#and I was capable of thinking about them in a respectful and even kind mindset even without fully understanding it

[aj-living-life]

Remembering how the first time I saw a body swap in a show I went right then and there "this would be great for those transgender people" and thinking my momma raised me right.

[luna-loveboop]

Luna, my dear sweet friend, can I pick your brain?

Lofty gave me a veeerrry good scenario for a Time vs Sky conflict, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on what that could look like? I picked 2 very mature characters and now I have to make them brawl lolol

I think the best route (for me at least) wouldn't involve the master sword or Hylia. So this would be a personality conflict. I don't wanna spoil the scenario she gave me, so I thought I'd ask for your general opinion on what you think would make them fight, personality wise🥰

Feel free to delete if you don't care to go over this, but I thought I'd ask cus you're really good at going in depth with character analysis❤️

BYE FRIEND😀 also I hope you're doing well and you're amazing and wonderful❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

YES ok so personality conflicts between Sky and Time. There's... a lot to look at there lol.

So I'm just gonna look at each of their personalities +flaws, and then how they interact :))

Soo for Time

Time is dad. He's older and more experienced- and he's still a stubborn gremlin like all of them. He's patient with them but also stern- he cares very deeply about all the boys and Sky is no exception

I don't doubt for a second Time wants to be just as close to Sky as the others

One of Times biggest flaws is the idea of a closed mindset. Which makes sense, since we know Time's ending as the hero's shade- he spends years in that mindset of regret. Time has these thoughts of being too old to change (<no), and allows himself to keep holding onto bitterness, especially about the sword. Which he has good reason to be a grumpy old man already, with the mental and physical age difference, but still

Time is obviously capable of changing his mind- as Wind took a challenge to prove

But overall Time is still. He's not super expressive, my man likes to just be. He wants to be still and live, and hero as needed, and not be a super crazy hero, but just a chill dude with malon.

Time is patient and stern and calm and good. He is also closed and stubborn. That's all good, but it doesn't always work the best with Sky.

So Sky.

I literally love this ask because I could rant forever about his flaws to talk about them more (no one kill me).

Sky very highly values being a hero as part of who he is- in contrast to time who literally just doesn't want to.

I see so much of Sky's patience. And with good reason- with others Sky is endlessly patient and calm in resolving conflict. He's emotionally intuitive and intelligent and awesome

But Sky is also I think extremely impatient. With himself, and with things around him that aren't going well.

He wants answers and he wants them now, which is kind of scary from him. I see a lot about Skys temper, but I don't want to forget how much of that is from impatience- not knowing how to handle things going slow.

Because things moving fast and violently is how it needs to be right? *cough cough IMPA

For all sky is extremely patient with others feelings, he is one of the most impatient people with himself and his circumstances. Which a lot of comes from immaturity, which is my next point-

Sky is. A monster with pranks. I don't even know why it took me so long to realise this was Sky-

Saying 'I know we should help but this is too funny'. Twilight and wild are looking disturbed and like they want to help, and Sky and legend are just cold-blooded leaving four struggling for his shield and taking bets. He's very immature, and furthermore, he doesn't really respect Time as an authority as much in the face of pranking/joking

Bro is not remorseful at all I swear-

I also think 'nice hair' Sky is a little... idk judgy? With people he doesn't get along with as well. Like Hyrule. (Wait I haven't yet I gotta rant on that sometime sorry- but yeah he and Hyrule don't vibe well)

Sky can also be unrestrained with his words and snark- his words can practically be a prank in itself 'nice hair' 'am I late?'. I think sometimes he toes the line with pranks and joking around (like that one quest where you could break Peatrices heart?), and same with his words. Overall he's a snarky and sharper person- and being able to pull off good pranks and jokes isn't inherently a bad thing- he's smart. He's a kind person too, but I think sometimes his words and actions can be too sharp.

I think Jojo also said in the post with their ages that she made him slightly younger because of his immaturity compared to twilight. Do with that what you will

So point is, Sky has flaws that are mildly subtle but still prominent, like his impatience with himself and situations, his immaturity with joking and temper and words, and I hc he's a slightly judgy person. 'Nice costume' to Zelda like SKY but I swear I love him. Don't kill me for discussing flaws please I have a dog

So how this comes together with between him and Time is pretty cool-

Skys impatient, and Time has a resistance to change in his mindset- which means that as far as the sword, Sky wants change now, he wants validation and Time to not hate it. Time does not care about this because the sword hurt him and he's spent years hating it.

But with situations and stuff, especially with the entrance arc, we can see Sky being very impatient after Twi's injury- from what I can tell he wants to rip dinks throat out. But it's still subtle- what's not as subtle is how much Time wants to slow down. He wants to hold them back and protect them, and Sky is impatient in a frustrating situation. I could honestly see Sky wanting to run after the shadow on his own right now (sorry, I've been rereading elastic heart). Sometimes patient + wanting to hurry up doesn't work well.

If you think about it in relation to their journeys it makes sense that they are portrayed this way. Skys journey was about rushing and trying to hurry up. Times journeys were horrifying, with this insane feeling of running out of time.. but he could still turn back said time.

I can't even count the number of people I've seen say they tried to rush through the eldin temple as fast as possible on reruns- after Impa telling him it was too late trying to run as fast as possible even knowing it wouldn't change anything. That translates into skys character, and it must be insanely frustrating for him.

They are both heros. Time's journey was about saving the world and Sky's was about trying to kill a god. It's a big disconnect between them- one is patient and one is not, one doesn't want to be a hero and one's life is being a hero dating a goddess. One lightheartedly jokes and one throws a love letter down the toilet (SKY), one is older and one is immature. Yet on the surface Time wears a scowl and Sky is as soft as can be.

They are so very different in so many ways, but so much alike- they are both heros, they both want to be young and playful at heart. They both really like stabbing things and setting them on fire. And also saving the world.

They are also both extremely mature in ways beyond their years and endlessly kind.

I love them so much.

I wasn't sure to say this in the post bc the ask is about personalities, but I feel like another major issue between them could be whatever happened with Time and timelines and the triforce. Obviously the timeline is messed up. I also have not played times games... but I think in timeline talk one he mentioned the triforce of courage ended up broken? I can see Sky not taking well to all of that.

Soooo in terms of personality conflicts that would make them. Fight? Yikes what are you planning Oma, I would say there's several possible triggers outside of the master sword and Hylia (which I think is wise of you to avoid btw)

I think that Skys impatience contrasting with Time's fixed mindsets can have issues. But the way Sky has shown no acknowledgment of Time when he's tried to stop the boys goofing off w/ pranking can also be a trigger- as well as that sharp and sometimes insensitive snarkiness in Skys words we all know and love. They have. A lot of issues. lol.

Yeah! I uhh hope that helped and was relevant or made sense at all- I swear I love these guys. These two are fun to look at because outside of the obvious stressor of the sword they have a lot of other issues as well. They have differences in thinking and personality that can lead to a lot of tension between them.

Thank you for the ask and I can't wait to see what you come up with

The art and comics is by Jojo @linkeduniverse au :D

Thank you for listening to my rant, and here's one of my favourite pictures of these guys

Simply majestic <3

:)

@skyloftian-nutcase

[universalitgirlsblog2]

🩷🌸HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF ?🩷🌸

🌸Who is your role-model ? Why do you look upto them ? What you do you like about them ? Do you like how they are kind to others without expecting anything in return ? Do you like them because they take exquisite care of themselves ? Think about the specific traits you like about your role-model and add these traits /qualities in your character. Start identifying yourself with those qualities.

🩷Look into the mirror and tell yourself affirmations. You can keep them simple or exaggerate them , it doesn't matter. Affirmations help us to boost our self-esteem. It also helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Here are some self-love affirmations - click me and click me!! You can also listen to songs which have positive lyrics or vibes. This post can help - click me !!

🌸TALK TO YOURSELF LIKE YOU WOULD TALK TO YOUR BEST-FRIEND OR LOVED ONE. YOUR LOVED ONE MADE A TINY MISTAKE , WOULD YOU CRITICISE THEM ? HAVE A POSTIVE SELF-TALK. When you are alone , pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. Are you cursing yourself for your past mistakes or thinking about how you are so strong to go through all that and not give up ?

One more tip for postive self-talk , look at your childhood photo and ask yourself? Would you tell her/him that they are dumb and not worthy of their desires or Would you tell them that they are worthy of their wildest dreams and they are capable too ? Talk to yourself as you would talk to your child version. Be that person your childhood version needed. They needed love and respect.

🩷Stop caring about other's opinions. Your opinion about yourself matters alot. Why ? You create your reality. If you decide you are pretty, then you are. Being pretty is a mindset. Also , we have conscious and subconscious mind , right ? On a conscious level, you have the ability to reject opinions that you don't like. If someone calls you ugly , you have the ability to reject their opinion. If you reject other's negative opinions because you have the ability on a conscious level to reject , the idea won't impress on your subconscious mind but if you accept their opinion and take their opinion as facts, you will accept it on a conscious level, your subconscious have no ability to reject , it must accept . I hope I was able to make myself clear . In other words , your opinion matters the most !! Also , if you understand yourself , you won't care what others say , if you have brown eyes and someone says that they are blue , would you believe them ? No !

🌸Focus on the qualities you like about yourself .As Wonyoung said , people can give you criticism even when you don't need it , so you must give yourself nothing but LOVE !

🩷Make self-care a daily ritual. When you take care of yourself , you will look better and feel good too !

🌸Don't compare yourself with others. It is a tragedy for people who live in a constant state of comparison. Be your own dream girl . Be so focused on watering your own grass that you don't care if someone else's grass is greener. Here are some affirmations that can help you - click me !

🩷Be disciplined.

🌸Have boundaries and put yourself first. You will never regret putting yourself first !

🩷Stop seeking validation from others. Their validation is irrelevant. The only person who truly knows you is YOU !!! If you always seek others validation , you will become their slave. Compliment yourself , stop expecting others to compliment about how pretty or smart , compliment yourself about how pretty you are ! Hype yourself up !! These affirmations can help - click me !

🌸Protect your energy. Cut off toxic people, don't fight with stupid people. Don't consume negative media.

[austenhowe]

when do you think cressida realizes that eloise has completely forsaken her?

because before she found out penelope was lady whistledown she still thought she was the one to completely break their friendship by allowing her mother to write disparagingly about the bridgertons.

she did not know that eloise already knew who lady whistledown was when she asked for her help to write the column. she probably thought that eloise cut their friendship because her assuming the mantle of lady whistledown implies that she was the one who wrote ruinous things about her last season.

do you think she realizes that this was the reason for the fallout of eloise and penelope's friendship once she found out who the real lady whistledown was? do you think she realizes that eloise knew and that she was content to let her take the fall for perez hilton featherington? that she refused to help her knowing that she wasn't the real lady whistledown and knowing that she was desperate to escape her circumstances? and that she could not even spare her a sympathetic ear even if she didn't want to help and instead doubled down in drawing the line in the sand by cutting their friendship?

how would she feel about that when she finally works it out? when she realizes that eloise did not value their friendship as much as she did? that she probably never even valued her as a person capable of deep thoughts, of feelings, of dreams? (please don't get me started with the whole, "I did enjoy her at the start" line they gave eloise, my god that was cold)

do you think the show will even give the space for cressida to have these realizations in the next season or am I out of my mind to expect them to actually do cressida's character justice? (the show did love to laugh at her misfortune)

even if they never acknowledge this aspect of their break-up, cressida has a long carriage ride to wales to reflect on this betrayal (yes I will call it a betrayal, of their friendship and of eloise's character development in part 1) and god only knows what kind of mindset she'll end up having after realizing that she is truly alone, unwanted, unloved, and unworthy of help.

I hope at the very least that this informs her character in the next season and that we see her finding her purpose, her strength, and her place in or out of polite society. I don't ask for much. I just want her to have a good, loving, and happy life, with or without eloise.

I'll take creloise endgame if they actually manage to fix what they broke when they wrote eloise as OOC as possible so that they could have their penelope and eloise friendship as quickly as they could. I don't know about other people, but I do have standards and that includes EARNED reconciliations. I find it so cheap and lazy when writers just skip to the good part, like have some respect for your viewing audience.

I don't know why I'm still mad about this but you really shouldn't put a character that's doomed by the narrative in front of me and expect me to just leave it to die in a ditch.

I'll always root for the underdog, especially one that's been beaten down and publicly dragged through the mud for daring to escape their doomed fate.

[elysiansparadise]

Hi Hi! I love your blog! The way you write speaks to me so well ✨ Any chance you could do some more 11th house planets specifically Neptune and Uranus? I noticed they're both not there and I have an 11th house stellium 🙈 totally okay if you're busy but would love your opinions on it 🩷 much love

Hello love, thank you so much for loving my blog! I have already posted that Uranus placement analysis, here it is.

Neptune in the 11th house

These natives are very intuitive and empathetic in their social relationships of all kinds, deeply feeling the emotions and needs of their friends or members of any group to which they belong, often offering emotional support and understanding. It is because of this that their friends tend to see them as reliable and empathetic advisors. They may have deep spiritual connections with their friends, they may even feel karmic bonds or predestined relationships quite often. These people have a strong sense of friendship, enormous devotion and respect for those who give them this title. It is likely that at some point in their life they will make the mistake of trusting someone they shouldn't, and may feel that they took advantage of their trust. They seek deep and meaningful connections with their friends and groups, since they do not settle for superficial relationships and seek to share transformative and meaningful experiences. These people have the ease to solve issues of other people, however, they may struggle with handling their own. Many times their friends can see them as people who have supported and guided them on a path towards a better mindset or life in general, since these natives not only will seek to encourage, support and make their friends feel accepted and loved just as they are, but they will make them see in themselves someone capable of achieving big things by making them turn their dreams in something tangible and real.

These natives stand out for being idea machines, with this placement their creativity increases by mixing it with originality, giving them the ability to create amazing things. They dream big and really love to fantasize about the future, they can even spend a lot of time daydreaming. It is very likely that they have artistic interests and hobbies and, in addition to that, enormous talent regarding them. They choose to experiment, try new ways of doing things and above all, not have a scheme or demand too much of themselves. Here we find people who hate tension in any form, choosing to prefer environments where they feel tranquility and peace from doing the things they like most. They reject unnecessary conflict and will easily walk away from anything that brings chaos and discomfort into their lives. These natives dream of a better world, some may decide to have a job in which they help others or contribute positively to society, many others have the way of thinking that, although they cannot completely change the world, they can contribute even a little, and they will do it without hesitation.

These people have a knack for inspiring others, an effect that can lead them to attract people who admire them either for a trait or talent. It is very likely that people place high expectations on them or idealize them in some way. They value working for a cause and a purpose, they will never be in a job for which they do not feel that passion and dedication. Many of them, despite being great friends, may prefer to take refuge from issues or problems by isolating themselves. They are those types of people who try to be reliable for others but hardly feel that there are people who are reliable for them. They may enjoy spending a lot of time on social networks or doing their hobbies, losing track of time. They may be able to earn money through jobs or projects that involve humanitarian, spiritual, charitable causes, creative or artistic activities. These natives have no difficulty working as a team and will always seek to help and support other members. They are very sensitive to the energies of others and can easily feel the vibrations of the environments they are in, so it is normal that after a while socializing they need a moment alone to recharge their batteries.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[painted-bees]

Since I've been rotating Raf's mental illness in my mind this month as a way of smoothing my own brain, I've been thinking a lot about the ways his PPD and CPTSD symptoms interact, and how it affects his behaviors.

Firstly, Raf's paranoia isn't commonly accompanied by narcissistic traits. That is to say--he's not especially prone to believing that people have him on their mind all the time. If he walks past two people laughing, it's not his gut instinct to think that they are laughing at him. However, it is certainly his gut instinct to assume that they are laughing at someone.

But, unless they deliberately pause to regard him in an off putting way, his brain isn't gonna jump to the conclusion that he's the topic of their little chortle.

In fact, Raf rarely feels like he is being deliberately belittled by honest remarks when they are simply worded poorly. In some ways, he greatly prefers being called a jackass, to his face, in flat tones--than to receiving sweet, placating platitudes in a kindly tone. No matter how genuine the kindness may be behind the latter, Raf generally tends to interpret it...poorly. It gives him a really bad gut feeling, like they're buttering him up, mincing their words in a shallow attempt to gain his good opinion...all so that he won't suspect them later. Suspect them of what? Who knows. Something bad, something exploitative, something abusive. To him.

Raf doesn't suspect that everyone is out to use or exploit him. He fully believes that most people are capable of not thinking about him at all--even if he is physically present around them, such as in a busy train station. However, he does suspect that everyone who goes out of their way to interact with him, and especially everyone who wants to get to know him only do so in order to use or exploit him. And his basal understanding of human behavior is, generally, that kindness and good manner are most frequently used as tools of manipulation for personal gain rather than as an expression of genuine love and care. And he recognizes that this is only possible as a successful tool of manipulation because, just like him, everyone else wants to be genuinely loved and cared for.

Even his uncle, whom Raf does genuinely loves and trust, is suspected of being as kind and accommodating as he is to Raf only because doing so soothes his uncle's guilt and gives him a moral leg up over the rest of Raf's family. And part of Raf's initial willingness to trust his uncle is that his uncle never really...denies that this is, at the very least, a part of it. And--if that's all Uncle Bill really wanted outta Raf, then that was a perfectly livable arrangement.

Raf's CPTSD, on the other hand, generates the shame that serves as the crux for a lot of his self-critical introspection. Even before his diagnosis, he was harboring a sense that something was really, deeply wrong with him--like he wasn't a real person. And so, it felt radically audacious to assert that he deserved to behave as a real person; which included the right to feel and act upon anger and sadness--and to have those emotions received and treated with any level of respect by those around him. Until his final year at Juilliard, he was kind of in a placid(listless) state of learned helplessness. He'd do what ever he had to do to meet the expectations of his peers and instructors (namely, amphetamines. So much amphetamines.) It was just baaarely enough to get him his degree, and it ran him ragged and beyond resentful. He fully left Juilliard with the mindset of "I'm entering my villain era, I'm fully committed to being a Bad Guy, I am ok with everyone hating me now". And the "bad guy" behavior was just...saying no to stuff he didn't want to do, self-isolating, and outwardly expressing/lashing out when something viscerally upset him.

Which...thanks to the personality disorder, meant he became prone to yelling at people and accusing them of hurting or betraying him when they, in fact, did not. Especially...almost specifically the people closest to him, who cared the most about him and whom he cared the most for. And that's quickly what lead to his diagnosis, which kinda put an end to his 'villain arch'. So now he's back to reckoning with that sense of "something is really, deeply wrong with me", but at least now he has a growing understanding of what that is. And also the notion of "I have the 'bad person' disease--I am a Bad Person if I act on my core suspicions and beliefs, I cannot fucking trust myself, I can't trust my own perception of people or events." And now he's gotta balance that with whole "I deserve to feel safe, comfortable, and respected" alongside the critical notion of "but so does everyone else".

He hates it when people try to get to know him, he is fundamentally mistrustful of people. But at the same time, he has a lot of difficulty balancing his boundaries against the infringement of other people's boundaries--and the root understanding of "Something is wrong with me, I'm the problem, the fact that I think other people are the problem--is part of the problem that is me." is what motivates him to delay acting upon his negative impulses as much as is is able to, and to exercise kindness even when it feels like he's walking directly into a fire.

So, his overall kinda...thing is "I don't trust any of these guys, they clearly want something from me, and if I let them get close enough, they won't care if they have to hurt me to get it[PPD] but I'm a fundamentally busted person with a fucked up perspective and thus it is actually safer if I prioritize their comfort over my own[CPTSD] within certain parameters[therapy]"

and, idk...the big flashing red "ISOLATE, ISOLATE, ISOLATE" sign shows up in there on a frequent enough occasion that he just...has no real friends, despite a billion "good" acquaintances.

Despite all his mistrust and suspicions, the feelings of being fundamentally unlovable for willfully/protectively limiting the range of his 'usefulness', his terminally pessimistic outlook on the nature of human beings--he craves so tremendously to be loved and cared for and held and reassured in such a way and to such an extent that could never be fully sated, I am sure. But he couldn't stand to receive it from someone he can't believe in.

Margie accidentally hack speedran his CPTSD coping mechanisms so hard that she clipped through his paranoia until the collision error launched her into Trusted Person status. And he's just mostly confused and a bit anxious over how it all happened so fast.

[that's a joke...kinda]

[goldensunset]

i love n but looking at his final team in bw again it is. so bad. peace and love <3 but also i think it’s such a great detail

like it makes perfect sense in the story that the guy who doesn’t even like being a trainer, whose whole goal is to put an end to pokémon battling, would be bad at battling. cuz it’s not like he has a lot of experience with it. yeah he didn’t build a competitive team he’s just doing this with his friends kinda like penny. the previous times you fight him he uses only the random pokémon he finds around him like he’s just summoning the nearby forces of nature for aid like a disney prince or something. in the end he’s got a random medley of mons and the only logical explanation is those are the ones he’s had around for a long time and was always going to stick with

like so what if 2/3 of his final team are weak to fighting, 1/2 are weak to steel, 1/2 are weak to ground, etc. it’s whatever. those are the friends he happens to have and he’s loyal to them. so what if their abilities are either useless with how he uses them (illusion, plus) or an active hindrance (defeatist). so what if he doesn’t even have a dragon type move on zekrom/reshiram they can use either whatever they want to use idk man. no held items? no problem. he’s not about that artificial sweetener microplastic man-made item life they are living like nature

basically like he isn’t gonna judge them for who they are or what they wanna do. they’re his allies not his tools he’s not going to betray his ideals even for the sake of having a better shot at winning. it’s his friends or nothing

like. n is the guy who looks at the small picture of things over the big picture. he was never going to be able to beat the player and become the true reigning champion and hero of unova who has the authority to shut down trainerdom forever without approaching that battle with a strategic mindset and/or boxing his friends. he sacrifices his larger goal because he would never want to be the hypocrite who treats his own pokémon like tools while preaching that other people shouldn’t

(makes him like the exact opposite of ghetsis who’s strong yet evil while preaching goodness. who in fact directly benefits from abusing his pokémon (max frustration hydreigon, enough said))

and in turn like… he definitely knew this. he talks a big game but there’s no way that in his heart he didn’t already understand that he was gonna lose to the player. like @claitea once pointed out in this post the archeops with the defeatist ability for example is kind of symbolic here. n is a smart guy he must’ve figured out like halfway through the game that he wasn’t strong enough, that it just wasn’t meant to be for him, that ghetsis didn’t really see him as capable or worthy of respect, something like that. and his ideals were wavering anyway after having seen the truth about trainers and their pokémon out in the world. in his heart he had already half given up but was too stubborn to admit it, much like anthea says

the other way to interpret this of course is that since ghetsis has been introducing n to all these pokémon that have been abused (perhaps even abused *because* they were weak) in order to manipulate his heart, n has been taking care of these guys in particular and therefore has been closely bonding with them as the friends he wants to battle with. you could say ghetsis also has an incentive to ensure that n’s team isn’t strong enough to defeat his own in case n decided to revolt, thus he wanted to introduce him to a bunch of super weak pokémon. and again like @claitea says it’s odd that n would have a fossilmon like why would he have a fossil or go somewhere to revive it. decent chance he got that from ghetsis

but also like ghetsis did want n to be the strongest trainer in the region so he probably was hoping n would still do better than that. it could just be that ghetsis’ plan therefore backfired terribly bc oops you taught your son to love and defend all the weakest and least loved pokémon regardless of what they could provide for people and then they failed to provide for him. go figure

so either ghetsis apparently thought n’s team was good enough for him to give his son the green light to go ahead like that (which like. he was almost right except the player is built different) or he secretly really was banking on n losing. so that he had an excuse to toss him out like trash at the last second because that was his plan anyway

tldr feel free to disagree with any of these points or interpretations etc but like i LOVE it when they prioritize subtle storytelling and characterization over objective quality when building characters’ teams

[egg-emperor]

Does Eggman really admire Gerald, or is he simply using the clout that comes with Gerald's legacy as a way to boost his own reputation?

"My grandfather was the legendary genius Gerald Robotnik! But you'll see that my inventions are far greater than his!"

I imagine it being something like that.

I can't imagine a hyper narcissist like Eggman respecting anyone, not even family, for such a long period of time. Gerald's greatest achievement was creating the space colony ARK, but Eggman's at a point in his life where he himself has made a plethora of giant space stations, captured entire planets, and successfully conquered a beast that eats space-time itself.

I'm certain Eggman is aware of the fact that he's achieved things on par with and greater than what Gerald ever did. So why would Eggman still put Gerald in a shining light?

The way I see it, Eggman admires his grandfather as much and as genuinely as an extremely self-centred egotistical narcissist can, which I don't think has to be not at all. By the way he talks about him at the end of SA2, it seems he does genuinely admire him and what he accomplished, in his own way. I think it's cool and interesting for him to actually kind of admire someone that isn't himself somewhat. And it gives the sense of betrayal he felt from his idol for almost dying because of him more impact, it wouldn't have as much meaning if he didn't really admire him in some way.

I like it because it's a rare case where he admires someone that isn't himself but it's not in an uncharacteristic way that goes against his attitude towards everyone else because it's in the most egotistical and self-centred way. Even his reflective speech at the end of SA2 wasn't without mentioning that he wanted to be "a great scientist like him". And not because of the goodness of what he tried to do for the world as he doesn't mention it at all, it was for his greatness with his genius, skill, and accomplishments from an academic perspective, not a moral one. He just wants to be a famous renowned scientist for his ego, not to help people.

He just wanted to be as successful as him and recognized and hailed for it, well even more than him because he's so egotistical to the point he wants all the attention in the world, and it seems that's what it was really always about in the way he talks about him. What it means for his potential, what he must be capable of too, and the attention and importance he could have, that's his mindset. It seems his relation to Gerald has always been a source of inspiration and pride, when he can say he's related to what was the greatest scientific genius of his time and the way he helps him recognize his own genius and potential.

His pride in his relation to him is obvious in the way he's always sure to emphasize "that's MY grandpa" when talking about how he was brilliant scientific genius

And when he mentioned him in TailsTube, he just had to say scientific genius runs in the family as a way to bring it back to praising himself

He likes to remind people he's related to another genius and use it to boast. He can barely praise him without praising/making it about himself. There's a pattern in the circumstances he praises the skills/abilities/accomplishments of others, Gerald, Sonic, Sage, etc- they can all be used to praise himself with his connection to them. Because that's his grandfather, his arch nemesis, his creation. If they have respectable skills, what does that say about him as Gerald's genius grandson, or Sonic's longest strongest enemy, or Sage's brilliant creator? He can use them to say that he's even better for one reason or another.

And yes, as much as he admires Gerald, he still absolutely puts himself above him. He sees his accomplishments as far greater as a result, as well as of course being due to his massive ego and narcissism too. He seeks to surpass his grandfather and be recognized and hailed as the very greatest as he says he will mark a place in history as the ULTIMATE genius, that puts him above Gerald as the all time ultimate genius in history

That's what he's aiming for, not second best. He wants to be the greatest of all time and go down in history like that.

And he says that despite Gerald's accomplishments in the past, it's his time now to be even greater

And in Generations, he says nobody is as smart as himself for why he teamed up with himself from the past. With that it's just like a big fuck you to Gerald lol

Not that he actually had Gerald on his mind at all when all he does is think about himself but he definitely really does think of himself as smarter and greater and even more brilliant than him because he's just that narcissistic and egotistical.

He still sees his own genius and accomplishments above all and Gerald is actually no exception despite the small amount of rare admiration he held for someone who wasn't himself. And it seems his admiration is mostly formed through the lense of what it means for him, his own skills and genius, what he's capable of and who he could become with his potential, which is why he was inspirational to him and regarded as a hero of his.

With the ways he's talked about him, him saying something like "My grandfather was the legendary genius Gerald Robotnik! But you'll see that my inventions are far greater than his!" would be fitting and seems to be his mindset, unsurprisingly. Now that he's far surpassed him by the sheer scale and volume of his accomplishments in science and the vast number to his name, he can boast about that too and use Gerald as a measuring stick and emphasis for his own greatness in comparison.

And it's a good point because while Gerald was a very smart brilliant man with impressive accomplishments and Eggman is a massive egotist, he has built tons of giant space stations, captured planets, taken control of world destroying beasts, created hundreds of copies of the ultimate lifeform Gerald created one of, even broken the world apart more successfully than he attempted, albeit for very different reasons and intended outcomes XD And his scientific accomplishments were done alone without a team of scientists and government funding like Gerald. So he kinda has a point, he just goes about it in the most egotistical way lol

I feel like it can still count as genuine admiration even if he does think of himself as superior and uses Gerald's status to boost his own ego further, it's just in his own narcissistic way but it's still something. He always recognizes the skills and strengths of others and can commend them for it, and it seems to be because of how he can use them to hype up himself for his connection to them, which he especially can when he's part of the same bloodline like Gerald. And his main focus in it was always how Gerald's accomplishments further proved his own potential to become a great scientist too and his desire to be renowned and much more successful too.

As much as he admired his grandpa and saw him as his "hero", he always thinks of himself the most highly and still takes little shots at him even indirectly. However, I don't think he'd completely downplay Gerald's skills and accomplishments and deny their impact and the things he found admirable and impressive, even after he's accomplished all that and more. Because he can compare and say "What he was capable of was impressive but I'm capable of even greater, just look at all the things I've done!" and inflate his ego even more! So credit where it's due is a good thing but he can still say all his accomplishments pale in comparison to all the things he's done to look even better.

I really like how unique and fitting Eggman's way of admiring things about others are and how it's still consistent with and a part of his narcissism and egotism, even, because it's through a lense of what it can say about himself too. And the way all signs point at Eggman being inspired by Gerald's greatness and accomplishments from an academic perspective and his status of being brilliant and renowned, instead of the way he worked to help people. It's like Eggman wanted to follow in Gerald's footsteps and looked up to him in a sense and saw him as a hero, but always had the much more selfish goal of being praised and famous in mind, instead of helping others. And that's what sets them apart in the coolest way!

[xinsareforever]

I honestly love reading your headcannons. I would love to see Answer and Zato sfw and nsfw height difference headcannon where reader was shorter than them

Answer x Reader (R) / ZATO-1 x reader (R)

Topic: SFW and NSFW with a short reader

A/N: YOU SKIPPED THE LINE WITH THIS ONE !!

TAGS: SFW, fluff,NSFW, height difference, 18+, doub. penetration, Gen neutral

---

SFW

- Despite the height difference, he would respect the reader's capabilities, whether in combat or other talents. His reactions might lean more on the considerate side, possibly being protective but also making sure to never underestimate them because of their stature.

- He might casually tease the reader about their height in a lighthearted way but always in a respectful tone. "Guess I’ll have to duck a bit more around you, huh?"

-When fighting or training together, he might quickly offer tips or adjust strategies that best suit the reader’s size, never seeing it as a limitation. "Your speed is your strength—use that to your advantage."

-Answer is always business-focused, so he'd never make the reader feel inadequate because of their height. He would probably even praise them for using it to their advantage in ninja-like tactics.

NSFW

(NOW THE GUD PART)

-He will still love you the same way In the bedroom. He will try to actually consider the height difference while doing it and try not to hurt you in anyway possible.

-Its really all on you the way you want it; Answer is always respectful of what you want and is trying to make sure you are ok with what ever he is about to do.

-He may also tease you during it. Saying that "You don't want him to pull out since your really tight". You give him a flustered look, blushing at him but you're to into the pleasure to care much

-When he releases, not really a big load but will take it out most likely if he's not ready for kids. Don't worry his pull out game is good !

-Will always try to care for you after sex and makes sure to get you anything that you want. If you need anything he's most likely already gone before you say something.

SFW

-Zato, being more mysterious and reserved, might approach the situation differently. With his connection to the shadow, Eddie, his interaction with the reader could reflect his quiet and calculating nature. However, the height difference wouldn't be much of an issue for Zato. He would be more focused on their abilities and mindset.

-Zato likely wouldn’t comment on the reader’s height often. He’s not the type to point out something so trivial, unless it’s in a specific context. He values strength and strategic thinking over physical traits.

-Given Zato's darker, more intense personality, he might feel protective of the reader, especially when their height makes them seem more vulnerable. His shadow, Eddie, might reflect this by wrapping protectively around the reader during combat or tense moments.

-Zato might subtly guide the reader, teaching them ways to use their size to their advantage in combat or negotiations. He would appreciate a quick and nimble ally, using their smaller stature for precise, hard-to-read movements.

-Well if you already know how to use combat (which you should) Zato will let you fight on your own but will not let you get pummeled at all. SO he always there by your side.

---

NSFW

-Like Answer, Zato will consider your height and try to be gentle on you. He's also trying to instruct you kind of in his way of making sure nothing bad happens. You do not have to listen to him though and go your own pace.

-Zato is a gentle and savory gentlemen during sex and goes slowly on you trying to make you two comfortable while chasing your highs. He also adores seeing you small structure under his muscular body,

-Eddie will try to mess around during you and Zato's private time and try to sneak in a tentacle. When you call it out, it stops completely and Zato just tells you that its just Eddie

-Again, Zato does not mind what you want and will do it for you. If you want it rough your definitely in for a ride. Hoping Venom or Millia does not hear you two. Your moans are gonna be laced in Zato's name as he goes deeper into you.

-"Lower your voice Y/N it my alert others near" as he covers your mouth.

-Zato will care for you after intercourse as always. Trying to make sure your all set and ready for bed; Trying to be close to him and cuddling up together.

[izu]

What is this twitter drama about Liu Kang?

i guess ill give context but it really is so fucking stupid it honestly doesn't even feel worth explaining.

basically i made a post that implied liu kang had more control over the timeline than he originally says he does, and that his emotions lead him to intentionally keep the timeline as close to the last one as possible, with few and obvious changes. this included "making sure" johnny's homelife was bad, and that his brother and father were still going to be abusive and serve as a hard lesson for cage.

people didn't like that i was talking about this, or more importantly that i was implying liu had direct control over individual champion lives. which is not at all what i was saying. my intent was to highlight the questionable ethics towards liu kang's intent to keep the new timeline as similar as possible. and how johnny specifically, if he ever found out about this, would be fuckin pissed. that's all. i wasn't even saying "this is how it is!" i was merely making a theoretical based on the little information we have about titan kang and his powers. and how little autonomy people like smoke, syzoth, sindel, kenshi, johnny etc would actually have in this situation.

we have a single game that tells us basically nothing about what he did/how he ensured everyone would be ready and willing for his tournament when it was finally time aside from showing up and recruiting them. at convenient and premeditated times, might i add.

it is undeniably true he had SOME insight to how things would play out. i think mindlessly accepting his "trust me bro" mindset is just boring, and i was theorizing that its intentional.

people got. UPSET. im talking like, calling me a dumbass, putting me publicly on blast bc they didn't agree and telling me i didnt play the game. 😭 like?? idk. it was never that serious but twitter does what twitter does and turned it into "lets laugh at him for daring to go against canon" kind of thing. i went to bed expecting no one to see it. i even debated with a really kind person who was willing to be respectful and be like "hey so he probably doesn't actually have any control over these factors at all". i wasn't expecting people to agree.

just so im not getting too long winded here, this is just how mk twitter is. there's a LOT of unnecessary fighting and vitriol, and basically every day there's a new thing the community is pissed and attacking others about. quite literally over the stupidest of shit that everyone involved is more than capable of scrolling away from.

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

I just wanted to say that I am really envious of the way you write the Vees. As someone who struggles with making characters woobiefying and with characterization in general, I appreciate how you can write these characters perfectly that the show didn’t have time to portray. I didn’t have a specific request, but now I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to analyze and write a character, even if you have a personal bias towards them?

Awww thank you so much ❤️ I don't have like any degree in literature or anything that would give me credibility in giving writing advice, usually I just go with the flow. But I'll do my best!

Imo the most fundamental thing is the way you think about characters. In fandom spaces, we very often see them as "people we like" - hence all the discourses like in Valentino's case "if you like him it means you are a bad person". I think that woobification is influenced by this cognitive dissonance caused by liking characters that should be unlikeable. For me the way out of it was giving up "characters as people" mindset and changing it for "characters as tools". Bacause that's what they are - tools you use to build your narrative. When I say I love Valentino I don't mean I would shake his hand - I mean he's my favourite toy I can do multiple things with. And it's his flaws that make him so much fun. Because outside of the comedy genre, narrative cannot exist without conflict. The more flaws a character has, the more conflict it causes. That's why villains are such a powerful driving force for stories (here are some great essays about it: 1, 2). Put any character in the room with Val and you have an interesting bit not only because of the usual character differences that could happen between eg. Vaggie and Husk but also because stakes suddenly become high. What will he do? Will he hurt them? We saw what he's capable of. Will he be nice? Man, that's even worse because it means he has his own motive to be nice. What might it be? That's what keeps the audience engaged with your writing. Extra points if you give him some human weaknesses or conflicting desires. When it comes to characterization, nuance is the key. That's why I love VoxVal so much - two characters that are absolutely awful but they are fiercely in love. How could Valentino be capable of simply caring about someone but himself? What kind of human is buried underneath all this evil? So much to unpack here. Nothing I'd like to experience but everything I'd like to see from a safe distance. Consider: would you even like the Vees so much in the beginning if they were just other guests at the hotel? In the show, neither of them has a single redeemable quality. And yet, here we are.

When it comes to writing characteristics it's also important to watch characters from different perspectives - that helps with giving them nuance. Let's take Vox. People seem to like and respect him, he's obviously an influential figure (he has a lot of social power). But from Alastor's perspective, he's just a pathetic little attention-seeking looser (he has a fragile ego and lowe self-esteem). Yet his assistant seemed to be scared shitless while talking to him (he had done things that made people from his closer look aware that he's dangerous). Angel knows he watches his abuse and hangs out with Valentino (at best he's indifferent to other's suffering, at worst he enjoys it). Carmilla doesn't respect him but they are on terms good enough, Vox wants to do business with her (he's a competent business partner). For the rest of Vees he's smart enough to listen to him but at the same time he's their cringefail naurospicy bestie. Add all of those perspectives together and you have yourself a multidimensional character that can interact with other elements of the narrative in vastly different ways. Also, from that point you can build up, asking yourself other questions "What would they think/do/say?".

Also, the last thing: every character needs a clear goal that influences all their decision. Choose it and always keep it in mind. Bonus points: a character has two main goals that are contradictory. When I write Vox he has two goal: power and adoration. He always has to choose which one is more important to him because while he has measures to achieve great power, some things that he would want to do are socially undesirable. In Valentino's case: hedonistic pleasure and immediate gratification vs love for Vox that demands sacrifices and compromises.

So anyway I hope that will be helpful to you <3 And don't be too hard on yourself when it comes to writing, not everything must be Game of Thrones. Especially in fandom spaces, sometimes we all want to indulge in some simple fluff or crack.

[pommunist]

I don't wanna say this under my own name because I'm friends with too many Quackity fans, but god, everything about his actions just makes me think that what he cares about is just avoiding legal trouble and protecting his own public image

And maybe also about his friends to be fair

(I mean to his credit, I don't think he cares about money either)

He says he's doing all this for the viewers, but I guess that doesn't include the viewers who care about the French streamers or the French characters

And I don't see any hint of him genuinely caring about the workers. This is not how you treat someone you care about. He keeps implying that he can't talk to anyone because of "leaks" but what the fuck could be so bad about the "leaks" that it justifies this kind of disrespect? Why is this secrecy more important than the needs of the workers?

Nobody's asking him to reveal his biggest secrets to the workers, everyone is just asking for him to TALK to them at least, and hearing them out

He also says he can't talk because he doesn't want to make false promises, then just say that! Again, nobody asked him to promise them a job in the future, we just want him to be honest and respectful! Just tell them directly that you don't know yet and listen to their thoughts on the situation! Ask them how you can alleviate the inconvenience if it's within your means! Just talk to them like they're fellow adults who are capable of having a reasonable conversation! Because they are!

The union mentioned that some of the workers had basically been told by management that they should be grateful to be allowed to work for Quackity Studios and ngl, I wonder if this is not only the view of higher management but of Quackity himself too. That's the question I keep asking myself and not daring to say out loud: does he see the lower level workers as just fans who should be happy they were even allowed to participate at all?

- 🐧

First I never mind anonymous asks so no problem dont worry !

Second I tbh don’t want to assume what Q true intentions really are because heavy speculation isn’t productive and can lead to more stress in general. However I think that we can agree that he isn’t doing it all for the money, given that we’ve always known QSMP was never and problably even supposed to be a profitable thing (just the hosting and translation costs alone point to this).

That said, I do agree that everything that has been done up to this point and since Lea started to reveal things seems to be more damage control and trying to avoid legal issues than actually trying to be fair to the workers. This isn’t even speculation if you consider the sudden firing of Twitter admins and the silent towards all the other admins.

Obviously, when you’re a company or an individual you wanna avoid a lawsuit at all cost. It is a logical business move, morally I don’t agree with that mindset ofc, and I also feel like it’s a misunderstanding of the intentions of most of the admins.

I don’t know any of them personally but none of them, so far, have publicly said they wanted to take the legal route or even sue Qstudios. In fact, most if not all of them have expressed their love of the project and wished for it to continue with better working conditions. Some admins also said they didn’t care about getting paid, that volunteer work was fine if they had done it without the stress and pressure. Side note if it ever comes out that some admins want to take the legal route to make their rights be recognised and be compensated then my full support to them.

As if he is doing all this for preserving his image (i say IF) then what a terrible job he’s doing. I hope I’m making very clear that QSMP and Q’s image with french speakers fans (and non fans, and other French Ccs) is in literal ruins.

Also I feel like there was a genuine wish to add different cultures, I’m talking specifically about the French and BRs here, but an underestimating of the work it takes to actually merge people from different backgrounds and that it goes beyond just putting CCs from all over the world on minecraft with a translator. The fact that there was no FR, PT or KR speaking upper admin at all in the team baffles me to this day.

Worst thing is that we probably only know like a fraction of the overwork, miscommunication and intimidation that went on behind the scenes. Heart aches for all of those who went through it. All the love to them ♥️

[brookiidookiii]

Okay, okay, listen. Brick is an example of angelic patience, even after all the threats and arguments with Jo, in the cave he says "oh Jo, this perfume suits you 😊😊" But what do you think would put an end to his patience???.........

the closest we ever got to this was in ep4 where he wants to yell at her so bad at the campfire ceremony but i think about this so often. maybe if she did something rlly heinous that went against his cadet code but he has this strict "i could never lay my hands on a woman" mindset but jos such an asshole it tests him so bad. like im gonna say if he physically hurt her she wouldnt even be mad at him shed be like wow i wasnt expecting that. then punch him 10x harder

so something regarding his cadet code would push him over the edge since yk ep4 he was so mad at her for making him go against his values, and all for nothing. I had a fanfic idea for this too like jo being an asshole just wants to see what it’ll take for brick to get fed up with her and finally snap and yell at her. And she loves getting him riled up too it’s so fun to her. She does not care when bricks yelling at her or trying to establish rules and boundaries with her. Plus it’s funny when he gets mad.

something ive also thought about is when jo gets eliminated, i just know brick would use that as an opportunity to gloat in her face about how she rejected all his values about teamwork which lead to her elimination. so many ppl forget like yess he is a sweetheart but also he can be cocky and overconfident (his first confessional was him bragging about how hes the most capable + all his dumb awards and acting like hes hot shit) and that one time he found a way to scare off that blind molerat thing with his shoe bc it smelt so bad. he was so happy and the way he was acting was like some kind of power trip bc during his time on td he was under jos foot and taking orders from her so idk! him finding a way to gloat in her face would be funny bc she knows bricks right but is way too arrogant to admit it. so it makes seeing him after her elimination 10x worse. this mightve gotten a bit off topic but whatever i think his morals around his code and jo and how shes the only contestant to get him to go against it is so important to me. he knew her for not even 5 days and already trusted and respected her judgement that much that hed go against all his morals and rules that hes so strict about. what a legend.

so tldr bricks code is his most important thing to him so the next time jo manages to get him to go against his code and it backfires on them itd make him so mad and that would be what ends his patience with jo

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

https://x.com/ewancentral/status/1820996793259131336?t=ktNikcfwme4__d-v6bIyzw&s=19

☠️

Hello!

I assume you are referring to the "I have this knowledge that's on a higher realm and I cannot and will not go and kill people for male ego and toxicity" part in particular.

Well, while I respect Phia and agree with a lot of her takes that I have read so far, in this case my agreement is only partial.

What Aemond has been doing in the show so far IMO is a case of male ego showing itself only in the part where he believes (up to a certain point) himself capable of winning the war mostly by himself. Here also goes him taking Aegon and Sunfyre out without giving it a second thought. While I still maintain that even if Sunfyre remained in the game, the Greens would be still heavily outnumbered dragonwise and would need to at least consider bringing Dreamfyre in anyway, Aemond's move was by no means a wise one (for the purpose of this post I disregard the relationship aspect of this move which is that Aegon is his brother).

However, Phia's words (it's not quite clear whether she is simply describing Helaena's mindset or simultaneously adheres to her views) seem to imply that Aemond lacks any other motivation than satisfying his ego. And this is where my disagreement lies: did Helaena miss the part where Aemond was desperately screaming at their mother that their lives are at stake now? Does she not give a damn about the threat coming from the Blacks (just like her mother), not even after her child was murdered? Does she think Aemond is bullshitting them and he doesn't really care about the possibility of them all being killed but simply wants to continue the bloodshed? Does she know that he is bullshitting them (is she a telepath now as well as a seer)? At this point, Aemond really is one of the few Greens who is willing to continue fighting for their cause and for their lives - or is it considered toxic in itself now?

To be honest, all this kind of undermines Phia's "She knows him and she loves him" as well, the first part in particular. Does she really?

[moraloreldeservedbetter]

*sigh*

I really REALLY don't want to believe it. like I think bloberta is getting more and more disillusioned with trad wife life, we slowly see her detaching from her physical reality. i mean, mentally she's stronger than clay, so it's not impossible for her to just quit one day, esp. after the show finale. she remains constricted in these walks bc she decided to just not let herself to be something else, when in reality she can. it would be hard, yes, but she got the grasp and a certain realism to her judgements when she needs to. so in personal characteristics she is doing relatively fine so she's capable of handling this, with some help, but without a need to re-marry.

i also doubt that she has any faith in men of town left in her. in Numb she literally goes to several and tries to get them to appreciate her for her. none does, so from her perspective where's the guarantee that this one is going to be any different. i think she still have self-respect to not just beg for love in the most extreme sense.

but realistically, i do believe that re-marrying would be the easiest way out for her. even if she's not that desperate for love, her economic and social situations would be really shitty. she proper don't have any money of her own, everything is a family account, a 12 y.o. gap in her resume, no job experience, one illegitimate child and one odd (I don't even think that Block is a foster kid, there's literally no paperwork done, he's just hanging out there), neither of whom are entitled to child support from Clay, Orel, who is either goes with her, so Clay pays child support and she has at least some money, but also three children to feed; they share parent duty, neither is paying child support, but she would still have to pay for him in her time of care; Orel stays with Clay and she has to pay child support. apart from that, a social stigma, like the one florence and dotty have. I dont think she wants that kind of struggle, so even if it's not like a desperation for love, it still a dire situations for her. Roger Papermouth is just a figurehead for a provider first and a lover second. it's the same as it was with Clay – practicality first, and live will eventually come day.

the only way for her to leave the screen relatively unbothered by her new position in the society as a divorced middle-aged mother is to leave everything and everyone being and find a friend or a family member to help her for the first period of time. it means she drops her old life, her children, everything and leaves. this scenario though requires at least one friend or a family member who's ready to help her out. and from the show it's unclear if she still stays in touch with her siblings or old girl friends. Like it could possibly work with the help of Modella or Milly, but again, how available are they actually.

i thought about it a lot, it makes me really sad and depressed actually. she can do it, but does she wans to go through all of that? i do think that she's not that desperate, and Roger is just a safer option. but i wish she ran away. she needs to get out of this mindset all together to actually be happy.

hopey shit i did not mean to cause analysis to happen today but here y'all go!!

have fun!!

i genuinely mean this

im actually happy that there's still people actually talking about this silly little puppet show

[meadow-roses]

reblog to get an ask, you say? well. i love your sketches and doodles and have been checking your blog pretty much daily for almost three years now to see your green ember, keepers, deepwood, and shifters art. i love felix and skylar's dynamic and id love to know more about their relationship in particular!

Oh my goodness thank you 🥺😭

That means so much! I'm so glad you've enjoyed it all and you've been here 3 years????? 😭😭 Thank you,,,, 🥺🥺

Oh man there's so much for Felix and Skylar afcfhf the story has kinda built itself around these two basically since it's conception like 4 years ago. It's hard to describe it cause I can't think of any trope they slot into nicely to shorthand describe them 😂

Since I don't know how to put this concisely I'll just ramble about them under the cut lol!

So Felix is this funny guy who's super chill and casual about stuff all the time but also is so so oriented around friends. He'll meet someone and just be like "You're my new friend now I decided", which meshes with Skylar's 'loner protagonist' tendencies hilariously. Skylar's just cruising around the universe with Gigi, popping in here and there to save the day then disappear as spontaneously as he arrived under this assumption that it will always only ever be him and his brother (hair blowing dramatic in the wind(that's all he really needs, right?)). Then he meets this guy who's just as stubborn as he is that he can't seem to shake off his tail?? It doesn't matter what time or planet or dimension he goes off to, this guy's always there! It's like the universe itself is pulling this on him. He doesn't like how the guy's face lights up whenever he sees him and sometimes he says some pretty crazy stuff like "we're best friends in the future" like that would ever happen. 🙄

Meanwhile Felix is just struggling. His entire life has always been structured around "his people"- friends, neighbors, family, coworkers- anyone he can make a connection with. But now they're all gone, and worse still he can't settle in and try to make new connections, he's gotta figure out how to get home! In the midst of all this he keeps running into the same kid over and over and over again who seems to be living in this mindset that he's the only person who's really real. It starts out with him thinking "man this kid needs an adult in his life" but the more they hang out the more they develop this mutual respect for each other. Skylar may be a teenager, but also he's brave and capable and has seen so much- he's literally hundreds of years old. Felix may be a silly softie who likes following rules so much he invents his own and his hair style is super dumb, he doesn't fit the impossible standard of "manhood" Skylar's father set for him, but he is pretty brave and capable and something about how he talks about his own kids hurts somewhere deep down (though he'd never admit it) and he just WANTS to be home SOMEWHERE actually. Despite all the pretending he can't fully bury that ache.

So reluctantly, not like he'd actually admit that's what he's doing, he starts purposefully crossing paths with this crazy weirdo who's trying to map the universe (?? literally what kind of idea is that??) Skylar may be human but he hasn't lived like a human for so long it's almost like he's become some Other magic thing. ...and the more time goes on the more Felix changes too. By the time he finally finds his home he's changed so much from the (admittedly unusual) man he was before and there's no going back. And it kind of ends up that all they've got is each other who really understands what it's like... seeing all of time play out in snapshots here and there, dying a hundred deaths and watching the hundreds of lives being lived all around you.

Please please go read this comic August made :DDD (at this point Felix still doesn't know really what happened, why Skylar left home and refuses to even try to go back. So he's got as much context in this conversation as you all do. ;)

There's so much of this too that just goes unsaid in their relationship. Felix is a quiet guy and he's not great with words- especially spur of the moment- if he's gonna say something he's gotta plan out the whole "script" in advance. Skylar's got so many layers of emotional repression and is like. allergic to ever giving a straight answer to anything or talking about his feelings (yuck), but they don't need words to know how much the other one cares. You just end up with these two dudes who just... they love each other, ya know? The closest I've ever seen their dynamic get to another piece of media is Kuzco and Pacha from "The Emperor's New Groove". 😂

Anyway thanks for reading this far. As I'm sure anyone who follows this blog is aware I am insane about these guys adsfdsaf