#who i personally would love to study under a microscope

[brainoutofstock]

The accidental sugar baby for retired Simon...

It all began in a pub.

Most of your friends were already making their way home, but you decided to wait for your brother to pick you up as he was hanging out with his own friends nearby. But half an hour passed and he still wasn't there. It was only when you ordered another drink that he called you to say his car broke down and you should take a cab home.

With a groan, you took a sip of your cocktail and browsed your phone to see if you could call anyone. Being alone at home didn't sound like fun, but no one seemed to be available. Your ex, maybe, but he was trying too hard to get you back despite the terrible things he had done to you.

This guy who was tall and muscular, almost comically huge, sat on the bar stool next to you and watched you with a small smile, studying your every move as if you were under a microscope. You bit the inside of your cheek, suddenly unsure of what you should do now, because a part of you wanted to get away from this scary man, but there was another part, a much weaker and curious part that wanted to find out what he wanted.

“So you need a ride home?” he asked casually while he pointed at his empty glass and asked for another round of beer.

Was he listening to your conversation? What a creep. “I'll manage, thank you.”

He let out a deep laugh. “I wasn't offering to take you home. I drank a few beers so I don't drive tonight,” he informed you.

A responsible man. What a nice change. Some of your friends would hop in a car without hesitation. But if he wasn't offering a ride, what did he want from you? Before you could ask him, he typed something into his phone and put it in front of you.

“They specialize in taking women home at night. Female drivers only,” he told you, then took a big sip of his drink.

So he was trying to help you? “Thanks,” you said slowly as you opened the website on your phone. “Why are you helping me?”

“Can't risk a pretty thing like you getting in trouble on the way home.” He kept a pause, watching your surprised expression with an amused smile. “My friend's sister uses this method in Scotland. They can be found in all major cities in the UK.”

Only now did you notice those charming amber eyes of his, surrounded by long blond lashes. There was a scar on his chin, his nose looked like it had been broken at least once in his life, but these flaws made him strangely handsome. You felt a strong need to pry for information about him, to find out what he did for a living or if he had anyone waiting for him at home.

He finished the rest of his beer then stood up, not leaving you time to start a conversation now that you considered him trustworthy. “I'd better get going. Stay safe.”

The next time you met him was in the gym.

When you entered, there he was, having a chat with a guy at the reception, not noticing you until he heard you speak to the receptionist next to them. You asked for a monthly pass, but only then realized you left your bag in the car, the only thing you had was your duffel bag on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry, give me a few minutes, I'll go grab my stuff from the car,” you told the young woman with an apologetic smile.

“Lizzie, let me take care of it,” the man from the bar spoke up, pulling out his phone from the pocket of his jeans to pay.

You quickly shook your head and reached out to push his hand away. “No need, I park right outside, I will be–”

But he interrupted you with a smile. “Don't worry about it, love.”

It was clear that arguing would be pointless, so you nodded and quietly thanked him. Once he paid and you finished the registration, he said goodbye to his friend, then began to walk to the locker rooms with you on his side.

“First time here?” he asked as he looked down at you. You nodded. “Need someone to work out with? I have fun helping newbies.”

“I went to another gym until now, but the new owner ruined the place,” you explained.

He let out a thoughtful hum. “Then why did you ask for the personal training option?”

“Having someone to push me helps.”

“Like I said, I'll gladly help. Cheaper than a personal trainer,” he added when he stopped in front of your destination with his arms crossed. “Come on, let's change then meet here. If you don't like it, you can ask for a personal trainer.”

You agreed with a defeated sigh. When you saw him a few minutes later in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top, you couldn't help but gulp. You knew he was in a good shape, but those muscles made you weak. He looked like an ancient Greek god, a sight that burned into your brain and you knew you would have some dirty dreams at night.

As it turned out in the following hour, he was right. Working out with him was good, he was truly patient and doing rounds together helped you focus on your goal. So you agreed to meet again in a few days, and you found out his name was Simon.

After a week or two, he asked if you wanted to have a drink with him in the pub where you met. He paid for everything. Then the drink turned into dinner. Once again, he paid for the meal. Then he bought you smart watch since you didn't have one, saying you needed one to track your workout. Then he got you new earbuds. “The ones you have are a piece of crap, this is way better,” he explained the purchase.

But if you put these gifts aside, you had to realize he was a truly nice guy. A little rough around the edges, sure, but once he warmed up to you, he acted like a real guard dog. Some guy tried to flirt with you despite you already saying you weren't interested? He would be by your side in a second and ask, “Is everything all right, love?” Whoever tried to bother you left right away.

You began to fall for him, but you didn't want to ruin whatever you had going on. Maybe with time he would make a move on you. Maybe he would show any sign of his interest in you.

But when he rented you an apartment after your landlord broke your lease, keeping a set of keys to make sure you could ask for them in the event of losing your own, you realized this was something you would have never expected to happen. You became a sugar baby.

[eyes-of-nine]

I know it's completely not the point but like wtf was the plan for the xianle throne after xie lian's first ascension??? for a bunch of ppl so sure their crown prince was going to ascend and become a god they didn't really worry about a lack of a second crown prince (you know just in case) yeah sure they didn't last long enough to really have to properly think about it but like who were they going to put on the throne????? FUCKING QI RONG????? bc that would go great??!? HUHH????drought, famine, war and plague aside that kingdom was doomed from the moment xl ascended 💀💀

[puppyeared]

Ouhhhh friendship I love friendship……..

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Come on, you know you want to, give us the character bingo for Viktor.

don't mind if i doooo

[flovverworks]

after a billion yrs i added a lil line about my gbf verse.....<3 one day i might flesh it out to something in-universe, but since gbf is so "oh ure from another world? ya that happens..." i....am gonna keep w that..........(also cuz i do think discussing the different ways of magic, moon-enemy & this n that is more fun like this

[azzibuckets]

Paper Rings [Part 3/10 | Paige Bueckers]

Paige Bueckers x fem!reader

Summary: part 3 of the paper rings series! some insight into paige and reader’s friendship before everything happened

A/N: some fluff and fillers before the angst gets real 💔💔

word count: 1.9k

masterlist w/ all parts

FLASHBACK: 1 YEAR AGO

“Is this yours?”

You had been rummaging through Paige’s closet, looking for a clean oversized shirt to wear to sleep. You two often slept over at each other’s place, to the point where your clothes were so mixed up you guys basically shared the same wardrobe. Unfortunately, Paige wasn’t the most organized person, so you were huffing and puffing as you hunted through the piles in the drawers.

The shirt you were holding up had LVN Volleyball Camp splayed across the front, so you knew it definitely wasn’t Paige’s. It was really big though, so you were curious as to whose it was. Just to know if you could wear it or not, you convinced yourself. Not because you were trying to confirm your fears - that this was another girl who Paige had held that wasn’t you.

Paige didn’t look up from her phone when you asked your question, so you crumpled the shirt up into a ball and tossed it at her head. You were no basketball player, but the balled up shirt smacked her on target, right in the face, and you fought back a self satisfied smile.

Paige finally looked up, giving you one of her soft smiles that tugged at your heartstrings. You loved when Paige looked at you like that, all gentle and affectionate, with half of her mouth turned up into a close mouthed grin that you knew so well.

“The shirt,” you gestured at it.

“Oh.” She looked down, unfolding the shirt and studying it before giving out a laugh. “Shit, sorry, that’s Stacy’s. I don’t know how it ended up in my closet. She was just here yesterday.” She folded the shirt into a neat little square and placed it next to her on the bed. “We must’ve been getting a little bit too wild,” she smirked, waggling her eyebrows at me.

Your heart sunk. Yesterday? You mean, you knew Paige talked to a lot of people, but she usually didn’t talk much about it, probably because she knows you get grossed out with too many details. Your chest stinging, you went to sit on the bed next to her. You didn’t wanna find a shirt anymore. All you wanted to do was go to sleep after a long day.

“What’s up? What’s got you being so emo?” Paige got down to lie her head in your lap, looking up at you with her bright blue eyes. Her was nose scrunched slightly, in the way that she does when she’s happy, and she reached up to play with the ends of your hair, twirling the strands between her fingers.

“Nothing. Just tired and moody,” you lied. You drummed your fingers against your thigh.

Paige smirked. “You really need to get laid, Y/N,” she laughed.

You managed to muster out a weak half smile in response to her words, trying to shove down the itchy pain that rose in your heart. “Shut up, Bueckers.”

“Make me.”

You rolled my eyes at her senseless teasing. “You’re such a flirt,” you groaned. Pushing her off your lap, you got up to look for your charger. You could feel Paige’s eyes on you as you moved about her room. Her legs were splayed out, and she was slumped on the bed. You hated when she did that, just looked at you. It felt like she was studying you all bare under a microscope.

The dynamic between the two of you had definitely shifted since last month, ever the drunken incident on the Big East championship night. You had mumbled apologies the morning after, when she had swung by before practice to make sure you were alright. She didn’t really listen to them, shoving you in that good natured way and assuring you that you guys were “chill like that” and that she could never be really mad at you.

But ever since then, there’d been a tension between the two of you. It spiked in moments like this, where she would start shamelessly flirting with you, trying to get a rise out of you. You didn’t mind much, per se, until you really thought about it and realized there was no meaning behind her flirting. But that was a disappointing reality you were trying to ignore.

“Come back to bed,” Paige called out. This time, you couldn’t tell if she’d meant for it to sound so sexual, but you crawled back into the bed where Paige was bundled up under the sheets.

“You look like a kid,” you giggled, “all wrapped up like a burrito.”

Paige rolled her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. You felt her grab your waist and pull you closer so now you were both under the mountain of blankets and pillows she had formed. “You’re so warm,” she mumbled sleepily, pressing her forehead against your shoulder.

Both of you knew this was not how normal best friends slept together have a sleepover. But neither of you cared. This was where you felt most comfortable in the world, with Paige’s arm slung across your chest and one of her legs intertwined between yours. Her face was buried in your neck now, and her hair tickled your cheeks.

You could get used to this forever, you thought as you went to sleep.

——————————

Your heart thrummed with anticipation. Today was the day UConn would face off against Louisville in the Final Four of March Madness. You missed Paige; the last time you saw her was when you slept over two days ago. Ever since then, she’d be busy, understandably so. Basketball was her life, and she dedicated all of herself to the sport in times of competition like this.

Paige had gotten you a court-side ticket using one of the family spots allotted to her. Only her dad, step-mom, and Drew could make it to the game; her mom’s side of the family were on a vacation in Spain. On one side of you was Drew, who was happily bouncing in his seat, wearing one of his sister’s jerseys that was adorably big for him, and on the other side was Kayla, who’d gotten this game off but still wanted to watch anyways to support the girls.

As you watched the game, you oscillated between moments of pure joy and happiness when Paige sunk one of her 3s, moments of anger when one of the girls got fouled on without getting any calls for it, and moments of uncertainty when Louisville scored another point and the UConn girls tried to fight off their dejection from showing on their faces.

But you started to stay in the realm of uncertainty once Louisville started gaining, leading by 12 at the end of the third quarter.

“Are they gonna lose, Y/N?” Drew turned to you with a hopeful look in his eyes. You swallowed the knot in your throat. Basketball was everything to this team, and they’d worked so hard to get here. They didn’t deserve to lose, not when they were this close to the national championship.

“I hope not, buddy,” you responded quietly, and ruffled his hair. For the last quarter, Drew gripped your hand, swinging his legs anxiously as the game unfolded.

Despite the team’s best efforts, UConn fell to Louisville, 75-66, and the girls walked off the court, pain fresh in their eyes, their necks steeped with sweat and jerseys sticking damp to their chest. They moved tiredly, some of them being collected for brief post-game interviews while all of the others headed back to the locker rooms.

You made eye contact with Paige, and she pursed her lips, shaking her head sadly before slinging a towel around her neck and following the rest of the girls out.

“She looks so sad,” Drew’s voice was quiet next to you. You could tell he was upset too.

“It’s okay, buddy,” you assured him. “You know what? I bet they’re still selling the pretzels outside. Wanna come with me and see if they have any more churro bites?” Drew’s face lit up at that, and he eagerly shot up from his seat and grabbed your hand.

Paige’s dad, Bob, shot you a grateful smile. “We’ll find Paige, talk to her. You guys join us after, alright?”

You nodded, leading Drew out. To your luck, the pretzel stand had one more scoop of churro bites left that the man gave to you for free since they were closing down.

“Good, Drew?” You reached around him and stole one of the churro bites, popping one in your mouth.

“Y/N!” He groaned, sending me a fake glare. “Now you owe me.”

“I brought you all the way over here for pretzels and I owe you?” You gasped in offense, folding your arms and sending him a fake glare back.

He nodded solemnly. “Yeah. Now you owe me a piggy back ride.”

You laughed. “Okay, hop on,” you agreed, bending down. Drew cheered and jumped on your back, causing you to stumble forward. Both of you giggled as you straightened yourself, and you carried Drew all the way down to the locker rooms.

A security guard stood in the entrance to the hall of the locker rooms, a bored look in his eyes. As you tried to pass, he raised a hand. “Sorry miss,” he stated in a monotonous voice. “Players only.”

“It’s alright, she’s with me,” a voice called out. You looked up to see Paige at the end of the hall, her hair wet and tied up in a loose bun. Even after having just played a tough game, she looked unbelievably gorgeous, her cheeks rosy from the exertment from earlier.

“Paigey!” Drew clambered off my back and barreled into Paige, squeezing his little arms around her waist. Paige, ever the big sister, managed to push aside her feelings from the Final Four loss and look happy for Drew, whom she hadn’t seen in months.

“Hey, bud,” she said quietly, bending down to give him a proper hug. “I missed you.”

They talked in low tones for a moment, Paige smiling fondly at her little brother, before Azzi came along from the locker rooms and stole Drew away to meet the other girls.

Now it was just you and Paige in the hall. She stood up, and you moved to her. Before you knew it, she was in your arms, hugging you so tight you could barely breathe. You wrapped your arms around her, one hand coming up to play with the baby hairs at the nape of her neck, an effort to do whatever possible to comfort her.

“Hey,” you turned your head so your mouth was next to her ear. You whispered in her ear gently, “It’s not your fault.”

Paige drew back, her eyes glassy. Breathing shakily, she said, “All those 3s that I missed. Geno was counting on me. He said I had to step up since Azzi was injured, but I didn’t step up. I missed so many.”

I gripped her waist. “Look at me,” I said firmly. When she looked up to made eye contact, I brought my hands up to hold her face so that she couldn’t look away. “What about all the points that you did make? And all the plays you set up for your teammates? I don’t know much basketball, but I watched you out there, and you played with so much fierceness and grit. You played so goddamn good. Don’t be ashamed. At all.”

Paige reluctantly nodded, before pulling me into another hug. We stood there silently, her face buried in my neck and my arms hooked around her waist, until one of the UConn team assistants came bounding the hall.

“Uh,” he scratched his neck nervously as his eyes flitted between the two of us. “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for Paige to do press.”

Paige groaned. She stepped back, separating our bodies. “Come over later?” She whispered. “Please?” Her eyes searched mine, all hopeful. She was hurting, and hurting bad.

“Of course, P.” I squeezed her hand before stepping back too, letting the assistant shuffle her away to the press hall.

[koolades-world]

Can you go headcanons on how everyone would react to an MC who overcompensates when it comes to owing people stuff

Like(this is an over exaggerated example) someone could pick up a penny from the floor, hand it to them, and they’ll be like “Take my car as a thank you”

Personally, I believe Mammon would enjoy an MC like this haha

hi! of course :)

enjoy!

Mc who overcompensates when giving back

Lucifer

he's a little embarrassed early on

he used to almost try to brush all that under the rug

but once you get close, he doesn't mind anymore since he feels like it's just part of what make you you

he can never say no to a gift from you

Mammon

like anon said, he would love this person!

when he first meets you, he thinks this is great and takes every opportunity he can to take advantage of this since he’s basically the only one helping you out

but once he gets to know you, he starts to feel bad

only occasionally accepts your offers after you become close friends

Levi

your tendency to give back tenfold flusters him

all he did was make sure you stayed alive in the game! you’re his teammate, he needs you!

almost every time he refuses

unless the thing you’re giving him isn’t something he can say no to, like anything ruri related

Satan

he doesn’t understand that tendency of yours

from what he knows, humans are selfish creatures as he’s been summoned countless times to grant people very self centered requests

give this man a magnifying glass or microscope to study you under lol

he always feels like he has to stop you from doing this with strangers in public haha

Asmo

he thinks this is so adorable!

he knows how irresistible it is to want to give him your life savings

he actually starts giving you stuff back, like signed photos of himself and things he thinks will be cute in your room

this starts a loop of gifting things back and forth that's very hard to break and usually another brother has to end things for you haha

Beel

he's unsure how to feel in all honesty

but you always seem so earnest, so he feels bad saying no, especially when you tell him how much your thought about it

usually, it is something he can tell you thought about

he always offers to share with you if it's a snack, and if you say no, he simply pulls from his own stash to share with you

Belphie

when you first meet, he knows he can use this to escape his predicament in the attic

at first, he feels no guilt and just wants you to help him get out

but afterwards, once he realizes who he took advantage of and how much you meant to his brothers, and eventually him, he feels very bad

he'll never take anything from you again

[marimbles]

can i get an update on what is happening in the fandom nowadays?

I assume you mean the ML fandom? tbh I feel like I’ve just been floating on the fringes lately lol so I’m not sure I’m the best person to offer you a Full Report on the happenings of the ML corner of tumblr, but I’ll give it a shot! (FYI this is based on what I personally have been seeing most on my dash so I can’t tell how widespread some of these things are lol)

Buggachat finished the bakery enemies AU! <3

Anna-scribbles has had an Emilie Agreste obsession for several months because of her ongoing fic “thirteen”

the loveybug AU seems pretty popular and there’s a lot of cute art of it (I haven’t looked into it a ton but to my knowledge it’s an AU where Marinette embraces her giant crush on catwalker and creates her own alter-alter-ego called loveybug to shamelessly and anonymously flirt with him while wearing a cute pink costume with hearts on it)

There is either an increasing general obsession with Felix or like a few dedicated felix stans who continue to publicly study him under a microscope. either way I’m seeing a lot of felix lol

hamsternamedmarinette went on a crazy road trip across the USA and met a bunch of fandom people, including buggachat, ladybeug, anna-scribbles, isninoluka, and the clown formerly known as carpisuns (me lol)….or DID she? 👀

A lot of people have started rooting for adrinette to have a messy breakup in season 6—not because they hate the love square but because the drama would be interesting lol (I am one of those people, and Anna scribbles is feeding into my delusions that this could lead back to marichat lol)

There is a residual obsession with shadybug and claw noir from the Paris special back in October. Tbh I think this is the last really Big thing that happened so if you were there for that you probably haven’t missed much since then lol

I keep forgetting that there was a whole entire miraculous movie that came out last year bc the tumblr side of the fandom appears to have agreed to ignore it for the most part lol

There is a London special coming out sometime this year but I don’t think we have a date yet

No date for season 6 either but potentially end end of this year? or who knows! lol

I probably missed stuff so people can add more if they want haha

[the-s1lly-corner]

A bit of a specific idea, but I had a platonic idea for all of the characters in the Amazing Digital Circus—

Maybe all of them with a Wally Darling-like Reader? An example of such being Reader also speaking in a monotone voice that is both a little unsettling yet friendly at the same time, always making eye contact and never looking away, being able to eat things by blinking, being a lot more aware than they seem, greeting people individually anytime they enter a room, etc etc.

TADC cast x wally darling type! Reader !

Still stuck on mobile so this post may be a little short and whacky <\3 + I'll be relying on this ask for wallys personality since I cant open other tabs without risking deleting my progress on this <\3 + I've never touched welcome home 😭😭

CAINE:

Honestly, I don't know anything about welcome home as stated above, but I think Caine would have a lot of the same habits; namely the eye contact and I can also see him doing the blink eating...

The only difference is that hes way high energy

I think he would think that you're just a silly lil fella, an interesting little thang, wants to study you under a microscope..

Thinks its endearing how you greet everyone personally.. loves when you do it to him since it makes him feel special n appreciated

POMNI:

Overall pomni is going to need a lot of time to get used to the weirdness of the circus, and this applies to getting over the unnerving feeling she gets around you

Probably becomes speechless and does the face when you blink-eat

You know...

Just stares at where the food item once was... how did you do that...? What are you going to consume next? Why are you looking her in the eye like that?

..oh you're just telling her you enjoyed the snack you've brought

JAX:

As per usual I'm writing these all out of order, and I happen to be writing jax after I did zooble

I think jax wouldnt just think you're unsettling, I think he would think you're creepy

Now does he think you're a threat? Personally I don't think he would go as far as to classify you as such

Watches in horror as you blink and consume his sour gummy candies

Okay now this is war

You guys sometimes have unspoken staring contests, you usually tend to win them

Actually now that he thinks about it you dont seem to blink outside of eating...

RAGATHA:

"Oh, you're just a quirky lil fella!" Pretty much

Always thanks you when you greet her, she makes it a habit to greet you back when you enter a room

Tends to give you your favorite snacks, I think, but I think this can pass as a general hc rather than being specific to this post !

Little put off by the eye contact but does not turn away or show any discomfort; is able to push through it pretty well !

KINGER:

Okay so I know I mentioned some other characters being creeped out by the eye contact but I think kinger would be the most put off, asides gangle

But also I can totally see kinger having a staring problem; be it because hes lost in his thought and happens to be staring or some other thing

Accidental staring contests between you two/j

Feels like a real king when you personally greet him, probably bows a little and does a lil gesture with his hands before returning the greeting

Similar reaction as pomni when you blink-eat

Where did the food go??????

ZOOBLE:

I must admit, I think zooble would find you creepy, too <\3, or at least a little unsettling.. like sure they wont be mean to you unlike SOMEONE but they're a little put off by your odd behaviors

Though they would get accustomed to it in time, I think, especially since I have a whole "zooble ultimately doesnt care much about what's going as a means to cope w/ the digital circus as well as that just being their personality"

Does not like the eye contact, though; zooble seems like the type who wouldnt like eye contact... maybe I'm self projecting, though...

The eye contact definitely is what fed into the unsettling factor for them..

GANGLE:

The eye contact makes her so so nervous, she doesnt really have eyes the same way everyone else does but it still... makes her feel off

Similar to Caine she does feel nice when you greet her.. yes she knows out do it for everyone, but that doesnt dismiss the nice feeling she gets that someone is. Well being nice to her...

Shed like your voice, I think, oddly soothing and it's not too bold and out there.. not overwhelming, you know?

Not many ideas for gangle today <\3

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

You could totally ignore this, I’d completely understand, it’s not really what you typically write from what I can tell. This would preferably be a full HC thing, but I wouldn’t mind it being either mini or full.

But like, imagine, the MC is an absolute science nerd. Biology to be specific. Kinda fits into the mad scientist archetype or whatever with their personality too. Not an evil mad scientist, certainly not as extreme as Valdemar, just an odd little guy who really likes biology. And maybe them and Valdemar are chill with each other. Since both of them are absolute nerds.

Anyway, I think you’re blog is really cool. I love the way you write the Main 6.

The Arcana Mini-HCs: M6 with a biology nerd

Julian: birds of a feather. thanks to his medical experience, he's actually able to keep up with what you're saying most of the time and is so excited to have someone to trade theories of the body with!

Asra: intrigued by the weird and slightly horrific side of it. and how generally whimsical things look under a microscope, if they bring you a dragon scale would you help them look at it underneath one?

Nadia: she finds intelligence in general to be pretty attractive - especially when you're talking about something she isn't an expert in, for once. be prepared for biology infodumps to turn into makeouts

Muriel: as long as you're being respectful of the life you're studying, you have this big man's heart. if you tell him the weird and wonderful facts of the plants you pass on walks he'll fall in love all over again

Portia: cannot understand a word of what you're saying and doesn't care, because she likes seeing you smile when you feel supported. just ... no experiments in her kitchen, okay? she doesn't need to know

Lucio: he doesn't really get what it's like to have a thirst for academic knowledge, but your studies seems pretty harmless. until you do a dissection in front of him, and then he's morbidly fascinated

[mangoisms]

circle k (back to you)

summary: in which you're just the graveyard shift employee at circle k bombarded by vigilantes.

━ chapter two: it’s getting late | read chapter one

━ pairing: tim drake x f!reader

━ word count: 4.5k

━ warnings: none

━ masterlist

━ a/n: would be lying if i said this was for tim's birthday tmrw. it was rlly just because the reception to chapter 1 was so lovely and i also did this with my other tim fic—posting chapter 2 early, i mean. but we'll just have to work with this. happy early birthday tim you are annoying and i want to study you under a microscope <3

You expect Red Robin’s appearance to be a one-off thing. 

It is not. 

Instead, the next day, you get Black Bat. 

It jolts you from the phone call you’re having.

“—understand the temptation to tell them to screw off but I really don’t want to get… shot…”

You trail off, watching, wide-eyed as your newest vigilante customer steps into Circle K. 

Black Bat cuts an imposing figure, her suit made up mostly of inky black material, with a few accents of gold, the Bat symbol on her chest standing out the most. Her black cape flutters behind her, moving like a shadow. She looks the most like Batman, you think, with the cowl and the pointed ears. Except the eyes of the mask are black and the bottom of her face is completely covered—stitched closed. Considerably more creepy, you think, goosebumps breaking out over your skin. Though that could be the fan you have on, fluttering your hair as it makes a slow rotation.

“Hey, did you die or something?”

“No,” you mutter, watching, your heart starting to pick up as Black Bat comes up to the counter.

You aren’t sure what you expect, but it’s not—

“Do you have Red Bull?” Her voice is low and melodic. Not befitting of her… general aura.

Wordlessly, you point to the refrigerators at the back.

“Thanks,” she says, then she turns and walks away. You can only see the top of her head and the pointed ears of her cowl. A second later, you hear the suction-y sound of the refrigerator door being opened. 

A voice calls your name from the other end of the line. 

Your best friend, Stephanie Brown, who gave you a call to see how your summer break has been treating you. 

“Sorry,” you say, clearing your throat. “Just got distracted by something outside.”

“Something outside? That’s not reassuring. At all.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Like I was saying, I’m not gonna tell them that. It’s tempting but like I said, I don’t want to get arrested or some shit.”

“The charges wouldn’t even hold. It’s a free country. I can tell a cop to fuck off if I want to. That’s my god-given right.” 

“I appreciate the spirit, but I don’t think the GCPD would agree with you.”

“Well, the GCPD can kiss my ass.”

“You and me both, Stephie. You and me both. So, how’s, uh, Metropolis?”

“Metropolis is Metropolis. Brainiac nearly took control of the city yesterday but what’s new? Mom’s having a good time, though. Even if things are way overpriced over here. I mean, seriously. Eight bucks for a cup of coffee at this place we went to today. They’re crazy.”

Steph babbles in your ear for a few more minutes. Long enough for Black Bat to reemerge from the aisle, two cans of Red Bull and a bag of Takis and a pack of sour gummy worms in hand. You wonder who the second person is. Red Robin, maybe? 

He’d been odd about the hot chocolates. Odd in general. But that’s what you get with these vigilante types. 

No matter. You quickly focus on your current situation, giving Black Bat a small, embarrassed smile and pointing at the phone crammed between your shoulder and ear, mouthing Sorry. 

You shouldn’t be doing this on the job and you should’ve told Steph you had to go but quite frankly, you need the assurance of another person with you. Even if said person can’t do anything and is across the harbor in Metropolis on a mini-vacation with her mom. 

 Black Bat shouldn’t give you trouble about it. You hope. She just scares you a little more than Red Robin. Which is silly because he’s a guy and probably more potentially dangerous but. You know. Her suit is just… too similar to Batman’s, and he’s the one who scares you the most.   

Still, Black Bat just shrugs and waves a hand. “It’s fine.”

You nod your thanks, then scan everything and bag it. She pulls out a twenty dollar bill from her utility belt and you give her the change, which she promptly puts in the tip jar. A kind gesture, really, considering the twenty is a bit of an overshoot for her total, leaving you with a nice tip. 

You guess that if anything else, at least it’s nice that these vigilantes tip. 

After dropping the receipt into the bag, she takes it and waves at you. 

Mystified, you wave back. 

Then she steps out, cape fluttering behind her.

“Anyway,” Steph says on the other end as you focus on her voice again. “It’s pretty fun but I miss home. Can’t wait to be back in the city. We’re hanging out as soon as I do, by the way. How are things with you?”

Oh, you can’t keep it in. You have to tell her. 

“I saw the Flash two days ago.”

But she misunderstands.

“Oh, yeah,” she says. “I saw that in the news. ‘Cause of Trickster, right? Bet Batman wasn’t happy about that.”

“No,” you say. “I’m saying I saw him. Here. At Circle K. He dropped in to grab a bite to eat. I know you and Tim absolutely refuse to believe me when I say he visited me and that we’re friends—which, by the way, he totally reaffirmed when I saw him—but he was here.”

“We’re jealous, that’s all,” she says. “Just don’t want you running off with the Flash thinking he’s cooler than we are. Which, to be clear, he isn’t. Not me, anyway. Tim is up for debate.”

“Well, you’re about to be a little more jealous.”

“And why is that?”

“Because since he visited, weird shit has started happening.”

“Weird shit is always happening in Gotham. What is so special about this weird shit in particular?”

“Oh, he said something stupid to Red Robin—Red Robin came in a little while after he did, I guess they were working together to track down Trickster—anyway, he was talking about how I’m… scared of the Bats—”

“Are you scared of the Bats?”

You throw up a hand, though she can’t see it. “I have a healthy amount of fear and respect for them—and on that note, please don’t tell anyone else I’m telling you this.”

“Of course.”

“Right, well, Flash was just ragging him, you know? About how he has a better relationship with me, someone who doesn’t even live in Keystone or Central, than the Bats do.”

“So?”

“So,” you blow out a big breath, “Red Robin showed up yesterday to get some hot chocolate—”

“Hot chocolate?” Steph asks, disbelieving. 

“Yeah. He said it was a better alternative to coffee. Guess he’s not into energy drinks. Weirdo. The whole thing about it—weird. Like… I don’t know. He was just acting weird when he was asking if we had any.”

“… That is weird,” she says, an odd note to her voice. She clears her throat. “And then?”

“I knew why he was doing it so I told him he didn’t have to come around ‘cause he and the others obviously need to uphold a specific perception, right? Then he was all, Well, what does a civilian like you know about it? Can you believe they unironically call us that?”

Steph laughs. She laughs hard.

You wait it out, not entirely sure what or why she is laughing so hard but it’s not the first time she’s ever done that, so you can just let it go. 

“Okay,” she giggles. “Sorry. Keep going. What else happened?”

“He left. But then, y’wanna guess who just showed up right now?”

“Who? Batman?”

“God, no. It was Black Bat. She was nice enough. Gave me a big tip. Creepy suit, though.”

“What’d she’d get?”

“Two Red Bulls, a bag of Takis and a pack of sour gummy worms. Wonder who that second Red Bull is for. And the snacks. Red Robin realizing hot chocolate in June is weird? Hard to imagine him eating Takis, though. He’s probably like Tim, saying they’re ‘too hot’.”

Steph laughs again for a while.

“Oh, god, you’re killing me,” she gasps out when she calms.

You shake your head, rubbing your finger over a scratch mark in the counter. “I don’t know what is so funny but sure.”

“So, then, what? You think you’re just gonna some more vigilantes? ‘Cause it’s only been two so far.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” you grumble. “But it’s two. When previously, this has never happened.” 

“True! Well… any preferences? For who comes next?”

“Anyone but Batman, thanks.”

Your next visitor is not Batman.

It is, in a turn of events that makes a little more sense, the Signal.

A few days after your call with Steph, things are fine, until your manager posts to the team group chat about wanting someone for an afternoon shift, saying someone quit unexpectedly. Not one to say no to some extra cash, you latch onto the opportunity—even if it’s an admittedly questionable idea. You try not to work weekends to let yourself recuperate from sustaining your not-so-great sleep schedule. 

Anyway, you feel and look like a zombie, but you get your work done. 

“I can help the next person in line,” you call. 

A tall, broad-shouldered stocky older man with long blonde hair and blue eyes behind coke-bottle glasses steps up, armed with two large cups of coffee. The scrubs he wears clues you into some kind of healthcare position. 

“Hi, did you find everything—”

The door opens, your eyes automatically flickering to the movement, and your voice cuts out sharply as you realize who it is.

The Signal stands there a bit awkwardly for a moment as all of you look—the blonde man at the counter and the other man waiting in line.

“Hey, you!”

You flinch, tensing, already fearing a confrontation as the other man steps forward, pointing at the Signal. The one in question tenses, shoulders rising, like he’s preparing to fight. You hope not. That would be a lot of paperwork for you. It’s the manager’s, technically, to report any damage done by vigilantes, but they always give it to you or the other employees on the floor.

But it is not as you feared. Instead of picking a fight, the man… thanks him?

“You’re the Signal, right? Right? You saved my son a few months ago from some muggers following him home from school. Thank you, man. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough. He wouldn’t be here with me if it weren’t for you,” the man says, holding out a hand.

“Hey, man,” Signal says, reaching out to shake his hand. “It was nothing. I’m glad I was there to help.”

“Are you here to buy something? Let me cover you. Please. It’s the least I can do—”

“Oh, you really don’t need to—”

“That went better than expected.”

The soft-spoken voice brings you out of your thoughts and you belatedly realize you still have a customer to take care of. But when you look at him, he is watching the Signal try to tell the other man that he doesn’t have to pay for him, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah,” you say. “Good thing. Signal’s a good guy.”

He turns back to you as you scan the cups of coffee, pulling out a wallet.

“He is,” he agrees easily—meaning his words, too, a genuine conviction you don’t hear often associated with the vigilantes of the city. 

Signal manages to hold firm on not needing the man to pay, repeating that he was just doing his job, and thankfully, the man accepts it with good graces. 

You quickly get your current customer wrapped up while the Signal steps into the chip aisle. 

You pass him the receipt. “Thank you, have a good day.”

He sends you a small, handsome smile, picking up the cups of coffee. “Thank you, you, too.”

The one after him steps up to pay, talking jovially with you, spirits still apparently lifted at seeing Signal and being able to thank him. It’s a nice moment, you think, and you make sure to respond in kind. 

The door swings shut behind him just as Signal re-emerges from the chip aisle, holding a can of Monster Energy and a bag of chile picante Cornnuts. The combination is… surely something. You let yourself slip with it, too, because you’ve personally heard a lot of good things about him. The fact that he works during the day helps his case, too. 

“I need the energy,” Signal says, seeing that thought in your face; he doesn’t sound mad, though, just vaguely amused. His suit is filled with more yellow tones, still intimidating but not as much in the daylight, a helmet of sorts leaving only his mouth exposed. 

“It’ll definitely give you… something,” you say, chuckling as you scan both.

He pats his stomach. “I have guts of steel. Don’t worry about it.”

“Not a problem as long as I never have to hear ‘guts of steel’ ever again. Jesus. Is that just a natural thing of your biology or is it evolutionary-based?”

“This life isn’t for the faint of heart or stomach,” he agrees, passing you a five dollar bill. “Adaptation is key.”

“I bet.”

Signal laughs, taking his change and dropping it into the tip jar. You smile, too, shaking your head slightly. 

“Have a good day.”

He tips his Red Bull at you. “You, too.”

Guts of steel. You nearly can’t believe it.

You pick up your phone, finding your conversation with Tim. You and Steph are hanging out tomorrow, so you’ll tell her about it, then. She asked him, though, and he said he was busy. Too bad. But that doesn’t mean he gets out of being subjected to those words, either.

no joke signal came in to buy a monster energy and cornnuts (a questionable combo) and when he saw me judging he said he has guts of steel

meta related do you think???

makes sense to me. you have a gene inside you that gives you literal powers i think they shouldn’t be having digestive issues/ibs like us common folk do

Your three texts, sent in quick succession, deliver. You bite the inside of your cheek as you see your previous ones still unanswered. It’s been like that for the past few weeks. Not him ignoring you but a bit of a dry spell going on in your messages that was only broken when you told Steph what happened and decided you had to tell him, too.

It’s not his fault. The dry spell from before or the lack of responses going on now. 

You started the first thing. So, it’s more your fault than anything for all of that. Steph’s talked to him, though, and she’s never let up on anything amiss…

You groan quietly, dropping your phone on the counter and burying your face in your hands.

Too complicated. Too much. 

It never used to be like that but… things changed recently. 

You, mostly. 

You met Stephanie Brown your second semester at Gotham University. 

Taking your required elective, you chose Intro to Psych. She was doing the same. Though, being a social work major, psychology was practically a cousin to it. 

The professor for the class turned out to be a total dud. Rambled during lecture, refused to give out study guides, and while he would give out hints as to what material might show up on exams, his questions were trick ones. When people complained, he said some crap about being in a higher ed setting and needing to do better because of it. Like his class was some 300 or 400 level course and not a literal intro course to a large and burgeoning field of study. 

But classes are expensive, so, you couldn’t drop it. Refused to, really, knowing you would face much more difficult classes later on, ones you knew you might need to drop and try again. So, you weren’t going to waste the money on this type of class.

Steph was of the same thought.

She sat next to you in the lecture hall. You two didn’t talk until after the first exam and everyone was upset about their grades, the exams having been handed back at the end of class. Your shared frustration brought you together, mostly as you two were ranting about it, you packed up and wound up leaving class together, the both of you just too caught up in your anger to realize you both needed to go in opposite directions for your next class. 

You initially agreed to be study partners, to cover more ground that way. But Steph managed to worm her way to your heart by the end of that semester. 

Your astounding lack of friends helped, too. Even if things had been that way since your junior year of high school, even if you wanted things to remain that way to protect what little remained of your heart, the loneliness hit you harder than you thought it would when you started college. 

And Steph was nice and funny and listened to you and paid attention to you and you… were so very deprived of those things, so it was nice in the beginning, but then you realized, to your own horror, that you actually wanted her to stick her around, that just as she knew nearly everything about you by the end of the semester, you knew nearly everything about her, too, and you wanted to know more, wanted to be there for her like she always was for you. 

You have that and more now and you are so very lucky because of it.

Tim, though?

Tim was something else.

Steph told you she had a friend visiting.

Just that—that she had a friend visiting campus and she ‘hoped he could find his way to the computer workstation on the fourth floor because as soon as I sit down, I’m not leaving for anything other than to use the bathroom or some kind of world-ending event.’ 

It was a particularly grueling paper she had to churn out—twenty pages, heavily research-based with the kind of statistics that made your head spin.

Working at the front desk of the Martha Kane Library at the time, you humored her. Told her good luck and that you’d keep an eye out. The second part was a joke, of course, because she never said who was visiting her and how could you know if she never said anything?

You and Tim Drake wound up finding each other, anyway. 

Well, more like he found you. 

It sounds sort of romantic, right?

It’s… well, it’s certainly something.

“I’m just saying,” you’re telling him, totally neglecting your homework and the other duties you have at the front desk (you know this last part is especially true by the way your coworker, also at the front desk, is side-eyeing you but come on, there’s no one in line, so it’s fine!). “It’s a solid movie.”

Tim Drake gives you a comically disbelieving look. “A solid movie? It’s—it’s gaseous.”

“Did… you just make a physics joke? About the three states of matter?”

Tim turns an attractive shade of pink. “It’s four, actually, and, uh… yeah.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Steph is right. You really are a geek. Anyway. Cloverfield still sucks.” 

“Your opinion is automatically negated by the fact that you think the Final Destination movies have any kind of substance to them.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that. I just think they’re good ‘cause of Mary Elizabeth Winstead. You probably think the Transformers movies are actually good, don’t you?”

He looks offended. “Don’t insult me. We hate Michael Bay in this house.”

“Sure.”

“But I do think Bumblebee—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Bumblebee is good for a change, we all know it. You’re probably one of those Nolan stans, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think any of what you just said are real words.”

“Oh, they’re real alright. Nolan stans are constantly on his dick, they’re all like, ‘Nolan is so deep and thoughtful and there is no one else like him.’ Wrong. I could find ten of him in the movie industry.” 

Tim narrows his eyes accusingly at you. “Steph said Interstellar is your favorite movie.”

“It’s his only good movie.”

“Don’t count out Inception like that.”

“Never seen it.”

“Wow.”

“You know what you sounded like just now? A Nolan stan.”

Tim actually grins at you and your stomach flutters at the sight of it. It’s that that had drawn your eyes to him. The cute but confused looking guy loitering around nearby, systematically checking his phone and glancing around—presumably for a map of the confusing and ancient library. With dark hair, pale skin, and pretty blue eyes that make you feel unbearably seen, Tim Drake is a sight for sore eyes. Your eyes, to be certain. 

Of course, you also know he’s here for Steph. That he is the friend she spoke of. And also the ex-boyfriend. That reminder sobers you considerably. 

Kind of funny, really. 

Much can be said about Tim Drake. 

The adoptive son of Bruce Wayne. The kid who snuck into No Man’s Land on a dare and had to be extracted by the US military after his father made a fuss about it. Then later, became controlling shareholder at Wayne Enterprises for whatever reason, boosting him into a very powerful position. Then he got engaged. Then he was shot—he was meant to be killed but obviously, it hadn’t gone that way. All this at seventeen. 

But eventually it petered out. He stepped down. Engagement broke off. He recovered. Now? He does some work for WE. That’s all that’s known to the press, anyway. 

It’s like you said. Much can be said about Tim Drake. 

But most of your impression is from Steph. He plays Warlocks and Warriors sometimes. Is a bit of a computer geek and has built his own PC for gaming. Hits the skatepark every now and then. Likes to spend time tinkering on his car.  And… has strong opinions on movies. 

Above it all?

He is her ex. A good friend now! But still. That fact remains. 

“Anyway,” you say, adjusting your notebook, textbook, and bag of pens just to do something. “You’re here for Steph, right?”

“She told you?”

“Well, she’s obviously told you stuff about me.”

“Steph won’t shut up about you,” he says, seeming more amused than annoyed by that fact. “I can’t imagine it’s the same with me.”

“I know enough.” Like the fact that he is her literal ex-boyfriend. Even if Steph says their relationship wasn’t the greatest, had some very questionable decisions on both their parts, and ended a bit dramatically… he’s still the first person she ever fell in love with. She told you that much. “She’s upstairs on the fourth floor. Hit the elevators over there, then when you get to the fourth floor, turn left, then another left, and the computer workstations are on your right. Can’t miss them.”

“You should watch Inception,” he says, instead of acknowledging literally anything you just said.

You arch an eyebrow challengingly. “You should watch Interstellar.”

He taps a finger on the counter. “We should do both. You, me, and Steph one of these days.”

“I hate to say it, but that sounds like a good idea.”

Steph’s voice scares the shit out of you. You bang your knee on the desk, cursing.

Tim looks unruffled as she comes from the side—the direction of the elevators, joining him at the counter and nudging his shoulder as she goes. He nudges back. They keep the contact.

“Sorry, Stephie,” you say. “We got preoccupied.”

“Arguing,” she corrects, but she doesn’t look upset about it. Instead, her cobalt blue eyes twinkle with something you can’t quite identify as she drops her chin into her palm.

“We weren’t arguing,” Tim says next. “We were lightly debating.”

“Of course. My cute little movie geeks. I think Duckboy’s right, though—” Tim groans slightly and mutters her name in annoyance; she ignores it “—we should get together and see them.”

You scratch your cheek. “I don’t know. Finals—”

“—are not for another month. I say let’s do it.” She looks at Tim and jabs a thumb at you. “She needs more friends.”

“Stephanie, please.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Timothy needs more friends, too. Friends from, say, the other half.” She smiles mischievously, a joke known only by the two of them. 

Tim, for his part, rolls his eyes but says nothing in protest. 

You don’t need more friends. More friends is actually a very bad idea. Letting one person get close was bad enough. Another person? Hell, no…

But the look on Steph’s face tells you that you, quite frankly, have no say in the matter. And the way you and Tim ‘lightly debated’ movies for a solid half hour tells you, too, that it’ll be too easy for you and he to become friends. 

You decide to shelve the issue for now as Steph tugs him away, promising you that she’ll arrange for things.

Maybe it won’t pan out. Maybe he’s actually horribly arrogant and conceited. (Though, if he’s friends with Steph, the likelihood of that is admittedly low.) 

You don’t know. All you know is it’s dangerous to let yourself get close to someone else.

But that’s all rather dramatic, isn’t it?

And it didn’t turn out how you wanted—you met Tim in the first semester of your sophomore year; your junior year just ended this May. You’ve been friends with him for a year and half. Steph for two. No end appears to be in sight. But you’ve compartmentalized. It’s just two people. That’s fine.

It’s totally fine. 

Even if it’s two people to match the two others you lost when you were fifteen. Like a repayment for the pain.

(Or a way to double it.)

But you lost your parents in the earthquake. 

Scientists called that a once-in-a-lifetime event.

There are plenty of things going on in this city that could cost your friends their lives but… it’ll never be as devastating as the earthquake. 

The earthquake where you nearly died after a piece of metal pierced your thigh, barely missing your femoral artery, and you spent the entire time from after the earthquake, when they dug your body out of the rubble, and to when they decided to exile the city, in a coma from the infection. 

By the time you stabilized, you were on a helicopter to Blüdhaven, the rest of the city in a panic to leave, and your parents were officially gone by that point. 

They couldn’t even find their bodies in time.

It took almost three years before they did. The year in which the government turned a blind eye to the city and cast it away, then another two years to rebuild, to sift through the ruin and destruction, to find the bones of the ones left behind since they were decomposed by then, and identifying them was an even more arduous task.  

You only managed to receive the catharsis of burying them when you turned eighteen. 

You might tempt fate by saying this but even if you lost either of them, the fallout would never beat that. A blessing, in that way. 

But even you hate to consider the possibilities of them leaving you. For anything.

They won’t. 

Everything will be fine. 

It has to be. 

reblogs are appreciated!

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[vasito-de-leche]

Hello hello! I love your writing so much and was wondering if I could request some Sonnetto analysis and hcs about how she would act around an older sibling-like reader. Someone who looks out for her and is protective of her but has a bit of a mischief streak. I don’t want to make the ask too specific because I want to give you some freedom with it lol. Thank you so much!

;R1999 SONETTO - Familial Headcanons

Compilation of headcanons and analysis about Sonetto and an older sibling figure.

ty for the request! it's always fun to write familial or platonic dynamics! <3 and sonetto is always such a treat to study under a microscope

sorry if this was short! i ran out of steam and ideas at the end, ough

The subject of Sonetto and family is one of my favorites to discuss because it always highlights just how disconnected from humanity she is. Not in the sense of "oh, she's heartless and very cold and logical because of the Foundation" but in the sense of "oh, she's kind, but only in the limited way a child soldier from the Foundation can be."

I can't remember if I've already written about this, but as far as I know, Sonetto is the only main/playable character within the Foundation who doesn't have any themes of "community" nor mentions any actual family members.

Compare her to other characters: Vertin, who was explicitly one month old when she was taken into the School of Discipline, still has her mother and is aware of her. Matilda and Mesmer Jr. have their whole families. If we analyze these characters, a big part of their lives and personalities can be traced to their interactions and history with their families, and these are just examples within Sonetto's generation. Outside of this specific group we have Horropedia, who owes everything to his adoptive grandfather, and Tooth Fairy, whose relationship with her family - the Campbells - is explored in her own character event from 1.2.

We can keep going with characters adjacent to the Foundation! X has his orphanage, he mentions the people he grew up with and took care of him in a few voicelines. Medicine Pocket has their mother, as seen in their 01 Story. Lilya has her parents, mentioned in her birthday messages. Leilani, also from Zeno like Lilya, doesn't mention her family per se, but her entire character revolves around the concept of being welcoming and friendly, around the idea of community.

Sonetto's character and her entire life revolve exclusively around the Foundation. This is the only family she's had, and this is a detail that her Storybook brings up in her first paragraph.

Child of the Foundation Sonetto knows nothing about her background. Before she was adopted by the Foundation, she had neither family nor motivations. It was the Foundation that gave her everything. Now she is completely clear of her glorious mission: to devote her life to the peace and well-being of mankind.

The Foundation is her only family, it makes sense that Sonetto would go on to become the perfect arcanist and soldier by their standards.

With this ramble, I want to emphasize the fact that Sonetto doesn't have the same knowledge or context about the idea of "family" like the previously mentioned characters. We know that her relationships are one-sided, because of the way she cannot reciprocate something as simple as friendship in a way that is traditional.

The most obvious example being her initial relationship with Vertin. She clearly cares for Vertin now that they are older, but we don't know if this is because of her guilt - born from her involvement in the incident that turned Vertin into the Timekeeper and everything prior to it - but we do know that the two rarely interacted given Vertin's reaction at the beginning of the game. To this, we must add the way Sonetto is constantly compared to a dog: she's described as a puppy, endearing and honest in the way she eagerly follows those she cares for. But also a military dog, obedient and attentive. One can argue that the only way Sonetto knows how to love and show affection is through usefulness, because it is the one thing she was taught by the Foundation.

Yes, Sonetto is kind and helpful, and this is a double-edged sword: being useful is the priority. If she cannot be of use, she cannot be worthy of affection, she cannot justify her existence. And a few of her voice lines highlight this--the ones we hear when leveling up her Insight are very telling.

Raising a character's Insight level is described as Vertin helping them gain a better understanding of themselves and the world, hence the wording--"Insight." Notice how Sonetto's Insight voicelines all focus on how usefulness.

Hu... la ringrazio. I will make good use of this power.

This place has brought me so many things: freedom, fresh knowledge, brave friends. How can I ever repay you? I want to be of help to you at any time.

The first one is straightforward, but the implication is that Sonetto sees her own development, her own understanding of her own life and personality, as something that must be used accordingly--a power, an ability, something useful.

It's a huge contrast to her second voice line.

It's only through a lot of exposure, help and insight that Sonetto can recognize all these good things--freedom, fresh knowledge, brave friends. She still wants to be useful, but now with the full understanding of her surroundings and situation. This is why she defends Schneider so passionately during Chapter 05 - "El Oro de los Tigres." This is why her entire character revolves around her slowly finding her own footing outside of the Foundation's influence through Vertin and all these new experiences, as opposed to the sterile environment she's used to.

And we're just talking about how she treats her friends, and there is this barrier that keeps her from forming connections so easily the same way Vertin does. How would she treat someone that's like an older sibling, a mentor, a parental figure, when she's never had anything remotely similar in the first place?

I think it depends heavily on when exactly you meet Sonetto!

On one hand, if you meet her while she's attending the School of Discipline, then I imagine it would take a long time for her to warm up to you. She insists that your behaviour makes no sense, but she can't exactly stop you as you're not breaking any rules that she knows of. Part of her cannot understand why you would treat her like this, regardless of whether you're a few grades ahead of her or part of the School's staff, but you make her feel safe, despite this mischievous streak of yours.

I can't see her supporting or turning a blind eye to any of your shenanigans--a younger Sonetto will absolutely snitch on you if given the chance, unless you give her a VERY good reason not to. If you're too much of a troublemaker like Vertin, then she settles for trying to steer you into the right path with advice, knowing that you're absolutely not going to listen. I like to think this specific path would end up with Sonetto being your little annoyed little sister! Or rather, that she sees you as an endearing and embarrassing older sibling figure, constantly apologizing her coworkers and others for whatever you might do or say for her sake. Yes, you're an inconvenience at work, but she knows that you care for her very much. Everyone can tell at a single glance that the two of you are close, that your mannerisms end up rubbing off on her in subtle ways, that she finally emotes and feels like a real teenager instead of a child soldier when she's around you.

On the other hand, if you met her after she joins Vertin's team, she's much more mellow, more open to interacting with people who don't fit the Foundation's standards. Initially, she may assume that you look out for everyone, not just her, but it takes a considerably less amount of time for her to warm up to you. Thanks to all the new people she's met, it's easier to accept this sort of kindness and concern, and Sonetto's first instinct is to reciprocate it tenfold. Every little nice thing that you do or say, she will imitate it--if you help her braid or brush her hair, she will ask to do the same. If you make her favorite meal, she will do the same. Just like a puppy learning how to play with other puppies. If she sees you being up to no good, she's instantly confused--you're so caring and considerate, it's hard to wrap her mind around the idea of you getting into trouble on PURPOSE. She reluctantly tags along, just to make sure you have someone in your corner should you get caught.

Both paths would lead to some idealization from Sonetto's part. This is the first time she's felt like this--the concept of home has always been a quiet, empty and standard room within the Foundation's headquarters, but now, when she thinks of home, she thinks of you and Vertin, of a big, warm and noisy suitcase full of people. This is the first time she understands what family means.

Of course, she's torn between her duty and these new experiences, I think that there are times in which Sonetto feels guilty for choosing one over the other--sometimes, it's the realization that she will still prioritize the safety of mankind over a happy life with her friends, or realizing that her instincts still expose just how deep her indoctrination runs, how detached from a regular teenage girl she is.

And sometimes, it's the feeling of wanting to run away somewhere safe, somewhere with you and everyone else, when the stress of work gets to her. And what really affects Sonetto the most is knowing that you would never, ever make her choose, that you'll always be her big sibling, who teases her for days on end and who comforts her when she needs it.

This idealization manifests as the usual martyr behaviour that's been instilled in her. She cares for you, and so she will lay down her life for you if necessary--this is a feeling that defies all logic.

I do want to say that the aspect of idealization differ depending on which path we're discussing! The first one, the one in which you pretty much adopt her when she's very young, leans more towards a regular dynamic of a child idolizing their older sibling, someone who is very close to them. The second one leans more towards a fan idolizing a celebrity, a distant figure worth of admiration.

Because you've spent more time with Sonetto in this first path, I think that she would also be more open to being vulnerable since, you know, she's a literal child. Your presence and influence somewhat mitigates the damage her training will eventually do to her psyche and mentality, meaning that part of Sonetto is able to recognize that what's happening to her - what happens to every orphaned arcanist - is not okay. She can't fully explain why, other than it feels unfair, and so she turns to you. I think this would be one of the very few moments in which you will see Sonetto cry, in which Sonetto will internalize a very important thing: if she ever feels afraid, alone or scared, you're the only person she can go to.

This is a lot of text to say that she will die for you because you're the only person who accepts her, the best and worst parts of her. Whereas in the second path, she will die for you because she sees you as superior, as someone who deserves to live more than her.

Aside from this analysis, I do have a few cute headcanons!

Lots and lots of puppy behaviour. If left alone for long periods of time, Sonetto defaults to trailing after you. She just likes to orbit around you, which is great if you're overprotective. And if you happen to be busy, she simply trails after Vertin instead.

Sonetto doesn't show off when working, given how seriously she takes her role, but as soon as she's done with a mission, she will ask you to rate her performance. Partially, she does it because she genuinely cares about staying on top of her training and you're the one person who knows her the best, but it's also her way of asking for attention, I don't think she even realizes that she's seeking out validation lol. Please, feel free to pet her head or fret over her.

I think Sonetto has a lot of control, so she wouldn't slip and accidentally address you as her big sibling--but if someone else were to address you as such, she won't correct them.

Whenever Sonetto struggles with her art and poetry, she goes to you first and foremost. I do think that if you're the type to constantly hype her up regardless of what she's created, she will slowly stop showing you her work out of embarrassment and because she needs someone who can give her a proper critique.

The same way some of your gestures and expressions rub off on her, you WILL end up picking up some italian and some hand gestures from her. Everyone loves to point out whenever this happens.

Sonetto can pretty much take whenever others tease her about whatever--on one hand because she may not understand that they're teasing her, on the other because she's rather stoic in social situations. But when YOU do it and go a little too far, she WILL start a very heated rant about how inconsiderate you are why would you bring this up now can you please not talk about this it's not the appropriate time or place please do not talk about her relationship with Vertin it is so unprofessional what even is there to talk about do not bring up that one time she messed up and called the instructor mom please do not talk about her first few incantations PLEASE FOCUS ON THE JOB.

[newvegasceo]

Out of pure curiosity, what do you think is missing from Halsin's story?

after writing it all down, i realized it's not just what's missing but also what's broken, inconsistent and shallow about Halsin, hopefully that still answers your question :)

his backstory in the underdark comes out of nowhere and is never again brought up!! it is, in fact, brushed off as just some silly goofy thing that happened to him once!! hihi haha i was a sex slave for two years. im so embarrased to tell you this, tav haha anyways how about round two with the twins ??? while im standing speechless mouth agape struggling to process the story he just told me. to say it was written and handled poorly is putting it mildly

he is shown to be a shrewd person (with his francesca choice for the new archdruid back in emerald grove) so expand on that! show that he's more than just a pile of muscles! show me he's cunning and has bite! there's so much political intrigue in act 3, have him comment on it, on gortash's plan, have Halsin compare it to some other people/events that happened in the past and how they mirror what's currently happening in baldur's gate, my dude is 3 50, he's seen some shit im sure, even living in the forest the news would reach him so no excuses

he's so closely tied to act 2 i have no clue why he's locked off as a companion till you find daniel (which on my first playthrough was just before attack on moonrise, that almost made my blood boil bc not even 2 hours later orin snatched him up??? and i was like?? ok?? she took who? i barely know the guy?). i think he's too tight-lipped about what happened all those years ago with the shadowcurse and i would have loved to hear more about it (like the implication of him killing isobel and the conflict with the thorms)

I need him to be the biology/nature expert equivalent to Gale with his weave expertise. he should have more to say about the worms!! he should be studying you under the microscope the entire game!!!! literally bring back all the missing EA halsin dialogue!! i should be able to drag his ass into the underdark!!! I WANT HIS KNOWLEDGE! I WANT IT TO BRING BACK BAD MEMORIES! expand on drows and their culture in this game by using halsin as the conduit that tells you everything he learned from spending his time here!! so maybe that info dump in act 3 about him being a slave wouldn't come out of nowhere

i refuse to believe he'd have nothing to say about the elder brain after seeing it. i want him to be absolutely repulsed, terrified but also intrugied by the mindflayer colony under moonrise, i want him to cautiously study every nook and cranny there and offer his insight

absolutely baffled he won't say anything to that one dragonborn druid back in baldur's gate that is trying to keep a tree alive???? for all his distain for the cities he sure is quiet here, seeing nature failing in the middle of it while a guy is desprately trying to keep it alive. maybe make it so these two actually manage to turn this spot into something more beautiful, a lush tree in the middle of a concrete road that attracts people who come over to relax in its shade

if they bring up his hatred of the city life, why not let me turn him into a full on shadow druid (which is already hinted on during one of the conversations with him in act 3), kind of how you can keep shadowheart a shar worshipper or steer her toward selune. plant some seeds of his loathing back in act 2, how nature had to be sacrificed because people had delusions of grandure (the elder brain plot and the thorms) etc

besides wanting to cure the shadowcurse and enjoying whittling there's nothing more to this guy. after the curse is lifted all he's got are the ducks.............. once he'll mention he doesn't like the city life. okay, you've been on this earth good 350 years, my guy, you know how cities are don't act surprised

an alternative ending is missing, you should be able to go with him

personally, i think his personality is missing because he is too flat and frankly, boring. he is too agreeable even if you're a meanie to others. just as long as you don't kill innocents he's a ride or die. it's not his fault of course, he's just badly written, too surface level. which is a terrible shame bc i'm so in love with him but i'd like to fall for his personality too. once there's a fleshed out one. so it's quite hard to speculate on what's missing about a guy there's barely any information on in-game tho :'(

[sherl-grey]

dangerous words I fear but I’m craving some OFMD critical but civil discourse… s2 finale spoilers included below the cut. this is incredibly long FYI bc I’m truly desperate to get all my thoughts out

I want to preface by saying I loved S2. I think I loved it more than s1, I think there were some absolute GENIUS moments this season (the entire Calypso episode was *chef’s kiss* my favorite), and I think the cast, crew, and DJ deserve a lot of love and, of course, a renewal for another season.

I know there’s been a lot of anti-finale-critiquing posts out there (and yeah, I also don’t want to see baseless hate or, god forbid, people trying to interact with the cast/crew with anything less than love and respect) but personally, I think the biggest sign that I love a show is me wanting to pick it apart. I think digging into the writing and decision-making and characters of a show means you really appreciate the choices that were made even if you don’t agree with them, because you’re working to understand the story on a level most people only dive to if they’re forced to in an English class. No story is going to be perfect. No story is going to be written specifically for me unless it’s literally by me. But sometimes I still want to study it like a bug under a microscope, you know?

So here we go: I didn’t like the finale, and I didn’t think it fit very well with the rest of the season/show. Weirdly enough I didn’t feel a need to discuss online until I started reading the interviews DJ has been giving about the finale (specifically the choice to kill Izzy and Ed/Stede’s ending) and I’m so curious as to whether others interpreted things the same way. (Yes, they’re DJ’s characters. No, I don’t think all viewers are obligated to interpret things the same way as writers did—that’s half the beauty of storytelling and media consumption.)

Izzy’s Death

Let’s unpack the big one first. I think a lot of what DJ/finale defenders (if I may respectfully call fans who enjoyed s2e8 that) have mentioned is that Izzy’s arc was over and he’d served his narrative purpose. I’ve got a few different issues with this:

1. Part of what I love(d?) about this show is that I did not think this was a show that kills characters once they’ve served their narrative purpose, or a show that kills characters as punishment/retribution for mistakes/earlier actions. To me, OFMD symbolizes the idea that everyone is deserving of love, forgiveness, and second chances. I truly trusted that no one on the Revenge crew would die in this show, and to be proven wrong was a bit disheartening, to say the least. Will talk more on the suicide notion in the next bit because I think it was symbolic, but Izzy also now represents a suicidal character who finds the will to live again. I’d argue that a “full arc” for a character like that should be ending in happiness, not death (and especially not with a line like “I want to go” or whatever the specific words were).

2. DJ seems to describe Izzy’s role as being a mentor to Blackbeard, which I personally struggle to see at all. Despite the Captain/First Mate status difference, I think most signs have pointed towards them being roughly equals—the unrequited love Izzy feels for Ed, the way the two of them stand right up to each other when everyone else would be afraid to, the clear shared history and longevity of their friendship/companionship. (If anything, I’d argue Izzy takes on the mentor mantle for Stede in s2, though it’s a bit glossed over because of how crunched for time everything was.) I certainly have trouble seeing the “father figure” relationship that DJ mentions in interviews, because I think Izzy is the one crew member that puts himself on even ground with his captains.

But even humoring that, Ed’s story has been about shedding Blackbeard. And DJ has a great quote in the Entertainment Weekly interview where he says that Izzy and Ed are both Blackbeard, that the two of them together are what makes Blackbeard “happen.” So in theory, if we’re killing Izzy off to further Ed’s storyline, it’s to ultimately kill Blackbeard, right? Especially since his line at the end is to “just be Ed.”

Except we already have metaphorically killed Blackbeard, several times. I think S2E3 is a really interesting episode because in season 1, it can be argued (and is, by Chauncey Badminton) that Stede kills Blackbeard in his own pirate-y way—with kindness. The crew is also somewhat a part of this, as they all accept and love Ed for who he is and not only because he’s Blackbeard; the crew follows the example of their captain and it changes who Ed is as a person. S2E3 is a crew under Blackbeard, and they also kill Blackbeard following the method of their current captain—violence. And this “death” is, in my mind, the death of Blackbeard while Stede symbolically saves the part of him that is just Ed. (Bonus: we also get Ed trying to sink his leathers, and while it might just be because he’s on a damn boat, it’s interesting that Blackbeard’s clothes are drowned/sunk while Ed’s metaphorical comeback was being saved from drowning by Mer!Stede.)

So Ed’s half of Blackbeard is dead. If we stand by DJ’s idea that Blackbeard is half Izzy, we’ve still got half of Blackbeard left, right? Well, that would’ve been right immediately post-S1, but then they gave Izzy a beautiful arc that seems to be a shadow of Ed’s S1 track. Ed and Izzy are very similar characters, but in S1 Ed is on the receiving end of love, acceptance, and admiration—namely from Stede, but also from the crew. Meanwhile, Izzy is subject to contempt and hostility… once again, namely from Stede, and also from the crew. Ed blossoms under the love during S1 until that’s taken away; Izzy simply moves in the reverse direction. He continues to be an antagonist while being treated like one, but once others start treating him with kindness (Fang hugging him, Jim and Archie amputating his leg while Frenchie lies for him, the whole crew making him the unicorn leg), he too becomes a part of the family. And wouldn’t you know it—Izzy has a near death scene as well, a suicide no less. Izzy is the one who is responsible in S1 for “bringing back Blackbeard,” so the symbolism of him pulling the trigger on himself is huge. This is Izzy killing his half of Blackbeard! Because Izzy Hands continues to live, even if it takes him some time to remember how to live without Blackbeard at first, and his relationship with Ed effectively dies here.

(As a side note, this growth arc and the way Izzy fully transforms into a member of the Revenge crew afterwards—whittling Lucius a shark and talking to him about forgiveness, dressing up in drag and singing to the crew, cracking silly jokes about Ed and Stede’s relationship—are also why I find the “Izzy Hands is the symbol of traditional piracy and his death is symbolic of traditional piracy dying” argument to be weak. In season 1, he was that definition, but we’ve literally watched him grow out of it. He’s no longer symbolic of something stagnant that will remain the same or be destroyed—he’s symbolic of something that grows and adapts to the new situations, that survives when all of the rules change on him.)

And then we have the return of Blackbeard: Pop-Pop pushing Ed to go back to doing “what he’s good at,” Ed fishing his leathers out of the ocean, Ed killing a ton of people because he thinks Stede is likely dead or at minimum in captivity/grave danger. This bit seems to go against everything the season was building towards; Blackbeard was almost entirely gone, but Ed is now the one who brings him back because he thinks Blackbeard is the one who can save Stede. And that’s fair, but what does that have to do with Izzy at this point? Why does he need to die for Ed to put that part of him away again? While we’re not owed a main character having a death that serves a narrative purpose, I’d hope for that to be the case, and I struggle to interpret what happens to Izzy as beneficial to either plot or character.

3. I think the actual core arcs of the show are character arcs and not plots. I get that they might’ve been trying to wrap plots with Zheng and the British in case they aren’t renewed, but I don’t think it was necessary—the pirating has always been secondary to the rom com and the found family, IMO. In S1, we had two main characters, but I’d argue Izzy got enough focus and attention to be a third this season. Which left us with a great character-driven story: we’re watching all 3 of them come into their own and discover who they are individually, while also discovering that the changes in themselves are causing friction between them now that they’re growing into new people. Which is an amazing story to tell, if you ask me, but the fulfillment of that story requires all three characters to be there. The conflict to be resolved is how these characters can become the people they want to be and still coexist together, because on some level they’re family now. Notably each pair combination of these characters grows together or apart (or in Stede/Ed’s case, both) during this season. Ed and Izzy are growing apart because they hold each other back from becoming the person they want/need to be; to complete this narratively, I would’ve expected the next challenge to be finding a way to become friends again as their new selves while letting go of the fact that they used to have a toxic relationship when they used to be different people.

Ed and Stede’s S2 Ending

So Izzy’s death is the big talking point, but I also think DJ’s take on Ed and Stede was interesting. He said that they deserved a happy ending for the work they put in this season. I agree with him in theory, but I’m curious as to whether others agree that they put in a lot of work. I think Stede followed through with his goal to come back and tell Ed how he feels, and to stay instead of running away from his problems. I think Ed followed through with trying to understand who he is and what his needs are while also trying to find the courage to open himself up to love again. But critically, they never talk. E7 makes a point to highlight the miscommunication/lack of communication between them, and then in E8 they still aren’t shown talking.

(I realize part of the issue is the limited amount of time and the amount of plot shoved into episode 8. I get it; personally, I think the plot should’ve been sacrificed for the characters. At this point, we were 7 episodes into a very character/relationship-heavy season. Plot could’ve waited for a potential S3.)

What’s more—there’s a huge, glaring gap between where they left off and where they end up. Ed left in S2E7 after he begins panicking and realizing Stede is becoming deeper entrenched in pirate life just as he’s finally finding his way out of it. Not once do they talk about this, but suddenly they’re retiring together? And right after Ed says Izzy was his only family and Izzy calls the crew his family (which… is also an unearned line, as Ed and the crew have almost no bonding or forgiveness this season, since we focused mainly on Izzy with the crew and Ed with Stede), they leave the crew to do their own thing? They’re all relatively minor things that could be fairly easily addressed by dialogue, but they fact that they’re not only serves to underscore the way that Ed and Stede really aren’t on the same page.

I want them to get their happy ending. They deserve it. I’m just not sure that I agree that they earned it to the degree that it was received, with retirement alone together without their crew, if that makes sense.

Positivity Tax: Calypso Love 😊

I’ve probably got more to say but those were the big ones on my mind after reading the Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly interviews. Just to counterbalance some of the more critical things I’ve said, I wanted to share some loving analysis of the Calypso episode:

1. It’s a minor thing, but the way this episode shows that Ed’s actions as Blackbeard had consequences is amazing. Despite him arguably committing the more grievous wrongs in S1, he’s the one we get the least redemption for in this season (his apology to the crew wasn’t great, and most of his screen time is spent repairing his relationship with Stede), so for him to have to face something that happened because of his past actions is cool, especially because it was done in a way that doesn’t further damage his standing with the crew.

2. The way Stede saves the day is incredible. Competent Stede this season has been an absolute joy to watch, and his success in this episode is twofold: first he wins his way, with signature Gentleman Pirate flair. He listens to Ned’s crew, helps facilitate communication between them, and encourages them to stand up for themselves and demand better treatment. That’s a very classic Stede win. But then he wins in the traditional pirate way, and it’s absolutely glorious; he’s been working towards becoming a better pirate, both in terms of stomaching violence and building up the necessary skills. Ned’s crew can be taken down with kindness, but Ned himself is a pirate and will only be matched by another. I genuinely cannot think of a more perfect way to show that Stede is still himself while also showcasing the newer side of him that he’s been working towards this whole time.

3. Speaking of that newer side of him, the way this episode starts to open up Ed’s insecurities? The combination of seeing his least favorite parts of himself reflected in Stede as well as watching Stede grow into the career that he’s trying to leave? Amazing conflict development.

4. I’ve already talked so much about Izzy but the way this truly caps off the crew’s acceptance of him as part of the family is gorgeous. He’s an entirely new man at this point and there’s no jokes made, no friendly ribbing… just love and acceptance. It highlights both his newfound comfort and familiarity with the others as well as the extent to which they care about him.

5. Less analytical, but it’s also just a really pretty episode.

Considering the fact that I have zero OFMD mutuals and this was a whole essay (I’m on mobile and can’t see how long this is but I’m honestly scared), I would be shocked if someone made it down this far, but if somehow people are here and open to civil discussion… I’d love to know how you felt about this, if you thought DJ was right, if you were a little more on my wavelength and thinking things weren’t adding up, etc. Realistically I’m not sure if anything could change my mind as I’ve done a lot of stewing, particularly about Izzy arc, but new perspectives are always refreshing. Much love to the fandom and of course the creators, who hopefully never see this and get their s3 renewal 🤞🏼

[arkiwii]

Saria and Kristen when they were younger they were a healthy couple but sometime after Rhine Lab was established and built their relationship started to show cracks. Before all that I like to believe that Kristen wagged her tail behind close doors when Saria was around, just a slow wag. What do you think of Saria and Kristen?

oh boy, Saria and Kristen huh. rubs hands with malicious intents. I have, some THOUGHTS about them, i want to study their relationship under a microscope alright

to start with "they were a healthy couple", it's something that i can question. i mostly think about how Kristen lost her parents at the age of 10, and of her conversation with Saria about the subject in the manhwa:

Saria "always protected Kristen", and she said that since she lost her parents, "not many have been willing to defend her family's reputation". which means, Saria was pretty much the only person Kristen could rely on, and if she was able to continue and go on, it was thanks to Saria. once again, she lost her parents early, she was very likely alone all this time, and for a child, it can create a huge hole in their heart, one that Kristen probably and definitively tried to fill with Saria. she followed her, Saria was like a lighthouse for Kristen; and that's why it couldn't be healthy.

because of Saria's views, her beliefs on how emotions are a bias to scientific avancement, Kristen very likely followed these, but to an extreme. to the point of going against ethics to fullfill her ambition and continue her parent's legacy.

this is not to say Saria ever agreed with this, maybe even before Ifrit, if she knew about it, she would have stopped it. but it's to say that Kristen used this belief to feed her ambition, to see it as an open door to push the limits of what is allowed.

once rhine lab was created, once it became succesful, and Kristen was at the top of it all, she had no need to "use" Saria anymore. their relationship fell apart because Saria could not "defend" her anymore, now that Kristen was in control. she doesn't need anyone to defend her now.

so now, i'm not saying that Kristen never had any consideration for Saria. people in these situations may not even realize that what they are doing is wrong, that they may hurt someone. and i do believe that Kristen cares about Saria, and in fact, she truly does;

she doesn't want Saria to be hurt, she actually did nothing that would hurt Saria. but is it the present Saria she cares about, or the past Saria? when Saria met Ifrit and Silence, she opened her heart to emotions, she who never had a family who cared about her, she saw this child being hurt, mistreated, alone, and she wanted to protect her. the present Saria may still struggle, but she discovered what it is to feel loved, which she probably never discovered with Kristen before.

but Kristen, she wants the Saria who is ready to step on boundaries, to ignore emotions, to achieve scientific avancement. she wants the Saria who protected her, who stood by her side when she was alone and hurt.

but, she knows that this Saria doesn't exist anymore and she knows that Saria would never have agreed with her, she knows Saria would have tried to stop her. she studied Saria, her way to fight, her Arts, and she literally created a barrier in her office that cancels her Arts, she created power armors who can also neutralize Saria's calcification. that means one thing, Kristen was afraid of Saria. she knew she fucked up.

of course, Kristen would ALWAYS be ready to welcome Saria with open arms, she doesn't want Saria to go away from her, she never accepted that she left Rhine Lab. maybe Kristen is idealizing a Saria who is like her.

their relationship is MMWAH chief's kiss I LOVE psychology and character development. what i say can work even if their relationship is purely platonic, but i enjoy the little twist it gives if it was romantic, which means that Saria had experienced something toxic and it made her afraid of love above all emotions, which fullfill my evil thoughts about Saria x Silence

[ineffectualdemon]

Thinking about bingqiu and moshang again, and how I want to study them all under microscopes, like you do, I had the thought of what their completely different yet equally insane reactions are to learning new red flags about their partners, like

Shen Qingqiu (totally into it): what, no! I’m definitely not into it, that’s crazy, who in their right mind would be into it?? Don’t agree with me, how dare you judge him like that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with him-

Luo Binghe (vibrating in excitement): oh, I’m so unbelievably into it, I’ve never been more attracted to something in my life, in fact I’m the most attracted person to this in the world, so it only makes sense that I’m the best option as a partner for him, as no one else would be as into this as I am-

Shang Qinghua (in horny resignation): unfortunately, I’m incredibly into it.

Mobei-Jun (completely deadpan): yeah, I’m super into it, who wouldn’t be? I’ve never been so aroused in my life.

This is too entirely accurate ha!

I love it

Though I also feel Shen Qingqiu's response would be: "Of course I'm into it when it's Binghe! He's the protagonist! Everybody is into everything about him! It's just science!"