#either ill get my own hopes up for thinking someone with my opinions can be social in fandom. or ive got like 3 options available to me

[tossball-stick]

im feeling sentimental so idk ill write about personal experience here. the outer worlds fandom was like. especially bad for me when i first got into it. i soooo so badly wanted to participate in fandom but it felt like id get hung in the town center for shipping millsoto 😭 everywhere i went in that fandom i constantly saw people shipping their 20 something captains with max just fine, but the second you ship max and felix suddenly thats predatory and why would you ever ship that and youre a disgusting freak. there was maybe like..... two other people millsoto posting back in like 2020. there was a bit of a fanbase for the ship when the game launched, but it quickly shrunk to some people barely keeping the lights on. at least, on tumblr, ao3 and instagram, where i was online at the time. it burned me out so bad, wanting to be a part of the fandom but knowing the thing i had the most fun with from the game was gonna be seriously judged and id be hated in whatever space i walked into, unless i just stamped it down.

borderlands is another fandom thats made participating in it exhausting. the entire fandom is divided on whether or not you like or relate to or sympathize with whats considered the best games' primary antagonists. i have to loudly wave flags, screaming from the rooftops, that i lile handsome jack and that i can sympathize with him and that i like exploring every facet of his character and yes that includes the way he abuses people. if i dont, and i make a post thats not about jack, and the small dead fandom at large starts enjoying it, not just my circle of jack likers, it feels like ive got this insane pressure to make the callout post on myself first. i feel weird about changing the icon and theme of this blog despite borderlands being on the back burner, just in case i make a borderlands post and someone thinks im one of the "normal" ones. it feels like a betrayal when im not normal. i feel slimy, like im going behind their back. and its solely because of the fandom culture. callout culture was so bad in borderlands, it feels like every week back in 2020 or 2019 there was some post ranting about how xyz is actually a huge rhackie or jackothy shipper and clearly they must want every abuse victim ever to stay with their abusers. i mean fuck dude the people who shipped jack and rhys were literally labelled as rhackies. no other ship got this treatment. even jackothy shippers were called just that. but rhackies, even willingly, were completely separating themselves from the rest of the fandom. gee, i wonder why.

getting into a new fandom is always miserable. will i lock myself away into the freak category and never have any friends in the media or will i so violently repress myself into someone im not just to talk about the tame stuff i think about with the media

[barbatusart]

bit of thinking outloud but for my current tactician run im doing a special wyll origins playthrough im calling the Evil Wyll Run & it’s given me a lot of food for thought about his character (or at least the freedom of psychological movement + exploration afforded to an origin run!)

wyll spoilers abound we’re entering the wyllenium here

wyll always felt a bit underwritten to me - i know that’s partially because there was that big kerfuffle in the 11th hour with changing his whole story and personality on top of having to recast his VA, and frankly hats off to both original VA lanre malaolu & new VA theo solomon for their hard work - both brought tremendous performances, & i sincerely hope mr malaolu was paid well for his work & time even if his voice wasn’t used in the final cut (i would also say warlock as a class itself felt a bit underdeveloped but im 100% OK with chalking that up to me the player not understanding how to play warlock effectively yet lol im more of a fighter barbarian Hit Stuff guy)

but honestly this feeling of being “underwritten” combined with a character with a long history of heroism in his pocket made wyll really interesting to me even in my tav playthrough. for all his accomplishments he still feels like a blank everyman, or like he’s someone who fully believes he’s the main character who doesn’t “need” to do any extra work on himself - and honestly he feels Very much like he could be The Main Character. once his backstory of the son of the duke was revealed too i immediately got the sense of like, rich boy trying to prove his worth beyond his wealth and status by striking out & becoming that hero, or that Prince Charming. basically that perfect happily ever after somebody. and im of the opinion that you don’t get mixed up with a cambion in the first place unless you’re either the kind of naïve “everything will just work out” immature that tends to comes with his status as the son of a noble, or you’re hungering for power. depending on playstyle he’s very easily both of these things

on the naïve front (ie a good wyll playthrough) if anything he feels very believably immature, & from that perspective the events of the game feel as though they’re the prequel to the actual start of wyll's story where he finally finds himself & learns what kind of man he really is. we just dont get to see it alas, but i really enjoyed the thought exercise of somebody still grappling with overcoming his own immaturity. he feels like someone who can still grow and that his tale is just beginning

Evil Wyll (meaning any time mizora shows up he drops everything to enact her instruction & hasnt once tried to find a loophole out of his contract) which ive come to be far more fascinated by is someone clearly vying for power, which is interesting because his noble status would’ve given him all the power he wants had he Played Nice. to me it speaks of someone who wants to be able to take what he wants from life without it being handed to him, which contrasts in a really fascinating way with entering into a warlock pact at all. maybe he thought it was better that it be a decision he made as opposed to nobility given to him by his family ties, maybe there’s still that pollyanna sentiment of “it’ll just work out & ill live happily ever after.” again maybe both. maybe in a sense the fiend, as he calls himself, is a good excuse to shuck off any poor decision he makes or any genuinely heinous thing he does under mizora’s instruction - an identity he uses as power fantasy (and very much in tandem/interchangeable with the blade of frontiers power fantasy) until it means taking ownership for any of his misdeeds, and then a scapegoat.

may be a bit incoherent but im only now hitting act 3 in my origin run & im Really enjoying this difficult characterization ive cooked up for myself lol

[borzoilover69]

do you have any posts that kinda expand on jake as a character? i want to like him in theory, but i just dont Get him, you know? its kinda like that with me for all the alphas but its the most for jake.

Oh my gosh yes!! Yes i do!! Heres some i recommend rather than me typing at length points more articulately said before or by someone else. Please please PLEAAASE message me again after you’ve read some of these and tell me if your opinions changed and what you think you get abt him!!

Jake English writing guide - expansion on his mannerisms. : a rhetoric of shit hes said that made me side eye him.

Jake english: a fandom analysis : long discussion i had with two friends abt jake

Facade, dirk and jake: small but to the point

Jake english is a jackass, not an infant.

Why tony artreactor likes jake

Harlenglishes: “when you fuck up its ok! if i fuck up its the worst thing in the entire world.”

Not required but recommended:

His ass was not being serious with these comments man. : the caliborn jake convo is my fave out of these.

Alpha kids and why i like them : personal opinion alert

Other than that i asked my friend @tipsygnostalgy their opinion on jake and they gave these wise words (roughly paraphrased)

“for me jakes appeal is fundamentally about whether humanity can overcome their own insecurities in terms of engagement with others and grow to accept true love in this essay ill be pushing him into the neongenesisangelion shinji ikari role and analyzing him thr—

Kidding, but listen. The first sentence is the crux of it. He constructs personas (believing in himself but the facade version of it) and relies on hope ketamine (believing in others) because its easier to do than to confronting the reality that he doesnt know who he is or whether he likes that person at all. This doesnt mean he lacks a self; he cant fully break but he cant fully give either. he exists in this weird limbo state where he chooses neither to be completely passive (actually letting someone walk all over him) nor completely active (refusing it outright) demonstrated best by the way in which he "breaks up" with dirk i.e. he doesnt.

He doesnt like the status quo but also doesnt believe in himself to fix it proper and i think that signifies how a lot of people make decisions when youre in this weird passive middle area. the world fucking sucks but what can you do about it, youre just one guy. No business knowing how to do that. On the other hand the way he plays people should be studied.

the jane crocker patented question of "Does he know?" is what he asks himself every night and its so utterly interesting that hes not sure of the answer”

[sn0w-games]

My thoughts after Chapter 7

Spoilers for Tokyo Debunker below please continue with caution:

WOWIE WAS CHAPTER 7 A GOOD ONE!!!

I can say that Mortkranken is a very interesting dorm. And I could be bias because it's a shade of a blue or blue/green I like, but it's coming my favorite.

I know I pick and push calling Jiro a slut but it was mostly based on looks alone. Now actually seeing his character in play I can finally form an opinion on these two characters.

Opinions on Yuri and Jiro :

Jiro - Looks alone he was the one who stood out to be the most, I have a type of liking either assholes or dark gloomy guys in series and seeing Jiro was the cake on top ~ I enjoy seeing him fight and work, learning about him and his illness too was a plus side and I hope to learn more about his character even if it's a side mini thing I hope he returns in the main story.

Yuri - Not gonna lie, I knew his character looks seemed familiar turns out a buddy of mine sent me a photo of him and I proceeded to call him a teal hair Azul Ashengrotto - I do not apologize. I honestly adore this man with my being. He is a bit of a gobber but he is very smart ( obviously he is a doctor). He makes me giggle a bunch so I will definitely be thinking of him.

My thoughts on chapter 7:

I was actually happy that I didn't have to wait long for the Chapter since from when I got into Tokyo Debunker for the first time. Jumping into a new chapter for the new dorm is always exciting even after all we learned in the game up till now. I knew the MC curse wouldn't be solved so easily since now there is a marking on her neck, but it was a good way to introduce Mortkranken into the story line and the characters along with it.

However with the mutated anomaly was a freaky thing itself. But it was perfect in its own way. But I wished they gave us a sprites for the zombies. After Chapter 2, the way they made one for Takeru's ghost the details and the way he moved was so chilling it made me snapped back to the thoughts this had some horror themes to it.

The anomalies in Chapter One weren't scary but they had their own sprites like the characters and they also moved too, if you look closely you can see them swaying, better view as it is looking at their hands. I kind of wished they revisited the idea of Takeru's ghost sprites / it moving to the zombies in Chapter 7. I feel like it would give the players more of an eye opener or give the player some sort of thrill chill.

I won't sit here and complain about that, we can't all have what we want to think, but I think it would have been a nice idea.

Details I liked in Chapter 7:

I will keep this one short and simple:

Finally learning the anomaly name of the one who cursed MC, Kyklos.

Zenji being Jiro's brother

Zenji name being Taro Kirisaki ( does Jiro even remember him? Someone please let me know)

How bright and colorful the lab in Mortkranken was.

Jiro <3

Jiro and Yuri's relationship <3

The tree Towa was caring for getting better but worse at the end ;-;

Towa SPEAKING AGAIN his voice is WAHHHHH✨

Also Gala is on board

ALSO WHATEVER TAIGA WAS WEARING HELLO?! SIR?!

If you read this far thank you so much!!! I'll make a separate post on my theories, I am just tired and mad that it got deleted mid-post.. I'll make a whole new post on it later it's past 3am and I wanna unwind for a bit after playing. If you wanna ask me things please direct them to my Ask/Submissions in my bio <3

[smosh-fessions]

Hot take but I 100% believe Chanse is on the spectrum and undiagnosed. It would explain a lot of his behaviors. Look at him in talking videos where he doesn't move/blink for minutes, recoils at physical touch he doesn't expect, wildly different vibes depending on the video(either he looks sleepy or he's tweaking) or how he seems to not relate to a lot of basic human experiences. I think he's one of the funnier members but it sometimes feels like he's an alien on set. Or maybe it's just drugs, either way I hope he gets the help he needs tbh

I'm wary of posting this, but I do want to address some things. You really sound like you have good intentions, but some of this is bothering me a little bit. I don't know if you're autistic yourself, but some of the way you've written this comes off at least a little ableist in my opinion.

Being on the spectrum doesn't necessarily mean you need "help" in the way someone struggling with something like magor depressive disorder would. We all need accommodations in life but saying someone needs help because they're autistic rehashes the unfortunately common idea that there's something inherently wrong with us or that we can be cured.

Comparing autistics to those using drugs is not... Great. To me, at least, it feels kind of dehumanizing because of both the stigma surrounding drug use/addiction and autism itself. Not every slightly odd behavior is drugs or neurodivergence. Some people are just a little strange.

Same goes for alien. It's one thing for an autistic person to call themselves that, but alien and robot have been used as a means of dehumanization for years.

Some people just space out and don't like to be touched. That doesn't mean they're neurodivergent, and caffeine is a factor in the vibe changes you're talking about. The Smoffice basically has a river of coffee in it at this point and we know they drink a lot of it.

On the topic of basic human experiences, we can't forget that Chanse is a little freaking nerd (and I mean that so lovingly) and us nerds often keep to ourselves and do our own thing. From what I've gathered, he seems to have been sheltered and if I remember correctly, he grew up in one of those strict churches where things like tithing were deeply important. A lot of kids who grow up in strict religious environments, even if it wasn't for their whole childhood, don't get to have a lot of experiences that other people do. There are likely things he missed out on due to growing up religious for whatever period of time that he was in that situation. (We know he at least grew up in some western religion based on the Church Fun word game where he, Angela, and Amanda were the only ones who had experience with it as opposed to Arasha who likely was raised Hindu if anything and was just along for the ride)

I don't think there's anything wrong with wondering if someone is neurodivergent, whether it's autism or something else, especially because it's always exciting to see someone acting in a manner you relate to. However, the way you've described all of this feels less like that and more like an observation on an experiment and it doesn't sit great with me.

Again, I don't think you have any sort of ill intentions with this, but I do ask that you be more conscious of the language you use to describe things like this.

If Chanse is autistic or some other flavor of ND, great! There's always room in the club. If he's not, also great!

I will agree he has seemed a little off recently and I do hope that whatever it is that may be bothering him gets resolved because I want him to feel happy and healthy.

[randomthefox]

I used to look up to Ian Flynn, but over time, my opinion of him has changed, and not for the better. To be clear, I don't wish ill on him, but he's NOT someone I want to be a role model. But I've been forced to reevaluate a lot of people I looked up to, and very few of them came out without my opinion turning for the worse. Ian's case specifically, he's playing into all of his weaknesses. I'm getting increasingly convinced he's neither a good writer or a good man, and that's rough for me.

I've said it before but I do think Ian Flynns story of getting hired by Archie is very admirable. He was persistent and got his name out there, and when opportunity presented itself he was in the perfect position to capitalize on it and get his dream job. He got lucky benefitting from Ken Penders burning the golden goose, but luck favors the prepared. And he ended up writing the comic that he loved more than anything else. And he wasn't even qualified. It's the American Dream.

The problem is, you know, life kept going after that. And he never changed. He never improved as a writer, despite it being his fucking job now. And he lost any and all humility that he might have ever had. He no longer had any ambition because he had fulfilled everything he could have ever hoped for. Complacency and arrogance blended together, and he never bothered to consider that the gravy train might run out of coal one of these days. So when Archie was finally cancelled he was caught flat footed and as he admits HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER MARKETABLE SKILLS besides writing shitty Sonic comics. If the IDW license hadn't picked up so quickly after that he would have been fucked, and considering that IDW probably only hired him because he was the cheapest option out of the Archie alum.

He benefitted socially from having a completely undeserved and unearned status of importance in the eyes of people who despise this franchise and everything about it and the people who make it. But that is a double edged sword. Coated with poison. After dancing on that edge for far too long, as we can see he finally slipped and got his legs sliced off. And despite getting his teeth kicked in, his ego hasn't gotten any smaller. Like Dennis Reynolds screaming on the floor.

He went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. He's on a fast road to hitting a dead end and there's no clear way out. I feel sorry for him sometimes. But it's a hell of his own creation.

He's gone from being someone who fulfilled The Dream who people could look up to, to being a cautionary tale. It's true what they say, you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

[crwdgoinapeshit]

I have sooo many The Cleaning Lady Theories

Last night's episode was my favorite of the season! Ramona, Ramona, Ramona. She's a complicated woman to say the least.

I guess I'll start with my first theory:

[Ramona is dying] After Ramona questioned Jorge's feelings towards Thony, there was a moment where it looked like she grimaced in pain. Jorge even noticed that and asked if she's okay. Also, back in episode five when Jorge went to question Ramona about Luca's disappearance, Ramona told him she wants him and Arman to work together when she's gone. If Ramona is suffering from a terminal illness then that could explain why she's been so obsessed with bringing back Arman to partner up with Jorge. She knows she's not long for the world so she wants Arman to take over the smuggling side and Jorge to remain in the fixer/legal role that he already is in.

[Jeremy is an undercover FBI agent sent in by Russo to plant surveillance devices] I'm convinced that he was the one who called the FBI because Jorge mentioned that their contact heard nothing through the grape vine. I also think he set up devices in Thony and Fiona's cleaning shop and now in their home. A judge may have granted Russo a warrant to plant surveillance devices because Thony kept the knowledge of Kamdar bringing back fentanyl into the country. Plus she hangs around Arman, a known criminal. Anyways, who knows what evidence Russo could've brought to a judge. Or there's another option. Russo is hell bent on revenge for Miller and she badly wants to take down Thony/Arman, to the point she's willing to break the law. Maybe Russo doesn't have a warrant to plant these wires. That would be Thony's only saving grace.

[Jorge turns on Ramona] Eduardo just had to air out the family's business in front of company lol. If what Arman's parents said is true then it's clear that Ramona purposely isolated Jorge and turned him against Eduardo. This may be an unpopular opinion, but ever since Arman told the story of how he came to work for Hyak, I wasn't mad at Eduardo. Eduardo isn't wrong for not wanting his son be a violent, drug/gun dealing, human trafficking murderer lol. I would hope NO parent would want that for their child. As for his decision on cutting all ties to Arman, I'm iffy on that, but either way I do understand Eduardo's position. From what it seems, Eduardo wanted to look after his little brother and raise him far away from the cartel life, similarly to Arman. I do think it's wild that Ramona thinks she had any rights to Arman when he isn't her son, but she strikes me as the narcissistic controlling type. Anyways, we know that Ramona sent Jorge to college in order to "beat them at their own game". His education and professional career, which was funded by her, was Ramona's decision. She clearly wanted to use his knowledge and his access to further the Sin Cara cartel. She's a master manipulator and we've seen Jorge push back against her since the second episode of the season. We've also heard him tell Thony that he has no control over what Ramona chooses to do. He seems to be her puppet. A well put together, powerful, intelligent, and dangerous puppet. I believe it's likely that Thony, as well as Ramona's actions herself, will finally cause Jorge to break. A bit of a spoiler, but in the preview for episode 8 we saw Ramona pressing Jorge to kill Thony. Ramona has noted Jorge's fondness of her so forcing him to be the one to shoot Thony, at her command too feels incredibly cruel. So yeah I can definitely see Jorge turning on his sister at some point.

[Nadia and Thony team up to take Ramona down] I was so frustrated with Thony for not calling Nadia when she put together that Dante has been drugging Arman. Even if there was no way for Nadia to sneak away from Ramona's watchful eye, I just get the feeling that someone like Nadia could have figured out a way to stall so Thony could get Arman. However, as we know, Arman had to die. *heavy breath* I hope in one of the upcoming episodes Thony reaches out to Nadia, they sit down together and Thony tells her EVERYTHING. Dante getting arrested at the apartment where she physically saw Arman through a window, the name written in the powder, and even the car chase. If Thony comes clean I think Nadia would question who was this convenient handyman, who also KNEW ABOUT WHERE THE DROP WAS. Anyways, yeah I need to see Nadia and Thony find peace and get revenge for Arman.

[Jorge and Thony run the Sin Cara cartel together] Elodie recently did an interview where she spoke about the love triangle in this season and how she went to the writers and gave input on how she believed Thony's perspective should be addressed. ("I was part of some conversations this season, with the loss of Adan, on how to approach the new love triangle. I was like, 'Guys, this woman just lost someone she loved a lot, if not the love her life. Don't think in terms of entertainment, but ask how to approach someone who's grieving.'" Elodie Yung Character Media). When the season first began Kwok and Renshaw also spoke on what we could expect between Thony and Jorge. ("Thony and Jorge's relationship evolves more slowly and more organically through the season where it is like, 'Who are these people? Who are they together?' For Thony, Jorge is a tough nut to crack. But, so is she." | "It makes it very tantalizing to watch and to write these scenes, because there's just a lot of energy in their dynamic." | "Yeah, a lot of energy, but also resistance. There is a different kind of cat-and-mouse where they're drawn to each other, they're trying to figure each out, they're both a little standoffish - which also makes them even more attracted to each other") Given these two excerpts alongside with what we've seen throughout the season, I can see the writers setting up a romance between them next season(if they get one 😬). Now, ever since episode two we've heard Jorge continually address Ramona's choices and direction with the cartel. He believes that their trafficking routes need to be eliminated given that Arman and presumedly others have stolen and used those routes for their own trafficking purposes. He views them as a weak point and most likely a legal time bomb waiting to happen. During their argument in the dessert, Thony tells Jorge about the dying woman and her baby left in a closet when he asserts that their routes are safe. Thony rightfully pushes back on him and calls him out for not knowing or not caring enough TO know what's going on on the human trafficking end of the cartel. That scene was probably put there to challenge Jorge's humanity, but to also expose how Ramona's running the border smuggling. Back in episode 5, when Ramona said she wants Arman and Jorge to work together to run the Sin Cara cartel, he responded that he'll decide who he will work with. If my, "Ramona is dying" theory turns out to be correct then I'm convinced that Jorge will choose Thony to be his partner once Ramona is gone.

[Thony gets arrested] I mean, it has to happen right? Jeremy snooping around has to amount to something, right? I know last season ended with Fiona being arrested and then deported, so I can see how that would be redundant, but I feel like this all Jeremy stuff has to culminate into something big right? lol I just know Jeremy is a plant seeded by Russo because no way she just gave up and went away. Plus, Nadia told Russo in episode three that Thony is working with the cartel. Maybe Thony gets arrested and makes bail somehow and Jorge goes about getting her clear of her charges.....lmaoooo. This theory is the one I believe in the least so it's hard for me see where this could all go.

Anways, this was looonnngggg hah. I had so many thoughts after last night's episode I just had to type them out. Honestly, this episode was one of their strongest in the show's entire run and Eva was the complete standout for me. Eva really translated Nadia's anguish in every moment. She was incredible.

[tw1nkee28]

Hello sorry for asking another question again I like your characters a lot and I was wondering what’s Jack’s and Dawn’s opinion on Pixel, I just want to make sure I make them act the right way and make sure Dawn isn’t scared of my little burnt boi, or Jack dislikes him

Okokay !! Lemmeee think about this HGSHD

While I can think of characters separately, every time someone asks me this question my brain goes blank since I haven't really done any roleplays to show how they interact or think about each other so I'll just have to wing it JHDHDH

Jackrabbit:

He probably thinks fondly of Pixel, like many others, but I do think it'd be a bit of that fond irritation you get for someone that you care about but they're also sort of a nuisance (like my brother, he's a pain in my ass but I love him)

I say this because of how Jack probably has to drag him around to get things done like force feeding him his meds, giving him that intervention we talked about yesterday HSGHD, or just overall medical attention and checkups.

He would risk his life for that man. 1, because he's a shadow and one of his own; and 2, because he sees him as a good friend and someone that he doesn't want to chance losing. He probably wouldn't outright show how much he cares, only really acting fondly annoyed by him (like when someone tells a joke so bad that you just sorta frown at them while you try not to laugh)

Most of his responses consist of "mhm?" "Mh." "That's great" etc, like a parent whose child keeps showing them shit and they're trying to be supportive but they can't really say much...

TLDR: he cares deeply about him and acts annoyed by him despite feeling very fond of him and his actions. He tries his hardest to take care of him even when Pixel tries to avoid it (ex. Taking meds)

—------------------------------------------------------—

Dawn:

(hdhhdh this is the one I gotta think hard about)

Okokay, since we haven't really talked too much about their interactions, I don't really have toooo much to say for Dawn's thoughts.

I know that he would see Pixel as a good teammate and trustworthy ally, maybe a bit intriguing because of how he's dressed. (mask, hood, glasses, etc.) He might be a bit weary or distrustful of him at first mainly because of the way he covers up completely, essentially hiding his identity from him (he gets a little paranoid, no actual ill feelings towards him)

If they got to know each other a bit better in the future, then he'd probably lose that distrust. But for the time being, he views him as just another shadow, another person to keep safe but also not get too close to. He might either try to distance himself from Pixel because he sees a bit of himself in 'em and he doesn't wanna think about that, OR try to stay a bit closer to Pixel because of that same reason, trying to give him the support system he wished he had.

He would respect him and what he does as a soldier, would probably trust his judgement on stuff pretty easily.

—------------------------------------------------------—

That's pretty much all I can think of for now

If you wanted to know something specific that I didn't list in here, feel free to dm me or send an ask at any time ! I promise I don't bite hshdh 😭

I do hope this answered at least some of your questions, thank you for the ask 🫶

[ninapi]

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┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺╚══ Atsumu Version ╝

Premise: Atsumu had never been interested in others, to his family and the village he was a good for nothing, a heartless fox possessed by an evil spirit that feeds on his compassion. But to you, he was just like everybody else. Having someone to listen to you and be by your side sometimes can make a big difference in who you become and what you accomplish in life, and so it was for Miya Atsumu.

Word Count: 3065

Note: you can read the first chapter here 😊

Chapter 2: Attachment

The morning sun was still hidden from everyone, still sleeping like the rest of the villagers, yet Atsumu was climbing a tree in the darkness, ready to visit your quarters.

You weren’t expecting any visitors this early, in fact, you were still very much asleep hidden behind the protective net placed over your bed to defend you from little night crawlers.

Atsumu took a moment to admire your sleeping face before showing himself, your lips slightly parted, warm puffs of air leaving them every other minute; the raise and fall of your chest, the peaceful look on your face, defenseless, at his mercy.

But there were no ill intentions within this man, all he wanted was to love and protect you, to take you away from the ones trying to steal you away, to keep you safe for all eternity.

Of course, Atsumu being Atsumu forgot all about how sick you really were. Days were always so much fun with you around, it was difficult to think you were at all sick. But the consequences of his actions would be brought up until later.

“(Y/N) love, wake up.” whispering quietly by your ear, he patted your leg in hopes of getting you ready for departure in no time.

“Tsumu? Why are you here this early?” hearing your sleepy voice made his heart flip, you were just too cute for him to manage sometimes. In all truth, all he wanted was to lay by your side, let you sleep some more, maybe share a sleepy kiss or two, but there would be time for that later, he needed to get you out of there fast before anyone noticed his presence.

“We are running away. I need you to get ready, tell me what to pack I’ll help you with that.” you grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down with you before he could get up completely. “Why are we running away? Did something happen?” your worried expression made him think on his choice of words, there was still time, he could spare a few minutes to cuddle your worries away. Laying by your side, he pulled you to his chest, his lips pressed to your ear as he murmured his plan only for you to hear.

“I can’t live without you, (Y/N)…the villagers…they all want you to marry either the leader or my brother…I can’t let them take you away from me…”

“And running away is the only option? Does my opinion not matter to them?” the resolution in your voice to choose him over the others took him by surprise, yes, he wanted you to choose him, but always had his doubts about who really held your heart.

“They won’t care, all they want is for you to bring pups to the clans…”

“Can’t we…uhm…do that though?” the bright red flush adorning your adorable cheeks made him soft to his core, his lips not wasting any time by pressing soft tantalizing kisses along your jaw line. “Of course we can baby, and we will…but the elders won’t want me as the father…not many like me around here….”

Understanding the situation fully, you untangled yourself from the warmth of his embrace, getting up from bed, “Then what are we waiting for?” a wild grin appeared on Atsumu’s face, following you with his large bag ready to store your belongings with his own.

“But I don’t own any of this Tsumu, everything was given to me by either the leader or Rin…all I have is my old, ragged kimono, the one you guys found me wearing when I arrived…”

“Then get changed into it, we’ll come around. I might not be as rich as them, but I can certainly get something for you. Let’s go, we need to hurry.”

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Running through the forest while it was still dark proved to be an issue. To Atsumu it was easy, he had night vision after all, but you just couldn’t see a thing, constantly tripping over rocks.

“Come here, I’ll carry you.” he gathered you in his arms with ease and ran through the trees, past the waterfall that marked the beginning of the land owned by the foxes. Territory beyond that area was unknown to him, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried.

There was a rather dry cave by the waterfall, very well hidden from prying eyes, only a few knew of its existence, so he decided to let you rest for a while once you reached it, maybe even spend the night there. Some commodities were hidden there by his younger self, blankets and such available for you to get comfortable and recover from the bumpy trip.

“Are we going to live here, Tsumu?” you were patting the space beside you signalizing for him to sit with you, yet he was still pretty paranoid, looking around and making sure nobody followed you there.

“We can’t this is still within our lands, we should probably go north, I’m not sure where the bakeneko clan gathers, but we could ask around until we find my friend Aran, he will know what to do.” since he didn’t follow your command, you got up from your resting spot, coming behind him to wrap your arms around his waist, breathing in his musky scent combined with the fresh air coming from the waterfall.

“Too bad, this place is nice.” this made Atsumu chuckle, relaxing just a bit and turning around in your embrace to face you.

“You would trade a fancy castle for a dark, cold and empty cave?”

“If the cave comes with you in it, then yes, without a doubt.” An inexplicable feeling rushed through Miya Atsumu at that moment. He wasn’t sure what it all meant but the urge to pounce on you couldn’t be diminished.

To his surprise you were very much willing to see where that would take you two, just as eager as he was to get to know him in a deeper level, to get to understand not just his heart or thoughts completely, but also his body, his deepest desires.

A cave wasn’t the best place for this, mind you.

Thankfully you at least had a blanket to lay on the ground and protect your bare back from the rocks, but being honest, it didn’t matter one bit.

Just having Atsumu taking care of your every need, swallowing your little gasps and cries of pain, turning them into cries of love, was more than one being could take all at once.

Not only your bodies became one that day, but your hearts did too. Understanding beyond comprehension one another.

Your sickly tired body grew stronger the more he stayed within you, the more you shared with the other, the more connected you were, this was not at all related to carnal pleasures, this whole ordeal connected your hearts, mushed them into one, not even words were needed between the two, only gasps and whimpers could be heard echoing in the depths of the cave, a warmth like no other could be felt emanating from your core and had nothing to do with Atsumu’s ministrations…

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Meanwhile, the rest of the boys were going crazy trying to find leads that could help them find you.

Osamu was beyond heartbroken, not being at all useful at the moment.

Rin had gathered all his employees and were searching for you in the forest, while Kita sent his guards to every border of the village to make sure you wouldn’t be able to leave before anyone else noticed. If you placed as much as one foot outside of the village, you would break the elder’s rules and would have to be killed, didn’t Atsumu know about this? He’s usually not thinking about, well, anything, besides himself, of course he didn’t this time around either.

“Was he not thinking of her illness? He’s so stupidly annoying why couldn’t he just play fair like we are all doing?” Suna was fuming at this point, he was certain he’d made a good impression on you, you definitely did on him, he still misses having you around the inn, just like his entire family do as well. They were really hoping you’d be joining their family soon, this was a deep blow for the brunet.

“There are no limits for Atsumu, you know that…” and he was right, whenever he truly wants something, nobody would be able to stop him.

This time though, he had three fierce foxes hunting his tracks, not wiling to sacrifice their future in the slightest.

One of the guards came back looking for his leader, a piece of cloth was found on a dirt path. His words alerted Osamu, who immediately was able to recognize said cloth. “That’s (Y/N)’s hair tie…where did you find this?” he was on the young guard within seconds, sniffing the silky piece of cloth, it reeked of his brother and a sudden surge of violence manifested itself right away. He would pay for this, you better not be hurt otherwise, he would end up being an only child.

“Sir, it was by the dirt path heading north, up the vines.”

“The waterfall…” without further discussions, the three of them made their way through the forest, a new destination set for the pack.

They were all familiar with this place, specially Samu as they used to play around the area a lot during summer months when younger, but he didn’t think his brother would be this stupid and take you to a known place to all his contenders.

Thankfully for them, he was.

Going up the mountain took them a couple of hours, it was in the middle of nowhere and getting lost wasn’t difficult, but Samu could smell you and you were close, his nose took them straight into the entrance of the cave following the delicious scent that he grew to love over time.

What they didn’t expect though was to see you barely covered, floating inside said cave, a shimmery gold glow embracing your exposed skin.

“Damn you Atsumu, what did you do to her?? How is she even floating???” Rin was agitated, pulling on the blanket covering your naked body as to try to get you back to ground level, your lack of clothing now being noticed by the rest.

“Oh no, what did you two do…”

“Ehm…what couples that love each other often do? You know the talk ma’ gave us when we were little…?”

“I know what you did dumbass, I’m asking why??? Why would you do that? She isn’t yours to take like that.” this was the last drop of patience inside of Atsumu, he was still very anxious, even if you clearly chose him, even if you loved him and wanted him just as much as he did. Having to deal with them while being so vulnerable wasn’t ideal.

“She’s not yours either, I didn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do herself!” both were now bumping onto each other in anger, steam coming out of both.

“Can you both shut up and help me getting her down??”

“Why is she floating to begin with?”

A valid question at last. “Without going into details…” Atsumu cleared his throat, “…once we were you know ‘done’, she said she was so happy that her chest hurt. At first, I thought she was just being cute as usual, but then she started glowing and seemed to be in some sort of pain, then you arrived…”

The disgusted face the three of them shared was almost comical, yet they were alerted by the dimming glow coming in from your direction, Atsumu receiving you in his arms gently as your body began its decent on its own. “Baby, are you ok? Does it still hurt?” to this you just gave him a tiny nod, resting your head on his shoulder, “I saw someone, a beautiful woman, she held my hand and welcomed me as her family, then she said everything would be ok now…”

“Inari….”

“What?”

“Time will come when the true heir of Inari is born to humans and will bring happiness and prosperity to the village in decline..

That’s the rest of the legend, she must be the one mentioned in it. The true heir.”

The shock was apparent to everyone, not only were you the most wonderful, the prettiest, the loveliest girl around, you were the savior they’ve been waiting for years to come. But not even after this revelation Atsumu could get his eyes away from you, clear confusion and awe painting his handsome face. “Baby, you’re a fox….”  

“What do you mean a fox?” your shaky hand reached the top of your head, caressing one of your newly acquired fuzzy ears.

“The blessing? You got the blessing, babe!!!” he swirled you around, glee making him forget how naked he was and the show he was giving the others by dancing like a dork.

“Wait what? You mean true love? Atsumu is your true love? Why would that be a thing?” Suna didn’t know about your daily rendezvous, didn’t know about how happy he made you, how desperate you both were to be accepted and to be able to live together without being judged by others, without the need of being validated by the elders or your relationship being approved by others.

This is what true love meant, at least to you and Atsumu.

Sacrifices, desperation, attachment.

None of you were confident of being able to live without the other, anything would be better than being apart, anything would be easier, anything would be less painful. Even if that meant leaving family, friends and a home behind. It meant approaching uncertainty with a new extent, finding solutions together, overcoming challenges and even if that called for you to run away, if that would guarantee you’d be together, then so be it. Anything is better than not being able to see each other every day.

The desperation kept growing the more time you spent with the other, lately seeing each other every day wasn’t quite enough, it was almost painful. You wanted him to stay and share your bed at night, just as much as he craved waking up in your arms every morning, he dreamed of having your homecooked meals daily, you dreamed of having him always by your side, to be able to hear his voice at any time you wanted, to have his warmth wrapped around you whenever it was cold.

Attachment was real, and none of you feared it any longer.

Both knew what you wanted for the rest of your lives, and that was to be together.

What did it entitle receiving such a blessing though?

Were you in some sort of contract now? Were you required to meet certain expectations?

“So he won, huh?”

“This wasn’t a game, Suna….Inari, our patron, bestowed upon them the blessing, that means he was accepted as a suitable match for the heir. It is said that she would bring prosperity to our village, and that’s what we all need. In which way or form will that be, I do not know.”

“To me it sounds like we are going to have a big family! Maybe it’s already cooking inside, if you know what I mean~” his annoying smug grin made everyone want to punch him in the gut, yet the loving smile you shared with him left them all speechless. It appears that you were indeed in love with Atsumu, you did want to have his pups, to be his family, it wasn’t just in his head, though, having received such blessing, it should be pretty clear for everyone by now.

“But love, what are we going to do now? Are we going to get some sort of punishment?”

Kita took this as opportunity to jump in the conversation, “Not really, you didn’t leave the village, there’s no need to request a council meeting for this, we’ll just say you went on a picnic. As for Atsumu’s behavior, it was wrong, and he will be punished for attempting to kidnap the princess.”

“He didn’t kidnap me! I came with him willingly and will do it again if I have to!” your angry outburst made Atsumu sigh contently, he knew he’d chosen correctly, this was the woman he fell in love with, someone strong, smart, someone who doesn’t let others step on her, so sexy…

“Whatever you say, (Y/N) but he did get into the castle at dawn and tried to take you out of the village, that could have gotten you killed…”

“But it didn’t. Now, will you stop arguing like I was some sort of price? I made my mind already, and I won’t allow anybody but Miya Atsumu to court me any longer. Now if you excuse us, I need to get dressed…and so do you, my love.” the crazy fit of giggles leaving your lips made Atsumu realized he was butt naked and everyone had seen his manliness fully in display, a weirdly satisfying thought.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

You still didn’t know what receiving the blessing really entitled.

You also didn’t know what being the heir of Inari even meant.

There were still many things that needed to be properly addressed and studied carefully.

But what you did know was that the future was bright and full of love, with your man by your side and a belly full of the seed of love, a brand new family had come to the fox village, one that would bring prosperity to the declining population, one that would change the rules for good, one that wasn’t expected at all, yet quickly gained at spot in everyone’s heart.

You were the best part of Atsumu, or that’s what the masses said. But to you, Atsumu was the best part of you.

It didn’t matter at all what others said, true love comes from where you least expect it, and this time it came in strong, to stay.

○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●●

Previous Chapter Masterlist

[ciaossu-imagines]

So for day 11 of the event, I used the letter ‘B’ from prompt 13 for Motojirou from Bungou Stray Dogs! I had a lot of fun writing for him, as he’s not someone I have a lot of experience writing for or even digging deep into and I hope that any fans of his will enjoy 😊

Being best friends with Kotojirou

So, let’s bring up the obvious. To truly be best friends with someone like Motojirou, you’d have to have somewhat loose morals. Motojirou is a man with little respect for humanity and human life, holding science above all else. To get along with other people, he needs to find them either interesting and intriguing or respect them and to truly connect with him, his best friend does have to at least hold some interest in science and be willing to accept and roll with the human sacrifices needed, in Motojirou’s mind, for that science.

I do think, for a friendship to really work for Motojirou, he wants a best friend who will challenge him while accepting him at the same time. He wants someone to question him, to be like ‘okay, this doesn’t make sense in my head. Either explain it to me or accept that you might be wrong this time’ because, as a scientist and someone who considers himself a lifelong learner, complacency is a fear of his and having someone to challenge him like that is absolutely necessary in his mind. However, he doesn’t want a ‘friend’ who will constantly be harping on him about how he chooses to live his life or how he chooses to conduct his experiments. He has enough voices calling him insane, unhinged, a villain, he doesn’t need any more and especially not from someone who claims to care about him.

I do headcanon pretty strongly that Motojirou is someone who is attracted, in all ways, to people who are terminally ill or even just deal with a chronic condition. He finds it intriguing and getting to spend his life, even just a part of it, with someone going through that, getting to see the progress of the illness or the impacts it has on his friend – that would really interest him and would make the person both friend and interesting subject to him philosophically, scientifically, and emotionally.

Motojirou is someone who is very intellectual in his own way. He enjoys thinking about and exploring some really deep subject matter and while he’ll be thrilled if his best friend is someone who also enjoys science, it’s not actually a necessity. What is a necessity in his best friend is that they’re someone who is also very intellectual. He wants to be able to talk about all the serious subjects and the heavy topics, both sociologically, scientifically, and philosophically and he needs a best friend who won’t be afraid to talk about, learn about, and discuss these various sensitive topics with him. Not only does he want them to talk about these subjects, but he wants them to have their own opinions and he’ll have a lot of fun, actually, if they make the topic into a sort of debate, with ideas and opinions that might challenge his own.

That’s not to say that being best friends with this man is all seriousness and science and mental stimulation, because it’s not. It will be a large part of it, but at the same time, he is only human, and he does want to just be silly or have fun with his friend at times.

Motojirou really does enjoy opera and he’ll want to get out with his friend to go watch performances whenever their schedules align. While he’ll expect silence during the performance, so that they can both get really into the opera being performed, he really has a lot of fun discussing what was good about the performance, what could have been improved, thoughts on the storyline, the songs, and all of that.

I do really see him loving science fiction stories as well, both reading them and watching media geared towards that kind of thing and I think on really chill days or nights, when there’s not a lot going on or Motojirou has exhausted most of his energy, he really does love just sitting down with his friend, some take-out, a big comfy couch, and binging a good sci-fi show together. He actually doesn’t demand silence during the show and it’s nothing for him and his best friend to keep a pretty steady stream of chatter throughout the show, both about normal topics that pop into their mind and about the show itself.

[daretolovemyrambling]

some thoughts about arcane season 2 act 3

Let me start this with the notion that yes, some of arcane 2 is rushed, but I also understand why they did things the way they did. And I loved every second nonetheless. Personally I think the "rushed plot" showed pretty well how the characters are also rushing to the end themselves.

In my opinion they used every second the could, even if I would never say no to more episodes.

But a season 3 would have meant that they spent a decade and a half on just a handful of characters, I think a company like Riot is not exactly thrilled about something like that (they didn't even believe in arcane and the animators and writers had to put their career on the line. It worked out okay for them, but never forget that Riot only really cares about PROFIT)

Let's also not forget that a single animator spent a week on average for "just" four seconds. That is insane dedication to their craft and they deserve every single praise they can get!!! I didn't know it was possible, but arcane season 2 made the animation even MORE beautiful. I can't wait to watch a frame by frame analysis on youtube.

now onto the rambles (sorry, thoughts are all over the place):

Heimdinger is not dead. Yordles don't really die, they just return to their birth place (the spirit realm/bandle city) also technicially only alt-verse Heimerdinger's body was obliterated (meaning that his conciousness might still be out there somewhere just without a body??)

I don't think Jinx is dead, the show hints at her escaping through the vents. *If* she is dead, I honestly don't hate it either. I just really love angst and the thought that either sister won't get their happy end unless the other sister dies is just a perfect angsty greek-tragedy and will drive me insane for the next few months! That said there is no way Jinx is gone. She escaped through the vents and fled with the airship! I think she realized that as it is now, Vi will never stop sacrificing things for her, that is why she has to leave. Maybe one day they can become sisters again.

when we first see Jayce eat in episode 7 I thought he cut off his damaged leg and ate it 💀

the alt universe has no hextech, meaning that Jayce likely killed himself in that universe. I'm not sure if Viktor would still be alive, I don't think his illness is cureable without hextech.

alt-verse Zaundads has my heart <3. I love it when extremly tragic series make their own happy/what-if story xD.

The timebomb interactions and their kiss was so sweet. I feel kinda bad that alt-verse Ekko won't remember any of that. And that main-verse Ekko couldn't tell his own Powder/Jinx how much he loved her.

I'm kind of sad that we didn't get to see much of Orianna (her design is STUNNING though) but they are possibly setting her up for whatever gets adapted next in the lol universe.

Jayik: gay love saves the world once again. If I had a nickel everytime this happens,

whatever Jayvik have going on is somehow gayer than the lesbian sex scene change my mind.

Speaking of lesbians, Cait with an eyepatch makes me feel things, I would forgive all her war crimes to if I were Vi.

Mel is a goddess. As she deserves. Someone please give her a hug though. I'm hoping she will play a bigger role in the next series! She seems to be on her way to Noxus, so I'm sure this is not the last of her we see!

That "sorceress" is LeBlanc, I think now it's too obvious to deny that wasn't her.

I NEED someone to write a spiderverse x arcane crossover at this point. The timetravel/universe travel is a perfect set up! I would kill to read an Ekko & Miles & Gwen & Hobie interaction.

What I'm hoping for the shows post-arcane season 2:

It's confirmed that Fortiche & Riot are already working on the next few projects, I'm expecting Noxus & Ionia to be the next focus. It could be a great way to introduce us non-lol players to the world.

I also really want (to know) more about Orianna, Mel and the Black Rose/LeBlanc!

[cassynite]

thoughts on rogue trader companions so far (got to the end of act 1 last night in yet another ill advised late night gaming session):

--

Abelard: I, the player, have such a soft spot for old men who take on mentor-like positions to my pc (blame it on being raised my grandfather ig).

But Wren actually finds Abelard pretty stifling at first and is furious when she finds out he'd been keeping an uprising from her and trying to take care of it on his own, because she's an awful micromanaging boss who's got to do shit herself and thinks everyone who does things without her direct knowledge are going to either fuck up or betray her about it. They're getting along a little better since then and she does ask for his opinion on things, even if she rarely follows it lol.

--

Idira: Wren warmed up to Idira pretty quickly, considering she introduced herself by revealing she knows about Wren's past and her deepest hurts (I know that the actual dialogue is referencing the torture hook in her background but I'm interpreting it as Idira knowing about what happened between Wren and her sister).

But after Wren made a very open "you tell anyone about that and I make sure you get spaced" threat, she starts to rely on Idira's divination skills to help her navigate tough situations. She's not threatened by psykers or Idira's powers otherwise, and senses that she's relatively open and isn't trying to pull the wool over her eyes because of how tenuous a grasp on her own powers she has--ironically, by being on the verge of madness, Wren trusts her to tell her what she's actually hearing.

--

Argenta: Wren tends to view people who are overly dedicated to the Imperium with distrust and disdain; she grew up kind of on the fringes of society to begin with and spent the majority of her adulthood as a crime lord with a dim view of the Imperium, since she spent a lot of her time either in direct opposition to those people or manipulating their systems to get what she wanted. Because of this she's written off Argenta as a space-Bible-thumper and ignores her views. She's the first person who gets kicked off the team once they get a full roster.

--

Pasqual: She has slightly more respect for the knowledge-pursuing Adeptus Mechanicus than Argenta's Adepta Sororitus, but any limited respect for Pasqual turns to pretty severe distrust when she finds out he sold out his mentor to the Imperium. Wren's super clannish in her thought processes, and doesn't believe in a greater good; Her People are all that matter to her, and people who backstab, no matter the reason, are to be viewed with distrust at best and as the enemy at worst.

The only thing keeping Pasqual marginally in her good graces at this point is his relationship with Abel, which Wren has already projected her childhood relationship with her sister onto. She's not telling him shit about what she does with her business unless absolutely necessary though and has probably created contingency plans to space him if he tries to pull the same shit on her.

--

Heinrix: Lol. Lmao. Hi Inquisitor guy, yes of course I'm a loyal servant of the emperor, nothing to see here<-former crime lord who would have scattered at the word inquisitor a month ago

Wren was absolutely hoping never to actually come across this guy she was supposed to play courier for, like "Oh gee I guess we never found him, shame," so running into him while trying to clear up the mess on Rykard minoris was a bit of a disappointment, but she's decided that she can play good Rogue Trader while he's around. At this point he's brand new, she's sussed he's kind of into her, so she's playing into that and making herself seem friendly ("you seem lonely, if you want someone to talk to I'm not the greatest conversationalist but I am a great listener"). She's sure she'll be totally fine dumping him when needed and will not get attached, even though she's said this about the last like three people she's integrated into her crew and it's never played out well for her yet.

--

Cassia: Sweet child. Wren absolutely thinks that Cassia would not survive a day on her own, extremely powerful navigator or no, and is kind of condescending to her because of that. She was the quickest and easiest person for Wren to trust and consider one of "her" people on the new ship and she plans on doing what she can to secure a permanent position for Cassia as her navigator. Wren's got a real soft spot for her and takes her everywhere. (Also I, the player, stan Cassia like no one business and wouldn't dream of keeping her out of my party. Lidless stare is too OP.)

[skaruresonic]

It’s not "schizoposting" if you’re replying to other people talking about Ian Flynn.

The term itself is ableist.

I'm not schizophrenic; I have garden-variety depression and anxiety. But even if I were schizophrenic, that wouldn't make it okay to act like I'm frothing at the mouth for stating opinions on my own blog.

I've noticed this habit amongst stans: they'll paint you as mentally unwell in order to discredit you. We've been called "conspiratorially insane" and "retarded" before. I've been told to seek therapy for being angry at the harassment I received. Hell, Kyle once told Greeny "I hope you get better soon" in response to her pointing out that Metal stated he rebuilt his body with his own two hands in the Metal Overlord fight, something that contradicted a claim Flynn made. It's just our old buddy ad hominem again, but ableism flavored.

And it's like, yeah, I am mentally unwell, no shit Sherlock, you've cracked the code. But regardless, I can still be mentally unwell and make a valid point. It's not like the mental illness completely short-circuits my ability to think.

Apropos of nothing, while I'm at it: people get really touchy if you say anything that can be skewed as "Flynn lies" or "Flynn is a liar," to the point of making sweeping grandiose claims that they'll automatically lose respect for you if you insinuate as much. (Which ofc begs questions of why.)

Lying isn't some binary yes/no type of thing. People can lie partially, lie out of ignorance, lie by omission, lie by implication, lie by obfuscation, or lie in spirit but not in letter. Not all falsehoods are capital L Lies, but by the same token, that doesn't mean they're no longer falsehoods. People can bend the truth without breaking it. Flynn projects a certain image by being noncommittal to the point of obfuscation. It's called talking out both sides of your mouth: where you say a lot of things that seem to address the question without actually having answered the question.

He doesn't lie outright. That's why I said it's annoying, because in a way it'd be easier to put his claims on blast if he were.

Instead, he drowns out the truth with verbiage. He hems and haws and doesn't offer a clear answer but instead usually winds up giving a sort of verbal equivalent of a Rorschach test so that he has plausible deniability in case his employers ever press him on his claims. Notice, however, that despite how tied his hands are, and despite knowing how people take his word dead fucking seriously, he seldom passes up the opportunity to run his mouth.

For example, "Eggman never, ever has a solid plan." The quote whose infamy earned it a spot on a TV Tropes page. He said it with his full chest, too, one of the rare answers that left no room for misinterpretation. Yet when someone relayed his own words back to him roughly a month later, he couldn't remember having said them, implying he either didn't really believe what he had said or else he has a poor memory.

More interesting than that, though, is when he proceeded to add, "But if I did [put it like that], then I was wrong."

IF I did. As if the existence of the words he recorded for the entire world to hear and posted for online posterity is debatable.

That's the kind of thing that skeeves me out at the end of the day. When you get caught in 4K and somehow it's others' ontological reality that must change to fit your presupposed narrative, not the other way around. And by that, I mean it would be somewhat easier to overlook if the matter began and ended at simple ignorance---but it's this constant evasion of blame and the underlying revisionism that creeps me out.

Flynn looks like he's admitting he's wrong while also casting subtle doubt on the notion that he said what he did. It's not just an "oops, guess I misspoke" or an "oops, guess I forgot" kind of thing, either. He pulls this sort of rhetorical trick all the goddamn time.

I'm personally on the fence about whether he does this deliberately or if it's the unfortunate byproduct of being a poor communicator: I feel like subconsciously, some part of it may be, given how BK built its name on speaking on behalf of Sega while simultaneously allowing him a platform to not-so-subtly shittalk them behind their backs. At this point I find it hard to imagine he's not doing this without some sort of agenda in mind.

And this isn't even getting into all the times he's been caught in blatant contradictions, which wouldn't be nearly so bad if everyone didn't take the man's word as gospel.

[lilietsblog]

So I'm probably making myself a target for some nasty shit by doing this, but it's just bothering me a lot to scroll through tumblr in the middle of all this, so here it is: my understanding of the whole Gaza/Israel issue.

Based on tumblr's usual noise, but also on Ukrainian news sources, which I p much trust on this because... well, because of the specific things they say that check out, and also because Israel isn't actually supporting Ukraine in this war, and is apparently also trying to suck up to Russia (it's not working, Putin and Co are too antisemitic for that), so no reason for our news to suck up to them. (Especially the independent opposition bloggers I also follow)

Yes, Israel got itself into the whole mess via its own very special ill-thought-out policy. And they're basically stuck this way because of external and internal political reasons. Here's hope they manage to sort it out in a way that doesn't result in ever more deaths, misery and horror -_-

Yes, there was a violent terrorist attack by HAMAS that resulted in... at least several hundred deaths, including torture, rape etc of civilians, including visiting foreigners.

Yes, Gaza inhabitants are often aggressively antisemitic in a "want to kill them all" way. That's where HAMAS recruits its terrorists from.

Yes, again, it's predominantly the fault of the government of Israel and the decisions it's made. No, it's not the fault of each individual citizen of Israel, let alone every Jew, and it's not the fault of every single person who thinks Israel deserves to exist as an independent country, either.

No, Israel did not bomb the hospital. I have yet to see a single relevant photo on tumblr, but I did see relevant photos in Ukrainian sources, and they're of an explosion in the parking lot. The casualty numbers were grossly overexaggerated in the initial reports, and the actual cause for the explosion was a misfired rocket from HAMAS. There've been corrections from some sources, none from others, but overall I believe that the final version is that.

No, Palestinians are by and large not inhuman monsters who deliberately use their own children as human shields then blame Israel. There are, have been and will be a few fanatics who do do that though - even besides specific reports, I'd be very skeptical if someone told me apropos of nothing that after several decades of conflict there wasn't a SINGLE person who was that far gone. It's just how human variance works. I mean, I'd buy it if someone said that a Ukrainian did that, too - have you read Taras Bulba?

Yes, HAMAS absolutely does use Palestinian civilians (including children) as human shields. It's a terrorist organization that thinks they're in the right and the ends justify any and all means. Of course they would.

Yes, Israel is doing some fucked up shit with forcing civilian population to evacuate within 24 hours, shutting off water and gas, etc. I don't think they're enacting deliberate genocide and I do think they're at least trying to avoid casualties (see: telling them to evacuate instead of bombing as is, and shoutout to Russia for absolutely not doing that), but their solutions are still horrifying and lead to misery and deaths.

Pretty sure Egypt is not helping either, I trust the Ukrainian sources on that. Nothing to gain from lying, there.

The whole thing is resulting in an explosion of antisemitic AND islamophobic AND just overall racist violence all over the world, including riots BY the affected populations in response to it. Everyone is in the wrong, and everything sucks. I'll be blocking people for both sentiments should any make their way through tumblr savior, so fair warning here. Have an opinion based on the understanding of both sides as actual human people, or go fuck yourself with a rusty fork. Thanks.

So this one might be the most controversial, but: I think it'll be good for Israel to get US weapons. They don't need them against Gaza, they can handle Gaza. Those are against hostile neighbours that support HAMAS and are currently, right now, attacking the territory of Israel. I do not think they should get to do that, and I think Israel should continue to exist as a country. A country that could very much stand to improve its internal and external policies, but that the world is better off having than not anyway.

(I'm seriously biased in that last one, because weapons for Israel getting bundled with weapons for Ukraine is VERY VERY GOOD for us specifically, including for personally me in my personal interest of not getting personally blown up by a rocket from Russia. Very much biased here)

(And to be clear, I don't think this bias affects the news sources, because those news were posted before the bundle idea came up)

(And yes, I do think US military intervention / aid can be in the right and make the world a better place. Not because US is flawless, colonialism is good, etc, but - broken clock, twice a day, you know the drill. I think these are both the twice a day in question.)

[coquetteriddle]

i know you probably plan to explore this on your fic but i gotta try to ask, what is your reading/characterization of tom & harry individually, and their dynamic together? like, how do you read tom, harry, and tomharry? i love your text posts so far and im curious to know more abt your opinions of them

aah thank you so much for this ask! this is going to be Long so ill put it under the cut <3

starting with harry- he's so kind :( he cares and loves so much and it's genuine! i really think that is such a huge appeal of his character, that he still stays so kind and caring and loving even after all the abuse and awful things he's gone through. he has a super strong sense of justice, which is exactly why he gets so, so angry at times. but at his core, he does not like hurting/killing other people, and it's a very strong moral code he has. and even when he hears the prophecy at the end of fifth year- he has this internal moment of like. oh. i either have to be a murderer or be murdered. like!!! this is even showed through his constant use of expelliarmus- he Knows other spells, he knows curses and jinxes and hexes, but he always chooses to try to disarm his opponent instead of hurting them. he only uses sectumsempra once in a panic (and this is bc draco tries to CRUCIO him😭)

with tom, he is incredibly perceptive and intelligent, not only like logically, but socially. he has such a good grasp on small tells of body language and vocal tones. we can see this in his future self- he can tell when someone is lying to him immediately, without necessarily using legilimancy. he's ruthless in the way where he will do anything to achieve a goal, even if it takes a long time. however, he can get too lost in his desires which makes his mask slip. (slughorn horcrux convo, hebitzah showing him the cup & locket) i also genuinely do think he does view himself and other wizards as superior to muggles, which is in part due to his father, but i have another post about that.

with tomarry, i think they work so well together precisely because they are such amazing opposites. they both grew up in very similar environments, but both latched onto to different coping mechanisms in a way? i have a very specific reason but no spoilers :) also i think time travel fics are so fun because it sets them both on an equal playing field.

in my fic specifically, i really am going to focus on tom's redemption in a way because i just can't see harry getting together with anyone who is so bigoted. i am going to approach this carefully- it's not going to be a "babe stop saying slurs..for me🥺" LMFAOOO like i hate the way people depict it. the title of the fic is honestly satrical. when tom changes, it will be of his own choosing (and harry will absolutely be a factor. but in the end, tom changes because he wants to.)

i'm sorry this was so long (and i cut a lot out!! i can talk abt them so much haha) but i hope u did appreciate this :)

[save-the-villainous-cat]

You used latin proverb “Homo Homini lupus” as the main inspiration for your snippet, I just look it up, and there's another line to it, "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit", which has been translated as "A man is a wolf rather than a man to another man, when he hasn't yet found out what he's like."

so , taking the "when he hasn't yet found out what he's like",

What if the Villain had a psychological condition? Like MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder).

People with this condition (im a psychology student so u can trust me) often have different names for all their personalities. For eg, if you have seen the 2021 movie Cruella (its my favorite movie in the entire universe pls watch it) the main character, Cruella, has 2 personalities. One named Estella who is polite, soft-spoken, and compassionate, and the other named Cruella who is bold, unapologetic, and very, very, VERY driven for revenge.

The villain in the story of yours, their (say personality A) tells them to seek revenge and kill the hero, which will thus reward them with the feeling of "Oh yeah I succeeded in my mission by killing my hero, I lost my lover but I stayed true to myself but im crying"

basically this personality of their's gets emotional. They understand feelings, however the other B completely lacks emotions and has no concern for feelings.

However their more scary (personality B) tells them that "okay but why kill the hero? Ill lock the hero up, go kill my entire family, and hero won't be able to stop me, I over power them anyway."

Their personality B sort of disregards hero's feelings of heroism, where the hero goes "I won't let you do that!!" Their pers.B goes "What will you do about it idc im stronger than you anyways"

So, in that moment, where you are ending the story, pers.A that wants to kill the hero, is overpowered by pers.B

And then they knock out the hero and leave them unconscious (and trapped) in their lair. Then they go kill their entire family with absolutely no concern or emotions (another trait of someone who is a psychopath acc to psychology)

And when they return to their lair, they are covered in blood. They go to check up on the hero who is safe and sound. And they are satisfied cuz their plan was successful and hero is safe, they didnt get to shed any blood.

Mmmm very detailed, very interesting.

However. I know homo homini lupus is from Plautus, not Hobbes. I used Hobbes’ interpretation though because I think that specific opinion on humanity is fucking wild and definitely something a villain would come up with too.

Man is violent. Man is aggressive. Man is wolf to man.

Plautus wrote something similar but his view on mankind’s nature is more like “as long as man doesn’t know man, he will be a wolf.” Which includes a reason for this behaviour at least, even though it’s still fucked up. But also valid? I see every man I see as a threat and I have good reason to.

I was more going for the Hobbes version because that’s such a raw and negative view on mankind that the villain uses this as excuse and the hero forgives them for their actions by saying it.

Homo homini lupus, I get it. The hero knows what the villain is like, they know they have this insane worldview of “man is destroying his own species if he has to.” And the hero uses that to build some lost connection between them. I get it. They understand. And that’s how they try to get the villain on their side again, despite knowing that it’s too late. Last hope, I guess.

The villain using homo homini lupus in the end could either be them explaining their next action (killing the hero) or them devaluing it. They say it and they actually believed in it but they don’t kill the hero because they’ve outgrown that statement.

And that’s why I was curious on your opinions hihihi.

I didn’t write the characters to have mpd (it would be more obvious if I had) but I think your thoughts are really interesting!

Also I will never watch Cruella because I truly believe that every Disney life-action remake or movie that focuses on old Disney characters is killing most of my brain cells ten minutes into the movie. But it’s good that this movie makes you happy!