#despite actively not thinking about it. until im forced to again because it starts to bother me. teehee. haha.

[risaonda]

I am so fucking angry. teehee

[neophytepagan]

25 for caecade?

25. one to five tropes they embody or could pull off in an AU.

mostly thinking of the canon verse and im giving more than five because i dont wanna cut down any

unrequited love/one sided - pretty self explanatory, caesar likes arcade and arcade despises him, making caecade one sided and more nonconny is fun sometimes but doesn't have that drama that i like in arcade's shameful attraction.

corruption - over time arcade slowly grows accustomed to caesar and living in his close proximity. he starts tolerating more than he probably should, growing numb to the tragedies around him until caesar pushes him to be a player in it rather than just a victim or a bystander, elevating him to a position of power. maybe arcade tries to do good, but he still becomes complicit by extension

caretaker/ing - emphasizing on the doctor/patient dynamic, despite caesar's atrocities seeing him vulnerable and weak still activates those parts of arcade's brain that makes him want to help and care for him. it makes caesar far more human, seeing him afraid, exhausted, in pain. arcade can't bring himself to deny him any treatment, tenderness, soft touches, words of encouragement

slow burn- arcade isn't breaking that easy, but caesar has all the time in the world to chisel away at his defenses. caesar doesnt even know arcade likes men at first, and feels somewhat ashamed of like, "forcing" that affection upon him. in caesars eyes arcade is the closest thing to an equal to him and after being lonely for... years. pushing away this new and wonderful thing because of his desires would be a shame. then he finds out arcades gay and he wont stop flirting with him

arranged marriage - is always fun especially with a side of political intrigue. this would mostly have to be in an au, but arcade being offered up in a political marriage after being found out as gay and refusing to wed a woman and continue to family line, so his parents will use him as a bargaining chip instead, throwing him at the slaving dictator. arcades afraid for his life and safety given the rumors about caesar... but caesar is so astonishingly different than what he'd expected that he's almost glad for the marriage so he can get away from the enclave

mutual pining - one of my favorite parts about this pairing is when arcade is pining for caesar and really isnt happy about it. he catches himself eyeing caesars body or feeling giddy and butterflies in his stomach over something sweet caesar says to him. its kind of a game. caesar seeing how openly affectionate he can be before arcade puts his boundaries up and gets angry and hides again. he gets to say some pet names but touching is too much... then after some time he gets to stroke arcades hair or caress his cheek but the second he leans in for a kiss arcade yells at him and pushes him away. one night arcade is the one who leans in and presses his lips to caesar, but the second he starts tugging at arcades clothes arcade says no and goes to sleep. progression like that. caesar daydreams abt arcade whenever he's not around him, gets him gifts, even blushes (caesar getting flustered is so good to me) when arcade flirts back

sharing a bed - a pretty cheesy trope but caesar only has one bed in his tent and it would be a fun way for him to try and get arcade to like him. hes being so nice offering his huge comfy bed to arcade. the soldiers have to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor. come on arcade... don't you see what an honor it is...

ruler/consort - i fold this in to like, everything i do with them. arcade always becomes something more than just a slave or a doctor. he becomes caesar's closest advisor, his sole confidant. he also becomes a little voice in his ear pushing him and manipulating to do things (for the good of the wasteland) and caesar lets him because he's both so head over heels and damn it's sexy when arcade is playing with him. arcade being officially recognized as caesar's consort or spouse... its so goodddd

[ozfi]

collected decade thots+analysis [to ep 25]

bold: calling back to another point OR something added afterwards

italics: notes from another person

写真 - sha+shin, made of copy/truth 写心 - sha+shin, but copy/heart he miswrote and had to cross out "heart" and write the hiragana but writing the hiragana means he doesnt knwo the second kanji is actually 真 so his pictures are an image of your soul . and also he cant write. im going to kms

source: pas warriorfujoshi

i know hes saying "peel" because shes a tangerine but 肌を剥くぞ　is literally "im going to tear your skin off" and its driving me to tears

> start decade after yrs of internal beef with kadoya tsukasa

> the world doesnt accept his being, he knows things he doesnt remember why he knows, things unconsciously stream out of him easily that he has consciously forgotten, no matter where he goes he is actively being rejected by existence itself and he doesnt know why

> he does not belong here, he does not belong anywhere

> and yet he moves forward anyway

> start screaming

both worlds hes been to so far have made him stand not exactly as monster (though identified with them at times, as riders often are) but also literally dehumanize him by making him stand as an other to the world’s humans as well, inherently discluding him from actually existing in that world by default whether human or beast. and while that external perspective can help him end fights, it again means there is no world in which he is not an outsider, and there is no place he actually belongs

he doesnt belong anywhere and all the worlds actively reject him by labeling him an ULF or that hes dangerous that hes not linto that hes somehow not human in the way other people are human and it doesnt let him connect with others

this includes his rider suit being obviously "other" to all other suits, that even other kamen riders do not recognize him as an ally and are instantly on guard against him up until the very end

hes told over and over he exists as to destroy and he has no place for himself and hes not even really considered human in the worlds he goes to hes always some nebulous Other, made to fit the world but never made to belong

i cant trust other people - natsumi and yusuke i cant feel the pain of others - he smugly (front) pushes people into addressing their issues and continuing their story im just going along with that idiot - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH "im not human im just acting like it" YOU ARE HUMAN DIKEIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

from: pas warriorfujoshi

while the premises of these individual plots seem a bit nonsensical im really enjoying the way decade plays with established lore to do both reuse old and do new things- getting to reuse old suits and kaijin, the directing and areas matching their shows, a new ryuki rider suit, playing with time vent, seeing BOARD be a real company. I’ll be real I’m making this post because the sequence of BOARD having to authorize the blade riders henshins made me so happy

i cant believe decade is like ichigo is gay for real and renshin cannon king but then kenhaji is doomed here too there is no blade/chalice love is fake. they cant even have anything in an AR world

decade sincerely critiquing capitalism?!

and an extremely kenzaki face. in this moment, they are one.

you know now that i think about it a lot of decade so far has been about "accepting outsiders"

tsukasa is affiliated with the heroes of the story, sure, but when someone is disadvantaged she always steps up to help them even if its in her own dickhead tsukasa way

the orphnochs yelling "humans have always excluded and hated us!" is cementing it

tsukasa is just as much of an outsider, and he cant belong to any of these worlds, but the world itself does try to help him fit in

and then everyone ends up loving him despite it not being her Place To Be

[4] it's really compounded by how unbending he is. he says he doesnt understand others, he cant trust them, he doesnt feel joy the same way, but his raw force of will combined with other's belief in HIM lets him get through anything

tsukasa himself can never capture the same face twice, as hes the one behind the camera, and technically he himself doesnt have to be seen within the stories he journeys through. but a space is made for him anyway- for the one behind the camera

[long break where i was talking about blade cast members instead of watching my damn show]

this is all shes been doing the whole time wdym

tsukasa told momo to stand up and imagin(e) a form for himself and then the card glowed and final form ride was used and momo was restored… tsukasa "cant take pictures" but his imagination is broad and wide and she helps people find themselves

tsukasa can see through to ones true self just like her photos do

first time daiki has ever actually gotten mad at tsukasa

8. why is daiki working for the roach something worth making her Fourteen's Most Wanted when the roach are the ones in charge 9. thats not the real reason... 10. itd be defecting and leaving . 11. or maybe something even beyond that, but i think even just doing that is pretty dire in a place like this 12. maybe the two other riders believe because daiki defected jun'ichi was abducted and brainwashed [only slightly incorrect] 13. but i kind of get the feeling jun'ichi isnt

14. [13] yappari na 15. it wasnt for any heroic reason it wasnt for free will - daiki herself invented a program to "fix" people before - it wasnt for values - daiki is not a typical rider and laughs in the face of sentimentality, even as a front - it wasnt for the other riders - daiki is willing to hurt them to keep them out of her way 16. it was just for her brother himself 17. not that free will wasnt a factor. obviously the knowledge that jun'ichi believes in it and acknowledges it is important and the fact that daiki is so averse to any show of kindness would make it so she wishes if she ever came back it wouldnt be like this, clinical and stiff and fake

i want to point out jun'ichi's usage of destroy here ......

from: pas warriorfujoshi

but in this case the "destroy" daiki wants to do is break down the structures of the roaches influence on her brother. she functionally wants to literally destroy the world that exists as it is and have it be born anew

All she wanted from the beginning of leaving her world was to return with the power to save her brother . She would break down the entire world to do that

losing your own identity to keep the spirit of the brother you love alive... losing faith in yourself and in everything else because the world took the one you loved away from you.....to have one stupid schmuck take your hand and refuse to let go and look you in the eyes and go I trust you. I believe in you. And you can believe in yourself.

HAVE HIM SEE THROUGH YOU SO EASILY EVEN WHEN YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR LONG ENOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE THROUGH YOURSELF!

the thing tsukasa tells her is that she cares for her brother. He saw through her that easily

but its because tsukasa doesnt know herself that she can find other people like this so easily, i think. daiki doesnt like that answer though, and kind of refuses to face it up to this point

she was only willing to give tsukasa an answer now, after tsukasa tore her to shreds (Emotionally), but was cut off by that thing that was more important

and it was such perfect timing for jun'ichi to reveal he was lucid all along, and the one who believes in daiki and trusts her most now is tsukasa, it felt like a sort of a metaphorical torch pass.... for daikis primary focus to shift

technically every world is a world without tsukasa

I AM CLEARING THIS SHIT WITH FULL POINTS

something something daiki not only taking on niisans traits to make sure he lives on at cost of herself but throwing everything about her past self away in the process- a thief is a criminal, theoretically the opposite of a cop. while its an act of resistance, its also shuttering the doors on her self up until that point, and when she can get to zio, or change her style and appearance to fit who shes chosen to be, then she will truly be free

its so interesting that diend DOES natively have that butterfly motif its just hidden

what did they mean by this

someone pointed out all tsukasas outfits are so warm and soft and shes so often wearing sweaters and jackets and looks snug

also the universal transgender experience of covering up your body w sweaters/jackets. so people don't know you're transgender. because she's

a woman

to that end can i

say

somethi

so every world rejects her, but then she comes to a world that welcomes her and its with open arms, free food, maids, women- essentially, its a world too good to be true. kept as an item and THE status symbol in a world considered evil, wrong, and antithetical to the "normal world"

we will only accept you if you understand you belong nowhere else but here, because you are bad and wrong.

tsukasa is someone with something missing even when being filled up, there will always be something missing - she finishes her journey, she still doesnt have a place to belong, and then is offered a world. youve been given a world. a place to belong. this place is what youve always been searching for

and that world shes offered is. nega world. evil riders run the show, and their lackeys make sure humans cant survive by. actively murdering them. all love and appearances are fake. it is tailored for the ones who stay, that it is a perfect copy of the world tsukasa started in and feels closest to, natsumis, but its different and wrong, everything is fake

just like daikis world

by the way

but even the vague sense of belonging tsukasa gets from this world - photos showing "properly" - is a lie. theyre actually in negative, and even then are still her own pinboke shashin

this implies things about tsukasa, to be honest! but whats even more evident is that she doesnt WANT it to. she doesnt want to be here. she wants to keep going, she tells herself to not fear the journey. this place is too good to be true- this place is bad and wrong- suck it up and keep moving

my thoughts are essentially .... okay, im missing something, but im also not. whatever this implies about tsukasa is no longer true. i mean. well. shes said to be a destroyer, but i think it goes deeper than that. but again, thats not the part that matters. and the show constantly dancing around tsukasas past, and the one who knows hiding it and only being willing to say it after being stripped bare, but doesn't seem especially opposed to tsukasa in general, just because of their "i got here first" dynamic

but daiki is also a freak. i admit that

daiki's a freak it's okay

but you know through fandoms lack of filter and general kamen rider knowledge i think i have a pretty good guess. which is interesting. you know. but also whatever it was, tsukasa has clearly changed, clearly doesnt want to be that anymore, and its still a story worth telling

daiki like. (ME TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SAY THIS) she genuinely

did not give a fuck about tsukasa until what happened in her world

that flipped a switch she was playing and having fun and flirting up until then because that's just how she is. but when he

believed in her. when she told her she'd help. when she SAW her for who she was

They're fuckinf gay

tsukasa in the past was no different than anyone else that was fucked up to her. Tsukasa was just another means to an end for daiki. until she saw her change with her own eyes

imagine being snagged. like a butterfly im a net. by some shithead you dont actually give a fuck about. and instantly your opinion flips like binary

crazy ass dynamic...

theres something missing frm my tsukasa analysis and im frustrated but its the fact that theres something missing frm tsukasa im not sure how to define

theres a lack of self confidence despite appearances. when she is genuinely praised she gets confused. she does not consider the journey her real home, despite protagonists usually going My journey was the friends we made along the way. and granted it is probably because im not done yet and am only halfway done with what should have been a 50 episode season. but natsumi is still.. against her. in nega world she refuses to trust tsukasas words despite liking her quite a lot, choosing her old friends over tsukasas words instantly and easily. in kabuto world tsukasa asserts her selfhood obviously against the worm, and then the worm argues, and natsumi is visibly unsure

even between tsukasa and her first friend in the world she appeared in theres a fundamental disconnect

granted, tsukasa should have said "there are evil riders trying to kill me", but natsumi immediately shut down "something is wrong" with "Youre JEALOUS! that i found my world again and you didnt!" and thats just. unimaginably cruel *i love natsumi

tsukasa is bringing people together despite being an outsider, that she helps them bring their story to completion with their belief in her

and even then she's no one's home either. she can't even be her own home because of what's missing

i don't really like the concept of daiki having a home anywhere else either because daiki will forever and always consider her brother her home. she will always consider her home gone. something only in her memories

and yusuke knows his home he's just journeying

and yusukes home is his own world, with yashiros smile helping him go on a journey, yknow, like. Actual Kuuga

daiki's got a fixation on FREEDOM too

she has to be free. she can't be tied down. nowhere is a "home", anymore

which is another reason butterfly imagery auits her

transformation and freedom.

tsukasa is a traveler looking for a place to belong

daiki had a world she treasures dearly but still bandies around

theyre good foils

tsukasa wants belonging and daiki wants freedom but they still like each other so so much

i think something important about them is that tsukasa would never ask her to stay. she'd never ask her to give up her freedom (BITING MY TONGUE ON THAT) tsukasa knows how important that freedom is. daiki's freedom is as important as tsukasa's own Place

but... daiki .. (coughs blood)....... will always come back to her.... (die

DAIKI HAS NO HOME, NOT ANYMORE, BUT SHE'LL ALWAYS FIND HERSELF AT THE PHOTO STUDIO, MAKING BREAKFAST FOR THEM.

the photo studio is "a place to return to", not a home

it doesn't have to be a home, it's just the place they rest when their journey takes a break

i think tsukasa is interesting cuz she asserts shes a destroyer (everyone tells her this, and she thinks she may as well lean into it), she doesn't feel joy the same way, she doesnt trust people, but she's "just trusting what yuusuke does". the thing is. the show is about her finding happiness. and trusting people. and people seeing her and immediately liking her and trusting her, and it's always that trust in her that allows her to help them in turn

shes just.. so dehumanized and feels so wrong next to those people that she feels like her joy is not theirs, that this trust must not be actual trust but "just going along with them" despite not actually being the case

it speaks to how disconnected she is.. literally dissociated from all of her own emotions and they manifest as a front of detached, airy confidence

tsukasa is immediately warm and someone people ARE drawn to in a way no other "smartass" category rider is

people get pulled into tendous orbit but it takes a lot for people to actually like him, sento is actually pretty hard to get to know because of her own identity issues. shes very similar to tsukasa in many ways when i think about it, though tsukasa isnt the same type of smart ass

but tsukasa has a front and a core and kindness to spare. tbh. even if she can be a dick sometimes. who isnt

tsukasa continues trying no matter how much the world tries to bring her down. and it draws people in to be around that

an unmatched, one-of-a-kind aura

tsukasa may feel empty but that emptiness is why she cant give up

[bastardrobocop]

not being funny, not being melodramatic i hope, but i feel like the last year has broken me in a lot of ways. 2023 i mean. i watched a long term relationship disintegrate in my hands until the ultimate betrayal of my trust and safety. i was so stressed and so fucked up all the time.

and now like, i can feel im withdrawing from my friends, im engaging in unhealthy behaviors i will not specify here, despite it all im more lonely than ive ever been, my hobbies are starting to feel like dust in my mouth, and while i'm not actively suicidal, the thought isnt far from my mind in that nasty intrusive thought sort of way.

there are nice things. i have the place to myself. the bed to myself. its quiet. but i feel like ive exhausted the amount of patience people have with me talking about what ive gone through. and as is the nature of things i dont feel as though ive built character or come through hardened. i feel mad. hurt. i want to hurt xer back somehow. take something back because something was taken from me. i feel like i have no recourse. god knows if xe'll hurt someone like xe hurt me again. but thats not even my primary motivation. i just hate feeling like theres nothing. no justice. no satisfaction. nothing that makes being raped a more tolerable experience, which is a silly thing to say. but you understand, right? like, sure i could post somewhere highly visible "In December of 2023 well known SCP Wiki author UraniumEmpire sexually assaulted me" but like what would that accomplish? it sure would put me under a microscope. its a surreal sentence too. hard to explain why. maybe its ultraminor celebrity combined with knowledge that inevitably it can just be denied and nobody will listen.

you know before now i never really noticed how much people fetishize sexual assault? "CNC" and the like. i dont care for it. i dont think they know. its frustrating as an adult online trying to navigate adult spaces. i know its an odd topic, but im fully stream of consciousness right now. i'll see something and it hits me in the gut and so i block the user or close the thing or leave the discord call. yet another addition to the list of things that make my tastes so exacting.

i feel like i should come to some overall point but the only thing coming to mind right now is just 'i hate this'. and i do. i hate this so much. i'm crying a lot more. at stupid things. weird things. memories. dreams. this post. the funny thing is that despite it all, despite the content, despite everything, i hope people read it. i like feeling like i exist. i like feeling real to other people. reminding folks that im not just a joke machine. i have an internal world. i have had a life that's lead me here and despite advantages it has not been good.

did i ever talk about how my high school graduation went? odd digression, bear with me. i feel like its emblematic of how things typically go for me. it's the day i graduate high school. i come downstairs to find my mother on skype with my kansas family. my grandfather is dying. they put him on skype. i watch him die over skype. after sitting alone for some time, i tell my parents i do not want to go through with high school graduation. i am forced to regardless. it is the most miserable day of my life. nobody listens to what i need in the moment. i go through with it, and then we are all shepherded to some kind of entertainment center. for reasons i cannot fathom, we are not allowed to leave for a couple hours. enforced fun time. they bring a stage hypnotist. i sit in silence and watch his antics. i get up and ask one of the people supervising us if i can leave now. they finally say yes. my mother takes me home. she asks if i have a nice time. i say of course i didnt. we drive home in silence.

i have have very rarely felt understood. very rarely felt like i was built to exist in the world. i feel as though i have an expiration date beyond the obvious one. i have grown older and watched people i know operate normally in the world and wondered how they do it. it never clicked for me. autism, transness, otherings. experts looked at me, told me i needed accommodations. never really got them, or they didnt help.

this is getting too long. i asked myself partway through if this was a suicide note but concluded that it wasn't. this is primarily because im scared if i die, they'll separate my cats. adopt them to different homes. they're best friends, they should not be kept apart. i love my cats, even when they're breaking shit and tearing open trash bags.

final paragraph. this whole post thing is probably going to sound embarrassing to me when i have hindsight on it. oh well. i am going to hit the post button now.

[thisisadonaldduckblognow]

yes a thousand percent absolutely lets go

(firstly i am sorry my post put anyone to a point of feeling the need to apologize for or feel bad for being Very Into Leo’s character. as someone who is flagrantly Very Into Raph’s character, i promise i wasn’t trying to throw a stone in this glass house. i’ve gotten burnt out on a lot of fanon leo stuff but part of why im so !!!! about it is bc i too love leo’s characterization and potential.. i swear

catch me catching my brain and tone malfunctions behind dennys later, sorry again gang)

BUT YE I’LL TALK ABOUT MOVIE RAPH STUFF TO MY BEST CAPACITY ALL DAY

overall i honestly... totally get raph being hard to get a handle on in this respect. like it’s pretty difficult to pick where to start and how to express it even just in an informal tumblr analysis post, i still haven’t managed to put together any kind of fic myself LMAO. bear with me i will do my best!

so firstly there’s just the veritable gauntlet of “stuff raph experienced/was dealing with in the span of the movie” to consider, i think. 

- his fear and anxiety over his family’s safety, for which he always always feels personally responsible. when he called the retreat during that first fight with the krang, he was absolutely terrified-- and i can only imagine how much scarier it was after leo bailed on the escape pod. like, there’s no way raph was not hauling ass after leo the second he saw that happen.

= he takes a hit for leo, as in just barely stops it and loses a chunk of shell/plastron in the process. he sacrifices himself using his pod to get leo out of there safely (and there’s so much to be said about the fact that raph’s pod seems to be the only one that didn’t auto-activate. that only he and donnie seemed to know they even existed. there’s a whole talk they must have had right there, like raph would probably have had to ask specifically for this feature.)

- the krang try to intimidate answers out of him about the key, and when that doesn’t get them those answers, prime literally jams tentacles into his brain and roots around until he can find what they’re looking for. so that’s one bullet point on the list for outright mental violation. it looks/sounds very painful, not to mention terrifying. 

^^ and honestly, this point of suffering in particular is one that i think would be hardest for raph to actually bring up/talk about with his family. because none of them were there. none of them KNOW. and how do you explain that to them? how do you try to make yourself break that out when they’re already worried about the other stuff that happened to you and to everyone else? when part of you is guilty about it despite yourself, because so much of your identity is tied into being a protector that you can’t help but feel like you should have been able to wall that info off somehow and keep your family safe?

- gets infected by the krang and put into the big gross pod to... incubate, i guess? there’s so much unanswered about the point between brain torture and getting found by his family tbh. was he conscious and aware of being left alone in there? was that why he was so out of it even before the mutation?

- and then of course there’s said painful, grotesque body horror forced krang mutation that he has to go through once he’s out of the pod! thanks i hated it! like it seriously looks so gross and painful.

- ah yes and the mind control... being used as a tool and a puppet and specifically set out to hurt or even kill the family he loves and wants to protect. 

- the standard “we had our cool epic boss fight against the evil alien but he kicked our asses with one flick and then punched mikey and donnie all the way to staten island” physical roughage, too. leo portaled him after mikey and donnie so he could catch them. donnie took the brunt of the krang punch, and raph took the brunt of the hard landing (he is holding his side like he might have some rib issues, they all look rough af down there phew)

- leo’s sacrifice is leo’s sacrifice and definitely a leo development moment as an action itself, i’m never gonna say 'yep here’s how leo getting brutalized in prison dimension is all about raph’. i’m talking about the like, aftermath and pre-rescue emotional toll that that has etc etc etc. ftr.

point one there is obviously just the grief. like, raph is literally incapable of standing when it hits. he’s on all fours, he can’t open his eyes. i made a post comparing the caps of raph’s face getting stabbed and raph’s face when it was sinking in that leo was (apparently) Gone gone bc the expressions are nearly identical. like just. absolute agony. 

- and on top of that, i sincerely think that leo’s “you’re one to talk, hero moves are totally your thing” apparent last words are gonna stick with raph for a very long time. even after they save leo. the look on his face after leo says that... man. i think there’s a very real moment of raph going what have i done, what did i teach him? about the entire situation.

the way this is already tl;dr oh well SO IG SOME OF MY GENERAL TAKEAWAYS AND THINGS I THINK ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO POST-MOVIE RAPH:

first and foremost. rip raph sufferer of some of the most intense eldest child syndrome i’ve ever seen. he feels bad that he got used to get his family’s location. he feels bad that he got used to harm and nearly kill his family. he probably feels bad that leo feels bad that his shell is damaged, smh. it’s guilt all the way down. the kind where he knows logically his family does not want or need apologies, that getting controlled was literally not his fault, but he feels bad anyway.

and like i said i get how it’s hard to get a handle on him for stuff, because raph is also... not super good at the emotional vulnerability sharing? it’s so wild because he’s very openly emotional and easy to read! he’ll cry during a sad movie scene and yell at a frustrating video game no problem, he’s very straightforward! but when it comes to sincere vulnerability and actually seeking comfort/closure about it, he has a big struggle vibe. good luck to the entire family bc every single brother is gonna be in a “oh but everyone else already has so much to deal with i don’t wanna pile more on with my problems” zone, i think. 

also just like. raph is a protector. that’s one of the core pillars of his sense of identity and worth. he takes care of his brothers. he keeps his family safe. and so so so much of what he went through or experienced in the movie went directly against that. raph, the big brother, the beating heart of the team, the one who takes hits, the overprotective mother hen, gets used to track down his family, and then gets used to hurt them. very nearly gets used to kill leo outright. isn’t there to take the hit for leo again at the end of the movie, is helpless as his little brother seemingly sacrifices his life to save them and the world. how does he come to terms with that? how does he feel like he still deserves the trust and faith that his family puts in him to keep being a rock? (they’re not scared of him, but he’s scared of him.)

and for real seriously how does he ever ever get around to dealing with that brain probe and the mutation specifically. his mind and his bodily autonomy got so deeply violated in the process of this movie. it’s scary! and painful! what kind of scenario would a writer even have to rig up to back him into enough of a corner to share those feelings with his family (who would absolutely want to comfort and support him)! it’s nightmarish stuff that’s gonna linger with him for the rest of his life. 

and in fact on the mutuation/mind control. i think the fact that leo was able to get through to raph just with words, that that was how he managed to break through the control, maybe means that raph was aware of what he was being made to do all along and just. unable to pull enough strength together to stop it before that point. woof.

idk idk if any of this makes real sense or helps for getting a handle on raph’s character at all tbh, it’s just a lot of me nonsensically putting him in a jar with a leaf and a stick for scientific observation ig. if ppl wanna hit me w questions or discussions about my personal opinions on my favorite boi feel free tbh

maybe the real raph character analysis was the hug and nightmare-free nap he probably desperately needs all along....... ah its too late hes dissociating on the couch. relatable.

[the-holy-ghosted]

how would you like to respond to this ask with absolutely as much as you can possibly say about the terror. it does not need to be comprehensible. just say things until you can no longer say things. let it all out. or let some of it out and let the rest of it spill over into the tags of reblogged gifsets, i have no qualms with either. this is entirely to give you another avenue with which to go as feral as you would like. have fun!!

hey anon quite frankly i would love to start talking incessently about the terror and also im gonna kiss you on the lips for asking me to

one thing ive been thinking about a lot after rewatching the whole season maybe. three or four times now (i am not mentally sound) is just how much the theme throughout the show is Being Something You Are Not. and its such a gradual realization cause you start with one character but the more you think about it you realize how that theme affects everybody and everything about the show.

i read something in an analysis post written by somebody MUCH more eloquent than me about Silna and Crozier and the parallel of them being thrust into a responsibility they didn't want. Silna was forced into a role that she knew she could not handle and it fails on her! multiple times! despite having NOTHING to do with everything going wrong shes been shoved into everyone's field of vision as The One Responsible INCLUDING by her own community. and by all means she does try to fill those shoes but even Tuunbaq has a say and it doesn't want her. and by the time she tries again its already too late.

and Crozier's situation wasn't identical but it's very similar in the sense that he did not want to be here and do this. being the only one not volunteered, but *asked* to go on this expedition, having already not been what Sophia wanted but doing as she asks anyways. good grief the man is in the middle of writing his resignation letter to sir john when he gets mauled. and now hes got no choice and that ALSO fails on him and gets people hurt and eventually its too late for him to make anything better.

but once you notice it with somebody else its like oh! that's right! EVERYBODY is doing this. sir john wasn't anybody's choice to lead the expedition and in fact he is actively detrimental to everybody's safety with his choices. Fitzjames is not half the man he says he is and has actively been lying To Everybody about about who he is an his accomplishments Forever. Goodsir is NOT a doctor and despite how happy it seems to make him to be considered as such he knows its not true and all of that scientific knowledge ends up killing SO many people. Hickey thinks hes hot shit and thinks he can gain control of everybody else AND Tuunbaq and yet he can hardly even do his own dirty work and gets other people's hands dirty before he does it himself.

i mean if you think about it too even the landscape isn't what it seems. they all think its a conquerable land and then they get there and realize its not. and because of this, they assume that must mean there's no way to survive out there. except there IS. there IS wonder. it IS beautiful. life CAN thrive out there and it HAS they are just so hazardous and invasive to the environment that they don't get to see it!!! they don't see the wonder and they are trekking to their deaths amongst a COMPLETE lie. this isn't, like, News to anybody else who's watched the show i just noticed how it all connects everybody and it blew my mind a little bit

[divasdiaries]

5/2/2023

I went to Paris (Texas)

With a suitcase in my hand

I had to leave

Knew they wouldn't understand

When you know, you know

When you know, you know

It's time, it's time to go

When you know, you know

Then the more you know

It's time to go.

Ive reached a point where I realized I must drop my friends, again. With all the senior activities going on,  realized in my heart that I didn't want to spend my last year of high school with them. This sense of loneliness that lives within me flooded through my veins again. Like a dormant virus silently replicating in my cells until one day it decides to flare up again. These past two days its gotten bad again, and Im thrown out of my derealization fairytale and forced to face reality that I don't have friends, just people I get along with. People I only talk to because I see them everyday. I just wish my younger self wouldn't be so disappointed with my new self. I  cant seem to ever not be alone, I always am and no matter how hard I try to fool myself, Im in this world entirely shrouded in solitude. It doesn't help that every year Im in a new friend group. Every consecutive year of school. Im scared that when school is over ill really be alone this time, no distractions. I've been listening to an audiobook called “Demon Copperhead” which at first was a way to feel more intellectual with the time I had while driving, but its starting to take its toll on me. The main character is on his path to becoming a junkie, like his mom. And I know, I know whats going to happen. I don't want it to. I see myself in him and its scaring me, I never realized how much of my fathers mistakes took a toll on my being. Watching people get high on minuscule drugs like weed makes me irrationally angry because they don't know. They don't know what it did to me. I like to think I have self control over the emotional side of my brain, that I'm a rational thinker and reactor, but this, this is my kryptonite. When I went to the doctors office they weighed me and I've lost about 20lbs in the course of 6 months and at least 5 in the past month. My diet is really working but I cant help feel like Im coming to a standpoint. I feel myself slipping back into my ED ways. Whatever it takes to be pretty. My life despite all the sad sappy swift I just spewed has been slightly positive. My calisthenics training has been paying off, I can feel it when I do a handstand and I can feel the improvement in my stretching, I just need to keep it up. Plus I joined my schools dance team, I think this will be good for me, a change. A new distraction.

[tauforged]

woah sorry i accidentally wrote a novel. readmore for everyone’s sanity and also because im talking about cavalero here so there’s going to be some suicide

cuz like. in my brain. my beautiful mind palace. the only way what’s going on btwn laz and cav is working out in ANY capacity is because laz is not actively purposefully trying to get cav to realize/work on/etc Anything. he is just, by nature, a very earnest guy who also happens to be clingy and idealistic and deep down is a HUGE worrier, even though he doesn’t let it on because he makes an effort to be easygoing and relaxed. cav would be already anticipating someone coming at him trying to convince him that he needs to take better care of himself or whatever, he’s had untold amount of time to dig his heels in on this, you aren’t moving him. quinn has been trying to nab him on this for centuries, he’s become incredibly skilled at dodging Loaded Conversations.

but in a situation where laz walks into cavs dormizone to the smell of blood and finds him in a heap on the floor for the third time that week, sighs and drags him away to try and clean him up as best he can, stop the bleeding for however long it takes for his body to heal itself, wipe up the mess as best he can, wash off whatever he used and unload/otherwise pack it all away, and then heft his body up onto the cot tucked into the corner, curl up next to him and Wait in silence until he starts breathing again, it’s not like he’s doing that On Purpose to try and prove something. thats just the only way he knows how to react. despite all better judgement, laz cares about this asshole and gets scared when he’s gone, especially when it happens like this. so he cleans up as much as he can and then he waits because he doesn’t know what else to do. he can only hope that the pattern will continue and that cav WILL, eventually, wake up and start halfheartedly smacking his hands away and grumbling about how much he hates this lovey dovey bullshit, get the hell off him already. what if that doesn’t happen? what will laz do if five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes pass and he just gets colder and colder in his arms? he can’t think about that. he’s just going to count the minutes and fight off that worry for however long it takes.

and god forbid, every now and then it starts to get REALLY scary. sometimes ten minutes turns to half an hour turns to two turns to four, and cav finally drifts back awake and finds laz clinging to him and just Sobbing? THAT’S the kind of situation that genuinely shakes him a bit. it’s uncomfortably real and impossible to ignore and he doesn’t know what to do with it. and an idea very slowly starts to finally force its way in and widen the cracks: maybe this ISN’T what he wants. maybe this isn’t what “having it handled” should look like.

and of course, he’s stubborn and hates being wrong, he won’t accept this right away. but as time goes on and little things like this keep piling up it gnaws at him more and more. ever so slowly he DOES stop wanting to Actually Die. sure, he’s still fine with going through the motions, but the thought of getting unlucky and it finally taking is going to be there and the possibility starts to genuinely scare him again for the first time in a very very very long time.

if laz was any bit more well adjusted and capable of actually articulating to cavalero how this makes him feel and ask him to stop, they’d be getting nowhere, it would be a dead end. but they’re both rough around the edges in JUUUST the right places to slowly smooth eachother out over time. they’re like beach glass. do you understand me? is this thing on

i keep fucking posting about him but he’s just on my mind lately. i do think that approaching cav with the “i can fix him” mindset is a doomed endeavor HOWEVER despite all my joking to the contrary. i honestly believe it is indeed possible. you just have to not be trying

[ivyquinzel]

.

[bangtaninborderland]

Risk It All (19)- feeble freedom.

Genre: Chishiya x f reader.

Warning: death & violence

An: I’m sorry for not updating yall, I was really struggling with a lot of things personally. I was so lost in what I wanted to write or where I wanted to take this story, it was getting depressing writing about an emotionless character when I have so many of my own overwhelming me. I guess it also grew hard because I had no one interacting with RIA, I always asked for feedback or such but rarely ever got it. It felt like people were demanding chapters but not even giving me much of a reason to write? Anywho im going to try and update more I will be more active on tumblr from now so please please message me or comment whatever you like! I hope you have all stayed healthy and safe in the time I have been gone! ❤️ Im thinking to start a taglist for this so if you’d like me to add you please pop me a message or a comment and I will! Thankyou all!

Ch.18 | Masterlist | ch.20

The sky had gone from a light grey to a dark black, the stars illuminating the sky above you. You didn’t realise you had become lost in them until Chishiya cleared his throat, your attention returning to the one sided conversation that you had been trying to have for the past two hours.

“You know we could stop if you aren’t strong enough. It’s not like I didn’t expect you’d need breaks.” Despite his words Chishiyas voice is filled with concern rather than annoyance.

You smiled to yourself at his unusual worry. “I’m fine but will it be much longer? I’m running out of water.” You sigh holding up the almost empty water bottle.

You wasn’t surprised when Chishiya grumbled underneath his breath, his patience already growing thin. His hands brushed upon your shoulders as he turned your body towards a large building.

“You see the building?“ he mumbles, his breath grows hot on your neck.

“Y-yes.” You stutter, your nerves becoming more dominant.

“It’s near there. You can have my water I am not thirsty.” He holds the bottle against your back forcing you to turn and face him.

Your hands shook lightly as you took the clear plastic into your grasp, Chishiyas fingers lingering mere centimetres away. You didn’t look up but you could feel his gaze on you.

The closeness didn’t last more then a second before he was pulling away, resuming his walk towards the distant building. You stood frozen for a moment before scurrying to catch up with him, your mind still cloudy at the close encounter.

“Slow down” you lightly shout, earning a disapproving glare from him.

“Hurry up” he mumbles back, his feet coming to a halt as you join his side, your arm once again brushing against his.

The walk once again grew quiet as you reached the building Chishiya had pointed out to you, it had appeared much further away than it was and for that you was relieved after all the stress and moving from the beach you wasn’t sure how much more physical activity your body could take in one day.

You stood back as Chishiya led the way, slipping down a small walkway at the side of the building. You followed behind him carefully, giving him enough room to lead you both in the direction of wherever you would be staying.

You couldn’t see much through the overgrown vines against the walls and the complete darkness of the city didn’t help. You could barely see when Chishiya held his hand up to you, signalling for you to stop, which you did. Hanging back whilst he walked ahead. You remained alert whilst he disappeared out of sight. Tokyo was safe but this is still the borderlands.

It didn’t take long before he returned. “It’s this way.” He nodded his head in the direction behind him as he extended his hand. You looked at him blankly for a moment before extending yours in return as he led you around a few more dark corners.

You was shocked when you first see the small cabin style house, you wasn’t even sure these kinds of places existed anymore, especially in a city such as this. It was truly beautiful, you was in awe by the sight that you didn’t realise Chishiya had pulled away from you. You wasn’t much bothered, your focus remained on the small house. Dim lights wrapped around it, allowing for you to see the overgrown flower garden at the front of the house.

A small smile pulled at your cheeks, memories flashing through your mind of the times you and your sister would pick flowers together on the way home from school. You would describe them to her, their colours, their shape and she would ask a thousand questions but you would be ever once get angry. You hadn’t realised you had begun crying until a small drop of water landed on your hand, you effortlessly brushed away the tears, after all these years you had grown somewhat good at holding back your emotions and right now definitely wasn’t the time to be sentimental.

“Im going inside.” Chishiya waved as he opened the door.

You nodded at him as you walked to join him, your pace faster than normal, although the lights made it clear you was never a fan of the dark.

Your shock grew as you was met with a warm feeling as you slipped your shoes off at the door.

“There’s heat?” You asked Chishiya, unbelieving that you had such a luxury anywhere but the beach.

He nodded towards you as he shuffled further into the house. “Heat and hot water.”

You followed behind him, not to sure where you should go. “How?” You sounded a little more blunt than you needed to but after all he had left you and you hadn’t forgotten it.

“I wasn’t going to stay somewhere that didn’t have basic necessities.” He snorted flipping on a small lamp in the corner of what appeared to be the bedroom.

You rolled your eyes at his arrogance, this was the side of Chishiya you hated. “No Chishiya, I mean how did you get heat and hot water. The beach had it because they rigged the generators. So how?”

You slouched against the wall as he threw himself onto the bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

He hummed as he shut his eyes. Once again avoiding another one of your questions, it really was getting tiring trying to figure him out but even so you couldn’t stop.

“Get up.” You huffed.

“What?” He shook his head, his eyes still shut

He really was getting annoying. “I said get up, if you want my help you give me answers I’m tired of playing cat and mouse with you Chishiya.”

He laughed at your words which only fuelled your slight anger towards him. “Who’s the cat?”

You hadn’t been the kind of person to let anger be an emotion that led you, it wasn’t one you favoured or focused on, Instead always choosing to try and stay calm. After all anger never solved anything, yet even so you knew that you couldn’t help what you was about to do, it was almost as if your body had a mind of its own.

Your legs began moving your hand reaching out to grab his arm, with all of your strength you pulled him off the bed onto the floor. His eyes shot open as he pushed himself up. Chishiya although short was still taller than you but somehow it seemed as if in this moment he was completely towering over you.

You let out a laugh at the scowl on his face.

“You think this is funny?” His face was stone cold, you was used to his blank expressions but this was a look you had never seen before.

Your laughter continued as you tried to talk. “You know Chishiya this is hilarious.”

“Shut up.” His voice was monotone and low, Chishiya patience was growing thin but that didn’t stop you.

“You know what I think is funny? I think it’s funny that we are stuck in some fake world, I think it’s funny that men in masks can kill us, I think it’s funny that even after all the deaths we are still stuck here! Don’t you? Don’t you think it’s funny Chishiya?!” Your laughter had disappeared, your voice growing louder.

“You need to calm down.” He turned away from you rolling his eyes.

Maybe it was his complete lack of emotion or your exhaustion but whatever it was it only encouraged your actions in this moment. Your body once again moving as though it had its own mind as your arm reached out to pull him back to you, his body turned to face you allowing you to hit his chest with your fists as words flew from your mouth before you could even think about what you was saying to him.

“What is wrong with you?! Are you fucking crazy or something? Can’t you understand Chishiya? Can’t you understand how dangerous this is? I want to go home, I want to not be afraid anymore because I am! From the day you met me you pulled me in and used me in your little games but I’m done being a pawn for you! You’re just as bad as the people who made this game!” Your hands continued placing blow after blow on his chest, I welcomed tears falling down your face as you did but only when you finished speaking did he react, and not at all in the way you expected.

His slender fingers wrapped around your wrists and his body began pushing yours back against the wall, you tried to shake your arms out of his grip but it was pointless, he was always much stronger than you.

“Let me go you psychopath!” You screamed in his face causing him to look away from you.

His voice was quite but even in your struggle it was clear. “Calm down and I will.”

He held you against the wall for what seemed to be a long time, eventually you had given up fighting, your body exhausted and your weight being placed on Chishiya. The tears hadn’t stopped, if anything being stuck only made them worse.

Chishiya released your arms, your body falling against the wall until you had landed on the floor, you brought your knees up to your chest and wrapped your hands around them. Chishiya sat next to you, his shoulder was close enough for you to lay your head on so you did, letting him once again bear the weight of your head as your tears fell in silence.

You had both sat there for hours, long enough for the sun to rise, taking the world from a eerie darkness to a summers day yet even so neither of you moved. You had fallen asleep after some time, only waking up when Chishiya moved your head onto his leg. When you woke up his jacket had been placed over you, he was so still you thought he was asleep, you finally you wasn’t as you tried to peak at him only to see his eyes staring back into yours.

You say you awkwardly, stretching your neck after being in an awkward sleeping position. You resumed your earlier position with you head on his shoulder, this time you pulled his jacket on instead of having it draped over you.

Even though you had unleashed your anger and fear on him he still stayed, guilt overtook you once again and suddenly it felt as though you was back in his room at the beach. “Chishiya im sorry, I didn’t mean the things I said.”

“You did mean them and that’s okay. They didn’t bother me.” His voice sounded empty but there was a hint of something within it. you couldn’t tell if it was hurt or anger but you guessed a mix of both.

“I wish you talked to me more.” You huffed, your voice full of defeat. If you was going to die or be stuck here forever than having regrets was pointless.

“Talking isn’t my kind of thing.” He whispered. His head slightly falling against yours.

He wasn’t lying. “I don’t understand you, I try to but I don’t. I don’t understanding anything about you or anything you do.” You hummed, your hand tracing patters on your knee.

“I wished you used your brain more.” He sighed. His voice clearly disappointed.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you sat up to look at him. “Are you seriously calling me stupid?”

He shook his head at you, his eyes much softer than last night. “No, but if you used it you may be able to see that if I didn’t care you would be sitting here alone right Now.”

Your mind froze at the sound of Chishiya practically admitting he cares about you, you watched him stand up and walk towards another part of the yet unexplored house. “I’ll make food.”

“Can I help?” You mumble, cooking always was something you found fun.

“Only if you use your brain, I won’t reattach your finger if you chop it off.” He calls back already out of sight.

A small smile tugs at your lips as you stand up and Follow behind him pulling up the sleeves of his white jacket as you prepare to make breakfast together.

“So.. what are we making?”

[noritoshiikamo]

lunch date

part 2 of this childhood friend drabble (ok fr frshould i name this childhood friend series or public sex series bcs hmm you'll see) pairing: gojo satoru + fem!reader genre: smut bcs i think with my hand down my pants when i see gojo tags//warning: established relationship public sex, gojo thinking with dick part 2, mention of breeding kink tagging: @unabashednightmarepizza @sukirichi @sassyeahhhh [lemme know if wanna be tagged in the next part] note: the obligatory trio of mine: unedited, lowercase intended, the obligatory trio of mine: not well edited, lowercase intended, english isnt my first language im sorry if i murder it.

“toru- ah, that hurts!”

his grip to her thighs tightened, “shhh, they can hear you.”

when gojo satoru suggested that they have lunch together, she happily accepted. she didn't suspected anything odd of his behavior. he was so kind to offer to bring her something over and she has been so stressed with her works, she just accepted it with no questions. it was the first text she’d replied after ignoring his many messages and calls.

it has been two weeks since the staircase incident and she started to suspect that he knew that she was actively trying to avoid him for almost a week. she knows gojo satoru like the back of her own hand, she knows he will not forget his promises, and he will hold against her until he gets it. their newly blossomed relationship was doing okay until he popped the question out so casually as she cooked. she couldn’t forget the look on his face.

“so, when are we going to have a baby?” his question that freaked her out lingered in her mind.

a baby

what was she thinking? she smacked her head on the table. “you could’ve asked for a house, or his black card, or something else. but a baby?” her voice strained.

“yes?” the hair on her back stood at the familiar deep voice.

she looked up so fast, her head spun to see her door opened wide. sara, her colleague stood with a slight frown on her face and on her side, gojo satoru. he wore teasing smile, traded his blindfold for his glasses and he looked different. he wore a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up with a pair of black pants and boots. his outfit looked simple and minimalistic, but don’t be fooled. she knew his shirt costs about the same as her monthly rent.

i can’t believe i picked a baby over his black card, her mind cried at the thoughts.

“i’ve tried stopping him,” sara explained, a glare on her face. he interjected. “i don’t need appointment to see my girlfriend,” gojo stepped inside, holding the door. “girlfriend?” sara questioned. she couldn’t help but to feel satisfied at the reaction her assistant’s face held.

“she gave you, her number?” she asked, one night where he came over. the bed sheet wrapped around her bare body as her eyes raked up and down satoru’s own bare body as he leaned against the headboard. his eyes shut close with his arms flexed behind his head. a small satisfactory smile on his face as he said, “right after telling me that you like me.”

“that bitch,” she hissed, gritting her teeth.

“y/n chan,” his eyes opened, a teasing smirk grew on his face. he leaned forward, the blanket pooled around his waist as he cupped her face in his hand, “didn’t see you as a jealous kind.”

it wasn’t that fact that she was jealous that sara is actively into gojo. she was fuming at her assistant for divulging her personal matter to him. that part first, and then maybe she was a little jealous. but then, sara was the reason she finally gets the guy she’s been waiting for; so at the end she still wins. sara will remain a bitch for a reason.

“it’s okay, we are having lunch together. you can leave,” she dismissed her, rubbing her strained eyes. gojo happily slammed the door shut.

“so, wanna tell me why you’re avoiding me?”

she sighed, her fingers ghosting over the keyboard, his presence has disturbed her mind, “i’m not. i-i’m busy.”

he sat on her chair, crossing his legs as he rested his lanky body against the chair. “you can’t even look at me. what is it?” he asked. her finger stopped above the enter key. she wanted to press it, but she can’t. something is holding her back. she knew what he’s doing. she sighed in defeat and turned to face the elephant in the room. her brows frowned when she realised; “where’s the food?” she asked staring at the empty table.

“huh?”

“lunch? you told me we are having lunch?” she frowned. this idiot did not just suggest that they’ll have lunch together, show up at her office without the promised food. gojo looked at her sheepishly, a small smile on his face.

“oh, that. yeah, i just want an excuse to see you,” his small smile turned sinister as he lolled his head to the side, “you could be my lunch.”

her face pressed against the glass window overlooking the city. her floor wasn’t that high, they could see the streets bellow and the office in front of them. she repeatedly told him that they can’t do this. “they can see us,” she panicked, despite being delirious from his kisses as she let him unbutton her shirt. but a few kisses later, her skirt hiked up, panties in his pocket and his dick hitting her cervix roughly, she was convinced.

“you think you can come for me six times?” he heaved, lips against her bare shoulder, accentuating his words with his every thrust, “six for the amount of days you've ignored me. another five to go, buttercup. should be easy.”

his hand trailed down her chest, her belly until he found her neglected clit. a gentle tap of her bundle of nerves had her throwing her hair back. she was about to come undone; he could feel it from the way she was desperately clamping down on his length and her whining. tears streaming down her face as she bit down on her lips to hold herself from screaming, she could taste blood. her body shuddered, her sweaty skin leaving marks on the glass and the way he just mewled against her ears, praising her made her legs buckled.

he was quick to catch her, hands gripping her waist.

they moved to the desk, pushing all her files and pens aside as he laid her down. he showered her with kisses, slowly trailing them down to her cunt. he eyed her glistening slit, mouth watered. grabbing her legs, he held it open, she whined at the feeling of his warm breath ghosting over her. “satoru, i can’t,” she moaned at the first lick, her hand pressed on his head trying to get away, but he held her tight. “n-no more, ah fuck, fuck!” she could feel his eyes on her, watching her every reaction as his tongue worked their ways. the feeling on his teeth grazing her clit, the tip of her tongue teasing around her entrance, before slipping in.

she tasted so good; it was more pleasurable for him than her. she looked pretty squirming to get away as he held her tighter, tongue darting in and out. overstimulation was hitting her full force and she was high in pleasure. her brain couldn’t comprehend; between the feeling of his breath against her slit, his tongue fucking her, his calloused palms against her waist and the sound he was making. she didn’t give two fucks if the office heard them fucking.

“close, fuck, toru i want-” her words cut off by her own moan.

his tongue switched, sucking on her swollen clit as his finger took over the fucking. it didn’t take long for her to gush out. her head was pounding, his words went in one ear and out the another. he stood up, drools and her fluid covered his chin and onto his bare chest. he helped her sat, she was beyond exhausted. the feeling of his fingers brushing her hair back brought back to the office, she looked up to him with her eyes half drooped. a soft chuckle escaped his lips as he pressed it on hers. “you okay?” he whispered, planting kisses after kisses. “i miss you so much,” he cooed.

“miss you,” was all she could mustered out.

“did i scare you? with the baby talk?” he asked, pulling her in his arms. truth be told, seducing her into fucking in front of the glass window wasn’t the actual reason gojo was here. but her words were just so inviting, he doesn’t mind a little detour. she tasted delicious. she mumbled something against his chest, but he was sure it was a maybe.

“i thought you wanted it.”

she pouted, finally the first sentence her brain could scrambled, “maybe i change my mind.”

“that’s why you ran away from me? you’re scared?” he tilted her head up, his heart warmed at the little pout she had on, “oh buttercup, i won’t lie. the thoughts of you all round and milky with my child is turning me on-” not a lie, because she could feel his cock pressing against her slit, “but it’s okay. one day i’ll change your mind but for now, i’m fine with a little practise now.” she groaned against his lips as she felt his tip slipped in, stretching her once again.

this one was quicker, she was already sobbing mess, clutching desperately on his chest as he chased his high.

the deeper he pushed into her, the faster he had to circle her clit. he’s not a selfish lover, he wants her to feel as good as him too, despite being borderline torturous as she was clearly an overstimulated mess. “you’re so good to me,” he hummed, “you take me in so well. i love the way your tight cunt suck me in.” she really was, with mouth apart panting his name, eyelids drooped, and fingers dug into his flesh with legs apart.

she’s his good little girl.

she nodded, soft mewls could be heard through her pants. the wet kisses he was peppering her skin soon turned into a desperate attempt to leave a mark. she was beyond exhausted to berate him for doing it, so she learned to enjoy the feeling of his fangs against her flushed skin.

“toru, it feels so good,” she rolled her eyes back and he hummed in agreement.

gojo held her throat, not too harsh but not exactly gentle too, “it does, does it?” he grinned, “come, clench around my cock, y/n chan," he teased, in a sing-song tone, "i’m about to fill you up to the brim.” he tightened the grip, she whined. the way the walls tightening around him, had the world strongest’s sorcerer a moaning mess, as his hips snapped faster.

the sound of their skin slapping each other got louder and louder with the squelching of her cunt. his eyes rolled to the back of his head, as he forced his cock all the way inside, his thick seed shooting directly into her womb. his grip on her waist tightened, he was all choke up. they stayed in each other’s arm, struggling to catch a break.

he pinched her cheek for the fun of it, seeing her annoyed and bothered for his own personal pleasure. “what luck you have, y/n. falling in love with someone like me,” he brushed the tear stains on her cheek.

“who said i love you?”

he pressed his hand on his chest, faking the pained look on his face with an ouch. it was never an exchange of i love yous between them; it was him annoying the fuck out of her and her being constantly concern by his childishness. “would you still come home, y/n. i miss you so much, no lies.” he asked as he pulled his pants back up. "i will," she promised. he helped her off the desk, cleaning the mess they’d made and her chasing him around for her pair of panties. she never got it back, her face was as red as her stilettos as she made her way out of the office bare under her skirt. she could hear him snickering behind her.

“c-cancel the rest of my day please, sara. i have some business to take care off,” she glared at the white-haired man running toward the elevator. lunch time was over, and she was beyond fucked to continue her work. literally. not when gojo had made sure to give her the fucking of her life, she couldn’t focus on her work no more. sara gave her a glare, a dirty one, as she eyed her skewered hair and wrinkled clothes. she placed the files on her assistant’s desk, rushing as gojo held the elevator opened.

she made in, jumping instantly in his arms as the door closed. it was just two of them in the empty lift.

she giggled in his arms; his huge smile was contagious. he kissed her so gently, thumb on her back rubbing shapes. his smile grew wider as they pulled away. she tilted her head, confusion on her face and he nudged his head to the door. she turned around only to see their reflection on the elevator’s door. “look closer,” he whispered, and her eyes widened as she realised a trail of his cum, peaking out of her skirt down her legs. her face got even redder as she wasn’t sure if it had just happened or gojo has been letting her walk around with his cum down her legs.

“i’ll murder you, satoru.”

the lift suddenly halted. the number stopped at the ninth floor and she cursed. the lift wasn’t malfunction; she knew exactly what he was doing, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“not going to lie, seeing my cum down your legs, it looks hot,” he said sheepishly, a kiss on her cheek while his hands already made their way underneath her blouse. his brows raised up suggestively.

“will you stop thinking with your dick, satoru?”

“you still owe me two more orgasm, buttercup.”

the light of the lift suddenly tripped, engulfing them in a pitch-black darkness. she jolted in his arms. the emergency light turned on and under the dimmed light, she could see his blue eyes on her like a predatory to its prey. she could feel her throat drying as a kiss landed on her neck.

“we better make our time worth.”

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

[pluviophile-imagines]

In Your Arms: Shigaraki

In Your Arms: a collection of short fics about cuddling with various characters. Find the masterlist here. This one does double duty as my contribution to another BNHA Sanctuary collab, with fics based around the prompt “[....] is concerned because Y/N isn't sleeping.“ The masterlist for that is here!

You’re being annoying.

Well, that’s not quite accurate. You’re not being annoying, which is annoying. Tomura hadn’t come all the way to your apartment for you to ignore him and focus on studying. He’d come all the way here to ignore you and focus on playing video games, and act irritated by the way you’d slowly drape yourself over him more and more until you’d sit completely in his lap, obscuring his view and forcing him to put down the game in favor of paying attention to you. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

You’re not supposed to be laying sprawled out on your stomach with your textbooks and laptop out in front of you, only just touching him with a single bare foot draped over the back of the bed.

He can’t focus on his game when you’re being so difficult. His character dies again—jumps straight into a pit of lava—and he huffs at the grating death riff that plays over the all too familiar game-over screen. He starts the level again. It’s the sixth time.

When he’d sent you his usual im coming over text, he’d been surprised and slightly offended when you’d responded by telling him you were busy. He hadn’t seen it until he was at your townhouse, though, and your window was open like it always is when you invite him in, so he’d climbed up the trellis and slipped through. You’d greeted him with a tired, distracted murmur and hadn’t addressed him since, aside from pushing yourself down as he took his usual seat at the foot of your bed to nudge his shoulder just barely.

What are you studying for, again? Some big important exam for your hardest class, or so you’d told him. He doesn’t understand why you bother going to university; it’s not as if you’ll be needing a degree when you’re spending the rest of your life at his side. He also knows how much it means to you, though, and despite how he personally feels about higher education he doesn’t want you to fail. You’d be devastated. Beyond that, he does want you to succeed in the things you care about.

Tomura’s character dies again. This time he quits, growling and tossing the controller to the side. He doesn’t even bother turning off the console as he whips about where he’s seated to glare at you over the edge of the bed.

It takes you a moment to realize he’s moved. That in itself makes his annoyance surge; he’s glaring harder as you flip over. When you begin to pull your legs back to sit up he surges forward to grab them and prevent you from moving away from him—carefully, always carefully, pinky fingers raised despite the double-digit gloves he wears to prevent any accidents.

“I told you I was busy,” you huff. “Not my fault you came over anyway.”

“You said you wouldn’t mind the company.”

“I don’t mind it, I like spending time with you even when I have to be working on other things.”

“You’ve been working on other things for six days,” he grumbles. Nearly a week. This is his first time seeing you in nearly a week. It’s a miracle he hasn’t died from lack of attention, and you’re lecturing him on giving you space? His reasons for coming over aren’t even that selfish, damn you and your supernatural ability to make him drop everything to make sure you’re okay.

But he’d been able to tell that you weren’t okay even through the phone. You’re exhausted, and it’s even more obvious now that he’s in your room with a good look at your face.

So Tomura doesn’t let you go back to your work. He tightens his grip on your legs instead (still cautious, constantly cautious, with six digits rather than ten, pinkies and ring fingers raised) and doesn’t wait for you to protest before he yanks you off the bed.

Your yelp is cute. Everything about you is cute, of course, but there’s something he particularly likes about the way your voice is laced with surprised laughter as he snatches you bodily from your place on your bed and drags you down into his lap. It’s clumsy despite (or rather because of) how careful he is with his deadly grip, and you end up turned around with your back along his legs and your feet propped up on the end of the bed.

“How much have you slept since we last hung out?”

You pout, clearly aware that he won’t like the answer.

“Brat,” he rasps, “studying is useless if you pass out during the exam.”

“What’re you gonna do about it, then?”

Well, he can’t let you get away with that. You forget he’s an S-rank villain.

He stands suddenly, arms strong around your torso as he lifts you and throws you back onto your bed. Again, you yelp; but you’re long used to his manhandling by now, and you’ve told him how much you like it, so he knows the shriek is mostly for show. You turn around, making to go back to your notes, and though he’s well aware you’re not actually intending to return to your studying he still lunges faster than you to shove all your supplies off the bed.

“Tomura!” you whine—he can hear that you’re half serious now, and six months ago when all this was still new he might have paused to apologize, but instead he just grabs you again to pull you under the covers with him.

It’s sufficiently distracting. All thoughts of your studies have clearly been dashed from your mind as he rolls over to hold you on top of him, chest-to-chest, thick quilt and soft sheets covering the pair of you.

Tomura can’t help himself as he tucks his head in the crook of your neck, burying his face against your soft skin. It’s always a little overwhelming simply being in your room, but your scent surrounds him now, both from the bed he’s holding you hostage in and you yourself.

It’s warm too, pleasantly so; so often Tomura feels chilled to the bone, but that’s rarely the case when you’re around, always sharing your body heat with him in one way or another.

Your arms move to drape over his shoulders. You prop yourself up slightly, staring down at him as he pulls his head back to look up at you. He’s come to know you well enough to recognize that you’re planning something; he tightens his hold on you, preparing for you to make a getaway attempt, not that you stand a chance to get very far against his strength and reflexes.

“You’re not leaving. We’re sleeping.”

You hum in response, an acquiescence (though he doesn’t loosen his grip, less because he’s afraid you’ll leave now and more simply because he likes the feeling of you in his arms). He holds you like that for a time, listening to or perhaps more feeling the soft rhythmic beat of your heart against his chest and your quiet, steady breath.

One of your hands moves, tracing down the side of his face, thumb reaching across to brush over the scar on his eye and then doing the same further downward to its companion on his lip. Then it drops, finding a permanent resting spot on his chest, heavy palm warming him over his heart.

You lean in. His eyes flutter closed, sight going dark so that he can focus on his other senses—the weight of you on him, the smell of your shampoo, the brief little sound you make in the back of your throat that he’s come to learn means you think he’s being cute.

Your lips land on his scarred eye, featherlight and fleeting, a brush of a kiss. Then they’re just below his mouth, an identical kiss on what you affectionately call his beauty mark. Finally, they press to the corner of his mouth, that other scar (he used to be self conscious of it, frankly, but you don’t even have to tell him just how much you like it, he’s figured that out on his own thanks to how much attention you give the little blemish and your minute reactions every time you get the chance to feel it).

You’re sluggish as you pull back. You’re finally feeling the exhaustion, he can tell. He should really let you sleep, that’s why he’s here and forced you into bed with him in the first place, but he follows your lips anyway.

It’s a sweet kiss, slow and languid but not entirely passionless as his hand slides up your spine to find home on the back of your neck. He can feel you melt into him, letting him take the lead and relinquishing any active part in the process to him. Your heat seeps into him. He doesn’t get tired much, but at times like these your own exhaustion affects him, bidding him to follow you into dreamland—not that he’d ever complain about sleeping with you.

When the pair of you separate, you all but fall onto him, finally letting your heavy eyelids close as you bury your face into his marked neck. You mumble something into the skin there, almost too quiet to hear; a slurred out, “G’night.”

Tomura turns his head into you to press a kiss to your temple as he succumbs to your siren call and joins you in slumber, voice impossibly low so you won’t hear (though he knows you will anyway, perceptive as you are). “Sleep well, player two.”

[thesquareinthecircularhole]

best friend [MCYT: Dream x F!Reader]

not requested but im having feelings

"best friend" the cavetown cover in particular

lyrics in italics

did somebody say some angst? i think i heard someone say some angst! happyish implied ending idk

unintentional slight wilbur!

I should have stayed at home 'Cause right now I see all these people who love me but I still feel alone Can't help but check my phone

The majority of the Dream SMP had decided, after the whole pandemic was over (k pretend), to meet up and have a hangout/party. So, as of right now, there was a bunch of streamers chilling in a rented out AirBNB mansion that was relatively cheap and believed by a few to be haunted- but anywayyyyyyy...

Dream stood around talking to George, Snapchat, and Punz. While he was conscious in the conversation his mind continued to drift elsewhere. In the absence of a need for him in the conversation- George and Sapnap getting into a heated debate in regards to a recent video with them and Punz mostly failing at calming the boys, Dream looked down at his phone. 10:48pm, it read, with no messages but plenty of twitter notifications. He put his phone to sleep again and slid it into his pocket, looking around at the group, with his eyes immediately drawn to one person.

I should have made you mine But no it wasn't meant to be and see I wasn't made for you and you weren't made for me Though it seemed so easy...

[Y/N] sat on the couch with Fundy on one side and Wilbur on the other. A couple of drinks were shared between them, and they watched the TV which had a show playing, though you couldn't really hear it with the music and chatter. It was more for background, much like everything in life. The trio weren't actively watching but more talking amongst themselves.

Dream couldn't make out anything they were saying from this far away. His heart pained at the happy expression on [Y/N]'s face. It looked very different than the last face he had seen on her, the face he caused as he broke her heart in hopes to maintain friendship. God did he love her but relationships weren't his thing and haven't been in so long and holy shit did he regret it after seeing the tears stream down their face that night and right now as he saw Wilbur put an arm around [Y/N]'s shoulders which cause Fundy to probably make an inappropriate joke, knowing him.

And that's because I wanna be your favorite boy I wanna be the one that makes your day The one you think about as you lie awake And I can't wait to be your number one I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine But I still wanna break your heart and make you cry

Jealousy soared through Dream. [Y/N] was his friend first, and she agreed to continue being the great friends they were after the rejection, and those two have just decided to take his place practically instantly? It had been a month since it, and [Y/N] had already pulled back from streaming with him as frequently-the fans had begun to take notice as well. While the Dream Team was a thing, the two of them were the Dream Duo. Taking names and kicking ass was the catchphrase. It was also part of the reason [Y/N] wasn't invited to the manhunts, she'd either get him to fast or betray the others and team with him. They started out together and been with each other every step of the way. From the first subscriber (other than each other of course) to the millionth-though [Y/N] ended up staying smaller than Dream, the support never left. They were each other's biggest fans and #1, if they weren't streaming together they were definitely watching the other's stream. They had been with each other through the highs and lows, and [Y/N] had even seen his face long before Snapmap (and most certainly pointed it out on twitter in a reply to his tweet).

But won't you wait You know it's too late I'm on my own shit now And let me tell you how it feels to be fucking great I feel great

[Y/N] was thriving in their neck of the woods. Despite the dead silence on her end for a week after the rejection, she came back swinging and better than ever, or at least presented herself in that way. She had branched out away from purely minecraft and minecraft speedruns into other territory. She even got featured on the Technoblade channel in one of his many bedwar videos. She quickly befriended Valkyrae too and joined that crew for a bunch of Among Us streams. She hated to say it, but it felt great to not be on a one track grind anymore. Sure, she missed Clay and his antics, but despite her happy demeanor her heart still hurt over the situation. 

You need to be yourself Love someone for lovin' you instead of someone really cool that makes your heart melt Who knows what you truly felt

Wilbur was well aware of the feelings [Y/N] had for Dream as one night she called him drunk and near tears about how wonderful he was. The next day when [Y/N] woke up she forced Wilbur to not spill the beans and Wilbur was happy to have blackmail material over her, albeit jokingly. Nothing better than getting free minecraft labor using someone’s drunken love confession that should’ve won an Oscar. However, Wilbur didn’t understand her feelings towards Dream at all. Sure he was a cool dude and really good at everything he does, but nothing he has done has shown more than friendly love towards [Y/N]. Wilbur personally thinks [Y/N] was blind in love with him and deserved someone better, and hey...if it was him...

You're still my favorite girl You better trust me when I tell you there ain't no one else more beautiful in this damn world In this damn world

A couple of days after the group hangout, [Y/N] found herself alone in a call with Dream. With the streams of the Dream SMP having ended and everyone involved leaving the VC to do their own things, it left the dynamic duo alone. Dream was hyperactive about it, though it seemed [Y/N] didn’t notice as they were texting on their phone, until Clay piped up.

“Hey [Y/N]...” his voiced trailed off.

“Oh hey! What’s up Dream?” She responded suddenly reminded of the discord.

“We’re still friends right?”

“Of course we are, why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well it seems like lately you’ve been ignoring or avoiding me.” He huffs. They sigh, a mix of a frown and a smile on their face.

“Clay, you have to understand, I really like you, but I’m working on putting that behind me. If you can manage a little bit where I can separate those feelings from our friendship feelings while being a bit distant, our friendship will be better than before! Remember, you’re still my favorite boy in the whole world.”

“And you’re my favorite girl.”

I still wanna be your favorite boy I wanna be the one... I might just be the one...

[arhvste]

Hi! I saw your Dad hcs and istg I wanted more 🥺 can you please make a part two with Sakusa (God i love this man) Hinata, Bokuto and Ushijima (do add more if you want) your works are amazing but the Dad hcs got me 💘

i re-read all my work last night and i consciously kept spelling sakusa’s name wrong 🤠 like i know his name i know what it sounds like but i kept getting mixed up between sasuka, sakura and sasuke because they all look the same to me 😳 I'm sorry sakusa pls forgive me 😼

also i will be doing ushijima in a seperate post for dad hcs with two other haikyuu boys a bit later so dw i haven't accidentally missed or ignored it! :) 

-

SAKUSA, HINATA AND BOKUTO AS DADS

-

SAKUSA

the two fo you only have one kid so far

a 3 year old girl 

you plan to extend your family soon though 👀

you already KNOW this man gets your kid every vaccination available for their age 

he is very protective over his daughter 

boys near her daughter at the playground

NOT on his watch 

he will simply scoop her up and suggest she play somewhere else 

this man doesn't care how mean it may seem

he’s not having his precious daughter surrounded by disgusting b-boys 🤮

“have they had their flu jabs? when was the last time they washed their hands? they're breathing their gross little germs too close to her”

“sakusa, they’re 3.”

sorry but no dating for your daughter 

sakusa teaches his little girl the concept of “boys have cooties” from a very young age 

this man is nothing but proud when that concept sticks with her 😈

“d/n, are you excited for pre-school?”

“daddy said there's going to be boys and boys have cooties so no 😠”

as she gets older though he does become more lenient with her and who she makes friends with 

he’ll secretly love it if you brought her to his games

he’s not huge on pda at all

but he won’t mind being caught on camera embracing the two of you when the team win 

atsumu is not allowed near your daughter when she’s a baby

“omi omiiiii why can’t i ‘ave a look t’cha daughter?”

“because she has been vaccinated and i fear your disgusting germs may be strong enough to over power it”

when she gets older though she straight up approaches atsumu on her own 

“so you’re the rat my daddy talks about a lot? you don’t look like much of a rat?”

atsumu doesn’t know whether he’s flattered that sakusa talks about him or offended that he refers to him as a ‘rat’

he won’t encourage your daughter to play volleyball

he wants her to pick her own hobbies and not feel pressured by his influence on picking an activity she’ll enjoy

secretly hopes your daughter takes up an individual activity like painting or something to keep away from other germ infected kids

but if your daughter does happen to pick a team sport he doesn't complain

she just has to wash her hands before she comes home and have a shower when she comes in

he is a very very proud father 

he may not be very expressive about it 

but he absolutely brags about his kid to other people

“my son won maths star of the week!”

“yeah? well my daughter won student of the year, highest achieving in her class and had 4 boys confess to her this week so”

he does make sure his daughter knows he is very proud of her despite his petty bragging

anything she does he takes pride in her 

it’s her who makes him want to have another kid

so get ready for round two y/n because when sakusa wants something he’ll make sure he gets it 😼

-

HINATA

now, you may think hinata would be nothing but pure chaos with his kids 

but

he is actually very responsible 

it’s hardly a surprise though because he grew up with a younger sister whom he took care of a lot 

from the second your triplet boys are born hinata is on it 

at first when you found out you were having triplets your mind went blank

“so like, 3 little shoyou’s running around my legs? 😀”

“ma’am are you okay?”

“i’m finE :)))”

surprisingly  two of your sons took more after you

but the youngest one 

phew 

he doesn't have an off switch 

he’s just like his father 

but that’s what makes him so loveable too

hinata is a doting dad 

he also encourages his kids to go out and make as many friends

he explains all the opportunities he had growing up and how far these opportunities took him to reach is goal

and this is all because he was open to meeting new people and being friendly with them

he makes sure his kids grow up with lots of aunts and uncles surrounding them

he wants his sons to grow up in a close environment 

your kids have so many aunts and uncles because hinata makes a new friend everywhere he goes ufshfi

your oldest son takes a liking to kenma the most 

your second oldest takes a shine to uncle oikawa

and the youngest?

uncle kaegyama ofc 😈

lmao when kageyama holds one of your sons for the first time he holds it by the leg with a straight face 

nobody thought they’d ever see hinata having to show kageyama how to hold a baby properly 

kageyama is lowkey excited he’s the fav but he’s so awkward fjishsgjh

bring your sons to his games 

he will absolutely smile and wave at his kids whenever he scores

and will pull them out excitedly into the arena when they win 

he has you all plastered on his social media 

he thinks everyone should know that you guys are the light of his life

he already had a fulfilled life before his sons but you gave him a whole new concept of love and excitement when they were born

you guys will totally take a vacation to brazil at some point 

hinata wants your family to meet all his friends over in brazil too 

hinata is mr worldwide 😎

with hinata as a dad, your kids will grow up in a very nurturing home

he wants the best for your kids and will teach them from an early age that any goal is possible 

and he’ll support them in every single way he can

-

BOKUTO

hinata as a dad isn’t chaos 

bokuto as a dad certainly is

he’s basically a child himself 

you guys have 2 kids

a 5 year old son and a 6 year old daughter

bokuto will try and BEFRIEND your kids

“kou baby, they're your kids not your friends”

“uh says who?”

“biology??? their dna?? the birth certificate??”

he literally lets his kids do whatever they want forcing you to be the bad cop (im so sorry)

your kids want ice cream for dinner?

consider it done

they want to adopt a snake?

bokuto has excitedly taken them to the pet store to pick out one each

you’re always the one who has to say no because if you didn’t these kids would be off the r a i l s

the first time your kids cries he cries

the first time your kids talk he cries

the first time they walk he cries

he’s full of emotion and the love he holds for your kids is often expressed through tears of happiness

when you leave bokuto and the kids alone 

things will go smoothly

until one of them starts crying and bokuto can’t stop them

then the other one starts crying and he is clueless on what to do 

he doesn’t want to call you because he doesn’t want to look pathetic 

so he calls the next best option 

uncle akaashi 😼

akaashi is like a walking parent website hfdjbgu

he literally instructs bokuto on what to do through the phone 

and if they still won't calm down akaashi will just sigh and agree to come over

you come home to the sight of akaashi reading a story book to your two kids who are staring up at him in awe from the floor

along with your husband 

“am i interrupting?”

bokuto will break out into smiles and practically pounce on you when you come home

“everything was under control wasn’t it? right akaashi?” :D”

akaashi will just sigh and give a small smile

“yes bokuto-san, everything was under control”

you give akaashi a small smile of apology and he’ll often join you for dinner

yeah your kids spend a lot of time with uncle akaashi but you know who’s adamant on being the favourite uncle?

uncle kuroo ofc 😎

he will spoil tf out of your kids 

we love rich, capitalist uncle kuroo

and he’ll tell them things about bokuto to irritate him

“kids, your dads a criminal he doesn't pay his taxes”

“taxes?”

“money everyone has to pay the government - basically it’s illegal and i think you should call the police on your dad 😈”

you actually have to stop your kids from calling the police on their dad fbhjdsfgu

again, another dad who wants nothing more than for his kids to come to his games

“HEY HEY HEY THAT”S MY FAMILY!!!”

no boundaries with pda

will pick you all up and shower you all with affection when they win

would love if your kids took up volleyball

would tell them it’s the best sport to play 

and they actually listen to him hduigefuiew

your son becomes a middle blocker 

and your daughter becomes an ace 

bokuto could die from happiness 

he will absolutely teach your kids and play and bring them to msby practices so they can watch up close and play along too

if bokuto is the father of your kids 

good luck but have fun with it

because while yes, he is still your big baby that needs taking care of from time to time

he is also an extremely loving father who would gladly give his kids the world and all the stars

[enderspawn]

It's alright if u don't wanna answer this cuz this argument gets people really riled up but do you think c!Techno is a tyrant or nah?

Cuz many c!techno apologists argue that he isn't just cuz he's an anarchist but I've also read a lot of essays that go against it and it'd be really interesting to see ur opinion on this

i think he, in some contexts, can most definitely be called tyrannical, yes. a tyrant? no.

to avoid spamming ppl w discourse we've all def heard before (and bc this ended up MASSIVE (like 2.3k ish), but fairly in depth bc i didnt wanna speak out of bad faith and wanted to be EXPLICTLY clear-- oops), the rest will be under readmore

so heres the thing i want to preface: i used to really LOVE c!techno. i joined beginning of s2, right when exile started, and he was arguably my favorite character. since then though i've fallen out with him a LOT, to the point i almost... actively despite him at times (though mainly in a toxic kind of way which i can acknowledge is flawed).

in short, his actions started to speak louder than his words and i lost investment in his personal character struggles because of the actions he took (doomsday was my breaking point. i get feeling angry and betrayed, as well as seeking revenge against lmanberg, but his actions went too far for me to CARE and it hurt so many more characters as well.)

so when i speak, i come from a place of disliking him but also somewhat understanding the position c!techno apologists come from: i used to be one of them myself.

NOW, do i think he's a tyrant? no. for reference in my analysis, i try to look up the definition of terms to make sure they are utilized properly. while "tyranny" and "tyrannical" can have multiple uses, tyrant itself is a more specific term. to combine the top two definitions, a tyrant is referring to "an extremely oppressive, unjust, or cruel absolute ruler (who governs without restrictions, especially one who seized power illegally.)"

techno's position as an anarchist, imo, DOES indeed make him unable to be a tyrant. tyrants are rulers with very clear power over others from a structural way. anarchists are about the lack of structure or power over others and instead viewing the people around you as equals in power.

in forming the syndicate, they very explicitly worked to not designate a leader and instead make it so that no one would have any power over the others systemically. techno may have taken a integral role, yes, but it doesn't make him suddenly "the leader", its a role that wouldve had to be filled by someone (even if it was democratic to decide who to invite, they'd need someone to hand over the invite itself yknow? like no matter WHAT there needed to be A ROLE)

one could argue that he IS a leader in the shadow hierarchy of the syndicate (which, yes, is a real and professional term used in management courses despite sounding like it comes from a 4kids yugioh dub) in that everyone CONSIDERS and looks to him a leader without him having any actual structural basis behind it, but to argue that allows him to be a tyrant is in bad faith i believe. especially because to the people he would be "ruling", he ISNT oppressive, unjust, or cruel. they are his friends and support network and critical for a lot of his personal development (since feelings of betrayal and trust issues are critical to his character and why he acts the way he does). I wish we were able to SEE this develop more, but oh well.

but like i said: tyrant is fairly specific in definition. TYRANNY, and thus TYRANNICAL are not as limited. I've discussed their definitions here. originally, i made that post because i was angry at a take i had seen that claimed that, like you said, because techno was an anarchist and not part of any government or leadership position, he couldn't be tyrannical. to which i heartily disagree.

for something to be tyrannical, they simply must have an overarching/oppressive power over someone or something. it would not be inaccurate if i were to say that something is "under the tyranny" of a concept, because what it means is that something is under the power of another thing/concept. you can frankly call anything tyranny if it is widespread/overarching and you don't like it. mask mandates? tyranny, its forcing me to act in "rigorous condition". hell, theres even such things as tyranny of the majority in which people agree too much on one thing and it gives them unfair power or tyranny of the minority where people with minority opinions have too much power (thats a very grossly oversimplified definition of both, but it covers the base idea well enough for my point)

the point im making above isnt meant to be taken as "anything can be worked to be defined as tyranny thus it is a meaningless claim", it is that tyranny (and again, thus tyrannical) are very open and nonrestrictive terms.

to make it easier to define, alongside the definitions provided i want to add an explicit clause that is (imo) implied in the original definition: tyranny is... well, bad. that is to say if someone has power over a group but literally everyone is fine with it and agrees to it, its not tyranny. thats just a group of people getting along and one happens to have power over another. a leader does NOT equal a tyrant (as discussed above), so leadership should not be equated with tyranny.

thus as an example: wilbur acting as president (before the election) may have been "unelected" with power over his citizens, but no one was upset with that power. thus, he is not a tyrant and not acting tyrannically (as well as the fact his power was, arguably, NOT rigourous or absolute but thats another topic for another time). SCHLATT however IS a tyrant, as his power was absolute (he did not consult his cabinet) and forced people to comply instead of them complying willingly, thus he was acting tyrannically.

now to finally get to the damn point of this essay: where does c!techno lie? honest answer? it depends slightly on your perspective, but it depends a LOT on the future of the syndicate.

techno is incredibly clear in his goals: no governments, no corruption. in fighting with pogtopia, he is actively working to topple a tyranny-- he isn't tyrannical for doing that.

when he strikes out on nov 16th, it is because he opposes them forming a new government. when they oppose him and disagree, he launches an attack against them. is this tyranny? maybe, but probably not. he IS trying to impose his own physical strength and power (as well as his resources) over the others to stop them from doing what HE doesn't want them to do.

however its more nuanced than that:

1. hes lashing out emotionally as well as politically. he feels betrayed by those he trusted and he believed that they would destroy the government then go (i'm ignoring any debates on if he did or did not know that they planned another government, though it is a source of debate). but typically idk about you but i dont call tyranny for someone fighting with another person.

2. he also may be acting with good intent again, in HIS EYES. if tubbo was part of manburg, whos to say he wont be just as bad? he, in his pov, is likely trying to stop another tyrant before they rise.

3. and finally, and tbh the most damning from any perspective: he gives up. he quickly leaves then RETIRES without intent to try and attack again until he is later provoked. tyranny is defined by it not just being power, but power being USED. if he doesn't use his power to try and impose any will, then he's not tyrannical.

Doomsday I am also not going to touch very in depth on for much of the same reasons. My answer is again a "maybe", depending on the weight you personally place on each issue:

1. he's lashing out as revenge for the butcher army and as revenge against tommy for "betraying" him (though this one we explicitly know he was ignoring the fact tommy did not want to go through with it, however he still did trust and respect tommy regardless so his feelings are understandable anyway)

2. he sees new lmanberg as corrupt and tyrannical (which is undeniable: house arrest for noncompliance, exile without counsel, execution without trial, etc), and thus obligated to destroy it

but also, theres the implicit understanding he's doing this to send a message: do not form a government, or else. its a display of force that also works to warn others unless they want a similar fate. phil even explicitly states that he is doing so to send that message, so one could assume techno is doing the same alongside his personal reasoning listed above.

what i just described is the use of a oppressive and harsh (physical) power in order to gain compliance from people (that compliance being 'not making a government'). does that sound familiar? exactly. it follows the definition(s) of tyranny given previously. technoblade is acting in a way that is, by very definition, tyrannical.

so the debate shifts: is he valid in doing so because he is trying to PREVENT corruption and tyranny. like i said, new lmanberg was undeniably corrupt at points. i held nothing against techno for trying to topple manburg, so does that apply to new lmanberg as well? short answer: i dont know. it depends on your specific opinion of what is acceptable. its like the paradox of tolerance: to have a truly tolerant society, you have to be intolerant of intolerance. to have a truly non-tyrannical society, do you need to have a tyranny enforcing it?

personally (and bc im a lmanberg loyalist /hj) i say it is. regardless of the corruption of new lmanberg, they are also giving a threat to EVERYONE. even those who are innocent, they are presented with the exact same threat and rule set: if you make a government, you will be destroyed.

(which, small divergence here, is part of why debating c!techno is so frustrating. so many times you end up hitting a "well it depends on your political views" situation and there ISNT a correct answer there. im here to analyze characters for fun, not debate political theory)

so: the syndicate then. this is where this debate really "took off" and i think its due to one very specific miscommunication about its goals and plans. the syndicate, upon formation, declares itself to stand against corruption and tyranny. when they are found, the syndicate would work to destroy it. so heres the golden question: what do THEY define as corruption and tyranny? if you were to go off c!techno's previous statements, seemingly "any government" is a valid answer. however, he also states he's fine with people just being in groups together hanging together.

what then DEFINES A GOVERNMENT for them? what lines do they have to sort out what does "deserve to be destroyed" and what does "deserve to exist freely"

this is a hypothetical i like to post when it comes to syndicate discourse:

i have a group of people. lets say 5 or so for example. they all live together and build together. any decisions made that would impact the entire group they make together and they must have a unanimous agreement in order to proceed, but otherwise they are free to be their own people and do their own thing. when you ask them, they tell you they are their own nation and they have a very clearly defined government: they are a direct democracy. does the syndicate have an obligation to attack?

there is absolutely no hierarchy present. there is no corruption present. but, they ARE indeed a government. is that then inherently negative? my answer is fuck no (see the whole "difference between a tyrant and a leader" thing above).

but THATS where the issue of this discourse LIES. in some people's eyes, the answer to that is YES. techno's made it clear "no government" is his personal view, but does that spread to the syndicate as a whole? do they act preemptively in case it DOES become corrupt? is it inherently corrupt because its a government, regardless of how it is ruled? the fact of the matter is because of how little we've seen the syndicate work as a SYNDICATE, we don't know that answer. so we're left to debate and speculate HOW they would act.

if the syndicate were to let that government exist, then they are not tyrannical. they are showing that they are working to stop tyranny and corruption, just like in pogtopia again.

if the syndicate were to destroy/attack that government, then they are tyrannical. simple as that. they are enforcing a rule of their own creation without any nuance or flexibility under the threat of absolute destruction.

miscommunication in debates comes, in my opinion, in the above. of course theres more points of nuance. for example:

would the syndicate allow a government like i had described with early lmanberg, where there is an established hierarchy but everyone in the country consents to said leadership? on one hand, there is no tyranny or corruption present which is what they are trying to work against. on the other hand, theres more a possibility of it occuring. perhaps they'd find a middle road between the two binary options of "leave or destroy" i am presenting, such as checking in occasionally to ensure no corruption occurs.

but if they were to destroy it without, for lack of a better word, "giving it a chance" they would be, in my opinion, tyrannical. they would be going aginst their words of opposing corruption and instead abusing their power to gain compliance.

your/others opinions may differ, again it depends on if you see it as worth it to possibly stop future tyranny or if a hierarchy is INHERENTLY a negative thing.

part of the reason so many blog gave up this debate, beyond not getting very clear answers for the syndicate, is because of the nuance present. there. is. no. right. answer. every single person will view it differently, because there is no universally agreed upon truth of right or wrong here. BUT, i hope this helps shed some light on the discussion and my thoughts on it