#it was mainly like. very surface level too...

[samfodo]

kumie speaking

my algorithms class is so funny bcs we had a whole guest presentation this week about how to work with ai in an "effective" manner and what we have to look out for and then they concluded it with "using ai in this course is still prohibited/plagiarism ^__^ if you use this tool we WILL fail you" like yay <3 okay <3

[funkle420]

*takes my last adderall so i can finish all my work in one day*

*finishes one (1) assignment*

*gets distracted and spends the rest of the day hyperfocusing on delicious in dungeon again*

[astrow1zar6]

Astrology Observations- 34

Capricorn moons are very uncomfortable expressing emotions and can get kinda weird when others express strong emotions to them. A lot of cap moons felt they needed to detach from their emotions to survive when young so it can be harder for them to get in tune with their emotional nature. (They are surprisingly sensitive tho however)

Mercury in Pisces usually struggled with logical thinking and speaking when growing up. They usually understand things without having to think about them it’s like they get a hunch and just know without explanation but they usually have a hard time expressing what they know in logical terms so that others can understand. Because of this inability many people might’ve thought they weren’t smart or are never paying attention.

Sun in the 1st house people are so magnetic. Even if they barely speak they usually have a a bunch of people trying to date them or be their friend. If any of you ever watched Naruto I feel like Sasuke definitely had this placement. He really didn’t care to be around anyone or socialize but people were so obsessed with him. They just have the IT factor whether they realize it or not.

Moon in Leo’s really enjoy being babied by people especially by their partners! They really crave emotional attention low-key.

Mars in the 8th house people can be without human touch for too long or they start acting really unstable. They are very physical people.

Saturn in the 8th house people don’t really experience true intimacy till later in life. I’ve seen a lot of people with this placement deal with very surface level relationships that are usually unsatisfying. they deeply fear emotional connections mainly because they are very sensitive to criticism and rejection which causes them to avoid it completely. when things get too deep they put up more walls which prevents their relationships from blossoming past a certain point. As they age however they will learn to trust others more.

Pisces sun/moons loved to play pretend when they were kids. They were always pretending they were fairytale creatures and usually had imaginary friends.

Jupiter in Leo is such a slay placement. If you have this placement you ARE the main character (especially if it’s in the 1st, 2nd, 7th or 10th house) chefs kiss 😘 🤌🏼

Virgo moons can be veryyyy petty when mad mad. I know a lot who enjoy throwing others flaws in their face, they can be very notorious for that (if underdeveloped however) they can be more impulsive with their words than Aries moons at times.

Leo risings can be very blinded by others beauty. I’ve seen some that date the shittiest people just cuz they’re attractive they can be very superficial (similar to libra rising) they just really appreciate beauty and love showing off attractive partners they can almost see it like a trophy.

Pisces sun/mercury can become very confused easily. They can be listening to someone so intently and then completely forget what they were talking about or vice versa they can be telling a story to someone and then in the middle of the story completely forget what they’re talking about 😂 (I’m guilty for this 😭)

Sag risings could’ve been called obnoxious a lot growing up :(

Leo suns love attention negative and positive. That’s why they usually take fame better than most signs they just really love being seen.

Having a lot of 3rd house placements can make even the most introverted person talk A LOT. Especially when it’s in Venus or mercury. When given an opportunity they can yap all day and when it’s something they’re into you’ll never hear the end of it😂 it’s very cute tho

If a Capricorn rising looks really bothered while you are talking to them they are lol. They HATE pointless yap.

Saturn in 7th house have DADDY ISSUES!!!

Moon in 5th house composite is sooooo adorable 🥺 you feel so happy inside being near them even if you don’t say a word to eachother you just want them there. You also love touching eachother.

[na0koz]

Love your toxic/stalker Jinx but like.. what would happen if she got caught? By anyone (Like Vi, Vander, etc) but also/or reader

toxic!jinx masterlist

now i think vi has always known in the back of her mind that maybe jinx loves you a bit too much. but at the same time she didn’t really register all the photos of you on her wall, your name paired with hers written on every surface even her skin, the amount of time she spends out of the house since meeting you.

like vi knows about you, you’re the only thing jinx talks about. she knows jinx, and knows very well that she’s obsessive but she’s never been obsessed to this extent. it concerns vi slightly so she decides to take a look in jinx’s room.

the photos are obvious, they’re literally plastered over her walls. she then notices a corner with a pile of stuff in it, above it is your name in a heart carved into the wall. vi carefully starts to pick apart the pile, finding the nail polish jinx stole from you, the clothes, everything else she pinched from your apartment.

this freaks vi out slightly so she keeps looking around. on her bedside table there is the piece of metal that jinx fashioned a key to unlock your apartment with. the distinct key-shaped cutout, paired with an open notebook listing everywhere you’ve been and everyone you’ve spoken to basically every day in the last 6 months that tells vi everything she needs to know.

when jinx comes home that day, vi is sitting on the couch. unusual for her, she’s generally in her room blasting rock music and wallowing in her sadness over some blue-haired girl. jinx stands opposite the couch, wondering what the look on vi’s face is for.

“are you stalking that girl you’re always talking about?”

jinx freezes. she has no idea what to say.

vi sighs. “you can’t do that, jinx. besides, aren’t you dating?”

jinx looks at the carpet under her feet. “no… i haven’t.. asked her,” she whispers. she cannot believe that she’s been caught. is vi gonna force her to leave you alone? she can’t deal with that, and jinx starts to panic.

vi is close to anger now, “are you kidding? what the hell is wrong with you?! does she know?”

“of course she doesn’t know.”

they argue back and forth for a bit, mainly vi yelling at jinx and jinx cautiously whispering a response, as if you were on the other side of the door listening.

after that, jinx stays in her room for a couple of days with the door locked. every time vi comes knocking, she either stays silent or starts screaming at her to fuck off. her phone is dead and she has no plans of charging it, despite the fact she knows you’ve probably texted and called her multiple times.

instead, she just stares at the photos she has of you, from before the two of you met.

to be honest though, she just goes back to her usual acts after she gets over herself.

-

if reader found out on the other hand, i had to think pretty hard about what would happen.

i don’t think reader would fully find out what she was doing, but just something surface level. like not the full extremes of jinx’s obsession.

one day, you and jinx had a sleepover and it was the next morning. jinx was laying on your stomach fiddling with the waistband of your shorts when you ask her the question she has dreaded for months.

“have you been following me?”

her hands freeze, eyes widened staring ahead of her. she breathes out a laugh.

“what?”

“have you been following me around?”

“n-.. no? what do you mean?” her voice trembles slightly. she was so fucked.

“i keep seeing you in random places at the same time i’m there,” you talk with an unwavering tone. you need her to know you’re serious about this.

“that’s not me. it could just be someone else with blue hair? i’m not the only person in the world with it,” jinx feigns a small laugh. she’s not sure why.

“no, it’s definitely you jinx. i see your face every time, just watching me from a distance.”

she curls herself into an even tighter ball on your bed. she has literally no idea what to do in the situation.

you stare at her for a bit, noticing her trembling fingers still holding the hem of your pyjamas. you decide you should try and get her to talk, to explain herself.

“i’m not gonna be mad. i just need you to tell me if you have been following me or not.” you’re 98% sure she has been, but maybe it was a coincidence, like the couple of times when you ran into her in public.

more silence follows. a few minutes later, she finally speaks up.

“maybe i have a few times. i just.. worry about you. it’s only ‘cus i love you. i’m just checking you’re okay.” she honestly sounds like she’s about to burst into tears.

“you can just text me and ask how i’m doing, jinx.”

you feel a tear wet your pyjama shirt. this is is honestly not how you thought she’d take it.

“no.. no you don’t get it. i have to see that you’re okay with my own eyes.”

the two of you go back and forth for a while, jinx trying to justify her actions and you shutting her down every time. her arguments have a lot of holes in them.

after a brief pause, you try to reach a conclusion.

“can you just stop following me around, then? it’s scary.”

scary. there is nothing jinx hates more than the idea of you being scared of her.

“i’ll stop,” she breathes. maybe she will for a bit but.. she’ll find a way to keep doing it.

“okay. thank you,” you reply with a sigh, placing your hand on her back to try and comfort her. she had created a significant wet patch on your shirt now, from the involuntary tears falling while she refused to get up from her spot on your stomach.

“i’m sorry i’m so sorry i’m so sorry. i love you,” jinx chants.

you tell her it’s fine.

you’re stuck with her.

[kyuuumie]

this is just a ramble about billdip/billford since i’ve seen a bunch of posts and want to share my thoughts on it!

i find a lot of the comparisons between billdip and billford to be a bit off the mark. while it’s true they share some surface-level similarities—mainly because they both involve bill cipher and a “smart guy”—their dynamics are vastly different. in billford, ford initially placed an enormous amount of trust in bill. he practically revered him, as seen in the tapestries in his lab and all the one-eyed triangle symbols throughout the mystery shack. ford’s trust was so deep that he allowed bill to lead him down a dark path, ultimately resulting in betrayal. bill has since been shown relishing in taunting ford, making their relationship one of broken trust and regret.

on the other hand, billdip presents a way different dynamic. dipper never trusted bill in the first place. from the very beginning, their relationship was antagonistic. unlike ford, dipper wasn’t lured in by the promise of knowledge or power; he had to be manipulated, and even then, he was extremely hesitant to allow bill to possess him. bill never had dipper’s trust to betray, which sets the stage for a completely different kind of tension. in billford, the conflict stems from a deep betrayal of trust, whereas in billdip, it’s more about the struggle between manipulation and resistance, with dipper trying to outsmart someone he knows he can’t trust.

i want to clarify that i don’t hate or even dislike billford. they have an undeniably interesting dynamic, and under different circumstances, i’d probably be more invested in it. however, my enthusiasm for the ship is dampened by the behavior of some of its shippers. it often feels like many people ship billford not because they genuinely enjoy the dynamic, but rather out of a desire to distance themselves from billdip. it’s as if shipping billford has become a way to proclaim, “at least i don’t ship billdip.” but spite shouldn’t be the driving force behind creating content for a ship. shipping should be about passion, about enjoying the dynamic and wanting to explore it through art, writing, and discussion because it genuinely interests you.

that said, i do wish people would keep the discourse civil and avoid leaving hateful comments about either ship. unfortunately, that might be asking for too much in fandom spaces. but it would be nice to see more respect and understanding for different preferences, even if we don’t all share the same ships ૮꒰ ˶> ༝ <˶꒱ა

[jazzyblusnowflake]

(If this was asked before, I swear to god.) FullCompany (NUziVJ) Headcannons?

aaaaaaaaa time to write once more- i missed being able to type away like the lil shit i am-

anyhow- okay lets see- gonna add some things here- tbh my ideas was mostly for Jenvy ideas mainly- but i guess ill fit Uzi in there lol

Some JeNVUzi HCs:

[once again- Drone au only, and maybe minor suggestive content but not nsfw]

The polycule is essentially formed around Uzi pulling them back together-

J's original reason for siding with Cyn which was rooted in fear- was on the basis that she still had her team on her side so she could keep them safe and so theyd have eachother to rely on even after Cyn destroys everything. she did not however, account for Uzi coming along and messing everything up and ruining her team's alignment while she was "dead".

the entire reason J tried to kill N or V at any time was cuz she knew a clone of them would be sent back anyway- she has basically become desensitized towards death in general given she had also died around 12 times herself [canon]- V and N try to help her through this- during which they also deal with Vs behavior and Ns trauma too.

to communicate with J they often had to spar with her- seeing as she hated talking about feelings- but this became their own thing they all did afterwards to unwind and communicate- as J opened up a lot easier after feeling like she was reached out to.

Uzi and J bond over anime and gaming- the latter being somewhere J could actually use her anger on more effectively XD

they all like reading books every now and then where one would read and the others snuggle or cuddle- they take turns. [this is from their manor days]

J is... unable to emote or show emotion easily and it eats her alive. she can't show the appropriate needed emotion to the mood of the room and it makes her have breakdowns- occasionally throw up- as though you are desperately trying to cry but the tears wont come so you try heaving it out- make yourself fit in and look normal by trying to FEEL something- but she cant. J is a dated business model drone- custom made for office work- she was made to be this way- Cyn didn't change her- and she grows to hate herself for it. so when a situation happens that she doesn't know how to react, she leaves or hides- until N,V or Uzi find her- usually disassociating or somewhat catatonic.

Uzi occasionally feels out of place with the group, as though she's just being a literal 4th wheel, since they have history together. the others try to show her that she is important to them each in their own ways-

addressing the elephant in the room- yes, it took a long time for N and J to come to terms with eachother- J eventually accepting that her original reason for hating N [him being better than her or preferred over her esp by Tessa] wasn't important anymore- and tries to appreciate him and V and Uzi more in whatever is left of her life.

make no mistake V and J are still very much bitchy on a surface level- just cuz they are all growing close does not mean they are all now lovey dovey with eachother or sweet and character-redemption-ed with everyone around them. therefore: "playful catfights" >:3 !

V and Uzi tease J alot- this is one of the reasons why J found more comfort with N- not gonna tell him to his face tho lol.

J teaches N to draw better and they bond over that alot-

Uzi and J like attention alot- and they wanna get it by being as wordless as possible- very cat coded.

Uzi, V and N like to drag J into doing more normal things that have less to do with work. so far J has mostly shown some interest in writing and maybe poetry but she WILL shoot your head off if you try to read her stuff-

J's first kiss was with Uzi- N and V having kissed once back at the manor being eachothers first kiss. J thinks V kisses the best tho lol.

N and V like to cuddle a lot- J and Uzi are usually dependent on mood-

V likes to bite- J likes to be bitten, N and Uzi like both- :3

J likes playing with N and Uzi's fluffy hair. V only lets N touch her hair.

during intimate cuddles- J has passed out the most lol. Uzi following a close second lol-

Uzi and J yap alot about tech work-

hmm this is all i can think about for NOW-

:"3

[justseedee]

My guesses for the ghouls in the next episode

( see this post for context)

First and foremost, I'm going to assume that Kaito, Romeo, Zenji, and Jiro are out since they already participated in an inter-house mission.

Second, it would make sense that they'll pick one ghoul from each house (excluding one). I believe the main (irl) purpose of inter-house missions is to pad out the characters that tend to get somewhat neglected in their regular missions.

So that's the logic I'm going with (^-^) with a sprinkling of wish-fulfillment

Frosthiem

My Guess: Luca

My Reasoning: The last Frosthiem episode was very Jin and Tohma-centered AND we even got some Kaito "backstory". We haven't had much other than surface-level interactions with Luca throughout the other episodes. Also, I'm super obsessed with this man's life and family and I just want to know wtf is up with them

Vagastrom

My Guess: Sho

My Reasoning: MAINLY because it seems like they're trying to spread out who we get paired up with in each mission and last time we were with Leo for most of it. And we got Alan's backstory in the Vaga episode and tidbits of him in the Frosthiem episode. Sho is still kind of a mystery in terms of alignment and he's also pretty flirty in a super chill teasing kind of way. Plus that thing Alan said about Leo knowing how to act in certain situations feels like it was a setup for something and I hope this is it lol (also Frosthiem/Vagastrom drama with him and Luca)

Sinostra

My Guess: Ritsu

My Reasoning: Same as the last one. Romeo was automatically out and we spent most of the last episode with Taiga soooo it makes sense I guess

Jabberwock

My Guess: Ren

Hotarubi

My Reasoning: Haru has been fucking everywhere it feels like. Genuinely it feels like he's one of the guys we know (or at least can infer) the most about. As much as I wish I could say Towa he's too much of a wild card to be put in a situation where his crush will have to be around a bunch of other guys. Especially if Ed is one of them. Like he straight up tried to poison Ren, possibly out of jealousy (look up Ren's Affinity lines if you don't know what I'm talking about) (and let's not forget the Ren/Sho one-sideded beef)

My Guess: Haku

My Reasoning: We got Subaru scraps last time and it ended with a cliffhanger, and honestly I doubt this is going to be the episode where they'll be like "Oh yeah BTW this is why he wanted those scissors 🤪". Plus why would they frame it like (yes I'm still on this shit) a dating show and not put one of the flirtiest ghouls in it?

Obscuary

My Guess: Ed

My Reasoning: I really really REALLY wanted to say one of the other two but this is starting to feel like a "season finale" episode and Ed just has too much insight to NOT show up and stir the pot. That and if there's going to be SIX ghouls i don't think that would be something Rui would want to do (for curse reasons). Then again the yearning in this episode would be insane if they do go with him. As for Lyca, I think he's still too oblivious to his feelings for MC for him to be a viable choice here v(•_•)v

Mortkraken

My Guess: This is the house that's getting left out.

My Reasoning: Yuri and Jiro cannot be separated for too long or else Jiro could die

Vagastrom and Jabberwock were sooooo hard for me for no reason other than me having to decide between who I WANTED to be there and who it would MAKE SENSE to be there. I think I made it work though.

Also, it occurred to me about halfway through how funny it would be if it was just all the Captains (sans Yuri, thats my call and I'm sticking to it) and it ended being like a pick your favorite house type of deal idk

[laarbybarbtbox]

Natsuo is NOT like Endeavor.

Okay, so I’ve posted about this before, but I also just saw another interpretation pop up recently about the character of Natsuo Todoroki, and how he has similarities to Enji (Endeavor) beyond his appearance. And while these interpretations are valid, I also personally don’t really see them.

First and foremost, people tend to bring up the fact that he has a lot of anger and resentment towards Enji, and how that could make him a lot like Enji due to how much anger and obsession Enji had, but I think this feels like an odd thing to say when the reasons and circumstances for these emotions are completely different.

Like, we all seem to agree that Natsu’s anger as a whole is completely warranted and justified, but some people seem to take it as a way to say that his anger towards Enji will inevitably make him LIKE Enji, which I just don’t see. Whenever we see Natsuo get angry in canon, he really doesn’t ever seem unstable or angry in a way that he would hurt someone close to him unintentionally.

At most, he slams his fist against a wall, but he otherwise just yells or says something passive-aggressive, and then just removes him from the room.

Like… I really don’t see how that makes him someone who’s at risk of harming others or being anything like the man we see Enji become.

If anything, I’d say that he’s proven to be quite different, with how he’s basically built an entire life for himself outside of the family.

That leads me to point two. Specifically, his treatment of Fuyumi. This essay in particular seemed to imply that Natsuo put his own desires before his sister’s, mainly referring to his behavior during that family dinner. However, I consider this to be a very surface level reading of him, since we’re not factoring in Fuyumi herself. Specifically, that she’s not really in the right either. It’s made very clear that her desire for a “normal family” is a coping mechanism. But what some people don’t understand is that Fuyumi can be unfair to Natsuo too. And even Shoto to a degree. There’s a very notable panel of her trying to convince Shoto to go through with some of her plans, and I’ve seen some people refer to it as “guilt-tripping.” Now, I don’t believe that Fuyumi was intentionally guilt tripping Shoto and Natsuo, but it’s worth noting. Especially since it’s shown that Natsuo feels obligated to be part of the family dinner, or to give Fuyumi this “normal family” that she wants. It’s clear that they don’t always see eye to eye, and yes, there are times when Natsuo handles things unhealthily. But people don’t realize that Fuyumi also handles things unhealthily too. So this isn’t a matter of Natsuo specifically being in the wrong.

Another point made by this specific essay is that Natsuo “abandoned” his family when he went to go to college and left Fuyumi and Shoto with Endeavor. This frankly isn’t a point that I’ll entertain for too long since it comes off as extremely unfair (more so than some other points). We know that Natsuo is 19, so he most likely moved out at an early age, so to say that a child leaving an abusive household is him “abandoning” his family just feels wrong. Especially since we have very little implying that he didn’t look back or consider this himself. If anything, Natsuo’s willingness to come back to Fuyumi proves otherwise.

Now, another thing people like to bring up is the fact that Natsu goes off on his own to marry his girlfriend, and that can symbolize him continuing the cycle to a degree since Enji did that, but I would say that’s an oversimplification. Enji started a family for the purpose of succeeding in his own endeavors, while Natsuo just seemed to do it to finally move on from Enji. If this was meant to be an intentional parallel, then I frankly just don’t see it, as a lot of this is circumstantial. As far as I can see, Natsuo just made a proper step in improving his life and healing more. Like, obviously his trauma isn’t going to go away because of that, but some people seem to be under the impression that him doing this might just cause him to spiral similarly to Enji, which I frankly just don’t see, especially since he doesn’t seem to be against the idea of getting the proper help for himself (studying medical welfare) Plus he really doesn’t show many signs of having a more traditional life like his own upbringing. Now, granted, we don’t see any of this life outside of the family (likely because it’s not super relevant to the main plot), but from what we can gather, it seems pretty healthy.

One last point that I saw is that Natsuo’s decision to cut Endeavor out of his life was bad because it would hurt the family more on account of gatherings and meetings where both he and Endeavor would both logically be involved. And the issue here is that I think it demonstrates a misunderstanding of how family relationships can play out. There are many families around the world with members that don’t like each other, but they still go to gatherings and such, simply making the decision to not interact or to remain at different places at the gathering. There are many ways that families can plan around these things if they acknowledge everyone’s feelings.

All in all, I just don’t see how Natsuo’s behavior and actions would lead to the situations that I’ve seen people bring up. At most, he has a lot to heal from, and it won’t be an easy process. But like, that’s just kind of a given.

[crunchybeards]

In lieu of your most recent art post, do you perhaps have some Nestor and Rafta thoughts to share with the class...? :0c

Oh man do I got thoughts to share with the class. Mainly sad but something fluffy too :)

Long rambling about my fave load bearing straights with slight spoilers and a TL:DR at the end:

With regards to Nestor and Rafta, I always consider it a greater tragedy than I do an all out romance. I know I've already gotten quite a bit of infamy (kinda lol) about how much I just talk about character dynamics and themes of the game and everything else in between. But why these two especially compel me is how, at least to me, I saw them as this narrative bridge between the cursed and non-cursed if that makes sense.

But to expand a bit about what I mean by a narrative bridge is that, as I've said many times before, cursed individuals are still very much people, it's just that their physiology and psychology have been altered drastically. The game hammers it so many times that some cursed individuals are still people and it is a gamble but ultimately a good thing to treat them as such. And meeting somebody who is very much capable of having a crush and shooting her shot whilst still being cursed was just very sappy and heartwarming to me. We've seen cursed individuals be capable of the full (not full but like surface level full) range of human emotions and expression. We see sarcasm, apathy, friendship. Mutt's Fish and Chips and the campfire boiler room are filled with interactions, dialogue and dynamics that proove this point. We've seen cursed individuals in standard human relationships but we've never seen an actual romance up to that point from cursed individuals post witnessing/ contact. (I'd count Lyle but that crush predates the Visitor by who knows how many years) This shows that cursed individuals are very much capable of being people in every sense of how we perceive our fellow man. It cements their status as people, sentient beings worthy of giving a damn about.

I choose to believe that Rafta did not intend to seize control of Nestor like that. From all of Rafta's dialogue she seemed too lucid to want to do any harm. To me, it seemed like it was genuinely unintentional, like she might not have even been fairly aware that she was cursed to begin with, that's what her dialogue implies at least. It seemed she might have just gotten too close to Nestor when he looked into her pipe and direct contact might've triggered something worse in her. So for her to take control of Nestor's body was most likely another instance of a cursed individual loosing control of their body and attacking/ harming other people. Jeanne is a very good example of this exact thing happening.

It makes me genuinely sad to think about because the Visitor's effects on society were far deeper than what is initially presented. Not only does this set the precedent that cursed individuals will be discriminated against but there will be pervasive paranoia amongst the non-cursed. Being sociable has far greater consequence than before. Sure if you hung out with a stranger before there's a chance they'd harm you in very human ways. But now as a non-cursed individual death isn't even the worst thing that can happen to you. This is slightly unrelated but it's an aspect that I can't ignore when thinking about Rafta and Nestor.

But as I've said before in a previous post, I do believe they could've made it work if it weren't for the ultimate reality (at least as of posting this, I'm still holding out hope there's a proper quest for these two and Eugene in a patch/ update) that Rafta takes control of Nestor's body. They could've been friends, they could've been romantic partners or they simply could've been acquainted with each other's presence. But we don't get that. We see Rafta seize control of his body and puppet him around. It's another cursed individual hurting an innocent non-cursed person. It's a budding relationship (romantic, platonic, acquainted etc.) being destroyed before it even starts. And seeing something be unwound both because it's my own/ the player's fault for telling Nestor to go and because Rafta couldn't control herself is tragic. It was preventable and yet to deny somebody of their feelings feels just as painful. By intentionally not giving Nestor that letter you send a message about how you feel about Rafta. It's as though you're telling she's not worthy of romance because of what she's become and you have the authority to decide that because you're normal. Even if that's not your thought process or intention by not giving Nestor the letter, you're still disregarding Rafta's feelings, there will always be some level of disrespect by not giving Nestor the letter. This disrespect ranging from unintentionally invalidating Rafta's feelings to completely dehumanising her, by seeing her as lesser than. You go through a whole quest, you search various levels of the apartment for this oddly specific stationery. You go through quite a bit of effort, which is an indication that you care about this quest and by extension Rafta to be doing all this. And as soon as this letter is drafted you say you're not gonna do that? You're just not gonna complete the quest after stringing this woman along, giving her a bit of hope with each piece of stationery you give her. That's fucked on so many levels.

Don't take my words as gospel, these are just thoughts that I have about these two. To me it's always been about how every interaction in this game is a microcosm of the greater reality of the game's world. It's not just a romantic tragedy between two people but it's another reflection of how relationships (applicable to all relationship types not just romantic) have been destroyed and eroded. That you can't even so much as date somebody without having some form of defense if you're not cursed. There's an erosion of trust of not only those close to you but to those you don't know. You have to have some level of trust in order to even try a first date and this breaks that trust completely. Yes there are examples of how people hangout despite it all, but that's all been cursed individuals hanging out together, you never see non-cursed people doing that other than Sam. The separation is understandable but it's clear.

I'd go deeper into that whole tangent about the erosion of relationships but then that goes into a connected but still separated from this post's territory that I already received an ask about and am genuinely excited to talk about. So that's a yap for another day.

But I do have more positive thoughts about the two :)

Here's a compressed list of some personal headcanons and ideas of mine:

Nestor was initially very hesitant to put his head next to the pipe so they instead compromised by having him sit next to the pipe and just talking. They'd just talk about whatever comes to their mind, they just wanted somebody to talk to in all the isolation of the world.

Nestor was camping out in the bathroom because he was understandably terrified of all the cursed individuals roaming the apartment. The dude was probably very relieved to get that letter because he just wanted some form of normalcy in all the chaos. "Like sure, talking to a girl through a pipe is weird but at least she's not a monster so that's normal enough for me." is what I imagine Nestor's thinking to be. And going off of that, Rafta absolutely would've hidden the fact that she is in fact, one of those monsters that Nestor about. Like some part of her eventually figured out that she was cursed, even if she doesn't want to fully accept that. She eventually confesses to him that she is cursed. He'd definitely feel betrayed, the one person he felt safe talking to about all this turns out to be another monster, probably trying to manipulate him into being it's food or something worse. But then he'd come around to it and realise there was definitely a bit of prejudice in how he talked about cursed individuals that he wasn't even aware of and Rafta helped him realise this. Definitely could work that into a fic.

(Already said this in a different ask) Them going on scheduled picnics. Like maybe between 12pm and 3pm they have a scheduled hangout time during The 15 Days. But they always go over whatever planned time they set up, they like each other's company that much :3

TL:DR: Rafta and Nestor's relationship is very sad to me because it shows how the relationship between cursed and non-cursed people are going to be difficult to form post Visitor.

[paranormal-taters]

Love and Attraction in My Adventures with Superman

As someone who has never been particularly drawn by superhero media, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I first started watching My Adventures with Superman about a week ago. I had seen a few posts here on Tumblr that had piqued my interest, but all I really knew about it was that it was well-loved and had an art style that I knew I liked.

I absolutely did not expect to fall head over heels for the show entirely, or to be moved to tears multiple times by the wildly sweet, revolutionary relationship between this adaptation's Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

I say "revolutionary" because this romance touches on a lot of things that I feel are lacking in most modern portrayals of romance, and it handles them masterfully.

Most of what I reference/talk about in this post will focus on the first four episodes of season one (with a particular focus on the fourth episode, Let's Go to Ivo Tower, You Say) , because they are my favorite episodes and I think I can communicate what I want to by pulling mainly from those episodes. But I will be pulling bits and pieces from the whole series so consider yourself spoiler-warned.

The main point is this: I absolutely adore the way that physical attraction and emotional attraction are balanced between Clark and Lois.

The fact that this is possible comes from how well-crafted the dynamic is between the two of them; Lois' raw passion and energy inspires confidence and a mutual passion in Clark, and Clark's gentleness and kind heart inspire a tenderness in Lois that she was never given an outlet to show or receive. From this dynamic, a wealth of physical and emotional intimacy is naturally born. But never in the series do the two aspects of attraction feel out of balance; rather, they play off each other effortlessly. When one is brought into focus, the other quickly follows.

From the first episode and onward, it's obvious that Clark and Lois are awed by each other's physical appearance. Lois outright describes Clark as "beautiful" (which, if you saw one of my earlier posts from not too long ago, is something that makes me so incredibly happy to see in mainstream media).

To be fair, she doesn't say that to his face and says it in a moment of extreme frustration. But I still count it.

Anyways.

Upon seeing Lois for the first time, Clark is practically frozen in wonder for a good few seconds.

Lois, too, experiences this initial moment of attraction and almost immediately makes contact, with a playful punch to Clark's chest as he holds the door open for her.

This is a detail I really love, because first of all wow, I aspire to have her level of confidence. But also, it becomes clear early on in the series that Lois expresses herself very physically. She has no qualms regarding physical affection. Clark, on the other hand, is much more reserved and, at first, generally only initiates contact after an invitation from Lois, or after enough time has passed in their friendship for him to know that Lois is very physical and wouldn't have a problem with it.

There is also an immediate emphasis on Clark's concern for Lois' physical well-being. Take a sip of water every time Clark asks Lois if she's okay just in the first episode alone and you will be well hydrated.

Later on in this first episode, while trying to infiltrate a warehouse, Lois confidently asks Clark to boost her up to a window so she can get inside the building. Clark is immediately flustered, showing how much he feels out of his depth even with physical contact that, on the surface, would have no romantic connotations. (But to be fair, Lois is asking him to put his hands around her waist and lift her up when they literally just met like maybe six hours ago. I would be flustered too.)

And when Lois loses her balance and Clark effortlessly catches her, his first response (after blushing, of course) is to ask her:

Even in moments where the romantic tension is thick enough to cut with a knife and Clark clearly knows it, his first priority is to make sure she's okay.

And thus begins one of the strongest underlying themes throughout the whole building-up of their relationship, which is trust.

I'm gonna jump ahead now to the scene that inspired this whole post: the stairwell scene in episode four.

A basic rundown: Clark, Lois, and Jimmy are given an assignment to attend a tech unveiling for the city's top investors at Amazotech headquarters. Lois, naturally, ignores the parameters of the assignment and tries to use it as an opportunity to expose corruption in the city and get her stop-the-presses story. Clark very reluctantly follows her lead, believing that she will get herself into trouble . . . until Dr. Ivo, head of Amazotech, makes a few rude comments about Lois' appearance (Lois doesn't hear these, only Clark). This deeply irritates Clark and prompts him into revealing how much he knows about Dr. Ivo's corrupt business dealings, in an attempt to intimidate the truth out of Dr. Ivo, who responds by having Clark thrown out of the building and into a pile of garbage in an adjacent alleyway. Lois comes to find Clark (who is unhurt) and teases him about whether or not she should let him back in the building, since he didn't follow the assignment. Clark jokes that he doesn't even meet the dress code anymore, revealing that his suit jacket was torn as he was tossed out of the building.

Lois then reveals that she came prepared for this, and tells Clark to "take it off."

Clark immediately becomes flustered again and begins stammering as Lois pulls him back into the building by his jacket, continuing to tease him.

It's in these moments, as you can see, that the lighting of the scene changes. As soon as Lois says "take it off", everything is bathed in a rosy light. This happens frequently between these two; often, when we the audience are seeing one of these characters through the perspective of the other, the lighting takes on a very dreamy quality. This will come up again momentarily.

As Lois and Clark ascend the stairs, Lois removes her jacket and pulls a sewing kit from her pocket, admitting that she carries one on her because she herself has torn a lot of her clothing on her escapades.

The two then sit down on the stairs, and Clark removes his jacket. The lighting changes again, and we see Clark from Lois' eyes. It's clear by the dreamy lighting and the way that Lois blushes and involuntarily chokes out a "Wow . . ." that she is once again awed by him and deeply attracted to him on a physical level.

And this scene represents so much about their growing dynamic. It honestly has me floored.

But before I explain fully, I have to go on a tangent about my beloved Clark.

Throughout the beginning of the series, I believe Clark shows several signs that indicate that he is insecure about his physical appearance. Which you wouldn't expect, right? I mean, look at him. He's objectively a dreamboat. He was designed to be that way.

But at this stage of knowing so little about where he really came from or who he is, I think Clark struggles with not having a way to explain his physique. He admits that he wasn't an athlete in school; he was in the chess club. He doesn't work out as an adult. And yet he has the muscles of a bodybuilder. But, like so many other aspects of himself, he doesn't have a way to explain it. This causes a disconnect in how he sees himself physically; he likely feels as though he doesn't deserve his naturally impressive physique. And you could argue that he even does his best to hide it. As a civilian, he generally wears bulky, layered clothing like sweatshirts and sweaters. He slouches and carries himself in a very inward direction; his shoulders are often forward and his arms close to his sides, as if he is habitually attempting to make himself smaller.

This is one thing that brought me to tears when I saw it. The idea that a person can feel insecure about having physical attributes that would normally be seen as positive (and that they can't explain and/or feel that they don't deserve) is not very well-explored in media, but it is experienced by quite a few people, myself being one of them. But often in the real world when someone attempts to express this kind of insecurity, they are shut down and mocked and told to "be grateful" for what they have because others would envy them. Which I can say from personal experience is unbelievably damaging to a person's self image. So seeing this possibly be represented in Clark Kent himself was incredibly moving to me.

But back to the scene itself.

In the most recent gif above, this is the most vulnerable Lois has seen Clark thus far. What I think is so beautiful is the way that she invites him into this vulnerability by making herself vulnerable first.

Rewind a bit. Outside the building, Lois tells Clark to take his jacket off. Not a big deal, right? It's not like he's not wearing an undershirt. But Clark becomes flustered, not outright expressing that he's uncomfortable with this, but certainly indicating that he's not exactly at ease with it either.

Next we see them climbing up the stairs, and as they do so, Lois removes her own jacket and reveals her bare back to Clark in the process.

I believe this was incredibly intentional. This scene would have carried a very different tone if Lois' outfit was revealing in any other way. But the fact that her back is exposed symbolizes that she trusts him, in a physical and emotional sense. It's like when my cat Penny rolls on her back and exposes her fluffy tummy. Lois revealing this part of herself was her saying "I trust you, I feel safe with you, and I'll be vulnerable with you if you'll be vulnerable with me."

And only after that does Clark remove his jacket.

Because there is the factor of attraction at play, there is a lot of blushing and stammering going on in the beginning of this scene. These are two incredibly attractive people who are incredibly attracted to each other, after all. But immediately after the initial romantic tension, there is emotional vulnerability as well. Lois confides in Clark about her relationship with her dad, and the crippling self-doubt that she has kept very close to her chest. Clark jumps to reassure her in earnest, telling her that she has "changed his life for the better, in every possible way."

And that is what I meant at the beginning of the post when I mentioned balance.

Every moment of physical attraction in this series is followed by or harmonized with a moment of emotional vulnerability. Clark and Lois both invite each other deeper into each aspect of connection, and thus their relationship builds in an incredibly natural and beautiful way.

At this point, I think this post is about five miles long as the crow scrolls and I should probably stop now before all my thoughts run away with me. I could go on forever about the impact that this series and these characters have had on me, though. I will forever be grateful to the creators for giving us such an incredible series, and such a beautiful romance.

[delta-orionis]

do you think iterators know about void worms

No, I don’t think so. Given the fact that they can only be encountered by ascending/entering the void sea, iterators would have no way of knowing they even exist. Even if an iterator did ascend, it’s not like they could return to tell about it.

(Teal Pearl) Moon states here that very little is known about what lies below the surface of the void sea, just that anything that falls into it never returns.

Iterators and void worms do have some interesting parallels (catalogued here). Aside from the narrative implications, I do think that the ancients/benefactors were unknowingly emulating some features of void worms when creating the iterators, kind of like an artificial form of convergent evolution.

This does make me wonder if iterators know about echoes, too. I’m leaning towards no, mainly because of this dialogue from Moon:

(Bright Red Pearl) Moon implies here that the ancients have encountered echoes before (just like the player does), but she seems skeptical. There was likely little to no concrete evidence for their existence, aside from personal anecdotes.

The player can only encounter echoes when at their maximum karma level. I personally think iterators are unable to perceive echoes because they have a different relationship with karma than normal creatures do, perhaps even by design.

(Pale Green Pearl) It’s mentioned here by one of the benefactors that part of an iterator’s function is to enlighten the world itself, including the parts of it that aren’t “sentient” in a traditional sense (rock, gas, “dull witted” bugs and microbes). Iterators, being at least partially artificial, are tied to the world the same way that these (for lack of a better word) “unintelligent” things are, and in theory could figure out how to “enlighten” them as well.

However, this also means that iterators don’t have karma like normal creatures do, and are thus unable to ascend or perceive echoes.

I bring this up because in theory an echo could potentially tell of their experiences in the void sea, but since iterators can’t perceive them, then they would have no way of obtaining that information.

All this is to say: because of the way iterators were designed, they are unable to perceive beings related to the void: echoes, void worms, and probably void spawn too. (Though, this is all headcanon, so take my word with a grain of salt)

[lilia-calderus-pet-goat]

This is a very sleep deprived thought—and I don't actually believe it, per se—but.

I've seen a lot of people who are deeply unsatisfied with the retcon of it being Agatha that bound Jen's magic. Mainly, because it felt like shoe-honing. Especially since Agatha made such a point about going out of her way to not kill Jen despite hating her, because she respected her work too much.

I think many interesting discussions can be had about this. I've talked about this before—the fact that Jen's character felt sort of neglected in the finale, and the fact a lot of people struggled to connect with her prior to rewatches. (I myself didn't have this problem, but still, my criticisms are still of the same nature-)

So anyway, Agatha probably chose to bind Jen to keep her out of the way, not realising the weight of that, the intersectionality—perhaps not caring about the suggesting very much at all. Because, you're a midwife, Jen. You can still do good. You will do good, just out of my way. And I truly do believe this is how it went.

But what if Agatha hadn't been the one to bind her? What if, in a brief moment of clarity, Agatha locked in to get everyone out? Her movements are always supposed to be calculated, so is carelessness really in her repertoire?

Maybe, just maybe, she heard Jen say that, “I'll be damned if I let one of you two idiots die,” and that triggered her. Maybe because of pride—god knows she was overwhelmed before the final trial and all her walls had come right back up. But the same didn't apply to Jennifer. She had actually changed. Jen had actually re-discovered her worth. She'd remembered who she was, power or not. She was someone Agatha respected in spite of the resentment. Someome who heals, nurtures, helps, does good. Not the vain, surface-level, self-serving fraud—who had previously been on a dark path too similar to Agatha's own, so close to complete cynicism. Lilia had saved Jen from that path and oushed her to be the path ahead. The Obstacles? Agatha.

And Agatha won't accept Jen's help—not after what happened to Alice, which to Agatha's & Billy's eyes alike stands as evidence of the fact she is a monster. She won't even accept to acknowledge her own character development, as a mere episode ago she jumped in front of a sword to save Lilia. She won't, above all, acknowledge that Jen has grown to care about her. Instead, she will do everything tomake that kdea crumble. She will destroy it.

All she needs to do is shape the narrative Billy truly thinks is true, and so it can become the truth. Billy, who created the condition in which it was possible for Alice to break her generational curse. Who found the spirits of Evanora and Nicky alike. All the trials were his limited understanding of the coven & of witch folk. (Jen's was right out of her vision board, she looked like one of her clients—nothing like the rootworker midwife we know she used to be. Alice's is in the seventies, which mathematically makes no sense with her age as she would have been born in the eighties to be the age she is on 2025—but Billy based everything about her trial on Lorna, because that's what he was familiar with. Agatha's mind he couldn't read—all he knew about her was that something happened to her son. So he puts a grown woman in children's clothing, to force therapy on her—and she regresses into the hurt little girl she was at the stake. Lilia, whose mind is the loudest & most easily accessible to Billy, had the most personalised trial, but even then, it latches onto the witch stereotypes that she so desperately hates. All of those do help the girls—minus Agatha—but still don't fully represent them. As for the green witch trial, well, it took him a while to cook it up, because he just found out Rio is death. Anyway, I digress—) My point being, if you can shape Billy's understanding of a situation, you can have some power over what happens. (One trial for each witch, the public transport system, etc.)

Would it be such an impossible stretch to say Agatha painted herself as the villain once more, embracing the part presented to her, the oart most familiar, the oart she knows best to simultaneously reject Jen's offered sisterhood/peace/altruism AND make sure the road gave Jen her powers back? She gets Jen out of the way—go do good again, just out of my way—because she's hellbent on the narrative that Agatha Harkness can't be anything but a covenless witch.

And what's the next thing she does, after assuring Billy that the road took Jen to safety after giving her what she wants?

She tries to get what she wants, because she knows Billy is in no real danger in his own road. Give me a little power-boost, dungeon master, get me out of here, come on. But he doesn't trust her. And if he doesn't trust her—she can't possibly convince him to willingly hand himself over to Rio.

So she gives him what he needs, what he wants from the road. She guides him—cradles his head and helps him fight the guilt, she helps him save Tommy. The second abomination that Lady Death was trying to prevent has already been re-born, but Rio's too busy playing mother-knows-best in suburbia on Agatha's rooftop.

So Agatha gets Billy out, accepts that, “sometimes boys die,” that death herself can't be blamed for Nicky—she forgives Rio—and starts to mourn herself. She's gotten Jen & Billy out. She can stay here and die the villain. But the road presents her with the opportunity to live—from death, life—(she also realises right then that Nicky was also Rio's, btw)—and she makes her dramatic exit. The rest is... A different post.

[psycho-doughart]

Not saying you’re wrong, but when did Jhonen say that Nny uses his torturing as a sexual outlet? (I don’t have Twitter I can’t find out for myself. I am also stupid)

omg no problem i am ALSO stupid. i got ahead of myself with making it sound like its a concrete fact in the comic, but its more of an implication than anything. it comes from a note by Jhonen in the back of JTHM director's cut:

'He's a coward and I think it manifests itself in many ways.'

'I don't think he has a sex drive and if he does it finds its way out through other means, mainly a knife through the flesh.'

now this isn't like. the only reason the dude murders. it might not even be true at all! but from context clues IN the comic, it makes the line a lot more... validated.

the conversation he has with Tess, on a surface level, is of course 'I hate touch I hate physical contact I hate sex' but like... "How lovely it would be to escape from these emotions- I seem incapable of ridding myself of their itch" and "It only reminds me of the emptiness." says more 'I hate touch I hate physical contact I hate sex because I crave it but cannot have/accept it in a way that I don't feel lonely or empty'

He's so hypocritical and nuanced in literally everything else he does, it'd make sense that he's second-guessing himself in these words too.

then there's Reverend Meat's very vague line of dialog... but whatever its implying certainly does sound. Like. Well. Y'know.

He's definitely been hungry. He's definitely been lonely. I am highly doubting the dude's never been aroused, all things considered... I mean why even bring that up if you're just listing off things about being alive? There's so many more things to being alive than... horny.

(to be fair, Reverend Meat also brought up sexuality a few times, but seeing as how he's literally an aspect of Nny himself...)

and then, of course, we have this iconic scene.

He says. To the rapist claiming they are one in the same.

Granted before that he very explicitly states 'I would never do what you did to that girl!!' but that's rich coming from the same guy who did this

amongst everything else in the comic...

To get this whole spiel over with:

Does Nny hate sex? Yes.

But is Nny super fucking sanctimonious? Also yes.

Despite him clearly having every other need a human being has? ALSO yes.

Would that drive him to find alternatives to dealing with his own 'feelings'? PROBABLY.

So... I do apologize for essentially saying 'it was stated by Jhonen himself Nny sometimes uses his actions as a sexual outlet' like it was absolute. That is incorrect.

But by god is it fucking likely.

[ryin-silverfish]

I had a question about Nezha and how he might be characterized in a JttW story (specifically one that draws from Black Myth Wukong, with the common vision of Nezha being physically a perpetual child), and was directed towards you. I'll quote myself verbatim. I was thinking about how one might characterize Nezha for a story, and would appreciate any thoughts or corrections. I haven't read Investiture of the Gods yet, and probably won't for a while, but just going off what we see in JttW and some of the reading I did, this is what I came up with: When Nezha starts out there seems to be a fair bit of recklessness, carelessness, and bloodlust to his character. This ends up getting forcibly dealt with via his agreement with his father, and probably just over time a bit, but while he may become more responsible, as seems to be the case in JttW, the bloodlust and free spirited-ness are really just pushed down. Therefore, I tend to imagine him as being kind of grouchy, a bit stuck up, and a bit of a stickler for the rules, that last one mainly because he has to be, and if he has to obey that stupid oath to his father, than everyone else has to follow the rules too, damnit! But, he also has the repressed bloodlust simmering below the surface and coming out at odd moments, scaring people, which would explain why his father gets frightened of him for a moment in JttW, when Nezha rushes in front of him while he's without his pagoda. On the flip side though, Nezha is also described as a protector of children, so I like to imagine that, while he hates being treated like a child himself, at least by adults, he does like and understand children, and can do a genuinely good job interacting and taking care of them, even talking on their level if the situation demands it, and there's a real compassion and goodness of spirit there that will come out if just given the right opportunity. What do you think?

Well, JTTW Nezha's backstory is kinda barebones, but also: I think the biggest difference between FSYY Nezha and JTTW Nezha is that the latter wrecks the Dragon King's place THREE DAYS after his birth.

It's very much based on the Grand Compendium of the Three Religions' Deities (shortened as SJSSDQ) that inspired both JTTW & FSYY Nezha.

And in the SJSSDQ version, he's already a powerful immortal under the JE before he's ordered to reincarnate to rid the world of demons, thus he's able to slay a bunch of dragons 5 days after his birth.

(I honestly don't think you can apply human development trajectory to gods and immortals, especially with the whole *Property Destruction and Dragon-slaying after 3 days of birth* thing, but that's just my personal opinion.)

Oh, and his "protector of children" thing is very much a later folk religion development. In JTTW as well as FSYY, and even prior to these 2 vernacular novels, he's very much a fierce martial guardian deity known for his prowess at vanquishing demons.

Fun Fact: the Li Zhuowu illustrations of JTTW actually don't depict Nezha with his iconic twin buns (he also looks a lot more like a teenager in these illustrations):

Also, in JTTW, the pagoda isn't exactly dropped on Nezha and used to forcefully subdue him.

The Buddha just gives Li Jing the pagoda and asks Nezha to call (the Buddhas) on the pagoda as his father from now on, and it seems to be a pretty peaceful solution——though Li Jing is still terrified that Nezha will pick up the "revenge" hobby again the moment he doesn't have his pagoda on him.

I personally like the take where Nezha just, doesn't really care about Li Jing anymore, because from his POV, he barely knows Li Jing in the timespan of 3 days, not to mention having an actual father-son relationship.

His vegeneance towards Li Jing is the same as if a random stranger tries to kill you bc you are too much of a menace, and you are forced to kill yourself as a result——still a giant asshole move, but without much personal elements.

Another fun fact: after JTTW Nezha is resurrected by the Buddha, he subdues 96 caves of demons first before trying to kill Li Jing.

...My very unserious crack HC is he rushed out of Vulture Peak to throw hands with Li Jing immediately after resurrection, but lost his way bc he has a bad sense of direction, and beats up all these demons while trying to find his way back ("I'm just asking for directions! Can't they stop trying to kidnap or eat me for one damn second?")

Giant tangent aside, I think JTTW Nezha's other big potential differences in characterization are 1) he's a pretty thoughtful and clever guy, despite still having a bit of an impulsive reputation, and 2) he cares a lot more about his siblings and is probably on better terms with them than FSYY Nezha.

Like, in JTTW Chapter 33, he's the one who suggests to JE that they use Emperor Zhenwu's Dark Banner to cover up the heavenly bodies and create the illusion of the sky disappearing, instead of literally sucking up the sky into a container (which is impossible).

During the Lady Earth Flow Arc, Li Jing straight-up forgets he has an adopted mice daughter, while Nezha remembers who she is, as well as her three titles/nicknames (Golden-nosed White Mouse Spirit, Half-Guanyin, Lady Earth Flow).

Like, she's practically a stranger whose adoption is pretty much her one-sided act of gratitude (for sparing her life), instead of a decision made by Li Jing or Nezha, and the latter still remembers her.

I feel like JTTW Nezha is totally the kind of brother who'll spoil Li Zhenying, and even though Jinzha and Mucha still don't come back that often because of their work, their brotherly relationship is likely a lot stronger.

Also, their mother is still around in JTTW, as suggested by the short exchange between Mucha and Nezha in Chapter 42, where the former asks Nezha to go back and greet their mother, since he's on urgent business and doesn't have the time to pay his courtesy until after he's delivered the 36 blades.

[tgd-sideblog]

a bucktommy take i could get interested in is exploring the idea that Tommy spent their six month relationship acting on a very surface level and idealised understanding of Buck's life: he met Evan's parents in passing at the wedding and they seemed pleasant if a little awkward (Evan's talk about Bobby being like his father instead was clearly intended to express his care for Bobby and Evan's conflict with his parents is probably garden variety family squabbling), he's obviously attractive and charming so his dating history must have involved being able to get any woman he wants (Tommy doesn't know about Buck's history with Abby until that disasterous aniversary take and even then it's about how great and transformative it was for Evan not about the ghosting and the heartbreak), Evan is lucky enough to be surrounded by supportive friends/family and have a great team from the start in the career that he loves (because he spent years alone and drifting and when Buck finally found somewhere that clicked he fought like hell to keep it).

Sure he hasn't had a perfect life, Tommy knows about his near miss with the lightning, but mainly Evan is an adorable goofy guy but too naive to be able to understand Tommy's concerns about if Buck is excited to be with him or just excited to be bi. If Tommy tried to have a serious conversation about relationship doubts, Evan would probably just be optimistic because somebody as loved and secure as Evan could never understand the struggle, so Tommy will be the martyr and make the hard choice for both of them.

I've seen a fair few headcanons and speculations about how Buck got caught up in Tommy's cool guy exterior and therefore didn't notice his insecurities or made Tommy feel like he had to live up to a persona, but I think that at the very least that goes both ways and the conflict between them can't resolve without Tommy getting a change of perspective which makes him take Buck more seriously.

The audience knows Buck's messy history, as does the firefam, but Tommy is close enough to be able to think he gets it (he already knows the job, he's known Evan's friends longer than Evan has) but if they're both focused on the here and now, there's so much for him to be ignorant of.

[thecaptainofcosmichorrors]

The Captain of Cosmic Horrors..

..Would you/could you do Choco Werehound Brute x Reader? Perhaps revolving around working with him?

(P.S. ooc, are you ok... did you ever go to the emergency room ...)

[Oh ho~! You mortals are ever the charmers; I am always flattered by your honey-coated words and humble offerings, how delightful indeed. I didn’t expect to get such an offering, but I am delighted to dip my theoretical toes into the water if you will~]

(I’m fine now, thank you for asking! Thankfully didn’t end up needing to go, but I took what was going on as a sign to chill out for a moment—I didn’t expect to be gone and inactive for as long as I have been though. At the end of the day health comes first, so to make a long story short; I was having some really painful complications that I don’t really know where it was coming from—I have a few guesses, but not entirely sure??? I’m feeling a lot better physically, and the break was needed. Thank you again for the care and y’all’s patience, I have some cool things in the works!)

A Sweet Alliance 

Choco Werehound Brute/Shwarzwälder x reader

[Warning/notes- He/her pronouns when referring to Choco Werehound Brute (I do make the rules here after all darlings~), More headcanon-ish territory?]

On the surface, it’s a surprise to many that Shwarzwälder and you works so well together; the two of you essentially becoming business partners fairly quickly, but those that work more closely have come to realize how unsurprising it is.

You find Choco Werehound to be a bit of a dork; but she’s your dork, so you don’t really mind much of his antics—in fact, you’re all too willing to lend a hand when asked when asked. Initially it is mainly out of a hidden sense of obligation, to assure that everything is according to plan—but quickly morphs into genuine care for your beloved cake brute… and a possible interest in stirring up just the slightest bit chaos… just a tad.

Choco Werehound Brute is extremely confident in his abilities, and very eager to show off (more with you around) which means working with him often entails you talking her down from an outrageous idea; did I mention that she’s quite stubborn? Choco is incredibly headstrong and a little quick to react, It’s not anything personal though—it’s just this cake brute doesn’t take too kindly to be underestimated, and that mixed with her actual ability to back that up most of the time means that you two are getting into trouble consistently. You end up being a bit of a diffuser, reeling him in when he’s in over his head; after all, the last thing you need is for your friend to be out of commission.

You might be a little surprised by this, but I actually don’t believe that you two with spar very often, if at all—Shwarzwälder is a little ditzy, but is no fool and understands that you two are not on the same level of strength. Besides, he has no intentions on fighting his favorite cookie friend; obviously you two work better together and you makes her really happy so that’s reason enough!

Absolutely oblivious, you guy’s growing relationship could literally slap him in the face and he would not be the wiser; If you two don’t become business partners after an established romantic relationship, you will be waiting purely because his lack of awareness of his own feelings. This poor silly hound is completely unfamiliar with the premise, so it takes a lot for her (and some convincing from outside forces) to actually just outwardly confess.

And it’s not even purposeful either, it’s probably just… came out—one day while you two were simply talking, Choco being uncharacteristically timid; when she suddenly just blurts it out that she thinks that you’re super cute and really likes you! Choco Werehound Brute only grows more flustered as you chuckle at his confession, before admitting that you really like him too, and that you also think he’s pretty. What you don’t note is how endearing it is to see your big bad business partner reduced down to a flustered mess; it was cute, but letting her know that would only make it worse so you’ll be nice… for now.

At first, the two of you would be seen often together; but there were many occasions where the two of you could and would work alone, once you two are in relationship? Absolutely not, you two are attached at the hip. It’s to a point where it almost feels wrong when the two of you aren’t together.

Furthermore, if you think I’ve described any other cookie as protective, wait until you see this secretly mushy hound. Choco Werehound is actually very caring, just bad with his words; but you find it more charming than troublesome, and because you have already worked together so frequently—you’ve learned to pick up on what she’s trying to communicate regardless of how well it came out.

Cuddling is frequent, though Choco definitely gets embarrassed with lots of PDA surprisingly. That’s only if he thinks about it for too long though, he has no shame in loving you; just flustered by the fuzzy feeling he gets when he’s with you, and by how much his tail wags when you’re around. Sometimes Shwarzwälder will just, forget where you two are and pull you in to nuzzle her head into your neck… only to remember that you’re were not in the safety of your own home. A bit embarrassed, he’ll start sputtering an explanation or just threatening the poor cookie into silence; they didn’t see anything. Unbeknown to your silly werehound, you’re fighting back a smile as you watch the own ordeal go down.

Definitely picks you up and spins you around when she’s particularly excited or celebrating your victories triumphantly. While we’re on the topic, Choco Werehound Brute absolutely brags about you whenever he gets the chance unapologetically. You two are obviously so amazing that even The Witches tremble before you.

Although even the best need to retreat, not every fight can win and sometimes you have to acknowledge when it’s a good time to call it quits… this is easier said than done for Shwarzwälder, so you definitely use your knowledge of her to pull her away from any battle that seems too much for even you both; She’ll pout for a bit, but the second the two of you wrap up blanket together? He’ll quickly cheer up as you eat snacks together while planning how you’ll get back at said cookies.

All bets are off in regards to you getting injured. Choco Werehound can be an absolute unit, and every cookie in a 5 mile radius of you will rule the day—they have some nerve after all. Choco practically bulldozes through any and all obstacles to get to you, checking on you while also watching your back—if you’re just slightly injured, but can still hop in the fight; you two are back-to-back fighting, but if you’re too injured to move or worse unconscious? There will be hell to be paid. Once that over, or you’re in such bad condition she needs to prioritize your safety, she’ll run you to the nearest healer or give you something to help. Shwarzwälder, once he knows that you’re okay, relaxes before sniffling; her head in your lap, talking about how she was super worried that you wouldn’t get up for a second and that you’re his favorite cookie so he needs you to not do that again.

Before you know it, you end off your day snuggled up together; his large frame wrapped around you as if trying to protect you even in her sleep. How mushy.