#please for the love of god come over

[kath-artic]

digging my nails into the table i need to fuck this guy.

[welcometogrouchland]

Disgustingly messy and crusty sketch dump but I couldn't get my own terrible theory out of my head and ended up making a bunch of sketches about it. Also at the end a bonus dickbats and Damian doodle bc I was reading an issue of their Batman and Robin run (IDs in Alt)

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

world's most annoying man is not allowed outside due to his inability to shut up

[knowlesian]

not to project like a motherfucker on natalie berzatto but ohhhh boy the impact of a narrative that says “hey, is your desire to make sure everybody around you is okay also about you? and could that perhaps be partially a maladaptive trauma response you should look into and maybe mitigate? because if it’s a genuine question that’s fine, but if the only answer you will respond well to hearing is yes that’s a You Issue Too, Babe”

[skitskatdacat63]

I feel unwell

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Do you think Wei wuxian listens to weezer?

I don't know...I don't know...I really don't know.....

[octylish]

welcome to the scythehammer store. we sell scythe . we sell hammer /ref

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[kidvoodoo]

Yall think blond Jere is insane, I was there when THIS happened…

[aeviann]

Ouroboros blorbos,,,, Ouroblorbos even,,,,,,? I've been rotating them in my mind so much

(Things I want you to take away from this: - we have been robbed of the boob window in the flash fencer class outfit for the guys and I will not stand for that - Taion radiates maximum magical girl (gender neutral) energy in the incursur outfit and I love that for him - why does Noah sometimes look like he hasn't slept for 3 days my guy has bags under his eyes fr)

[ribbittrobbit]

this is it, the wuvvy thoughts are here

ok to preface: i think that Rue is a very compelling flawed character, and i have lots of Rue feelings but I have more Wuvvy feelings.

Alright so Wuvvy is Rue's faithful right hand, she has shaped her life around Rue, following them and leaving her own court and giving up a position as a champion. Notably, Wuvvy has always willingly done everything Rue has asked, maybe even done more than that to the point of anticipating their needs, maybe that liberty will lead to her downfall. She repeatedly reassures Rue, of her love and support in pretty much anything and everything. The phrase "you know i love you, right?" is such a beautiful and tragic summary of her character.

Because she reassures them of her love by word and by action - and the rift is caused when Rue commands her. Up until that point Wuvvy was supportive of Rue's interest in Hobb, maybe not thinking too deeply about it, maybe just to validate Rue's feelings and make them feel good. But when she was made to burn the letter, something breaks. She would have done what was asked of her, but to be commanded at the slightest and maybe first hesitation Wuvvy has ever shown? and when Wuvvy's questions aren't even against Rue, she is deeply in favor of Rue chasing their happiness, she only expresses grief when they doubt themselves. That strikes me as deeply grave betrayal, to command a willing person whose only hesitation was fuelled by good intentions. And an argument can be made that maybe Wuvvy harbors jealousy but I think any of it comes after this moment, any doubt comes back to this command.

So she takes a liberty and acts in the name of Rue's honor, challenging Hobb to a duel for the offence of making them cry.

And Rue, Rue who believes in love and romance but is also volatile and confused and full of secrets and fear. Who is a master of weaving words and placating and putting on a show and putting the correct face on for whoever sees them. Rue chases romance, sheds their glamour, and still leans on Wuvvy for support in the midst of this rift: "but you'll stay by my side" and it's a statement, not a question. They remain assured of Wuvvy's support, why wouldn't they be? when they've been frequently reassured of Wuvvy's undying devotion and love. And what does Wuvvy say in return? "It's been very nice to walk beside you" and maybe that's the problem.

And we see the distance grow between them, they start to be out of sync. Rue says their thing about wanting Wuvvy to learn to exist, being worried that she is "bound by obligation and not love" and what does that even mean? what does that sound like to someone who has taken on obligation out of love? What does Rue expect Wuvvy to find by "existing", romance? why would they presume that?

And the final thing is "your contract is done, you are no longer bound by me". Oh to drop that on a person who does not view this as a contract. Imagine Wuvvy having the most important person in her life so solemnly say something that shows such a profound misunderstanding of her person.

Maybe they are both selfish and their relationship is needlesly complicated by unwavering devotion and inequality. In the end we see Rue chasing romance and the idea of love and being volatile and passionate. And Wuvvy loved a person or the idea of them, never making for a real understanding, never forming a true reciprocity.

tldr: a 10/10 tragedy of a person, wuvvy.

[averageclawcodeenjoyer]

"My cat won't let me get anything done"

And then it's just a picture of Ganke sleeping on Miles's chest while he's struggling to use him as a table for his sketchbook.

^^^

[tsukasalover]

This is the exact reason why I hate when people ask to go through my phone. Its always Tsukasa’s fault just remember that.

[camellcat]

WTFFF I thought thirteen would be my new girl crush love of my life heart eyes wife you-came-after-twelve-you-must-be-better-than-they're-all-saying bbygirl and then I had to sit down and watch as she told a man who (if he were not a murderer, of course) literally every regeneration before her would've LOVED and FULLY SUPPORTED that "the systems aren't the problem. how people use and exploit the system, that's the problem. people like you" </33333 !?!?

[marshmallowprotection]

Thank you Kait for the previous post! Honestly it baffled me a lot as well when I come across that kind of people. Saeran/MC will never be codependent in my eyes when this phone call literally exists on day 10 of his route. We're not even going through the AE yet. That's right people. He actually knows and learning how to make decision for himself/what he feels right instead of following other people's choices 😩😩

People want to believe what they want to believe, and at the end of the day, I don't want to waste my time or energy trying to convince other people that Saeran/MC isn't what they think it is.

If they don't see the way Ray Route and the RAE is setting up the clear narrative foils between V/Rika and Saeran/MC to show the differences between an unhealthy relationship where two people are obsessed with the idea of the other and run with that and a healthy one between troubled people who're trying their best to make sense of the world together and by themselves, I don't know if they will.

I'm not saying Mystic Messenger does the very best job at explaining many of these themes narratively, but I am saying if you read what's in front of you and think about it, the answers are there and it doesn't hide itself from you. If you're looking, you can see it.

However, I know a lot of people don't understand the complexities that exist between V and Rika, either. I get it, I know why people are fast to hate them for justifiable reasons, but if you don't understand the dynamics of their relationship, you gloss over a huge part of the story when it comes to what the game is exploring with Saeran and MC. I'm not telling people to care about V or Rika when I say that, I am saying that if you want to talk about toxic codependency, then your answer is V/Rika.

Maybe I have an easier time understanding the dynamic between V/Rika because there have been times where I've been like Jihyun, and that uncomfortable mirror has helped me become a better person. I am grateful to Jihyun for that. Someone wrote in my tags yesterday that V and Rika aren't about who is the perfect victim or the perfect abuser, they're two unhealthy people who are trying to cling to each other to cope in the most toxic way imaginable.

Neither of them will ever be wholly innocent as their actions hurt each other other and many of the people around them. Could we argue semantics on who did something "worse?" Yeah, you could argue that up and down because there's layers to the things both Rika and V have done. But the core of their relationship is built on unhealthy codependency. They cling to each other and as long as they do that, they'll continue to burn like a wildfire.

It's not healthy.

Jihyun even acknowledged how unhealthy it was in the RAE for him to shelter Rika. It's that awareness he has that makes me upset with him, because he'll destroy himself to keep his promise, and in doing so, destroys everyone around him because of it. Sometimes, you've got to understand that your dependency on another person isn't the healthiest thing. You have to make boundaries and start working on getting away from that dynamic, or you need to go and straight up leave.

Saeran and MC do not act and react to situations in the Good Ending the same way that Rika and V react and act to situations that they're thrust into. Saeran and MC are partners, they work together, confide in each other and make decisions based on trust. But, what they do is not based on what the other wants.

Your image shows that.

MC: Would you stop working with them if I asked you to stop? Saeran: To tell you the truth, no, I'll continue on. If it was before, I would've done what you told me to do, but, I want to persuade you now.

V and Rika don't communicate like that. V "shelters" Rika from what she has to face even though he knows it's wrong because he feels like that is the only way to prove he is giving 1000% of his life to ensure his mother didn't die for "nothing". Rika leans into the obsession she holds for Jihyun, continuing to view him as a God who will save her from her devil, even though she knows, deep down, he can't save her from her nightmares.

God. They drive me up a wall all the time but they are the ones we need to look at if we're going to talk about characters who have an unhealthy attachment to each other.

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

the amount of effort that goes into figuring out what to cook and eat every day is RIDICULOUS. i used to think people were so weird and boring for eating the same thing every single day but it truly does make life so much easier