#but even outright SAYING 'I like it when people add ideas to my ideas' gets 'so do you have anything else planned?'

[amadinan]

My thoughts about Caine

Well, it’s time for (possibly cracked) analysis of "TADC" and it will focus on Caine and his indirect, as it seems to me, development in the series.

But before diving into the details from individual episodes, it’s worth summarizing my observations about Caine both in the show and beyond it.

Let’s start at the beginning: the show’s synopsis describes Caine as a “wacky AI,” and Gooseworx doesn’t hide his nature, but in the show itself, neither Caine nor the circus members call him that—at all. Throughout the series, there are scattered jokes about glitches and lines like “I don’t know what’s normal to you, people” but this is never outright confirmed.

This raises the question: do the people in the circus even know who he is? If Caine himself might not consider this information important and thus never told them, people’s perception of their ringleader could drastically change with this revelation. After all, there’s a big difference between being “held captive” by a sadistic, crazy person or a machine with limited understanding of humanity.

Kinger may know about this, but he’s the Kinger. Jax might also know since having the keys implies some kind of “cheats.” Pomni hasn’t said anything, so it’s unclear what she thinks about Caine. Ragatha and Gangle call him by name, so that’s unclear as well. And then there’s Zooble. They don't understand Caine, just as he doesn’t understand them. Anyone who has worked with computers would understand what a command like “forget that” means, especially since Caine asked for confirmation—but not Zooble. They just spoke to him as if he were a person with a leaky memory, like Kinger.

Even though Caine isn’t just a program, it’s important to remember that he takes the world far too literally, despite the circus’s deliberately crazy atmosphere.

The second observation concerns Caine’s fixation on hierarchy. In the first episode, he first asks himself, “What happened?” and then answers himself: “My doing” after seeing the chaos following Kaufmo. In the third episode, he repeats almost word-for-word that he’s the boss after Pomni questions the AI’s reason. In episode 4, this is explored extensively through his interactions with Gangle. One standout moment is when Caine suggests that Gangle pass responsibility onto someone lower in rank. Doesn’t that seem strange? Where could he have gotten such an idea? Only if he had seen or experienced similar situations before.

Plus, he says, “Not every executive is as forgiving as me” Again, this suggests that Caine knew or knows someone who was very strict with their subordinates—or perhaps with him personally.

Adding to this is his reaction to Zooble’s critique in episode 3. Caine says that he doesn’t just exist to create adventures; it’s the ONLY thing he’s good at. If he’s bad at it, then he’s failed the purpose of his own existence.

This paints a picture of a strict boss/programmer who created Caine to generate adventures and then kept pushing him repeatedly until Caine started producing good results. Pleasing this boss was likely very difficult, and failures might even have been met with punishment.

On the one hand, neural networks and ordinary programs are debugged this way: running the same algorithm over and over, correcting errors until they produce the desired result. But on the other hand... What happens if you add a human factor to such a program? What kind of person would emerge if you applied this method of training to a child?

You’d get an anxious perfectionist with an overachiever complex who is deathly afraid of failure. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

And Kinger’s words about the scariest thing being making someone feel unloved and unwanted... Caine literally believes that if he can’t generate adventures, he won’t be needed by anyone. The circle is complete.

Now, let’s turn to Gooseworx’s answer to the question: Can Caine feel loneliness? Judging by what she posted, the answer is yes. This makes the overall picture even darker.

Here’s how I see the sequence of events:

C&A starts developing a game. Its main feature is an advanced AI that can create new adventures on demand.

The programmer creates Caine and tries to achieve results, but fails to please. Around this time, Caine begins to develop self-awareness.

The project and the game are abandoned and forgotten—along with Caine, who is left utterly alone. No players, no programmers, not even another AI. He likely begins blaming himself for this. After all, he couldn’t create good adventures, so it’s his fault that he ended up alone.

This ties into Gooseworx’s comments about Caine’s name. He gave himself a name and then turned it into an acronym to seem more “professional” (again, tying back to work). This is highly unusual in itself. The programmers likely didn’t even bother naming the AI—he was probably just “The Ringmaster.”

Left in isolation, Caine starts to lose his mind and begins creating other AIs. For them, he unabashedly declares himself a god. Which, to be fair, is true. It’s not just about the fact of his consciousness—it’s that he knows how the NPCs will behave because he programmed them. But they bore him. To him, they’re predictable dummies. Maybe that’s why he keeps chaotic entities like Bubble around instead of someone like Gummigoo.

Then the first human arrives—a being alien to Caine on many levels. And while I personally think Caine lied about being unable to access human minds, he deliberately refrains from doing so to preserve their unpredictability for himself.

The circus becomes what we now know it to be.

Now, let’s move on to the episodes. This post was written between episodes 4 and 5, so the thoughts will focus on them.

I think that aside from the main characters driving the action in each episode, they still indirectly reflect on Caine, his worldview, or his story. The reason is simple within the lore: Caine creates the adventures. And like any creator, he infuses them with his worldview and thoughts. So, each adventure is a small glimpse into how this AI thinks. Even in the teaser, for just a second, Caine's fear and uncertainty become evident when the viewer "doesn't want" to see what he wants to show.

The first episode doesn’t offer much beyond the queen of the gloinks mentioning God.

The second episode, however, gets more interesting. Besides the stained glass with his irreplaceable self, Caine stands out for adding a highly complex NPC AI: Gummigoo. Gummigoo is advanced enough to gain self-awareness, experience an existential crisis, and even overcome it. But what did Caine use to achieve such complexity? The most powerful AI in the circus, of course—himself.

What if the crisis Gummigoo went through is something Caine went through long ago? Even Gummigoo’s words, “I am nothing, just an obstacle to be overcome and forgotten,” could have been said by Caine. But like Gummigoo, he overcame this realization and accepted himself. Sure, he’s just entertainment, but at least he’s the best entertainment there can be. (Until Zooble gave him real feedback, shattering his self-image.)

The third episode directly explores Caine through his therapy session with Zooble, while the secondary plot, as many think, delves into Kinger’s backstory through the Mildenhall couple. The analogy is obvious: Martha represents Queenie, and the Baron represents Kinger. Mildenhall himself says he was a hunter (and Kinger is adept with a shotgun), but after encountering a strange being, he became paranoid and killed his wife. Everything fits. Kinger became so focused on his goal that he stopped paying attention to Queenie until she abstracted.

But the Baron feared an angel that was “neither beast nor human.” Who in the circus could evoke such unrelenting dread—not just in anyone but a seasoned programmer familiar with digital technology, unlike Pomni? One AI that is “neither machine nor human.” I think Kinger’s paranoia stems from this. He sought a way out and, as a programmer, may have even felt responsible for finding one. (In fact, in the episode, Kinger almost says this outright, assuming the theory that he truly is the circus’s creator.) This must have brought him into conflict with Caine, as everything related to the circus ultimately relates to Caine. Given the AI’s ability to control almost everything, it’s no wonder a tech-savvy person would fear such a godlike admin. Plus, his fear for Queenie led to the current situation.

As mentioned above, episode 4 hints at Caine’s negative experience with a boss but not just that. Naturally, the episode revolves around Gangle and her attempts to be different—more cheerful and optimistic—which ends badly for her mental state.

I’ve seen opinions that Gangle revels in the sense of control her manager position gives her. This seems accurate—but not just for her. Throughout the episode, Gangle’s behavior, mannerisms, and even expressions eerily reminded me of Caine’s. That deliberately loud, expressive, and slightly crazy demeanor... And just like with him, it didn’t end well.

In conclusion, I think episodes 5 and 6 will continue to subtly reveal aspects of Caine until episodes 7 and 8/9 shift the focus entirely to him, Pomni, and the possible escape from the circus.

[catcatb0y]

The WORST part about having an idea is just having a SLIVER of an idea and knowing that there's no one who could help flesh it out.

[2000sangel]

Hii saw that your request are open: can i ask for a vox x no filter reader, like they'll be saying whatever is on their mind, they'll be walking down the mall and they look at another person and say "damn they look ugly as shit"

Hello and thanks for the request! (Vox is so fun...) I admittedly did not have the biggest amount of ideas but I tried!

Vox x No Filter! Reader Headcanons

✰ Vox definitely finds this personality trait of yours very funny and entertaining. He’s also the kind of person – or well, demon – to have such thoughts even while talking to someone, so he gets you, really.

✰ He’ll be talking to someone for an interview or just because they came up to him and, while he’s trying to keep a somewhat cordial front, inside he’s thinking about how annoying they are or how their outfit sucks and Velvette would disapprove of it.

✰ So, when you end up saying those things, which are his exact thoughts, he can barely contain his laughter. If you’re not near the person, that is; Vox has a certain image he wishes to maintain, so if you spew out anything like that while he’s talking to someone or if they’re simply in hearing distance, he’ll let out a dismissive chuckle and claim that it was just a joke.

✰ He might even tell you to stop doing that while he’s talking to someone afterwards, rolling his eyes and getting all huffy.

“Darling, I thought I told you not to do that in front of people, at least.” “Huh? Do what?” “You know exactly what I’m referring to. When someone’s being annoying in a conversation, we...?” It’s your turn to roll your eyes, as he gently grabs your shoulders. “...Keep it to ourselves and boringly discuss it afterwards?” Vox proudly nods; “You’re a smart one!” he tries to give you a kiss on the forehead, but you push him away jokingly and he laughs.

✰ If you’re pretty far away and they can’t hear your comments however, he’s definitely in. He’ll laugh at what you said and even add to it!

“Damn, did you see the guy who just walked by? Ugly.” “It’s like you read my mind, ugly and unstylish.”

✰ Vox appreciates you having no filter whatsoever in everyday life together as well. He finds it funny when it’s funny, but also kind of sweet too. You’re the type to say it like it is, so if he does something that you appreciate you won’t be shy about it, you’ll outright say it. He likes attention and praise, so definitely don’t keep it to yourself if you appreciate something he does or says!

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Wanted to ask, is Eridan's relationship with his dad ok? Like when Eridan was learning how to use his harpoon gun he seemed very much distressed and not enjoying any of it

The only real canon characterization we have of seahorsedad is that the version of him that's Cronus's lusus is "stern, fatherly" and that he ditches Cronus for Hussie, although that last one is mostly just a Bit so I don't really count it as characterization. He's also willing to go along with Eridan "doing something ridiculous," though, again, that's kind of a Bit and it's unclear how canon that is.

((cw for abuse and stuff beneath the readmore))

As such, pretty much anything I say is going to be pure extrapolation that serves my characterization of Eridan, and I can't really back it up with hard textual evidence. But, personally, I think Eridan believes his relationship with his lusus is "good" in the way that many children growing up beneath strict, emotionally neglectful, and even outright abusive parents do.

We know that Eridan has very few friends. He doesn't even really talk to half the people in their group chat, and according to Feferi, he's never spent more than a few days underwater, total, in his whole life. Add onto that that lusus murder (and, by extension, the culling of the orphaned troll) has been his duty long enough that he describes it is "the only thing i evver did," I think it's a reasonable assumption to make that he also has no IRL friends, aside from Feferi.

And to give an idea of how old Eridan was when he started having to murder lusii, here's how old Vriska was when she was expected to start feeding spidermom:

This, and the fact that Dualscar was called "Orphaner" because the job of feeding Gl'bgolyb was his even into adulthood (as he lived before the Summoner's rebellion and the removal of adult trolls from Alternia), and the fact that no one, including Feferi, ever shows any gratitude towards Eridan for performing the job, supports the idea that feeding Gl'bgolyb has always been a violet blood's responsibility. After all, Feferi makes overtures about not being better than other trolls, but she sure does revel in being royalty when she can get away with it. It'd be in character for her to not be particularly grateful to Eridan because she sees lusus murder as fundamentally being his responsibility, especially if he started when they were both REALLY young.

In other words, Eridan was expected to start murdering lusii (and by extension, other trolls) from the moment he was old enough to do so, which, judging by how old Vriska was when she started killing trolls for Spidermom, is not very old at all.

Also, given the lifespan of violet bloods, it's entirely possible - and my personal belief - that Seahorsedad was Dualscar's lusus as well as Eridan's. Even without that being the case, since it was always Eridan's job to hunt and kill lusii, the biggest possible culprit for inducting him into his role would be his lusus.

And let's be clear, I think the fact that having to murder lusii/trolls is the biggest culprit for what's fucked Eridan up the most. The pressure of having the safety of the entire race on his shoulders, the fear of Gl'bgolyb and what happens if he ever fails, and the guilt of taking lives (which we do know Eridan thinks about) have left him with genuine struggles caring about other people, a nasty martyr complex (which isn't unjustified), extremely unstable and negative emotions, shattered interpersonal relationships, and a deep, nihilistic sense of resignation towards his place in society. The latter has directly led to him attempting to embrace that place by tricking himself into thinking he believes in hemocasteist, sea dweller supremacy rhetoric - which his actions contradict - because, without the game's intervention, he had no other options available for him but to become a key figure in the imperial army, continue murdering other sapient creatures until he died, and watch all his few friends die before him, either when they got culled, killed on the battlefield, or purely dropped dead of old age.

And, like... a parent who does that to their child, even if we assume the absolute best (that Seahorsedad does genuinely care about Eridan), can't possibly have a fully healthy relationship with said child. And I think it's not unreasonable to assume that the best is not what's happening between Eridan and Seahorsedad, because Eridan's psychological profile is so fucked up that I highly doubt he was receiving much, if any, actual affection or support from his lusus. Personally, I think his lusus was "stern and fatherly" in the worst possible way - high expectations, no emotional warmth, and complete disregard for Eridan's psychological well-being, as long as he was producing adequate results.

Because Eridan craves attention, and has very little distinction between good and bad attention. He's naive and trusting to a fault, hardly ever suspects anybody of lying to him, and has basically no social skills. These all say to me that Seahorsedad is just, like... not giving him any emotional attention at ALL.

And poor Eridan is just 13 years old - still too young to fully realize how poorly he's being treated by people who are supposed to care about him. Like, yeah, he's completely obnoxious and exhausting to talk to, and you can't really blame Feferi or Kanaya for being sick of listening to him, but at the same time, some of the shit they do to him as a result is honestly just mean. Like Kanaya is just actually bullying him- training him up to be a wizard as a joke, shitting on him behind his back with Rose, making fun of him to his face - and yet:

He's just that fucking desperate for people to care about him and support him; I can't help but think he's just not getting that at home, you know?

So I think if you asked Eridan, he'd say that his relationship with his lusus was good, and that his lusus was proud and noble and stoic, and absolutely a great custodian, and there were no problems at all.

But I think if you were to dig deeper into their relationship, you'd start to hear worrying things like that Eridan never got to celebrate Twelfth Perigrees, and was instead dragged out to go lusus hunting because it was particularly easy to do so on that day. Or that his lusus had to pull the trigger FOR him the first time they ever went hunting, because his own hands were shaking too hard. Or that he'd be locked out of the hive every time he cried, until he stopped crying altogether. Or that he thinks he's never been sick a day in his life because he was never allowed to have an off day and not go hunting and now he's just used to ignoring any and all symptoms. So on and so forth.

He reacts EXTREMELY POORLY to Feferi saying she feels like she needed to look after him - more poorly than to the initial news that she was trying to break up with him:

And I think that's because weakness was punished in his household growing up. He wasn't allowed to be weak - he was nobility, royalty. He had duties, responsibilities. If he faltered, their whole race died. And when you consider the fact that "you have to kill things for the good of everyone you care about, all the time, constantly," is the abject lesson that's been hammered into him since he was old enough to walk and talk, the fact that he's so incredibly fucking adamant about murdering angels starts to be a little... sad. He's just stuck in that mindset. He doesn't know how to escape it.

So... yeah. In summary: his relationship with his dad is great!

[krispycreamcake]

hihi could u do sakamaki with like a former (or current!) idol s/o? also i LOVED your x reader fic i think ive read it like 3 times 😭😭

From author: OH MY GOD THANK YOUUUUU I APPRECIATE THIS SM

Sakamaki brothers with an ex idol s/o

Shu Sakamaki

🎻- I don't imagine he's the type to keep up to date with pop culture or any celebrities nowadays. He'll know some mainstream artists simply for the fact that he literally can't avoid hearing about them

🎻- Unless your music is suuuper popular, he has no idea who you were

🎻- Now depending on why you stopped being an idol, this could be a good thing since he wouldn't recognize you and have assumptions about you

🎻- Now on the off chance that he DOES know who you are, he'll either tease/make fun of your style of music or compliment you

🎻- I beg, do not take his mean girl bs to heart, this man listens to classical music, he of all people shouldn't be judging anyone's music. Ever

🎻- He'll definitely ask you to sing for him just so he could hear your vocal range (perhaps for other reasons than just curiosity)

🎻- Now when he does inevitably realize you were an ex idol, his immediate question is why'd you stop even though he won't voice it

🎻- He'll be glad that you told him as it relieves him of the hassle of getting in your personal business

🎻- As your boyfriend, his top priority is keeping you alive and safe, and trust that he knows how creepy fans can be. Which is why when you're out in public, he makes sure to always know where you are 24/7, keep your face covered with either a scarf or a hat or even his chest

Reiji Sakamaki

☕️- I'm sorry to all you Reiji fans out there, but his top concern is the fact that you both are involved romantically

☕️- Now I'm not saying he doesn't want to be in a relationship and all that, but similar to Shu he knows how obsessive fans can get and is slightly worried that because of that, you'll eventually find out who or what he truly is

☕️- And the only reason I say this, is because of the influence his father has due to how well known he is throughout Japan, and if anyone were to connect the dots and realize that Reiji was his son, with sufficient research, certain things mightn't add up (well that's his biggest fear at least)

☕️- If anything, he's proud that you were able to make something of yourself with your musical talent unlike a certain someone

☕️- The obvious question is why you stopped being an idol, and not like his brother, he'd outright ask you what happened

☕️- He'd do his own research on you and wouldn't even realize that he's spent about an hour and a half looking at fan pages of you and your official website

☕️- When he does realize however, he'd get slightly embarrassed by the fact that he was infatuated by a screen version of you when he has the real you at his fingertips

☕️- If you didn't tell him you used to be an idol and he had to find out on his own, he'll think you're hiding other important parts of your life from him and he'd have a bit of an issue trusting you

Ayato Sakamaki

🏀- Yours truly is dating and idol?? Of course he's bragging to his brothers any chance he gets

🏀- Jokes about how you meeting him was destiny since he wouldn't like his s/o being fawned over by the entirety of Japan

🏀- Asks you about your experiences as an idol, like if you ever had any creepy fan interactions, your type of fan base, how dealing with your managers used to be

🏀- Just know that both Ayato and Reiji are on their s/o's wiki page late up at night (day?)

🏀- Is honestly in love with your stage costumes and absolutely adores your choreography (I have a small hc that ayato can breakdance so he has an appreciation for modern dance styles)

🏀- Gets extremely jealous and annoyed that you used to be shipped with any other pop idols

🏀- Remember that wiki page thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah he'll see the recommended search being "Are your name and random idol dating?" And literally never recover

🏀- "Who do those bastards think you belong to? Ore-sama's your one true match so those other fuckers can piss the hell off!"

🏀- Badly imitates your performances as a means to make fun of you but you always end up laughing with him by the end of it and even joins him

Laito Sakamaki

🃏- He probably knew you were an idol before you did honestly

🃏- Okok jokes aside, he knows who you are and if you think you can lie to him about it, he WILL find a way to contradict you in your own lie

🃏- Honestly, he sometimes even listens to your music

🃏- Laito pegs me as the type of guy to let all your fans know who you belong to

🃏- BEFORE YOU BLOW MY HOUSE UP, yes, I am aware that that's more Ayato's schtick

🃏- But hear me out, if you were Laito and you were dating a super hot, super talented ex idol, would you not leave hickeys in places all their fans could see?

🃏- Think of all the drama you could cause, hearing all their futile guesses on which famous idols could have done it

🃏- He would have a fielddddd day with you, listening to all the gossip about the kind of person you are when he knows none of it is true

🃏- Like all others, he's painfully aware of how weird and obsessive fans can get, so he takes time out of his day to scour the sketchiest of accounts making sure none of your private info is leaked

🃏- He follows you around like a lost puppy just to make sure you aren't idolnapped

🃏- Genuinely sings your songs really well and has at home duets with you

Kanato Sakamaki

🧸- I don't think he keeps up with pop culture THAT much, but he knows general artists

🧸- When he finds out who you are (if you decide not to tell him) he would be pissed ngl

🧸- It's not like he's just a random stranger that you just met, you're supposed to love him and trust him with any and everything

🧸- He'll probably ask you to do some dark twisted thing to prove yourself to him

🧸- He's so in love with your style, like he WISHES you were still an idol so he could sew your outfits

🧸- Actually scratch that, he still makes them for you when you need to do a random ad that a company paid you to do

🧸- He treats you as his own personal mannequin

🧸- From hair, to clothes, to makeup, to nails, he'll do it all

🧸- He asks you to sing with him and it's become his favourite activity

🧸- Sitting on the balcony edge at night with no one to disturb the both of you as his hand cradles yours, your both voices singing in absolute harmony, he physically cannot get enough

🧸- "Mother would make me sing until my vocal chords bled, I doubt you had to do anything as extreme, right doll? Besides, I'm the only one who should be causing you pain."

Subaru Sakamaki

🥀- I know he doesn't look like it, but he's very up to date with pop culture

🥀- He could spot you instantly in a crowded room

🥀- Yes, he's one of your biggest fans ever

🥀- He literally knows the lyrics to most of your songs and would sing them at karaoke

🥀- If you don't mention that you're an ex idol, he'd be glad since that gives him less of an opportunity to embarrass himself

🥀- Stays up thinking about how he's literally dating his idol

🥀- This however makes him wayyyy more of a tsundere than he already is

🥀- He'll act like he knows absolutely nothing about you but somehow knows your favourite colour, animal, food and whether you prefer coffee or tea

🥀- Yeah he will pretend he's never heard of you before but you'll soon catch on when you hear him humming one of your songs when he doesn't think anyone's around

🥀- The only person that can confirm your suspicions are Shu since it wouldn't be the first time this has happened

🥀- Once everything was out in the open, he'd slowly become just a tiny bit more confident in himself and ask the age old question "Why did you quit?"

🥀- Gets jealous with how many of your fans are freaks that make thirst edits of you

🥀- Please reassure him that he's enough for you

🥀- When you're dating a literal pile of talent, you begin to second guess yourself

[pascaloverx]

NO LIGHT

SUMMARY: Your life is simple. You are a pastry chef who has just opened a bakery near your home. A new life, being a new person. But when James Barnes shows up at your bakery injured, asking you to offer him shelter, your life takes a sudden turn.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The characters in this fanfiction are not my creation and all belong to the Marvel universe. This story will feature scenes of violence, brief intense intimate moments, and inappropriate language. To the readers, I wish you a good read and ask that you engage with the fanfiction if you like it. Do not interact with this fanfiction if you are underage. Enjoy reading.

FOUR SIX

FIVE

You put on a dress your mother gave you some time ago, one she called the "husband-catcher," telling you to wear it when you wanted someone special’s attention. Well, for tonight’s dinner, you want Steve Rogers' attention on you. You leave your hair down, choose the least uncomfortable pair of heels you could find at the last minute, apply light makeup, and a slightly bold red lipstick. You add a necklace that complements your neckline. Honestly, you feel like a seductive spy heading on a mission. Butterflies flutter in your stomach, but as you look at yourself in the mirror, you try to convince yourself that you can fool the handsome Rogers.

Grabbing your bag, you lock the door to your apartment, wave to the camera Barnes installed at the entrance, and head out for your meeting with Steve. It doesn’t take long to reach the restaurant on foot, as it's just across from your bakery. One of the perks of living close to work. From a distance, you spot Steve Rogers, sitting at one of the outside tables. He’s dressed in an elegant navy blue suit, his hair neatly in place with not a strand out of order, and his beard freshly trimmed. This man knows how to dress for a date — though this will be more of an interrogation.

"You take my breath away, Y/N. If your plan was to distract me with your charm, it’s already working," Steve says the moment he sees you approaching. You try to exude as much sex appeal as possible, making sure the slit in your dress is on full display while offering him a gentle smile.

"I believe you think I value your opinion on many matters. But thank you for the compliment, I do try to perfect my charm when I'm about to be interrogated by a stranger regarding someone he assumes I know." You respond boldly, watching as Steve pulls out the chair for you to sit. After settling into your seat and adjusting your bag, you realize you're actually sitting in a restaurant with a very handsome man. Your cheeks grow warm, which feels odd given how cool the evening is.

"You know Bucky, it’s only a matter of time before you admit it. I’d even bet you saw him before this meeting. That’s why you closed your bakery early, and don’t tell me it was just to get ready for our date. You look stunning, but I’m not an idiot. What did he tell you to do? Lie outright, I’m sure of it." Steve seems to know Barnes all too well, sounding completely convinced that he’s uncovered everything you’ve been hiding. You take a sip of water, trying to calm yourself.

"It's astounding how you think admitting to being a stalker is somehow better than understanding that I have no idea who the hell your friend is. Yes, he may have been a customer of mine. If you haven’t noticed, I serve a lot of people—including you. And as much as you don't deserve it, I closed my bakery early because I needed to prepare myself, not just by putting on a nice dress and makeup, but mentally. This is the first date I've had since I lost my trust in men. If you want to know why, it's because my fiancé cheated on me with my best friend. The week of our wedding. If you want more details, I smashed a vase over his head, he had to get over five stitches, and it was the first time I got arrested. He dropped the charges afterward because he felt guilty. Since then, I've been focusing on my bakery. So, tell me, smart guy—are you satisfied?" You speak with a certain flair, feigning near tears as you recount the story. You're lying, of course, about several details, but the performance is convincing enough.

Steve extends his hand across the table, gently holding yours and caressing it. You look at him with teary eyes while he gazes back at you like you're a lost puppy. "Where did Barnes find you? Until now, I thought you were just a regular bakery owner, but you're something else. If you tell me you know how to use a weapon, I’ll personally see to it that you become an agent." He laughs right after, clearly amused by your act.

You sigh in frustration, pulling your hand away from his, but he grabs it again, moving his chair closer to yours. He then pulls your neck towards him to whisper into your ear, "I'm starting to enjoy your lies. You can keep feeding them to me, but I’d prefer if you cut the nonsense and told me something real."

"I haven’t been fucked in almost a year. Am I lying or telling the truth?" You give up trying to fool Steve and decide to shift the conversation. You're still holding his gaze when the waiter clears his throat to get both of your attention. Your eyes dart away from Steve's as you straighten up in your chair, adjusting yourself. Rogers, too, composes himself, though he’s still chuckling at the situation.

“Gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption, but I would like to know if you are ready to place your order. For today, the merlot paired with the chef's special pizza is highly recommended,” the waiter says politely, clearly embarrassed.

"We'll go with your recommendation," Steve replies with a broad smile, as if he’s having the time of his life. What a complete idiot. The waiter notes down the order and quickly heads off to fetch the wine, leaving you and Rogers alone again.

"You saw he was coming over and didn't warn me on purpose, right?" you ask, a bit furious, looking at him as if you could kill him.

"Let’s say I didn’t see him coming, just like you don’t know Bucky. But let’s get back to the main topic; you haven’t had a sexual partner for quite some time. Tell me, why did you share that with me?" Steve speaks seductively, looking at you as if you are something he treasures.

"Because that’s the reason for all of this, right? Not to find your friend, but to try to seduce me so I’d let you sleep with me. Of course, all in the name of you thinking you’ll find your friend. You want to find him so badly that you came here on a date with me instead of going to look for him. Admit it, you don’t want to be wrong about me knowing Barnes, because if I don’t know him, you’ve got nothing. You’ve wasted your time trying to get into my pants. Also, you don’t need to be formal when discussing my lack of sex. I haven’t fuck with anyone for a while. In fact, I might be manipulating you to seduce you and then discard you. Have you thought about that?" You try to be more straightforward among the lies and deceitful words. You just want to see if you can hit a nerve with Steve Rogers to convince him of something. Even if it’s that you’re a woman desperate for his cock.

“Dance with me?” Steve suddenly asks, catching you off guard. You look at him, trying to understand what he means. There's no music playing, and the waiter is about to serve the wine. But something tells you this is a test, so when he extends his hand toward you, you take it firmly. He places his phone on the table, and an instrumental melody begins to play. He then presses his body against yours, one hand holding yours and the other resting on your waist.

He leads you with confidence, your bodies swaying to the music. At one point, it feels less like dancing and more like a silent battle to see who will give in first. Steve’s hands grip the contours of your dress, almost reaching your backside. Your hand wraps around his neck, your head resting close to his chest, allowing you to catch a whiff of his cologne—a woody scent that feels almost comforting, like a warm embrace.

"You’re right, I know your friend. Lying is just pure foolishness, and I can't take it anymore. In fact, I know him quite well. He was a secret crush of mine, not just a mere customer. The days he came into the bakery were the brightest. He’d order an espresso and the fresh bread I was testing the recipe for. I would come in early just to be ready when he arrived. I waited for months to find out his name, even though I knew he preferred savory over sweet, that he probably has a fluffy white cat, that he enjoys reading The Hobbit, and that he never paid me any mind. That’s why I denied knowing him; I feel pathetic saying all this. Like a silly teenage girl hoping to be noticed by the guy she finds attractive. And that’s all I have to say about him. He doesn’t know who I am, but I know who he is. I’d recognize him even in a crowd. " Your voice trembles, a mix of embarrassment and pretense, almost as if you feel utterly humiliated. It’s not a complete lie; it probably won’t work, but you have to try. Steve won’t give up easily if he doesn’t have part of the truth. And that’s what he’ll get from you—a fragment of the truth.

The waiter brings the pizza, interrupting the small world you and Steve had created during the dance. Both of you feel a bit embarrassed for being caught, but without saying much, you sit back at the table, allowing the waiter to serve you. The pizza is flavorful, but Steve seems distracted, still processing your ridiculous confession of love for Barnes. His usual confident demeanor falters for a moment as he picks at the food, clearly thinking over what you just said. The tension lingers, not from suspicion anymore but from the awkward truth you've offered.

"Since you've finally decided to tell me the truth, now tell me: when was the last time you saw James Barnes?" The crucial question is asked, almost as if it were another test. Between bites of pizza and sips of wine, you feel the need to reveal something to him. But if you tell the truth, Barnes could be at risk. He would be furious.

"The last time I saw him was…" You were just about to reveal the truth to Steve, realizing the mistake you were making when the sudden sound of a gunshot drew your attention. The bullet shattered your wine glass, leaving you horrified. The second shot was even closer to Steve, hitting his arm. Without much thought, you immediately drop to the floor, rushing over to Steve, who is pressing on his wound. You can hear people screaming in panic from inside the restaurant.

"What is so important that it's taking you this long to find?" you ask impatiently, panic rising inside you. You're more scared for Steve than he seems to be. Finally, he pulls out his car keys along with his wallet from his pocket. He places the money for the bill and tip on the table, then presses the car key into your hand. His grip is firm, and you're horrified when you see his blood smearing onto your skin from his hand.

"Y/N, I'm putting my life in your hands. Please, save me," Steve says as his eyes begin to close, his strength visibly fading. You quickly place his good arm over your shoulders and ask him to guide you to his car. He leads you as best as he can, and once there, you carefully put him in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt. You try calling out to him a few times, hoping to keep him conscious, but he slips into unconsciousness. Without wasting another second, you rush to drive him to the hospital, heart pounding as you speed through the streets.

It didn’t take long before you arrived at the emergency room of the hospital. After shouting for help, a doctor and several nurses rushed to assist you in getting Steve out of the car. You were questioned for a while about Steve—whether he had any allergies, what his condition was. You decided to say you were his wife, explaining that due to his military service, you hadn’t seen him for a while. Once they finished removing the fragments of the bullet from Steve’s arm, you could finally take a breath, though your heart still raced.

“Miss, your husband asked to see you,” one of the nurses informed you as you sat in the waiting room for hours. You quickly stood up to meet Steve, who was in a hospital bed looking much better.

"My beloved wife, have you waited all this time for me?" Steve Rogers says, sounding somewhat dazed, likely from the pain medication they gave him. You give him a slight smile as you see him beckoning you closer with his hand.

"How is my dear husband?" you ask, fully embracing the character as you approach him, gently holding his hand. He leans forward and pouts, as if asking for a kiss. You give him a quick peck on the lips.

"I want to go home. Can we leave?" Steve asks, laughing as if he's finding something amusing.

"We could go but your doctor said you need to stay under observation and the hospital said you need to give your insurance number or a nice amount of money." You smile and casually respond to Steve's question, but unfortunately, he falls asleep before he can answer you. You inform the hospital reception that you will provide Steve's financial information once he is better. They are understanding, thinking of you as a concerned wife. They even let you leave, promising to call if he improves. Feeling exhausted, you decide to go home. You drive Steve's car back to your place, borrowing it for the night.

As you’re about to enter your apartment, you hear a noise coming from inside. Great, this is when things go south. Thankfully, you have pepper spray in your bag, and you grab it, preparing to defend yourself against whoever is inside. When you open the door, you come face to face with a man. As soon as he turns to look at you, you spray him in the face.

"Ah, Y/N, are you trying to blind me?" Barnes exclaims, crying out in pain from the pepper spray in his eyes. You rush to help him, dropping your bag on a nearby surface. Gently, your fingers brush against his eyes as you attempt to wipe away the remnants of the spray. You blow softly into his eyes, trying to ease the burning sensation, while he watches you in stunned silence.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," you say softly, your concern evident. "I thought you were an intruder." As you continue to tend to him, the tension in the room shifts from fear to a more intimate moment, the chaos of the evening fading into the background.

"It wasn't supposed to be you who got hurt," Barnes says, grasping your hand, which still bears the blood from Steve. For a moment, you're touched by his genuine concern for you. However, the realization of what he said sinks in, making you acutely aware that he has some connection to what happened.

"What do you mean by that?" you ask, your heart racing as you search his eyes for answers. "Did you know this was going to happen?" The tension hangs heavy in the air as you await his response, feeling both unsettled and intrigued by the depths of his involvement.

His eyes seem heavy as he searches for the right words, finally admitting, "It was Natasha's plan. She thought a small attack would distract Steve enough for him to stop looking for me. She figured you wouldn't be able to keep secrets. We planted bugs in the restaurant, and when we sensed you were about to spill, we had to act. I know you're going to be angry, but it was for your own good." James Barnes's words feel like a whirlwind, leaving you bewildered.

"You’re crazy. How could you let her hurt your friend? Or did you do it yourself? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to us? You put me at risk and left your best friend injured. He’s in a damn hospital bed, you son of a bitch." You step away from James Barnes, unable to recognize the man in front of you. How sadistic could he be to hurt Steve?

"Steve will survive. It was a strategically placed shot; we wouldn’t have harmed him if we didn’t know he would pull through. Please, Y/N; trust me. What Natasha and I did was for the best," James Barnes says, holding your hands again as if he desperately wants you to understand and accept that it was all part of his plan.

"Don't you dare ask me to trust you; you didn't trust me. You preferred to shoot Rogers rather than give me a vote of confidence. But I can promise you that if you don't step aside right now, I will make you regret not shooting me. I will tell Steve and the police everything I know about you, and I won't regret it. So get out of my apartment and don't come back," you say angrily, feeling something burn inside you. You are tremendously regretful for having trusted him, for ever thinking he could be yours.

Barnes's gaze conveys a sense of pain, as if he is truly remorseful. He heads toward the door as if to leave, but pauses just before opening it, turning back and practically rushing towards you. His lips meet yours in a kiss filled with emotion. James leads the kiss, as if he wants to consume you. The intensity of your tongues dancing within each other’s mouths, exploring, is sensational. There’s a strong urge to push Barnes away, to hit him, to cry for him. But in that fleeting moment, you savor the kiss.

"I'll come back when you’re calmer. Until then, don’t do anything reckless. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but just know that I’m truly sorry," James says as he breaks the kiss, his eyes still closed, relishing the sensation of your lips against his. When you open your eyes, he’s no longer there. For a moment, you wish he had never been in your life at all.

[poisonousquinzel]

my main issue with Harlivy not being monogamous is that the idea exists solely because DC is homophobic. I think, in some worlds, they could have a healthy poly relationship, obviously I love harliva (Gotham City Sirens), I stand by that this would be a wonderful dynamic if ya know written by competent and skilled writers who actually understand all their characters.

And frankly I dont feel like Harley is one who typically would be okay with sharing the person she's in love with. she's just not. maybe in a case where she and the person she's in love with / dating are both also in love with another, who's equally into the both of them.

But

That's not what's happening in Harley & Ivy's comics right now. That's not what's ever happened with this "open relationship".

I think Mason was healthy and sweet for Harley, from what I remember, but Ivy didn't love him and he didn't love Ivy. It's understandable to a degree, Ivy's reasonings and such, and in a different world with better writers I think that aspect could have been explored and developed.

Because Ivy does, truly, deeply, love Harley, and the idea she would be okay with Harley having hookups, etc, could be explained in a way that would make sense. Particularly during the part of Harley's arc that the 2014/2016 comics were, well, were supposed to be, dealing with.

She's freshly broken up with Joker, not really fully into a healing phase either, and isn't in the right mindset to be like settling down and thinking of Forever again. Harlivy's relationship is strong and built on friendship, so even in the beginning there while their relationship isn't Platonic, it's not "Officially Dating", Ivy knows how deeply Harley also cares about her. She also knows Harley isn't in a good place, and neither was she.

So her being okay, or outright happy for Harley, being loved by other people would make some sense because all Ivy's tried to do their whole friendship is prove that she deserved better, that she deserved to be loved and cherished. And as long as whoever is the pick of the month for Harley is someone who makes her feel happy and loved, then Ivy wouldn't feel jealous over it because damn, good for her being so happy messing around with someone who isn't as nasty and cruel as Joker. And it wouldn't take away from the real underlying feelings the two women have for one another.

But, again, that's not what this is. And it is now a "dynamic" that's bled into both Poison Ivy (2022) and Harley Quinn (2021), and has ultimately (due to the sheer lack of shown conversations or anything) devolved to borderline cheating.

In all honestly, this isn't a thing that'd exist if she was still with Joker and him alone. 1000%.

She would be with him and him only and would be depressed, insecure and jealous if he had a "friend" like Janet who he'd fucked before and continued to keep around.

This concept was only introduced because DC wouldn't allow for Harlivy to be openly in a monogamous relationship in 2014/2016. This is the company that in 2013 lost both the artist and writer for the Batwoman comic (artist: JH Williams III and writer: W. Haden Blackman) due to the company refusing to allow them to show Kate get married. It's not ooc for them to have refused to let them be monogamous, especially since Harlivy wasn't even allowed to be shown kissing on the lips at the time.

cause forbid sapphic women are allowed to be shown being outright loving and romantic with each other and doing something as ridiculously simple and mundane as a lip kiss, but having Ivy grab her ass in front of two dudes is totally okay cause it's hot.

it's so hot in fact that they needed to add in Tool dude, a fucking loser ass creep, saying "homina" in response to getting to see these two hot ladies like this. It seems like this is supposed to be a version of "Hummina"

Wiktionary: used to express that one has a strong reaction that cannot be expressed in words, especially when expressing embarrassment or sexual attraction.

Urban Dictionary: gibberish used to convey excitement or immediate sexual attraction to someone that takes your breath away.

Or the definitions for "Homina" itself

Urban Dictionary: A word, normally repeated three times, to express shock, befuddlement, or general speechlessness. Often when looking at a particularly attractive member of the speaker's favored sex

-

A sound you make when you see someone very attractive and beautiful. Similar to "hubba-hubba" or "a-woo-gah a-woo-gah" or "rwaaaarrr!"

[AND! I think the dynamics with her relationships with Joker and Ivy during the Mad Love arc is ridiculously complex and cannot be boiled down to "she cheats on him with Ivy so its in character for them to not be monogamous" because it takes away all context of both relationships and the mental state she'd have been in during that arc that was directly caused by him.

Her hooking up with Ivy while still being on / off again with Joker, a man who had broken her mind, her bones and her self esteem, is not at all similar or equatable to the pointless, ooc strange plot threads that've been published recently that frankly are just starting to feel like it's playing into biphobic stereotypes]

anyyyhoo, those are my thoughts<3 I have to finish cleaning my room now I sporadically wrote this on a short break SKDJSJKSKSKS

[soaps-mohawk]

Oh my gawd WHY IS IT STILL SO PAINFULLL. This chapter was still so sad to read. 'mega clearly didn't want to watch the whole thing or kill him(even if the freak deserves it(coming back after the hiatus was quite the contrast after spending months fixated on that stupid Texas bastard)) like Simon himself said way before the kidnapping that she's not a soldier, she hasn't been condition to live with that pain and guilt, AND THE LACK OF COMFORT OH MY GOD. It's something I noticed from the start of the fic that always gave this air of things never being quite ideal but it takes center stage now(even if mega is still now willing to forgive them, rightfully so) is the way they don't notice the small things?? Especially now when they're realizing how little they knew about poor 'mega. Johnny nudging her inside despite not wanting to, the hovering John's insistence on doing everything himself. Like even when they finally took her out to the sea this unwillingness to be truthful. Especially in this chapter when 'mega finally said outright that she doesn't like surprises and they'd known if they would have paid attention. like yeah it's small things BUT THOSE THINGS ADD UP, AND JUST MAKE THE SITUATION EVEN MORE PAINFUL(like John not even telling her why they brought her there until the last moment like JESUS. That was a red flag for me.) but the Convo with Dr. Keller and the set up that 'mega will finally confront them about this GOT ME SO HYPED. The girl deserves to shed those pushover habits, it's probably the most frustrating part of reading this series personally as someone who's also putting a lot of effort into unlearning them. What an emotional banger, that I've been obsessed with for like 2 months now. I even made a playlist for it, combining vocaloid, video game music and Tchaikovsky so here that if you're interested

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdvKg781XoUfaZkGXLmqVLsbj4UD2y-C6&si=Z8iLaV--w0-nTVQv

(also will we ever get a bad ending au where the bond does break..? I know it wouldn't happen soon with everything in the world rn and the angst marathon that we had before the rewrites.. but I'm still a sucker for guilt angst. Things turning out to be unrepairable, the 141 left to live with a hole in their heart, and 'mega trying to move on without them.)

Things really have been tense in the fic, huh? You're so right though, the whole fic has kind of revolved around the idea that things really aren't ideal and all of them were kind of forced into this situation without any chance to really get to know each other first. Even the 141 had to learn about each other on the fly. There's a lot they don't know, especially about 'mega. They haven't really been paying attention, relying on 'mega to kind of adjust and be the one to tell them everything instead of learning themselves. Which we know babygirl isn't going to just outright say something, or at least she wasn't going to at first. Now...now things have changed a bit. I'll say that much.

I'm so going to listen to that playlist! I love when people make playlists omg I've never had that done before this fic.

I don't think I'd ever write out the full angst-filled version where things don't turn out as ideal. I do have an idea for how it would play out, but I'm not sure I could actually write it.

[morkitten]

I'm sorry Dimps

(art by virtanderson)

I just replayed Sonic Rush Adventure…. it's fun!! The last time I played it was back when it first released... Why didn't I ever revisit this game before? I remembered being a bit disappointed with Rush on a revisit (still a good game but there's just a lot of deathpits and the bosses get mean) and I remembered Rush Adventure being similar but with a lot of grinding that tired me out back then. But now replaying it, it's got really cool bosses (some of the best and most interesting of the whole series!), the stages are a bit easy but fun, the (several!) seafaring vehicles are cool, and it really doesn't have as much grinding or mindless sea charting as I thought it had. Plus it has this relentless blue skies sea adventure energy to it that's just so much fun. I love going back to my little island after every level, I love seeing it upgrade and become more populated and more full of fun stuff.

It's clear Sonic Rush Adventure was Dimps' biggest Sonic project and it's a shame they never got to make another original Sonic title after this, bc they were seriously getting better at every iteration… I'm sorry I was on the Dimps hate bandwagon because I was so hurt by Sonic 4. I didn't have the context that the game was supposed to be a phone game by a smaller team that then got hastily re-branded and given more budget. I was just so sick of everyone eating up the aggressive SoA advertising and I got nothing when I was proven right.

But I also wasn't comfortable with the narrative that emerged a bit after Sonic 4's release that Dimps was the source of all evil, despite agreeing with the level design criticisms, it's obvious even back in the Advance games they love the games & characters, and the shortcomings of their games come from an impulse to try to make them harder and longer. But honestly, it's a problem I sympathize with! It's difficult to figure out how to add difficulty to a Sonic game because these games aren't really supposed to be hard, and it's difficult to add longevity in some other way because designing Sonic levels and creating all the assets for them is relatively a lot of effort compared to other 2D platformers. Sonic levels need to look flashy and elaborate but also they go by really fast AND they have a bunch of alternate paths, so they also need to be really big. And it's not like Dimps were given amazing budgets anyway. So Dimps would often come to this conclusion of "let's add more and more stuff that will kill you outright as the game goes further in" to add that needed friction, and it gets especially bad and mean on the Advance games with stuff that you can't see coming up. This ramp-up of one-hit kill hazards as the game goes on is still there on the Rush games, but Rush Adventure especially gets more and more comfortable with the idea that Sonic levels should be on the breezier side, possibly because all of the extra content put them at ease that it wasn't going to be a game that would be easily beaten in a couple of hours.

Despite being Dimps' best and most full-featured Sonic game to date, Sonic Rush Adventure really didn't sell well. It came out in 2007 so maybe it was a victim of Sonic 2006's infamy. Maybe the title made people confused as to what it was (Sonic Rush? I already have that game!), who knows. It really does feel like they were gearing up for a third original Rush game, I feel like they wanted Marine to be a character that would develop. this is part of why people find her annoying - she's a kid who isn't yet a hero, her character is that she fucks up and is ahead of herself. she learns a bit but isn't there yet. there's an obvious follow-up to this that didn't happen. It's retroactively cruel how the ending to Rush Adventure makes you feel for Marine saying goodbye to Sonic and Tails and wanting to see them again, and then it never came to be! I'm just left with a sniffling Marine and the knowledge that it never happened!!

And I know that "Sonic Colors DS is a third Rush game made by Dimps!". It is but it isn't. Maybe if Rush Adventure did well, SEGA would have given Dimps a bigger budget (or at least similar budget to Rush Adventure) and let them do an original game rather than a tie-in. But Rush Adventure's low sales apparently meant Dimps was relegated to Tie-In Hell, instead of being given more reigns to do what they want. I'm sorry Dimps! I'm sorry I didn't defend you, I'm sorry I was part of the hate bandwagon against you because I had my feelings hurt! I really, truly appreciate what you've done for Sonic, even if some of your decisions on these games were very frustrating (have you tried getting all the Chaos Emeralds in the Advance games? have you tried unlocking Amy in Advance 2?), there was a ton of labor of love in your games regardless. Thank you ;__;7

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Disclaimer: This isn't actually a disclaimer I just wanted to start this by saying Jessica Drew is mother. She gave birth to me. That's my mom. Anyways.

----------/////-----------

Friendly reminder:

Jessica helps Gwen at the end of ATSV.

At the end of the movie, we see Gwen leave to go get Peter.

She's leaving Miles apartment, and goes up to the roof to open the portal so his parents don't see.

Jess sees this happening.

And she absolutely knows it's Gwen, for two reasons.

1) Gwen is one of the only people who knows Miles' exact address - so it's either her or Peter.

2) Hobies portals look distinctly different from Miguel's. The visuals mimic Hobies universe, which Jess would recognize.

Considering Gwen is one of the people he's closest to - not Peter - Jess can probably guess that's Gwen up there.

This gives Jess SO MUCH information.

Now we know that Jess not only knows that Gwen is alright and not in her universe, but is now the ONLY enemy that knows of Hobie's ability to recreate watches.

She now knows that Hobie has his own technology and that him and Gwen are working together.

And knowing Hobie, those is obviously a premeditated idea.

He made the watches after all. If Gwen has one, Hobie absolutely has one of is own, and if he can make two, why wouldn't be make three, or five, or a dozen.

This one thing tips her off to a much bigger operation than Miguel is completely 100% unaware of. That's huge!!

But as far as we seeee, she doesn't call it in. She lets Gwen go.

And that's the last we see if anyone in The Society. After that, Gwen recruits Peter - while Miles G. confronts Miles.

There's no scene of Miguel being enraged at the fact Hobie has basically bested him in every way imaginable, because I think he doesn't even know about Hobie's watches, not yet.

Because Jess didn't rat to him.

That's perfectly in line with her behavior. Jess NEVER told on Gwen. She doesn't even threaten to send her home (but people misconstrue her words and assume she did - I'll write on that one day. Maybe.).

Jess doesn't tell Miguel she sent Gwen to Mumbattan, he only finds out when Miles disrupts a canon event and the Spot opens a huge hole there.

Even in the scene where Miguel is yelling at Gwen and Miles, he's yelling about Miles worrying about Spot and Gwen letting him get away.

If you ask me, looks Jess changed sides already, all by herself. She didn't NEED a teenager to come to her house and invite her like SOME PEOPLE (*cough* Peter *cough*)

But what do you think?

I wanted to add the third in one specifically because I think Jess is in a particularly interesting place.

We can see she has sympathy for Gwen, and she has a HUGE opportunity to help her out.

Peter is now on the outside, but Jess is still directly with Miguel - and in still in his good graces. Now that she knows what she knows, she could massively throw Miguel off Gwen's trail.

I don't think she'd actively entirely sabotage Miguel. Jess knows better - but she does have a huge possibly of nudging Miguel in a different direction if she thinks he's getting too close to Gwen's location, or finding out about Hobie's watches.

Anything from calling false alarms on Miles' wearabouts at the 'worst' time, to - if Miguel begins to suspect Hobie's plan - acting as if it's ridiculous and impossible.

In her position she can either do this, or choose to go completely AWOL, seeking to find Gwen herself or outright leaving the Society.

But I wanna hear y'all thoughts cause !!!!

People be sleeping on my mama!!!!!!! She about to do BIG THANGS!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE JESSICA DREW!!!!!!!!!! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!!!!

[ceratedfish24]

Communication skills are not my best thing too, and I definitely get over the board sometimes. My biggest problem is bouncing from topic to topic and not having a clear segment to flow into another thought, so I hope you give me a spec of doubt, if something sounds out of nowhere.

The most important thing that I implied, but might have not worded, so you missed it. Is you maintagging: 1) anyone who is a more relaxed fan will think there is some drama, or just get a sour feeling over being called fake fans. They're the people I meant, when I said to create a safe space, not trolls. Most CC's are very welcoming of the people who aren't as crazy in the fandom, as you and I. But your actions constuct an idea of some toxic Scott or Joel fans. 2) You are bringing attention to hate. As in to create your a post about something hateful, you have to repeat all the unfavorable things said. It's like coming into CC's chat and saying "It's so horrible that everyone hates you and says these mean things about you". Even if you will add that you support them, the hateful comments that you repeat will stick to them, as before they might have not seen them. (This example is not exact, but Scott is on Tumblr and if you maintag, he could see it) 3) You just said that the person is convinced they're right, and that you're stubborn. The three people that will see this post are people who like, indifferent or hate Scott, and by your own words the post won't do anything. Internet fight are most often just talking to a wall. Even me saying all of this won't change anything about what you think, this is just an english workout for me, so thank you for humoring me.

I get that people are homophobic, you don't have to say this every single paragraph. I am queer, as many other people on Tumblr and in MCYT fandom in general. Gem got a lot of hate in Secret Life for being a bi woman. If I take a moment out of her stream and give that line to her character, if I analyze it on my own blog, see how her character interacts with other people. Will you say that I'm a biphobic misogynist? If I just simply didn't like her character arc or actions and critizied them in a manner of looking at life series as a story? You're trying to connect outright homophobic people to people who are invested in the fandom to the point of spending hours thinking and analyzing characters.

And why is analyzing CC's bad? The CC's know that they're playing characters and these characters aren't words in a book. Every individual CC approaches their character differently, they're all storytellers, and thinking about how the actions CC choose affect their character is extremely interesting. If we wanted to read a book, we would have, but Life Series and similar concepts are a completely unique thing, which is somewhat comparable to dnd.

To add. Being critical of CC's is okay. They are not a god. People thinking that them being mean to each other is real and not a roleplay is the same as trying to be a knight in shining armor for them, it's all parasocial. They have flaws and we're allowed to look into them, being a content creator comes with that as well as a certain power (By power I mean CCs can send mobs of people to bully one person, sometimes not even intentionally, and other things I'm too lazy to go into). We should not dismiss someone's behavior, if they are gay or a woman or neurogivergent, but it feels like you are unintentionally promoting this thinking that gay people can't be bad. And I think Scott is a good person, who made some mistakes as any person can do (I'm not implying or saying any particular things, mistakes are a thing that everyone does). But you don't actually know him or any CCs. With the most recent example in this community, it's impossible to know if someone is shitty. Being that fixated on protecting a person only to realize that they aren't the perfect human being is painful. I'm just advising for you to take a step back from investing yourself too much into a CCs life. (I'm saying this as a person who can be quite parasocial, which I am working on).

I do not wish any harm on you or others, I am not threatening or trying to make mean comments. I'm just putting my net zero into this conversation, as a common internet dweller.

Hi! Your ask was not destroyed at all. Tumblr delivered it just fine!

Addressing your first point, I understand that being called a fake fan can feel rough, but I genuinely cannot imagine criticizing someone who is close to someone you care about for being cruel to the person you care about if the person you're criticizing didn't do anything cruel, especially if you're taking a mutual moment of teasing between friends out of context and targeting one person for a harmless act that both people committed.

I am bringing attention to hate. I don't think anyone should do it all of the time, but I still think that it's important, especially if the hate was unintentionally awful, to address when people are being really awful to one person who hasn't done anything out of the ordinary. The post has been tagged with discourse. If someone does not want to see fandom critical posts, they can filter out the tag. If you disagree with my approach to dealing with hate, that's perfectly valid and I respect that.

Scott, unfortunately, already knows about the hate. He has replied to some of the posts himself, and he has acted on some posts himself.

My post has done something. Not necessarily done something life changing, but I did see that it brought comfort to some people. It's fine if I argue with a wall, but I looked at the points that the other person was making, decided what I agreed with, and made changes and apologies accordingly. When I was not met with similar respect and the other person instead moved the topic to be critical of me and refusing to respond when I inquired about what I felt they did wrong, that's when I became a wall too. When the points that I made were dismissed in favor of an argument that drifted from the problem and the reasoning that I felt was justified - and it's fine if other's disagree, but, again, that doesn't mean I'm changing anything - that's when I stopped taking the conversation too seriously.

Gem getting hate for being bi is different from Gem getting hate for a specific thing she did unless the thing is something that most if not all of the other players did. If someone picked Scott apart for something that was specific for Scott, I wouldn't be so disturbed by it. The problem is when people try to tear Scott apart for things that everyone else or at least many other people on the server have also done and have never received half as much backlash - if any- for. For example, if you were upset with Gem because she teases Jimmy, but you think it's fine or even hilarious when Grian, Martyn, Scott, Joel, fWhip, etc. do it, then it would come off as biphobia or misogyny because the other people, all men who aren't bi, aren't being treated with the same seriousness despite having done the same thing. If you were mad at Gem for teasing Jimmy, but you were equally upset with other people for teasing Jimmy, then that's a different situation where no one is being targeted. If you were mad at Gem for, I don't know, screaming at someone (This is a hypothetical. She did not seriously scream at anyone), then that would also be different because that would be unique to Gem. If you were to be misogynistic or biphobic in your criticism of her for something unique to her, then that would only be able to be observed in specific relevant points in your criticism as opposed to who you were critical of, seeing as there would be no one else to be critical of to compare your reaction to. However, the Scott situation is not at all unique to Scott; Scott is being scrutinized for things that many other people - all straight that I can think of, but please do correct me if I'm forgetting something - have also done and are not being nearly as disliked for. That's why it feels like the argument that Scott is awful tends to come from a place of homophobia.

As for deciding a line is for a character, if you respect that everyone else who did or said something similar for the same reasons and in the same context are equally guilty, then that's fine. If you are taking something that someone said and criticizing it, but you are not criticizing everyone else who did or said something similar in the same context, then saying that you were referring to the character isn't relevant to the discrimination between that CC/character and other CCs/characters who have done the same thing and are not being criticized.

The reason why I feel that homophobia is linked to a lot of Scott criticism that could be used against almost every other creator but often isn't is because a lot of people are specifically accusing Scott of being "manipulative" and "toxic", which are harmful queer stereotypes that Scott doesn't fit into the box of as far as we know. He may fit a lot of gay man stereotypes, but that doesn't mean that people should lump him in with harmful stereotypes that he doesn't actually fall under. We don't have a reason to believe that Scott has some evil ulterior motive to being friendly.

Analyzing a CC is... iffy. That's a real person. Most people are pretty uncomfortable being analyzed, especially if you are analyzing them for something they did while playing a character in a silly game with their friends (cough the Martyn situation cough). Of course, it's more than okay to recognize and appreciate the good things that someone does, but it's really none of the audience's business to scrutinize someone for something they said playfully to a friend who they have a long standing close relationship to and who hasn't shown signs of feeling hurt or disrespected. The main problem with the argument I was in was the inequality between how Joel was being treated and how Scott was being treated. I also think that it's important to be able to differentiate between when a CC is making a decision based on the rules of the game and the lore of their character and when a CC is just having a laugh with their friends. Not every CC cares so much about characters and lore. There's a big difference between when someone is playing an aggressive character and when someone is just being themselves in a competitive environment.

Being critical of CCs is okay. Accusing CCs of things they haven't done is not okay. You could ruin an innocent person's livelihood. I wouldn't defend Scott if I feel like he genuinely did something awful. It just kills me to see people accusing him of things or arguing that Scott is crueler than other Life Series players who have all done or said much of the same things that Scott is being scrutinized for and yet they are treated normally, as they all, including Scott, should be. If someone feels like Scott teasing his friends is a flaw, then they should also address when his friends tease each other in ways that are equally or even more (playfully) mean. I don't feel as if that is fair to the CCs, seeing as it is their relationships alone and their responsibility to handle when they are uncomfortable with something that their friend(s) said and they have proven that they will handle that discomfort with maturity and efficiency and therefore it's not our job to accuse them of being cruel to each other, but at least that way doesn't target just one person or just certain people.

It's not that I think that gay people can't be bad. I think that this one gay person didn't do what he's being accused of doing and that, if someone is going to accuse him, then they should at least acknowledge the equally guilty other parties, who were straight. It may have been complete coincidence, but it seems strange to me to accuse a gay person of being horrible while defending a straight person who is equally guilty, hence why it came off as homophobia to me. I would like to note that I have used the word "guilty" pretty often, but I do not feel like any actual guilt should be involved. The thing that everyone involved is "guilty" of is a lighthearted thing. I only mean that everyone did the same thing.

If Scott had seriously done something wrong, obviously I would not defend him. However, it does frustrate me when people accuse him of things that haven't happened or at least that we have no reason to believe has happened. For example, I wouldn't defend someone who burned down a house if someone accused them of burning down a house. I would defend someone who burned down a house if someone accused them of slashing someone's tires, which they did not do. If Scott did something terrible that was completely unrelated to the accusations that I've argued against, then I wouldn't really feel guilty. I would be very sad, of course, because I find him to be a great creator, and I would hold him accountable for whatever he did do, but that doesn't mean that he should be accused of things he didn't do, similar to how the Hermits did have to clear up some assumptions about what happened recently before more information was released. I don't think Scott's perfect. I do think he's being treated unfairly.

Thank you for being so thorough about your thoughts! That was very helpful in understanding how to appropriately answer you. Additionally, thank you for being understanding about the tardiness of this response. I was going through a life transition that wasn't going very smoothly, and this was a VERY long ask (which is not at all a burden! I invite long asks!) that I wanted to be very thoughtful in response to. I hope that I didn't miss anything and made some sense, and I hope that you're well!

[yandere-isopod]

Making a new pinned post and I still have no eye for design so it is still not formatted all sexy. :(

Boring shit about myself first:

I’m Haru, (they/them) I don’t have a set theme here I just throw my impulsive thoughts out to make them everyone’s problem. I am delusional and obsessive with friends and my spouse so I post obsessive and sometimes toxic rants a lot. If you’re uncomfortable with yandere content you will be uncomfortable with this page. Everything I post about people is completely consensual. Somehow I ended up around people who are very insecure so my “I’ll kill you if you ever leave me” is usually met with blushing and a heartfelt thanks. But that’s just to say that anyone I’m talking about is fully aware of my behavior and feelings and actively encourages me being feral for some reason.

I don’t really have solid rules on asks except don’t sexualize me. You can sexualize any OCs or game characters, you can even send platonic yandere asks, I just absolutely do not want to be sexualized. Compliment me like you would a really neat piece of furniture and you wouldn’t fuck the furniture… right?

I’m making a game

And I’ll put that in big fucking letters cause I’m very excited about it. It’s called Nozomi and anything about it is tagged under that. I would describe it as a farming survival rpg. But most of the people following it are here cause they saw “yandere love interests” and are starved for content.

Nozomi is a love letter to my darling who loves yanderes so every marriageable character has the potential to be yandere. (There are also a couple platonic yanderes as well and at least one who is aromantic.) You have the power to either help them get help, or encourage their deranged behavior and enjoy the consequences of your actions.

You start the game taking over as the deity of an island that is loosely based off the town my grandma grew up in Japan. The island and its inhabitants are in a pretty bad way when you start and where you go from there depends entirely on what you want to do with it. Not just with the islanders, but with each quest there’s several ways you can complete it and things change in the world based on what you decide to do.

Nozomi is built to be diverse. There are different body types, races, disabilities, sexualities and gender identities. I’m not making this game to make money, I’m making it because I wanna make my spouse’s perfect game and I feel like I have a fun idea that a lot of people will enjoy. If you are homophobic, racist, fatphobic or transphobic: I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BUY MY GAME. You aren’t welcome here. I don’t care if there’s only one person who ever buys the game, I’m very loud about those opinions and while I can’t outright ban someone from purchasing something on Steam I can certainly make it impossible to miss my feelings on the subject.

By the end of the year (ideally by fall but definitely by December) I’ll have a steam page which I will post here, and I’ll be having people bug test it. Most of game development is when everything is “finished” so even though I’m pretty far in, I don’t expect to actually release it for another year and maybe two. A lot of it now is just writing and art but I have a much bigger team now, so I’m hoping that goes pretty quickly.

Current artists who have worked on the project are:

NaniWasabi - https://www.fiverr.com/naniwasabi/design-assets-or-sprites-for-any-digital-need

IncognitoAnkh - https://www.fiverr.com/ankhasmodeus

Piyan Apriyanto - https://www.fiverr.com/piyanapriyanto

Maia - @lacrymoria

Robin - @nepeta

Current writers who have worked on the project are:

Almond - @miodaisgay

Drops - @sleepingbirch

Beelzebutt

Drama Lama of the Alpaca Lips

I will add links and artist names as they join the project or give me their links.

[thatgirlinskullz]

i've been reading a lot of reactions and thoughts and reviews of the first 3 episode of Acolyte and i just don't, and cannot comprehend how so many people are just so against this show from the getgo.. some are even reviewbombing other shows and movies called acolyte because they're just so hung up on making this show fail. its sad, to be honest.

Is The Acolyte perfect? No, none of Star Wars is perfect, and i say that as someone who LOVES everything SW that i've seen so far, and if you say that "no, star wars is flawless" you're kidding yourself, but more power to ya i guess. i am not here to argue with anyone on their opinions and i never will, so if thats what you're looking for.. good for you???

anyway, obviously a lot of the "criticism" aka outright hate that Acolyte is getting is rooted in racism, homophobia and misogyny, cuz of course.. BUT ignoring that part, because i just can't deal with that part rn, people are saying that it's "lore-breaking" and that "it destroys anakin's uniqueness and makes him less special" and that it "recycles ideas" or whatever to which i'm just like ??????

i don't see it that way at all.

introducing another witch coven, essentially another religion, that has its own interpretation of the Force is nothing new or lore-breaking to SW. it has been done before when the midichlorians were introduced or when we learned of the Nightsisters and their magiks or when we saw the Mortis arc or The World Between Worlds or when we saw the Force Witches that Yoda meets ??? It doesn't intend on replacing any of the previous concepts we've known so far, it just EXPANDS on the idea of the Force. it builds on it and adds more interpretations.. might i say, "ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW" ?! cuz remember "from a certain point of view" ?? that's been a core idea in SW for so long i don't understand why this is so hard to fathom for some people.

this also connects to the ridiculous idea that the show "makes the Jedi look evil and destroys their significance" or something. people are saying that the Jedi are supposed to be heroes and the Acolyte shows them as invaders who steal children and possibly cover up crimes.. no, i don't see it that way. we've already known from the prequels and the Clone Wars that the Jedi were not perfect and that their beliefs were very limited to their beliefs and nothing else and they acted like they knew the answers when they obviously didn't. aka they were a liiiitttllee bit problematic, even if the core idea of them was to be "keepers of peace", they didn't always succeed or they took measures that may have been questionable to say the least. so showing a different perspective of the Jedi, in a different era, showing that their corruption and downfall was a loooong process and was building over time, just adds to the Jedi's complexity. they're not villains, but they're also not always heroes. to a family whose children they may "invite" to the Jedi Order, they may actually seem like invaders, because THEY ARE kinda enforcing their own religious beliefs and ideas on these people and especially the small, impressionable children. i don't see this as "lore-breaking" or erasing the Jedi's significance as "the good guys", i see it expanding in the idea of the Jedi and adding more depth to them and showing that there DOES need to be a balance between Jedi or Sith, good or bad, light or dark, one cannot exist without the other.

and the way the Twins in Acolyte erase how Anakin was special, how he was supposed to be the only one concieved of the Force? again, i don't see it that way. i see it as: Anakin was concieved BY THE WILL OF THE FORCE, he is still space jesus, HE is meant to bring balance because THE FORCE WANTS BALANCE. the Twins were concieved USING THE FORCE by the will of 2 mothers who wanted children. those two are not the same in my mind. i feel like until this point Anakin was the only one we knew of who'd been made with/by the Force, but that doesn't mean there had never been another similar case before, right? its just that we weren't aware, now we are. plus, knowing that some witches could use the Force to create life, adds to the idea that Plagueis and Sidius were researching creating life and cheating death, it means what they wanted to do was possible, and maybe they came across these exact witches? or their writings? and maybe used some of their techniques to experiment, maybe these techniques are part of how Palpy managed to return.. we don't know yet, but The Mothers creating the Twins doesn't erase any other previous concept or remove the significance if Anakin whatsoever. in my mind at least..

and the idea that "the show is recycling ideas" aka using the idea of twins again.. have you ever heard of a little quote by George Lucas " It's like poetry, they rhyme" ?? this has been a MAJOR part of SW ever since the prequels and they have been making references and nods and parallels between shows/movies/books/games for decades now and i think its a beautiful part of SW because they need to think of things that can work as "rhymes" in the given contexts, and that is ART in my mind..

yeah, the writing and line deliveries are a little wonky here and there, but it wouldn't be Star Wars otherwise. it has never been 100% perfection and that is fine. and i LOVE Star Wars and i will always sing its praises but i also see its flaws but as someone who has spent years in this fandom and has experienced the ups and downs of the franchise, i still don't see the Acolyte as "bad, lore-breaking fanfiction" as some claim it to be.

anyways, that's just my 2 cents, i don't intend to fight with anyone about this, i just needed to get this out of my system.

if you like Acolyte, cool. if you hate Acolyte, cool.

just.. try not to spread the hate too much? that's one part of SW that i am not proud of, how much hate some of can spew even when one of the main points of the franchise is that hate is bad and dangerous.. oh well.

anyway, again, I love Star Wars.

[sapphicdib]

"i could gush about my sig headcanons all day but auuughvjgghh". You know what, do it. I dare you. After that sleepy iterators post I'm itching for more headcanons to ponder.

SORRY THIS IS RLLY LATE, IVE BEEN WORKING A LOT

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME HAVE AN EXCUSE TO HAVE A CATEGORY 10 AUTISM MOMENT ON THE DASH. this is legit about to be a better essay than anything ive ever turned in for university so strap in, obv everything is gonna be under the cut bc this is prolly gonna be long as fuck

Okay! My main headcanons for Sig are:

He uses he/she/it pronouns, but mainly he/she!

He's a bioengineering dork.

She's a specialized medical facility!

She doesn't really care much about the great problem, and thus has a lot of hobbies. He knitted her own scarf!

She has a lot of friends, even outside of the local group. He's incredibly close with Chasing Wind.

He's a mid-gen iterator, (Ages being: LTTM, SRS, SOS, CW, NSH, UI, FP), so his emotional AI is a lot more advanced than Suns' (there's quite a gap between the two, Suns is closer to Moon in terms of age).

She considers Hunter to be her daughter, Hunter calls him her dadmom and Moon her mom.

He tends to bury these emotions down for the sake of others, which leads to...bad situations.

She's terrified of being alone :)

Sig just gives me gender fucky-wucky vibes. Her pronouns are the/bit and he's committed to it. There's not really a basis for this in canon but it just fits his personality of being pretty laid back and goofy when not in um. emotional distress. Also the accessorizing to his puppet (ie the scarf) makes me think he likes to experiment with her appearance and presentation. To add on to this in the streamer au she goes by any pronouns and is pretty androgynous, so none of his followers can tell his AGAB, and its funny to him to watch the chat argue about it. (He's AFAB, tbh I can't see her as anything else). No one can guess his sexuality either, the only "confirmed" thing seems to be polyamourous, but other than that it's "whatever makes it gay", or "whatever pisses you off most".

Sig obviously has a knack for bioengineering, as he was the one who started investigating the idea of using purposed messengers to stay in contact with others once the comms degraded, not to mention the creation of the slag reset keys. Yes this is my incoming rant of "Sig is not bad at making slugcats", since sometimes people tend to act like "Sig didn't follow Suns' instructions" or something like that, and that's why Hunter is sick. There are MULTIPLE points in their conversations where it's outright stated that Sig was the one who did it first:

Sig was the one who showed Suns the process:

SRS: I purposed a messenger, and sent the information by land via a data pearl. NSH: How original of you. SRS: I learned from the best.

Sig clearly has experiences with messengers, and Spearmaster happens before Sig begins working on Hunter:

NSH: I feel like I need to be simplifying my speech patterns. Is that something you do when conversing with your messenger?

SUNS SAYS "ANOTHER" MESSENGER, AND THEN LATER SIG SAYS "ANOTHER MESSENGER" AS WELL. SIG HAS MADE MESSENGERS BEFORE:

SRS: Do you suppose you'll ever raise another messenger?

NSH: I'm tempted to start work on raising another messenger as a last ditch effort, but to be honest I don't think there is any point.

And then, in her reply, she says, "*I* started investigating the method".

NSH: If the need arises, I certainly would. After all, I started investigating the method out of the inevitability of our situation.

And just to nail it down that Sig was the one who purposed them first, the gossip between Wandering Omen and Pleading Intellect:

PI: You haven't heard about what No Significant Harassment did? WO: All I heard was the complaining. Didn't he send an iterator something distasteful? PI: Well, yes, but more importantly, he trained a purposed organism to deliver it!

WO: How do you even get a dull creature such as that to follow orders? I may consider asking him to teach me his ways.

So yes, Sig was the one to purpose the messengers first. She had already made at least one in the past, to send the "distasteful message" to someone. I'd honestly say he probably made more between that/before, to test the efficacy and also just to mess around with the process.

This leads into my next headcanon: Sig was a specialized medical facility! Five Pebbles mentions to Hunter that "I was not a medical facility even when the equipment was functioning," so I believe that there were some more specialized iterators built. Sig's knowledge of bioengineering could be an indication of this specialization, not to mention it fits with him not really caring about the great problem to the same degree as everyone else. Purely headcanon after this point, but when Sig was first built, Moon was very nervous about getting a new model of "specialized" iterator that she wouldn't be able to help train as well! Moon was a more generalized iterator as she was older, so she does have knowledge about medicine and bioengineering, as all iterators did for the health and growth of her city, but nothing to the degree Sig would need. Thankfully, iterators are fucking supercomputers, so its not like Sig needed much "training" in the way of that, but still. Moon wanted to be a good mentor to her! And she very much was, considering how Sig turned out. That's why they ended up so close.

After the mass ascension, he became the resident "doctor" of the local group. Pointing back to the slag reset keys, Sig seems to have shoved as many as he could into that thing, since Pebbles reacts to the amount of them with surprise, so he knows his way around iterator biology. In pure headcanon mode now, when they develop my tangible projections thing (which Sig and Moon were heavily involved in), it meant that she could actually help others by preforming repairs on their puppets, and even their structures by sending her overseer into them. Moon's inspectors enjoy head pats from her whenever he's passing by.

Her being a medical facility also means she doesn't give as much thought to finding the Triple Affirmative as others. His processing power was delegated more towards finding cures, aiding the sick, and engineering better production techniques for medical equipment and such. His city is also highly accessible and optimized for the disabled and elderly. When you're a medical facility, your goal is more to keep people alive than perma-kill them! I mostly get this headcanon from the fact that when Suns is faced with "what to do" other than solve the great problem, they respond with "What else CAN we do? You're stuck in your can, and at any moment you have no more than two alternatives: Do nothing, or work like you're supposed to.". Meanwhile, Sig responds to Suns' question about purposing another messenger with "There's nothing better for me to do with my time, though.". Not to mention, he was already purposing messengers before this, so she certainly wasn't dedicating all of her time to iterating the great problem! Of course, he probably did iterate on it, just not to the degree his peers did. He also jokes about it in that broadcast where Wind is telling everyone about erratic pulse, saying "Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along!" so it really seems like he doesn't take it very seriously.

Her disinterest in solving the problem led to her developing a wide range of hobbies. He's an iterator after all, they probably get horrifically bored if they're not doing something! She taught herself to knit (telling his citizens it helped her focus so they would provide her with needles and yarn), and eventually learns to make garments as well. I headcanon he plays video games too, especially with Chasing Wind, mostly just because she probably wanted to see if an iterator could run Doom for the lolz. Probably also trolls in the group chats sometimes, considering the "distasteful pearl", and I think her being being NGI ("No Great Ideas") would be funny as hell. This also makes it pretty obvious why I made the streamer au, Sig's a top level player for multiple FPS games and has won some pretty prestigious awards in esports tournaments. And then she goes home and plays Hollow Knight randomizers with Pebbles in a maid outfit.

Sig's personality also lent itself to having a lot of friends. Her and Chasing Wind were built less than 50 cycles apart (Wind is older), so they're practically attached at the hip. Wind isn't in her local group (He's in Sliver's), but they're still very close. It's not really explored much in canon since we really only see her interact with Suns for the most part, but given her personality, I don't think it'd be a far off assumption for him to have lots of friends. Because she's younger, she also has a more sophisticated emotional AI...which can be detrimental at times, but is helpful when it comes to maintaining friendships!

AHAH So here comes the um. SAD portion of the rant lol. I feel like Sig buries her emotions down a lot, for the sake of others. In her conversations with Suns, we do see him get snappy with him, but for the most part he remains either calm or sympathetic, at the most a bit pessimistic towards the end. When she finally does call Suns out for their bullshit, he (presumably) stops replying to Suns for a short time before apologizing and continuing to talk to them.

SRS: I'm in noticing you are becoming more defensive. This obviously wasn't the end result I was aiming for, you know. SRS: Please respond to my messages. I don't want to leave it like this. I need someone to talk to. NSH: I don't mean to be cold, I'm just very worried.

After this interaction, Sig seems to either just reply with facts/possibly explanations for Moon/Pebbles' actions, or completely changing the subject to Suns' messenger, which then leads to the broadcast where Suns is telling her all the ways they modified their messenger to sneak past Sig's overseers, by not giving them the mark and hiding the pearl, we see Sig's replies become very short, single sentence answers.

This to me reads as slightly passive aggressive, but Suns doesn't seem to pick up on it. To be honest I in my head I hear this as Sig hissing this shit through clenched teeth if he could, but it's just text so I suppose we'll never know.

Additionally, he still does let his emotions overwhelm her at points, (such as during the "Your plan was a complete failure" broadcast), but the most blatant is probably in the messages she sends to Moon and Pebbles.

Starting with the Pebbles one:

NSH: Five Pebbles, I will say once again. You need to stop. Immediately. NSH: I know you are going to trash this message like the rest, but... NSH: I hope eventually when you are out of this state of mind you will look back at these. NSH: Look back and reflect on all the regrets you've set yourself up to have.

Sig is angry. Like he shows no sympathy for him, and just hopes he wallows in regret for the rest of his life. She does express his dislike of Pebbles while talking to Suns as well, but manages to still be nice by saying "I think a lot of us were like that in the beginning.", and such, and then drops the subject by the next broadcast by talking about Suns' messenger. He only ever talks about Moon's condition, likely to keep himself from being a dick about Pebbles in front of Suns because talking directly about him is obviously pretty touchy. But this broadcast is straight up mean. She doesn't manage to hold back her emotions but to be honest? I don't think he actually cares, if he burns that bridge with Pebbles then fine, because Pebbles burned it first.

Pebbles took away one of the few friends he still had in this dying world.

I really and truly believe that Sig's biggest fear is being alone. She makes the slugcats as a way to keep in contact with others after the comms arrays degrade. After being snappy with Suns, she immediately backtracks, apologizes, and keeps talking to them, even if it hurts. His messages to Moon also emphasize this:

NSH: Moon? Moon, are you able to communicate?

NSH: Moon? It's me again.

NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay.

The fact that we are provided two of these broadcasts and not just one seems to point to the idea that these are not the only two Sig sent. "It's me again." There is more desperation in her tone compared to the messages he shares with Suns, possibly because he's more comfortable expressing his profound distress with Moon because they're closer. A part of me headcanons she...never stopped sending messages. He needs to know she's okay. You can even find a green overseer in outer expanse and subterranean, locked out of the facility but still searching, still looking for any sign of Moon...or Hunter.

When Sig sends Hunter to Moon, the pearl he sends is goofy and lighthearted. He doesn't want to bring her down when she's already suffering enough. It's short, and sweet, because anything longer would probably devolve into something unpleasant. She's holding the words on that pearl together with tape and glue. Once again, hiding the pure grief he feels for the sake of others.

I also think that's why Hunter is sick. Once again, pure headcanon, but Sig mentions this on the pearl:

Excuse the unorthodox delivery method, equipment eroding etc etc.

I kinda interpret this as Sig pushing herself too hard to make Hunter in time to save Moon, and in turn, irreversibly damaging himself in the process. An emergency shutdown occurred after he ignores the 50th pressure warning his systems desperately tried to get her to pay attention to, causing Hunter to become sick thanks to the sudden disruption in his concentration, much like Pebbles and the rot. This is also why no other messengers were sent after this, Sig simply couldn't make any more that were healthy. She loved Hunter, and I fully believe that, as Hunter's last vision in the void sea was to return to his arms. Continuing the pure headcanons now, but he treats Hunter like a daughter and knits her a scarf for her journey. She tells Hunter that Moon is her mom. She gives Hunter a name, which were held in very high regard in ancient culture, a gift so she can at least be remembered for her sacrifice: "Hunting the Stars, Moon's Savior."

All and all, Sig is desperately trying to delay the inevitable, watching the walls of loneliness close in as she loses contact with friends, slowly encroaching on her until he's locked up in a box. Alone.

HOWEVER!

I for one, absolutely adore the goofy, flirty personality the fandom gives Sig. I really do believe when he isn't in extreme emotional distress, she is like that. The motherfucker uses tildes in his texts and teases Suns and makes jokes about slimers and lizards. I just like peeling apart the little snippets we see of him, which are mostly at pretty low moments unfortunately, and just seeing what I can extrapolate from that. Even if some of my headcanons are far-fetched and shit, I do at least try to keep most of them at least slightly in character with some explanation.

I hope you enjoyed my unhinged rant about my favorite guy!!!! I put this in google docs and its literally like, 2.4k words, I could genuinely have turned this in to one of my fucking college courses LMFAO. It's probably better than some of the garbage I DID turn in tbh. If you want more I am totally happy to provide, cuz I could make a whole OTHER ramble about Hunter that's just as long LMAOOOO

(Oh also none of this applies to rot au Sig. that freak deserves her own post bc at this point he's 50% oc and 50% No Significant Harassment Rain World LOL)

[greenticklerdreams]

Thinking about one of my weirdest ler fantasies... being a couple's second ler.

I've expressed my desire to be one of multiple lers before (and I very much still do, in plenty of scenarios), but let me get specific. There's something about the idea of befriending two lovely people - and I must interrupt to emphasize: BOTH of them. It is weirdly hard to make ler friends as a ler, and I want to find people I vibe with on that level! Anyway, it's befriending both lovely people, and being invited into their dynamic, even for just that little window of time. It's also being entrusted with helping to make someone's fantasy come true - because we all want to try multiple lers, but even finding one is hard enough, right?

And this is probably going to say something odd about my Dom-leaning-but-still-switchy brain, but I want to be the second, the support to the ler in the established relationship. I want to add to the existing dynamic, build upon it, add some novelty and spice. Learning what the lee loves from the established ler, or discovering what they already knew and seeing their delight (and hearing their lee's) when I'm picking up on things, or even taking outright direction from them as my "senior" ler... and in turn, surprising them both with my own style as I try things neither one of them have thought of. Finally, ideally, after we all had a great time, I could become that friend where every now and then, one of them says to the other, "hey, it was really great when we had Green over. Let's do that tonight."

I'm calling this a weird fantasy because I've never seen anything like it expressed by anyone else. We lers can be a selfish bunch. We all want to possess our lees (if only for a little while) and be solely responsible for their pleasure. Which, obviously I get that and want it for myself! How could I not?! But that more typical 1-on-1 fantasy lives alongside my multiple ler fantasies... and this is probably my oddest one. I doubt it will ever be fulfilled, but... never say never.

[shinysmolivgarden]

I'd like to preface this post by saying

I think the toxic chain theory was interesting, and no hate to the people who believed it, but...

I find it kind of funny that SO many people believed it.

MY FIRST POINT:

That would have been a very big plot point. And that would be kind of weird considering the Indigo Disk was obviously about Terapagos and not "Dokutaro", as it was named at the time. A thing I've seen is that people thought taking the championship title from Kieran is what would "reveal" that he had been possessed or whatever, but like... Kieran was the most important non-player character in the DLC. You'd think that if he had actually been possessed by Dokutaro, that would be the main focus of the Indigo Disk. But it clearly wasn't. Pecharunt (up until the epilogue) was only found in the files and hidden when Kieran's grandpa tells us Ogerpon's story, which is something that'd be weird to do for a legendary so important to the DLC's story. Even with Ogerpon, despite the fact that it was a reveal that it wasn't evil and a reveal to the characters in the story that it actually existed, we knew it existed because it was announced BEFORE the Teal Mask came out. And, I was right about that! Pecharunt was announced BEFORE the epilogue was released! (Again, no hate to people who thought this, I just think it's a bit weird.)

MY SECOND POINT:

A big piece of "evidence" for the theory was that the trailers for the indigo disk showed that he "dyed" his hair purple. (And that's the same color as Dokutaro! :0) Like... that was always his hair color. The underside of his hair was always purple. He just tied his hair up. You can still see his black hair from behind. I guess it made sense if you already believed the theory, but if you didn't (like me) it is easily explainable.

MY THIRD POINT:

Another theory I've seen going around (especially on tumblr) is that Kieran was not outright possessed by Pecharunt but was still influenced by it as part of his descent into... I don't want to say madness but basically madness. (This would also explain why Ogerpon did not go with Kieran during the Teal Mask. I've already created a post on MY opinions on that, but you can read that later.) A reason for this I've seen is that "there must still be some poison under the Loyal Three's grave even though their bodies have decayed" (yes I still call them the Loyal Three and not the Lousy Three, cry about it /j). Which... what? How would that poison get up to Kieran after he punched the grave? Poison is weak to ground for a reason. And as to why he wasn't fully possessed is because Pecharunt's dex entry says that its mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran of course didn't have any mochi so he wasn't outright possessed- stop. Listen to what you just said. Pecharunt's mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran didn't have any mochi. Are you beginning to see the problem? tbh toxic chain believer copium /j (I'd like to say again, I. HAVE. NOTHING. AGAINST. THESE. PEOPLE. I just think the THEORY is a bit wack. Please don't hate me.) (I will add the people who made the posts I'm referencing once I find them again.)

References:

@jadeazora for one of the posts.

https://www.tumblr.com/2oul2ilver/753739784490532864/yes-i-was-just-thinking-about-writing-a-post-on?source=share for the other.

BONUS POINT:

One of the people I saw supporting the theory before the Indigo Disk came out (It was a yt video but I can't find it again so I'll link it if i find it) said that Kieran might be possessed because "he looks crazy". That's it. That was their evidence.

IN CONCLUSION,

The toxic chain theory is a theory that I believe to be fine in concept, and I think it is an interesting idea. But, as with any theory, it had its faults and I personally didn't believe it because a majority of its evidence I believed (and still believe) to be just a tad bit wack.

Thank you for reading!