#he has no reason to go so homo about it

[turbo-gum]

"Casey isn't queer!"

Yeah except this panel exists and has existed since the beginning of tmnt

FUCKING LOOK AT HIM

[teh-nos]

i have so many thoughts on the characterisation of AU Sylvies and whether she ends up like Problematic Thor 1 Loki and the reasons for and against that idea, and also about how to translate her into non-canon settings where the obvious/easiest answer is to make her live in a bin vs CEO Nepo-Baby Loki who you've paired her with and how that's bringing in a specific class-based-but-also-very-gendered power imbalance that isn't in the original but unfortunately it is hard to talk about it without naming or inadvertantly hitting upon actual fandom examples so i mostly just complain a bit without really making the most of the excessive level of attention i have given this topic in my own mind.

[johnbrand]

Future Plans

“Don’t mind if I just pop these off real quick.”

Luke readjusted awkwardly on his yoga mat, carefully watching as Mr. Bergstrom plopped each of his massive feet out of their equally massive prisons.

“Oof!” Mr. Bergstrom exclaimed as he leaned forward to massage his feet. “These things have quite the kick to them.”

“Proof of a good workout?” The 18-year-old replied, unsure of how to continue forward with the conversation. He had not spoken to Mr. Bergstrom in almost six months, so it had come as a surprise when the middle-aged man had pulled him aside at the gym to discuss Luke’s "future plans".

Mr. Bergstrom chuckled, “I guess so.” Both sets of eyes followed Mr. Bergstrom’s hands as they peeled the grimy socks away, exposing two long, firm soles. The socks were then tossed aside between the pair. After a moment Luke was able to pick up on their slightly cheesy funk.

“Mr. Bergstrom, if you don’t mind me asking,” Luke knew he was treading on rocky ground. “Why did you want to speak with me?”

“As I said, I wanted to hear what your plans were moving forward.” Mr. Bergstrom put his calloused paws to work, rubbing away and massaging his feet. “My son already told me you’re going to a different university, I’m just curious to hear your reasoning.”

Luke shifted uncomfortably. He and Mr. Bergstrom’s son had grown up together, been best friends from elementary through most of high school. Mr. Bergstrom had practically been a second father to Luke, to the point that Luke’s own parents joked that they should have been paying for child support. That was until Luke had come out. Mr. Bergstrom promptly banned his son from ever speaking with “that homo” again.

“Well, I was offered a really great scholarship from the school. My grades were excellent this year, and my test scores were pretty much the same.” Luke was not trying to be boastful. “They are hoping to fast-track me through the engineering program, my counselor said I’ve got some real talent.”

The bustling noises of the busy gym were present, but dampened by the closed doors of their private studio. Mr. Bergstrom continued his cooldown, stretching his legs. “You know they’re just buttering you up, right?”

Luke’s face grew warm. Mr. Bergstrom continued, “You don’t really think your talents will be utilized by furthering your education, do you?”

Embarrassed, Luke found himself looking down. He would be leaving for college in a week, he already had made his mind up. He could not understand why Mr. Bergstrom was trying to convince him otherwise.

“I know you miss my son, Luke. And I know you miss me.” Mr. Bergstrom started, a friendly smirk smearing itself onto his face. Luke was familiar with that smile, its fatherly warmth attempting to lure him in. But he resisted, its friendliness almost artificial. “You should be less concerned about education and more focused on rebuilding the bridges you’ve burned.”

“What do you mean?” Luke queried without lifting his head.

“You can get a degree at any point of time in life,” Mr. Bergstrom argued. “But if a relationship has broken apart, you only have so much time to fix it.” Mr. Bergstrom’s fingers interlocked between his toes, smoothly caressing each of the pockets in between. “Your time at university will be, what, four years? But the bonds you make with others are for a lifetime. It would be selfish to put your own wishes before others, especially those you’ve hurt. And if this university really wants you, then they will be willing to wait."

Mr. Bergstrom sighed, "As an adult, it’s my responsibility to tell you this kind of stuff.”

Luke’s face was still flushed, but no longer out of embarrassment. The odor of Mr. Bergstrom’s feet had by now completely filled the room, its pungent, sour funk somehow warm.

“So, what do you suggest I do?” Luke’s eyes began to water, although it was unclear if it was out of despair or a reaction to the feet in front of him. Luke only realized now that this entire time he had been staring at the older man’s soles dancing in front of him.

“Put your actual talents to good use, kiddo,” Mr. Bergstrom’s face lit up with that fatherly pride once more, its affectionate smile inviting. The affirmation felt good to Luke. “You should cancel your college plans for the time being so that you can focus on your relationships. A gap year or two, or maybe three, or as long as it takes to make up for lost time.”

“Does that mean I’ll get to be best friends with your son again?” Luke asked.

“Well, he already left for school a few days ago, so he won’t be back until the winter holidays.” Luke was a bummed to hear this, beginning to reconsider Mr. Bergstrom’s offer. But before Luke could escape, Mr. Bergstrom wiggled his thick toes, drawing him back in.

“But in the meantime,” Mr. Bergstrom’s tone held its protective tone, as if it was only offering what was best for Luke. “You can work on rebuilding our relationship. You can live with me so your parents think you’re still at school, except I will be your professor. Won’t that be fun?”

Luke’s body began to tingle. Subconsciously, he could sense danger. But there was something so alluring about Mr. Bergstrom’s feet. His thick, juicy feet and their nauseating, mesmerizing, heterosexual scent.

“Whaddya say, kiddo? Do you trust me?” Mr. Bergstrom asked. 

Luke’s reply came out robotically, “...Yes.”

Mr. Bergstrom smirk reappeared, although this time the mask was off. It was now cocky, assured, but yet still familiar, as if this was not the first time. “Good boy, then lets give you your first assignment.”

The sweetness in Mr. Bergstrom’s voice had completely disappeared. “How about you start servicing these big manly feet." Mr. Bergstrom then threw one of his dirty socks right into Luke’s face, its sweat a metaphorical stamp on his future. "And while you’re at it, you can suck on this like the pathetic little faggot you are."

[mommyashtoreth]

"Aziraphale and Crowley would NEVER go to pride!" discourse is so funny because I think they absolutely would but not for the reasons anyone thinks. Aziraphale would be invited by one of the other business owners who clocked him on day 1 as just an absolute turbo homo and is trying to be discreet about it, and even though he does not particularly want to go he's too nice to just say no so his whole plot, hypothetically, would revolve around him trying to get out of it in the weeks leading up to pride. Crowley, on the other hand, would probably have some kind of passing interest in pride as he has passing interests in most human things, but then one day when he's getting reamed by one of his bosses, Hastur or Ligur or someone like that is like "what is this... pride? A whole parade, a whole month, dedicated to the cardinal sin of pride of oneself before God? And you did this?" and Crowley would be like Yup yeah uh huh that's right see you guys later. And then he basically has to go because of work. And you can do the s2 thing where everyone else in the neighborhood thinks Az and Crowley are hoovering each other's vaginas off in the backrooms every night, and that's why they're at pride together, if you want. And yes I do think at least one of them should end up wearing a pronoun pin I will die on this hill it's in-character

[mymoshangthoughts]

cumplane thoughts: (lots of nsfw LOL)

airplane in shen yuan's lap, cockwarming for him while he writes and shen yuan looks over his shoulder, sharply criticizing his writing

shen yuan using his advanced knowledge of pidw to wifeplot the fuck out of airplane (its not his fault that airplane doesnt remember that flower is an aphrodisiac or this cave is the "ohno now we have to get married!" cave. really, it was irresponsible of airplane to forget such things and this was the forgone conclusion of that hack author being so forgetful)

cucumber and airplane being enemies online, but crushing on each other irl without knowing about the online handles (classmates? workmates? that cute guy i see on the train?)

shen twins au where shen yuan notices that disciple shang is kinda sus and investigates (thinking that its bc of the mobei jun thing and now that he's grown up in this world he's sort of invested in NOT having demons attack his sect-mates), but the more he gets to know the skittish disciple, the more he's sorta catching feelings and this is a problem! bc shang qinghua is gonna be a traitor! ....but is he really? sure, qinghua is a lil asshole, but he's not really the bloodthirsty type? maybe with some proper guidance from his shixiong he'll turn out better? no, jiu-ge, i am not being naive and no i dont think my dick cures evil, its not like that! it's just that--why are you calling him my boyfriend?! I SAID IT'S NOT LIKE THAT, JIU-GE!

cumplane frenemies since their school days and current roommates. shen "i'm not gay so the sex isnt gay" yuan and shang "you're not fooling anyone but sure" qinghua. they're just 'friends' according to shen yuan. it's 'no homo sex' apparently. shang qinghua is fine with this, he is, his stupid boyfriend might have the most internalized homophobia in the world but like... they live together and shen yuan is mostly nice to him and they've been together for years and this is something real, right? except shen yuan's mom starts pressuring him to "finally settle down and marry a nice girl" so shen yuan is talking about it and the sinking realization finally hits shang qinghua that shen yuan never really considered their relationship to be a real thing. thats... fine... this is fine... he'll be fine. he is not fine. nope. not one bit. and he is not gonna be the bigger man about this. fuck. no. he is absolutely going to fucking destroy that stupid piece of shit EX boyfriend who never deserved him!! he is going to avenge himself and ruin shen yuan's life and he is going to be super shitty about it! but first, he's going to run away from home and cry with a tub of ice-cream bc wow that is the most painful breakup he's ever had haha. except after shang qinghua disappears and leaves behind a "fuck you, i want a divorce" note, shen yuan looks for him and asks friends and gets dressed down for being an idiot and also realizes oh fuck he actually totally was in love with his not-boyfriend and now he has to win back a very vengeful and very bitter shang qinghua, who also knows all of his weaknesses and darkest secrets

cumplane sex where cucumber is struggling to comprehend just how fucking shameless airplane is. that man can ride his dick while moaning pathetically and then still look cucumber in the face and smile while asking for round five and cucumber knew that airplane wrote porn, cucumber READ that porn, but nothing quite prepared him for just how horny and sexually expressive airplane is. SHEN YUAN'S THIN FACE WAS NOT READY FOR THIS SHIT

shang twins au: the shang twins have been pretending to be one person, for vaguely evil reasons, and shen yuan notices solely bc he Is A Very Observant and Smart Person and it's not at all because he's memorized the pattern of airplane's freckles or anything gay like that, nope, that's not it at all!

cucumber starts talking to one of airplanes various troll alts that he uses to stir up drama and airplane replies, fully intending to further agitate one of his loudest anti-fans except.... they just kinda... keep talking? and airplane is really enjoying himself? and they're taking it to the dms and now they're kinda friends and shit, it's bad if cucumber finds out he's airplane, right? the entire basis of their friendship is a lie then. which is totally fine, haha, this friendship prolly won't last long. except it totally does and now theres like irl meetings and cucumber is Fucking Handsome and that isn't fair AT ALL bc now airplane has a crush on his (best??)friend and ohwow, cucumber can srsly NEVER learn abt his identity as the author. cucumber is a super bitter and grudge holding person but also he HATES the author and airplane rreeeallly likes having someone who kinda likes him in his life aND OHFUCK IS THAT CUCUMBER LOOKING AT HIS PHONE!?

shen yuan making airplane endure Every Single sex position that he wrote those poor wives in the harem having to endure. partially to make a point of "that CANT be possible", partially bc he's still annoyed at the hack writing, and partially bc it's rrreeeeeaallly nice to see airplane fucked out of his mind like that

airplane accidentally wife-plots himself and cucumber is a good bro about it and fucks away the fuck-or-die pollen. except now he's accidentally gotten airplane addicted to his dick??? bc now airplane is seeking him out constantly. was there something else in that fuck-or-die pollen? bc airplane is acting weird. was there some freaky love potion or something? ahh, it's really hard to think of the answer when he wakes up to the peak lord of an ding sucking his dick

airplane accidentally gets transformed into a magical beast and before he can find his way back to humanity, he gets beaten up and hauled off by liu qingge to be presented as a gift to shen yuan. which oki, fine, maybe he can communicate to his bro. but shen yuan is really nice to him when he's in this form (like a hamster monster) and wow, he never knew how much he really liked shen yuan being nice to him??? maybe he should just let it be for a bit longer??

shen yuan, recently trasnmigrated into the body of an ice demon, does not know what to do about the sobbing an ding disciple clinging to his thigh and begging for his life (bc i refuse to kill off mobei jun, this is a body swap au and now mobei jun has to live in modern day china as shen yuan LOL)

cucumber decides that he likes airplane best when he's too fucked out of his mind to keep talking shit. also, on a related note, airplane decides he likes when cucumber talks shit when they're in bed the most. does he have a degradation kink? he might have a degradation kink.

sugar baby airplane and his very grumpy sugar daddy shen yuan. yes, airplane is spoiled rotten, but he also has a strict writing schedule and his harshest critic tormenting him in bed. but ohwell, shen yuan also nags him to eat properly and makes sure that he does and the kitchen is always stocked and sometimes shen yuan just pulls him into a hug and rests his chin against airplane's head and yeah, he can live with sometimes getting fucked while cucumber growls in his ear "that was a shit chapter, you completely forgot the continuity from chapter 24 and now you created a big stupid plothole with the most interesting monster you made--". its a good life

airplane first meets shen yuan as a coworker. he's a rich trust-fund baby type who has impeccable fashion and a poser attitude. clearly a thin face and probably boring as fuck. airplane meets shen yuan for the second time at a convention while signing autographs, dressed in binghe-merch and clearly Way Too Invested. and airplane immediately thinks the gap moe is AMAZING. he's gonna have so much fucking fun with this. especially since airplane was wearing cosplay and his coworker didn't recognize him >:D

[a-mint-bear]

Cygnus Headcanon Post

🌠Destined Lover from Beyond the Stars🌠

● His face is stiffer that it looks, not a lot of dynamic facial muscles. It makes him less expressive than how human it might appear. The lack of interpersonal interaction his species engages in means they’ve evolved with less need for expressing these kinds of things to each other.

● He had a tail when he was a baby, almost as long as he was. As he got older his scaled armor came in and his tail got smaller until it was covered by the big scales. When he molts, the tail is visible and he finds it embarrassing. As a side effect, he sees creatures with tails as inherently cute as his brain goes “that's a baby”. He wonders if his babies with you will have tails.

● He has trouble recognizing human emotions. So at first, he doesn't know when you're upset or afraid. But he wants to learn. He’s always staring at you, studying everything about you. Your expressions, your body language, the sounds you make. The longer he studies you, it stops being about learning more about you and more about just… watching you. Everything about you just fascinates him.

● Some star systems have treaties with his race that they won’t be included in The Courtship, but they do accept voluntary participants

● He first came to Earth for a completely different reason. At the last port he'd stopped at for refueling, he'd spotted a creature with some similar features to him. The bipedal stance, a similar skull structure, the same flat, soft features in his face. A quick scan and an introduction later, the creature revealed a bit about themself. They said that their sire was of a race from the planet Earth. He'd never heard of it before, or seen a homo sapien, a "human". But the planet and it's people weren't part of any treaties. He could go there without suffering any consequences from the Galactic High Committees. It wasn't a certainty, but he had this urge to find out where his genes may have come from.

● He knew the moment he saw you that you were his mate. Everything about you appealed to him in a way no other creature ever had. Your scent captivated him, when he caught it for the first time, it felt like his insides were on fire. He hunted that wonderful scent for days., always just missing it He felt this pull in his chest, like his body wouldn't stop until he found the source. He didn't know at the time what was compelling him, but when you came into view, everything suddenly made perfect sense.

● It was you. You looked very much like every other human he'd passed while chasing that feeling, with a few notable features and flaws. But everything he saw made him feel something. Something new. It felt physically painful to look away from you for the first few nightfalls. Then, even though it calmed a bit, he trailed after you like everything depended on having you near.

● Before he took his Starlight aboard his ship, he needed to observe them to know how best to take care of them. He scanned their environment to check what their atmosphere was like to recreate it on their ship. He took note of what proteins and vegetation they could and could not consume. He noted their sleeping habits using his cloaking technology, standing mere steps from their bed as they slept. And through all of it, he had to see them interacting with other humans in their day-to-day life. He hated it. Every day, he could feel something inside him changing.

● When he incapacitated you to begin The Courtship, he held you in his arms for the longest time. He watched you breathe, putting his face in the crook of your neck. He had never felt this... this sense of safety, security... this overwhelming sense of possessiveness. You were his, and if anyone tried to take you from him... he could feel the back of his neck grow hot with an overwhelming rage.

● His senses:

-Hearing: Big ol’ ears let him hear everything. Very sensitive and can pick up frequencies human ears can’t. Can hear your heartbeat but doesn't know enough about human physiology to use that info for anything. - Taste & Smell: You’re surprised the first time you see his tongue, it’s bright blue, long and nearly prehensile. He can taste the air with it like a lizard, but has less taste buds than a human. He can’t taste spice but he loves human sweets and baking. His sense of smell is pretty good. He has scent glands on his cheeks like a cat and can identify different people by their scent. He loves to rub his face to yours to make you smell like him, marking you as his. -Touch: Less developed than a human. The bio-armor he sports protects him but also makes him less likely to notice any light touch below his neck. But it also means he can take a beating. Much more sensitive when he’s molted and touch overstimulates him. -Sight: Big ol’ peepers. He can see in the dark and has better vision than a human but not super powerful or anything. It's hard to tell where he is looking sometimes because he doesn't have visible pupils, and it unsettles you sometimes that he doesn't seem to blink. In reality, he has transparent eyelids that blink so fast you don't notice them, like a lizard.

● He knows how his people are supposed to carry out The Courtship (the part where the babies are made), but he can't help but be fascinated with the way humans do it. He wants to hold you close. He wants to feel your oddly soft skin against him. He wants to see you vulnerable and open yourself completely to him. Genetically he knows the two of you are compatible but he… doesn't want to follow through with The Courtship unless you want him. The way he wants you.

● His people don't have a home world anymore, they are nomadic and travel the stars isolated from even each other. There are some stories about the home world they once had, eons ago, but a lot of them don't believe it ever existed.

● From his time on Earth, he had seen how humans structured their clans, their families. His people don't usually care for their young for long after they are old enough to feed themselves. It was just their way, it made them seek out their own way to live out among the stars. And this made them more likely to branch out their own genetic material farther away from where their sires had originated. But some humans raised their young for much longer than that, well past reaching maturity. And then some even kept in contact with their progenitor or progenitors well past creating their own families.

● He wondered if you would want to care for the young that came from the two of you, or if you would look upon them as frightful creatures. They wouldn't look completely human, and he had seen humans throw away their young for fewer differences. He knew you had a kindness, a warmth to you... but you were still wary of him. He had never thought of how he would see his offspring, but they would be a part of you... When he thought of them, and you, your own family... He caught himself purring, from time to time.

[bringthekaos]

I'm excited for your thoughts on the new season if/when you share them

It has legit taken me 3 days to come to terms with Act 1. Enough to be able to speak about it. Gunna apologize in advance for the wall of text, and I’m hiding it under a break for spoiler reasons. Also prefacing with these are all just my opinions. All are free to disagree with me and RB with discussions/theories etc. just don’t be a dick about it, I’m not engaging in any discourse.

Ok. So. I have mixed feelings, and I’m aware that this is because I don’t have the whole story yet. So this is all contingent on how the rest of the season plays out.

First and foremost, I’m… wildly swinging back and forth between love and disappointment for Viktor’s arc. So first the negative, and I’ll try to keep it brief because a lot of people have already expressed this and I don’t need to be beating that particular dead horse.

Viktor has had his agency, his bodily autonomy, his original ideas and nearly everything that made him Viktor stripped away. Nothing so far has been his choice. And while this could have worked just fine for an original character, he wasn’t. So there is a massive disconnect between what this character was/should have been. In League, it was all his choice (albeit with a healthy dose of mental illness thrown in, but still). AND it was very heavily suggested that many of the augmentations he performed weren’t as extensive as he lead everyone to believe (namely the controlling/dousing of his emotions). But it appears that whatever the Hexcore did to him, it’s real. He is clearly having a difficult time accessing his emotions, and if he can feel anything, it is limited to the point of him being completely stoic. And the thing with stoic characters is that you obliterate any emotional payoff for the audience. It’s very hard to make an audience feel an emotional connection to a character’s story arc when they themselves don’t feel anything (I have a theory about this though, but I’ll address it a little later in this post). And then there is the issue of Blitzcrank. Blitz was Viktor’s whole world, after his exile. How are they going to swing that? Like, I’m not even asking for Blitz to be in Arcane (that would be great, but I really don’t think they have time). But I stg if they take Blitz away from Viktor, make them someone else’s invention (my suspicion is Heimer or he finds the idea in Sky’s journal)… I’m sorry but no. This was Viktor’s idea, Viktor’s genius. I will genuinely be extremely upset if they take that from him too.

Then there is the whole situation with Sky. First, this girl was fridged. She was nothing but a plot device and continues to be just that. It feels hollow and forced, especially now that he’s hallucinating her as some sort of penance for what he did. (I have seen the prevalent theory that it’s the Hexcore using her image and his guilt to manipulate him, given that it “ate” her, and we have seen it “manipulate” him before when it punished him for trying to destroy it). But back to Sky—he barely acknowledged that poor girl. The reason for that can be argued, whether it’s because he’s gay or because he was just so wrapped up in his one-track minded research. But regardless, there just wasn’t enough setup between those two for this whole thing to have as much weight and meaning as I think it’s supposed to. Honestly to me (TO ME) it reeks of comphet. It feels like that random woman they threw at Poe Dameron to No Homo him. I’m not even asking for Jayvik canon. But the creators were well aware of this ship, after all it’s the second most popular ship in this show and it’s been around since 2012 when Jayce was literally created for Viktor. I’m asking for the bare minimum here—that it’s left open-ended as it was in League, open for interpretation.

Last negative I have is the whole Viktor Jesus thing. The first problem is I am pretty violently agnostic, and messiah narratives have never spoken to me. I don’t enjoy them, they feel weak. The whole “ordained by a higher power” thing is just… stale. Especially when this character originally had no higher power, he gave it to himself through his own hard work and ingenuity. Honestly, Viktor’s original arc is about as far from a Jesus allegory as you can possibly get. And I am absolutely terrified that they’re going to end said Jesus arc the way you’d expect—with him dying for it. Which leaves the moral of his story “disabled man should have just accepted that he was going to die despite the fact that it was the oppression and xenophobia of Piltover that left him out to dry, without proper health care, accessibility, equality, or equity that lead to his terminal diagnosis to begin with.” Which is a very oppressor-centric narrative and we do not need another one of those.

Sorry, I know I said I’d keep the negatives brief, and that was… not. My bad. But moving on!

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, I did. I am working to embrace this new Viktor narrative and work it into my brain in a way that doesn’t ruin the ship for me. So without further ado, the positives.

Jayce.

Jayce.

Jayce.

I’d have to go back and time it, but it feels like he got more screen time in this first act than the entirety of the first season combined, and his character shined for it. It humanized him in ways season one never did. He’s caring, he’s devoted, and he loved Viktor! No matter what kind of love you think it is, it proves he loved Viktor without a doubt. He carried Viktor several city blocks to the lab to save him, and then YES, he broke his promise about the Hexcore because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing him!

And he’s funny! (The scene where he picks up the regular sized hammer in the fight against Renni and made that “this is ironic” face?? And then basically the entire interaction with Ekko? The hand me a tome thing, and then when he basically pulled this when Ekko suggested “so this is all your fault cuz you pissed off the Arcane”:

GOD that shit was great. Jayce’s personality just shined, and maybe it’s too much to hope, but maybe this will douse a little of the hate. Because instead of being a subtle hint at all of those things being true about him, it’s now overt. And when people lack media literacy, the hints have to be overt.

And th-the. The h. The HUG SCENE. I don’t think I will ever emotionally recover from that scene. Starting with Viktor who, despite being clearly emotionally—I dunno, vacant I guess—sounded so lost and scared when he said “what am I?” For me, it was whispers of that scene from The Last Unicorn: “what have you done to me?” And my poor sweet Jayce, who clearly hasn’t left this damn lab except to go to Cassandra’s memorial. Sleeping on the desk and bleeding through his bandages because he doesn’t want to spend a moment away from Viktor while he “recovers.” And his euphoric response when he finds Viktor alive, when he realizes he hasn’t lost him. And I OWE HIM AN APOLOGY, goddamn. I said in a post that “Jayce will not understand.” I thought that was how Arcane was gunna start the divorce. But Jayce genuinely did not care, as long as his lover friend was alive. And just… Jayce being so affectionate through this entire scene. The hug obviously, but also blurting things he thought he’d never get to say to Viktor—“I’m resigning from the council, my place was always here in the lab with you.”

And… the hug itself. I know we’re all analyzing it frame by goddamn frame, but I see exactly what everyone else sees—there is a moment where Viktor very subtly smiles. But it’s gone in an instant, and it turns bittersweet. LOOK AT HIM.

There is something there, it’s just buried. Deep beneath the surface. It seems to say “I want this, I have wanted this for so long.” But then he realizes something, something I don’t think we’re meant to understand yet. Maybe that he doesn’t feel anything about it anymore, and he recognizes that this should upset him and it doesn’t. Or perhaps it’s something more along the lines of “it’s too late.” Whatever it is, I think this is the exact moment he knows he has to walk away. Because he knows he’ll cave to the affection, he said it himself. (Which is another thing entirely. His voice changes when he says that. Something in him is reacting to that word. Maybe he’s fighting against it, or maybe he’s fighting to get it back. But something made him almost growl that word.)

Which leads me to my final thought (for this post anyway, cuz it’s turning into a novel); Viktor is still in there. He can still feel things, I just think they’re extremely muted by whatever the Hexcore did/continues to do to him, or he has to fight to express them. Because he also smiled at the hallucination of Sky after he “cured” Huck. And if he feels nothing, he wouldn’t have been “joyous” at the thought of her being proud of him, approving of the good things he’s trying to do in her memory. He wouldn’t crave that validation, that vindication from her. So I’m hopeful that we start to see this shell crack a little, especially if those visions of Sky are the Hexcore manipulating him through guilt. It will start to erode him, no matter how stoic he has become. And literally the only thing I’m clinging to is that Jayce will see this and try to pull him out. “He’s still in there and I have to save him.” And that maybe it’ll start to work.

[idksomething356]

My Littlest Pet Shop [au] tf x reader ʚ♡ɞ Prologue ʚ♡ɞ

Guys. I'm not that familiar with the Transformers universe comics and basically everything that goes on there. However, I know enough to get into the characters + consider that this is an alt.universe in which I create what I want. Either way, I'm going to mark it OOC. It's not the first time I've seen AU's like this and unfortunately not all of them are finished, so I'm taking it into my own hands. Enjoy! « An alternate universe in which humans are seen as intelligent pets. Some Cybertronians see you as truly incapable of anything (Decepticons), while some, who have a kinder spark (most of the Autobots), still see you as a stupid little creature, but at least treat you with care and consideration for your feelings. This is the terrible truth that you will have to face and feel on your own, fragile in comparison with the world of Cybertronians, body. »

Just as there are streaks of good luck in life, there are also streaks of bad luck, interconnected, intertwined. And, to your horror, bad luck has hit you incredibly hard, because… what do you mean by the fact that now you're just going to be someone's pet?!

But that's your reality now. And the worst thing is that you are not the only one who suffered this fate — there were a dozen more people in some kind of metal box. It would seem that this should be comforting, because together you all will definitely think of something, but, looking at your current surroundings, the hope for salvation through combined efforts rapidly flew down. Quite a lot of them looked, frankly speaking, atrocious.

It hasn't been that long since you were snatched on your way home by some aliens that looked like flying clams in armor, and then ended up in this iron prison with no light, only round holes for “ventilation.” The top of this prison opened, and a big, metal palm found you. For the simple reason that you were the only one who remained standing there in shock, with open eyes, and did not run to hide in the corners like mice.

Warm but stiff fingers closed roughly and without caution on your organic body, knocking absolutely all the air out of your lungs. Big doe eyes stared at the face hidden beneath the mask and the aggressively red visor. This robot-thing snorted and said something in a language you didn't understand. You felt as if he was pausing in several places and was silent, though his companion was nodding next to him — he had heard everything.

This huge robot started talking loudly and gesticulating vigorously, of course, with you in its hand, exposing you to a multitude of eyes blazing bright scarlet. After this little meeting, you were placed in some new container, this time resembling something akin to a birdcage and a cat/dog carrier. And so, you've realized — you're going to be sold. But to whom and where — it's not clear yet. You prepared for the worst-case scenario anyway. Your new location was similar to… a pet shop. There were all kinds of animals: small, medium, colossal. There was a separate corner, if not a compartment, for humans, where you were all placed like merchandise on a shelf for viewing. Thank God it was behind thick glass, so that some crazy bot couldn't harm such fragile creatures as you. Good thing, whoever kept humans as pets for sale thought to provide minimal comfort to organics. You had your own sleeping area, shower and toilet. In all the time you've spent in this prison, you've been able to learn a little about the history of this planet and the people who inhabit it. Your owner, though he was a Decepticon, did his job with conscience and full responsibility — he wanted to sell his pets for more, for full price, and didn't let a single person die of any disease or injury under his watch. He has downloaded all existing and even extinct human languages into his processor to make it easier to contact you and bring you up to speed. He also took care of the female species of homo sapiens! It is one great rarity that a Decepticon would behave so well compared to a critter ten times his size. Now, where were we? Ah, that's right, the history of Cybertron and its people. It just so happens that after the workers rebelled against the ruling elite, a civil war broke out, dividing the planet into two factions: The Autobots, fighting for freedom and order, and the Decepticons, seeking absolute power. And humans… well, are just pets in the hands of living metal giants.

This is your fate — to sit and wait for some Cybertronian to buy you and rescue you from this glassy, cold prison. And you pray to all the gods that your first owner is an adequate, kind, and good Autobot. My very first victims in this au are gonna be Ratch&Drift, be ready. Btw! Long time ago I read a fanfic more akin to just an article on this kind of alternate universe and honestly — I took inspiration from what I remember of the story.

I apologize to the author and to anyone who reads this if you notice similarities in our work.

SFW headcanons

[zeyris-daydreams]

Jade Dragon’s Iron-Clad Camellias [2]

Dan Feng x Reader 

[ao3] or #df-camellia on my profile! [work masterlist]

Gaining recognition wasn’t something which needed any planning. And although you were great at setting reasonable goals, it seemed as though winds blew in your favour without your push.

The Cloud Splendor Forge was a name made by whim with lack of any forethought, yet the immortals still sang its praises, emphasising the dutifulness behind each weapon—and the mastery behind the meanings.

But there was no meaning, same as there was no need for it to have one. Vidyadhara and alike—Foxians and the Homo Celestinae all spun tales of their own.

It was too easy in fact.

The weapons were distributed quickly, grabbed and sought after as bread when the sun rose, the heat and smell of metal akin to the fragrance of meal for an empty stomach. The forger and the baker both shared a stove, but for vastly different reasons. The baker wanted to feed—you wished to make something bleed.

Due to culture born from war and hope, it wasn’t uncommon for people to appreciate weapons. They paid much attention to not only usability, but the detail as well.

Not all attention to detail was good—you’ve long realised, soon after someone began to nitpick them. And this wasn’t the first time.

Stood behind the counter of the inside of your forge, you moved a damp rag over it, pretending to try and clean away the black smears and the tar. It was a humble place, minimal amount of equipment and decor, spare for a flower which wilted from the heat radiating.

Further down was a stove and the tools, chisels and hammers, and the cold anvil which was unused yet.

It was so early after all.

He stood right near the entrance, glancing around, and you wished to pretend he wasn’t there. As long as you were ignorant, you could make him go away—sometimes wishes do come true.

The Vidyadhara cleared his throat expectantly.

But wishes take a while to work, and you finally lifted your face, shoving all the irritation down to the bottom of your stomach, lest there shows a vulnerability he’d be able to exploit like the snake that he was.

Annoyance ignited itself in your cortex already, perhaps at the idea that this preened lizard expected to be addressed. But you pretended everyday, and you could pretend for a while more. ”What may I help you with?”

Dan Feng’s piercing eyes seemed to glow by default in such a dark setting, and he finally stepped closer to the counter. “One assumes you know why one has come?”

This has happened before, three times precisely, where the pampered reptile would show up in all his might, and demand to meet the smith. It was engraved in your memory from the headache it caused each time, having to listen to his prolonged speeches about grandiose of his ideas; how just giving Yingxing the request through you would never be able to encompass his vision. A mortal can’t comprehend his ideas and expectations after all, you merely were an assistant. Dan Feng insisted-no, demanded to meet the craftsman.

”I have an idea why, but I fear the master remains in what he has said before.” you started, straightening to at least appear as though you paid him mind. To you, there was nothing grande before you, and you did not give a damn about his hereditary honorifics.

Glory is what you make—with both your hands.

Dan Feng sighed, pinching the ridge of his nose. He did not belong here, in his pristine and straightened clothes, and his untied hair. He was not ready nor made for work, and the contrast of his person to the comfort of your forge was sickening.

“Which would be?”

”Master Yingxing, as I’ve said, needs solitude to grow grand ideas. His words, not mine,” you began, keeping the tone as light as you could; grasping at the straws of your patience. “For that reason he only is present to deliver or make his craft. I only converse with him through written messages.”

You hoped that by emphasising the unapproachability of Yingxing, people would stop trying to meet him. Because frankly, you did not wish for people to know about your true identity, and you had all the reasons not to.

Only a madman would feel fine with that, if they were in your predicament at least.

Most immortals accepted your firm no. There was a sense of mystery and fantasy surrounding Yingxing, and the people of Xianzhou favoured romanticism over a popped bubble of delusion. And so, to maintain their image of the forger as someone cryptic, their efforts usually relented.

Most never means all however, and there would always be a prick who needed the validation of obtaining the unmovable.

”One sees no reason for such evasion,” He waved his hand, dismissing all your reasoning just as he did previously. It seemed the irritation finally got the best of him, as he dropped honorifics, and stopped attempting to pretend that you were on his level.

Dan Feng regarded you for a moment, and then the forge. Everything was ready to create, but there was no artist to do it. “Does he come today, then?”

”I wasn’t informed of that, where does the assumption come from?”

”Well,” The Vidyadhara gestured towards the other end of the forge leisurely and meticulously, as though he planned to point it out. “Do smiths not work when their tolls are ready?”

It was a miscalculation on your part. You really had to make sure to lock the forge next time, not that it mattered. Immortals usually sent their servants to order and retrieve weapons, and so it didn’t make a difference, as the pets of the Xianzhou folk never paid much mind. Such little humans usually soaked in their master's praises, never learning or knowing enough to find your business suspicious. Maybe it was blissful ignorance.

Dan Feng was truly the only one who insisted on proximity.

”What you see is correct, but that is the procedure. If the master comes, the forge must be ready, and given his solitude, I don’t know when to expect his grace.” You mustered, with as much courage as you could—despite coming up with this excuse on the spot. “I am sorry for the inconvenience, but his mind remains unchanged.”

”Fine, then. Have you told him that the one who seeks an audience with him is me?” The man began once more, his voice gaining an air of demand to it. He kept his hands to himself, not even willing to lay one on the deeply scarred wooden counter yet. “I am a High Elder, does your master not feel shame?”

It was hard to keep a cool shell when inside fires raged, and the facade slipped, for only a short moment. But it was unchangeable. “Have you considered that the master does not care?”

Dan Feng’s piercing and sharp eyes narrowed, and he finally leaned forward. “Excuse me?”

”Per your request I’ve left master the note about your wishes. Both to create the weapon and demand for the audience, but also of your status. That was the single demand that the master has not addressed with me.”

The irritation on his face was subtle, but the satisfaction of it was short lived. You forced your facial muscles into a state of tranquility, and the early bird gets prey. You had to act as though you had his best interest in mind.

“I insist, so that you don’t waste your time, to discuss the demands for the weapon with me.” You suggested once more, leaving it open for him to decide. “I convey it well enough, proven by the popularity that the master has gathered. If there are discrepancies, I’ll be held responsible,” you took a second to come up with the word that would please him the most. “For not being able to convey your vision well enough.”

You wanted your words to buy some of the graces you didn’t actually want—them being a currency to get him off your tail; or heel—that would be more accurate. Despite his visible need for protest and his clenched jaw, he relented. “Fine then, assistant.” The title rolled off his tongue like beads falling off a necklace, with an air of arrogance that seemed to constantly settle around him.

A sense of satisfaction poured into you still, despite the huge amount of effort it took to achieve this outcome.

It came to a halt as he leaned his hand on the counter at once, the other hand propped on his hip as he leaned to your stature, imposing your presence, breaking the usual distance needed for conversation in hopes of getting something out of you. “We will do how you want. Then again, commission is still pretty expensive. For that purpose I demand the weapon to be tailored specifically for me“

You swallowed. “They are always shaped for each clien-”

”No, I don’t look to have it only made per my word.” Dan Feng interrupted, his voice cutting through yours like a spear thrown through condensation of fog, causing you to halt. “Does your master need to see my former weapon for reference? The way in which I fight?”

Clients always trusted Yingxing, and a verbal assault of this caliber was far beyond your pay grade. With a sigh, one that you forced to be a calm one, your shoulders slumped. You wanted nothing more than to make the Vidyadhara bleed, but you stopped your sharp tongue.

”I understand the importance of making the weapon worth it, but my master is extraordinary” The self praise felt alien on your tongue, alien like Xianzhou’s cuisine and strange like a rock from beyond. You wished to spit it out with more pride, but it poured out more like water. “He will be able to provide you with a tailored option only after seeing the former weapon and understanding your expectations. That’s how my master keeps clients, I do not know the mysteries beyond that.”

Your defence was firm and sharp, he had to give you that. Dan Feng finally relented, straightening to fold his arm behind his back. His eyes lazily scanned the forge, not a single soul here spare for you and him.

”I am a High Elder, and I don’t wish to waste my time. I’ll send a servant here to deliver my former weapon, and as for its type..”

The Vidyadhara was suddenly filled with thought, slow and steady as his gaze was cast down. You weren’t yet sure how to feel, the gears in his mind turning deliberately, to a degree in which you could hear them click, click, click.

click.

”It is a weapon of long yet true reach, melee. It does not need excessive metal, and it is piercing, Stands tall, yet falls just as easily” High Elder mused cryptically, and his turquoise eyes drifted to yours soon after.

You stood there awkwardly with hands behind your back, pushing yourself up to the tips of your toes, before back to their heels. “Well, from my understanding that seems to be a spear. Do Vidyadhara name them differently?”

For a brief moment his brow rose, but he just shook his head, as if dismissing the thought that appeared. “A spear, then.”

So he was testing you. You couldn’t yet know the result of this trial.

The conversation concluded, and you were finally free to breathe when Dan Feng left. Having to upkeep the front of a dutiful clueless assistant took its toll once more, and you were left having to pick up pieces of your dignity.

Mortals didn’t have it easy on Xianzhou Loufu, despite it being more accommodating for them than the other two ships—and while you didn’t find it most fair, it was all you could get your hands on. You have long learned the importance of finding opportunities, doing what you had access to. You weren’t going to let self-victimisation ruin the odds.

The next day, as promised, the former weapon was delivered.

Dan Feng had a habit of not knocking, and he didn’t knock now either, entering the forge like his own damned domain—the spear in his grasp. Behind the safety of your counter your eyes widened, and you cleared your throat. A moment of silence passed.

“Forgive me asking, Higher Elder, but wasn’t a servant meant to do this duty?

He halted, eyes narrowing slightly at your words, though you had no idea what you might’ve said wrong. Yet it seemed as though the Vidyadhara was just as surprised to see you here. “Assistant.”

Your fingers curled into fists, and you forced a pleasant gaze upon your face. “I’m sorry, have I failed to mention that the master does not meet clients personally? If not, I would like to add that it prevents unnecessary bias.”

To hell with bias. Why was he here, again?

”The former, yes. Latter, hardly” His face turned to yours, gaze softening. “Though One could still hope to be on time.” A smile crept up onto his face, but you knew better than to take it as kindness; pity was more likely. Dan Feng’s interest in Yingxing was proving to be dangerous. Maybe you’d have to forge elsewhere, and take clients here. A faraway dream you could not afford; closer to that was perhaps changing the schedule altogether.

“No matter the technicalities. The weapon is here. Though this sky splitter did look better in its full glory” The doors closed behind him silently, despite the usual occurrence of them creaking with each move. Dan Feng was as robed as ever, preened and pristine and perfumed and he didn’t belong here at all.

The spear was laid on the table, and you looked down on habit, analysing its structure and shape. The front of it was clearly cracked, the fault permeating further down the spear. It was clinging to its frail shape, as a worm after being crushed.

His eyes were on the weapon, before they were on you, and you placed your hand onto the long body of the spear. Perfectly in the spot where its weight centre should be, given the heavier tip of the spear; and yet it still tilted. You frowned.

The spear was laughably off balance, and when you’ve realised how bold you’ve become, you set it down. When you opened your mouth to speak, you were almost afraid you’d ask which idiot forged this.

“I see. It appears broken. What sorts of improvements do you expect of the spear you’ve commissioned?”

You could already imagine analysing the spear later. The sharpness and its weight distribution, the evenness of its body and the smoothness that it should provide. You could smell the moment you’d forge it anew, and taste the ingredients of it with your fingertips.

You found the more you made weapons, the harder it was to stop.

Dan Feng raised his brow, head tilting at an angle as he went through his mind to remember his expectations—he did consider a new spear for some time now, especially after his friends helped him defeat the recent abominations of the abundance—his spear bore most of the damage.

This thought circled in his mind back and forth, what precisely did he want? Nothing but the best. Perfection. Dan Feng was not a master at making weapons, he could only wield them.

”Give it to your master,” the Vidyadhara expressed “ and tell him to improve on everything which is noticeably faulty within this one.”

[morlock-holmes]

Have you seen the recent PhilosophyTube video on Nietzche? If so, what's your opinion as someone who's read him?

I'm not an expert in Nietzche, who wrote a lot of stuff, but I have fairly recently read the Walter Kaufmann translations of The Geneology of Morals and Ecce Homo, and less recently Beyond Good and Evil.

But I hadn't seen that video... Listening to it while grocery shopping...

It's a shocking bit of philosophical malpractice and intellectual dishonesty so breath-taking that I hardly know where to start.

Unfortunately I left the copy of Genealogy of Morals/Ecce Homo that I've been reading in my work locker, but, like, okay, in order to build her picture of Nietzche she has to assert that his overt dislike of the Jews is central to his philosophy, but that his overt dislike of Anti-Semites is some kind of incidental grudge that he didn't actually mean.

But if we are going to do that, if we are going to dismiss much of what he says in his published work, then why not do the opposite? Why not assert that his anti Jewish rhetoric is the incidental expression of petty grudges while the anti-Anti-Semite rhetoric is central to his philosophy?

Once we start building an approach to Nietzche that assumes that enormous chunks of his published work can simply be ignored as incidental to his philosophy, then, like, what the fuck are we doing here?

One immediate thing you have to deal with pretty immediately when looking at Nietzche is, "Why does a German who hurled some brickbats at the Jews hurl even MORE brickbats at Reichsdeutsche and Anti-Semites?"

Like, I cannot emphasize enough how much time he spends attacking the German character in Beyond Good and Evil and The Genealogy of Morals. Way, way WAY more than he spends attacking Jews.

The idea that Elizabeth Forster-Nietzche is somehow responsible for the belief that Nietzche said anti-Jewish things is flat out insane.

Like, he says anti-Jewish stuff in writings that he published himself.

And so when someone sort of tries to rebut that idea I get this kind of suspicion that what they are actually going to do is claim that anti-Jewish stuff is more central to his works than people think, and that conversely the anti-Anti-Semite and anti-Reichsdeutsche rhetoric is less central.

I am kind of struggling to explain why I find that suspect. I think people have sort of said, "He can't have actually meant everything he said about Jews, Germans and Anti-Semites, so we need to figure out which parts he actually meant and which are just kind of in there for no reason" and in my opinion if you read what he actually put in his books (Assuming, of course, that the translations I've read are accurate) this is not necessary, and if you think it is necessary, I feel you haven't been paying attention.

I have no idea if Nietzche considered "the Jewish question", I certainly do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of his letters and personal notes; I will say I cannot bring to mind anything in Beyond Good and Evil or The Geneology of Morals which touches on it. He is deeply skeptical as to whether the Germans can produce greatness.

It's true that he is not an egalitarian, he does not believe people are equal, and for that reason he believes that Democracies and egalitarian societies in general cannot function, that part is actually true as stated.

He's also deeply sexist in the most boring way imaginable. Like, the funny thing is that people keep writing these take-downs about him that try to reveal his reactionary roots gloss over this? Like, what's the first thing you'd imagine a sexist man from the 1870s would say? Like, and do not overthink it, just, like, imagine what a hack writer would put in the mouth of a sexist character in a mediocre adventure novel for 12 year old girls. Because Nietzche probably says it in Beyond Good and Evil.

The idea that he is pro-Eugenics is, okay, first of all actually listen to the quote she uses and you'll find that it doesn't actually say what she says it does. The idea that every thought is based on the nature of the organism that produces it is merely materialism. And I really want to know what she means by "eugenics" because Nietzche overtly and explicitly thinks Darwin is wrong.

I admit that this doesn't recommend him as a scientist but this is a man who says, I believe in Ecce Homo, that anybody who thinks that the Ubermensch is some kind of more evolved human in a darwinian sense hasn't been paying attention. Like he just explicitly says the idea is ludicrous and incorrect.

The description of master vs. slave morality is not exactly wrong, but is incomplete, and the criticism that it isn't historically accurate is kind of... it's not wrong so much as, off? Like, imagine I'm talking about "High Control Groups" and I assert that "High Control Groups will often exercise extreme control over their adherents relationships, discouraging relationships with outsiders"

Would you be like, "Wait, which group is he talking about? When in history did that happen?"

Like, I'm describing a type, not writing history.

So, to go way back Nietzche is extremely concerned with the question of why we value certain things. Master Morality and Slave Morality are two contrasting sets of values.

He says he hit on the idea from linguistic studies.

So, what does "Noble" mean? Well, according to Googles dictionary it means, "having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals".

But of course it also means, "belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status; aristocratic."

Okay, and what's a Villain? Well, a bad guy, someone who does bad things. Etymologically, it also comes directly from the word "Villein" which in medieval times referred to a kind of serf.

Nietzche claimed that in all the languages he studied this same division took place, that words which referred to the upper classes that ran society began to become synonymous with "good" and words which referred to the lower classes began to become synonymous with "bad".

So, Master morality, Nietzche believes, essentially comes from the characteristics of the upper classes, especially those with military power. Essentially, because these people have power they begin to think of what they do as "Good". Behaving in the way a member of the noble classes should behave is "Good"; "Bad" is the failure to behave as a noble should.

So, for example, to most Greeks hearing the Illiad, the Trojans and the Greeks were both "Good" in this sense. The fact that they made war on each other doesn't change that, because the nobility on both sides acted in the ways nobility ought to act.

So, a positive conception of "Good" comes first, and "Bad" is essentially what is in contrast to "Good" what happens when you have failed to be "Good".

Slave morality also descends from social position. The lower classes (Including literal slaves) sort of come at morality backwards. They start with a conception not of "Good" but of "Evil".

"Evil" is that which is done to us against our will by those classes that tower above us. If you are a king, and I am a king, and you raise an army against me, well, I just raise an army right back, and even though we contend, we contend as equals.

If you are the king and I am a slave, you can just, like, beat me and there's not a lot I can do.

So I call that beating "Evil" and then I imagine what the opposite would be and call that good. The upper classes are assertive, so I say that this is evil and that meekness is good. The upper classes are rich, so I make a virtue of poverty (This is somewhat of an oversimplification).

"Evil" comes first, and "Good" is understood as "Whatever the opposite of Evil is".

The thing is, what Nietzche is most concerned and critical about here is not weakness. What concerns him more is that, in his mind, slave morality promotes ressentiment and vengefulness.

Like, Christian morality promotes meekness, poverty, and humility.

But it simultaneously promises that all of that will go away in Heaven. If you are poor now, you will be rich in Heaven; if you are humble now, in Heaven you will be elevated above all others who will have to writhe in hell. In the afterlife, rather than peace, the people you hate now will be subjected to infinite violence.

One of the things that Nietzche seems to admire in Master Morality is the absence of grudges. If someone wrongs you, or slights you, you fight back, and the fact that you are able to exert yourself against them means that you don't need to hold a grudge, you contend with things in the moment, and that having been done it is not necessary to hold a grudge.

Now, to me, if Nietzche is a man who is mostly hostile to systems of morality that are extremely moralizing on the surface but whose actual primary drives are grudges, ressentiment and fantasies of infinite vengeance, then... like... German Anti-Semitism qualifies just like he says it does, yeah? We don't need to reach for something outside his writings to explain why he criticizes it, he has given us perfectly plausible reasons within his own writing.

And so if you feel the need to dismiss those perfectly comprehensible reasons he gives, and reach for something else... I don't know, it makes me very suspicious that you haven't been paying close attention to what he actually published.

That was an enormous ramble and it still doesn't really encapsulate all of my issues with that video.

[respectthepetty]

The Heart Killers' Colors? - Finale

There comes a moment where I continuously run into walls when I'm trying to figure out the colors in a show, so I finally just start Bird-Boxing it (stop seeing the colors and just start enjoying the feels), and now that I am watching the last episode of this series, I have decided it's time to forget the colors and embrace the vibes. Therefore, I'm Bird-Boxing it.

Because if I weren't, I'd be big mad that even with the divider in the way to give me the perspective of being in prison, Kant and Style are wearing whatever colors they are wearing right now when I fully believe Kant is a Green Guy and Style is a Red Rascal.

But like most white cops, I'm only seeing what I want to.

And what I'm choosing to see is Style FINALLY wearing that amazing pink top as he openly announces that he wants to touch the man he loves to Kant (in blue?!) and this cop who I feel was not homophobic when this all started but is slowly beginning to hate the gays after having to deal with Style regularly.

But it works! And Kant is now teaching art in the prison while wearing . . . orange? Red? I don't know. I said I was Bird-Boxing this, and that's what I'm going to do, so I need to be more invested in the simple fact that Kant did not allow Bison to keep the broken pencil to shank the next man who thinks he can run up on him. Smart move, Kant. We don't want more prison time!

Fadel has been in prison for one whole day and, somehow, looks even more angelic. Baby, not murdering people looks good on you. It makes your skin glow.

Or is it love that makes Fadel look good? Because I'd also look happy if I turned a corner in prison and saw this fine man standing in front of me instead of the little bit of rage I'm currently feeling since Style is wearing green. /Bird Box\

OH THANK GOODNESS! HE HEARD ME! Style, you have always been my favorite . . . after Fadel, so you deserve to get choked by your man today (because we know you like it!).

Kant is going to stay on his bullshit I see, but I am surprised that in this GMMTV prison, they change uniforms every single year when I can't even get tres leches in this economy.

Speaking of GMMTV - Break. Up. The. Ships. We all know what I'm talking about here.

Bison has a big bro and now a big sis. I also sit like this in my chanclas and short shorts when I'm minding other people's business. I trust this one with my life and my sexual exploits.

I know prison sex is happening and that should take priority, but Kant is wearing red, which is Red Rascal Bison's color, on the day that they have sex, and I think that is peak romance. Bison and I are easy. Wear our color and have sex with us in public places, so we know it's real. Simple!

But I am shocked that Style is not having public prison sex too! Instead, he is having to handle Fadel pouting because our Black Brooder is still so scared to lose Style that he will push him away first. Style, you are now my favorite. You show that man you a crazy committed. Emphasis on "crazy."

I know that was Jojo, but I have a 30 images limit AND NOW STYLE IS WEARING RED AGAIN and lying about Fadel going to culinary school! I knew there was a reason he was my favorite. Lie, Laugh, Love, babygirl.

Babe has not been around much, but this is a deep kid with all his Shakespeare books and giving Bison The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course he would want his brother's name. He is going to do well in life because his bother raised him right and especially because while his brother honeymooned on an island for Lord only knows how long after being taken hostage, Babe was fine by himself. I didn't forget that even if the plot did.

Fadel, my little emo homo is a clear case of "you can take the black off the brooder, but he will never stop brooding" because the way he is still upset that he misses Style when he isn't around is so endearing. He needs to go back to that support group when he gets out though because this is ~trauma~ speaking.

BUT THEY'RE FREE!!!!! (and nobody is in their color because this show hates me)

I already knew Style had bought the restaurant back, so I don't know why I'm acting surprised right now, but I think it's the way Fadel is looking at him with so much love that is just hitting me right in my feels.

And even though I know now is not the time to state this as everyone is getting kidnapped, I can't help but notice Khaotung is beautiful. Not Bison. Khaotung. I did not appreciate him enough in this show. I''m sorry, beautiful.

I could tell Lilly had lost her money because her invite was in Sharpie like a last minute garage sale sign. She could've saved the paper and sent a text. Also, when did they learn English in Hitman School? Between Guns 101 and Poisons 210?

I feel this way when I visit my family too, guys. And by that, I mean awkward, hostile, and most times as if I'm there as a forced hostage. BUT BISON AND FADEL ARE WEARING THEIR COLORS!!!! Kant and Style though? /Bird Box\

Forgive me, Father, for I know this devil has done wrong, but I am still very attracted to her. I think I can save her, and if not, at least I can have a good time trying. Amen.

I thought they should've shot her in the bathroom long ago, so I ain't mad that murder is back on the (dinner) table after she was trying to kill the last living parent and Babe! She did trained her sons to finish the job, so she should at least be proud that she trained them well, but I really wanted Keen to come in and finally show her he was capable of seeing a murder all the way through. I also didn't forget abut him even if the plot did.

They just murdered their mother, so shooting the beginning of the scene behind the bars isn't funny, but what is funny is the fact that I know people with felonies can get into Iceland without a special visa unlike other countries. I learned this from a lesbian when I went there for Pride a few years ago. We were discussing sheep, so it clearly made sense within the conversation.

STYLE GOT THE CAR! THE PLOT DID NOT FORGET! And the dots on the die keychain are red!

Fadel is too pretty to be looking at his man like that after five years of being locked up. This man is about to get that good shit! Every. Single. Day.

FADEL LOVES HIM 100%!

Even though I have Bird-Boxed my way through the colors in this final episode (yes, I have), I like that the boys ended up in Iceland seeing the Northern Lights, so they have a green coloring to them (for a Green Guy?!). Also, I highly suggest going to Iceland. Björk, as an institution, makes sense once you visit. Trust me.

And now Fadel doesn't give two shits about Style driving safely because he found love in a hopeless place, and if they die in Bangkok traffic, they'll die together (since Fadel already has the graves dug).

In conclusion, Fadel is a Black Brooder, Bison is a Red Rascal, and much like Fadel in love, I don't give two effs what anybody has to say because according to me, myself, and yo, Style is also a Red Rascal, and Kant is a Green Guy.

But I wouldn't know any of that because /Bird Box\

[tac-the-unseen]

What the Lost boys think about vampire related media

Fluff, x reader but just barely

•While making conversation with your four Vampire lovers you were suddenly plagued with a question.

“How do you guys feel about vampire related media?”

-That question was an immediate head turner. The cave goes dead quite before Dwayne speaks up, “Well…vampires are in hiding so…”

-This sparks a conversation about how media representation of vampires may not be accurate, but that's a good thing. “If a book or movie comes out and it is shockingly accurate to what being a vampire is really like, the creator isn't going to last long.” David explained

-That's because there's a set of rules vampires have to follow and one of those rules is to never publicly reveal your double life identity

-”If something like that comes out, that means a vampire has broken that rule OR somebody knows vampires very closely and is creating media they know shouldn't exist.”

-Turns out if a vampire breaks that rule it's basically open season to kill and destroy their creations.

•You turn the conversation and begin to ask how they, specifically, feel about certain vampire representation

•Bram Stoker's Dracula

-Dwayne is the first to buy in his opinion.

-Dwayne feels that while it is a cult classic and well written, The characters are exceedingly dumb.

-”Johnathan spends a ridiculous amount of time talking about other characters ‘Breasts’ and trying to figure out why his host climbs walls ‘like a lizard's.”

-David is the next one to speak up

-David thinks it's not really worth the read

-”Unless you're trying to brag to people there's no point in reading it.”

-”Also why was Mina talking to that old sailor so much?”

-Paul laughs as he remembers “how fucking crazy he wrote Dracula to be”

-”I'm pretty sure the real Dracula thinks it's a heinous crime against him”

-Paul hasn't read it but have heard enough about it to know even the more obscure references

-Marko comments on the graceful writing style and the beautiful descriptions

-”I've only read it because Dwayne thought I would like it"

-Marko also loves how oblivious Jonathan and most of the other characters are

-All of them think the movie adaptation is hilarious and love the shitty special effects

•Interview with a vampire

-Paul chimes in immediately

-”God it's so homo erotic it hurts…in a good way.”

-Paul thinks its a nice horror novel mixed with a weird cozy atmosphere

-Dwayne thinks it's another well written classic and He actually begins to rave about all the themes involved within Anne Rice’s work

-”It's a beautiful Gothic thriller with a deep, sadly comedic energy.”

-He even offers to read it too you sometime

-Marko chimes in quickly about “Claudia’s rebellious behavior and persona”

-”imagine watching your family choose somebody else over you. It's so deeply upsetting but to an understandable level.”

-”I would have hated to turn so young. I look like a teenager and other people can respect that to a certain point. But being five years old with the mind of an adult, No one would respect you.”

-Marko relates to Claudia on an internal level and loves unraveling her character. When you ask why he quickly responds "Some people call me a cherub... You think I enjoy that?"

-David says he doesn't have much to say other than it was a decent read (That's his version of a compliments)

•Twilight

-All of them agree that it's laughably horrendous

-Almost immediately at the same time they say “This is the skin of a killer Bella”

-This leads to banshee like laughter

David speaks up immediately

-”Why do you humans want us to sparkle so bad?”

-”I personally hate the idea of being a walking disco ball, but to each their own.”

-Marko chimes in quickly

-”Would you like it if we sparkled?” He asked while leans on you affectionately

-Marko thinks the only reason to read it is to have a nice laugh

-”Why did Edward have such a violent reaction of Bella standing by a fan? That makes no sense…like I have mates and I enjoy the smell of you guys but…I'm not nearly clawing off my face at your smell”

-”Yeah yeah, I get he's trying not to overreact but running out of class to get away is crazy.”

-Paul even adds that even thought it's very dumb even he can appreciate the message it's trying to said.

-”something something, coming over adversary, something something, love wins, something something..”

-”Also that Jacob imprinting on Bella's infant daughter is super fucking creepy.”

-when you asked Dwayne about his feels he scoffed and said It's insulting at best and borderline sexual harassment at worst.

-He refused to go into depth

•You thank them for humoring you and they tell you that it's no problem

-David kisses the side of your head in an uncharacteristically soft way “We don't ever mind answering your vampire related question.” He tells you

-Marko turns to you “But seriously do you want us to sparkle?”

-”I think I have some roll on body glitter somewhere..” Paul says while getting up to look for it

Thanks for reading <3

[battlekidx2]

I'm making this post purely to shout out some incredibly talented fanfic writers from the Hazbin Hotel fandom and my favorite works of theirs.

Did anyone ask me for this? No. Will I post it anyway? Absolutely. The writers in this fandom are too good.

The first fanfic writer I want to shout out is @prince-liest (ao3 link)

I absolutely love their get cared for idiot (Alastor) series (not the official name but they called it that in one of their asks jokingly so it's now the default in my head).

Knock, Knock! It's Your Worst Fucking Nightmare! (this fic gets it!!!! This is what I meant when I said Alastor is growing a heart and part of him is raging against it. He still has ulterior motives and a massive amount of pride and part of him feels like that growing fondness is getting in the way, but he can't stop it. I need to stop before this becomes a long ramble. I've written a couple thousand words on this idea, but this fic is just a better use of your time than any meta I could ever write and way more entertaining :D )

Happily Ever After, and Other Shit Nepotism Can't Buy

The Last Bus Stop in Hell, Now Boarding (Please look at the tags for content warning. Angel and Alastor body swap story.)

They're amazing at balancing on that razor's edge with Alastor where there's a heart in there (really deep) and he's unintentionally growing attached to the hazbin crew, but he doesn't lose his edge. He's still manipulative and an asshole and can easily be the scariest guy in any room. He's in hell for a reason. A+ characterization at all times.

They're so good at writing the complicated dynamics he has with the residents, especially Charlie, and I enjoy how they expand on Alastor's potential dynamic with Angel Dust.

Anything they write from Lucifer's POV is gold too! My favorites are:

Take Two and Leave a Voicemail!

The Care and Keeping of Homo Angelus

I am also 100% here for their Aro!Alastor agenda and I'm enjoying their fic I Love Her, I Love Her Not so far!

The second person I want to shout out is @grayintogreen (ao3 link)

Their series Red Roses and Dead Things consistently gut punches me.

Just like Princeliest, they are also fantastic at balancing on that razor's edge with Alastor. A+ characterization for everyone and I love how they write HuskerDust. It's so soft, especially in the aftermath fic for Learn that Even Death May Die called If My Love Is Tomorrow, I've Forgotten Yesterday (that fic hurt in the best way).

The way they explore the aftermath of Learn that Even Death May Die is incredibly impactful. They capture the unique grief that comes from the reality that there are some things you won't get closure for so well that it's painful.

I can't say enough good things about their series. Genuinely go read it.

I found @lediz-watches (ao3 link) before the first season of Hazbin Hotel dropped (I've been a fan of the hellaverse for a few years now and have been enthralled with the Hazbin Hotel pilot since I first watched it in 2020) and I really enjoy their fics.

My favorite is Suffering Kindness. I love the Charlie and Alastor dynamic they explore in this story. I think I'm just a sucker for the Charlie and Alastor dynamic in general, but this fic hits all the right notes for me. (written pre-season 1 but man is it good. 100% recommend)

LeDiz also has a lot of one-shots/collections of one-shots that are very fun.

The Cure for Inexorable Boredom

Dollface (one-shots about Alastor theories. My favorite is the 3rd one. So fascinating!)

Choice Words (one of the few explorations of Alastor and Vaggie's dynamic that I've found in the fandom)

Don't Say It

I have to shout out @ckret2 (ao3 link) and their phenomenal fic You’ve Got a Face for Radio. This is such an amazing aroace!Alastor fic. (Embarrassingly it was this fic that made me realize I was most likely aroace myself. I’d had fleeting moments of suspecting it but it wasn’t until I saw my experiences laid out in a character explicitly written to be aroace that I put the puzzle pieces together. -_- some of these passages were too relatable.) I cannot express how much I love this fic.

I also like their fics Dumpster Baby and Bitter Grapes.

I have one last writer I want to mention because this is getting really long (whoops). The last one is tiredoflofteranditsshit and their Assume He Has a Heart series (because my favorite character and how I interpret them was not obvious enough already with the fics/authors I've recommended. I had to make it more obvious).

These fics are massive (17k and 26k words) and so much fun. Definitely worth the read. Yet another series that follows up season 1 and explores Alastor’s growing connections and how he lies to himself and pushes against it. Love this series and there’s a lot to sink your teeth into :D

[mobblespsycho100]

Ivan, The Idea vs. Ivan, The Man

a totally serious Ivan Alien Stage analysis by yours truly, Sash @mobblespsycho100

-

( Quick Disclaimer that I'm mostly going to use the word "love" here in a romantic context, but trust me, I am doing an inherently aromantic/anti amatonormativity analysis/interpretation of Alien Stage by virtue of being an aro doing the essayin. )

-

The whole premise of this analysis is that in my opinion, Ivan, homotron 3000, king yaoi the 3rd, canonically does not recognize his feelings for Till as "love". And no, it's not just because the aliens don't have a concept for it or the way they were raised in Anakt Garden / by their pet owning humans (even though that's partly one of the reasons)– because we see Sua and Mizi sort of recognize that their feelings for one another are something akin to our modern definition of love – even if they don't have the words for it and even if it goes beyond that ('my god my universe')

So, why do I think this? a couple reasons! the main one being the Ivan centric comic we got after round 6, but let's start with the thesis of this analysis:

Ivan thinks his feelings are selfish, and does not consider the alternative that it might not be.

[ exhibit a: "thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions"

but i wont get into that yet (says guy who is holding back to not talk abt it right away) ]

We're going to the very beginning to psychoanalyze king yaoi the 3rd, a little prelude if you will: ALIEN STAGE (Sweet Dream) & Black Sorrow brief discussion !

Alien stage (the video not . not the name of the series) is basically our introduction to the series and it is a banger. What's really interesting to me is that in the Ivan centric scenes it shows adult Ivan singing in alnst and smiling & staring at till with those homo eyes. The only time he's shown as a kid is in the Anakt garden singing practice group shot.

We can infer that he is a guy who I think cares abt his image or appearance, he looks like a very stereotypical image of an idol. However, his smile never really reaches his eyes. even when hes looking at Till, neither of them are smiling. Ivan only smiles on the stage, as he is performing. The careful and deliberate way he showcases himself is easy to see. He's charming, hes the thumbnail of the prologue! What's interesting to me is that there's really nothing that striking about his character design aside from the fact that his bangs are half covering his other eye (and what I mentioned abt the smile not quite reaching his eyes). There is a distance between him and the audience, the stage persona, not Ivan the man but Ivan the celebrity. Just another handsome face in the game.

Now, that initial character analysis isn't actually going to be all that relevant in this essay unfortunately (though I could definitely go into that! Maybe in an analysis comparing Ivan and Luka), but I really do like how the lyric that shows up on the [Ivantill] frame is "Live in Darkness" because it goes to my next point, Black Sorrow Ivan whos singing about himself and Till (him as the pov character and "you" as till, but I'm stating the obvious here). I'm not going over every lyric because this analysis would be way longer but basically, Black Sorrow is about the grief of never being able to reach someone who you want to be by your side forever so badly. Ivan understands that the ending of this contest is not a kind one, there is no field of flowers waiting for them after they win, only bloodshed.

"To me , you are black sorrow" says by the guy who wears all black and has eyes filled with sorrow. Alright all jokes aside though, I do enjoy the most widespread interpretation of the animation itself, that Ivan compares Till's nature to stars or a meteor shower in particular because of how that image is ingrained in his mind since childhood. I also think that Ivan associates Till with more of a candle always burning up, a star that has fallen to the dirt. A meteorite if you will, rock that made an impact and left a crater in Ivan's heart. He was always fascinated by the light in the dark sky. It represented beauty and hope to him, that maybe theres more to life than getting hurt. That there's light in the ever growing darkness as cliché as that sounds.

Till makes Ivan curious, more than anything. He enjoys aggravating him, making fun of him. Mizi is Ivan's friend , because (and I'm just guessing here mostly. i love their silly friendship shown in comics, its very important to me. ) she's fun to talk to and shes silly in a way that just makes people gravitate towards her, but Till is Ivan's friend because it is funny to piss him off. Till is interesting to Ivan because hes entertaining. Someone so talented and beloved yet easy to target. Someone who stands up for himself. Someone who is so so alive, burning up like a short quick fuse. Someone who can't and would not be kept down despite the collar on his neck. It intrigues Ivan, this guy who sings with enthusiasm and passion, not just going through the motions. Like some comet striking in the darkness. A true artist.

But in his eyes, this isn't Love. Its fascination at best, interest sure, admiration ? perhaps. What Ivan wants isn't Till's happiness, what he wants is to see him react in a funny way. Everything Ivan does is not for Till's sake, it's for his sake. His amusement. Till makes him feel alive, and hes grateful for that, he's grateful to have a companion like Till. (OR SO HE THINKS). In the end though, although he is affectionate, I don't think it registers in Ivan's mind that whatever he feels for Till is love. This is simply their dynamic of push and pull, tug and shove, tease and cry. It's something, and also nothing at all.

But then he tried to save him. He thought he could be the one to save him. And it fails– badly.

(right this is a small tangent but how exactly did he know how to open the collar mechanism? this guy's really fucking smart. did he use a pick? how did he just unclip it so easily??? is he crazy? did he observe the anakt supervisor do that? what the hell Ivan Alien Stage. maybe I'm missing an explanation here . if anyone knows please share .)

Right okay so the whole running away together , escaping the garden hand in hand, this must be when Ivan realizes he truly loves Till, enough to potentially sacrifice his life for him right? WRONG. We all know how this ended. Black sorrow, out of reach, so close and yet so far. Till going back to Anakt Garden, gazing at Ivan, looking back. Conflicted. Till was always a beacon of light. Till was always rebelling against the Anakt. He's the problem child, surely he'll go along with it? Surely he'll run away with Ivan. He's freed him! He's out of his cage now! He can do anything he wants, and they can go anywhere together!

Till went back. He couldn't bear to not see his friends again. He felt wrong for leaving everyone behind. He doesn't want to leave anakt garden, and maybe Mizi is the defining factor, but I think even if it wasn't Mizi who was left there I think he would've gone back. He looks back like Orpheus and Eurydice. He looks at Ivan and his eyes are almost an apology, he runs back. Fire burns around them. Ivan smiles.

And he goes back too.

OKAY now im just writing a whole ass fanfic. back to the damn analysis section.

Ivan's thoughts toward Mizi and Sua are so damn interesting to me, especially how he feels abt Sua. He recognizes what those two have going on as Love. He's kind of jealous of them really, he won't ever understand the feelings he harbors fully. He sees them laughing with each other, truly embracing each other's company joyfully, looking at one another like they're looking at the whole world. Part of why he doesn't think what hes got going on with Till is "love" is because its not the same, Till won't ever look at him like how he looks at Mizi or how Ivan himself looks at Till (in his eyes but lets be real I think Till pining for Mizi woulda been obvious for Ivan so he cant imagine Till enjoying his company the same way as Ivan does Till even if theyre friends but tbf I DON'T THINK IVAN WANTED SOMEONE TO MATCH HIS FREAK i think he wanted to be the only freaky one. but i digress). Right — so this is what establishes Ivan feeling like his feelings for Till are "shallow" and also what makes him laugh at Sua and call her twisted and selfish and "you'll be nothing more than a trauma to Mizi" (wtf btw) when Sua told him (presumably. honestly idk . how did he fuckin know) abt The Plan to sacrifice herself in round 1. Because to Ivan that is selfish, that is imbalanced, something that isn't right because to him Sua is only thinking of her own feelings. He laughed at her, taunted her. He felt vindicated. So yeah, you truly are twisted like I am, I thought we weren't the same, but deep down there is something deeply wrong with you too! (okay . stop that)

To Ivan thats kind of like how he feels about Till, he's not thinking about Till's feelings when he acts. He just Says shit and Does stuff and likes to bother Till because of the love of the game??? (Honestly? I can't tell. His mind is too oopy goopy for my comprehension)

And he ultimately regrets the words he said to Sua right? He said he was relieved that Sua is "also twisted" but all he did was project his own feeling of being a selfish and twisted person to Sua, who had no clue what the hell he was on about. Sua believed that she was going to save Mizi from pain, because death is pain, because she's seen that before and she would not let Mizi die in front of her. And Ivan says "hey but thats stupid , in dying yourself you're going to make her feel pain because she actually *loves* you and would not want you to die.". Which brings me to the whole point of the analysis though, because this isn't a "did Ivan love Till forreal" analysis it is a "Did Ivan realize he was experiencing love or was he fucking stupid" analysis.

and the answer is that its kind of a mix of both, but mostly hes fucking stupid (saying this with love in my heart).

Because until the end he thought he was selfish. Until the end he thought it was shallow emotion (and maybe he was being sardonic towards himself, but lets be real he understands that he was punishing himself for his feelings. He knew he felt strongly, but he didn't think what he felt for Till was love because it did not make Till happy. "I could never love him, I let him go" "I don't love him, I'd rather leave him then see him gone because he would not miss me, Im sure of it.")

Sooo what was the point of all this again? The point is that. Ivan is stupid. im joking okay the point is that maybe round 6 wasn't about the doomed tragic yaoi kiss. Maybe it was abt doomed yaoi but not about Ivan dying knowing that he loved Till. Maybe it wasn't about Ivan getting shot 3 times and dying in such a way it changed the trajectory of my life forever. Maybe it was about Till deserving better than Ivan (which is probably Ivan's thought process but lets be real did he even think abt how this would affect Till. He literally went "nah it won't" but no its not the point once again).

Round 6 was Ivan beginning to realize that maybe he's never going to get what he wants, and thats okay, because there is something selfless about dying for someone. Even if his emotions are "shallow", even if his motive was selfish, even if he looked hot during it (sorry. sorry) (he didn't i just wanted to tack on a joke), maybe in the end this was a little bit of "love" like what it looks like in Mizi and Sua. Maybe even better, because Till does not love him. Till would not feel pain if Ivan died, because he does not feel the same way (OR SO HE THOUGHT). He's only sorry to Till because this will be his last memory of Ivan now, a farewell kiss, and his cold clammy hands closing around his neck.

(Speaking of the kiss, I wonder if it's something he learned from books? or his segyein? because apparently a kiss is not a well known or even established sign of affection in alien society right (idk I'm not in the vivinos patreon i just saw this from somewhere)? and the only other person who knows the significance of a kiss as a gesture of love is Luka.)

Now back to love.

Till never realized it until it's too late. Ivan has not realized it even in the grave. Because dying for someone is a twisted thing, especially when it's someone like him who is already a twisted person doing it for Till, who is his light.

Was it a good show, Ivan? Did he look at you at the very end Ivan? did you see his expression when you fell to the cold stage, Ivan? Was it tears or was it rain that fell down as you lost your balance? Did your vision go dark before you saw that light Ivan? Did it even matter at the very end? Are you glad you made sure of your demise? Did it guarantee Till's safety?

Maybe it did. Even at the very end. You got the reaction you loved so much right? Another one to add in the ever expanding gallery, even if it was in these horrible circumstances.

Anyway, in conclusion? Ivan did not realize that his feelings for Till was love because he thought love had to be some kind of perfect thing between two people and since he was a selfish person then it could only be "shallow emotions" and Till the recipient of his "shallow emotion" could only be a victim. It never crossed his mind to even think otherwise and think about how Till might feel about all this because it's already set in his mind that he's selfish, cruel, and vain and Till deserves better. Gah.

Rest in peace king yaoi the third fly high this has been my ted talk/hot take/analysis that may not be a hot take I just don't actually engage with the fandom takes all that much . Peacing out now this guy is so fucking weird (peace and love) (Ivan stans don't go after me I am aware of his autism swag. I too am also--) 🕊️

.

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Special thanks to you, the reader, if you managed to read all this :3 another special thanks to my friend group, crossover ✌️ especially E my good friend E. Alrighty idk how to end this

bye 👽🎙️

[ranfordgallus]

Guess who made..Einhorn..into a FUCKING ALICORN!!!!! LETS FUCKINNGGG GOOOOOOOO

It's somewhat half-canon in a way that he's now turned into an alicorn because idk when he would turn into one

Now the reason how he suddenly got wings is that uhm..

Basically one of the Kratt brothers powersuit is broken (would it surprise you if i said martin) and malfunction from a dangerous adventure...as one does, and the suit is severely damaged that it'll take a few days to fix it

HOWEVER...Einhorn saw martins suit hanging around and wanted to check it out, he sniffed and rubs his snout, eventually sticking his head inside the suit because he always sees martin and chris wear these so he's curious, the suit didn't..fully go in, he started to panic as he doesn't know how to get the suit off his head, shaking his head and backing away.

And he backed away from the tortuga, slamming himself onto trees because he's blindfolded from the suit. Until a VERY unfortunate bat happens to be near Einhorn and Einhorn tripped, falling onto the bat and the suit transformed. The bat unfortunately didn't survive but it's for a cost, he looked at his back and saw 2 pairs of wings.. he has no idea what it does, he flaps his wings and accidentally smacks his face a few times.

The brothers and crew eventually found Einhorn and took him back the tortuga because hs's literally wearing a DAMAGED POWERSUIT and you know what happens next when a suit is malfunctioned..especially on an animal (non-human animal...homo sapienless i guess)

They deactivated the suit and took the suit off him, however.. it seem that the malfunction has mutated his poor animal, so not only did he have a mutation from birth that causes him to have one horn, anither mutation happened where he has 6 limbs..a wing...like thats just unlucky..

Crew tested his physical health and he seem very healthy as usual, but now the crew has to take care a stubborn antelope...with wings. Luckily he doesn't know the concept of flying...yet.

Yeah i know it's impossible for a non insect to have more than 4 limbs but..wild kratts is about science-fiction, the suits literally morph the brothers anatomy, and aviva literally created a time traveling machine, donita having a device that literally freezes those who are targeted..so...yk, im having my fun here

But can he fly? Well maybe, he's pretty heavy when he's an adult so..i wouldn't say he can fly long distances, maybe glide around or like a peafowl fly for short periods of time, because to fly is to be light..and being light isn't a good thing when his species requires weight to fight or defend

And i think...considering Einhorn is 9 feet tall, his wings spreads to like..maybe 30 feet wide, so each wing is 30 feet that means his wingspan is like 60 feet wide, bro my guy lives in the forest those wings aint gonna help him with them trees dawg unless he adapts to living in higher places i guess..less trees more space

[asarigg]

Inside the Character's Mind: Part 1

mentions of physical, psychological and sexual abuse towards both Koujaku and his mother

SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

Let’s go back to the beginning. Or rather, what Koujaku tells us. He also talks about himself, of course, but usually when he talks about his past, most of the time he talks about his mother: because that’s what hurts him the most. He barely mentions the abuse towards him other than the tattoo and that one time his father punched him. But he always talks about all the hardships that his family put his mother through. And I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it is hard to believe that was it.

Koujaku’s father has proven to be an extremely violent piece of shit and a zero-empathetic person. I don’t doubt that Koujaku’s mother, because of her nature, was his favorite toy. What’s more, he did every cruel thing he could think of to her, his wife too, she had fresh wounds every day and she couldn’t even eat, and although it isn’t said nor implied I wouldn’t be surprised if Koujaku was a product of rape. I mean… most likely. We hardly know anything about his mother, not her appearance, not her name, not what she liked, not how the hell she ended up in that place, if there was any love involved in it or if it was something about debt, we only know that she was the perfect victim.

She was always saying sorry to her son, for everything Koujaku’s been witnessing, she feels guilty and responsible because he tries to stand up for her, and because she has brought him to a world where the one that decides for them is a criminal. She keeps a deep pain inside for everything that’s happening and she tries to hide it, especially from Koujaku, and seeing her son suffer doesn’t help. Smiling to him so he doesn’t worry, and saying sorry to try to comfort him. That’s why the last thing she repeats over and over to her son when she’s lethally wounded is “I’m sorry”, feeling sorry that it’s because of her that he has lived like this, because she wasn’t able to protect him, to give him a proper life.

Obviously all his father did was also psychological abuse towards Koujaku, even blackmailing him with hurting his mother. But I sincerely believe that his father would use physical abuse to teach the boy a lesson, nothing could stop him anyway, because Koujaku as a child complained and rebelled, he didn’t care if his father hit him, he would defend his mother regardless. This is why I sometimes give Koujaku more scars to his body, and besides defensive cuts I also give him cigarette burn marks. Lore expansion better known as adding trauma.

I think he just doesn’t talk about it that much because the abuse towards him isn’t what has hurt him the most. We ourselves often don’t give it much importance if someone tries to insult us, but maybe if it’s someone close to us, that does piss us off, some logic like that. Moreover, throughout the game Koujaku’s personality is just like that, always worrying about others and giving little importance to himself, to the point of being tremendously negative for him.

Don’t you think those scars would make him look more masculine, intimidating, as if he’s survived dozens of dangerous, tough fights? It seems the perfect image for an environment like organized crime.

Despite all of Koujaku’s feminine traits, the perception of him both in canon and in fandom (usually) is that of a stereotypically masculine, super straight man who fucks a different woman every night, always joking with “no homo, bro” (which, mind you, I’m not saying I don’t like these jokes, I make them myself too). But in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

With that image that we have of him, sometimes it would seem that he is someone with prejudices or that he really had a hard time accepting that he’s not straight, specially when in the scene where he confesses to Aoba he says the following:

The reasons he tries to hide his feelings is a mix between the fact that they are friends and he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship they already have, that he wants to hide his past and that he doesn’t want to be a burden on Aoba, so he keeps all those things to himself. (And he’s also been educated a certain way and has always seen things one way, never gave it much thought so when it crosses his mind, of course he’s confused)

When he first met Aoba he thought he was a girl because he had really long hair, and after all, when we’re kids we don’t have very developed features anyway, it’s a pretty androgynous state. When Aoba corrects him and tells him he’s a boy his behavior is exactly the same, nothing changes. He corrects himself and never treats him as a girl.

He is someone who has no problem showing his affection for Aoba, neither in private nor in public, he’s very comfortable with his bisexuality, the only one who is reluctant to do so, either out of shame or fear, is Aoba.

What I’m trying to get at with all this is that all that “gentleman” facade and the “always accepting women who want to have something with him” that makes him look so stereotypical in a first impression has a much darker origin, although underneath all that there’s a much more sentimental, vulnerable and open Koujaku about his true feelings, expressing them even if he feels embarrassed, as we see on some occasions (touching his hair nervously when he confesses, of when he explains why Aoba's hair is so important to him).

The relationship he has with his mother is the most direct connection, or course. Being the son of an abused woman has made him hyper-aware of his position as a man (so much that sexism in this game almost goes full circle like the Bourbon family tree, but this is NC’s problem and it happens everywhere, it’s so obvious it’s a writers problem and it’s a shame it affects Koujaku so much because he’s basically the only one who isn’t scared of a bad bitch). We’ll talk about this in particular some more later, but let’s focus on what concerns his father for now.

Being the family of criminals that they are, abusers and… almost slavers, the most logical thing to assume is that they are specially conservative. It could very well be that his father, once he decided to make him his heir, wanted the image of his kid to be as intimidating and masculine as possible. A criminal, a murderer who could run his business in a world like this.

We know that the tattoo is an experiment by Toue, and it wouldn’t be strange if his father knew what was behind it, because after all it would also be beneficial for him to have a way to control him, to mold him to his liking and to make him obedient, unlike he had been behaving, refusing to be his heir and trying to defend his mother. The image of an effeminate, soft, sissy man was not exactly ideal for the future leader. For me, Koujaku’s father either already intended to name him heir before agreeing to the tattoo being an experiment with Toue and Ryuuhou, or he ended up deciding to name him the heir precisely because they had already talked about the tattoo and its possibilities beforehand.

His father would want to break him, drive him to despair so that he would stop resisting, take away his will and, although this is mostly headcanon, “make him a man”. Be a man, be strong, tenacious, learn to fight and find a woman to continue the family with, etc. So it is not surprising that at first he didn’t even reconsider his sexuality and thought that the affection he had for Aoba was just friendship, which over time, with such strong feelings, he realized was not the case. I sincerely love that he is shown to be so nervous and that he confesses to be kinda confused about it and in a state of denial, without having any external reference and too busy hating his father and Ryuuhou to even think about it, it’s normal that it took him so long.

He was trained to be a gangster, while his father insulted him, hit him and threatened him using his mother, on whom he took it out. This training also implies not only fighting but also for doing business, how to talk to be well-received, how to negotiate, how to give the best impression of himself at any given situation. This pack of skills seem to resonate with those that he uses to flirt and run his own business, even if he does it on an unconscious level, he just knows what to say to strike the person he’s talking to in their weak spots. His father’s physical treatment would not only be a punishment, but also to teach him a lesson, to learn to endure the pain, just like he endured the pain of the tattoo. If he cried, it would be shameful, he would be punished. He had to hide his pain, his feelings, his thoughts, for the sake of his mother’s safety and his own. Practically becoming a puppet, thus evolving into the life he carries in Midorijima as an adult.

Him not wanting to open up to Aoba wouldn’t be just an “oh he’s going to hate me”. It’s also what he learned would be the best, having a charismatic appearance that everyone likes. After all wouldn’t it be logical to not want any confrontation with anyone after all that? A tough guy, with people around him who admire him, who never gets tired or cries, because nothing’s wrong. In a way it’s also a shield, a protection, a defense mechanism. To be a man.

Now, the way he behaves that almost everyone without exception associates with his mother. And this, for sure, is the intention, his desire to protect his mother and therefore take care of the women he meets. But it’s also him actively wanting to be the opposite of his father.

What kind of relationship does he have with women? The contact he has with them is mostly through all his female fans, who are crazy to say the least. We’re not going to get much into the subject of sexism but first of all it’s a huge mistake that his fans are only young women or the way they make them all act.

Koujaku spends all his time building a character that he considers perfect, someone gentle, who never says no to a woman and is always available to entertain them, it would never occur to him to deny anything to any of them, as his mother was denied so many things. Unlike that hard and tenacious masculinity that he was taught to have in order to take on his role as the heir or the bestiality of his tattoo, he presents a gentle and chivalrous masculinity on the outside. What he does is pamper them and give them everything they ask for (almost, because has never really had serious relationships. Which makes sense because he would be telling them pretty big lies, right? That wouldn’t fit with his own code). He doesn’t think very highly of himself, he has a low self-esteem as he thinks he is nothing better than a worthless monster that should have probably died a long time ago.

Sometimes people who are abused go through abuse again, in a cycle. I think saying that Koujaku is a playboy is incorrect. (He acts flirty and likes playing around, sure, but there’s something deeper). That perception of him is natural, of course, because the way he behaves and how he is presented to you, is the image they want to give of him after all, in a basic and cliche way, so artificial that it is unsettling. I could believe that it sounds artificial on purpose, referring to that shell of how a confident and strong man should talk, if it weren’t for the fact that they do this kind of cliche and artificial situations quite often with other characters as well, and it makes it kinda hard to remain immersed. I honestly think that the foreshadowing could have been done a little better, but it still serves the narrative. Also this is practically almost all you see of his character the two first interactions he has with Aoba. Considering the structure of the game and how rushed everything is, it’s not very positive, but for the sake of your mental health it's better not to think too much about it.

In short, Koujaku is a very accommodating and attentive person. He listens and encourages others with their problems but doesn’t let anyone worry about him with his own, taking on everything himself. He even ironically tells Aoba that if he’s worried about what happened with Mizuki, he can blame him, and that he can always count on him to tell him anything. It’s a very lonely way to live, even though he has so many people around him.

Knowing this, it’s more than reasonable to think that more than him flirting with women, it’s simply him agreeing to give what those women ask of him. They come looking for something and he gives it to them. He’s a toy. It’s often joked that he’s practically a prostitute, and pretty much that’s what it is. And it’s in the balcony scene where we see a more personal side of him, where we can observe that in reality all this burden tires him, it’s not natural. It’s not like his character isn’t extroverted and charismatic, but that’s not everything, and in public he doesn’t allow himself to be “less”, so in private and in confidence is when he can afford to relax, with Aoba or in his own house.

Somehow, even though he is no longer with his family, the way he interacts with other people, or how he lets himself be used, be it consciously or not, even if there is a different intention behind, is not that different from before, people still use him.

BODY FOR SALE (child sexual abuse)

I’ve sometimes wondered if there was some sort of sexual abuse on Ryuuhou’s part towards Koujaku. Nothing is implied canonically, at least physically, but the erotic connotations of the story of the tattoo artist he’s based on, the sadism, the drugging in order to do something non-consensually, and his constant references to love make me think of it happening on a symbolic level. I think it’s obvious that Ryuuhou loves Koujaku, in his own way, as his creation, and he’s talking about love at first sight and the similarity of love and hate. Besides, the way Koujaku acts can be easily associated with it.

Even though he appears to be charming and flirty, he actually has a very low self-esteem, seeing himself as worthless, dirty, and constantly self-blaming for what happened. His tattoo being his shame and filth, something he doesn’t want to taint Aoba with, works just as an allegory of victims so commonly feeling guilty and dirty (causing them to. He shows unconformity when Aoba wants to touch him in bed (something that with time and the support of a loved one gets a little better), and when he tries to touch and wash away his dirt, his shame, his tattoo, Koujaku jumps at contact, which could also be interpreted as having a flashback or part of his ptsd.

All the anger he feels inside could also be part of the consequences. He mostly shows his hatred towards Ryuuhou, even though his father is supposedly still alive and was the one who did the most damage to them, especially his mother, whom he cared about the most. At the end of the day Ryuuhou “just” did the tattoo and his father has been treating them like that for years. So why does he tunnel all his rage only to him? Budget and time limit reasons? Maybe, but in this essay we’re not taking that. Obviously Ryuuhou was the one that made him lose it, torturing him ever since the beginning only to anger him, ultimately causing the death of his mother. But it can also be read as the response Koujaku had to a possible abuse. Ryuuhou took advantage of his situation, to stop him from resisting he could always use his mother. We’ve already seen Ryuuhou being referenced as male and Koujaku as the female counterpart, being lovers and enemies at the same time, with the female being associated with the powerless, abused victim, submissive, and being controlled by the male, as disgusting as it sounds. Ever since he was tattooed his body did not belong to him anymore, Ryuuhou made sure to mark his body and mind so that he could never forget him. He could have found refuge in his religious practices as well.

There’s always stigma around these cases, and the stigma around male victims makes it especially harder for them to speak about what happened to them. That sense of powerlessness, of losing control, of being less of a man, causing them having trouble with their identity, all of it is wrapped in toxic masculinity. All of this is seen in Koujaku. He keeps all his feelings for himself, feeling distant from other people and engaging in a lonely way of life.

There are people that report having trouble with their relationships with others not only because of the trauma that happened to them, but also out of fear of doing that very same thing to someone else.

This traumatic event usually makes victims apprehensive of any sexual activity, but there’s a considerable large number of victims that, opposite to this, develop hypersexuality. Sexuality is more important to Koujaku than it may seem at first, he sees his body as a tool for the pleasure of others, meanwhile his own pleasure is not important. He developed an unhealthy way of interacting with others, therefore he developed unhealthy sexual practices. This view of him being sort of a prostitute isn’t so far away, Flame Willow, the part of Platinum Jail they end in, pretty much looks like a red light district. It’s introduced as a palace for “passionate folks to get their thrills”, an euphemism.

He also smokes and drinks, which are not talked about a lot as an addiction to cope with his pain. In the Drama CD though they do talk about it as a way to escape the stress he’s facing because of the Tamaokuri, so we can assume that he uses these two and possibly developed an addiction, wanting to drink until blacking out to forget for a moment.

Even if the sexual abuse didn’t happen canonically, the metaphor is as close as it can be, so it’s in your hands how you want to see it. Even if it’s hard to talk about something like this, I really like how this was built, because something that isn’t sexual abuse (at least canonically, and I wonder if the allegory was intentional or not) actually feels like it, something that changed a person’s entire life, his perception of himself and the people he interacts with, an event with an actual weight, something I missed from literally any actual SA scene that we got in the rest of the game.