#meaningful gestures

[nimixo]

Fostering True Connections: The Essence of Genuine Friendships

Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love. -Socrates

#TrueFriendship #authenticlove #MeaningfulGestures #HeartfeltConnections #buildingbonds #friends #Nimixo #motivationalquotes #MotivationBlowByBlow #motivationtuesday

[unloneliest]

in the lonely hearts club job leverage asks the question "does romantic love exist?" and answers it by having eliot buy parker a venus fly trap on hardison's behalf, expecting no recognition and revealing eliot remembers a throwaway comment parker made on their second job together.

we all know this.

but was anybody going to tell me hardison already had a browser window open looking for restaurants to buy eliot in portland in response at the start of the episode immediately after that? or was i supposed to figure it out on a rewatch all by myself?!

[amrv-5]

Have we ever talked about the fact that BJ likely assumed that Hawkeye would leave first. As in Hawk was drafted earlier and would assumedly get his points first and be discharged… What does it change if BJ was assuming for the whole of their time together that Hawk was going to leave first

[cloudsspoke]

more++

✨and my absolute favorite....✨

Enjoy these little things... 🇦🇷 💙

[randomnameless]

Why do the FEH devs insist on ignoring Nabatean lore so much?

I recently had a surprisingly cordial discussion on redshit with someone about the "nabateans = colonisers" take, and one of the main points raised was that the game was purposedly foggy around Nabateans/Sothis/their story because it would obviously favor a certain narrative (and thus make another narrative look, uh, not that marketable anymore).

To be honest, we still ended up with a product that had a lead go "this race and its blood* is the reason why the world sucks" and yet that lead is still marketable enough to have raunchy cipher cards and 5 FEH alts, so I actually wonder if, while pissing on that lore had that purpose, it was ultimately pointless since Supreme Leader can still sell goodies despite her incarnation in FE16.

And not only Supreme Leader - but the entirety of WC where we basically have 70% of the cast crying/complaining about their "mixed blood" or lack of and basically adding their 10 cents to the "this race and its blood is the reason why the world sucks".

I mean, can you imagine Sylvain selling any goodies and alts if Flayn replied to his "wah wah people only are kind to me and want to fuck me because I have Nabatean blood :(" by some uncharacteristic "good for you, I have to hide my ears, had to dye my hair, have to lie about my family because if the truth is found out about my identity, I will be hunted and vivisected like an animal and harvested for parts by people who call my kin abominations - just like what happens in the game where the same people who call my kin "abominations" ally with a classmate who calls me a creature and pretends I am incapable of human feelings based on my race".

FE Fodlan's main selling point is its cast of students, for various reasons, but even if I tried to kid myself, Nopes and FEH made it clears : students are the main selling point.

If you spare more time and attention to the Nabatean plot/lore, the students either grow from "likeable" to "despicable" or worse, you won't gaf about them because yeah sure, Hilda might be upset because people expect things from her due to her crust, but it would feel like a "peanut" compared to Seteth's irrational (granted, it's not so irrational since GW exists) fear that Flayn's newest friends would dissect her if they learnt she was a Nabatean, and being conflicted by finally letting her have human friends and form bonds she crave, or protect her due to the trauma from the genocide of their species.

Don't get me wrong, I love peanuts, I mean, not everyone can have a tragik of loaded backstory!

And yet, given how this verse's DNA is "can you fight against the red emperor who uwus about you", they had to add copious amounts of Earl Grey to their games so there's no clear-cut factions :

The "Your alien blood and its influence on the world corrupted it, so I want to reform it under my command" vs "I don't want to die and you oppose me due to my race and side with the people who genocided my kin"

is turned to :

"Your alien blood Crests and its your church's influence on the world corrupted it, so I want to reform it under my command"

"I don't want to die and you oppose me due to my race and side with the people who genocided my kin"

Sprinkle with the cast's hammering here and there that the "reforms" might be needed - but never develop on what they are - and add a few baseless and groundless takes as a toping (basically everything Claude says about tolerance and the general "isolationism/foreign policy" stuff) and you get FE Fodlan where the Red Emperor's war isn't seen as the catastrophe it is in the other entries from the series!

Now, for FEH...

FWIW, the F!F!Billy's trailer had them try to explain that Sothis was a bit pissed about her slaughtered/massacred children when Nopes never gave any reason about why she was pissed - maybe on Billy's behalf bcs Jerry's dead, but come on, she would indeed deserve the medal of the worst parent in the franchise if that was the case, since Billy can murder her daughter without Sothis taking over ! - but given that they cannot write/go against the source game those characters are from.

They tried a bit, with B!Supreme Leader and Hegemongard's FB, but then it stopped (because she had no "new unit" released since then lol) and I can understand why : Hegemongard came out before the Supreme Emblem, and Hegemongard hates dragons who are seen/perceived as gods by some of their human followers. Come FE17, and now Supreme Emblem accepts Alear because they are "one of the good ones". We can come up with HCs and details and talk about what are emblems or if Hegemongard's views were only hers at the end of AM all day long... But imo, Doylist wise, it still feels it's a retcon because the devs from the main games tried to scrap and remove the most "controversial" traits she had.

For the other characters... Well, you see what Marianne is in FEH (but even in her base games), she's one of the few characters who reacts - in a way - to the partial history about relics and demonic beasts and all... only to give sad uwus to Maurice.

FE16 (and Nopes) refused to have any "student" character react to the Nabatean lore/reveal, about what are relics and all. There are no lines, Claude shared some knowledge in the explore section of VW's last chapter, but we don't have anyone muse or think or even talk about what are relics, what are crests, and what kind of fuckery their ancestors or the ancient humans of Fodlan did.

With that in mind, FEH can't do much : either they write Marianne in a retcon-y way like what happened for Hegemongard (and they're not afraid to piss on characterisation, look at Lyon!), or they flanderise her "character" and develop her around 3 lines she had in the game in her paralogue, and continue to give sad uwus about Momo when he was at best a guy who slaughtered and murdered so much that he abused the Nabatean turned into a relic to the point where he turned in a demonic beast even if he had a matching crest, or at worst, had been part of Nemesis's piñata party in Zanado and was something of a genocider.

Tldr :

Why FE Fodlan never gaf about Nabateans : earl grey + the marketable cast has to stay marketable and you can't sell peanuts at the same price you'd sell swordfish

Why FEH dgaf about Nabatean lore : they can't afford to retcon characters + they have to sell peanut alts with the same seasoning they had in their base game.

For what it's worth though, I think FEH is more daring than the base game(s) given how they gave more lines and screentime to Rhea - through her different alts - than GW. And they even designed her Halloween!alt's lines to piss on some of Claude's assertions, while the various FB involving members of the church also - indirectly - reply to some accusations thrown their way in FE16 when, FE16, never gave them an opportunity or lines to explain that those takes were full of dung.

*"but random, maybe she doesn't know that the crests she often decries is "dragon blood"!"

It's highly debatable, especially given what she and Hubert throw to Billy in CF - but even if she doesn't, Doylist wise we still have a character who, knowingly or not, says "this race and its blood* is the reason why the world sucks" and who is never called out on her prejudice. That's more of an issue regarding the general writing though, she has to be a red emperor and took pages from Ashnard's book, and yet, the player must still feel bad and want to romance her, so her mindest/goal cannot be looked at too closely, because, I guess, even the devs thought it would be difficult to romance her (thus sell goodies!) if more light was shed on the "blood from this race corrupts our people" schtick -> which in turn would also make characters whose backstory and gimmick rely on "crying about crests" be way less likeable, thus marketable and able to sell goodies.

[000marie198]

I've always loved the mutual nod of satisfaction Sonic and Tails give at the end of Colors, as if they're silently complimenting each other on yet another job well done

They don't need words to communicate :D

[blujayonthewing]

when you put aside all the ethical issues, I'd respect AI art a lot more if the people making it were actually leaning into the bizarre dreamlike output instead of breathlessly insisting that it looks SO good SO realistic and it's gonna REVOLUTIONIZE ART, BRO and trying to use it to make Normal Children's Books and Normal Marketable Advertising Art

[t-u-i-t-c]

Taiya is a very closed off person who has a lot of trouble expressing his feelings. It's as if he can express basic emotions, but falters when his feelings cannot simply be conveyed through standard expressions, like a smile or a frown. It's what causes him to mess up, as we saw in the Madrex episodes. It's as if he's just never had to express himself as an individual so much, and has always just presented as an average guy, but doesn't really know how to put everything he feels into words. He's just not at the level of grand gestures to show his care and needs time to work his way through how he wants to express his feelings outwardly. We know he's known Bundorio for a while and Bundorio considers Taiya his best friend, but Taiya still has difficulty with physical affection and praising Bundorio. We also know he really is thankful for his team, as he says thank you to them to himself after Madrex's defeat, but he's not ready to say it directly. Then when Genba leaves he doesn't stop him bc he understands that his rage is fueling him and that leaving or staying is Genba's decision to make, but he can't let go at the same time. It's a development when Taiya tells Genba to keep his Change Axe. It's allowing him to stay tethered to Genba, even if Genba never intends to return. It's a gesture of care that seems so small in the moment, but for a guy who struggles with giving thanks and affection, it means the world. Allowing himself to recognize their significant bond means so much to his character, to his relationships, and to who he will become.

I often think about it as Taiya adjusting. He's adjusting to being a part of a group and he's adjusting to having friends that he can be open with. Taiya is friendly and does generally talk with people quite easily, but it's not the same thing as having close friends. Taiya is closed off to the team initially, even if he encourages the members to join, as he still feels like being more upfront about personal things is difficult. Thanking them and being upfront about his own distress is not easy for him. He has to be the cool one who knows what to do and he can't let himself slip.

I find it very interesting to watch as he's called out for not thinking of his team on a more personal level as he tends to disconnect. He can't ask for help, he doesn't know how to at that time. He knows how to reach out on a basic level, but having others reach for him is so foreign to him then. He knows how to guide but he doesn't know how to be honest and open. He can't be personal beyond a certain point, bc it's not something he's used to. He doesn't mean to come off as uncaring, but he's never really had people that he can open up to and he doesn't know how navigate. It's why, when he's faced with a bit too much pressure, he closes himself off and tries to avoid the issue, but it's not enough, he knows the issue will eventually come back around. He needs his team to question him, to call him out, to challenge him, and to care. He needs to know that he can stumble and that he can let other people guide him. There's been so many instances in which Taiya is thrown off by his team, and it's pushing him to rethink his actions and how he'll proceed. It's a big adjustment and it's taking time, but he knows that his life has become a little brighter with the others in it.

[waterloggedsoliloquy]

its such a fuckin. amatonormative thing to make the kiss the be-all end-all symbol in media as the pinnacle of a relationship, that it's what cements the romance as "canon" and that any relationship ultimately has to build to that

[puzz1e-master]

okay so like what if we snuggled close together while reading history textbooks together and then we accidentally reached to turn the page at the same time and our hands touched and then we made romantic eye contact with each other which then turns into us making out. but like, im still on potatolords side so its kind of like a forbidden love kind of thing and so i break away from the kiss and go “im.. im sorry,, i just cant.. im on @potato-lord-but-not ‘s side.. this just wont work out. and then i stand up and run off tears flowing down my face as i ignore your pleas for me to come back to you. what if? /platonically /jj

. . .

...In this "what if" scenario, is there an option for Me to keep the books? And just read quietly? Alone?

:)

-Puzzlemaster

[the-doomed-witch]

21 with wanda x reader with wanda being insecure about her body after having the twins and is insecure about her stretch marks and all that but reader reassures she’s perfect and kisses them

✦ When You’re With Me, No Judgement

Wanda Maximoff x GenderNeutral!Reader

Prompt:

21. Having your lover list everything they’re insecure about, and responding with gentle caresses, kisses, and compliments about those areas

Warnings: 18+ MDNI (general), fluff, bodily insecurities (specifically post-pregnancy), not proofread

Author’s Note: hello anon, sorry that your request took quite a while, i have been having some stuff going on so yeah :( but this request made me so happy, thank you very much! i hope i did your request justice <3 (let’s just say this is an AU where agatha doesn’t mess w the twins🥲)

Masterlist

YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO REPOST OR COPY MY WORK.

— ✦ —

“Wanda! What a pleasure! Your sons look perfectly healthy for an outing today. Why don’t you take them out to the beach?”

Wanda's face gets tense. “No Agatha, I think they’re just fine at home. Besides, they might even eat up the sand. It isn’t safe.”

“You haven’t even stepped out since you gave birth to them. Are you sure you don’t need a nice day out? You could go out with Y/N, and I can take care of Tommy and Billy.”

“Thank you, but it’s really fine by me. I’m too exhausted anyways. I would rather prefer having some sleep.”

“At your service madam. I’m gonna take care of the babies today, you can have a day to rest all by yourself” Agatha concluded the conversation, not allowing Wanda to deny her.

You heard the entire conversation and felt quite unsure about Wanda’s new obsession with staying home at all costs. For the first few months, you thought they were just hormones, but it was starting to get concerning. Besides, Wanda and you had your special memories related to the beach.

Once Wanda packed all the important stuff for Billy and Tommy, and sent off Agatha for the afternoon, you grab her by the waist. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“I’m sorry detka I don’t feel quite… well right now. My head is really fuzzy. I’m really sorry Y/N.” And she walks away. You immediately sense something has been on her mind since the past few weeks.

You find her upstairs, in the bedroom. She was laying on the bed, tilted to the other side, clutching her body close. You go and lay down next to her, hugging her from behind. “Penny for your thoughts, my love?”

“I don’t feel like talking right now Y/N.”

“Tell me what’s wrong Wanda. I’m sure we can work it out, it’ll get better!”

“No Y/N. I tried everything, but nothing has been effective or helpful in the slightest.” She turns towards you, burying her head in your embrace. “It’s okay, baby. You can talk to me, you know you can.” you rub her back to give her some comfort.

“I can’t- Y/N, giving birth to the boys has given me stretch marks. Lots of them. All over my body. Stomach, thighs, arms. I just cannot wear anything that shows my body even a little bit. I’ve been so insecure!”

“Oh baby, it’s okay. Stretch marks are normal. Don’t let their standards define you. I don’t want to force you to feel beautiful all the time. But feel like you are yourself. These marks - they prove how loving of a mother you are, how you carried the babies for months, took care of them.”

“You’re right, I know that you are. But I cannot stop feeling so left out. My body has bloated and I feel so uncomfortable about it.” She breaks a sob and it makes you want to cry. You stop yourself from doing so, because you feel the need to help Wanda feel better first.

“Take off your shirt, will you, love? Can I see them?”

For a moment, she hesitates, but takes off her multiple layers of shirts, till she’s wearing only her bra. You look at her with deep affection in your eyes. The stretch marks don’t change the fact that she’s a sight for the sore eyes, not that they carry any negative effects.

You let her lie down on the bed again, and climb on the top of her. Holding her hands in your hand, you softly ask her, “Tell me all the places where you cannot love yourself, and I will extol them for you.” and kiss her hands.

She pulls you down for an intense kiss. The emotions were much more raw than the moment you both were having.

Leaving a trail down her outline, you reach the waist. “You are extraordinary, Wanda. I love you so much.” You begin planting kisses on her stretch marks, telling her how powerful they make her look. Wanda’s eyes shut themselves, her breathing strained. You can feel her anxiety lingering under you, so you place a warm hand on her chest to help her calm down.

She holds you gently by your nape and kisses you again, leaving no scope for breathing this time. “Thank you detka, you make me happy in ways I cannot even imagine telling you. I love you endlessly.”

[morzowo]

if gmm was any more shameless i know they would...

[ihavetoomuchhomeworkforthis]

Crazy humans are weird idea I just had while I was brushing my teeth. Okay, so what if our world is the only one where people and animals are designed to be able to create and communicate with sound? Not that the other alien species can't hear or make sound at all, if they step on a twig it still snaps, if they clap their hands it still makes a sound, their breathing can still be audible, and a stampede of elephant-equivalents will still make a thunderous stampede noise you'd need to be able to feel and hear, but what if none of them have vocal cords? What if the closest they can get is a sort of hoarse screech of unconventionally forceful breathing? What if we're the only ones with speech and birdsong?

Alien species communicate through tap-stomp dancing and facial expressions and sign/body language and rhythmic drumbeat patterns and little handpats on whatever surface is available (including themselves).

Nothing could have prepared them for our thousands of languages, the sheer volume we're just effortlessly capable of, the precision and variety and eloquence in the sounds we can produce. The apparent cacophony of birdsong and crickets chirping and cats meowing and lions roaring and dogs barking and whalesong, and just all the vastly different sounds everything on our planet can make. The musical instruments which aren't just percussion and string, but also wind instruments.

Just- what if we were the only ones with speech?

If I were more creative and less tired right now I'd write a mini-fic thing, if anyone sees this and somehow gains that kind of inspiration, PLEASE do, I'd be honored, thank you.

[sparring-spirals]

I want the full list of Ashton's personalized drinks for everyone, what a specific, and intentional act, Ashton, my punk rock, you are, despite all your protestations, very, very good at being a nice friend and caring for others.

[wild-at-mind]

I feel like tags like these were inevitable on the post about people traumatising themselves for the greater good or w/e... There is SO much emphasis on posting on tumblr and other social media being so important and so useful and we must never stop. But I would like to counterargue with the idea that posting on social media (especially tumblr) constantly does very little/nothing. If that was true then the point here becomes meaningless.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

another day another "applying the concept 'disposability' to 'someone withdraws from a personal relationship, & that wasn't signed off on by the other'" kill me