#being wrecked by her feelings

[queenoftheboard]

♕ headcanon . forming attachment with others & expressing feelings

Given Eirene's complicated childhood with an abusive father, equally difficult siblings and losing her mother at a young age, it should be no surprise that she has difficulty forming attachment with others and acknowledging or working with her emotions in healthy ways.

This was made worse by the fact that Eirene was viewed as some sort of prized 'commodity'; as referenced here, the only reason that Bryce cared for Eirene was because of the 'asset' she represented to him - the right DNA combined with a very rational mind and a logical skillset. Eirene's sense of worth was built around being a 'Campbell' and needing to prove herself to Bryce and the other family members as 'the best of them all', as shown in the interrogations. Not even the notion that Bryce had hired bandits to have her killed (in principle) changed that.

The final straw was really the way he attempted to manipulate her sinner powers - and for the first time, Eirene had the chance to completely overhaul the board and take charge instead. Awakening as a Sinner was the best thing that could have happened to her - it offered Eirene the ability to break free of the invisible shackles her father had on her, becoming truly unstoppable with the backing of her name and fortune (which she later expanded with incredible success under Quinn).

Combining everything (her passion for chess; the preference for cold logic and long-term planning; her terrible examples at home), Eirene came to view people as pawns herself, replicating Bryce's view of the world to a degree. Although she is shown to be less ruthless than her father in relation to kin (by refusing to outright kill him despite everything) and aware that one can have the loyalty of others through different means, this doesn't change the fact that Eirene typically struggles with the notion of developing feelings and growing attached to anyone.

The first indicative that she has feelings for someone tends to appear in a rather possessive/territorial sort of way; this is a reflection of the fact that she sees people as 'things' in a way, and as they become increasingly 'precious' to Eirene, so does her tendency to 'protect' them (even if she masks it under some sort of entitlement - i.e. 'no only can hurt them but me', where she has a rivalry of sorts with someone).

It's not a coincidence that most of her sexual kinks and inclinations are almost always associated to control and dominance. Therefore, accepting defeat/surrendering control/willingly allowing others to dictate the pace or rhythm is another indication of some genuine interest - if Eirene has no emotions towards the other person with her in intimate moments, attempting to fight or subvert her orders ends with her outright leaving the room (and likely refusing any payment owed on the grounds of 'unsatisfactory service provided').

If these relationships are not interrupted in some way or form, Eirene will generally be confronted with the 'illogical' aspect of these connections at some point - she will be acting in ways where the risks far outweigh the rewards (in other words: in a pure selfless manner, which does not corroborate her greed alignment and overall modus operandi) and that is not something she can rationally explain... Because emotions and feelings are not always rational.

At these moments, Eirene's struggle to connect with her feelings (after all, she's no machine) will come collect the price: chances are that the woman will be momentarily incapacitated, given the emotional overload and crushing intensity of these feelings being finally allowed to emerge (or rather, acknowledged). Eirene has long considered these as 'weaknesses' in her mind, and realizing that there is a sincere bond with others will be an immediate vulnerability for her, leaving her usual mental abilities under strain and susceptible to some forms of manipulation, too.

Ultimately, whatever becomes of Eirene and the other person will depend on a case by case basis - in some situations, these bonds may fortify and empower her, showing that having these trusted connections are not problems but solutions; in other cases, however, she may ultimately decide to push those people away and sever ties, retreating into her prior (and familiar) way of operation through compartmentalization and still refusing to trust others.

In other verses where she is not a Sinner, the development of her emotional intelligence follows a similar pattern: logic and rationality were always weapons Eirene needed to survive a harsh environment, and the same preferences/tendencies will appear until she is forced to see the invariable truth before her eyes and make a decision on how to proceed (i.e. embracing versus rejecting that attachment).

[catdoingblep]

[fountainpenguin]

Things that happened in Martyn & Cleo Double Life canon:

Cleo hoping to find her soulmate and start a life with them

Cleo dumping Martyn without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story, but hearing him out when he comes to her later

Martyn watching Cleo through his spyglass and telling the audience she seems safe and happy even though he thinks it's weird she's outside at night

Martyn, after he's had time to consider how he wants to play this, spinning a story about trying to be a provider for her and Cleo explaining that she wanted him, not things

Cleo not being remotely impressed by the "I was providing" sob story, lol

Martyn calling Cleo selfish for choosing to be with Scott because she's supposed to be HIS soulmate and he wants a partner

Cleo willing to forgive Martyn if he meets them halfway

Martyn refusing to meet them halfway because he doesn't think he did anything wrong

Martyn screaming about how Cleo's building bridges with Scott but "When will she think about mending our bridges???"

Martyn explaining to Cleo that he doesn't understand why his Session 1 actions bothered them

Martyn centering his character arc and roleplay on trying to win Cleo back without actually apologizing

Cleo giving Martyn a flower and stating that if he loses it, she'll be real cross with him

Cleo chasing Martyn out of her yard because he tried to put an HOA sign on her base and she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't associated with them and their hate for his base (even though she does think his heart base is strange)

Martyn attacking Cleo after she said attacking is a form of affection to her

Cleo setting boundaries with Martyn and explaining what he can do to get her back

Cleo sighing when Scar set her up on a date with Martyn, but taking the chance to talk to him instead of walking out

Cleo genuinely wanting Martyn in her alliance

Martyn and Cleo giggling constantly when they chat

Scar asking if Martyn wanted him to play a romantic music disc for him and Cleo (and Martyn getting excited and saying yes)

Martyn offering to take Cleo's armor and weapons to the deep dark so he can enchant them and bring them back while she stays safe

Cleo gifting Martyn diamonds, expecting nothing in return but not wanting him to die from lack of a good sword

Martyn and Cleo forming a secret alliance that allows Cleo to live with Scott while being on good terms with Martyn

Martyn expressing frustration that Cleo wants to keep this alliance secret because he wants them to be public allies; Cleo softly shushes him when people approach and might overhear

Martyn telling Cleo that she's putting out a lot of mixed signals because she keeps reeling him in and then pushing him away, claiming he is very confused about where he stands with her

Martyn teasing Cleo by punching her off a cliff and accidentally killing her and feeling so bad about it that he apologizes profusely despite roleplaying as someone who refused to apologize for Session 1

Martyn and Cleo immediately threatening Bdubs together when he said hi to them while they were hanging out, sdkfj

Martyn genuinely apologizing to Pearl for dumping her after Session 1

Martyn hiding under Cleo's bed while she defends him from an enderman attack

Cleo offering to let Martyn move into her house after Etho and Joel grief his base; Martyn saying he might take her up on that

Cleo and Martyn agreeing to move out and base together at Box

Cleo trusting Martyn with the location and resources of her red life base

Martyn rushing to Cleo's aid in the deep dark and trying to turn everyone against him instead

Cleo responding to Martyn's panicked shouts for her to eat by opening her inventory to get food (and drowning because she forgot she was in water)

Cleo hanging back and letting Martyn attack Scott while she does nothing to stop him from doing so, implying as much as she likes Scott, she won't kill Martyn (and herself) for him (and/or she trusted Scott to handle himself even though he ran away while Martyn was shooting at him)

Things that did not happen:

Cleo unwilling to forgive Martyn or consider being his friend and partner

Martyn and Cleo hating each other

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[petricorah]

humble offer of an au instead of (a continuation of) divorced zukka

Zuko fakes his death:

Someone's been trying to assassinate him. It's long after Sokka leaves, and they aren't together. Maybe they had something once, and Sokka always thought they'd end up together, but they aren't together. And he hears word of the fire lord's death all the way back in the water tribe. How there was nothing the Kyoshi Warriors or the palace guard could do, and he was killed.

There are no remains.

He goes to the funeral, and it's this big dramatic ordeal (because they're trying to really hammer in that he's "dead") and Sokka's a mess. A complete and utter mess. He can barely function, and he's angry, especially at Suki, because he doesn't understand how she isn't more upset (she knows Zuko's still alive. She tries to talk to him, but he pushes her away, and they're never able to talk in a private place.) But more than that, he's angry with himself. Because if he hadn't left, he could have saved him. He could have been there. He thought they had a future together, that they couldn't be together now, but someday they would, and that all goes up in smoke.

And then Zuko's alive. They were able to apprehend the mastermind with the guise, and Sokka should be happy, but all he feels is emotions he can't understand. He feels betrayed.

"You were in the water tribe," Zuko said. "I couldn't tell you--"

"You died. You were dead. I-I went to your funeral, I mourned you."

And he wants to be angry, he wants to hit him, to make him feel a fraction of the pain he felt, but he can't hurt him, not ever, and the only thing he can do is crumble at his feet because Zuko is alive.

[ficauthor]

Mabel really was just fighting a god in the body of her brother and ended the fight by reminding bill that human bodies are not eternal huh. Genuinely histerical that she nerfed him with tickles and dippers preexisting conditions of dumbassery

[lesbian-thespian-paladin]

I feel like such a baby because there are so many bigger problems but god I just wish society recognized my holidays

[delicatebluebirdruins]

do i love and respect Mia for trying to send Ethan a message to stay away and to move on from her (she did)? you bet i do

[angelstrawbabie420]

u ever seriously wonder if ur gonna make it thru the year

[redlyriumidol]

honestly I love sebastian rivalry but it's interesting that sebastian doesn't really treat you as a rival. he's such a nice guy that he's still just genuinely polite, as far as I recall. friendship or rivalry with sebastian is much more about whether Hawke encourages him to #stayhumble and dedicate himself to the chantry, or pushes him into a LIFE OF SIN. I'm deeply sorry to Sebastian who doesn't deserve my Hawke bullying him in this way (she is a piece of shit and doesn't care about starkhaven she just thinks its funny to corrupt the chantry boy) HOWEVER it does net you the best dialogue with Elthina where she's like "you are a TERRIBLE influence on my adoptive son." yes. yes i am. i'll have him gambling and doing cocaine by the end of the week

[caitlynmeow]

Modern au

I believe that Alcina did give birth to all of her daughters. She never married or even got close to a man, partners come and go and nothing was solid for a while. Alcina’s maternal instincts kicked in and she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Money is never an issue for her. She is a successful businesswoman and her wine import is flourishing. Unfortunately, this meant that she will always be busy and it might hinder what she is trying to do. Because, despite her being busy, that itch to have a child never really left. And she knows she will not settle for only one child. Two or three children is an ideal number. She doesn’t want more than three, and having only one child would still be lacking.

After a lot of mulling and thinking things through, she decided to conceive her own child. Going to state of the art fertility clinic where there are many sperm donors, and paying a lot of money to have some control on some aspects of her pregnancy (she wants a daughter, not a son), and it worked.

She had Bela, a tiny heathy baby that filled her days with joy. A couple of years later, when her daughter is already walking and talking, she started feeling that same old itch again.

And once again, she went to the same clinic. Once more, she wanted to have another daughter.

After having Cassandra, Alcina got her hands full. Whereas Bela is mild mannered and did things meticulously, Cassandra was a force of nature. Her second daughter is wild and assertive, never pausing to think twice about getting herself in all sorts of trouble.

It was a few months of Cassandra starting preschool that Alcina felt that void again. Her wildcard of a daughter is getting tamed somewhat— school is helping her adjust and follow rules. Somehow, Cassandra’s very capable teacher is making big progress directing her daughter’s destructive energy into more productive things, like art and dance.

She knew that she shouldn’t, having two daughters is already all that Alcina has wished for, but a voice kept nagging at her to go for it one more time. Again, she didn’t feel like having a son. Having daughters is very rewarding and she enjoys every moment she spends with her two daughters.

One more isn’t going to hurt. (Only Cassandra’s pride would take a hit as she won’t be the baby of the family anymore) but it isn’t something that she will get over in due time.

And that’s how Alcina got pregnant for the third time. She knew deep down that this is the last time she tries it. Her every cell knew that having three daughters is what she’s meant to do.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

this is the video i watch every time im thinking abt pre-time thoschei btw

[shalpilot]

[gophergal]

Im considering confessing my feelings to my crush ahhhg

Someone talk me out of it

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[sadlazzle]

trying so hard not to laugh rn cause my mother is huffing and puffing as she does her dishes because I didn’t do them for her before she got home lmao. am I meant to feel bad about a grown woman being too lazy to do her own dishes and expecting everyone else to do things for her ? I think not

[trekkele]

Oh? You like [popular ship]? Which one is always making "unecessary boundaries" and is "emotionally incompetent" and which one is always stomping over those boundaries in the name of "emotional competence"?