#i like when humans are nice to each other

[younganonymus]

I am not so sure about that… I think I would look ny partner’s up to find “tips and tricks” (more like “ways to comfort”), so she has less struggles throughout the day and can feel safe and secure around not me, not fearing having an attack because of me/unwisely chosen words. But I do not want to look up her signs of the illness, probably just the definition, because I do not want to see her as a walking sickness/stigma. She is a human person and I always thought of illnesses as side effects, something we can not choose. Plus I think I would rather date a girl that also has some kind of mental illness, I guess ?best? would be the same as me, so first of all it does not get boring, secondly so I do not have to explain myself over and over again or fear rejection, but mainly so we both can be ourselves and help each other by comforting one another without keeping secrets in order to not upset the other resulting in a breakup. (Meaning I think I would rather have a girlfriend with for example borderline personality disorder and/or depression, so I don’t have to hide mine and pretend I was always healthy and well, as well as already knowing how to take care of those things, how to handle them and not needing to explain myself for how or why I think the way I do. … Aaaaaand I find it more interesting, I guess, when she has mood swings I can take care of and learn how to deal with. {^,^} Having a mentally well girlfriend probably would be nice, but I could never fully relax and would always hide my problems, but if she has something herself, I don’t have to feel bad for being sick.

So gimme a girl/lady I can take care of, that needs comfort and help and that I can be her shoulder when she needs to cry, her safety haven, her warmth throughout the day and night, the person she CAN get mad at without days of regretting it, her jokes and silliness to cheer her up, the two arms (and legs) that always want to hold her and her dancing partner for whenever the time is right.

people who do their research on the mental illnesses that their partner/friend has, deserve the entire world

[yourloyalwatchdog]

coming up to you while you're scrolling through tumblr on your phone. such an intelligent little pet... let me ruin that for you.

"hi, my dumb puppy." i say as i pet your head.

your thumb stops moving for a beat as your brain accepts my command to your subconscious.

then you blink and continue to scroll. "hey!" you smile when i sit beside you. you don't even register that i said anything to you other than a simple 'hi'.

it happens so subtly, do you even notice how you're already scrolling less? you spend more and more time on each post as it takes your mind longer to register them. the bigger words become harder to pronounce. you don't even recognize a word as hard as "conditioning", which is ironic, because that's exactly what i've done to you.

your eyebrows scrunch up all cutely as whole sentences lose their meaning. you stop scrolling soon enough. now you're stuck rereading that one post over and over and struggling to figure out what it says. but of course, it only makes less sense every time you read it while your vocabulary continues to shrink, until the language becomes something completely foreign altogether. it doesn't mean anything at all anymore.

you put your phone down, beyond frustrated by your own stupidity. your eyes are wary as they flicker over me. i cock my head to the side. "is something wrong, puppy?"

your eyes glaze over for another moment. then another blink, and you're trying to stare into my brain, decipher the tiny hint of mockery in my tone.

"you..." your mind is hard at work trying to translate your racing thoughts into speech. and it's failing. "what... you... do to... me..."

you shift in your seat, rubbing your legs together as heat swells up in your core. as your confusion grows, so does the arousal, because you like to be dumb. you and i both know that. even if you can't quite think that hard right now.

"what do you mean, love? i didn't do anything to you."

"the– i–" your frustration grows, and your ability to articulate what's happening to you diminishes.

your pointless stuttering turns into a needy whimper, which i take great amusement in. "oh, i think i know what the problem is now," i chuckle. "is my dumb puppy in heat?"

your mind has completely slipped away from you now. you let out a bark as you buck your hips, rutting helplessly against the air. your hands reach over to paw at the waistband of my jeans. you don't even know how to get them off me if you tried. that's just too much thinking for a little puppy.

such a pretty thing you are. you pretend to be so smart. a normal, competent person like me. but you're nothing like me. all i have to do is tell you you're my dumb puppy, and every ounce of your humanity leaves you in a matter of minutes. doesn't that mean it was always the truth?

"does puppy need my cock?" i ask. you bark and gaze at me with your best pleading eyes. just a dog begging for a treat.

"well, since you asked so nicely..."

————————

this story is about a fictional scenario. assume prior consent and negotiation have taken place. do not attempt to recreate this scenario in real life without getting informed consent from and thoroughly negotiating with your play partner. kink without consent and negotiation isn't kink, it's abuse.

op/author is a trans man and uses he/him pronouns. do with that information what you will.

[radioactiverats]

Mistletoe: Ratchet x reader

Ratchet's brows furrow when he sees the haphazardly taped sprig of nature taped to the doorway. It must be a human custom, but he has no idea how a human would have managed to tape it to the top of an autobot-sized doorframe... unless, there was help. What was this about, anyway? As far as he knew, "Christmas" was when humans gathered together with their family. What did a sprig of their planet's natural flora have to do with it?

"Ratchet!" he hears you call, some time later. He turns round from his desk to acknowledge you, and sees you're wearing that customary red hat and a beaming grin, cheeks flushed red with cheer and mulled wine.

"Merry Christmas!" you greet, and even though he doesn't quite understand the festival just yet, it seems polite to return your greeting, since you've come all the way across the base, away from the party, to share the spirit of the festival with him. At the very least, seeing you so happy warms his spark - it's a nice change after a period of watching you struggle with work, with life, constant dark circles and that vacant look in your eyes.

You sway a little, tipsy from the wine, catching yourself on the doorframe. "Ep, ep, ep," Ratchet scolds, even if it's more out of concern than anything. Already, he's striding over to steady you in his warm servos, and you flop into them without a second thought. When had you become so comfortable around each other?

You gaze unabashedly at him from where you're lying upside down in his servos, silly grin still on your face. Ratchet brings you level with his faceplate to ex-vent exasperatedly at you, but the look in his optics is fond.

"I missed you, Ratchet," you say, shifting clumsily to sit upright in his cupped servos. "Won't you join the party?"

His optics widen for a nanoklik - you've never been this honest about your feelings with him. Sure, it was you he spent the most time with, and he'd privately allowed himself to bask in every second of it. But he'd assumed that there was an unspoken boundary that could not be crossed, and the fact that you showed up every day and the fact that his optics softened when he saw you spoke for itself. You missed him? You miss him?

"Yes, well," Ratchet says gruffly. He's never been good at this. "I had some work to finish."

"Always so hardworking," you scold, even if you admire him for it. "In that case, I'll just have to stay here with you, won't I?"

The atmosphere around the both of you can only be described as warm - you looking cheekily up at him, and a small but genuine smile on his faceplate. You flop back again, preparing to be carried to his desk - and Ratchet sees your eyes suddenly lock on something above you.

He glances up as well, and - ah. He'd forgotten about that sprig of flora taped above the doorway. "What is that?" he asks, curious after all. It's a surprise, though, to look down and see you blushing bright red - humans do that when they're embarrassed, don't they?

"It's mistletoe," you answer. You sheepishly glance away as you fumble through the rest of your explanation. "There's a custom where whoever gets caught under the mistletoe at the same time has to kiss."

You've long accepted that you have a raging crush on the autobot medic, just as you've long accepted that he probably would never reciprocate your feelings.

"Is that so?" Ratchet hums. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to partake in human traditions this once."

Your head shoots up at that. Did you hear that correctly? Maybe he was just indulging you, unaware of the implications. But you meet his optics, and the look on his faceplate is so soft, gazing at you like... like he wants this too.

You scramble up onto your knees, closer to him. "Are you sure?" you can't help but ask, not daring to believe that there might be a chance.

"Why don't you show me how this tradition of yours works?" is what Ratchet says in response, and that's your cue to lean forwards and gently press your mouth to his intake in a chaste but sweet kiss.

Ratchet makes a noise, as if surprised by how soft your lips were - and then he's bringing you closer to initiate another kiss, spark warming at how you laugh breathlessly against his intake and respond in kind.

"Merry Christmas, Ratchet," you breathe, as you press your forehead to his helm. There will be a lot to talk about, but for now, your hearts are united under the mistletoe.

[hotcupoteckla]

I LOVE THIS!

Other thoughts:

This should also have the same interest rates as the Federal Reserve, since the government has hold of these funds, and is likely using it to invest into treasuries and bonds, and it would be nice to have a minimum 1% interest yield so the Banks WOULD HAVE to offer higher yields of interest to get your money with them.

No minimum deposit level, no checks issued, if you don't have funds via a card transaction, the transaction is just denied, no fees, you would have to go to the post office for money orders or withdrawals, and they issue a statement to you directly in person.

I'm all for libraries with expanded budgets being AT LEAST 16/7 (Third shift librarians would be harder to come by, & I would hope such a shift comes with hazard pay) and I think that At Least one hotel should be taken over & run by each city as a shelter available space. Imagine an apartment building with a communal kitchen available to help house those without, automatically sized to allow families a private sleeping space & bathroom for at least an evening.

I also feel that any person on financial assistance or welfare should be automatically put into the Department of Health & Human Services employment pool, because they've already proven themselves more capable of filling out the paperwork than a number of social workers in charge of their cases, so should make a good assistant to said social workers, freeing them up to complete the actual Social Work required.

You should also be able to test out of requiring lectures from WIC & EBT about what constitutes "good nutrition". Like it's a great service if you need it, but it's such a tooth pulling process when you already know the information and just need the food.

dare I ask your opinions on reproductive rights 👀

???????????????

I can't tell if this is some kind of weird bait because my opinions on reproductive rights are not something that I'm particularly quiet about.

[idkplzhalp]

Hi guys, here's a long nerdy ramble about my Caroline Portal 2 x Miss Pauling TF2 au/headcanons because I've had thoughts about them for years and TF2 comic 7 awakened it in me again to expand on it further. (This is huge I'm so sorry but I gotta keep my title of biggest CaroPauling shipper and I need to spread my truths). I tried to jam as many facts/reasoning as I could into it because I am Portal lore queen and canon info is so important to me to incorporate.

To start this, both are a bit queercoded (GLaDOS subtext of liking Chell + Pauling lesbian confirmation/subtext) therefore it's nice because they absolutely would get along, relate to each other, and being established as queer makes them fit like puzzle pieces together in my head.

(^ I think Valve artists should keep drawing Caroline so I can continue editing their comic versions together, lol, this is all I got)

I think Pauling after comic 7 should go to work at Aperture Science (since presumably she drops the australium down a trench and is living her life, based on the turkey she sends for the Christmas party- shes made the choice to stop Admins cycle and not be cruel like her) and now lives with Caroline as they run Aperture together being sapphics in loveeee. Also we know Pauling is still unmarried then because she keeps the Ms. term instead of Mrs. on the little card from the turkey (also it's the same last name, obviously). Therefore. Cue Caroline entering the scene, because she's not married either (at least not to Cave).

They could've met during the time of TF2 in 1968 because of the Wheatley Ap-Sap, so maybe they met and got along and then Pauling later remembered Aperture after dumping the australium and was like "Hey this is close enough to working for the Administrator". Like maybe after dumping it, she was left wandering a bit trying to find a place to live and sees a billboard for Aperture which motivates her to go there. She could work as an assistant/bodyguard to Caroline, especially in Caroline's time as CEO, or be taught by her how to work in the lab.

When Cave dies, Pauling could be sad because she knows Caroline could've had similar attachments to him that Pauling did for Admin. So she's A) trying to comfort Caroline while she mourns and B) reliving her own grief from Admin. Maybe trying to convince Caroline to break her own cycle of how Aperture is run or work with her to stop GLaDOS..

If Caroline still gets uploaded to GLaDOS, then have Pauling either A) put in stasis and then later during the co-op tests where they free the humans, GLaDOS tests her and is like "WAIT my wife,,, a woman who wont kill me,, I want her" and now Pauling gets to hang out in GLaDOS' chamber while they test other people, B) keeps the australium to protect it and uses that to live forever alongside GLaDOS, or C) is uploaded into a core, it could be the core in The Lab core calibration game that's late and ran to get to the slingshot test since Pauling and that core share a voice actress (Ashly Burch)! It could be that she has less in-depth functions because we know when a person is uploaded to a smaller computer, they don't retain all their memories or full functionality unless they are then switched to a larger mainframe like GLaDOS/CaveDOS (ex: Cave in Aperture Desk Job, unless we want Lego Dimensions Cave core or Cave cube to count too, which contradicts this). So we could make things tragic and have Pauling not remember anything from her human life/GLaDOS could be unsatisfied because we know she more often has romantic feelings for humans (Chell or if including Lego Dimensions then Batman (from the Jonathan Coulton interview on the end song)) and they're now trying to fix it so they fit together again. Maybe GLaDOS gives Pauling GLaDOS' old mainframe seen in co-op mode.

Though Pauling would have to deal with the personality shift from Caroline to GLaDOS and maybe is scared of her because it reminds her of Admin, although GLaDOS wouldn't be as abusive to her and maybe it adds something because of how almost in love/obsessed Pauling was with Admin (trying to stay with her for so long/thinking Admin isn't that bad/trailing her no matter what). It could be complex because Pauling is fighting memories of past trauma with Admin while trying to maintain her relationship with GLaDOS. Maybe Pauling could bring out Caroline's personality more? Pauling is also a bit like Chell (ex: very determined fighter) therefore I'm just gonna say that's GLaDOS' type aha.

Back to the human versions now. Because Pauling got a first name reveal, Flo, we could have Caroline take on her last name, since we don't know Caroline's last name already. Lesbian marriage solving a name crisis 💀. Caroline Pauling doesn't sound that bad!

I think these two would just work really well together since they've had similar experiences and could support eachother/understand eachother like they haven't had before. To me they're both neurodivergant so I feel they could bond over their interests/teach eachother cool stuff. Like Caroline teaches Pauling science and Pauling teaches her about weaponry. Also they could do the activities that Pauling listed doing with friends "skating, look at gun catalogs". Because of that I used to headcanon that Pauling rollerskates and Caroline ice-skates so they do those together. Also Gargoyles and Gravel! They'd dress up as a wizard and witch together when playing or something haha. Also the assistants clipboard of the year conference Pauling goes to with Bidwell, she could go with Caroline and Greg and they all fight over office supplies as they should be. Maybe Caroline teaches Pauling how to bake!

I think working at Aperture, Caroline either wasn't able to defend herself verbally or wasn't listened to, not really being considered or appreciated by the other employees. She's considered modest so I think she was likely conditioned to not appreciate what she did. She's brilliant and incredibly intelligent but being a woman in that position during that time, she was probably ignored by anyone who wasn't Cave a lot. So I'd like to think if she wasn't being listened to and Cave wasn't around, Pauling could swoop in and tell those people off since she's really blunt and will tell things how it is (like in the tough break update when the guy flirted with her and she told him to leave because she was getting people killed for money), and is now a scary guard dog privilege to Caroline, even if Pauling is still a tiny anxious woman and Caroline can probably fend for herself lol.

Uhhhhh and heck, let's send Cave's other assistant Greg to go help Bidwell and Reddy in running Mann Co. That could be really funny to see, I feel they'd all get along. They're slightly more rational than Hale so I think it would be interesting to see what they do with this insane company!

Okay I'm done now, pls tag me in any CaroPauling posts you see because I'm saving them all to my phone to look at them lovingly, I have a collection lol <3.

[totallynotobsessedwithfandoms]

Random ninjago headcanons

Nya, Jay, PIXAL, and Zane are the most mechanically gifted of the team

Jay used to love building cars and big mechanical things but as he got older he started getting more interested in coding

Now Nya builds the things and Jay helps her code them

Zane taught Cole how to cook and bake better

Lloyd looks normal. Like freakishly normal. Like, skin too perfect of a shade, eyes too symmetrical, hair the perfect shade of blonde, etc.

Kai hates swimming but loves the beach because it’s nice and warm and sunny

Zane follows to the law to a concerning degree

PIXAL…does not

She considers the law more guidelines than actual rules

Jay and Lloyd taught Kai how to use his cellphone

Nya and Zane have who can hold their breath underwater the longest contests

The rest of the team finally started liking cliff gordon movies after Jay told them that was his bio dad

The rest of the ninja had tons of recurring dreams about someone asking them to wish it all away 

Jay and Nya finally told them everything that had happened

Jay’s hair was always curly, he just didn’t know when he was younger and brushed it out weirdly so it was a frizzy mess and then he would tame it with tons of hair gel

Pre-season 8 Jay is the only person to ever come close to rivaling the amount of hair gel Kai uses

No one really has their own clothes at the momentary because everyone raids everyone’s closets

ESPECIALLY Nya and Lloyd

Lloyd started it when he was really little, Nya started it as a show of power

Now everyone steals everyone’s clothes

The only way PIXAL can change her hair is using welding

She only trusts Nya to help her with that

Jay and Nya take weekly ballroom dancing classes

After Prime Empire the rest of the ninja will sometimes join them

Usually Cole

Lloyd calls Kai and Nya his brother and sister in his head but he hasn’t had the guts to call them that out loud

Every so often the ninja do karaoke

Jay and Nya always do some sort of romantic duet (with varying degrees of success) 

Kai, Cole, and Jay team up to sing rock songs

Zane is a surprisingly good singer 

So is Lloyd

Jay stayed in touch with Unagami after prime empire 

Cole and Vania write letters to each other on the regular, usually filled with whatever dumb stuff the ninja did and what the Upply and other inhabitants of Shintaro are currently up to

The ninja have a giant groupchat with all the elemental masters and the only texts ever sent are usually embarrassing photos of someone screwing up their own element 

Zane might be the mom of the group but Kai is concerningly good at any and all type of housework

Cole is the middle child. I stand by this

Jay has way too many pins and buttons on his backpack

Lloyd has a massive sweet tooth

He and Cole go for candy and cake runs whenever they can 

Jay is not allowed to go shopping because he buys the most random things

Kai and Jay are the clumsiest ninja

Ever since PIXAL became part of the ninja Cyrus Borg has begun to consider the ninja as his children as well

All of the ninja are insanely competitive

Nya helped Cole get over his fear of water after turning back to human

Dareth and Ronin are the ninja’s weird uncle 

Jay loves musical theatre

Kai, Jay, and Cole recreated the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon versus Maul fight while Zane sang/played the music. young Lloyd recorded it and now threatens to show it to Nya and PIXAL whenever everyone’s being stupid

PIXAL curses the most out of everyone

Kai doesn’t curse because when he was younger he tried to keep Nya from learning curse words and that transferred to Lloyd as well

Jay’s natural freckles are super light and unable to see unless you’re super close up

Nya was the first to find out he had freckles one of the first times they were cuddling together after season 6

She absolutely adored them and so he draws over them with a darker pencil so that they’re more visible 

Jay loves drawing and doodling but doesn’t get into painting until after seabound 

Cole and Nya have arm wrestling contests 

Zane almost always wins paper rock clamp, the only people who can ever beat him is PIXAL and weirdly Kai

Kai is great at riddles. no idea why

One time Jay put food dye in Kai’s hair gel and he didn’t notice 

Kai’s hair had a blue sheen for weeks

The resulting prank war nearly destroyed the monestary 

It ended when someone managed to fill each person’s room with things relating to their elemental power

Zane’s room was full of ice and snow, everything in Nya’s room was soaked with water, Kai’s furniture was on fire, Jay’s blankets were so full of static electricity he nearly knocked himself out, Cole’s room was packed full of boulders, PIXAL’s room was somehow full of a ton of remote controlled robots, and Lloyd’s room was full of green balloons. 

They never did find the culprit 

(Master Wu had gotten so fed up with the prank war that he had contacted Skylor, who was all to happy to help) 

[thechthonicherbalist]

Lestat really deserved this after all the hurt Louis inflicted on him. Even if it was because Louis was lied to and manipulated by Armand. Of course the hurt between those two became monstrous. Of course they wronged each other. But why? Because Louis thought it was so bad of Lestat to try and protect him of Armand... All of these characters are very complex, with great depths and dark and light sides to themselves in their very unique ways. I have loved these books for over 15 years and I slowly come to love the series, in a very specific and kind of critical way. Both independent and intertwined with the books, now that I have started to re-read them from the beginning with my friend and the parallels become clearer again, I am mind-blown actually.

My babies will always be Lestat and Nicki, who have suffered such a tremendous loss, that is most relatable to me and many more things. I have another favourite I will not mention out of respect for someone's feelings. There is so much I have to say on these two. How I relate to Nicki's mental health and passion. How I relate to their childhood trauma. How I was created to be like Nicki and all my life worked to be like Lestat, how Lestat is indeed my light, the one that made me hold on in darkest times and reminded me... infused that taste of immortality into my existence... abandons my senses when I fall apart and get licked by the flames and torn apart and into madness by... ah well. And such mixed feelings on Louis... I love him, understand him and grieve him and resent him through the lense of Lestat. He's both relatable and makes me want to say "No, how could you?? Are you blind?? He loves you. He fought for you and you fought him with your anger, your vengefulness. You suffered and so you wanted to make him suffer with you... he deserves better than that, but please just be gentle and nice now, Louis. Lestat has set his heart on you, you're his everything. So just let yourself be loved and love him. You've both been through so much and he is so much more fragile and such a sensitive soul than he let's on, than you accept him for..." So very human, I could never hate him for it. But yes. The gift he wore like a curse. Hah. They could have had it all and yet it got consumed by the flames. I am glad Louis learned this very hard lesson and only made that mistake once in the books. And Armand... complex, difficult Armand, who is a very interesting character in a beautiful body and with a beautiful and charming personality on the surface and oh-such-deceptive depths to it. A master at luring people in, making them love him. Not neccessarily a favourite of mine. But certainly a character I look at with fearful respect. As a writer, I cannot even pick up his character to write from his perspective, I cannot comprehend it. So I have utter respect for the abilities of Anne Rice, the AMC series team and Assad Zaman for the amount of skill it takes to make such a character come to life in all his horrifying and compassion rousing details like that.

"I didn't know it was a gift... I wore it like a curse... I was selfish… I tried to make nights awful for you… I wanted you to suffer... Because I was… suffering."

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 | Episode 8 "And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else"

[wolfythewitch]

I commute to class and there's usually this one guard stationed at the entrance to the train station I go through. We are homies. She barely even checks my bag at this point she just taps it with her stick and smiles at me. I think she has my class schedule memorized. One time she asked me for help giving directions to an old Chinese man, and then after I translated a little bit, she waved me away after realizing I was late for class. When I come home late from night classes, she's usually off her post and on her way home and we wave at each other when passing by on the platform

[prismaticsaltedink]

Scoria and Sakura are best friends! It's so cute when I see the things they do together, and it makes me so beyond happy that they both came to live with me so that they could share their lives with each other. They absolutely insist on it, and does so much good for the other.

I can't imagine how else they could have found happiness if things hadn't worked out exactly as they did. Scoria has basically been Sakura's "emotional support snake" while she worked through things from her past I'll never fully know that caused her a lot of issues with panic and fear. Sakura knows this too, and looks out for her sister, the only one she truly trusts and feels completely safe with.

The moment they wake up they both want each other to snuggle and play with. Scoria loves to be affectionate with both me and her sister who seems to have not had this earlier in her life- but Scoria is showing her how nice it is not only directly but demonstrating with me and Sakura also trying, copying what she has seen her sister do.

Sometimes when one goes to check on the other they'll join in on... I'm not even sure what they were doing. But they had a good time while taking a mandated union break from digging tunnels for the isopods.

So happy I get to share in the adventures of these two best friends! It makes me so happy to see them living their best lives together, and being beyond content snuggled together with their found family.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

sequel to this ramble cause the way james talks bout the reduced cherik scenes throughout the xmen films in this video is making me want to kill people. 'we'll always have paris darling' what if we all blew up.

[dammit-tazmuir]

@grievingbovine I am always happy to gush about Paul ;w;

Also I feel like... I'm not sure if it's more "codependency isn't always bad" or "codependency is a term we've grown to use too liberally when what should actually be the defining factor isn't the behaviors involved but whether or not those are actually hurting the people involved" or something in between or adjacent to that. It also feels like there might be kinda two definitions people use interchangeably? One being the more medical term and the other a looser thing of like, deeply dependent on each other.

But semantics aside I know what you mean, and yeah.

It is, generally speaking, unhealthy to be SO dependent on a SPECIFIC person that you can't live without them. Cam and Pal post-explosion had a very unique situation, whereas for most cases in real life, it's better to at least like... need SOMEONE, a purpose, a cause, but also be capable of seeking a new one if you lose that, after time to process and grief. A Camilla whose whole life revolved around Palamedes but didn't get him back learning to live again for Nona, as a hypothetical, or Harrow who would not let herself survive alone but can live for God and for Gideon and for Alecto and for the memory of those lost to conceive her and who may find other purposes still. Ofc no one is arguing Harrow is healthy about that, but like, if you CAN'T find an internal sense of worth, a purely external one is still infinitely better and healthier than none!

It feels very silly but a straight up life-changing thing for me as someone who does the same shit was the anime Gurren Lagann throwing around the phrase, "believe in the me who believes in you." Over time it morphed into "believe in the you that I believe in", and ultimately into having genuinely self-assurance, but taking even one or two of those steps is like... YEAH? Yeah! You know? External validation can be so meaningful and powerful, and isn't antithetical to internal by any means. If you can find it in even a handful of different sources, even better. A thing I try to tell people a lot when it comes to mental health too is you don't have to Get Better to get BETTER. It's not "you're unhealthy and must be fixed" or "you're 100% healthy in all ways". Less unhealthy and more functional than you were is amazing and to be celebrated actually!!!

But at the same time?

Ya know, no, I agree, I DON'T think it's a bad thing to need to NOT be ALONE. I understand the importance of being capable of surviving alone, at least long enough to seek new connections. And living for a person or cause is always easier than dying for them ("you could have lived for her, but you didn't know how"...), especially if you're living for their memory after they're gone, but people should try to do it anyway! But to just..... want to be devoted to someone? To thrive on supporting or caring for other people???

That's not what I'd call "toxic codependency", that's humans being a social species. Hell, that's looking at stories and seeing how many supporting characters are vital to helping a hero succeed and deciding "that sounds awesome actually! Not everyone needs to be the hero, I would love to be a supporting character!" Especially when you're not losing sight of your own needs in the process.

Like... Sacrifice and martyr mentality can be horrible destructive things that do more harm than good, but sacrifice is also objectively a major way people show love. Parents doing without a little more to make sure their kids get something nice, someone doing a chore they don't like because they know their partner hates it more, etc. The difference between "my needs aren't important, I'm not important, I'll always prioritize others because I don't take care of myself in general" and "I have weighed the pros and cons and decided that I can handle this and wish to put someone else first in this situation" is not always apparent from the outside but it's an extremely important distinction. There's a difference between being needlessly reckless and hard on yourself versus making a decision to achieve an end you want even though it costs you something.

Cam trying to hide how rough carrying Pal was on her wasn't her being needlessly reckless, it was her being a stubborn bitch who knows she's tough as hell. If anything people have more grounds to criticize her going against Pal's interests and wishes by not giving him information he needed to make properly informed decisions! To think that he was in any way taking advantage of her when she'd have found a way to kick his ass if he'd tried to force her to stop is wild lmao. (Not to mention Pal literally killing himself— he was still Around but objectively dead all the same!— in the "dying for someone is the cruelest thing you could do to them" book. Like he ain't making big sacrifices fueled by his love for and trust in her too smh.)

And honestly? Yeah that does sound like the kind of thing that could save the world. Our world would be a better place with less people striving to be main characters and more people eager to support each other. More people should be saying "No you will let me help you, you son of a bitch. Don't you dare tell me it's Too Much." >:( So many people are afraid of Being A Burden but more people need to understand— from the perspective of the person with that fear and as friends wishing to help someone who has that fear— that only the person offering help can decide what is A Burden to them! It's not the other person's decision to make!

Palamades didn't have a right to tell Camilla not to push herself to keep him around when that was her choice, and anyone fearing their loved ones sacrifice too much for them don't have a right to tell them to love them less, either. Sometimes— often, really— the alternative is worse. And part of me has to wonder if some people are averse to acknowledging that because if they did, then they'd have to acknowledge that letting someone else help you can be actively beneficial to them, and constantly refusing to ask for or accept help is in turn actively depriving them of something that would help them too. <.< Too bad everyone, gotta let people love you.

Locked tomb hot takes:

Insisting that the birth of Paul is only a tragedy because of the uneven power dynamics between Palamedes and Camilla as Necro and Cav invalidates Camillas autonomy and undermines her as a character capable of making her own decisions. It also undermines Palamedes constantly checking for consent. He understands more than most that there is an uneven power dynamic and actively works to respect her autonomy as much as he can while also respecting their bond/positions as necro and cav.

In a world where those who identify as men have no natural power over those who identify as women or neither, we can not apply the same cisheteronormative expectations of male behavior to male characters.

Camilla made every. Single. Choice. Willingly. She had reasons for it, and Palamedes respected that more than readers seem to. We get plenty of examples.

"What would you do if you discovered Camilla was a murderer?”

“Help her bury the body,” said Palamedes promptly.

“Sextus.”

“I mean it. If Camilla wants someone dead,” he said, “then far be it from me to stand in her way. All I can do at that point is watch the bloodshed and look for a mop. One flesh, one end, and all that.”

GtN chapter 30

NtN chapter 17

The relationship between these two may be codependent, but it's predicated on trust and consent. The whole way through. This is the life Cam wants to live. Becoming Paul was what *she wanted*.

I find it strange that some people think they know what's best for her more than she does, just because she's a cavalier.

[blood-orange-juice]

Thinking about how Childe's personality can be boiled down to three main parts (Abyssal Childe, his Harbinger role and the normal human boy) and whenever any two of them are in conflict he uses the third to solve it.

There's no place for abyssal bloodlust (and probably PTSD anger issues) in normal human life? Enlist in the military to have a safe outlet.

Abyssal desire for chaos contradicts the need for structure and subordination required in the military? Dig up the old childhood dream of being a knight, find a worthy sovereign, do it for her. Unspeakable horrors can have loyalties too.

The consequences of building a military career might burst the illusory bubble of normalcy he created for his siblings? Use awesome eldritch powers to punch everything that threatens to do that.

By which I mean yes, he's conflicted but it's also a surpsingly stable state. Like a 3-legged chair.

Removing any of his identities will cause the whole construct to collapse though.

[fauvester]

chains of love got a hold on me..

[elvisqueso]

Love me, love my raccoon [Part 3/3]:

—Meeko's new favorite human <3

[forgivenpunishment]

Wolfwood chuckles at Vash's comment, but it's clear that he's exhausted from putting on a face that long. It almost—almost—got him back in his old mindset, the one where he couldn't care about others, the one where he was an object to be used, he was a killing machine that punished the Eye's castoffs. There was no room for emotion back then, and even when joining up with Vash the first time his humanity was simply a facade. He and Vash are similar that way.

Now he has to do something similar because he needs to be strong for Vash. None of this comes as a surprise to Wolfwood, he's aware of the evils the Eye of Michael is capable of, but to Vash this must be him witnessing the darkest slough of what humans can do to each other. That's just life.

"Hey, come here," Wolfwood reaches out to grasp Vash's wrist and drags him backwards into his arms. He holds Vash to his bloody, holey blazer and shirt and gives the man a warm hug. Normally, he'd let Vash settle things on his own, he'd allow Vash to take in the facts—to absorb the image of humanity and judge them as he sees fit, but with them like this it's... nice to have a little comfort. Just a little.

"I only take charge like that in situations where I think I know more than you about whatever it is," he mumbles into Vash's golden hair, "That, or I care about whatever it is that's on the line. This time I think it's you that I care about—you're already exhausted, and now this? I had to step up and be there. Otherwise, I'm happy to listen to what you tell me to do. Unless it's stupid."

He sighs, and it's as if a vice-grip detaches from his heart and lungs.

"Take just a second. It's gonna be a lot, but we'll get through it, alright?"

With all that additional helpful information logged and a half-hearted 'no promises he'll still be alive if he tries to pull anything', the Captain hobbled out the other entrance to the lab, dragging Ashton right along with him... leaving the two of them alone. Again.

Thank God.

The sting of tears was immediate, and Vash's hands were up in a flash-- plucking his glasses off the bridge of his nose so he could rub his face, put pressure on closed eyes that felt too heavy to open again. One slow, deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth-- rattling with disgust and horror and guilt and just about every other emotion that they just didn't have time for right now --and he could push it down, away. Anywhere else until later. Nevermind how hard his heart was beating, or the way his stomach wanted to launch out his throat. How airy and too-light his limbs felt when he took a step forward; signaling the start of their dread-march towards the only room left in this veritable nightmare.

He hopes Wolfwood is right-- that there's nothing to find but old lab equipment and empty tubes --but when has his luck ever been that good in situations like this?

"Taking charge in rough situations comes naturally to you, huh? You're really good at it." he said, forcing some levity into his tone. Still wearing that same empty smile, though, even if he was trying to make it more genuine, "how frustrating must it have been being forced to follow my lead all the time, back then?"

[scoriarose]

She heard me doing things so she came up to the side of her baby bin and blelelelele'd at me until I noticed her. She greets me every morning where we spend the first hour of every day together, her just resting in my hand and me holding her, often gently petting her head and tiny scales. If there is a heaven, that first hour we spend together is it.

She is getting a larger enclosure for her birthday in a month and a half. :D Hopefully I can get it done in time, as I haven't sculpted a custom enclosure before and will be trying some new artistic critiques. I do have experience sculpting though. My biggest worry is the paints and sealing them properly! Art I can do- but food safe art that will be in a moist bioactive enclosure is new for me.