#just manifests in different ways i think

[thelastsarahbender]

ben🤝 hi: using their bodies as human shields to protect their friends

[yuechicake]

traits in other people that the touchstarved characters dislike on a visceral level:

vere: empathy. vere used to be a god, false or not, so for someone to try to condescend him by saying they understand him, or, worse, that they feel bad for him... it rankles his pride and sets his teeth on edge. how far the mighty have fallen for ants to pity someone they used to cower before.

mhin: indulgence. mhin hates their monstrous nature and monstrosity by extension, so they despise seeing people indulge in monstrosity. to revel in something so unnatural, so wrong, when they've done their best to contain what they can and control what they can't--no wonder mhin can't stand vere and ais.

leander: superiority. leander is always in charge, whether it's through charisma, overt leadership, or more shadowy schemes. if he acts weak, then it's usually a facade and part of some plan he has in mind. so to truly face something he can't win, something that far outclasses him... it's a reminder of his own powerlessness, and he despises an unwinnable challenge.

ais: ease. ais loves a bloody challenge. the more it pushes him, the better, so when a fight comes easily, when someone succumbs without a struggle, when the win is just handed to him, it bores him to an intolerable degree. softness to the point of rot: it's the one thing that he can't truly stand.

kuras: decadence. kuras has always been a shepherd who guides his wayward flock. as someone who believes in his own guilt and his need for repentance, he truly can't understand those who are selfish, those who are cruel, those who live by their own whims without considering the world around them. it's distasteful, and far too short-sighted.

[starry-bi-sky]

12AM late night danyal al ghul propaganda to consider (that is funny to me): this little brat being meaAN. nice twin danyal al ghul: great, fun, we love opposite twins. wonder where he's learning that kindness from, but it's a good dichotomy! but also mean danny fenton. this little shit can make an adult CRY. he is on par with Damian for most venomous barbs. he is a smarmy little motherfucker. he's nice to his people and HIS people only. everyone else can screw off for all he cares - he's gotta learn to care about other people. his canon sarcasm and wit goes from level 2 to level 10. he is a sarcastic, smarmy, witty little asshole and i could go on but the idea of danny fenton being a mean little menace to people is very very fun and amusing to me

[myrmica]

its so funny that all minute—the guy who once upon a time hoped to redeem zam—'s team has accomplished is getting him to consider giving up his remaining honor in order to match the level they're playing on ?

[freakinator]

thinking about kab and the thing about her i think is she knows just enough to keep herself safe Generally but not enough to really predict what would happen should something more... complicated??? unforeseen??? idk whats the right word to use but something not covered by someones reputation and/or vids happen, believe it or not this also affects her view of clownpierce (we'll get to that)

for example, mapicc has a reputation for being an violent, angry, & impulsive guy and nothing else which makes sense but is incredibly surface level and something that only really works if you dont have a lot of experience working with him

another is reddoons, his betrayal after the base incident while shocking is not unforeseen but his reputation as being a guy whos seen as being a reasonable person whos fairly loyal to his team made it seem like something he wouldnt do even tho it absolutely is

regarding how it affects her view of clown, since he isnt perfectly aligned with his reputation she instead pivots in the complete opposite direction and forgiving basically every crime he does even tho hes something much more mild and complicated than either his reputation or her view of him will ever be (think madonna-whore complex which is especially obvious when it comes to kabs vs woogies view of him)

another side effect of this Just Enough amount of knowledge aside from being blinded by her own expectations is that it frustrates ppl who think shes oversimplificating things (like me and seemingly several other tumblr users as well) especially when she claims that shes objectively correct and the smartest in the room at any given moment

how this roughness in her analysis affects her in the server still has yet to be fully seen but we do still have at least a couple months until the end but 'til then shes just gonna keep stumbling as more and more complicated situations pop up as is typical in lifesteal to happen and eventually shes gonna have to learn to adapt or else she'll be suffering the consequences one way or another

[kikizoshi]

Sun and Moon as Two Broken, Overcompensating Parts of a Whole

I think treating Sun and Moon as opposing coping methods in the same person/body could be an interesting slant to the Daycare Attendant. Where Moon is the part of the DCA that needs them to stop, to rest, they can't keep going on like this. And Sun is the part of the DCA that can't stop no matter what, that has to keep things together, that can't let them rest because the moment they relax everything will fall apart. The need for rest vs the need for progress, acted out in two personalities in one body. Neither are fully right, and neither are fully wrong. They can't give up and succumb to their circumstances (Moon), but they can't keep burning themselves out trying to shove broken pieces back together (Sun). And actually, both are making what the other needs a hostile option. Sun needs to rest, but he can't because the moment he does, Moon will shove him down forever. Moon needs the drive to keep going, but Sun is actively burning them out and making it so excruciating that Moon can't even consider trying. Since neither can reach true peace solely with their own methods, they overcompensate with their faulty coping mechanisms and spiral almost past the point of no return.

That's why merging into Eclipse finally gave them peace. Because together, they have the ability to rest, take things calmly and slowly, not succumb but allow space to breathe. Whereas apart, they literally split at the seams; Sun will forever keep trying to run and Moon will forever keep trying to stop. Crucially, because both are a part of a whole--they'll never be able to operate on their own entirely because they each need the other to be their whole self. Which is literally what Eclipse is. Yin and Yang slotted together.

(This post is a mix of speculation and ideas for how the DCA works in a narrative. It's not meant to be a lore analysis or 100% canon-accurate, just to work from a story perspective.)

[catwouthats]

Tolkien fans can be so bigoted that I’m always surprised whenever I open up LoTR and find that it’s a story about BIPOC coded little people saving the world from evil (with the help of an old ass little person who has DID bc of the horrors) and also a Native man getting his right to his ancestors land.

[zytes]

neucypher

[ambrosiagourmet]

Demons are Kaiju and dungeons are breach points that can technically be sealed but often need to be fought back over a long period of time. Elves invented Jaegers but have trouble piloting them because living so long and having so much history makes drifting a lot harder (there's more to get lost in - two mature elves trying to drift are bringing a combined 200+ years of baggage to the connection, between them). It's also hard to mitigate this by having short-life/long-life drifts bc there's so much prejudice against short-life species among the elves.

So they outsource the "privilege" to short-life species, recruiting and training them, forcefully if necessary.

Demons are wildly known about on a surface level, but there are still things the elves keep secret, like the fact that all demons are tied to the same creature, and that this creature works with humans in much the same way that humans drift with each other to fight it.

[not-poignant]

Thank you for writing Palmarosa! You write Astarion’s trauma so beautifully and I’m so excited to read more. For you, what is the most fun to write about for Palmarosa?

Hi anon!

I enjoy the interplay between Astarion and Raphael the most, but I have to be careful with it. Too much where Astarion and Raphael are getting along, and the tension fades and Raphael becomes just like... 'cute soft devil man' lol, and too little isn't good either.

But mostly I just enjoy writing them talking or spending time together, whether that's tense or fraught or calm or painful or terrifying or fun. Getting them both in a room together and forcing them to interact makes me happy :D

[karouvas]

Sorry (not) but I find anyone who acts like Blue is making something out of nothing when she’s mad Adam’s first question is about the kissing to be like. Deeply suspicious. Of course she is mad that’s the first thing he asked her! They’ve been walking on eggshells around each other and not really communicating since the last aborted kiss attempt which is on both of them to some degree, but when he comes around to her it’s only for this and when she has so many fears and insecurities about not properly belonging in the gang because she’s a girl (which is founded based on the fact aside from Noah they’ve all been misogynistic towards her at some point even if it was passive) and not being respected, when she’s also an outsider at home because of a different thing she can’t control. And you can not say that her feeling Adam is treating her like a thing to have and not a person he connects with is unfounded he again literally “I got Blue without you!” screamed at Gansey, consistently going to her after they fight (he did it end of TRB after repugnant too) to validate himself or just generally when he’s falling apart looking for validation from her like in the apartment scene. It’s not a bad thing to seek validation from your partner and in TRB before I’d say the last quarter I think Blue and Adam were genuinely connecting and developing a friendship while also exploring their feelings/attractions to each other, which did always have elements of seeking escape or validation for both of them in different ways, but it’s dissolved into that so much now. And I do think Blue is to some degree mad at Adam because he’s here and available to be mad at when she’s also mad at Gansey for it (I don’t think they’re *in the wrong * for not inviting her but they are in the wrong for not even considering she could want to go or at least want to be in the loop, also even though it’s Gansey’s party if Adam is trying to be her *boyfriend* it was kind of his place to ask her) so she’s conveying anger at Adam when the anger is for both of them, and also more general factors she’s frustrated by, but also Adam has the exact same response of channeling emotions that aren’t solely about Blue through their fights (and to his credit he is self aware that he does this) so again crucifying Blue for it is whack imo. Also to check myself on shipper-brain for the Adam-Gansey aspect of it, well obviously I read that here as a factor because I’m me, but for arguments sake on the premise Adam has No feelings about Gansey that are anything other than platonic Blue would still have a right to be mad about him prioritizing his platonic male friends over her and treating them with more respect, obviously, because misogyny exists (also these are not two contradictory readings in that I think they’re both factors. Signed an Adam Stan).

[lycanr0t]

the thing about aplatonicism is that just like aromanticism and asexualism, it doesn't inherently mean you don't want friendships, every individual apl person has different needs and wants in regards to friendship and each person will go about it differently.

I for example am aplatonic and don't specifically feel platonic attraction as in, i don't feel a drive to befriend people. I don't get "friend crushes" or ever get the desire to befriend specific people. I am personally, very open to the possibility of friendship if someone else approaches me and we vibe. I am not platonically attracted to them, but I also do get enjoyment from socializing with others in that way and can become attached to them, etc. Platonic attraction does not equal caring about someone/being good to them. Attraction is not moral in that way. it just is.

Just like how some ace people still enjoy sex, even without sexual attraction. Some aplatonic people still enjoy friendship, and some don't. And that's okay! There are so many types of relationships out there that people can form and explore what makes them happiest and it looks different for every person and that's such a wonderful thing.

[dullahanblorboposting]

Hmmm I do enjoy the large amounts of feral toxic and obsessive violence flavors of durgetash around but its not my preference, like. I crave the 'horrible awful worst people youve ever met are soft for (ONLY) eachother' dynamic. What if, given the opportunity, they really WOULD rule together side by side, and they really do secretly and shamefully yearn for that comfort together. What if they almost indulge in it sometimes. AAAAAAAAAA

I really love the star-crossed lovers, forbidden romance, mutual yearning, tragedy of the only person to ever know you, and even openly like you being a temporary co-conspirator but ultimately your sworn enemy you you know you must kill.

Maybe it's just circumstantial. Maybe in another life you really would have hated him, or worse, had no feeling towards him either way at all, but that's not your reality. Your reality is that he's the ONLY ONE that offers you a painful glimpse of normalcy. Or as close to normal as someone like YOU could get. And it's so tempting (comforting even? Is that comfort?) That you can't ignore it. No matter how much guilt and shame it brings, no matter how much fear you hold towards your Father. You can control your urges, but not this? This feeling, this longing is stronger than even your deepest nature as child of Bhaal, so much so that you can't control it. So you ask for forgiveness instead. With promises that in the end, the result will be the same. You will kill him all the same. He will die at your hand, before only you, yourself.

You justify it this way. To the temple. To Father. To yourself.

Death is the only way this could end anyway. Because could you really go on living the way it was before? Before being known, accepted, liked as you were?

[hephaestuscrew]

The most dramatic action that Minkowski takes towards Eiffel in the finale (sending him back in the Sol) is going against Eiffel's choices in an attempt to prevent him coming to harm. In contrast, the most dramatic action that Hera takes towards Eiffel in the finale (the memory-wipe) is causing him to come to harm in order to enact a choice that he's made.

In a sense, these actions are conceptual opposites. But they are both taken with love and respect for Eiffel. They are both extremely selfless actions which Minkowski and Hera find painful to take.

They are also both actions which could be considered to be harming Eiffel. Both of these actions involve doing something to Eiffel that Minkowski/Hera would hate to have done to them. And both of those actions are taken with the awareness that they are fairly likely to result in losing Eiffel in a sense (either because he's headed back to Earth while Minkowski is on the Hephaestus, or because he's losing part of what makes him him). That's part of what makes those acts painful and complicated and significant.

Minkowski and Hera both care about Eiffel so deeply, and their care often expresses itself in contrasting ways because they are very different people. The finale emphasises these different manifestations of their care. Love can be 'I will do whatever I can to keep you safe, even when that's not what you want'. Love can also be 'I will support the choices that you make to bring about our common goal, even when that causes you harm'. The way Minkowski's care for Eiffel manifests is tied up in her sense of responsibility for her crew's safety. The way Hera's care for Eiffel manifests is linked to how she's had to fight for her own autonomy.

Neither of their actions in the finale are perfect or typical expressions of love, but in their very different ways, they both act with love, and that's important to me.

[anneapocalypse]

See because I enjoy making things Worse, my interpretation of Justice's issue with Handers in light of his romantic aspirations in Awakening isn't that Justice truly thinks romance itself is a distraction, but that he's jealous of Hawke. 🙃

[impossiblepluto]

hi! sorry, no pressure for my favourite author and all, but I just can't live anymore with this pressure of uncertainty and sadness every time phone notification from my mail is not from ao3 about it.. so I need to ask is there any plans for a chapter 2 of Adversary + Antigen? it has such a great chapter 1, magically written and fabulous plot, can't get it out of my head and still waiting chapter 2 so so much :)

Hey hey friend,

First, I just wanted to mention how excited reading your ask made me feel! Definitely put a smile on my face to hear that you're anxiously awaiting an update, I am too. Even as I was writing the first allergy fic, I was already kind of thinking about what Murdoc might do with that information and how he would choose to torment Mac with it. I am so pleased with how the first chapter turned out. It has more depth, emotions, repercussions than I envisioned when I started daydreaming.

And then I just kind of intimated myself out of finishing it.

It'll be okay, I'll get through it. I just have to panic about it a little first, it's part of my process.