#i find it rly interesting that shes like....how do i put this

[elfcollector]

Captain, may I ask if you ever have that same feeling? — I do. Really? Who would have guessed we would share that.

[nomaishuttle]

uninstalled all the dating apps which ws like 8nof them . in the morning ill tell the guys i was talking to that i overestimared how ready i was and hopefully theyll understand andnjust drop it

[orcelito]

Yet another No Homo ending for the ages

Like Haha hey bro. They're making another ending video with us fighting and staring at each other intensely. But this time we're also fighting side by side, then staring at each other intensely Again, but this time in a cautious and considering manner.

Don't worry about what this means for us or our plotline haha no homo at all bro

[arolesbianism]

The Joshua section of my oni playlist is looking great so far

[sesshous]

random dating hcs ᰔ mona, alhaitham, gaming

genre: fluff (no prns)

a/n: dating headcanons... drabbles... blurbs (not rly sure what to call these) also mona in the new cat event!! i love mona, she was the first five star i ever wanted and the first one i ever got, so i'm happy she's at least getting some more screentime haha ♡

mona

mona isn’t the most… responsible with her money. while she does have money set aside, the vast majority of her income goes to her life’s interest: astrology. but even with her lack of money, mona still wants to do things with you! … just without a hefty price tag.

mona loves to stargaze — befitting of an astrologist. she loves taking you around different heights of mondstadt! mona knows all the best spots that have a good view of the night sky — pointing out all the constellations, rambling on to you about what they mean… she’ll even make some copies of her own star charts to give you for future reference.

not really a known fact about her, but mona is actually a pretty decent cook! she'd want to prepare you a filling (and cheap), but very delicious meal rather than go out to eat. sometimes, she’ll end up lecturing you on market prices and ways you can prepare meals for a low cost — she wouldn’t want you buying overpriced ingredients when you can get just as good ones for a cheaper price!

and yes, if you ask her nicely she can create and show you reflections other than constellations with her hydromancy… just for you though. she wouldn’t want people to think her hydromancy is all just for show.

(brownie points if you share the same interest in astrology. you’re basically a match at that point.)

“hm? of course, i knew we were destined to be together — the stars never lie.”

gaming

the absolute sweetest! with how much he talks about you, people of liyue have to be living under a rock if they don’t know the two of you are together.

no has no shame with pda gaming will want to hold your hand everywhere you go. or have his arm around you. or hug you — he literally never gets embarrassed about giving you affection! he’s very into physical touch, he finds it’s comforting. i’d like to think he’s warm to the touch too — with or without the pyro vision. great cuddling material for cold days! (… hot ones too — you just have to wear breathable clothes so you don’t overheat.)

you don’t have to be into it as much as he is, but gaming would definitely want to teach you the basics of wushou dancing! he’s always there to help show and guide you through the movements — he likes to think he’s a pretty good teacher! he'll joke about putting on a duo performance… just a joke of course, haha… unless—?

oh, and man chai loves you! i like to think man chai acts more well behaved for you than he does with gaming, (he blames it on all the treats you give him) but he’s so glad you too get along! … even if man chai does steal take more of your attention when you’re together...

“y’know, i'm starting to think man chai likes you way more than he likes me! … but it's you, so i don’t blame him though, haha!”

alhaitham

alhaitham as quite the reputation for being… unapproachable to say the least. to people, his words and gaze seems judgemental, so how could someone stand to be around someone like that? lucky for you, you're able see past what those people seemingly think of him!

the books alhaitham reads aren’t made for the average’s person leisurely reading — their complex and lengthy — but alhaitham feels a kind of… fondness when you ask him to read out loud whatever book he's currently reading to you! …even if you do end up becoming a bit sleepy due to the content of the book (he thinks it’s cute. will he say that to you? … maybe teasingly.) he also will read and take book suggestions from you if you have any for him! he doesn’t just read non-fiction (and if it’s from you, really he’s open to anything. anything.)

because of alhaitham’s day consisting pretty much on a schedule, he finds himself finding ways to incorporate you into it with his free time. he prefers to spend time with you in more quiet and secluded places around sumeru away from people, but i actually feel like he wouldn’t be opposed to dates in public! going to the likes of places such as the grand bazaar to see what people are selling or watching performances that are put on in the theatre (though most of the time it’s you dragging him out… he does find it entertaining to see your face light up at all of the sights)

on some occasions, he’ll bring you along with him when he’s invited out for drinks with cyno, kaveh and tighnari. (try your best to tease him in front of them, but he’ll always have a playful quip right back at you.)

"really? because sometimes i think you love using me more as a pillow than an actual boyfriend. i’m only joking dear, i love you too.”

[omeletcat]

SoulShattered is the name of my indie game that i have been working on for a while now!! Its a story driven pixel art bullet hell! This blog is for spreading the word about my game and recording every update and thing i add have for the future!

This post is a little info dump about everything i can share about it at this moment! so if you are in any way interested in a pixel art indie game that is coming out.. some day then follow and read this post!

STORY

The spirit world is a strange place in between earth and the afterlife, when a human is both alive and dead at the same time, they get trapped in the spirit world, A place with no sun or moon but stars lighting up the pitch dark sky. The spirit world is filled with.. spirits, humanoid creatures who just live their lives, but it is also filled with monsters. One day a human named Luca woke up in the spirit world, their soul shattered into pieces not being able to remember who they are. There they meet Rae a girl who has been looking for a way to leave the spirit world for years, Rae helps Luca  To try and find all the pieces of their soul together they will travel the spirit world trying to fix Luca's soul and find a way to get back to the human world.

this is the synopsis for my game! The main storyline is about Luca trying to repair their soul and wanting to fix their memories to remember who they were. But besides Luca there is also Rae the secondary main character. She has been in the spirit world for a long time, and has been trying to find a way to get back to earth but has been unsuccessful.

(here are some animations of Luca and Rae)

GAMEPLAY

I designed Soulshattered around moving the mouse around.

If the mouse is inside the circle it is defined as close, and if the player attacsk it will have a different attack than if it was outside of the circle.

the player has 2 attack buttons, left and right click. then it has 2 variants for both attacks a close and a far version. i am also planning on adding combo's that create a different attack if you click multiple attacks at once. turning it to around 6 attacks. The first game will only have 2 tho, because i wanna give them slowly over time.

Besides the attacks the player can also switch between Luca and Rae. Both have their own hp and energy bar that keep track of their energy, every time you attack the energy goes down and if you go to zero you are forced to switch to another character until it isfilled back up. My idea is that this will force the player to keep switching strategies because Rae and Luca have completely different attacks.

Beside that the player will also have to switch characters to solve puzzle's or for a strategic advantage against certain enemies.

Right now Luca has these attacks

1 Is a gravity punch, enemies that are hit with this get shot away, if it hits another enemy or a wall/object it takes damage depending on its speed. The enemy that got hit with another enemy (or an object like a crate) will also take damage.

2 Is a basic shoot attack where the player shoots a flying fist. the player will also use a flying fist in puzzle's to pick up stuff and move them around.

1 is a blast attack, i WANT to theme it around fireworks! caus thats rly cool but i haven't been able to make it look.. like fireworks so its an explosion rn

2 is a parry, if an enemy hits the sword when it's attacking it gets stunned for a bit and takes a lot of damage.

SCREENSHOTS

because i didn't rly know where else to put this here are some screenshot gifs on how the game looks rn!

WHERE I AM AT IN DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT I STIL HAVE TO DO TO GET CHAPTER 1 OUT THERE

right now i am working hard to get out a demo that contains the combat mechanics and a basic enemy ai, then i can see if people like what i have so far!

RELEASING

The game will be posted on itch.io and maybe steam to! it will however be released in parts! Because i have a very big story i wanna tell and i'm 100% sure i wouldn't be able to make it in one big part i will be releasing it in chapters! every chapter can therefor have a slight theme and semi self contained lesson and story!

the themes that i have in mind right now are these -Steampunk robot factory -disco/rave pyramids -Cloud mountain -Sea/pirate -murder mystery train -knights and castles

These are just idea's tho, don't look too much into them.

these would all have their own chapter of the game with an overarching story.

DEV INFO

For engine i use Godot! and gdscript as my language. for my art i use this website called pixilart.com but i wanna switch to aseprite when i get some money.

WHY

For ages my dream has been to simply make something amazing, i want to make art, or even something more, a piece of content that will inspire people. My ultimate goal with this game is to create something so amazing, that it will inspire people to make things of their own.

A story that will move people and stay with them for longer than the time it took to play the game.

A game that is fun to play and simply enjoyable and cool.

Something like the amazing shows and games that have inspired me over the years.

https://omeletcat.itch.io/soulshattered

this is the link for my itch.io page!

[grimmcheems]

🗣️Rize, they could never make me hate you🗣️😭🖤🎀

I actually love her so much. Rize did not deserve a lot of the things that happened to her😔 I haven’t completely finished the manga and don’t want to bc the ending is kinda meh and I do not want to see the nastiness that comes from Furuta towards Rize. Like bro is actually so crazy, I do not blame her for the way she turned out, she was rly going through it.

⚠️spoilers below⚠️

On another note, It’s interesting thinking back on Kaneki as a character after these past couple yrs and how his apathetic personality that came out later on in the series may have been how he actually thought and would’ve acted if he wasn’t always trying to put up appearances. I never thought about his personality evolution like that until I saw a theory about it and how it could have been a result of his abuse and it’s just so cool to think about. That mixed with his unresolved feelings toward Rize after the aogiri arc was fascinating.

As I made this I imagined an AU or universe in which Kaneki understood and fully accepted Rize for who she was after he met her again and finding out she was alive the whole time and being tortured. Idk. Something about that situation rly had an impact on me when I read it in the manga and I always wished the two had more time together and got to know each other. Rize has always been a part of Kaneki since the start of the series so it would’ve been interesting to actually see her as her own person and what she may have been like instead of only having an image of her throughout the experiences everyone else has had with her. I always hated that aspect of the manga, that we never really know who she is or ever find out her own personal desires and goals.

Whenever I think of those two specific versions of them I think they may have been like a found family in which they sort of adopt a sibling relationship. That would’ve been so interesting. Kaneki has always been alone for the most part so I like to think having Rize as an older sister would’ve helped him out a lot.

Other than that there was also another scenario I thought of in which Kaneki has had no contact with her until one of the final arcs with their dragon forms, he sort of then can understand why she is how she is after learning about her history throughout the story and tries to connect with her. Hence the angsty sketch in the corner. I’d like to think Kaneki would help her take out those who have wronged her and put her in her current position. Afterwards is when they’d form a closer relationship and maybe she’d be like an aunt or older sister figure to both Kaneki and Touka since they’re together and Touka never rly liked her that much at the start. I think that’d be funny.

[gaybananabread]

AHHH, ok ok. This is my first time like ordering anything so I’m nervous asf. But I’d like oranges, grapes and cherries with Ler!Jax and Lee!Pomni. Obv everything platonic, and like, go nuts with the plot. (Idk if this is worth mentioning pero I have this silly little headcannon that Pomni squeaks like a squeaky toy when squeezed so like, IF YOU WANT, you can add that.)

IF YOU DONT DO THIS ONE ITS OKK, I rly enjoy your writing and hope you have a great day/ night, tyy <33

Fruit(s): Oranges, Grapes, Cherries

Aww thank you Anon! You’re all good, and love that Pomni would absolutely become a dog toy (¬‿¬). Jax is definitely interesting to write for, and I like playing around with his asshole-ness. Thank you for requesting, and I hope you Enjoy!

Lee: Pomni

Ler: Jax

Summary: Pomni is still getting used to the circus, anxious and uneasy in the new environment. Jax tries to help out, though he does it in his own annoying way.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!

In the circus tent, small NPCs ran wild, knocking things over and babbling nonsense. They were like the Gloinks, but so much worse. Caine had dipped on them once again, leaving the characters to fend for themselves. Zooble peaced out, but the others were stuck with them.

It took nearly the whole day, but they had managed to contain the little monsters until Caine came back to woosh them away. For most of the characters, it was weirdly routine. For the newest arrival, however, it was more than off-putting. Pomni just felt…out of place in the digital world. She wandered around the tent, trying to calm herself down.

-

Jax was walking around, trying to find something to do. He would have messed with Ragatha, but her and Gangle were having some kind of “girl’s day.” Ugh…he wanted no part of it. 

Just as he was considering going to explore the forbidden rooms, he heard the faint jingling of bells. Pomni must’ve been “exploring” the grounds again. While she wasn’t his usual target, the jester would probably keep him entertained until something else happened.

The smug and confident smirk he always wore shrank as he approached her. Pomni looked so…so tired. Tired and way too wound up. Still, he sauntered over, trying to gauge just how upset she was. “Hey, newbie. You sane after that horror show?”

Pomni flinched at his voice, taking a second to register what he said; she’d been spacing out for most of the day. “U-uhm…yes? Why?”

He rolled his eyes, trying to act as aloof as possible. “Really? ‘S just that ya look like you’re about to fall apart. Hey, you think that’s possible here?” Jax cared about how she was doing, but he had an image and a rep in the circus. No way he was jeopardizing that.

“Shut up, Jax…” She turned away from him, rubbing her arm and looking down. The girl felt crummy enough; she didn’t have the energy to deal with his junk. 

He chuckled, leaning down and getting eye-level with her. Jax was bored, yes, but he didn’t want to see Pomni so down. Might as well try and cheer her up. “Aww, c’mon Pom-Pom! Try a smile; it won’t kill ya!” He reached out, trying to poke her side in an attempt to get her to smile. Before he could even get close to her blue side, she gasped softly and jerked away from his hand. Oh…that’ll work.

The look on his face was a dead giveaway to his plan. “Jax, no! I swear, don’t you even think abo-KYAH!” Pomni was cut off by a sharp poke to her stomach, whatever she was trying to say lost in a squeal.

“Oh, I’m doin’ more than think about it~” Jax’s voice was smug as ever, his gloved hands wrapping around her middle and wiggling them into her sides. The bunny crouched down, just so he could whisper in her ear. “Tickle tickle, Pomni~”

Squeaky and bright giggles bubbled out of her, only making Jax’s smirk grow. Pomni was much less amused, kicking and wriggling around in his grip. “Y-youhuhu prihick! Gehet ohoff mehehe!”

“Nah, don’t think I will.” One fun thing the purple rabbit noticed; Pomni was blushing. Really blushing, so brightly that it put the circles already on her cheeks to shame. So, of course, he called her out on it.

“Wow, I didn’t know you could blush like that, newbie!” He cooed, making sure to poke up and down her ribs as he spoke. “Thought bright red was crybaby’s thing, but you go girl~” 

“Sh-shuhut uhuhuhup!” The bells on Pomni’s hat jingled with every sharp jolt and tug, only making the scene funnier. Jax was thoroughly enjoying himself; he had maintained his vibe while also making Pomni smile. True, he was being a bitch about it, but it was working.

Wanting to try something else, Jax clamped both hands firmly on her sides, giving them a nice squeeze. Nothing could’ve readied him for what happened next. “Jahahax! Wouhuld you- *squeak*” 

Suddenly, his hands stopped moving, giving her a quick breather as the shock and amusement set in. After a few seconds, a loud bark of laughter escaped him, his voice more playful than it had been the whole time. “No *sproing*-ing way… You squeak?!” 

Without any further warning, he dug into her sides, rapidly squeezing them in the hopes of more squeaks. “J- *squeak* COHOHohome ohon! Quihihit- *squeak* JAHAX!” The sound was almost like a dog toy’s squeaker; it endlessly amused Jax, leaving the rabbit wanting more and more of the adorable sound.

“This has gotta be my favorite quirk of yours, squeaky-toy!” He squeezed and poked along her sides, sneaking a quick rib scribble in every few seconds. Best day ever…

“P-PLEHEHE- *squeak* NOHO! JAHAX!” While he was more than enjoying the squeaks and laughter, he could tell Pomni was wearing out. Not wanting to potentially get on Ragatha’s very-bad side, he stopped squeezing the jester. “Alright, alright, no more squeezes. That was fun, though~”

Pomni went almost limp in his arms, trying to catch her breath. She looked up at him expectantly, expecting to be released. Jax only laughed at her expression. “Oh, newbie, no. I never said I was done~” The ever-growing blush on her cheeks made him smile wider, his almost haughty confidence growing.

He tested out her neck, smirking at the surprised giggles he received. “You’re just a walking tickle-spot, aren’t ya? There anywhere you ain’t ticklish?” Deciding to be a bit merciful, he kept the tickling to light scratches, exploring the area. 

Much to his surprise, Pomni’s giggles softened, her body going almost slack against his. Jax wondered if he’d managed to kill her for a second, but he soon realized that she was just…enjoying it. Pomni wasn’t trying to push at his hands anymore; she just grabbed his wrists and loosely hung on.

“Aww, Pomni! You like this, don’t ya~?” He continued lightly tickling underneath her chin and the front of her neck, basking in the lazy giggles and lax squeals he got. Jax had no idea how someone could practically melt from getting tickled, but he wasn’t gonna question it. 

“Ihihihi- shuhuhut ihit…” Pomni could’ve had a better response, but she was too comfy to try. While he was still tickling her, it felt much more relaxing and nice in that spot. She could’ve stayed there all day…

Quickly realizing the jester was about to fall asleep on him, Jax stopped and patted her back. Pomni took a few shaky breaths, residual giggles still squeaking out in her daze. The bunny boy just chuckled, trying to help her wake up, in a sense. “You’re good, I’m done, wakey-wakey.”

Pomni was tired, though, and feeling like mild revenge. She just leaned into the purple boy, closing her eyes and letting the sleepy relaxation take over; girl was out in seconds. 

“...Pomni?” Jax’s smirk slowly fell, his brow-area bunching. She hadn’t moved in a few seconds, though he could see her breathing. Did she… That little-

Seeing her asleep on him felt strangely similar to a kitten napping there. It felt wrong to move… “*boing* it…”

Hopefully Ragatha and Gangle will be done soon…

[sparklingsora]

For the Vee-Swap AU, how does the Vee polycule develop? The polyvee shippers (me) need to know!!

HEHE OK OK SO putting it under cut bc it ended up longer than i anticipated LOL

as you already know, velvox is the established relationship in this au. and as i believe i mentioned before, velvette and val are sinstagram mutuals, it's how val finds out about the hotel. on val's part, falling for velvette isn't really a surprise to him - back when they just knew each other through social media, he already found her attractive, admired her work and they got along well, so all that turning into a full-on crush when he gets to know her better isn't very shocking. his relationship with vox is where it gets interesting, because it starts out rocky. i mentioned before that vox can tell that val's putting on an act. but because vox obv can't relate to val's situation, val just sees it as vox pitying him and refuses his help. a turning point comes in ep 4 - in the swap au, it actually starts raining during loser baby, which results in val getting sick. vox helps him out and they have a tender moment, maybe a little heart-to-heart (its hard to just describe, i will make a comic/ficlet of it at one point so you'll see :3). their relationship starts getting better from that point on, and soon enough val finds himself falling for vox. (it's funny, really - ep 4 in the swap au leads to the bettering of a grand total of 3 relationships: al & val's, vox & val's and indirectly al & vox's. load bearing episode LOL) on vox and velvette's part, well. val is a douche at the start of the story, much like canon!angel, but vox and velvette can both tell that there's a heart of gold in there somewhere. vox because of the aformentioned seeing through val's facade, and velvette because she, in fact, wasn't mutuals with val's official account, but with his art account, where he keeps his identity hidden. he shows his softer side a lot more on there, and so that's mainly the side of him that velvette knew (so now imagine the whiplash when she actually meets him in person and he's an obnoxious jerk LOL) (i dont know if valentino being an artist is actually canon - i read it on the fandom wiki and fandom wikis cant rly be trusted LOL but in any case if its not canon then its a neat hc that i incorporated into swap!val's character) but anyway yeah, vox and velvette both start falling for val as he slowly becomes more true to himself and starts showing that soft side more. eventually the two of them talk about it um. somewhere around ep 6 i think? maybe? somewhere between eps 6 and 7? something like that. anyway. there we get some juicy conflict - they agree that theyre both in love with val and wanna give the whole polyamory thing a try if he's up for it, but while velvette wants to confess as soon as possible (she's scared that one of them might die in the battle), vox wants to wait until after the battle, because the stress levels are high in the hotel right now, and he doesn't want val to feel pressured. during the last night before the battle, in a scene vaguely equivalent to more than anything (reprise), they make up, velvette admits that vox is right, and they decide to confess to val after the extermination. and then yeah they do that (it's one of the 2 things that i'm sure i want to happen at the beginning of season 2), val is like "HELL YEAH I WANNA BE IN A POLYCULE WITH YOU GUYS" and they're a polycule and its awesome :3

[jack-kellys]

I gotta be honest, the Jatherine subplot is probably my least favorite part of the show (until west endsies, I really love what michael and bronté did), so 🎤

give me a piece of the show u take issue with and i'll whip up a solution, director-style!

mmh yeah fair enough. they also rly sold it for me, but im gonna put them aside for a bit and just look at what we're given.

i think that maybe not notably but importantly, in watch what happens it's actually sort of explicit that kath does NOT like jack as a person, but literally. as a face. they meet and all she sees is an attractive boy in the street, (and i think it'd be cute if jack stares after her long enough for him to almost miss his "you struck out!" cue...) and he promptly bugs her until she sees who he rly is. legit all their content until wwh(r) is argumentative annoyances. we know that jack's much than that–maybe even the opposite of that–right off the bat with the prolue w/ crutchie.

so i think the genuine key to jatherine is where and when you stage miss girl katherine, when she's not speaking directly to jack.

sneaking her into moments where the real jack is seen. have her see him pick a kid up off the ground a few measures before "can I interest you in the latest news". have her be on her way to medda's show upstage when he's tugging the jacobs in front of him while running from snyder. have her watch more of the scene in jacobi's before she enters and see the pride these boys share in one another. uksies also did a great job at this tbf, but enforcing kath as the observer that denton was in 92sies would serve her so well.

because i think for katherine, which's different than davey imo, she cares first about the movement and learns to care about jack. she learns a lot about attraction because of jack, she thought she "knew what love was" or whatever, but there's something about him that changes her whole view, and i think it's learning that he is caring, sentimental, and afraid- and alone, even if he isn't actually. it's about finding the moments where kath also gets to express it back that is key, bc we already Know that abt jack as an audience- it's kath who's new to it.

give me an ACTUAL "you look like hell" moment. let her rush over to him despite herself, be surprised at her own action, nearly take his face into her hands before she notices how stiff and guarded he is right then. her feelings for him are a surpise, they "snuck up" on her, right, so finding THE moment where she understands that she has them? key. idt we ever rly get that enough so where it stands out.........especially bc davey exists and has multiple moments of this LMFAO.

jack being attracted to katherine is morrrre obvious i think, he has the i never planned on you thing, it's very clear he's making an effort to get her to stay longer or get to know her. kath is hesitant, and THAT'S very interesting, actually– but only if you do something about it.

[castleclerics]

ABSOLUTELY INSANE NINA PROJECT PARALLELS FROM FUTURE MAN S2 (2019)

so there i was…. minding my own business watching s2 of a show i watched solely for josh hutcherson. then suddenly… he wakes up out of a simulation in a bathtub.

anyways once he fully awakes he’s greeted by literal female brenner

i don’t even think i have to explain the next screenshots so just look at this shit

she tells him she's from the future and she went back in time because she believes he's the only person with "the skills to save our world" similar to how owens tells el the same thing in 4x03

this part is crazy to me because i already had a theory that if el did the massacre, that her sending one through the gate was something her own mind made up.

anyways so the reason they put him in the simulation was to ask him questions about this guy (its a really long story) but like in the og timeline this doctor creates a cure but it destroys humanity so josh wakes up in another timeline where he didn't save the world, where stu, josh's former coworker, takes place of the og doctor. but it's interesting to think about since brenner was trying to have el find henry all this time and what if he wanted to see what questions her brain could answer about him to collect info on him or something??

el saying to brenner "i came here to try and understand who i was." LIKEEE

he asks if he says no to the simulation process then what would happen so she tells him they'll wipe his memory and "the only side-effect would be the lingering sensation like something was off. it would just be gnawing at you never more than a shadow." which reminds me of el laying in bed and getting flashes of the massacre in 4x03.

anyways onto the twin/clone stuff !!!!!!

he escapes into the desert after this so og josh doesn't end up getting killed. so basically they clone josh to see which version of him will be the correct one powerful enough to take down stu. also og josh ends up stumbling into a room of all of his dead clones :)

AHEMMM el commiting the massacre........ (for backstory in s1 he blew up a building to save the world so it was for good) and brenner recreating henry over and over…..

also just look at all the screenshots it literally looks like it was filmed where s4 nina scenes were filmed...

btw i'm still making a masterpost thing of how el rly did do the massacre it's gonna take a while bc i still have to do a little more analyzing and go over alllll of nina

there's literally more parallels but i can't fit them in this post but they aren't too important, more just to show the writers genuinely got inspo straight from this. anyways how fun right my jaw was on the floor watching this

[saaltskies]

i think bw is very similar whether hilbert or hilda is the protagonist but there are some differences in my head

for example...

i think hilda would be much more aggressive toward team plasma and kinda despised n at first

she went from what is with this weirdo to OH UR THE KING SCREW YOU

after the champion battle she stops hating him though

part of the reason why she disappeared after the events of bw is because she also feels guilty for how mean she was to him

protag hilbert was more friendly to n at first thinking his views were interesting even if he didnt agree

he also hated team plasma hilda just causes more arson

but ya hilbert was more chill with him and enjoyed talking to him at least until he was like oh btw im the king of team plasma and hilbert was like wHAT

while protag hilda becomes more aggressive and angry with n hilbert becomes more scared of him

hilbert is like ohhhhh shoot i promised my friends i wouldnt get too involved with team plasma but got too involved oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot nonononono

when n is like hey i chose you to be the other hero hildas like excuse me what ?????? while hilberts like shoot shoot shootshootshootshoot

on the whole dream thing they have different responses

see hilbert has a dream while hilda doesnt

n asked hilbert if he has a dream and hilbert never really had a dream his whole life but realized then that traveling the world and hopefully become champion kinda are dreams of his and thought about it for a bit and realized huh ig i do

he followed that for the rest of the game (until the horrors settled in)

then with hilda she doesnt have one

she tells everyone before that that her dream is to win the pokemon league but she actually doesnt care that much about it

its a goal shes working towards but not rly a dream

when asks shes about to say that as usual but then shes like. huh. i dont actually. and she finally admits she doesnt have one for the first time, but that she doesnt really mind, she'll figure it out

after chargestone cave hilbert becomes more anxious he puts way more into training he becomes more desperate because THERES AN EVIL CULT AFTER HIM

his dream changes its focus to taking down team plasma

he also starts to distance himself from his friends and sister more from stress which worries them a bit

hilda also ups her training but shes more upbeat and motivated while hilbert is more stressed

also neither of them are very good at being vulnerable so they dont talk much to their friends about how they're feeling lol

hilda starts to be more niceys to n after the conversation with ghetsis on the bridge because shes like oh wait this is awful while hilbert is like YOU

his bad feelings about ghetsis are confirmed and he more than ever wants to take down team plasma

they are both sickened by ghetsis

in the champion battle their feelings are similar

they both get stressed over the fact that they cant afford to lose and they both wanna also make n see the truth

and of course after the battle they are both PISSED at ghetsis

oh and they both equally want to beat ghetsis with a nail bat but i think hilda is more likely to actually have one and do it lol #girl

they both get freaked the heck out by ghetsis trying to murder them who wouldn't this is terrifying

after the battle hilda wants to apoligize to n for being so mean to him because shes kinda chill with him now and also now that hes no longer doing stuff she has no reason to hate him but he leaves before she can say it :(

while hilbert has all these deep lil things he wants to say to him and also wants to ask him if they can be friends but n disappears rip

some time after it finally registers in hilberts brain everything that happened and that one the pokemon league and he starts freaking out over it all and starts getting imposter syndrome over the whole champion thing and books it to go find n

bye bestie

while hilda is overrun with guilt because she didnt get to properly make up with n so she heads out too

i think hilda does a better job at keeping in contact than hilbert does

hilda doesnt do a great job either but at least everyone knows shes ok unlike a certain SOMEONE

oh and if they arent protags hilda spends all her time at the battle subway like hee hee battle

she also loses interest in the league trains are so much better

and hilbert is like hey imma go do some extra training for the league in the subway and by the time he comes back out his sister is traumatized

[animehideout]

Wait wait can u actually write a fix scenario anything like how Goji falls in love with a basically his female version (weak but acts tough) it’s okay if u can’t but cuz it’s annoying everyone put him with someone different…(everyone tells me I can’t be w him cuz I’m as crazy and stupid ..) so yeah basically rly rly pretty pretty prettiest please 🥹🫀

THE ONE I LOVE

a/n: Hello there, yes baby of course here you go and I really hope you like it though 😭🥹. And always remember to just be yourself, you're perfect the way you are ❣️💌.

warnings: none, pure fluff.

“Amused... Shouldn't we help her” asked Megumi narrowing his eyes in worry.

“Well she's amusing, while struggling with that tricky curse” Said Gojo Satoru with a smile while observing you.

His eyes fixated on each and every move of yours trying to exorcise that curse.

You joined Jujutsu high later than others. Despite Gojo being your very charming and charismatic teacher you actually didn't have a huge age gap. Everyone in Jujutsu high tend to call you two peas in a pod, your personalities were very similar, you're basically his cocky female version. Loud extroverts who love to annoy others, who eat a lot of sweets and with terrible Insomnia issues.. But he was naturally gifted to be strong, while you acted strong when you're actually not.. Your curse technique wasn't the strongest, actually it was the weakest comparing to all other jujutsu high students. It was your biggest insecurity but it was kept a secret, ain't no way you'll show that you're weak..

“Gojo I can't stand and watch, I'll go help her”

“No Megumi, she'll handle it”

“What makes you so sure this curse won't kill her?”

“injured maybe but dead nope..”

You were fighting that annoying curse, mentally cursing your weak abilities.

“shit I suck at this...but I can't be defeated Megumi and Satoru are watching” you said to yourself. Trying your hardest to not trip and fall flat on your clumsy ass.

Gojo Pov:

That curse won't kill her, it's just to help her master her Jujutsu better. I've always found her technique quite interesting, I love seeing her struggle with tasks it's amusing knowing that her soul in that little body doing everything she can to prove herself, to me and to others... The confidence is what really matter.

I love the way she's spontaneous, saying whatever comes in her mind.. doing crazy and stupid things but doesn't care if someone judges her or her techniques.. but she'll put them in their place.

End of Pov

Laying one last punch, you managed to actually harm that curse but not enough to exorcise it.

“Nice punch” Said Gojo approaching you, exorcising that curse.

You looked at him while breathing heavily, wiping the sweat off of your forehead, “is he being sarcastic?” you thought to yourself.

“T-thanks” you said awkwardly.

“Your combat skills got better..” he praised.

“mm” you mumbled.. holding back tears.. you felt kinda embarrassed with him being the strongest and you failing to exorcise a grade 3 curse.. rejecting to believe any of his compliments.

“You don't have to act tough y/n” said Gojo taking you off guard.

“huh?”

“I mean just be yourself that's the way to find your true power” You didn't expect him to expose you easily like that..

Was that brave face you've been putting on not convincing enough for him?

“show me your true colors..” he added taking a step closer to you making you stumble back.. he giggled at your clumsiness “hehe cute..” he said in a silly tone ruffling your hair.

You blinked a few times, proceeding what just happened..

“Your technique is special in its own way, you just need to master it”

“I- I know my technique is special..” you crossed your arm acting cocky..

“I've always admired your confidence y/n.. ahh I love it..I love yo-”

But he paused quickly when he realized what he just said.

“y-you what?” you asked.

He started blushing, as he bit his bottom lip. “The strongest sorcerer is nervous?” you thought to yourself..

“I said I ..-I love you y/n” he finally confessed properly.

Your mind went blank “how could Gojo Satoru..fall in love with me?” you asked yourself refusing to believe it.

“huh?”

“You indeed stole my heart y/n...”

“w-why me?” you asked voice shaking.

“Because you're different.. you're unique in your own way.. and I love how you carry yourself..”

“but I'm ...I-m..” you stuttered not ready to admit it and make that mask you've been putting for many months fall..

“Weak??” he questioned.

You looked down, swallowing hard.. but his long fingers gently grabbed your chin making you meet his soft gaze.

“You're not weak because no matter how scary the situation is, you've never ran away..I saw that day how you faced that special grade curse but stood your ground despite not being trained enough to exorcise it..”

Your eyes became teary, but you held them back..

His big palm caressed your cheeks,

“really?” you asked.

He nodded excitedly putting a smile back on your face..

“come here” he pulled your face, pressing his soft lips on top of yours taking you in a sweet sugary kiss that could make all of your worries vanish.

He mumbled into the kiss “I'll protect you”

Strong or weak love found the way. Proving that the real strength is love.

[ca-suffit]

what are your thoughts on lestat/gabrielle bc parent-child incest is always abuse yet sometimes it feels like fans treat that r/s and akashastat as jokes, maybe bc they can’t recognise female abusers or bc they don’t understand abusers (i.e. lestat) can be and often are victims of abuse themselves.

I already know this is gonna be a rly long reply bcuz there's a lot to talk about to answer this.

gonna put it under a cut for what the topics are. don't click if u don't want to read about incest and abuse obviously.

first, as I've said in other asks here and there, fandom does have a lot of problems with criticizing at least white women in fiction bcuz it's too much of a mirror held up to what fandom spaces are usually made up of to begin with. this is also why darker topics become jokes. it's all a way to create distance for engagement, whether the distance is not to look at urself or maybe ur own trauma (it's usually both here). I've seen a lot of this in the book side of the fandom over the years. it's also why lots of stuff is focused on surface level words ("it's gothic fiction," "they're all monsters") instead of any in depth exploration.

secondly, not to sound like a shitty book person, but incest *is* a major part of gothic fiction. the intention *is* to be repulsive, horrifying, and taboo. ppl should obviously take care to avoid topics that u find overwhelming and might harm ur mental health, but otherwise this *is* part of the genre.

lestat and gabrielle also....don't rly get that much into it tbh. the fandom makes it sound like more than it is. idk if the show is gonna make it more but I doubt it. although there was a dig about it in the trial script that I never saw anyone mention btw

"if u want to kill ur lover, or fuck ur mother, it'll have to wait."

I personally find the shifting power dynamics between human life and vampire life to be rly interesting. I don't think it's something the books explored enough tbh. bcuz lestat and gabrielle are the only vampires who came from being a human parent and child to the child then becoming the vampire parent to his own fledgling vampire mother.

it's clear in their human life that their parent / child boundaries are fucked and tbh that's the worst part for me. especially bcuz the fandom doesn't want to explore that bcuz ppl don't like to criticize gabrielle, as mentioned above. her life is awful so ppl give her a pass a lot. but she starts off as the human parent and she's a p bad parent in a lot of ways tbh (cuz she never wanted to be one).

anyway. I always saw the vampiric era incest as a metaphor for their broken relationship otherwise. like I said before, the fandom makes it sound worse than what even happens too. they never fuck each other. at most they kiss and think or say things that are inappropriate about each other's bodies and their feelings towards it, but modern day stories have had a lot more brutal depictions of incestual relationships between mothers and sons tbh. not saying that to downplay it or say "get over it" or w/e but just to touch on that, cuz it does get weirdly annoying here about it sometimes. ppl act tough about their love of "gothic fiction" all day for other topics in the books that are rly more graphic than this, then act like this is the one thing that goes too far? It's fucking weird, although I have theories about why that happens too.

back to the point tho. they're kind of a "failure" mother and son in life, so that's how I tend to read why this happens in the first place. lestat wants a mother and gabrielle wants to be a man (she directly tells him at a point "u are the man in me").

this is from TVL, before he leaves for paris (when they're both still human)

"I tried to take her in my arms. She stiffened at first but then I felt her weaken and she melted against me, and she gave herself over so completely to me in that moment that I think I understood why she had always been so restrained. She cried, which I'd never heard her do. And I loved this moment for all its pain. I was ashamed of loving it, but I wouldn't let her go. I held her tightly, and maybe kissed her for all the times she'd never let me do it. We seemed for the moment like two parts of the same thing."

after he makes her a vampire, they're kissing each other a lot in that first night. lestat saved his mother from dying and created his first vampire, which he wasn't sure he could do, and she isn't sick anymore and has more freedom than she knows what to do with. she's no longer his human "mother" either. he mentions a lot in these moments that there's no hesitance when they kiss each other like there was before. bcuz they're both happier in their individual issues and this is how they can express that as vampires now. he feeds her blood from his mouth later on in their first night and it comes across like more of a nurturing action than something weird and sexual.

so there's obviously incestual themes present but, to me anyway, this always felt a lot more sad than anything. like they don't know how else to meet each other's needs so they do this as vampires to act out a type of intimacy that otherwise they don't rly have still?

but ya. lestat did not become who he is from nothing. both his parents were abusive in different ways and akasha abuses him too. he constantly has vampirism forced on him against his will and tries his best to ignore how it makes him feel, especially about his own body. he has a lot of trauma attached to how he looks too and it's a whole thing. gabrielle and magnus tap into that in ways too.

fandoms don't rly like to look at cycles of abuse bcuz it's easier to say someone is just "bad" than to feel like maybe ur a bad person too if u sympathize with them. that's why ppl here are working hard to usually make any of these characters either the abused or abuser, depending on which side they relate to the most. it's almost always a combination of both in everyone tho.

[thestupidhelmet]

I guess I just can’t imagine feeling that entitled and forgetting that I’m just a fan. As a creator myself I can’t rly imagine how I’d react if someone was like excuse me no, I know your art and your characters better than you do akshuallllly

I believe framing it as entitlement is the wrong way to think about it.

I can speak only for myself, but I see a variety of different but still canon or in-character ways for characters to develop. Not any of them is necessarily "right," which is to say not the One True and Only Path a character might take.

But whatever path a fictional character does take needs to be a path that character would take based on their personality, goals, emotional wounding, flaws, internal and external stressors. I don't have to like the path, but if it's one that doesn't break the fictional dream, I'll believe the character is capable of making that particular choice.

An example from That '70s Show. Jackie and Fez developing a romantic relationship is an in-character possibly in season 2 because of the episode "Eric and Kitty's Night Out". Had Jackie's development continued in the direction that episode points her, it would have led to a romantic arc between her and Fez. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have accepted it as canon because the path made character sense at that time.

(But every episode after "Eric and Kitty's Night Out" provides a different context for Jackie's "realization" that she likes Fez romantically. Those post-episodes both corroborate the episodes preceding "Eric and Kitty's Night Out" that depict Jackie's non-romantic interest in Fez and show directly and indirectly that her "realization" is a misguided interpretation of her feelings of jealousy. Donna helps Jackie jump to her initial conclusion, but Jackie soon understands that she is jealous of the attention Fez gives to his girlfriend instead of her. She's not romantically attracted to him. She craves his worship.)

Had Jackie developed romantic feelings for Eric, however, on the show, I'd call, "Foul!" because it would be completely out of character for both of them. Jackie consistently expresses that she does not find Eric aesthetically or sexually attractive. Further, she's directly depicted as being sexually repulsed by him. Eric is shown to feel similarly about her except in the season 5 episode where Hyde convinces Eric that Jackie is "hot" when her personality is taken out of the equation.

But, generally, Jackie plays an antagonistic sibling role to Eric whenever Laurie isn't on the show. Eric even uses the same specific devil and hell insults on Jackie as he does Laurie, minus the slut-shaming.

Despite that I find the Jackie/Eric romantic intriguing, I can't consider it a canon, in-character pairing because it's simply not. My personal interests don't distort my writer's/reader's eye.

Speaking of equations, good writing does have a math-like aspect to it. 2 + 2 = 4. A character's personality, goals, trauma, flaws, established behavior + internal and external stressors = a character's choices. When I see in a show that the writing depicts two plus two as equaling five (character-wise), it's glaring.

I know that two plus two equals four, and pointing it out does not come from a place of entitlement but of a desire for truth. In the case of fiction, character and emotional truth. I want to correct the equation, but in fiction X can represent different but equally valid numbers to solve the equation.

A show's writers, unfortunately, too often put an invalid number for X that doesn't solve the character equation but collapses it in favor of a plot they want to pursue or any other reason that is not based on proper writing technique. Consistent characterization is an inconvenience they ignore.

A story (in whatever medium) must make sense. In college and selective post-college writing workshops, the students' (and teacher) are tasked with finding the flaws in their peers' stories, what breaks the fictional dream. We must, in our own writing and that of others', be aware of the characters' development and arc(s). What is working and why. What isn't working and why. Again, to make sure the story's equation is solved organically and logically.

In The Office (US), Greg Daniels (the creator and showrunner for most seasons and the final season) decided that Jim and Pam would separate in the final season and not reconcile until the last episode. John Krasinski (the actor who played Jim) was very tuned into the audience's reaction to the Jim/Pam storyline and saw that it wasn't good.

John told this to Greg and said that he worried Greg's plan (already written and partially filmed) would essentially destroy the show for the fans. They wouldn't be able to rewatch it happily, having experienced a traumatizing end for their favorite pairing.

Fortunately, the show's creator listened to John, to the fans, did a reshoot of the end of one already completed episode and re-edited under the wire then had the last few episodes rewritten to reflect Jim and Pam's reconciliation. This was absolutely the correct, in-character choice -- because the fans recognized a flaw in the equation, not the creator, and John (the actor) also recognized the flaw.

This wasn't the first time John objected to a character development on The Office. He also nixed the John-kisses-Cathy storyline proposed in season 8. He said the audience would never forgive Jim for cheating on Pam in any way. It's out of character for Jim, and instead the show depicts him as doing everything he can think of to get away from her in his Tallahassee hotel room. Again, someone who was not the writer knew better what a show's character would canonically do.

For John Krasinski and Leonard Nimoy, their fidelity was to the characters they portrayed. For many fans, including myself, it's the same. A sense of entitlement is not what I feel. I recognize when characters are written against their natures and want the equation to be corrected. TV showrunners and writers have a lot of external forces weighing on them from the industry and/or personal ambitions that undermine the characters they created or are tasked to write.

A sense of entitlement would entail, for instance, being blind (wilfully or ignorantly) to or simply not caring about character consistency so that the characters they ship become romantically involved on the shows they watch. Justifying their desire not with facts (i.e. what the characters actually say and do on a show) but with distortions and misinterpretations. Then attacking the showrunners and writers for not catering to their desires.

That '90s Show does not depict That '70s Show's canonical future (no idea if this is the reason for your asks, Anon, but it's relevant to the conversation). Canonical, well- and long-established facts from T7S are changed, distorted, or erased to create T9S's fictional dream. T9S is not a corollary of T7S's equation. It's a different equation altogether, using some of the same numbers but in different ways.

That's a fact, substantiated by statements made by T9S's creator Gregg Mettler and the show itself, and it's also not a problem as long as fans recognize -- in T7S's series director's statement about T7S S8 -- that T9S "is an alternative universe". In other words, not canon to T7S.

I enjoy That '90s Show as it's own thing, but I neither consider it or am satisfied by it as a canonical future for That '70s Show from both a fan's perspective and as an author.

[givemea-dam-break]

could you possibly do lockwood x reader and the reader is always slightly to eager to sacrifice her life for george and lockwood etc to the point where lockwood is concerned about it and he confronts her abt it and she basically says how does the same thing like kinda angsty.

sorry that was long and rly specific and sounds abit depressing in retrospect 😭 no pressure if not love ur lockwood and co imagines tho

a/n: oh i can absolutely do this! if there's anything i love, it's lockwood and angst lol. i hope you enjoy!! and don't worry about the length of a request, if there's something you want then I'll do it <3

warnings: mild language, angst, mentions of death gn reader

It's four in the morning and all you want is a good cup of tea and to lie down, but when does anything ever go the way you want it to?

As you sit on one of the kitchen chairs, Lockwood is fumbling around, trying to patch up a gash on your forehead after a scuffle with the ghost you had a case for tonight. You feel like a child. Even more so because he's telling you off.

If you're being honest, you've not been listening to most of what he's been saying, partly because of exhaustion and pain, partly because he's been pattering on for so long that, quite frankly, you've lost interest.

"Are you even listening to me?"

You flinch as Lockwood slathers antiseptic cream on the cut. "Honest answer?"

"Preferably."

"Then no. What were you saying?"

The look he gives you holds no humour. No, this is the look Anthony Lockwood gives when he's tired and irritated and unable to keep up the farce of a charming, unbothered business owner. It doesn't hold much sway over you, and it never has, truthfully, but you can empathise with him. Solely because he often acts the same way you're acting now.

"You can't keep doing this," he says. His eyes are fixed on the plaster he slowly places on your forehead. "You're throwing yourself into harm's way with no good cause."

"No good cause? I think making sure you and George stay alive is an exceptional cause."

"This isn't a joke, (name). This is your life."

The words irk you a little. "I could say the same to you."

Lockwood's hands drop from your head, and he looks at you straight-on now. His eyes, usually filled with curiosity and soft happiness, swirl with something else. Frustration.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're always so snippy with me after cases," you say, trying to keep the edge out of your voice, "when all I'm doing is keeping you and George safe. I mean, tonight, you were both ghost-locked when I found you! But you're no different. If anything, you're worse than me. You've thrown yourself out of windows before. Shit, you've locked me in a room to fight a ghost yourself while I tried to find a source!"

He starts packing away the first aid kit, tearing his eyes away from yours, and you know you've made a good point. He never looks at you when he knows you're right.

"Lockwood, this company can't survive without you, we can't survive without you. My risks are thought through, and I'm not doing anything that should really cost me my life. You on the other hand..."

He glances at you, a muscle twitching in his cheek. "Me?"

You sigh, willing him silently to just look at you. "You'd give your life in a second. Which, believe me, I am eternally appreciative of, but it's rarely ever necessary, if ever. I've half a mind to think you're doing it to just... you know. Finish things. I'm - we're concerned about you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you absolutely do. You are such a hypocrite!"

"Me?" The look he gives you is scathing, so unlike any way he's looked at you before. "That's rich. Who was it that jumped from a balcony to stop of ghost? Who put themself right in the path of a ghost launching itself for someone? It was you!"

The anger that grips you is almost unbearable, but you push it down. Shouting will get you nowhere, and George is trying to sleep. "First of all, that balcony hung over a thick spread of bushes, so I had no injuries except for some thorn scrapes. Secondly, that ghost was going to kill you. Third, I can name at least five more things you've done in the last two weeks that put you in much more danger. Are we seriously going to make this a competition?"

Suddenly, he stands, and his chair scrapes loudly against the floor. You wince, watching as he shoves the first aid kit back into the cupboard. He pauses, hands on the countertop, standing straight as a rod.

Drama queen, you think, but you don't dare say it out loud.

"You're getting too reckless," Lockwood says, his back still facing you. "I can't risk having an agent who is too reckless. It endangers everyone."

Oh, you want to strangle him.

Angrily, you stand, not caring that you almost send the chair clattering to the floor. You press your hands to the table, wrinkling the thinking cloth, and lean forward, scowling.

"Reckless? Do you even hear yourself, Lockwood?"

"I do."

"I think you just love to hear the sound of your own voice. Surely that's why you spout so much bullshit."

"No, I -"

"I'm talking now, Lockwood," you snap and, thank god, he goes quiet. "You of all people do not get to call me reckless, not with the shit you pull. George, yes, he can feel free. But, you? Not a fucking chance. You go out of your way to put yourself in dangerous situations! And I get it, you want to protect us, but that is what I'm doing, too, and you don't see me almost dying! I leave with a scratch or two, so what. You leave with concussions and ghost-touch and the risk of bleeding internally. But, okay, I'm the reckless one. Whatever."

When he turns, his eyes are burning. "You endanger all of us when you pull shit like what you did today."

Scoffing, you say, "All right. What should I have done? Left you and George to be killed? My question is, what would you have done, Lockwood? Would you have left us?"

His silence is your answer, and you stand straight. Your gazes are locked, both alight with rage, but you won't back down. Not on this.

"That's what I thought."

You make to leave, but he moves quickly, grasping your wrist with a touch that should be strong. You're surprised by the gentleness of his hand, how loose his grip is, and you look up at him, frowning. His gaze has changed entirely, from rage to desperation.

"I can't -" He struggles for the words. "I can't lose you, (name). Not like I lost..."

My family. The words are left unspoken, but you know it's what he would've said. There's a pang in your heart, and you want to apologise for it all, but that's always been your gut instinct. To say sorry for everything. But not this time.

"And you think I can bear to lose you?" You try to hide the waver in your voice, but he's caught it, and you know it from the way his gaze softens. "You can't order me around, demand me not to protect you guys, when you do exactly that. It's not fair, Lockwood. Not on me, not on George. And I don't - I don't want a part in this if all you're going to do is sacrifice yourself and then criticise me for doing the same."

His hand shakes as it holds yours, and that's when all the sadness hits you, the regret for the argument you've had. "I'm sorry. I just..."

Your hand closes over his. "I know. I know."

When his forehead touches yours, careful not to press on the gash, you breathe in deeply. And you breathe out all the bad, all the pent-up anger inside of you. There's too little time in your lives to spend like this.

"I won't stop unless you stop," you murmur, closing your eyes.

His breath is warm on your cheeks. "Seems like we're stuck in a checkmate forever, then."

You sigh. "I suppose we are."