#he sucks at emotions *and* makes active effort to be there for others

[hyak-wixgar]

I'm killing maiming maiming biting everyone who said rise!Raph is the only good one

[missycolorful]

I think I'll just say this: I don't agree when people call any of the islanders "bad parents" just because their parenting is flawed.

Like, parents and their parenting is flawed. Inherently. One parent cannot meet all the demands of their child; it is literally impossible. As humans are imperfect, there will always be something missing or lacking in one's parenting. Hell, sometimes even two parents can't meet all their child's needs, depending on their personalities. If that's the case, then I guess all parents are bad parents. But that's not the case, so I don't get why people are so adamant when they see that a parent isn't handling things 100% perfectly and go "wow this person's parenting sucks."

And this is even more so when you take into account... pretty much everything going on in Quesadilla island. These people never really planned to be parents, yet here they are! And this island is out to kill these kids, so it's also a dangerous game of survival now, too! There are horrors around pretty much every corner. Plus, outside or inside forces are making the islanders suffer very often. The islanders are never okay. How they take care of their children is going to be different just by the very basis of their environment. The standards of parenting are different here. Their relationships with people, including their children, were never going to be 100% healthy or positive or okay. It's just not possible.

so, no, I don't think that just cause, say, q!Tubbo or q!Phil aren't great in regards to their emotional intelligence and often isolate themselves, or when any other parents in general don't handle what their children are going through perfectly, that they're bad parents. That kinda statement feels like it diminishes pretty much all the hard work and effort and love they put into taking care of their kids and even kids that aren't their own. Tubbo gives his everything for Sunny, and was/is an active babysitter for a lot of other eggs. Phil works so hard to love and teach survival to and take care of his two eggs equally. (Like, being 'basically' a single parent, of one or WORSE, two, is already hard enough in the real world - imagine being one on this fucking hellscape they're on).

Like, I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out the parents' flaws. Their flaws make them human, and it'd be foolish to disregard their humanity. And it's interesting to analyze their flaws and what they say about the character, and how they impact their family. There's nuance there, and it should be discussed.

But I think when you're just going "oh, they're bad at parenting in general" because they fumble the bag in other departments lacks nuance. Sure, if you're just saying "they're bad when it comes to certain aspects of parenting," that's a different story, because that's understanding their flaws while recognizing that those flaws don't define all of their parenting. But to just say they're bad at it in general isn't productive analysis of their characters in any way. I haven't watched q!Phil take care of his egg for a whole year (followed by a second egg more consistently shortly after) only for people to shit on his parenting just because his lack emotional intelligence is more noticeable as of recent due to all the trauma and bullshit he's endured. And I haven't seen q!Tubbo put his whole heart into taking care of Sunny as well as multiple other eggs, being Chayanne and Tallulah's reliable godfather, just for people to put down his efforts because he's not always great at more emotionally in depth conversations. They're good parents in a lot of ways, and those strengths shouldn't be discredited just because they aren't good at other things. Their characters deserve way better than that.

tldr these parents are all good in many regards and are just trying their damn best in the worst of circumstances, can we cut them just a bit of slack, please?

[crustaceousfaggot]

Why you should give Text Adventure games a try (and how to do so)

There is not nearly enough love for Text Adventure Games here on Tumblr. Or anywhere really. But especially here, I feel like you guys would really get a kick out of them. Here's why:

(quick note, I'm gonna be using the words Text Adventure and Interactive Fiction pretty interchangeably here. Technically that's not perfectly accurate, they are technically different things, but I don't care to explain the difference Just roll with it.)

So

Do you like weird short stories told through unconventional mediums? That's most of what Interactive Fiction is

You like story based video games but hate the finicky combat? Congrats, there is literally no combat skill required beyond the ability to type "hit guard with crowbar"

Blind or visually impaired? Since these games are (with a few exceptions) entirely text based, they work great with a screen reader!

Sick of profit motivated AAA titles with no creative integrity? Well, these games are almost always produced by a single nerd (usually a horrid amalgamation of computer geek and literature geek) with no budget and no responsibilities of the product they're making. And they're usually not paid, since these games are free. Text Adventure is a labour of love, and in most games you can feel the care and effort the creator has put into the game.

Sick of spending $20-70 on a video game? Lucky you, I've been playing TA for years and I have not spent a cent in doing so (Fallen Londen will try to make you pay. But Fallen Londen sucks and is run by bigots. Fuck Fallen London.) Games are either available free on a browser, or as free, small downloadable files (most of which can be played using the Parchment Interpreter)

Wish you read more, but reliant on the quick dopamine of digital media? Well now you can read while also being an active participant in the narrative.

Bad at puzzles? Me too! Games from the 80s and 90s, as well as more famous newer games, have walkthroughs and hints easily available online. Newer games tend to either have a "hint" command, or come with a walkthrough file.

Do you like weird surrealist horror? Well there's... A lot of it.

Okay, but where do I start?

So there are two types of text adventure. The one you might be more accustomed to, and which sees more modern use, is called Hypertext Interactive Fiction. The other is called Parser Interactive Fiction, it's generally seen in older games, as well as games that are larger, feature more puzzles, or involve more exploration.

Hypertext games

Basically, the game will give you a scenario, and then a list of options (hypertext links) to click on to decide what to do next. These are usually more beginner friendly since you don't need to fiddle around with parsers, but personally I find them a bit limiting. Nonetheless, if you're new to Text Adventure, they're a good place to start.

Some of my favourites hypertext games (summaries in green)

My Father's Long, Long Legs is an interactive horror story about family, unease, and loss. Really more of a story than a game, but still good. Very nice use of sound. It does have some visual aspects, so this one might not work with screen readers

Scene Kid Simulator is pretty much what it says on the tin. A cute, nostalgic, coming-of-age slice of life story from the POV of a 2000s scene preteen. Nothing special, but a fun time.

The Uncle Who Works at Nintendo is a strange, unconventional, witty, and heartfelt horror game. Your friend has an uncle who he says works for Nintendo. You're about to meet him, or so he says. A fun and spooky look at childhood, childhood friendships, and childhood lies.

16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonald's is... A joy to play. The name says it all honestly. Witty, charming, tense, engaging, and emotional when it wants to be. I actually found this one through a lucky Tumblr Blaze, which makes sense since this is perfectly suited to Tumblr sensibilities. This one has more puzzle aspects than most hypertext games, but it's still relatively easy and beginner friendly. You're a vampire hunter. It's your night off, and you go to McDonald's. But there's something wrong with the customer sitting beside you...

Toadstools is a game about hunting mushrooms. You have trespassed in a national park and you are wandering blindly through the woods looking for rare fungi. Good luck :)

Parser games

Okay these fuckers are where I really get excited. These games have the classic flashing cursor line where you input text like "go north", "search bookshelf", or "kiss my husband", and the game's rudimentary AI parses your input to decide what happens next. These are my favourites. They really allow you the feeling of exploring the game world, immerse you in the protagonist and the story, using just text on a screen and simple inputs. This does make them considerably more difficult, since a) you need to decide the right way to phrase what you want to do, otherwise it won't work, and b) more possibilities means more chances to mess up and miss things. Unlike video games, your cursor won't light up when you see something important, you'll have to search stuff and work things out on your own But, in my opinion, it is so, so worth it. Summaries in red

The first text adventure game I ever played was One Eye Open. It's an extremely graphic and gory medical horror game (although I would consider it tasteful medical horror, in that it never derives horror from medical procedures, disability, or ooOoHh gross scary sick people) You play as a volunteer test subject for a medical research facility, having to unravel the mystery of the hospital's bloody past. It's good. It's fun. It's tense. It has some really dumb mechanics. Don't play if you're sensitive to descriptions of gore, death, or corpses. This one doesn't have a walkthrough, but I've played it enough times to know the puzzles by heart, DM me if you need help.

Anchorhead is possibly my favourite piece of interactive fiction I've ever played. It's incredible. You play as a newlywed woman, moving to the small seaside town of Anchorhead after your husband Michael inherited a mansion from some distant relatives. There's something wrong with the town though. There's definitely something wrong with your husband's mysterious ancestors. And you're starting to think that there might be something strange happening to Michael. Get ready for some wonderfully atmospheric and immersive Lovecraftian horror, action sequences that are incredibly vibrant for Text Adventure, and a super compelling mystery that the game lets you work out on your own. The puzzles here are hard. I'm not gonna lie, I used a walkthrough at several points during this game. But my god it's worth it. Big massive huge content warning here for mentions of incest, sexual assault, and pedophilia. Not in excess, and nothing explicit, but it will be mentioned as part of the story.

Little Blue Men is a short, strange, sci-fi-ish horror-ish comedy-ish game by the same author as Anchorhead, though the two games are wildly different. You are an office worker. Cope with it. Take The Stanley Parable, Stella Firma, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mash 'em together, and you have Little Blue Men. It's bizarre. It's evocative. It's pretty darn good.

Coloratura is a strangely beautiful sci-fi story. You're a weird little alien blob. You've been separated from your home and are trapped aboard a human spaceship. You need to get home, need to make the humans understand in the only ways you can: color and song.

Slouching Towards Bedlam is a brilliant little steampunk game about language, choice, cults, Armageddon, and triangles. This game has multiple endings. It's neat in that none of the endings are really "good" or "bad". Rather, you need to decide where you stand, and act in the way you think is best.

The Lurking Horror is the grandparent of horror interactive fiction, released in the late 80s. You're a tech student in university. Something more than electricity is powering the school's computers. Find it, but don't die along the way. Besides the comically archaic descriptions of computers, this game doesn't feel all that dated. It's tricky, puzzle-heavy, and charmingly surreal. (Fun fact, this game and another old TA game called Zork inspired the "darkness kills you" mechanic which would later be popularized in Don't Starve!)

Nine Lives is a very short, very weird, very cartoony game where you play a cat that is very bad at staying alive. Cw for non-graphic but repeated cat death.

Spider and Web is one of the most ingenious uses of Text Adventure as a medium I've ever seen. It's famous for having one of, if not the singular best puzzles in video game history. It's tense, it's fast-paced, it introduces you to mechanics slowly and then lets you test them out on your own. I won't spoil too much, but you play as a very badass spy, reliving your brilliant heist during an interrogation. This game even features a character destined to be a Tumblr Sexyman. It really has it all.

If anyone actually read through all this, and has even considered playing any of these games, I'll be a little surprised. This post turned out a lot longer than I wanted it to be. It was meant to just be "hey interactive fiction is a cool and underappreciated medium, go check it out", but this is my special interest, and not one I often get to talk about. I guess this was me infodumping to the only place that will listen, the empty void of the internet. But these games are fun. And they do not get enough love. Text games are a dying genre, if they're not dead already. Give them a chance, show them some love.

[artful-aries]

Genshin Impact Headcanons: Ways they show affection (Diluc, Zhongli, Xiao, Itto)

I was having some big brain thoughts about these boys. ​​Feel free to request more characters for this prompt! Or any other ideas too I’m dying to write more about genshin. If formatting is weird then just kill me, I forgot mobile sucks for text posts

​​Diluc

​​You can summarize Diluc’s emotions in one word; Repressed

Diluc loves with his entire being, the overwhelming ache he gets in his chest when he looks at you burns hotter than any fire he could create

​​But conveying this passion…isn’t his strong suit.

​​If words of affirmation are your love language, you’re really going to have a hard time. If you asked him nicely for him to tell you he loves you more he will certainly make an effort, but for a while he will come across as stiff and awkward

He’s much better at showing his affection through subtle means; wrapping you in a blanket when he finds you asleep on a couch at the winery, tucking a stray hair behind your ear, walking you home at night, just general sweet things that could easily be mistaken for platonic actions of you didn’t notice the look of absolute adoration in his eyes.

He would move Dragonspine itself for you if you so much as expressed displeasure at its view, but being able to verbalize his affections isn’t his forte.

​​When he DOES express his affection, it’s so heart achingly tender

​​“The Archons themselves could not keep me from loving you with every fiber of my being, my love.”

​​

​​Zhongli

​​He’s almost the antithesis of Diluc; this man is ALL about words of affirmation

​​The man practically spits poetry every time he tells you he loves you, and nearly brings you to tears every time

​​“For all the ages I have lived, nothing has made me more certain of the beauty of this realm than your existence. You blossom like violet grass in the crevices of my heart.”

​​He OCCASIONALLY gives you more basic words of affirmation, such as complementing you on your outfit, pointing out how much he enjoys your conversations, etc

​​He definitely goes on monologues about his love for you if you let him, and is completely unashamed of it

​​He’s waited millennia for you, why would he hold back his thoughts now while you’re here to listen?

​​Part of Zhongli is always considering your mortality, so he wants to make sure you know how much you are loved in the short fragment of time your lives collide in the loom of fate

​​

​​Xiao

​​He’s more like Diluc in that he’s not going to give you many words of affirmation

​​Xiao is a mix of quality time and acts of service as a love language

​​His idea of quality time is…unusual. He’s not used to human customs, so his idea of quality time is literally just hovering around you

​​He doesn’t even strike up much conversation when he does this, he’s comfortable enough to be silent around you

​​If you insist on doing some kind of activity, he will go along with it, though depending on the activity you suggest me might get confused or even flustered

​​As far as acts of service, they aren’t anything grand like giving you massages, buying you flowers, etc

​​He’s straight up going to make it his job to protect you. If he finds out you’re going ANYWHERE that you might encounter hilichurls or other nefarious creatures, you’re not going without him

​​Xiao practically appears before you can even finish calling out his name, he’s ready to do anything to make you happy, even if he won’t admit it outright

​​If you do ever manage to corner him into talking about his feelings, he would answer in a vague way, “As a Yaksha, I shouldn’t interfere with the lives of mortals too much, but I…feel compelled to protect you.”

​​

​​Itto

​​He’s loud and proud about his love for you, it’s to the point that the Arataki gang is almost sick of hearing your name come from his mouth

​​The downside is that he will also process his love to you to complete strangers

​​“You see that babe over there, that’s my numero uno right there! They’re like the most amazing person you’ll ever meet, which makes them the perfect addition to the Arataki Gang! Don’t get any ideas though since hearing about how awesome they are, they’re waaaay out of your league- hey, where are you going??”

​​When you try to reign him in he doesn’t get it. You’re dating THE Arataki Itto, why can’t he go around town singing your praises?

​​He’s very physically affectionate with you too, you won’t be able to walk three feet without him practically hanging off of you

​​Itto likes doing acts of service too….for better or for worse. He often ropes the boys in to help him with whatever grand plan he’s cooked up, and it always ends in disaster

​​If Shinobu doesn’t practically wring his neck, then he usually ends up on the run from the Tenryou Comission. He’ll say it’s a testament to how much he loves you, Shinobu says it’s a testament to how little he uses his brain to think things through. The jury (you) is still out on the verdict

​​

​​

​​

[pixelrushiguess]

I don’t think anybody asked you this. But what are true thoughts on Sonic Dream Team?

Any praises? Any criticisms?

Well given the awkward nature of Dream Team, I’ve never actually played it so I can’t really comment on its gameplay. I will say I think the character animation is really nice, better than the official games to be honest.

Unfortunately that’s where the positives end for me because the story and writing is really REALLY bad.

I remember really worrying that the writing style of Frontiers would carry over to future instalments but I gave it the benefit of the doubt that it might’ve been a one time thing. And while Dream Team isn’t as miserable as Frontiers, it’s still pretty damn dull. No one acts like themselves, no one talks the way they usually talk. They all just stand around and make small talk like they met at a bus station. There’s no charm, no energy, no fun, nothing. Sonic is boring, Tails is smart and that’s it, Amy is...nothing, Knuckles is just there, Rouge is the only one with a hint of personality and Cream doesn’t really add anything. I really want to give Ian Flynn the benefit of the doubt, but if this is how he’s going to write going forward, I don’t think I want him writing for the series at all.

I’m no writer, I don’t know the first thing about it. But these are not hard characters to like. Every member of the cast is oozing charm and personality. You have to actively TRY to make these characters boring and somehow they did it. The writing in the 2010s sucked, but it at least made me feel something, I could still see the characters in there.

Ariem is nothing, she does nothing and means nothing. She’s a plot device, that’s it. There was no thought or effort in making her interesting, charming or likeable. There’s literally a million things you could’ve done with this premise and this character to tell a great story and it feels like nobody could be bothered. The game isn’t even about anything, like Sonic is a series that tackles a lot of different themes and the best Sonic stories are the ones that have a core message or allegory at the centre.

Adventure is about embracing positive emotions and dealing with anger and how anger can corrupt people.

06 is about love and freedom and allowing yourself to feel emotion.

Secret Rings is about healing from an abusive relationship.

Unleashed is about friendship and balance, seeing the world and experiencing new things.

Black Knight is about grief and mortality.

There’s tons of other examples but you get my point.

Oh and the voice acting is really bad too, everyone sounds bored or weirdly off and I don’t know why.

Anyway that’s my little tirade, didn’t think I cared so much about Dream Team, but there ya go I guess.

[celenawrites]

TW - just a vent about fandom stuff.

I feel kinda sad about how some creators in the CoD fandom have now abandoned creating content for the game series due to the demanding nature of other fans who used to consume their content. (fics, art, etc)

Like, these artists/writers in the fandom write fanfics/create art, FOR FREE OF COST and dedicate SO MUCH TIME AND ENERGY to their craft despite not getting much in return, only to deal with senseless hate, ignorance, stupidity and get treated as content generation machines; instead of actual human beings with jobs and studies and friends and families that need their time and attention as well.

A lot of us folks who write or draw do this as a hobby. As an outlet for our creativity, and we find this community for the media we are currently fixated on and we create things inspired by it cuz it brings us joy. IT MAKES US HAPPY SO WE CREATE CONTENT FOR IT!!! And then to see the same fandom/community and their horrendous behaviour driving away the creators from the fandom and the media itself is just....sad. Very disheartening.

Like I miss so many of the creators who have just given up on CoD cuz of this issue. Their works have inspired me to start writing again. They make me wish I start learning how to draw and paint again too. Their works have touch my soul, and made me happy - gave me something to look forward to every day.

But I'd much rather they leave the fandom and take care of themselves and their life, than to succumb to this weird pressure fans and fan-content consumers put on them, y'know?

Plus recently, I've seen a lot of racist and stereotypical prejudices from some CoD fans (and even some creators). I know a lot of them are new to the fandom, I was too. But I took an active effort to learn more about this game series. (and it's an ongoing effort cuz I cannot afford to play the games so I have to settle for wiki articles, gameplays, and comics) And I see so many fans not give a shit about it. They treat these characters as blank canvases to fulfill their hypersexual fantasies. (I like me a good smut fic or two, don't get me wrong) But that just makes it impossible for newer fans to get to know more about the lore and the characters. I had just finished watching the campaign for MW, and let me tell you, there are so many complex missions, characters and storylines to explore and depict through fanfics, and it's insane so many people disregard it for their whimsies so easily. That will just stunt your growth as an artist/writer! Read up on the lore, watch the game plays(the OGs and the remakes!) , maybe even read the comics!!! I promise you won't regret it ever!!!

Also, please! For all that is holy, stop putting these complex fictional characters into restricted boxes and label them. That just makes them so one-dimensional. Like -

Soap is not always cheery and bubbly and your fellow bestie. Simon is not an abuser/emotionally dead asshole just because he has a hard time expressing his emotions like everyone else. König, despite the lack of storyline/lore we have on him, isn't an uwu social anxiety babygirl, damn it. Stop excluding Gaz from your HCs and fics! He's a complex man with so many interesting things to explore about his overall story and psyche as a part of 141. He's not always begging for Price's approval either, he can and has objected to how questionable their methods have been regarding their field/work. Stop excluding Gaz from 141 stuff! It makes you look like a POS, and a lot of the people who exclude him are doing so for....pretty racist reasons. As a POC, this shit sucks balls. Also stop stereotyping POC characters in CoD - Alejandro, Rudy, Valeria, Gaz, Farah....just stop. Their ethnicity or race should not deter you from writing about them in a way that doesn't come across as prejudiced and ill-informed.

Also, not necessarily a rant, but please consider/remember the fact that the military has always been a bit of a morally dubious field of work irl, and just cuz CoD is military-centric and features characters who work in the army or PMC and take out bad guys - that doesn't take away from the violent history military has and how they have contributed to the deterioration of many countries (mainly in the Middle East). Heck, even these characters in the CoD games have done extremely unethical things and employed treacherous methods in order to get the job done. These characters may be good people in fiction, but that doesn't mean that they have done great things or have always stayed morally pure. Explore the dubious nature of it all - explore how dark and harrowing it can be for them and for the people that unwittingly or knowingly get involved in their work. It's dark and twisted but it's crucial since it's inspired from our world and it's necessary for us as humans and as artists to explore such themes and analyse them! It's crucial for the soul!!!

[licncourt]

Do you think Louis is "good with emotions"? What I mean is is he consciously aware of how he feels about what's happening around him, does he have a handle on emotions or does he have.. Issues with translating what he's feeling, therefore he is oblivious to his own emotions. Does he fine tune emotions in a conscious funnel that gives the reader an impression that he's quite adept at being a person you can go to with your problems. Does this make sense? I guess what I'm asking is would he be the best friend you can count on to have a deep talk with or is Louis so repressed he needs to write out his thoughts in a journal before he can give advice. Does he give terrible advice. Would he make a good therapist? I think he's a bit too mentally lost himself to be the person to depend on for advice even though compared to Lestat he's more emotionally mature, but (I'm sorry this is so winded) is Louis aware of his emotions enough to make good life choices, and is Louis able to distinguish emotions or does he struggle with them enough to be that person everyone goes to for advice (hypothetically). I hope I'm making sense.. I'm not too keen on the side of fandom that leans on Louis being the "sane" one while Lestat is the "insane" one, but in my short time in this fandom, that's been my experience 🤷🏻‍♀️ Everyone wants to lean on Louis, and they want him to be the family friendly one. It doesn't give room for him to flesh himself out. Why does Lestat get all the fun stuff. Louis started the shenanigans and he is obviously very unhinged. I don't think it's fair is all. But please give me your thoughts on this very long ask.

Oh God that's a hard question, but my answer is no, he isn't really. He's emotional but I wouldn't say he's good with those emotions or those of others (especially not those actually). In general he reminds me of when you meet a guy who sucks but they call themselves an empath.

Even Lestat says in one of the books that Louis is oblivious to the suffering of others in a lot of ways and I think that's true. He sees human misery when it supports his internal beliefs because he's actively looking for it, but he's not in tune with people in general, especially not when other people's feelings contradict his world view (ie owning slaves while acting like he's some kind of hero for the downtrodden because he eats rats).

I think the fact that he feels his own emotions so intensely is part of what makes him so selfish. He's incredibly caught up in what HE'S feeling, so the inner world of someone else is not really being considered, nor would it occur to him to consider it. That happens a lot in IWTV where, at least the way Louis portrays it, the only explanations he can come up with for Lestat's behavior are that he's stupid or he just has a bad personality.

There's always the implication that their relationship was deeper than Louis made it seem, but I also don't think he was interested in exploring Lestat's deeper motives for his behavior. He got his feelings hurt and therefore whatever Lestat had going on was irrelevant to him. There was no effort to understand and empathize when it was hard and he faced resistantance.

At the very least, be seems to be hellbent on strong-arming his own emotions to suit his will. He's very externally adamant about his chosen narrative, but he spends enough time just Having Feelings that at least deep down, he knows for himself what the truth is most of the time when it comes to his inner thoughts unless he's in true denial. He just chooses to be stubborn and force his way through life ignoring those feelings if he thinks they shouldn't be that way.

His thoughtfulness and how carefully he chooses his words does give the impression of some kind of emotional intelligence, but I think a lot of that is artificial, like when he's talking in IWTV about how his objections to killing are about the principle and the aesthetics. There's a lot of convoluted thinking and justifications, but not much consistent or reasonable logic to suggest that he's tapped into something grounded and honest within himself or the world.

Another indicator of whatever emotional imbalance he has is the way he cycles between being so rigidly repressed and then snapping. That's not the hallmark of someone who's processed or is capable of coping with any hard feelings, much like an addict who never gets treatment but manages to white knuckle their way through stretches of time before losing control again.

I suppose he is more emotionally mature than Lestat in his ability to exercise restraint and be calculated (in good and bad ways), but that doesn't always translate to an emotionally intelligent mindset that influences larger choices or patterns. No matter how good he is at it, his semi-frequent, massive lapses in judgement and self control kind of negate how helpful those skills can be.

This comes across in subtler ways too. He was more the family man than Lestat, but rather than responsibly parent Claudia through her adult challenges, he allowed and fostered an emotionally incestuous dynamic that was incredibly toxic for both of them. Other times he played calm and collected in the face of Lestat's outbursts, but he didn't actually work to resolve anything, just to keep the upper hand through his performative apathy. It's all very surface level and hardly ever productive.

The one credit I'll genuinely give to him was his willingness to let Lestat get whatever all that was out of his system in the 90s and 00s. He was very patient and honest about his feelings and finally had enough softness and genuine care for Lestat that he was able to see objectively the pain, confusion, and trauma those behaviors were born from. It's definitely growth on Louis' end compared to IWTV so golf clap for that.

I will say though that I definitely think he's too self-absorbed and judgmental to make a great listener unless he REALLY cares about the person talking to him. If he thinks he could've handled whatever the problem is better, it's going to show it accidentally even if he's being polite. The truth is he would not have handled it better most likely. Differently maybe, but not better. You had a freakout? Well. He simply would have repressed those feelings and then acted like a bitch later over nothing.

[hamartia-grander]

Tell me everything you hate about Leon Kennedy so I can agree

Careful, anon, or you'll make me fall in love with you

The things I don't hate about Leon would make a shorter list and my instinct is to give you a jokey answer, but you seem genuinely curious of Leon's faults as a character so I'll do my best to explain it:

Obligatory "just because a character sucks doesn't mean you have to hate them, and I'm not saying people can't like Leon, I'm simply expressing why I personally don't" statement for those with no reading comprehension <3

My biggest reason for hating him is the misogyny. Leon's most prominent trait is his continued misogyny. And while this previously was brushed off as "the writing of the time" in which the games/CG movies were released, that is no longer an excuse, because 1. Leon is still being written as a misogynist, just in a different context, and 2. There are other RE male characters who were never written to be misogynistic, such as Chris Redfield, and there are RE male characters who were originally misogynistic but have been rewritten to no longer be, such as Luis Serra. And of all of the RE male characters who were originally written to be misogynistic, the only character who has maintained that misogyny despite remakes is Leon. This makes it no longer just a reflection of the early 2000's writing, it now becomes a facet of his actual character. And while Leon's misogyny is no longer as blatant and bold as "following a lady's lead just isn't my style", or making demeaning comments on a woman's butt, or scoffing and spitting "women", it is still a part of his character.

Especially in relation to Ada Wong. The way he treats Ada is like a stereotypical reddit incel who experienced one breakup and now hates/disregards all women in his perceived dating pool. Ada never fully revealed who she was to Leon, she never promised him the truth, and she never expressed a want to allow him to see the real her - in fact, she did quite the opposite, constantly trying to push him away. But Leon - being a man who sees a woman in a dangerous situation as someone who needs his help, despite Ada saving his ass multiple times - sticks around. And because he knows nothing about her, he starts to create a projection of who he thinks Ada is, based entirely on the very minimal and evasive information she has given him. And yes, being lied to by anyone is not fun, especially in the middle of an apocalypse. But Ada made many attempts to get Leon to back off, to leave her be, and yet he in all his macho-heroism insisted on "helping" her, thus forcing himself into her line of work despite her warnings against it. And then, when her lie is revealed, he completely disregards his respect for her, and begins to view her as nothing but an emotionless manipulator. She refuses to shoot him, even though it meant forfeiting her entire mission, and he still actually believes she never cared about him. And when they meet again, his attitude towards her is utterly abrasive, inconsiderate, and cold. What makes this misogyny however, rather than just Leon being an asshole, is that we have another character in the same game who Leon used to admire and whose identity is revealed to be something Leon is morally against: Major Krauser. And yet, Leon entirely maintains his respect for, and his consideration for the feelings of, Krauser. Ada Wong was a mercenary who lied to Leon to keep her cover. Krauser was a war criminal who kidnapped the president's daughter, which brought Leon into this mess, and then murdered Luis right in front of Leon. And Leon has a very no-nuance, naïve, black and white view of morals prior to and throughout re4r, so if his vitriol for Ada was truly about conflicting morals, that would be reflected in how he treats Krauser, too. However, Leon maintains his respect for Krauser. Leon appeals to Krauser's honour, to Krauser's emotions. Leon actively tries to sympathise with Krauser in an effort to rationalise Krauser's actions in Leon's mind. And yet it is Ada Wong, who has saved his life countless times, who has shown him she cares, and who has helped him at no cost, who receives his ire; rather than Krauser, who couldn't care less about Leon and his predicament. This kind of misogyny is especially infuriating to me because Leon's actions are portrayed as Just™, he is still portrayed as the Correct Hero™, and the fans ignore his misogyny just as easily as the narrative itself does.

I don't hate Leon just because he's a misogynist; there's too many of those in media to hate them all for that. I hate him because his misogyny is made to be a quality of his character, and is never punished by the narrative nor is he ever forced to reconcile with it. And what's worse, the way he treats Ada is in turn perpetrated by fans who refuse to acknowledge his misogyny, and thus become little misogynists themselves, tearing into Ada with utter vitriol and no consideration for her as a character.

And obviously, not just Ada. Another modern example is how he treats Claire Redfield in re2r and Infinite Darkness. He sees her as a kid in need of protecting, despite her only being 2 years younger than him, and proving repeatedly that she's more than capable of handling herself. And when she asks when he'll stop treating her like a kid, he says "probably never". (I am strangling him I'm exploding him with my mind). But his misogyny towards Ada is the most significant and reoccurring. She has long been written to serve as the object of Leon's desires, and now that she's been given significant substance, fans hate her for no longer fitting into their own misogynistic ideal of who she should be. But that's another discussion.

There's other things I hate about him, such as his part in modern copoganda, or his arrogance, but the misogyny is the most prominent thing. And I truly admire fans who love Leon while actively acknowledging his misogyny. But to me, he has no other redeeming qualities significant enough to help me get over it.

Sorry that was a lot but if you read this far, I hope I did okay explaining my feelings on this. Thank you for asking <3

[commsroom]

this is kind of a confusing question and I’m not sure how to phrase it so sorry about that lol, but do you ever think about how eiffel’s inabiliity to focus on difficult or unpleasant or boring tasks might impact his relationships with others? since that as a character trait is mostly shown wrt how it impacts his work on the station

yes, for sure! hm. how to phrase this. i think those things overlap, because the hephaestus is kind of a closed environment. like minkowski tells him: when you're in a place like that, you pick your battles. eiffel not cleaning up after himself, etc. might be annoying, but it's lower on the list of priorities than, um. managing the space station so everyone doesn't die. and he can't entirely flake because, well. he's stuck there. eiffel definitely... well, he has unmanaged adhd. he's forgetful, he's impulsive, the idea of doing something now to make it easier on his future self is pretty much incomprehensible to him - and i think that's frustrating for him, when it's something he actually cares about. he doesn't like letting people down, he just thinks it'll hurt less for everyone (including himself) if they expect it.

eiffel so easily falls into that cycle of, like. he does something that bothers someone -> they try to talk to him about it -> it doesn't sink in -> this happens a couple of times, and they decide it's not worth fighting about -> he keeps doing whatever annoying / hurtful / etc. thing because he "didn't think you minded."

canonically, the interpersonal part is explored more through... emotional transgressions, rather than his unwillingness to do physical tasks, but i think the root cause is the same: "i'm just trying to help!" / "are you? are you really? or are you just trying to not be bored for half a second? to distract yourself from how much you can't stand yourself?" even just within shut up and listen... eiffel insists on using the name he wants for their project, even if hera prefers a different one. i think you can extrapolate a lot from that.

and eiffel has lived a pretty lonely life - he doesn't expect people to stick around, but because of that, he's never really had to account for how other people would fit into his life, how he might have to inconvenience himself sometimes for the people he loves. on his own, if eiffel forgot to go grocery shopping, or didn't do his laundry, neglected household maintenance, etc. then he was the only one who really had to deal with the consequences of that. it wasn't an indication to others about whether he valued their time and/or comfort. like, back to his radio show with hera - if she wanted to do something he thought was boring, would he be able to suck it up and enjoy that she was enjoying it, or would he just whine about not getting to do his thing? that mindset has definitely been a problem for him in previous friendships and romantic relationships.

to put all of that a little more succinctly: i think eiffel cares a lot, and he wants to show that he cares, but he can be kind of self-centered. i think eiffel is a surprisingly good gift giver, and makes a big deal out of other people's birthdays, for example - but that's because his birthday is important to him; i think it might be harder for him to wrap his head around when it's something he wouldn't care about, but it's important to someone else. i also think it's much easier for him to make an active effort where it's being recognized that he's showing care, rather than sustained, daily, monotonous tasks that largely go unremarked on. you know? i think he can get better at it, and i think caring for other people might help him take better care of himself, too, but i don't think it's ever going to be easy for him.

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

As much as I love "Tangled Web" because it shows Kimiko winning her solo showdown and generally kicking ass, I can't sit all the way through it because that episode drives me up a wall. Even when I was a kid I hated the way the boys' sexism towards her essentially goes unchallenged and unpunished, but as an adult it makes me *more* heated because Master Fung is RIGHT THERE. Why are you allowing 3/4 of your team to belittle and deride your only female student right in front of you?! Not even mildly scolding them! And then to turn around and give *Kimiko* a lesson like *her reaction* to being mocked *to her face* on the basis of her gender is the problem!! I understand the point of the episode was that Kimiko needs to work on self-controlband maintaining her focus, I just think there are so much better ways they could have gone about itm

Absolutely one of the several moments that really makes me disdain Master Fung's teaching abilities.

Temperance may be important, but temperance is not the same thing as "letting disrespect fly" or "never reacting to anything".

The boys were walking out with her things, and the only one Fung deigns to lecture is Kimiko for getting rightfully angry about it, even when Kimiko calls to Master Fung for some help.

Digging through Kimiko's personal belongings, looking through her PDA, reading her diary. And Omi is sucking on her tube of lipstick like a baby bottle, parent him for once-- and that doesn't mean giving him that outdated book.

If Fung wants to give Kimiko artificial distractions for her exercise, he should, but he should get up and give those boys a talking to first and foremost. There's no foundation for any team without boundaries and privacy.

Master Fung!

Keep pouring.

If Master Fung was going to lecture anyone here, he should have lectured the boys. They're supposed to work as a team, and their actions right now are hugely detrimental to that, which is theoretically a more overarching lesson Fung wants them to learn.

Digging through Kimiko's personal belongings, looking through her PDA, reading her diary. And Omi is sucking on her tube of lipstick like a baby bottle, parent him for once-- and that doesn't mean giving him that outdated book.

She's being mocked and belittled and prodded as soon as Rai picks up that this is an exercise in patience for Kimiko where Fung has more-or-less barred her from reacting to "distractions".

If Fung wants to give Kimiko artificial distractions for her exercise, he should. But he should get up and give those boys a talking to first. There's no foundation for any team without boundaries and privacy.

And the way he just shakes his head in disappointment at Kimiko and walks away, when there's so much he could have said if this was apparently supposed to be a teaching moment.

Wanna bet chores on when Kimiko will find her focus? This century or next?

Not even a disapproving Fung-stare at any of the mockery that's thrown her way. He'll make his disapproval clear when Omi does something like try to trust Jack or try to set boundaries after he can't trust Rai anymore, but this whole sexist things the boys put Kimiko through goes unchallenged by him.

She does eventually figure out the part of it that she needs to.

And Kimiko and Master Fung have a surprisingly interesting character arc as a sort of foils to each other, and there's something almost sweet about contrasting this first lesson Fung gives Kimiko to the lessons later, where he makes an active effort to offer her more emotional support and be more aware of how much she needs to let it out.

In regards to Kimiko specifically, he does try to be better after this... in regards to the hands-off approach of teaching her to just suppress her emotions and never react to anything and try desperately to be perfect. They're two characters that ended up playing off each other surprisingly well, narratively.

But despite all that, at no point does Master Fung ever address the sexism here or otherwise. In the context of the fact that he tries to be better for her over time, that is a pretty glaring hole that he just... overlooks. The three boys on her team were being sexist towards her, and Fung's stoicism was not appropriate for that at all.

[obstinatecondolement]

I mean like, as a non-binary trans person who prefers they/them pronouns (in settings where I'm comfortable being out) who is closeted and has limited emotional, psychological and physical energy to 'make an effort' that effectly communicates a disconnect from what people consider the 'obvious' way to gender someone with my body type, vocal register and hair length (forever annoyed that being bad at scheduling haircuts for months at a time reads as 'choosing' to have a 'feminine' hair'style' but whatever), it does kinda hurt my feelings when trans people who exclusively use he/him or she/her pronouns, and who pass well/make a very obvious 'effort' to present as exclusively masculine or feminine, say things like "If you misgender me you look like an idiot, because I Obviously look like a man/look like a woman."

Because like... I get it, and I do get the frustration of cis people defaulting to the pronouns associated with someone's AGAB if they knew them before they came out/after they find out their trans, or if they default to they/them in the same circumstances, and that is transphobic and it does suck, as is the all too common thing where visibly trans people are the only ones asked for their pronouns in nominally trans friendly events.

But, like... it's never obvious what someone's gender is. You can make a pretty good guess most of the time, but you can never know with only visual cues to go on. And that's like... kinda the point of asking people what their pronouns are, under ideal circumstances.

Someone could have a full beard and be dressed in a suit and want you to use she/her pronouns for her. Someone could look indistinguishable to you from an AFAB he/they transmasc and be a they/she transfem. Someone (me) could "obviously" "look like a woman" to you and find that assumption deeply hurtful. And I don't think misgendering people like us is inconsequential compared with respecting conventionally gender conforming binary trans people? It feels like this is a perpetually hot take, but closeted, non-passing and GNC trans people are as trans as any other trans people and respecting our wishes about how we want to be addressed and spoken to about that should not be considered a lesser priority?

Like, again, I am not for one second denying that efforts to normalise asking for people's pronouns and not assuming people's gender has put scrutinising visibly or out binary trans people in a highly othering and transphobic way to the very top of the agenda for cis people who are trying their best and misunderstanding the brief, trying their best and defaulting to transphobic biases they have not unlearned, not trying their best and actively trying to be hurtful in a way that flies under the radar, or some other explanation on another point in the innocent but hurtful to actively malicious spectrum. And that isn't okay and the needs of people hurt by this should also not be a lesser priority than mine. But, like, I feel like there has to be some kind of middle ground here between 'are you a boy or a girl' woke edition and 'you must be this passable to use these pronouns and you're a fucking idiot if you think I should ask before making assumptions.'

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, Episode 4

Child soldiers! This universe doesn’t suck AT ALL. /s Like, I know we I want to blame Halsey for everything because she’s a monster, but SO MANY PEOPLE are involved in this program! Not just authorizing it, all the way down to the drill sergeants and teachers, etc. Watching Halsey groom baby!John is unpleasant, and so is knowing he’s tried to get out before (and before Soren’s attempt, too) and failed.

Meanwhile back in the present, we bask in the beauty of space and read vital signs! “Is this what anxious feels like?” “Technically.” Yep, it’s just a bunch of weird imbalances that occasionally threaten to ruin my life! Enjoy it, Chief.

Soren gets a parallel bit about memory, where he tells us, the audience, that the memories can be regained, and also admits a bit of tragic backstory to Kwan. Seriously, he killed his dad as a baby (ok, 6yo)? Are we going to hear the whole story at some point?

And back on Reach, MY GIRL KAI!!!!!! The MVP of this show, I’m calling it now, this is the Kai Show from here on out, has just removed her own emotion-regulation pellet. (I love Riz not questioning the blood etc at all and just walking off.) I’m fascinated to see what she does with it.

John et al land on Eridanus II, despite the aforementioned quarantine. (Is is safe, was that a cover story, or did the writers just forget?) They find things very quickly, but then, there’s only 9 episodes, they don’t have time to dick around on this show.

Kwan and Soren bickering is one of my favorite things. Take notes, Soren, Kessler’s gonna be doing this in a couple years if they live that long. Vinsher got a Gestapo makeover. Again, this is the guy the UNSC supports. Yikes. Kwan talks to the first friendly face she sees, IN PUBLIC. Is Attu going to sell her out? Also, her father’s memorial being that night made me stop and try to count. It really hasn’t been that long, it’s true. How fast the universe can turn upside down!

Kai dyes her hair! Cute, distinctive, a very girly moment for my tastes initially but I’m a little hypersensitive about how women get portrayed in media some days. I had to remind myself that there are plenty of women on this show and she can be girly! This isn’t the MCU. It is in fact very cool how many women we get, all of whom are actually doing stuff…

…which leads us to Miranda and her research efforts. It’s interesting how uncomfortable she is around Spartans, when you’d think she’d be pretty familiar with them if her mom has been working with them for what, 30 years? Probably longer than Miranda’s been alive, honestly. And good on Kai for calling it out, even if I worry she’s going to get herself in trouble. (Probably not with Miranda directly, but in general.) No one else can activate the artifact, but they do have linguistic skills. I should make my husband watch this.

Kwan attends her father’s memorial, which is a disaster on multiple levels—small, sparsely attended, she makes contact with someone she suspects might be a traitor, and the whole things gets busted up. Soren gets her out and will get her to her aunt, but then what? It’s no good having money if no one’s willing to get paid. And what if her aunt doesn’t want to pay up?

On Eridanus II, they dig up a box of drawings. Why did his dad make him bury these? Why not just throw them out? What did his dad know? Was his mom in on it, too? They explore the house, which inevitably triggers a bunch of memories—including Halsey! “our secret”???? This bitch’s blood cells are shaped like little red flags istg. How did she find him? Was she a member of the colony as well? (And how DID he keep guessing the coin correctly? Is the Master Chief supposed to be psychic? Is this part of the game lore?)

Kai and the other Spartans are helping Miranda out, and Kai keeps pushing to humanize them to Miranda (and to herself? Or her natural exuberance is just uncontrollable at this point). This actually seems to work to the point of Miranda getting invested and admitting she’s a little jealous. Kai trots out a charming little story of their childhood pets, and how HALSEY FORCED THEM TO MURDER THEIR PETS WTF. Miranda immediately reconsiders her jealousy, her mother, and her life choices. Kai: we’re like sisters! =D

Vinsher gets a scene straight out of Jupiter Ascending where he hires some random hot chick named Franco to eliminate Kwan while lounging in a huge pool/ bathtub thing and smoking a cigar. Franco proceeds to do nearly that, taking out all of Kwan’s aunt’s security and the aunt herself before Soren comes to save the day. Before she dies, Kwan’s aunt reveals that there’s a secret tribe of mystics in the desert than gave Kwan’s dad some sort of prophecy that drove him. This series really has everything and the kitchen sink, doesn’t it?

We wrap up with John finding the other alien artifact that he saw as a child, Halsey and Cortana at his side, while Kai and Miranda discover the Arc Word “Halo” and Miranda warns Kai in an extremely creepy and apt voiceover that her mother views any deviation as a glitch, and she doesn’t tolerate glitches.

[picturejasper20]

Camp Camp: Parallels between Season 1 finale and Season 2 finale

So, i have been into the adult animated series Camp Camp lately. It's comedy series about kids who are in a dysfunctional summer camp and the characters get into all type of shenanigans every episode. It's a very silly show but it has some interesting things that worth of analysing too, like character dynamics and how some characters change throughtout the seasons.

In this post i want to analyse the parallels between two iconic emotional scenes from the show, both from season finale episodes. ( ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ and ¨Parents Day¨) Both scenes involve two characters from the main cast: Max and David, them interacting and their dynamic changing in some way.

Let's start:

In the Season 1 finale ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ David tries to find a way to ¨lift the spirits of the campers up¨ by using an old (and outdated) camp tradition. This turns out to be a complete disaster, making the others campers and Gwen leave the place, leaving Max and David alone while it starts raining.

Max, who has been trying to ¨break¨ David's positive worldview from day one since he joined the camp, goes into a rant about how the work sucks and nobody in camp ¨gives a shit¨ about anything. He goes on and on to the point David starts to cry, getting very frustrated with Max.

Satisfied with his rant, Max leaves the scene. That's until he hears David admitting that ¨he is right¨ and he stops walking. His expression changes, suprised that David is agreeing with his rant.

David then goes on about how he is aware that the campers and Gwen don't care and that Campbell has ¨better things to do¨ than taking care of the camp. He knows that people don't care about how things are being run in the camp and aren't interested in the daily activities. That's why he tries to do something about it, because someone has to be there to take charge of the camp and plan all these activities. Someone has to take initiative in doing something even if the rest don't care about it.

What it is so interesting is how Max... doesn't go full sarcastic mode after this scene, he doesn't laugh nor make any rude remark. He looks suprised, sad with a mix of guilt. It's one of the few times he is taken out of his element and he doesn't know what to say.

That's because... he gets this realization that David isn't this ¨dumb moron¨ who isn't aware of what is happening around him. David is aware of how some things suck, that's why he wants to change things for the better. He is someone who is determined to believe things can be better if someone makes the effort to. And this makes Max feel, like he would say it, like an asshole. All this time he has annoying the heck out of a person who was only trying to do his best, even if other people mocked him for it. He feels like a jerk for dragging everyone down while David finds a way to look forward and make others happy in spite of the situation.

After David wakes up for getting knocked out, he notices how everyone is around the bonfire and wearing Indian traditional clothes. He wonders why they are all here and suddenly spots Max talking to the others. For a moment Max seems to be worried for David and then changes his expression into his typical scowl, telling David to ¨not look too deeply into this¨. They both later join the bonfire with the rest of the campers, Max even seems to be enjoying a camp activity for a change, him smiling while doing so.

In this episode ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ Max gains a better idea of who David really is. He gets a better understanding of why David has a positive view of the world, or at least why he tries to look in the positive side of things. In a way he gains a new type of respect for the camp counselor, seeing how he still tries to remain himself even when others tell him what he is doing is pointless.

Now let's talk about the season 2 finale ¨Parent's Day¨: In this episode the parents from the campers show up to check out how things are going in the camp. Almost every parent from the kids show up with exception of Max's. For this, Gwen and David get assigned to be ¨Max's parents¨ by Cambell until they show up. Max spends most of the episode being angry at other kids and lashing out when things work out well for other families, specially in the family performances near the end of the day.

David picks up the way Max is acting and treating other kids, not approving of it. He finally gets tired of Max's attitude and scolds him for being so negative all the time, this sharing some parallels with Max's rant to David scene in ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ Season 1 finale. And, much like Max in the Season 1 finale, David has a crushing realization of what is really truly happening to Max when he reads the kid's documents: His parents barely care about him and only signed him up to the camp to get rid of him for the summer, without even signing him up to a specific camp activity.

David quickly connects the dots and realizes why Max has been angry more than usual the whole day. He sees all the rest of the kids parents show up except of his, making him feel extremely sad, lonely and devastated of being reminded of his family situation back at home.

Max has made a few remarks about his parents in a few episodes but he never talked about what was happening to him, or not at least to Gwen and David about it. I'd like to think that David assumed that Max was some kid who wanted to get attention or get into trouble before this episode. That he was only going through a ¨rebel phase¨ the rest of the kids and teenagers go through at that age and he will grow out of it.

Seeing that Max isn't clearly doing well and hurting, David and Gwen decide to leave the camp for the night, skip the family performance and go to a restaurant to order some pizza with the kid.

Max asks why they are here, to which David answers to with: ¨You were right. It's stupid¨, refering to Camp Camp's parents show. He tells Max that he shouldn't have to pretend that things are okay and he can't force people to be happy when things are really bad. There are moments people just feel sad or angry and they can't pretend that everything is okay with them. He also apologizes Max for scolding him earlier, since he didn't know his family situation and should have paid more attention to what Max was telling him.

This scene shows parallels to Max gaining a better understanding of David in Season 1 finale, the main difference is that their roles are reversed in ¨Parents Day¨: David is the one that begins to understand that Max isn't just some kid who wants to cause trouble. He learns that the reason of why Max is always so angry and pessimistic is because nobody in his home cares about him and that makes him lash out in anger to those around him. David explains to Max that while he has right to be angry, he also has the right to be happy as well and hopes that one day he is able to find that while he is staying in the camp. Max seems to be touched by this, since he remains silent after that.

Once the three finish eating the pizza, they go outside and Gwen goes to the car, leaving David and Max are standing alone for a moment. That's when Max decides to give David a quick hug, probably as a sign of gratitude for trying to understand him, something that other adults from his social circle likely haven't done before.

Moments like this show that Max deep inside is just a kid who feels misunderstood, alone and sad and in part puts up a ¨not caring about anything¨ facade to hide how he truly feels and to not get too close too others. After this episode he grows into a ¨nicer¨ person, including saving the camp a few times when he could have easily used those opportunities to close the camp down and not having to be in there. This demonstrates that he took David's advice and started to consider his camp like a new home for him.

In conclusion:

Both ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ and ¨Parents Day¨ episode parallel each other in the way Max and David gain a better understanding of the other's worldview and personality and leads them to do something nice for the other as result, developing both as characters and their relationship. While ¨The Order of the Sparrow¨ is about Max understanding why David tries to be positive and make others happy, ¨Parents Day¨ is about David learning why Max is so angry and negative all the time due to his family situation. Both are great episodes and both are interesting parallels to each other, whatever they were intentional or not.

[garbagecxre]

The Marquess and Her Knight

WARNINGS 18+: Caught In The Act, Mutual Masturbation, Teasing, Slight voyeuristic, Cunnilingus, Finger Sucking, Overstimulation, Hook Position, Creampie, Cockwarming

SUMMARY: After your… intimate conversation with the fiendish spirit inside the gem, you are interrupted by your lover and guard, Goren. He catches you in the middle of pleasuring yourself and decides to help you finish.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: After writing two scripts, I decided that this would look better as a novel. Think of this oneshot as a pilot for something much, much bigger. Things are in the works, but for now, read this and tell me what you think! Likes and reblogs are much appreciated!

WORD COUNT: 1462~

Astride Bastien, Marquess de Austin: Fae Noble, Spellcaster

Goren: Goliath Knight, Astride's Paramore

Other works from this series available Here.

The demon's voice dissipates, replaced by the chorus of crickets that begin to sing through the open window of my bedchamber. My hand is still over my throbbing sex, the pads of my fingers pressing firmly against my clit. I’m still short of breath, but I force myself to breathe through my nose to keep silent, my chest rising and falling dramatically from the effort.

As I was finally about to catch my breath, three heavy wraps against my door stills the air in my lungs. My eyes strain in the darkness, training themselves on the wooden door as a muffled voice calls out from the other side.

“My lady,” Goren’s muffled voice is dripping with concern, “may I come in?”

Cursing, I quickly give myself a once over, musing the decision to throw the sheets over myself. My skin still tingles from the activities prior, I had yet to fully satisfy myself, and now I have to consider the possibility that Goren could have been hearing me the entire time… 

An idea suddenly pops into my head.

“Come in.” I call, keeping the sheets right where they were. Goren ducks down a little to fit through the door, his hulking figure shading me from the warm light coming from the hallway. He closes the door behind him before taking a couple timid steps towards my bed.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” he starts, I could barely read his expression in the darkness, “but I could have sworn I heard you speaking earlier.”

“Were you hovering by my door, Goren?” The question was meant to be a tease, but it came out somewhat defensive, as I was still a bit on edge from almost being caught conversing with the fiend that lives in his ruby encrusted dagger. “No, I was simply thinking out loud.” I finally respond in the most convincing, casual voice I could muster. It was hard lying to a goliath, the rumors say that his race could smell emotion. I’d never asked Goren, but there were times when it seemed like the rumor was true, especially when I tried to lie to him. This time, though, my bodyguard accepted my lie and sighed, shoulders slumping as his concern begins to melt away.

“My apologies, Lady Bastien,” he bows his head, a formality that was now loosely enforced after the events back at the camp. “I could not sleep, so I came to check on yo—” his eyes finally land on my disheveled form.

“Is something the matter?” I ask, fighting a smirk. In the dark, I can see his body tense. He became uncharacteristically still, and I could tell his eyes were scanning my body. Goliaths and their impeccable vision, it made them good hunters. Then, a sniff followed by a soft growl. It was taking all the man’s strength to keep his composure. I had to fight a grin, reveling in the fact that I can drive him crazy with just my scent.

“Was I interrupting something?” He was trying not to sound strained, but I caught the shift in tone, hands flexing at his sides as he fought the urge to get any closer. I tilt my head and give him a wry smile, pulling the sheets back further to reveal the mess I’ve begun to make on the cotton. His breath catches in his throat once again, and I have to fight the urge to chuckle. 

“Come closer,” I whisper, “see for yourself.” I press my finger into the sensitive nub and shiver, heated rods of pleasure shooting up my spine. My body was growing impatient, the need for release was becoming too unbearable. I think Goren could sense that in me, because he closed the distance in just a few wide steps and was now standing at the foot of my bed. I watched as his hand traveled to his pants, then I heard a huff.

“Finish.” was the only thing he said to me, it was like there was magic in his words the way it made my legs tense and breath halt. My hand, like it had a mind of its own, started to move. My hips start to buck under my fingers, my arousal crying out in my gut as I stimulate the bundle of nerves in between my legs. I bite my lip to keep myself from moaning too loud, but a few whimpers manage to escape clenched teeth. I look to Goren, who already had his cock in his hands, stroking slowly while his eyes were fixed on my barely concealed body.

Parting my lips, I let out a soft moan, and a growl bubbles in his chest. I can see his shoulders tighten with effort as he strokes himself at an agonizing pace, like he was teasing himself. A smirk dances across my lips, then I throw my head back to moan out again, louder this time. Goren’s breath quickens, my fingers match the pace, and I’m now panting with him. I feel something in the bottom of my stomach grow taut, and I’m suddenly less confident that I'll be able to keep my voice down when my orgasm finally consumes me. I didn’t care, though, I’ve been aching for release since that fiend moved my hands against my will. Now it’s my own desperation and need that keep my fingers dancing, and the sound of Goren’s soft groans that have my toes curling.

With a final, quiet cry, liquid spills out from me and my hips buck wildly. I whimper as I continue to move my now soaked fingers in rapid circles against my clit, milking out the last remnants of pleasure before pulling away and letting my arm fall limp at my side.

A few seconds later, and something warm and wet startles me out of my pleasure filled haze. I open my mouth to cry out, but Goren’s hand is lightning fast and covers it before I could alert our host. My hips buck wildly against his tongue, his arm comes up to wrap itself around my thigh and keep me in place. I can do nothing but writhe under his grip, each lap and suck sending me over and over and over again until a giant stain covers my sheets. I was in tears by the end of it, my body twitching and my breath hollow, then Goren stands back up.

Both hands were now keeping my thighs apart, I lift my head to catch him gyrating his hips slightly to align himself to my hole. My gaze find his, and I watch his strained expression as he slowly pushes himself inside me. A long groan escapes his gritted teeth, while a weak cry leaves my lips.

The seconds it took to adjust to his size felt like agony, my patience was growing thin and if he didn’t move his hips right fucking now, I’d lose it. With a whine, I buck my hips against his, a nonverbal plea. His lips curl into a smirk, amused at my desperation, but grants my silent request by pulling out completely and filling me back up in one hard thrust. I gasp then choke out a moan, my back arching off the bed from how deep he went. He repeats the motion a few more times, each time he stops at the hilt and just takes in my expression as it twists into pleasure.

At some point, he had me on my side, one of my legs hand been hooked over his arm, pinning me in a position that made it easier for him to drive his cock into me. His fingers in my mouth muffled the cries that dared to come out.

“I’m coming,” Goren growls as he digs his fingers into my hip. I only had the strength to whimper and claw at the bed as I felt my orgasm take me. I writhed and thrashed and cried into his hand. The few times I’d push him out and liquid would wet the bed, he’d push himself back in and keep going. 

One final rut had him near collapse, ribbons of his seed coat my walls as a strangled groan escapes his lips. The sensation had me arching my back and moaning loudly into his hand, I had nowhere to go with his arm still holding my leg up. He finally unpins me from the position and falls into the bed behind me, pulling me in his embrace.

The sensation of him still inside me makes me squirm, but Goren soothes my restless mind by planting kisses atop my head and whispering praises against my hair. My breathing eventually evens out, and I soon drift off into the night to the sound of my lover’s heartbeat. 

[daryfromthefuture]

this is my 40s doc headcanon post

because i CANNOT get him out of my brain. i'm going to yell about him for a while now sorry not sorry

have another lovely image of him before we begin

general headcanons:

he is shy. even at work he's one of the most quiet people and prefers to do his research by himself. he is NOT the type of person to actively work with his teammates. bear with him he's just very much socially awkward and a massive introvert

like he pretty much always was, he's a bookworm. he definitely took his entire jules verne book collection to los alamos you can NOT convince me otherwise

a lot of people smoked in the 40s and i can see him being convinced to try it. he genuinely doesn't like it and thus never develops a habit

what if los alamos was the place doc discovered his alcohol problem. i watched the show "manh(a)ttan" because of this interest and it was commonly shown that the people there were going out in the evening and stuff. now i don't know historically accurate the show is but i like the idea of doc going to drink some wine and feeling miserable to the extent that he swears to never touch alcohol again. at least not until 1885

no matter how many times he tries to style his hair so it's slick, it is absolutely no use. he has messy hair and it's kind of become a thing where people recognize him because of it.

ah yeah about the hair. the work on the project causes him a lot of stress and the end when he goes through a lot of emotional turmoil does too obviously. which causes his hair to go white/light blonde at age 30. damn.

also apparently exposure to radiation can cause hair to fall out so doc probably goes through that kind of episode too (he's super sad about it)

he's one of the only people on the base who don't have a family or at the very least a spouse. he's super lonely but overall absolutely the kindest person you could possibly meet there

i think, other than gaining more scientific knowledge and helping the war effort, one of emmett's main motivations to join the manhattan project is the wish to restore his reputation in hill valley. which sadly goes wrong as we all can imagine.

coffee is the only thing he runs on. he barely sleeps because he has no one to tell him to go to bed at a reasonable time

when he's invested in some sort of calculation or problem he wants to solve DO NOT DISTURB HIM or he'll snap. this is not 80s doc and this emmett has quite the pride despite it not showing on the surface

in my head he becomes one of the most important scientists credited for the results on the project. people respect him and go to him for advice even though he's still fairly young when he joins (28). the whole thing allows him to gain knowledge on plutonium and nuclear physics in general, eventually allowing him to build the delorean time machine forty years later. but it comes at a cost and doc has moments where he'd rather throw his life's work and his family fortune away in exchange for never having lived through the painful memories and guilt.

headcanons about 40s doc & marty:

while marty never visited him in canon, there might be a timeline where he did, and in that case i think doc would find this boy strange. like. even more strange than 50s doc.

depending on the timeline (post telltale game or no telltale game) doc knows him from the 30s and is like. hm. something is odd why hasn't this boy aged

if doc did not know him beforehand, he'd think he's weird for a few days, but then let him into his life as a result of deep loneliness

he and marty would form a bond stronger than he did with any of the other scientists in los alamos. why? because marty's actually interested in his life outside of the project and asks basic things such as "how are you doing" while his colleagues would most likely just suck up to him to make use of his high position

marty would punch everyone in the face who even dares to utter an insult about doc, especially post-bombings

while 50s/80s doc acts more like a father towards marty, 40s doc would be a mixture of father and best friend. 40s doc is more mature than 30s emmett but certainly resembles him in more ways than 50s doc does. he's naive and sometimes just too kind and super stubborn and thus sometimes is more interested in his own needs than in marty's.

he acceps the nickname "doc" with no hesitation

marty is the only person that doc allows himself to let his guard down around after probably wearing a stone face for a while. marty makes it clear that he would never judge or blame him and allows doc to be vulnerable around him as much as he wants/needs

they are best friends. their friendship works in every decade what else did you think

ANYWAY that's it for now

i may or may not eventually write a fic about him and his experiences (without marty, basically twin pines doc timeline) but we'll see. i make no promises

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi, I’m an INFP dating an ISTP in a long-distance relationship. We’re both 21 and have been dating for about 3 years. But I have a problem with our relationship that I don’t know how to fix. We’re really attached to each other and spend as much time as possible together, although I am definitely the clingier one most of the time (he has his moments too).

I find myself getting really defensive and on guard whenever he acts more “neutral” to me or makes “logical” observations… I know it’s stupid, but I start taking everything offensively when he’s not overtly affectionate or lovey-dovey with me, which I know rationally isn’t proper, but in the moment I can’t help but get emotional over nothing, and I kind of feel myself being destructive but struggle to resolve it anyways. I’m surprised he tolerates me, I’m sure it’s incredibly annoying, and sometimes even his reassurance isn’t enough for me because it feels shallow or like he’s just saying what I want to say since he usually isn’t very elaborate about his feelings or moods.

I guess it kind of scares me that I can’t read him, even though he’ll say there’s nothing to read… I can’t help but assume he’s against me or doesn’t like me or something in the moment if he’s not flirty or affectionate, when he’s probably just being his normal self. I also get stupidly jealous when he hangs out with his friends, although he usually tells me he misses me when we can’t spend time together or talk and that he’d rather be with me.

I think it’s because compared to him I lack a social life… most of my friends aren’t close to me anymore and don’t really care about me in my opinion, so I rarely see them. All I do is go to college, and I don’t have any real friends there either, and I still live with my parents who can be toxic and overbearing. So I really only have him, and it’s just hard. But I don’t like the direction my mentality is going, and I don’t want to get worse, so I guess I’m asking for some advice or steps I can take to improve myself and feel more secure in my relationship.

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The more dependent you are on something, the more you will fear losing it, which often leads to desperate or overbearing behavior. As a general rule, you shouldn't depend on only one person to fulfill all of your emotional needs. By doing this, you turn love into a burden for your romantic partner. While they may be willing to shoulder the burden, it isn't fair to them, and it sucks all the fun out of the relationship. How can dominant Fi be healthy and feel at peace when you're behaving in a way that is exploitative?

You've already pointed out a major aspect of the problem: you don't have any other social and emotional supports in your life. If you're in college, it means you're an adult, but you aren't properly nurturing adult independence. Independence doesn't mean you have to do everything alone, rather, it means you have to take the initiative to get the things you need and want in life. Independent people take matters into their own hands and don't waste time with waiting around, self-pity, or wishful thinking.

For example, you could put more effort into building yourself a social support network as well as engaging in activities outside of your romantic relationship. Many introverts struggle with this. You don't have to be the life of the party or a social butterfly to build a social support network. A small handful of carefully chosen friends should suffice. Join clubs or group activities. Observe some good friend candidates and take the initiative to strike up a relationship with them. If it works out, great. If it doesn't work out as expected, oh well, simply move on to the next person.

Remember that once you leave school and enter the workforce, it becomes much more difficult to make new friends. College is an ideal time to make friends because there's much more opportunity to meet like-minded people. Knowing more people in college can open more doors for you personally and professionally. Don't waste the opportunities right in front of you. This will require you to develop auxiliary Ne and entertain a wider range of possibility in your life (see the Type Development Guide). Ne development is also necessary for changing repetitive patterns of behavior, through choosing new and different paths for opening yourself up to the world.