will never move past his friends' deaths, even if it hurts him.

Naegi's declaration is what keeps her in a push-and-pull situation with him throughout the story. She doesn't know what to expect from someone who is so "foolishly open"; he may be a detriment to her if he won't keep himself cool under pressure, but he has the potential to push far with how compassionate he is just like her.

All she needs to do is keep gently guiding him. See where he can play a part so that, if she is incapacitated, he'll be able to help. All she has to do is believe in his capabilities even when he himself saw nothing much in what he can do, and she does so — seeing him grow more assured of his deductions, able to hold out on his own, and reminding him that there are more opportunities they can take even when he thinks there are no more clues or theories left.

It takes a lot of mental fortitude to place your feelings aside and hone in on the task at hand, and it takes even more energy to spend time on a person so that both of them could be ahead of Monokuma in the world's most messed-up game of chess.

She cares so much through risky action, and that can co-exist with her nature of throwing Naegi into a death situation — just like how Naegi can care so much while not making any risks due to the fear of someone getting killed.

I can go on about how Kirigiri was able to get influenced by Naegi's sense of normalcy, realist nature, and his own form of empathy as well, but that would be a whole other post entirely.

What matters is that Kirigiri's compassionate nature towards the truth and the saving of human lives is what drives her and keeps her own despair at bay. She sees that there are possibilities of surviving because any path of action isn't limited by her own fear; and she will gladly break ethics, because she believes that there will always be a way out of her situation.

Unless she is in the pits of despair or stuck in a situation like her own execution, she will find the silver lining of possibility, and will never let go of it.

These aspects of her optimism is what hits Naegi the most when she talks to him in Chapter Five, and what inspires him to think outside the rules of the Killing Game moments after.

[shallowseeker]

The teaching moment with Mandy is primarily about euphemisms and human expressions, and that's what they've been looking for as The Teaching Moment, even more than the hookup potential.

FURTHER: In the later seasons, we see quite a few examples where Dean and Cas are bantering about metaphors and expressions, and it's because they've been practicing that.

SEE: "I don't think that's the expression." & And "I know what the expression is." Etc etc.

This also an aspect of the diner scene with Jack in Ouroboros, where, as a family, they're engaging in vocabulary banter re: the meaning of the religious term, "lithurgical."

The lost in translation of it all is so, so cute.

///

ANYWAY.

Dean has a vested interest in Cas learning "human flirting," because Dean I-talk-in-code Winchester is trying so hard to send messages, and he wants Cas so badly to pick up what he's putting down.

Mandy is a walking embodiment of Dean's "coded" porn on the show, and is thus a stand-in for Dean's desire. Dean, who smells like food. Dean, who is paralleled to the working waitress with the double-heart pin in The Great Escapist.

Dean is literally "stuck in the middle" of Mandy and Cas here.

He starts role-playing to create a space that feels safer/more comfortable for flirting, without acknowledging the unspoken tension between them. Mostly, the teaching moment is about pushing Cas to look harder at sexual cues.

Dean first starts to triangulate with the "carbs" line, but Dean isn’t just guiding the conversation—he’s actively inhabiting the flirtation, inserting himself into the interaction. He interjects as an overinvolved third party, and even echoes Mandy’s “handsome” line, reinforcing that he’s playing both sides of the exchange.

It’s a brilliant use of misdirection and metaphor, reflecting the core tension in their relationship—Dean wants Cas, but he feels the need to cloak it in layers of humor, flirtation, and indirectness to avoid exposing himself emotionally.

In "showing Cas how it's done," Dean is using the responses as a way to coax Cas into responding the way Dean desires. The "when do you get off" question is not only a classic way of signaling romantic interest, but it's Dean going: "This is what I want you to ask me, Cas. I want you to ask me, when I get off so we can spend time together outside of work."

Cas has been off searching relentlessly, first for Lucifer, and then for Kelly Kline. Dean has felt that absence in ways he won't say out loud.

"She's into you," Dean says, thrilled at the opportunity to play. He's the one who overly gamifies the interaction—“Score. Double score.” He says "score" whenever Amanda signals interest: "I get off whenever I can." And finally, in the script, there's plated waffle that slams down for Cas's order, the Sunrise Special... and Mandy has made sure to slather it with extra whipped cream. "Double score," Dean says.

LOOK AT ALL THESE SIGNALS OF INTEREST YOU GOT HERE, CAS!

The waffles and the breakfast motifs remain symbolic, tying it to the "waffle poetica" we saw from Dean in the beginning of Regarding Dean.

Dean doesn't just want a hookup from Cas. He wants the morning afterglow with him—the breakfast.

///

Two seconds later, probably, Dean is giving Cas a mixtape.

Cas. Cas, baby. He is into you.