#this double negative hurts my brain

[ear-motif]

did you really have the teenage experience if you didnt or nearly didnt join a death cult

[tteokdoroki]

Aali!!!! I was gonna put this in the tags of your training scenario but got shy :(

but i immediately thought of Gojo!! And like he's not surprised you flipped him over due to you're strength, he has no doubts about how strong you are but it's the fact that he trusts you so much he unconsciously turned off his infinity for you <3 so now he's like !!!!!! because what!!!! but also you're on top of him and you look so pretty so now he's short circuiting double the amount!!!!

Like !!!!!!!! my brain is going crazy thinking about it - 🍓

☆༉ — SATORU GOJO. neither strong, nor weak - just in love.

about. combat training with gojo makes him realise just how strong you really are. inspired by this silly post i made yesterday, it wasn’t meant to become a whole thing but it did and now it’s…sad. im sorry. also pls don’t be shy ily :(

warnings. minors, ageless and blank blogs do not interact. sfw, angst, mutual pining, slightly unrequited romance, mentions of violence (they’re combat training), death mention, canon!verse, gn!reader.

you’re pissed. 

over the years satoru’s seen a colourful array of emotions splayed against your features. he’s seen joy, laughter, happiness — all of which are his favourites. he wishes he could have seen them more. but also sadness, anguish and a pain so deep he felt like he was dying right alongside you. 

he’s died once before, nearly, but it never could have compared to the feeling he got when you looked at him with pure hatred. because gojo had been the one to hurt you, then. 

you’ve never been one to hold grudges, you’re too good of a person for the world to hold anyone in such a negative light for way too long — but when you do experience these emotions, you feel them all too much and all too hard and everyone can see it too. maybe that’s why gojo picks up on your spike of anger so easily during training today, it could be the sick reason behind how much he’s enjoying you being pissed off too.  

because you wear your heart on your sleeve and your emotions on your face, so gojo knows exactly how he makes you feel — all of the time. “c’mon sweetheart, don’t lose focus. don’t you wanna beat me?” he taunts you, a cocky smile stretched over his lips as he dodges each of your blows, though the shades over his eyes hide the admiration he has for you.  

“fuck you.” you spit back harshly, as if the words scald your tongue. shifting your weight onto your back foot, you take a chance and swing your leg up high, just narrowly missing the silvery mop of satoru’s hair where his infinity goes up to protect him. 

for gojo, it’s easy for things to lose their meaning, slipping away from him like fine grains of sand through his fingers. at times when he should, he finds himself without a care — it’s easier to walk through life not giving a shit than to tie emotions to actions, people and places. if the strongest cares too much then people have to die. that’s why the wielder of the six eyes holds you to such high regards. you’re strong because you’re able to care — no matter what’s in your path or who might stand in your way, and what they might make you feel, you are able to be strong for those in need. 

you feel what satoru can’t. 

“i’ve been waiting all day for that, honey.” he quips back, lifting his shades just a little to bare the full brunt of your aura through his technique. “c’mon, let’s put in a little more effort, shall we? if i were a curse, you’d be dead by now.” 

everything gojo sees is magnified by one hundred, he could detect the smallest of changes no matter how close or far he was from you — and being able to witness frustration build up in your core along with stacks of your cursed energy elicits a pleasant reaction out of him. his head flops to the side, almost bored, despite how the corner of his lips quirk up into a lopsided grin. satoru loves how you’re just teeming with anger, from the top of your head right down to your toes — spreading into your fingertips as your cursed energy balls powerfully around your fist. 

and even though he catches it between his larger hands, the thin invisible veil of his infinity quite literally stopping you from killing gojo — he can still feel that you’re pouring your all into this, into him. even though you’re tired and dripping with sweat while your muscles burn so hot you fear they might melt away, you’re still trying. you still won’t give up. you’re still stronger than he ever could be. 

and he’s practically a god. 

“you would be the dead one if you didn’t have the cheat code to life.” rolling your shoulders, you step back with a menacing snarl and start again — fists flying in the direction of the six eyes as you’re  fuelled by the passion of taking him down. making him hurt. people like gojo piss you off, their existence serving as a reminder that your life is not promised and every step you take is a sacrifice to help them live on. though deep down, you know that you don’t hate him for it. it’s nothing that he could have helped. 

once again, satoru snags your fist before it can even leave a mark on him and draws you in by his infinity. for a moment, you’re scared that he might use it to repel you, harm you  — he catches the flicker of fear in your eyes before you steel your nerves and keep on fighting even as he grabs at your wrists, sweeps your feet out from underneath you and pins you to the hard ground below. 

leaning over your frame as you squirm beneath him, gojo tuts down at you in faux disappointment. “so sad, and here i was, thinking that you were strong enough to beat me.” he says, cruelly. “give up already, princess.” 

in response, you bare your fangs and dig your nails into his wrists — not letting up. “i’ll give up when you’ve killed me.” 

that makes satoru falter. 

it’s only training, really, it shouldn’t even be that serious. but his mind can’t shake the idea of one day sacrificing you for the good of others. for everyone satoru gojo has ever cared about, there has been a day where he has to choose between letting them meet their end and protecting the jujutsu world. that’s the way it’s always been and always will be. it’s not that he thinks you’re weak, that you can’t handle yourself — you’ve proven yourself capable of that time and time again. you’re strong, physically and resilient in your emotions, mentally but you’re only human.

and humans don’t last as long as gods do. 

seizing the opportunity at hand, you squeeze your thighs around satoru’s slender waist to switch your situation and rip your wrists free from his steady iron grip. so now, your positions are reversed, and he’s the one with his arms above his head — exposing all of his vulnerable vital organs. he could have easily kept himself in control and have you squirming below him for hours, but he lets you. he trusts you enough to let you prove yourself to him — just so he can have that moment, that lets you know that the great satoru gojo is not immune to the likes of you. 

he is weak for you. 

his infinity slips away unconsciously just as his back his the the floor with a dull thud — wisps of his snow white hair flying about the place with the motion. satoru lays still beneath you, unmoving like a tree rooted to its spot, and peers up at you through the thickness of his lashes. he watches how you try to control your surprise and how shocked you are at yourself for pinning him down — truth being told that if he didn’t have infinity to hide behind, if he was human, you probably would have been able to from the start. 

“think again,” you breathe, the dip in your voice doing nothing to help satoru’s crazed mind and how insane he is for you. “princess.”

you’re so pretty like this. your eyes are frenzied and and astonished, your chest heaves with every breath you take in desperation to fill your lungs with air and your skin shines with light perspiration from your training. and even then, to satoru, you’re the most precious form of life he’s ever seen. a rarity amongst unpolished gems. every emotion you have right now is laid bare against your features, coursing through your veins and it’s because of him. 

it’s nice like this, to feel weak in the knees and in the heart for someone. to be able to feel your pulse rather than see it as nothing but a flicker of a blue flame with blue eyes. 

he wants to touch you, subconsciously reaching out to brush a thumb over your cheek. “you’re so beautiful.” satoru whispers, his voice low and uneven — causing goosebumps to rise over the expanse of your skin and a soft gasp to lay wet on your lips. 

exasperated tears begin to well up in your eyes, sitting pretty in your lower lash line. you’re so angry at gojo and how you think he sees you but you don’t dare to push his hand away, instead turning your head to look elsewhere. you don’t want him to see you cry. 

“turn your infinity back on. i could kill you.” 

“you’re beautiful,” satoru repeats adamantly, not caring if he sounds like a broken record. “you’re strong. stronger than me.” you’re pissed at him too , for looking down at you. for all the things he’s said that hurt you without meaning to. your grip on his wrists loosen along with your hold on your emotions. “i wish i could be weak enough to love you.”

“i said turn it back on, gojo.” 

“look at me, please.” 

“gojo.” 

“please.” 

your shoulders sag with a shaky exhale, all of the fight you had leaving you as you sit on top of him — looking down at him. “what?” comes your quiet mumble, not daring to flinch away as his thumb traces over your bottom lip without the gentle hum of his infinity.

“i love you.” 

if you were at any other point in time, satoru’s words would have had you melting over him like butter in a pan. you would have been weak enough to say it back and let him overwhelm you with longing. because if this were any other point in time, you would have needed satoru gojo like you needed air to breathe. like you needed him to live. 

but things are different now, there’s a concrete wall built around your heart to fortify it and you’ve grown to become immune to him. like gojo says, you are strong and while you know that you always have been — hearing him admit that makes you realise you don’t want to prove your worth to him anymore. 

you would much rather have him kill you instead. 

꒰ end. — all rights reserved © tteokdoroki 2023. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.

[andreabandrea]

i think all the time about how hard it is to be a kid even in the best case scenarios. like yeah as a kid you have very few responsibilities and youre innocent etc but i think the thing is that adults (at least in the USA) largely do not consider you to be a human.

i remember when i was a kid, my parents were nice to me and supportive and so on-- i didnt have a bad childhood. but there were times where my dad would just take things from me, or interrupt me on the computer/tv, not because i had exceeded screen time or anything but just because "im the dad and im more important so i can do what i want". i remember how powerless i felt when adults would shout at me, especially if it was over something i didnt understand and/or hadnt been taught.

i remember adults laughing in my face sometimes when i was crying or upset, and i think about this when i see those 'toddler/kid freakout' tiktok videos mocking a child's reaction, even if it is for something "stupid" like they dropped their candy or whatever.

even the most well-meaning adults will often write off your pain and negative emotions as 'overreactions', and this goes triple if youre neurodivergent. i had pneumonia as a child and my doctor thought i was just being dramatic.

your input on things is largely seen as worthless. if your parents want to travel the country in a van, but you want to go to school and have friends and have your own bedroom, they'll just pack you up and take you in that van because you're the child and you're their property. i think about this when i see those 'van life' families, and i think about this as i'm reading the Wavewalker book about the girl who was forced to live on her parents' boat with little to no schooling for 10 years.

if your parents spank you and hit you, largely thats seen as their "choice" as parents, no matter how many studies tell them it traumatizes children. and youre dependent on the adults around you and if those adults suck, or if youre in a bad situation, you have very little to no ability to change that and you just have to endure.

and thats what drives me insane about desantis is that we see more and more rhetoric like "the rights of parents" and "protecting children" but these kids are being told that they do not have rights. its as if people truly believe parents deserve to know everything, even if the child doesnt feel safe telling them. people think parents deserve to control their kids' every choice and every move. but when it comes to protecting kids from gun violence and protecting gay/trans kids and especially kids of color, republicans could not give less of a shit. hell, even the grand majority of democrats barely care.

yes, i get it. parenting is unimaginably hard. the nuclear family is unsustainable especially in today's double-income-not-even-making-rent economy. the world is fucked up. sometimes kids are shitty and it might hurt you as an adult. but kids are not evil, and kids are not adults who are acting with fully developed brains and social skills and empathy and so on and its important to keep that in mind.

on the chance that anyone wants to reply with "well i hate kids :/" look. you dont have to be a parent. but at least be kind to children in your life. let the kid in the park ramble to you about skibidi toilet or fucking whatever. you do owe people kindness, especially children

[evertidings]

— APRIL 2023.

accomplishments.

i’ll be honest—i have no idea what happened this month. it always happens at this time of year. school work, assignments, essays piling up... it’s a miracle that i didn’t start writing about yellow fever and polio in chapter nine. so, what did i do exactly? i wrote double what i did last month and yet, it’s all fuzzy. here is what i know: i’m currently chipping away at two scenes in chapter nine. the two final scenes. granted, they’re very big scenes (maybe i should call them sections instead) but we’re slowly making our way to the end of a very long journey. 

the first scene is A’s and N’s branch that you were teased in the first part of chapter nine. the one after... you know. Blane’s (rightful, i think) reaction to A’s accusation. i put this off for a while needing a break from the repetitive themes that were also in Blane’s + K’s and Rylan’s branches, but when i started writing the final section of the chapter, i realized that i was missing out on chances for flavour text. hence, me running back to finish the scene. so far, A’s and N’s branch is much more linear than the others, which, honestly, i’m relieved about. i love choice and i love branching off into tiny little subsections, but sometimes, it really does hurt my brain. this doesn’t mean that there isn’t the chance for customization and personalization, just that writing wise, it’s a little simpler for me.

the second scene (section?) i’ve been working on is the final scene in the chapter. i can’t say much about this one since it’d be a huge spoiler, but what i can say is that i managed to fit a choice in here that i think everyone will be super excited about. it’s small and perhaps insignificant to the plot, but it’s also extremely fun and gives a chance for a potential romance point, if you so choose.

on a final note, i want to say that i’ve recently been getting feedback about lack of personalization in when twilight strikes. while i can’t exactly change plot points, i do know that there are stats that are more neglected than others and would benefit from being showcased in flavour text in chapters. same goes for some of the more negative routes, like not forgiving A or disliking Rylan. joking around with characters when you supposedly dislike them does not make sense. oops. i always make small changes to previous chapters before publishing a new one, but with chapter nine, i’m going to do a deep dive into chapters one to eight and hopefully add some things that will make the story more individual to your playthrough. as always, i am grateful for any constructive criticism and appreciate the care you all have for this game. thank you <3

stats.

395,398 words (+ 13.4k)

[fangirltothefullest]

Saw your post about the fandom, and wanted to stop by and say hi! It actually was nice to see that pop up on my dash, cause a lot of people are getting really negative about the waits, and I've seen it get kinda nasty. So seeing you be so genuine about enjoying it is really nice to see. I'm always open to talk about Sanders Sides, though, it's still one of my favorite things even after all this time.

ME TOO! I love it so much and I think... well as a Content Creator myself, I know how hard these past few years have been for me and I am not surprised at all that it's been hard for him and his team so I can be impatient and want more content but also... I can't be mad. A little peak into my brain coming and I apologize if that wasn't what you were looking for but-

I had to close commissions and my own patreon because I had to get a job that could actually support me, and had a TON of personal stuff happened to me and my family IRL that affected a lot of my online presence.

As a consequence I don't post art NEARLY as much as I used to and I found myself feeling EXTREMELY upset about it. I used to even livestream art, can you believe it? 8U

And I sat there worrying I'd never post art again because of the burnout and stress..... and I thought everyone who liked my stuff may leave. Because that's happened before- I was a product, a machine to pump out free stuff for people to enjoy, and when the product stopped coming, people just left. That's SO hard to face as a creator, ESPECIALLY when you are trying to GENUINELY provide your art and works pretty much for free and you're already going through traumatic stuff IRL behind the screen.

To see people getting SO angry with the content that HAS been provided hurts me more than the wait and it's not because I put the man on a pedestal it's because I humanized him. I had a shit few years and so did he. Would it have been nice for him to be like 'hey I need to go on a break for a while I'm sorry', hell yeah but I didn't either. I posted every so often about Going Through It and kicking myself privately because I could barely sketch on paper, much less muster the courage to do a digital piece, but I didn't tell people wehat I was going through until later and even then a lot of my life is private and I haven't disclosed stuff because... it's personal, it's private. Online space isn't supposed to be privy to all my secrets and stuff you know?

So when I see people nitpicking the plushie episode because it's also doubled as an ad for the toys, I want to growl and bite and hiss because it's STILL an episode with an actual PLOT; it's not like the crofters ads. FWSA, the cartoon one, is a 24 minute ASIDES video and was LITERALLY given to us during Covid when EVERYTHING ELSE was shut down. Have I Grown is an hilarious video that also somewhat recaps but less episode recap and more personal sides recaps- seeing how their current mental state is. The Wes Anderson one is literally a Season Recap episode. We got a fucking Janus Cover of an OtGW song and they're all in their casual clothes and that song is about pretending everything is ok just for a littler while and it's STILL technically plot related. WTIT is a fucking ASIDES video that's 28 minutes long AND HAS PLOT! AND THE CANON CONFIRMATION OF THE SUSPECTED ORANGE SIDE!!! Incorrect Quotes was a way for us to see them being silly and lighthearted and so is The Sides Need A Nice Day!

I just- that's a lot more content than I think people realize. Yes he has a full team but that doesn't stop the stress or the burnout, especially when half your fanbase is saying how terrible you're being not being faster.

Not to mention the bloopers and the Gavin Sides and the entire episodes of Roleslaying AND a cartoon therapy have all come out AND he was part of a few song collabs too.

I just.... I can't imagine going through the stresses I went through and how much it would hurt me to provide that much stuff and still have people angry. Do you know how much I've done since Covid? Not nearly as much in terms of BIG PROJECTS.

Sorry if this came off as a rant, I'm just so passionate about this show that I love to much! >//<

[jungkookslipring]

what abt a seonghwa fic when y/n (fem) breaks down one day when everything is seemingly fine abt abuse she had from her mom when she was akid.

y/n's really independent and admirable and hides her feelings underneath a warm friendly exterior but no-one knows what's underneath it.

idk if this is too intense, but i kind of feel like it..

haha love you

I LOVE THIS! Thank you so much for the request!

Pairings: Seonghwa x Reader

Relationship: platonic or romantic

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warnings: mentions of verbal and psychological abuse, crying, mentions of eating disorder but no graphic description

Mother Knows Best

Mother knows best, right? Even when she was very protective of you growing up and claimed to be a mama bear and 10 times out of 10 always acted on it, it made up for the things she’d say to you, right?Every time she said you’d look prettier without all those piercings, every time she’d comment how your body wasn’t VS material, every time she’d gaslight you and say you weren’t depressed you were just having a bad day, or “it could be worse”, she knew best, right? Your parents could do no wrong, no matter what they said was said with a purpose right? What they said, especially what she said was okay, right? They were allowed to say negative things cause they were your parents and that fine, right? Well it sure took you long enough to realize it was far from fine. It took one memory for you to break down in your bedroom. You were scrolling through Pinterest looking at constellation piercings, trying to decide which piercing you’d like to add to your collection. Maybe a double helix? Or a tragus? Or go for the more simple route and do a third lobe? There were just so many options at the end of your fingertips. You found a combo of jewelry you loved, and when you went to hit “pin”, the words invaded your brain.

“Why would you do that?”

“There is no reason for you to get those”

“That’s so ghetto”

“You’d look prettier without those piercings”

You lost it. Your vision blurred and your heart began to race, the fear from your childhood when you’d cry over something and your mom would comment

“Of course you’re crying”.

It was all too much. When you heard footsteps you threw a hand over your mouth and squeezed your eyes shut, imaging your mom storming down the hallway to yell at you, to stop crying, and to suck it up. What you didn’t expect was a dip at the end of your bed and a soft

“Hey, hey sweetie, what’s wrong?”

You opened up your eyes and saw Seonghwa, looking at you with a concerned facial expression. You shook your head, you’ve never wanted him to see you like this.

“Let’s try to catch our breath honey okay? We’ll take deep breaths together, you and me, yeah?” he asked oh so kindly. He wasn’t yelling at you, wasn’t telling you to suck it up, he was gently helping you calm your breathing. Just the mere thought of this new way of calming down actually existed was enough for your breathing to level out within maybe 30 seconds.

“Was there something or someone bothering you?” He asked as he put a hand on your knee. You looked down, worried that if you express your feelings, you’ll be shut down. Seonghwa took his hand and slowly tilted your chin up to look him in the eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I respect your privacy. I just want you to know I’m here, okay?” he said so sincerely. Your lip wobbled and before you knew it you were hiding your face in his shoulder, weeping as you held the back of his sweatshirt If he was startled he didn’t show it as he wrapped his arms around you, resting his cheek on your head. He’s never seen you so sad before, let alone shed a tear. It hurt his heart hearing you hiccup with every sob.

“My sweet girl…whatever it is, I’ll be there. I can help. I can help fix it,” he whispered. You shook your head. How? How can you fix childhood trauma.

“I-I don’t think it’s s-something that can b-be fixed” you whisper tearfully. He held you tighter and started stroking your hair. It was his silent way of saying

'I'm here, whether you want to tell me or not, I'm here'.

You let out a shaky sigh and found only a small bit of courage to tell him. You told him everything: the verbal and psychological abuse from your mother as a child, the way that abuse followed into your teens and young adult years, how you were paranoid over everything you did cause you knew she’d have an opinion on it, the fear of speaking up, the challenge of expressing your feelings, and the shame of feeling sad. Everything you let out was word vomit, and the strong confident girl that Seonghwa met was replaced with a shy, quiet and scared girl that was weeping from years of trauma. But Seonghwa didn’t care. This side of you he had never seen before and even though it broke his heart, he was relieved that you were letting go of the pressure that built up inside of you for so long that you kept trapped in a box refusing to open it.

“…so…you know I guess that’s what did it…I couldn’t take it anymore…but I’m really sorry I didn’t want you to see me like this-“ you rambled before Seonghwa oh so gently, in the nicest way possible, cut you off by pulling you further into his hold.

“Shhh shhh shhh. My y/n, you don’t need to apologize over this type of thing, bubs, this isn’t your fault, none of this is your fault,” he said with his voice only slightly shaky. He pulled back a little to cup your cheek.

“I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t talk to me sweetheart, and I don’t want you to feel afraid to show your emotions. Your feelings are valid and no one can tell you otherwise cause it’s your body, not theirs. And I’m so so sorry your mother caused this,” Seonghwa said sadly. He genuinely felt so sorry for you.

“It’s okay…I mean…I know it’s not okay but don’t feel bad, I’ll get over it eventually,” you say shrugging. Seonghwa had sadness in his eyes as he took your hand into his.

"You are loved. You are so so loved sweetheart. You have a family who loves you, even if its just me and the rest of the seven crackheads that live in this household," he chuckled as you let out a wet chuckle. You loved them all so much, you really did. This conversation wasn't going to change the past, but it was going to help you move forward, knowing that you had the best support system, even if they weren't blood.

[bitofanupsidedowner]

people who want will to get a boyfriend who isn't mike make zero sense to me ngl... i get that mike is kind of a jerk but i just don't feel like it makes a lick of sense tbh, and i also just think anything bad thing mike’s done is best justified/made sympathetic and solved by the conclusion he’s been struggling with his feelings towards will. 

mike is in no way this unredeemable person and i think it’s pretty extreme to treat it like he is. he isn’t perfect, but he’s shown that he does care about will much more often than he’s hurt him. just the facts.

like. yeah sure byler has been built up since season one and mike has been written in a way that made it literally impossible for will TO get a separate love interest. despite mike having a literal girlfriend, his jealousy and protectiveness over will didn’t leave any empty space. we all saw his weird reaction to the painting at the airport and how when dustin and lucas wanted to help will on halloween he yelled at them and shoved them away. 

but like... yeah, let's throw him with some random guy we have no time to get invested in so mike and el can keep being a dysfunctional mess with no chemistry or shared interests even though it would make no sense, have no emotional payout and  is not in any way what mike or will need for a satisfying conclusion to their character arcs (or el! it negatively affects all three.)

separating the two would be the only opportunity possible to give will someone new. it would’ve been tricky to make it believable, but it was their only chance after mike’s emphasis in will’s storyline. that in itself is suspicious, but they essentially told us with mike’s little ‘oh shit’ closet moment that they would not be doing that. 

instead, they kept doubling down on mike and will. they even made the cali plotline sort of agonize over it, with mike and will pulling in the most heart-to-hearts of any duo in any one season afaik. the emphasis on their relationship has been too integral to the show. having had wills sexuality in mind from season one, making mike as big an element in that storyline to begin with is not without consequence. they wrote it in a way that made it almost impossible to reasonably go in another direction.  

they spent a lot of time especially in season 4 showing us how mike and will’s relationship comes naturally to them, has a good  foundation of mutual love and respect, and just generally functions better than mike and el and can repair itself without that much effort. even when mike and el are in their ‘good’ phases, they have less going for them than mike and will in their ‘bad’ phases.

will’s feelings for mike are directly contrasted with el’s. mike makes will feel better for being different. he makes EL feel like a monster. with el, she begged him to say it and he denied her, implying he didn’t ‘know what to say’ and agreeing when will said ‘what if they don’t like the truth?’ he denied her what she wanted until will told him to say it. the text is very directly comparing el and will’s dynamics with mike for a reason.

you never say it > i say it

oh, i didn’t say it. > you didn’t have to.

it doesn't make sense to set this up and then retreat back into a relationship that is mutually destructive, that hinders all three characters growth and self worth, and goes directly against their character arcs. it makes no sense to make will in love with mike at all if it was going to end up with a new guy shoehorned in last minute.

 there’s a reason it’s mike and not lucas or dustin that will fell for. there’s a reason that the majority of people are ecstatic about lumax, jopper, jancy and duzie but find milkvan tedious and forced. 

it's filling the same place in my brain rn as when people want will to have a villain arc. it just does not make any sense to me to actively desire  conclusions to arcs that would undo character progress or just completely misshape the character profile permanently. 

it isn’t JUST a romantic relationship will wants. he doesn’t just have a hankering for a boyfriend. it’s not just about having SOMEONE. it’s specifically mike’s love. it is specifically spending his life with mike that has been explicitly stated over and over again as what he truly wants. 

i feel like it’s fairly rare for characters to both know and state plainly what they want, but will does, which i think is honestly so admirable. he admits it when he is at his most vulnerable (rain fight) when it would be more beneficial for him to just pretend. but he doesn’t. he’s hurt, but he doesn’t hide from it. 

the fact he doesn’t even surprises mike, who was expecting for will to agree that changing drastically and obsessing about girlfriends was the natural progression they were supposed to take. after his wish is put into the open and seemingly rejected, he destroys castle byers. 

mike is insecure about wanting this, but we know he wants that too, we just dont have the explicit confirmation if it’s romantic yet. 

the point being that the emphasis has already been placed on not only who/what will wants, but how confident he is in that never changing. he wants it deeply and forever.

it isn’t just a boyfriend he wants, it’s mike. 

that’s the person he has the deepest connection to, that’s the guy who saved him, who pulled him out of the upside down, fought the hardest for him, stayed by his side when he needed him, befriended him when he was five years old because he thought, ‘he’s like me.’ mike gets a lot of criticism, but none of that is how will himself feels. to him, that’s the guy who makes him brave enough to accept his sexuality. it’s mike, it's always been mike, and it doesn’t make sense narratively for him to be with anyone else.

‘what if you want to join another party? > not possible.

[fatuismooches]

I DON'T REMEMBER IF I REPLIED OR NOT BUT HERES A REPLY ANW OMG U BREAK MY HEART SO WELL AAASHHA sorry if I've already said smth so this makes it a double reply ANW dottore angst gets me so hard but I don't hate myself that much so an accompanyinh fluff I'd like to add is like imagine reader is reallyyyy good at chess cus they're established as smart by being in the akademiya and now since you can't rlly do anth all day you challenge the clones to chess often so anw one day dot is just coming as you win a game against one of the clones for the third time in a row and you challenge him to a game and he's so convinced he'll win he deliberates going easy on you and- wait what the fuck why are you so good

also you are quickly becoming my fav creator to interact wit :( 💗

- 🌕

I HAD THE BIGGEST SMILE READING THIS IT'S SO CUTE- I NEED TO WRITE A LIL SOMETHING YOU'RE SO BIG BRAINED...!

Since your illness prevented you from training your body more than you like, you made your best effort to train your mind instead. You deemed your mind as very important, as the loneliness of it all often weighed down on you more than you liked. So you made sure to keep yourself occupied as much as you could, to try and prevent any negative thoughts from creeping up. And well, you found it to be quite rewarding. There was one time when the clones were struggling with an experiment for quite a while and were reluctant to inform Prime. So you asked them to let you take a look at the notes and everything along those lines. Admittedly, it reminded you of when you researched with your lover back at the Akademiya, so you accidentally got too into it, scribbling all of your thoughts and a possible answer to the problems. The clones were rather shocked when you turned out to be right.

But your favorite activity by far was chess. The brain teaser was highly favored by those at the Akademiya, and for good reason too. It was a great way to challenge yourself and get your mind working, and the best part? You could sit down comfortably and only move your hand, and enjoy the rather handsome view of a segment's face laced with confusion.

The clones were almost always happy to indulge your wishes, sometimes even fighting over who got to fulfill them. So after you absentmindedly mentioned wanting to play chess, the next day the game was set up in the lab, ready for use. Needless to say, you were quite elated. You had itched for the chance to play again. And of course, your only opponents were the multitude of your lovely segments.

The segments do love you. It is only natural that their creator’s love for you extends to them as well. So they gladly play along with your little game of chess, but they won’t do it too seriously; after all they wouldn’t want to hurt- wait, how did you already beat him?! For all of their wisdom and knowledge, they are baffled when they are taken out that quickly.

It eventually gets to the point where you have a little group of clones watching you battle another. It’s quite endearing to see them hover over you like that, trying to guess what move you’ll play next. But the true fun comes when Zandik appears. There are times where sometimes you do not see him for a few days, but that’s alright. The time spent afterwards always feels the best, and this is one such time. He is unaware of the little show you’ve been putting on, so you gleefully invite him to play you in a game of chess.

He accepts of course. Admittedly, it had been a while since he played, having only laid eyes on the chessboard in which the Gnoses were pieces. And of course, he has the same mentality as his clones - he’ll go easy on his darling, you’re his after all. He knows his genius is incomparable so- wait… you beat him? Since when did you become so good? You must tell him all the details now, he wants to know your thought process and the strategy’s name and how the other matches went and-

You shut him up with a kiss and invite him for some more chess games in your shared bedroom.

[rubykgrant]

so. Rooster teeth is gone now. Thoughts?

That's both kind of a shock, but also unfortunately not surprising. I haven't really been "in the loop" regarding Rooster Teeth as a whole thing like other people online (I literally never knew anything they did outside of RVB 10+ years ago, except for hearing people vaguely talk about RWBY and Gen:Lock, and even then, I only really saw RVB to begin with because a friend had borrowed the DVDs from their older bro, who had borrowed them from a friend of his). I only randomly remembered RVB was a thing a couple years ago, and then it took over my brain. THEN, one of the more recent incidents of how RT mistreats employees was brought up, and while a lot of people were (sadly) used to hearing about that, I was not aware of previous situations, and it honestly made me very upset. I wrote a whole thing about that, which nobody "important" really saw, because I'm not important myself, but this new situation makes me feel more of the same...

It is awful that so many problems went on for so long, a LOT of people got hurt through working there over the years. They all deserved to be treated better. Being in a bad situation like that can mess up your whole life. That kind of thing also hurts how people work, and surprise-surprise, that hurts WHERE they work. You can't mistreat employees over and over, then turn around and give the fans the equivalent of a slap in the face when it comes to letting them actually enjoy the content, and expect everything to just work out OK. I am genuinely sad that yet another thing is getting shut down; it happens so often, with different studios/creative teams, and it would be nice to actually see a group recognize what their problems have been, make an actual effort to IMPROVE, and continue to exist. I hope all the creative people involved who have been working hard don't just get thrown on the wayside, but it is so difficult to find any stability in the entire entertainment business world right now. There were a LOT of problems at RT regarding how employees were treated, and that includes so MANY people, but there is also a vast amount of problems at just about every creative workplace (and this has been going on for more than a decade). Almost nothing survives, except a handful of companies who basically just "eat" up smaller ones, and have the money to fail or lose money over and over again, and not worry. Who cares if they shut down 10 other studios and end 50 projects that were almost finished? They still have their money. It is also just honestly WEIRD how many different companies keep making the same mistakes with how they offer content to the fans (limiting availability, not even letting people buy the stuff they want to buy, etc. RT has gotten a lot of hate for recent stuff with their online videos, but availability is a whole problem with all kinds of media; Disney won't let you watch it's own movies, Nintendo won't let you play it's own games; it's STUPID), and then being surprised it isn't working. Stop shooting yourselves in the foot. Stop doubling-down on the same nonsense. It isn't WORKING.

Again, it would have been nice to see a negative situation actually be IMPROVED. Maybe that is naively hopeful of me, but I'm also not exactly surprised. I'm just sorry so many people worked on so many different projects, with all their passion, talent, and effort, got mistreated, and it is now all being thrown away. It is just plain sad that so much can go wrong for entirely too many years, and then it just ends without anything being fixed. "Well it sucked, but now it's dead"- it didn't HAVE to suck, and it didn't HAVE to die. I wish it had been better from the beginning, and I wish that things could have gone better throughout. I hope all the creative people are able to keep living their lives and find themselves in workplaces where they can be safe (for their own emotional/mental health, and in terms of making enough money to actually live).

[maddgical-boy]

madd ask game!! (from @scuttledusk!) yet another lantern eclipse guy because. well. i’m brain rotting i guess BUT!

his name is Pearl Artair! He’s 32 years old and uses he/him pronouns, and his faceclaim is Ncuti Gatwa <3 he’s so babygirl

Pearl is the owner of the Visionary, a queer nightclub/bar in the Violet District! He’s incredibly charismatic and capable of making just about anyone feel comfortable around him, and he also gives off distinct old money vibes (mostly through the way he speaks and dresses) despite that being entirely false lmfao. Big academic words, an English accent, and faux-designer clothes can get a guy a long way yk??

Pearl is undeniably a very kind person!! He cares about everything and everyone all the time so much that it hurts!! He does however have the unfortunate tendency to mask all that hurt behind a little charming smile, so. owie. He also has the need to feel like he’s in control of everything happening in his life, but he’s also very good at being in charge so most of the time it’s a win/win. And!! He’s got book smarts AND street smarts! double package baybee

sorry if this is wildly incoherent it’s uhhhhhHHH late here 😭 BUT! picture me slowly pushing him towards u across a poker table <3 here’s his collage

he is perfect. i shall matchmake him with ME /j

i think he would be a perfect match with my para august fitzsimmons! his faceclaim is shane madej, one of my favorite internet funny guys

august is a religious studies professor! (the science of religions) he strives to be a really good educator to all of his students and wants them to feel like they can come to him for any problem. (though, his kindness means he can often forgive people too much or be taken advantage of.) he loves learning new things about the world and telling people fun facts, as a treat :>

pearl and august would be so cute together imo, just two sweet guys out on the town. singlehandedly could create world peace HAVSKSJDF

but seriously they would be like that cute little couple everyone knows and thinks is wholesome. they both have issues with repressing negative emotions but knowing them, they would probably just take turns talking to each other about it lol

[uh-velkommen]

More Thoughts On Gen V:

Mental Health:

I've been watching some reviews on the show and I think one thing that constantly gets overlooked is the conversation around Mental Health. Initially it's Emma who is the purger, her ED is linked to her powers (or so she thinks). Then we learn that its more so about her feeling small, being made to think she is unworthy or nothing. Marie is a self-harmer, whether or not you see it that way, she needs to hurt herself in order to use her powers (for now). It could go one of two ways, she hurts herself and then excuses it as "using her powers" (much like Emma) or it's just a bad habit that is subconsciously linked to her emotions (again, like Emma) and I don't think we'll get a clear answer on that until the next season within The Boys - Cinematic Universe (TBCU). But just think about how many times we see her cut to use her powers in the height of a negative emotion versus when she uses them through other means. Most important of all though: The fact that everyone in The Woods who was given Compound V, has a mental illness or disorder. We know this because Dean Shetty, who runs the thing, talks about her experience as a Phycologist and Sam quite literally has Schizophrenia. She chose to experiment with these children in particular because who would want mentally unstable kids with super powers running around? These kids, to her and the rest of the world, are disposable. They are dangerous, until controlled. Now think about Emma and Marie, aren't they dangerous? Well, no, because their illnesses are "hidden." And it's a perfect commentary on how we talk about mental illnesses today. Everyone wants to raise awareness about mental health until they're met with an illness that has potential to villainize the person who has it.

Gender Queerness:

I love Jordan Li! I think the backstory, having them be Chinese and their Dad sharing how proud he was to have given birth to a son where gender preferences with children is still such a hot topic in Chinese culture, was a brilliant move. I think about how if Jordan had never been given Compound V, they probably still would've experienced issues with their gender identity. The Compound V gave them a gift. (I like to think that Compound V only emphasizes something within the individual, like with Emma and her almond mom or the invisible dude and his perviness but I haven't seen enough evidence to prove this canon). And when Jordan and Marie got together I was so happy to see a Lesbian Protagonist double POC interracial relationship on steroids, except whenever they were together, Boy Jordan would appear and I got mad at the show for being heteronormative. But once again, TBCU came through and gave Jordan the opportunity to talk about how they feel like they have to be a boy for Marie, opening the floor for that conversation to happen between the two sometime in the future. It's a point on having to perform to make other people comfortable. The last thing was something I didn't even notice until Marie pointed out, was how Jordan always turns into a boy when they want to be heard or when they need authority. It's a beautiful note on how aware Jordan is of the privileges that come with passing as a boy. Jordan works with the patriarchy even if not fully intentional. It's the inherent entitlement that is instilled in men and the cultural influences that queer people have to actively unlearn in order to fully be themselves. (Also I feel like I made some poor word choices in the last bit. I'm not anti-men, just couldn't think of another way to say it😅)

Racism:

This part is so simple yet it didn't click in my brain until just now. Throughout the entire show we are being fed the idea that Vought could not have too many POC in the spotlight at once. There's no way a bigender Asian kid could be number one. We can only have one Black person in The Seven at a time. But we're watching this show under the guise that we will get a happy ending. The good guys are going to win this... Did you forget what show you were watching too? Homelander shows up at the end and we think the fighting will stop, until he damn near uses a slur at Marie. The NEW Guardians of Godolkin are two blonde-haired, blue-eyed, do-gooders and we realize that the finale had been foreshadowed the entire time: The minorities can never come on top.

[1eos]

Something whack happened at my uni. Apparently, this white zionist american academician came to my uni, gave a seminar and then said something along the lines of "being pro Palestine is antisemitic and would negatively influence your economic relationship with america"??.

And then when he faced backlash, the uni cancelled his next seminar and he was forced to leave the country. Another thing, the uni is prestigious in my country so people were shocked that the higher ups approved his seminar AND apparently people found out that he is very vocal about israel in his socials so people were double shocked because no one did a background check on this mf??? Omggg

Then, this man tweeted that he left my country because he felt "unsafe"?? After that he set up a gofundme for people to PAY his damages that he caused HIMSELF!! Just now people found out that he actually invited himself to the uni and the uni paid for his hotel and travel expenses......honestly what the hell I hope he dies

this is so.....................................z*onism is really peak white fragility and self victimization bc how you invite YOURSELF somewhere to spread hate and capitalism bootlicking then act like you're soooooooo hurt when anyone with a brain or a heart is sick of your shit??????? z(onists when you won't accept white supremacy:

[ocean-waters]

hey ocean!!! :-) for the love your fandom ask game, let's try 14, 16 and 25!! ✨

Hey Rin! Thanks for the ask ❤️ you picked some good questions

#14: the ship that always makes you smile

Hmm. I wonder. Yknow.. I can't seem to recall any that would.

Alright, seriously, there has not been another ship like rinharu. Honestly, I struggle to put it into words since it's mostly feelings.

This pairing altered my brain chemistry and rewired me. Literally defined my taste when it comes to ship. If it reminds me of rinharu, there is a high chance i'll ship it. It's a ship that's got it all. Just the dynamic is so addicting and fun and thrilling. There is not one moment when they're together that is not overloaded with feeling. They play off of each other so well. They're both opposites, but also more similar than they realize. They have fantastic chemistry, and they are both so passionate, but they can also be pretty soft with each other too. Their moments make the show. I mean, they are the "core-axis" of free! After all.

From the very beginning of their story together, it's always been so entertaining. I loved seeing how their relationship started, grew, and evolved. It was love at first sight (or I guess you could say it was actually love at first swim). Rin's determination was unwavering, and he kept trying until he finally smashed his way through Haru's walls and eventually won him over with his charm, all while being absolutely enamored by Haru himself. And he truly did shake up Haru's entire world. Haru was so sure the only thing he needed was to feel the water. Then, in comes this smiley and annoyingly persistent kid and shows him a sight he's never seen before, and makes him feel so many funny feelings.

They're both so taken with one another, even if they don't want to admit it. I love how Rin gushes about Haru at any chance he gets, and how Haru is constantly thinking about Rin whenever they're apart. And i mean, gosh he quit swimming because he thought he hurt Rin. He had that much of an impact on Haru. They both drive each other forward, improve one another, and becomes their best selves together. Their relationship certainly wasn't without its bumps along the way, but i think that just makes it more interesting.

Seriously, when it comes to these two, they could be doing anything, and they would still have me smiling. I will treasure them forever.

#16: a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

Not sure if some of these really count as "tiny", but:

● I just genuinely love that whenever Haru has flashbacks of his childhood moments with Rin, the first thing he remembers/thinks about is his smile, and the scene is always tinted pink with cherry blossoms.

● Rin's friendship with Nagisa. He pretends to be aggravated by him, but he's got quite the soft spot for him too.

● How perceptive Nagisa truly is. He notices the small things about his friends and their behaviors. It's so sweet

● Haru's love for weird looking creatures, like northern stoplight loose-jaw kun. He would have loved sacabambaspis.

● Haru's hobby of wood carving. I would love one of his handcrafted iwatobi chan charms.

● Also one I learned about recently: Haru actually has double-jointed knees!

#25: a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces

Fandom, as fun as it is, unfortunately has its rotten side. You'll inevitably come across pointless discourse of any kind during your time in it. The best thing you can do is honestly just avoid engaging with it. Don't ruin your own happiness by starting arguments with people who simply won't listen. If they're constantly popping up on your feed, simply block them and keep enjoying your side of the fandom. Constantly being met with people being destructively negative about the things you enjoy will do nothing except bring you down. It is so much nicer to just be able to enjoy things. You don't have anything to prove to anyone, and you don't need to justify yourself for liking a certain character or a ship. Just post what you want in your own circle. Be free!

(That being said, there are actually interesting discussions one can have with people who are actually willing to listen and debate properly, and those can be good experiences too. I'm just talking about discourse like ship wars or arguments like: Rin Matsuoka is a toxic character, and you're problematic if you like him!!1!!11! and such)

[From the "love your fandom" ask game]

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

If I recall correctly you are on the 'trans/nonbinary identities are mental illness' wagon, and I wanted to know your perspective on why claims like that cause extremely negative reaction. I remember I used to react very negatively myself a year ago or so until I analysed that actually there is nothing wrong with mental illnesses to BEGIN with, so claims like that should not be hurtful? A thing I can think of is that term 'mental illness' automatically suggests need to 'heal' it, but that's also not true. For example autism and ADHD are also mental illnesses, but they are not supposed to be "healed", nor CAN be healed, it is just a different way of brain to work. Saying that about genders is also not supposed to automatically invite misgendering; again, mentally ill people often need accommodations and some of their requests and boundaries respected, and if someone refuses - THEY are kind of mean (if not straight up ableist), so many people would try to adapt just to be kind and accepting. So, respecting pronouns and name can also count as accommodating in this case, and if you don't do that then YOU are the bad guy here. Same as ignoring boundaries a mentally ill person vocalised makes YOU kinda mean. (of course utopia of everyone respecting everyone will never happen, but we always aspire to be kind and condemn the cynical individualists that refuse simply because)

I am just not sure why as soon as it is suggested for gender, all respect and validation for mental illnesses goes out the window. From what I've seen personally, the "opposition" is rarely ableist beyond using a single slur you know which one (and when they TRY to be, they get destroyed by their cis+het political associates that are autists or people on schizo spectrum. source: check 4Chan demographic). My only guess is crimes that have to do with trying to "fix" it and religious fanatics treating it as being possessed by a demon or something (happens to gays and lesbians too), but it seems like 1) this sort of people will be awful to others regardless of whether they think it is mental illness or not and 2) there is always a percentage that WILL go after more vulnerable ones - if not queer people then other demographics, and it is inherent flaw of humanity that cannot be a problem of only a concrete group. It is not 'society vs trans' issue, it is 'a percentage of society destined to be destructive and people who are weaker or different are the first targets' issue.

Again, not here to debate, and not asking you why you think these identities are mental illness, just questioning a logical error (if not a double standard) that I've been noticing regarding this claim and wonder what's your stance on why suggesting this is considered atrocious after all the (correct) claims that mentally ill people DO deserve love and respect. Like, why this claim is always seen as derogatory and never as value-neutral?

The thing is, I don't actually have any hard and fast rule or belief or explanation for the explosion of people identifying as transgender the past decade or two: it seems obvious a large proportion of the people - particularly teenage girls - are under the influence of social contagion, and another subsection of older males are autogynephiliacs who have found a way to come out of the closet and have their kink applauded instead of mocked by society for the first time.

But then there still remains the much smaller group of people within all that who really do have some sort of genuine gender dysphoria, and we still don't have any conclusive explanation for why that is: is it the brain misfiring and receiving conflicting information because of being exposed to too many of the opposite sex's hormones in the womb? Does it correlate to the introduction of the birth control pill? Would it be better treated the way we treat body dysmorphia, like anorexia or xenomelia, and try to help people find ways to come to terms with the body they see in the mirror, rather than encouraging them to hack bits off it?

I really don't know. Whatever is going on, it's clearly something that needs to be treated seriously, as a genuine medical issue, not a fetish or sexuality, which is why it is so odd it so quickly got bundled in with the LGB movement, where it clearly doesn't fit. I would say one of the reasons even discussing the phenomenon has become such a minefield is that it got wrongly included under that umbrella, which made questioning it as an 'identity' some kind of assault on sexual preference. Which is pretty twisted in itself, when you think about it; like treating bulimia as nothing more than an optional sexual fantasy.

The "ism" part of transgenderism is also a big problem, in that the arguments we are hearing "for" it every day emerged out of idiotic and short-sighted feminist theories back in the 1970s: the teaching that "gender is a social construct". This is not true - the basic gendered division of labor is universal across all societies and all periods of history - but it infiltrated academia, and from there got adopted by the far left as another one of the "identities" they could claim were being oppressed by western civilization, which they sought to destroy.

This is, of course, entirely the wrong way to approach a medical condition people are actively suffering with, but by politicizing transgenderism, it made questioning the narrative surrounding it a political act, and anyone doing so fair game for political attacks, which has had a hugely chilling effect on any open debate over how best to treat the people affected. Again: the worst possible way to treat vulnerable, real-life flesh and blood people seeking help.

Whether gender dysphoria is mental or biological or both in origin, I think that the people suffering from it deserve compassion and help and attempts at understanding. It must be an unimaginable nightmare to wake up each morning and see someone in the mirror you feel is not you. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and neither would anyone genuinely living with it.

[sophieswundergarten]

Because apparently I like angst, I was thinking about the various iterations of "Kate gets adopted by Curtain" AUs, and my brain went to...

The TPJ Cave Scene

Because, I imagine that in this version of events, Kate really was on the Society's side. She wanted to join them, and she tried her best to help them at the Institute, but when push came to shove she couldn't leave SQ.

(SQ knew a little bit about the whole situation, but he has, like, negative ten self-confidence, so he's caught in the middle of his headstrong sister and control freak dad, and he's pretty sure that Kate and the others must just be misguided, but it's his job as the big brother to protect Kate, so he doesn't tell Curtain a single thing)

So she went with Curtain and kept quiet about her mutinous thoughts. Sure, she still snarked at him and pulled him into arguments about his paranoia or his treatment of SQ, but that was nothing really out of the ordinary. She sent a few letters, far too vague and far apart for the Society's comfort, with no return address and no details beyond "We're safe. I'm so sorry."

So they end up on the island in hiding and Kate is doing her best not to rock the boat, but still begging SQ to trust her and leave Curtain before something worse happens.

Meanwhile, the Society is losing their entire minds because immediately after Kate apologized and slipped away to check on SQ, Milligan shows up. And he's regained his memories.

Anyways, instead of a scavenger hunt they're just actively searching for Curtain/Kate the whole time, and when eventually they figure out he's probably looking for duskwort, Mr. B and Number Two have been doing field research while the others stay at home and research that way. But cue Mr. B and Number Two going missing, and that whole crisis, and the kids go off on their own.

Because they were actually involved in the search this time, they get to where they're going much quicker. They still get to meet Noland/Cannonball/Sophie because I love them and they need to be included, but at last they get to the island!

There they find Kate hanging out in the forest/abandoned village because she got mad and ran off and Curtain let her because A) Where's she going to go? It's an island, and B) He's spiraling down the paranoia hole at this point and can barely pay attention to anything.

The Society is super excited to see Kate, and assure her that they understand her not wanting to abandon her family, and she fills them in on all the details. Number Two still escaped, and is... somewhere. They're trying to come up with a plan when Milligan shows up!!

The kids all look at him and Kate uncomfortably, and he announces loudly and forcefully that they will be focussing on one problem at a time, and right now they need to deal with getting everyone off the island safely.

So, they formulate a plan, and then the Ten Men or Grays or whatever show up and think they're trying to kidnap Kate :)

Milligan fight scene, and the kids get to the cave

The Society gets captured, and Kate gets in serious trouble. She has a fight with Curtain where he yells at her a lot and tries all his nasty manipulation tricks like telling her her real dad didn't love her and how great he is for adopting her, and then goes somewhere else to Plot.

SQ tries to comfort her, and the kids take this moment to try and convince him how awful Curtain is. SQ is too scared and uncertain, though, and while he's definitely not going to hurt the kids or tell on them, he isn't about to give up the only protection he and Kate have ever known.

Mr. Benedict has to do his hypnotism trick, but Kate doubles back after a minute and arrives just in time to see Curtain going berserk, just so angey at poor SQ for messing up. Kate hides until Curtain storms out again and rescues SQ, who is so miserable at this point (And after being confronted that 90% of what made his life bearable was Kate, and thinking she had finally gone because he made too big a mistake) that he agrees to go with them.

Aaaaand then they find Milligan and get back to the Shortcut (Where Number Two is) and SQ does his best to help in whatever way he can and sticks right to Kate's side the whole time, and then they get to head back home!!

At this point it's basically a backwards version of the lovely @sqenthusiast's post here, but I will never get over the Cave Scene, so here's what came out of it this time :)

[kae-karo]

heck only 2- got it umm heck okay i want to see your take on mabey nahida and kaeya? not as ship but they my two attack mains and im very curious on your thots thanks!!!!!!!! djsbdhsbdusbdhsbshdbsj

sadlfjkjlsdfj VALID i think more than 2 at a time would make my brain hurt so thank u lmao - for context (x)

OOOOO okay this is definitely very wholesome and sweet. i think kaeya's first instinct, regardless of whether he knows who nahida is or not, is to treat her a little bit like klee - he's not baby-talking to her or anything, but he's definitely not talking to her like she's a full adult

this changes Very quickly once nahida clocks him - whether it's his desperation to hide behind a facade or his roots as a khaenri'ahn or anything else, kaeya finds it immensely hard to double down on holding his mask in place

it probably takes time, kaeya's reluctant for sure, but i think nahida sees him as someone whose dreams deserve to become reality, and who - by virtue of a desire to escape his past rather than shed more light on it - she can help

and i get the feeling that nahida wants more than anything to help someone

especially someone that she very likely knows she may have historically harmed (or, his ancestors at least). this is a little hard to place in terms of the fact that we don't know what happened, exactly, but the minute nahida figures out that kaeya's ancestry is part of what has ultimately made him so disconnected, she feels particularly motivated to do right by him

i suspect that it's kaeya that puts her in her place about reading people's thoughts too freely - god of knowledge or not, her desire to understand humanity must still respect the humanity she wishes to understand, and that information freely given is worth more than information stolen. she takes it to heart, of course, because she just wants to help people

i think the point at which nahida respectfully stops reading kaeya's thoughts that he feels (cautiously) more comfortable sharing them himself, but on his terms, etc, and that ends up being a powerful lesson in itself for nahida. anyway, i think at the end of the day, kaeya probably tries to retain his facade but ultimately cracks in some regards, and nahida helps him if only by serving as a sounding board

i also feel like they represent the positive and negative views of humanity pretty well? nahida, who loves her people and wants to help them, all of them, with her determinedly positive outlook on humanity, versus kaeya and his more bitter experiences and regular working with those considered enemies or problems, who counters all of nahida's positivity with "realistic" (negative) takes on similar situations and thoughts

not that this discourages them from talking, i think ultimately it serves to give them both better perspectives on the world - less narrow, more whole

send two genshin characters (ship or not) and i’ll give u my take on their dynamic