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#if theres any question i will take too seriously its the silly ones
murdockmeta · 7 months
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Dude I have such a silly question. I'm working on winter suits for my friend's spider-man au and like...
Do you think Matt's suit has temperature control? I'd imagine cold/heat hits a bit harder for him
this ask sent twice idk if you accidentally did that or if tumblr goofed (probably the latter 😭) but anyway.
okay listen. I've never really thought about this cause in my head Matt's autistic and his poor interoception cancels out any major effects hot or cold weather might have on him. (not that poor interoception would actually make him invulnerable to temperature changes, that's not how being human works, but rather it would mess w his ability to REALIZE that he's being effected by the temperature changes) which makes sense to me cause he wears his suit under his clothes most of the time even when it's super hot so I'd imagine he just like. doesn't really notice it.
as far as canon goes I don't remember ever coming across anything that implies hot/cold weather is harder for him to endure. i believe he's commented on different types of weather like rain/wind and such but even then he usually talks about how it messes w his radar sense/orientation rather than whether he feels it more intensely. I imagine he WOULD (and he probably has said that but i just cant remember it) but the question is if it's enough that he feels the need to have accommodations installed into his suit or not. I'd lean towards no tbh but it's easily up for interpretation.
the reason I say no is because doing anything to counteract what hes actively feeling would fuck with his perception of his surroundings, yknow? he relies a lot on his ability to feel temperature changes in real time to gauge different elements of his surroundings.
in concern to cold weather specifically; maybe make a suit that has some kind of wind resistance? cause harsh wind stings his skin and he also hates the feeling of going numb/loss of sensation so hed do something to avoid it getting that bad. he already wears gloves and boots and more than one layer, so I don't think you'd need to add anything on. cause he's moving around so much he doesn't really need the extra layer for warmth, he'd need to be more concerned about sweat giving him a chill actually. idk how detailed ur getting w these designs but making sure the fabric is the right materials to help keep sweat off his body would be important.
this is all heavy semantics so I'll also propose a much simpler, in-canon meta joke for this solution. a large blue jacket. just. a large blue coat of any kind. this is in reference to a running joke spanning over several runs to include Matt in a blue coat whenever given the chance. it started in volume 1 and you can see examples in miller, chichester, and waids runs just to name a few off the top of my head.
anyway. I love answering silly questions, please send me more any time you like. hope this helped lol
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barrenclan · 2 months
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(gestures to that one panel in the new issue) you see you can tell their family because of their matching eyebags
in all seriousness you are making me soo insane. i barely even touch tumblr but every once and awhile ill come check “new patfw updare? new patfw update?” like a lil parrot and i reread different pages so much i just. my brain chemistry has been altered. outside of the story and all that i love how you format the whole thing. ive never seen a comic formatted like this in my life with like the. the. the text outside of explicit dialogue still there you know but it scratches a little itch for me and you utilize it SO WELL. like i feel like if you were to switch patfw to any other format, outside of the effort itd obviously take to make it itd just be. really hard to get right if that makes sense. its just… so tied to its strange little format its great. if i may ask like. stupid question but is this just like a type of formatting you just decided to use or did you see it somewhere else beforehand? bc like it may be common or smth i dont read many comics man
weird tangent aside i love the characters, story all that too of course! theres just. so much to talk abt there i wouldn’t know where. To Start. youve done admirable job of fleshing out so many characters to some degree in the time youve had. some of barrenclan may be assholes but theres something to be said about all of them. beeface isnt mean all the time etc, you know? they dont feel static in the sense that they feel like they are living their kitty lives. slug family in particular just scratches a little itch for me i could go. on and on. i miss asphodel. if you kill any more of them i wont. do anything but i would be very sad.
i cant imagine the type of dedication and effort it would take to keep smth like this going and just. yeah!!👍 good luck with ur silly kitty comic solider
Thank you so much for all your kind words! I'm so glad you like the comic! I've had a lot of fun making it and the response has been truly flattering.
The "style" is not my own creation; it is inspired by one of my favorite webcomics, Paranatural, which transitioned out of traditional comics into this format a couple years ago. :] Like so:
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That is what it's based on! And I've seen setups like it in other places before, though none come to mind. However it's not very common in webcomic spaces - although my friend haw does have a new comic @pipjackal which uses a similar setup! Read Pip Jackal, please, for me. And Paranatural.
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jamminlocks · 4 months
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Mistletoe Are White {Korai Hoshiumi x Fem!Reader}
Tags: F/M, second POV, childhood friends, friends to lovers, fluff, first kiss, kissing, christmas decoration, mistletoe, korai is soft, christmas fluff, christmas fic, actually after christmas fic i guess, post-timekip, not beta read word count: Summary: It your long time dream that when you fall in love, you and your significant other, whether it on purpose or by chance, would kiss each other under a mistletoe. Its a silly dream for a little kindergartner to have and especially as you get older. You held on to that dream hoping that It would happen in highschool. Years have already gone by, and now your in your twenties with a dream that may never happen. that is, until you were taking down Christmas decoration and Korai was holding the ladder for you. A/N: i've had the very particular need for korai x readers fics for a long LONG time but theres barely any here or on ao3 so this fic is just me cooking my own food cause. enjoy [ao3]
•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°
It started when you and Kourai were kindergarteners watching the old boxy television, sitting on their living room sofa with no choice but to watch the Christmas theme commercials that got really, really boring after the 100th time and more. You don’t even remember what show you were waiting for, but there was one commercial that caught your attention. Recalling it now, it's all too hazy. No longer knowing how it started or what it was even advertising. All you remember was how it ended: the couple looked up and saw there were red berry decorations on the doorway they were under. They smiled at each other and confessed their love. Then, the guy kisses his girlfriend and she kisses back. They hug so sweetly that you remembered thinking it must be a very special kiss, but you don't know why.
From here, the memory was clearer. You said out loud, “I don't get it.”
“Me either,” Kourai complained too. When you looked at him, he seemed more baffled than you, making a repulsed face. You remember holding in a wheeze.
His mom chimed in, with a wide grin and spark in her eyes that made her look ten years younger. That smile stayed the same even when you two grew up.  She leaned over the sofa and said, “You see kids, the berries over their heads are called ‘mistletoes’. It's a Christmas tradition that you kiss the person you love when you stand under it.”
“Wah! Really?” You gasped, surprised that that was a thing adults do. 
Kourai, on the other hand, didn’t have your enthusiasm. He made a face and stuck his tongue out. “Gross!”'
His mom only giggles, probably because of how different the reactions were. “You say that now, Kourai. But one day, you’ll wanna do that with your girlfriend too.”
He slammed his hands on the pillow sitting on his lap in retaliation. Cheeks red and round as the berries you saw on the commercial. “No way!!” he recklessly shouted and was so frustrated. His voice was so high back then. 
She laughs this time, then she turns to you. “How about you, sweety? Would you wanna do that with your boyfriend?”
Looking back now, it was just a question meant to only tease you. The kind of question adults ask kids to mess with them or make light conversation. You took it seriously and stayed quiet to think of your answer. Do you want to do that when you grow up, you asked yourself. 
What your little self’s thought process was has been lost to your age. You recall telling Kourai’s mom, “I guess I’d like too…?” coming off strong then faltering in the end. This time, she giggled. You felt a little confused as to why. But it was likely because of your confidence to say an unsure answer. After she was done letting her giggling out of her belly, she looked at you and patted your head.
“Well, I hope you find a special someone you really, really like to do that,” she said. These words would stay with you. Even your silly little kid brain figured out that she meant it.
Earnestly, you said, “Yes ma’am!” with the enthusiasm a child puts on to appease the adults around them. Her smile softened and she turned to Kourai, who was still pouting. Reaching out a hand, she patted and combed through his short, white hair.
“You too, Kourai,” she said sweetly to him. He crossed his arms as he turned away from you and his mom. 
“Kissing is gross!” He loudly stated with firmness as if it was completely true and new to himself. She only rubbed his head harder while she began to laugh again, commenting on how he’d understand when he got older. Grown ups say that a lot, you thought.
When the show you both wanted to watch finally aired, It was a fun time for you and Kourai. You were so noisy together as you watched, giggling and energetic, as children naturally. Then, as soon as the commercial break rolled in, so did the impatience and disappointed silence. But that one commercial was on again, so you take in everything you see like a sponge. Thanks to Kourai’s mom’s words, even well after that night and throughout the December of that year, you intently watched it. You did not change the channels when it was on, taking in as much detail your little self can comprehend, wondering why she wished that commercial for you. 
•~•~•~•~•~•
Whenever you see those berries as decorations for the Christmas season, you still think of that kiss scene, imagining it from the Hoshiums’ old TV you one day never saw again after the summer of your first grade. It was replaced by a much better, cooler, and less bulkier, black TV.  So did their old sofa they weren’t in a hurry to replace. What those berries are you eventually learn more from shows, manga, and novels. Kourai’s mom was right, the rule is indeed to kiss the person next to you when standing under the plant. It is a very romantic thing to do, you gradually learned.  
The magic of it did work on you a bit after a while, the more you saw it in the romances you read and watched. You have seen it done so well that it leaves an impression and also falls flat that the wonder lasts only for a few seconds, then feeling bored of it. Often, it is the latter. It became clear to you that the mistletoe was a cheap and easy trick to get two characters to kiss and confess, or kiss and create a misunderstanding, which were just confusing and a headache even for a kid like you then. Yet, you were still in awe of that one commercial you saw. It may have been your memories being cloudy and distant that gives it wonder, as nostalgia often does.
That was until you saw a drama on TV. A drama that moms love to watch and chat about, includes your own mother. You were in your first year of middle school when it was airing. Much like before, it was December and you were hanging out at Kourai’s place because you didn’t want to go home and get nagged to do homework just yet. You also haven’t been to his house for a while, after you and Korai went to different middle schools.
The two of you had no choice but to bear watching the drama since it was Kourai’s mom holding the remote even though she wasn’t there. She was in the kitchen preparing dinner, the TV acting as her radio. Manually changing the channels would have been a pointless endeavour as she could change it back easily. You remember loathing the idea of watching at the start of the episode, though you said nothing of it to not be impolite. Korai, on the other hand, knew better than to fight his mom over TV. As the minutes passed, you actually got invested in what was happening. From what you understood because of your own mother’s retellings of the episodes to you, during that time, the main couple have been sharing the same feelings for a while. A confession was always delayed because of their work, other characters getting in the way, more obstacles, and, from what younger you understood as ‘being very, very sad about themselves’. The episode that you two were watching was the one where they finally confessed.
What you remembered the most was the scene where they were at the cafe the leading lady worked at, no one else was there except for her and the male lead, waiting for her shift to end. Some chatting happens and they somehow wind up under a plant with white berries. AS you watched, you thought, why were they showing them? Those aren’t mistletoes. Your confusion was cut when the leads looked at each other, surprised, and he implied about the berries’ rule. 
Then, what occurred had you entrance. Something about the way the characters stared at each other with pure longing. The male lead stood firm and cool yet his expression is of someone who might break apart from the weight of affection he carried. That very affection was seen through his intense gaze at the female lead, whose expression was at first bashful then changed to determined.  He pours his feelings out. You don’t recall any of his words. What’s clearest memory was the leading ladies expression you can now describe as being taken aback and slowly understanding his feelings rather than just her staring blankly at him. She cupped his cheeks, confessed to him. 
Their foreheads touched, giggling together. They kissed and it didn’t look icky or weird. You can tell they are really in love.
“Waahh… Ha, ha AAAHHH~” you cheered for the two leads out of giddiness and laughed at yourself for suddenly being noisy after staying silent for so long. Kourai laughs at you too. 
“Really? That's what gets you?”
“OH C’MON! IT’S CUTE!” you cried at him. 
The laughing and wheezing was loud. Lucky for you, Korai's older brother wasn't there, otherwise it would have been more embarrassing. He would have used that to make fun of you two. From all your laughing, you weren’t quick to notice that his face was pink, slowly turning to cherry red. It was always funny how obvious it is with his white hair.
“LOOK AT YOU! YOU’RE BLUSHING TOO!” you teased, hand reached out to poke his cheek. “YOU’RE GETTING  CUTE TO! LIKE A BABY!” 
Kourai swatted you but you still kept going. It was slowly turning into a one sided pillow fight. It then turned into a tickle fight. You won, getting the chance to both poke and pinch his face.
After you sighed to stop and all the giggles were out of your stomach, you said quietly, wishfully, “I wanna do that one day”. Instantly, you regretted saying out loud, praying that Kourai did hear a word of it. Thinking back now, you sounded like a hopeless romantic, even as a young teen.
“Don’t worry,” he said, a gentleness you never saw in him before. “You’ll find someone.”
You didn’t believe him. As if he cared for love and roses. Let alone his undeniable first love of volleyball. “Really?” asked, just because. Not expecting anything.
“Yeah,” he reassured you.
As you two kept watching the episode, you wondered why the berries weren’t red.
•~•~•~•~•~•
December was a week away when your class decided to decorate the classroom for the holidays after receiving the permission of your homeroom teacher. It started as a silly joke that the class representative acknowledged, then spiralled with everyone agreeing in the sentiment of ‘yeah, that would be fun. Why not do it?’ 
The room wasn’t getting a full blown makeover for the holiday spirit, otherwise you would all be trouble. The teachers only allowed small and light decorations. The ornaments were mostly arts and crafts, but some classmates were generous enough to bring actual Christmas decor.
The entire class set everything up during lunch. The more artistic ones lead the making of cutting out snowflakes and the drawing of Christmas related objects. Many others are on the duty of sticking them over the main chalkboard frame, windows and the chalkboard at the back.
You are in the group placing the thin garland over the frames of the doors and windows, unwinding and handing each piece to your friend standing on a chair.
“Hey,” Kourai greeted as he approached. Hirugami, your classmate and his teammate, right behind him. “Where were you?” sounding a bit upset at you in an almost childlike way.
“Now, now Kourai. you don’t have to be angry that she  wasn’t with us,” said Hirugami, entering your shared classroom.
“Sorry about that. As you can see, I’m busy,” you apologise, jiggling the garland around your arms.
He huffs in defeat. Then points out, “but you’ve been busy all week.”
“Cause I need to. Exams are coming.” you move to another classmate that called you to hand over another garland, Korai follows you from behind the open hall windows.
“What are you? Studying to get into college? We still have a year for that!”
“For our current classes, obviously.” you said, walking back to your friend to give out another one, still holding the conversation, then leaning a shoulder on the door. “Speaking of, you should be too. I don’t think I’ll be able to help you with English this weekend.”
Kourai grits his teeth in irritation that you’re right and being reminded of his request. His grades weren’t bad, but he did promise his mom that he’ll do better than his last English exam result.
“Heeey! look up top guys,” a classmate calls from the other side of the room. She and the others fondly snickering at you two to themselves. “You know the rules,” another chimes in, wagging his fingers to point something above your heads. Looking up, among the christmas decor hung on the door frame, there fake red berries attach to plastic jagged shape leaves, placed on the very centre.
Kourai yells,“OI!”, at them in frustration. And it shows, his face was turning red.  You, on the other hand, are cool headed. You can’t fall for a joke when they’re wrong.
“Funny. But, no. We won’t,” you said, rolling your eyes, still keeping your position leaning on the door frame.They playfully booed at you, saying ‘you're no fun’ and ‘lighten up’. Kourai is also fast to shut them down, shoulders tensing up and a foot already passing the doorway.
A classmate teases again. “Why? Too shy?” she said, smiling at you with mischievous glee. 
You plainly state, “No. It's not even mistletoe”
“It's not?” she replied, genuinely surprised. 
“Oh yeah?” another, too, in disbelief.
“For starters, those are fake holly berries.” You point to the berries, being fixed by your friend. “Not to mention the leaves are different. If you really want to argue with me I can tell you what these berries actually are.” seeing how you're so dedicated in educating them on the plant, they don’t argue. 
But before they can tease anymore, the class rep enters and mistakes the scene as a quarrel. “Alright, stop fighting,” she calmly intervenes, though it wasn’t necessary. “Get back to work before our break time ends everyone.” And so they do, moving on to chatter on their own. 
Kourai stays since she hasn’t asked him to leave. His attention returns to you, pouting a little. It might be because he didn’t get the chance to rebuttal them. 
Curious, Kourai asks. “So, those… Those aren’t mistletoes?” Though the tension is gone, he is still a little flush on the face. 
You shook your head. “The ones we hung look more like holly berries. They always get confused with mistletoes. Real mistletoes are smaller and white. Their leaves are rounder and closer to the size of the berries too.” you explained as you helped your friend down from the chair. She moves it back to its place and leaves you and Kourai be.
He only nods, looking up to the tangling berries over the door. Kourai’s face is still stained red even after he has already calmed down. He must have felt embarrassed about the idea of kissing a friend. “How’d you know?”
“I did some research. Who would have thought? ”
“mhmm”
As he stood still, out of the blue, like the words came out as he thought, he said, “do you still wanna do it one day?” His tone suddenly became serious.
You know what he meant by ‘it’. Hosently, you aren’t sure. Adults always say that not having a relationship in your highschool years was fine, but you could hardly believe it when you have friends gushing about their boyfriends and girlfriends to you. Classmates that have significant others inside the classroom. Somehow, you feel like you're not catching on. Yet, you don’t want to just find a boyfriend for the sake of not being single. You hate to admit it, but you do dream of actually falling in love and that it's like everything you’ve watched and read, even though you know that it won’t be. 
Maybe, you can say it to Kourai. He is your friend after.
In soft confidence, staring at the shiny fake berries, you said, “yeah, I sure hope I get to.”
Then, the air was oddly empty between you two for a moment.
Kourai catches your attention by patting you behind the shoulder. “By the way, do you wanna walk to the station later, after my practice?”
You mentally go through all you should be doing today as your finger twiddle with the plastic leaves of the garland. You are staying a little later for a club meeting. If things go smoothly, it could be done early. However, it is likely that something might come up that might make you stay a little longer. Thinking that it has been a while since you walked with him to the station, you made your choice.
You smiled at him and said, “If our meeting ends early, I’ll wait outside the court.”
He smiles back. The flush on his face is no longer prominent but still present.
•~•~•~•~•~•
Already in your mid-twenties, yet your dream of kissing your beloved under a mistletoe still hasn't happened and is least likely to happen now. Nine months ago, your last boyfriend broke up with you. It wasn’t as bitter as it could have been but it still wounded your heart. You've cried out the initial hurt to your friends. Kourai was sadly the ears to hear all your woes and insecurities about it through the phone well after weeks from the split.
He says that it’s fine, but you think that you’ve shared too much of that badge and began being a bad friend. While he was telling you stories of how his games went and how silly his dog has been, most of your chatter was melodramatic ranting. Sometimes, you think he was being too nice. So you tell him you’d buy him food the next time you hang out, as compensation. In the end, he still buys you extra afterwards, nulling your efforts somewhat.
After High school, Kourai went to play volleyball professionally and you are so happy for him. You still remembered when he told you he started playing for the volleyball club. Skip to now, it became his life and it shows. You used to be a little taller than him, but now, he has built up muscle that it’s hard to call him cute just to tease him anymore. 
By December, the pain only lingered in the palette of your mood in moments you're not preoccupied. As you walk on the winter streets, you often notice the different couples spending their time together. Young couples in the honey phase of their relationship. Couples with their children, holding hands. Your brain automatically reminds you of your ex. It did make Christmas a little lonelier. It wasn’t enough to dampen you for too long, still able to pick yourself back up when you had a holiday bonus, along with nice gifts from friends. 
When new years came, you spent it with your family. Thankfully, no one ever brought up nor questioned your relationship status, all in good part that you hadn't introduced him to your parents. Save for the one instant a niece asked if you spent Christmas with your boyfriend too. The ‘too’ gave you a hint that she may have been using another taken relative, likely a girl cousin similar to your age, as a frame of reference and applying it to you. Not wanting to tarnish her early views of love or view of you, you simply admit that you are single, nothing more. Blunt as children are, she frowned and said “that's just sad.” and it hurt how genuine she sounded. 
It’s the second week of January and you don’t plan on keeping the Christmas decor in your apartment any day longer. The Holiday season has stayed long enough in your home and it's becoming an eyesore as February approaches. You have spent the past hour packing up everything. Though it wasn’t much, you weren’t in a hurry. Otherwise you’d have tired yourself out on a weekend. Another reason is because the ladder makes too much noise when you place it on the ground. It’s a hassle and you take in consideration the neighbours below you.
Right now, you're in the process of taking down the decorations on the walls and changing the curtains. First the garlands, then the red curtains. You forget how heavy they are.
As you tug the cloth down its pole, there’s knocking on the front door. 
You weren’t expecting packages this week and that wasn’t any knock you were familiar with.
You step down the ladder carefully, then rush to the door. Peaking through the small hole, He may not be facing the door completely and he has a cap on his head, but you know that side profile anyware. It’s Kourai, on his phone on one hand. 
Though excited, you hastily padded away dust and smoothed folds on your shirt, trying to appear a little well kept even in your indoor clothes. The moment the door is fully opened, you greet him a new year and rope Kourai into a tight hug. It was the first hug with him for the year and after not seeing him since he was busy with his games. He returns your enthusiasm with a squeeze. 
“It's great to see you again,” you said, happy but clearly short in breath.
He chuckles, “You too.”
“Sorry about my place, you caught me in the middle of cleaning up,” you said as you poured him tea. He didn’t seem bothered by the mess of garlands on the floor and littered boxes of decor. 
“Shouldn’t I be the one apologising? I showed up without telling you.”
“I do like surprises.”
You welcomed him in, carrying a large, red, paper bag on one hand. The conversation didn’t end and flowed like it’s only been a week since you last saw each other. ‘How are you?’, ‘how’s work?’, ‘how are your games?’ One question and another, answered and a little more. The usual banter, meandering to whatever comes up. It feels like nothing has changed between the two of you.
Maybe it was just the freshness of a new year, but you can’t help but reflect. You’ve gone through the holidays with Kourai since you were kids. He’s changed a lot and you have too. Yet, somehow, he wound up with a haircut that’s so much like the one he had as a kid. 
“Do you need help with all this?” Kourai asks, gesturing to your living room.
 You raised a brow, “are you sure? You're visiting me. It’s not a fun visit if you're breaking a sweat.”
“Don’t be shy. I know you want to get this done fast.”
And he is right.
So, he helps out. Starting with lending his hand in getting the curtains down. In just a few minutes, the Christmas tree was down and two boxes were sealed. He then helps in moving the ladder to the hallway. You begin to take down the hanging decor on the garland with full confidence to use both of your hands now with Kourai holding the ladder for you.
“You actually hanged mistletoes, huh?” he suddenly mentions, switching the conversation topic. Prioritizing packing up had you failed to realise that was the decor you were holding. The wire is so tangled you couldn’t undo it quickly, so you move to the plastic snowflakes. Handing them down to him.
You hum in agreement. “It would be such a shame for a cute ornament to not be used, don’t you think? I’d have to wait another year!” 
He laughs with you at your point.
“Did you ever get to kiss anyone under that?” he asked casually, jokingly even. 
Through an unintentionally deep sigh, you said, “no”. Your disappointment shows just a little. “Last christmas, he wasn’t around because of work out of town. I guess it was a good thing that it didn’t happen. It would have ruined mistletoes for me.” 
Kourai was quiet for a little while. He may have thought that the topic was a sore spot for you. So you tell him that it is nothing to worry about. you raised your hands to the mistletoes again, putting your full attention to undoing its wire. As you twist and bend it, Kourai snaps your focus with one question.
 “Do you wanna do it right now?”
His shift in tone surprised you. Not wanting to assume. You ask.
“Come again?”
“Do you wanna do it right now?” He repeats. “Make your wish come true? 
It catches you off guard. Quickly letting go of the mistletoe and bracing yourself to the ladder, you turn to him, looking down from your levelled height, searching for any hint that he was kidding. There isn’t. All you see is the determination that shines in his eyes you have known of him. It came with a tint of red spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. To think he’d still remember that.
“You said you wanna do it with someone one day, right?”
Yes, you did. You said so back when you were in middle school. But that was a long time ago. Some middle school dreams were just not meant to be. From your speechlessness, anyone would have taken it back. He doubles down, calling you back to the present moment by saying your name like an endearment.
“I love you… and I really like you.” 
It's like you're breathless again. All too quickly, you want to believe again. You have no idea how to process this.
“Kourai… you…”
Bursting into a laugh, you hold steady on the ladder. Not at him, of course. It seems to ease him a little from how his face softens. For a second, you saw the little Kourai again. 
“Is this really how you confess to people?” you jokes and he chuckles too.
“I want to give it a try. While there's still a chance,” He changes his grip on the ladder. “You don’t need to say yes to anything that I said. Just letting you know” 
You felt it, that he put everything on the line. More than a decade of friendship. A friendship so long that you can see it in him that it's true. He loves you and it warms you like a scarf around the neck. However, knowing that he likes you too, It’s so easy for you to like him back. In fact, you may have begun to like him a long while ago. If anything, it felt right to just say ‘yes’. 
Yet, happiness came with fear.
With a gentle voice, you ask, “this won’t change much between us, right?”
Sensing your doubts, he reassures you, “I’ll love you no matter what.”
You might as well have fallen off the ladder.
As you try to lean forward to get a little closer, with a smile, truthfully, you said, “Yes. I love you too, Kourai. And I’d like to date you.” Everything now is clear as snow.
He takes a little gasp of air like taking in your answer. One sigh leads to a chuckle. If he wasn’t holding the ladder, he would have hugged you then and there.
Breathy, he said, “okay.” Pure joy seeping out.
Life feels as if it changed so much and yet things were all the same. Old things turning to something new. 
Kourai looks up above you again. You mirror him. The mistletoes still hanging.
“Do you still wanna do it?” he said. When you looked back down on him, a fresh grin is on his face.
Without question you, you nod. That’s one way to properly start it all.
You take each step a little shakey on the knees. There’s one more step down, but the excitement and nervousness has you quickly wrap your arms over Kourai's shoulders, letting yourself lightly fall forward to kiss him before he could say another word. He catches you, wrapping his arms around your torso, holding you in place as he kisses you back. He lifts you off the last step, not letting your feet touch the floor.
It might as well be December again.
When he sets you down, the kiss ends too. 
“So,” he started. The flushness on his face isn’t  as bad as it could be, just the right amount that made him look charming. “How was it?”
You brush back his white hair even though it's short. 
“Better than I could’ve ever hoped for.”
•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°~•~°
It's finally here!!! wow 2024 sure knows how to stop me from finishing fics, huh?
{taglist} @theholypeanut
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thatskindasilly · 3 months
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Now back to serious stuff
(First picture: Olek is writing about a party they are all going to. He's stressed because there will be Mikael and Olek was ghosting him. He know that he'll have a lot of questions and Olek is even thinking about not going. Newest post - Olek wrote that something went wrong and that it'll get even worse when he'll post newest video)
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Okey.
OLEKS #1 POST: Im wondering what Olek is talking about. Mika asking difficult questions? Has anything happened in the meantime? Could this be related to Canis' last video, the one with a passage from the Bible in the title? That one about the flood? I hope we'll get some answers in the newest video. Because like... WTH 😭 OLEK WHY ARE YOU NOT TALLING US ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING, YOU'RE LITERALLY THE ONLY ACTIVE, TRUSTWORTHY MEMBER (I think Mika forgot about Tumblr, Kitku is posting on tiktok but i feel that we shouldnt take them too seriously and Mod and Ukleja are not in charge of any social media... I think.)
OLEKS #2 POST: What happened at the party? I mean... Olek wrote that it was bad, that something went bad. Have they argued again? I guess we'll see after theyll put the whole thing together. (I hope theyll also finish subtitles soon. Your promotion is great but theres a lot of slenderverse fans that are... Well, not from Poland. But i understand its hard. If you'll need any help with it i'll be more than happy to help!!!)
NEW TIKTOKS: Kitku. What happened? Im getting worried about the whole situation. First, Olek wrote that its bad (about 2 AM). Than, Kitku posted three new tt. Animated tt. (First about 1 AM, second 1.30 AM and the last one at 4.30AM????). Something must have happened if Kitku was sitting and animating instead of enjoying themselves. I mean... Kitku doesnt look like an introvert, you know?
KITKUS ANIMATIONS: What are the tt about? First one: to the sound from dhim - situation from some time ago when it invited everyone to watch Canis' first video. Nothing special, another 'hey i hate Mod so much' thing. Was Mod the one that did something weird at the party? Second one: Kitku animated um... Im not sure what? I mean im not sure about situation put there. Its something about LonelyDarkness and TheCaddelShow and Slenderman. Other new gen slenderverse series. (I need to catch up because both looks interesting). But yeah, its still silly. Third one (tw! Mentioning of unaliving yourself and death): 4:30 AM - "i should probably go to sleep" yeah you should. But... Um... The song choice? I mean, i love it, dont get me wrong but two silly videos and than... This? 'Im gonna k-ll myself just like Canis'? Being so casual about mentioning that your (boy)friend ended himself? And, maybe im reading too much to it but the way its animated? Time, topic and animation together are giving me weird vibes. Something must have happened.
To sum up WAKE UP AND POST VIDEOS IM WORRIED GUYS. @promiseland-larp @promiseland-larp @promiseland-larp
Something for sure happened and they talked about it and it didnt end up well.
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leonave · 8 months
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Hmmm, opinions on all seasons?
AMAZING question anon!! under the cut :-3
island: 8/10! its silly, a little edgy but not distractingly so. i love the background, casual moments between characters. its light on plot and drama but it is a great introduction to the cast, their relationships, and the tone of the series. great comfort watch!
action: ?/10. i rate it like that because it really depends on my mood lol! there are parts of action i really love and others i really hate with like. no middle ground? i thought the duncan/beth finale was fun and the justin antag arc was both hilarious and genuinely cool. its kind of a chore to watch though, the strongest feeling i remember while watching action was a sense of "how did they stretch this into 25 episodes"
world tour: 7.5/10 i really liked world tour on my first watch but the more i consider it, the more im neutral on it. i love sierra and alejandro but a lottt of characters got derailed in turn. mainly gwourtney and everyone who fell for alejandro. the characters feel kind of one-note too? conflicts come and go super quickly as well. but the constant action works in its favor! i was never bored :-) also noahs back which is good
revenge of the island: 8.5/10! incredibly fun with so many lovable characters who all provide some unique but still grounded qualities to the show. also one of, if not THE funniest season. i just remember it feeling so incredibly empty. its not the size of the cast bc i didnt feel that way about all stars or pahkitew island, its just something abt the tone and the way shots are framed. its definitely still getting used to the feeling of a smaller cast lol. great season i like it a lot!
all stars: 5/10. i dont hate any season of total drama but this comes Close. which ik is not a new opinion but still. the dialogue is so unnatural and fake, and while i actually enjoy the direction they went with some characters (scottney and much sillier alejandro) a LOT of them went completely unhinged. also there werent many g1-g2 interactions as i expected? sadface :-( the elimination order is kinda strange too and the zoke finale was a snoozefest.
pahkitew island: 10/10!! you knew where this was going. yes i love pahkitew island so much its unreal. it clearly doesnt take itself seriously and is just a really fun watch to me. the characters are all cool and likable in their own right, with a surprising amount of detail in the form of background conversations and unassuming friendships!! theres a lot of ambiguity behind everything too, from the setting to the characters, so its fun to theorize and headcanon about :-D its pretty different tonally from the rest of the show, which is honestly a really nice refresher from the drama-heavy all stars and world tour. A+ my fav
i havent seen enough rr to rate sorry :-(
td2023: 6/10: pretty funny! i like the character designs and concepts, they were all likable and decent enough for me. i just dont have many thoughts on it? it doesnt feel like total drama, and i have no clue why. the voice acting? the subplots? idk!! its like a really good fanmade show, which isnt a bad thing, its just A Thing. it also suffers from the roti emptiness, it feels really like. muffled. idk confusing thoughts on 23. definitely dont hate it though!!
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oriigirii · 3 years
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💞 MC is a Genshin Simp 💞
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{ AN: Omg! This is my first ask so thank you anon (๑ↀᆺↀ๑)/!! This is such a vibe too haha, I hope you like it! } Warnings: None [Maybe Refs and Chars you wont get if you dont play Genshin Impact] * Probably a bit OOC too *
Reader: Gender-Neutral [Default]
( ⓛ ω ⓛ *)
========
< Genshin Impact was a game that took the human realm by storm, with its open-world gameplay, its competitive PvE and aesthatic settings, it was truly something that captured you the moment the beta was announced. Although, as with any Gacha games, you weren’t only attracted to the world and its setting.
No no.
The characters were truly the main eye candy of the game. You’d been worried that when you had been sucked into Devildom, you wouldn’t be able to access the game due to, yknow, realm differences, but luckily that wasn’t the case thanks to Levi, and hence why the moment it dropped, you had been spending your life savings simping for characters on every banner.
Yknow theres handsome bois in devildom too... Theyre just kinda waiting for you to put your game down for a moment and kinda notice em ~((Φ◇Φ)‡ >
------
ฅ⁽͑ ˚̀ ˙̭ ˚́ ⁾̉ฅ Lucifer
He usually doesn’t mind you playing games
Although, He would’ve preferred if you didn’t cause you kinda need to focus on your studies yknow?
But hey he’s not stopping you
Usually you would stay with him as he works, but he can’t seem to focus with you constantly begging beside him
Small little ‘please’ would be heard every now and then, and a sudden look of disappointment would show on your face.
He tried to ignore it, even giving little cues for you to quiet down, like clearing his throat
You didnt seem to pick up the hint though
He was just about to ask you what you were doing in the first place that has you praying beside him (which is hella rude) but your scream of happiness has him a little more irked and kinda taken back
“LUCIFER! I GOT HIM! LOOK LOOK I GOT HIM!”
You show him the screen showing your pull results
The character held a giant claymore with bright red hair
Before he can get another word in, you snatch your phone back and just sigh as if youd just had a heavenly (ironic) experience and mumble
“I seriously love him, Im so happy...”
Bro same though, Diluc pls come home
You were truly one of a kind, because youve just managed to break the Avatar of Pride’s... well.... Pride.
Did he just get cucked by a man in a video game?
Truly outrageous.
He seems to scoff and holds back a bit of an eye roll as he tries to focus back on his work
But boy oh boy, his salt is high
“If you are going to be causing a ruckus MC, May i suggest you doing it with Levi instead, I have no time for such games. I dont see why youre so caught up in such a character anyways, he looks quite basic.”
His words were sharp, and that was enough to shake you out of your fangirl/boy mode.
You were literally ready to fight the first born, a literal fucking fallen angel, for dissing Diluc like that
like
how dare
But then you notice how he seems to avoid your gaze and a small little red tint was on the tip of his ears.
Lucifer wouldve wanted to see you that happy with him, but no, a game character steals that spotlight.
Angey.
Instead of being intimidated by the sudden coldness, you giggle and finally close your phone and set it aside
You can continue celebrating and bragging about it later, for now, you wrap your arms around his arm and give him a small smooch on the cheek, which definitely makes him blush a tad bit
“Awww Luci dont be like that, Yknow I love you more”
Potential apocalypse has been diverted
But Lucifer does smile the smallest of smiles as he sighs, finding it silly to really get jealous over such a small thing and says
“I love you too, my dear... but you do have to make up for distracting me from my work...”
Well you kinda deserve it, so it wasnt long before both his work and your phone had been ditched
( After a while you do kinda see him quite similar to Diluc and it just makes you smile everytime you think about it, seems you have a thing for the strict cold men huh?)
===
Σ(‘◉⌓◉’) Mammon
Why you simping for a fictional character when you already have him?!
He’s your first man!
Your homie!
“Yeah well hes my first 5* so can you blame me?”
S A D N E S S
But for real, this man is just so clingy
He has heard from Levi that you were playing a new game from the human world, and of course, he had wanted to see what it was about by watching you play.
But since it was quite grind-heavy gacha game, he grew a bit bored and asked you to come with him to hang out somewhere else, or even go to the casino and gamble his money away cause he just got goldie back
But no matter what he suggests, you were just so focused on your grinding.
He’d prefer a different kinda grinding right about now with how lonely he is, ya feel me?
But no, you still werent interested.
“Oi! Cmon MC, whats even so important about this?”
“I already told you Mammon, Im grinding for primogems from the event! Theyre gonna be gone soon and I just HAVE to get them! Ugh I swear to Diavolo, if I dont, Imma cry! I didnt get him on their first banner too... ugh!”
Wait no--
Cmon he doesnt want you to cry!
Mammon kinda stays silent for a bit as he watches you struggle to fight the monsters with your low level team, frustration growing on your face.
But as you finish, Mammon seems to snatch your phone
“Hey! whats the big deal Mammon?!”
“Shut up and show me where the store is geez”
Mammon’s demands kinda surprises you and you raise an eyebrow at him, but you do show where it was, and sit back for a while as Mammon just fiddles around with it. You werent sure what he was doing honestly, was he interested? Did you say anything that made him act this way? All you talked about the game was the gacha system so--
oh…
OH
“Mammon! Wait you dont have to---”
“There! I got you as much primo things, or whatever theyre called”
He already has tossed you your phone back and he crossed his arms, looking away as the red blush covers most of his cheeks.
You look at your phone and you honestly felt your heart speed up and stop at the same time at the amount of primos on your account, it was enough for a full 180 pull! If you dont get the limited character on the first 50-50, you have another shot!
You felt your own heart speed up and your face burn so hard, but you do mumble him a quick “But... But why though?”
“Cuz! If you start cryin’ Lucifer’s gonna beat my ass! Dont think I did it for you, you human! I just dont want him taking away Goldie again!”
“But I thought this was your gambling money, isnt it?”
“w-well!... I mean... Hmph.. Gachas kinda like gambling right?, I know Lucifers gonna hang me if he catches me in the casino again anyways, so I thought I might as well just do this... with you...or whatever...” Hes dying, help
But so are you!
Hes too fucking cute and you just glomp him and just hug him as tight as you can!!
Flusterred boi 100
But you do spend you afternoon on his lap, both of you rolling the full 180 in excitement, whether you get that boi/gal you simped for on the banner or not, you still were happy to spend some time with Mammon
He doesnt mind losing a bit of cash for you
but you do promise to pay him back (maybe with a few kissy)
But to be honest, Gacha probably will help him with his gambling addiction...
kinda...
He doesnt go to casinos anymore but he does whale with you now
Lucifer has such a mix feeling with these results.
But he still confiscates Goldie and your card on the end, yall need to chill.
====
ヽ(。_°)ノ Leviathan
He probably wasn’t even interested on the game at first
He already has enough games to play, and it just looks like another rip off of some other game he saw not too long ago with that elf looking guy
But when you came to him asking for his help to get the game, you bet your ass that he felt a switch click
Suddenly it was incredibly interesting!
You do share your interests to him almost immediately
By interests, of course i mean the peeps you simp for
The sexy ara ara in the library of mondstat, the pirate looking ass of the guards, the pirate looking ass’s brother thats a wine owner and still highkey reminds you of Lucifer, the demon slayer--- You were actually unsure if you should talk about Xiao but hey hes cool
You explain it all!
From their lore to their voice lines and whatever
But honestly what do you expect from the Avatar of Envy?
Of course hes gonna be a bit jealous! He cant compare to any of these characters! Hes not as witty as that eye patch man, hes not as sophisticated as that red head, hes not as flirty as that ara ara either!
As you go on, you notice that Levi was kinda... half listening....
It made you pout, but then, it made you worried
Uh-oh you know that look
its that, ‘im overthinking’ look
So to snap him out of it, you kinda grab his face as gently as you can
“Need Grimm for your thoughts?”
He flushes and he immediately looks away, but you usher him to look at you as you coo and ask him whats wrong
It takes a bit till he kinda explains to you how hes feeling
In your relationship, you both were practicing being more open with each other, hence why you were proud of Levi for saying it
but you did feel kinda sad and frowned as he finishes explaining
“You... feel jealous?”
“Ugh d-dont say it out loud normie....”
He covers his face with his arm and you just cant help but shake your head with a fond smile, but you do need to address this and comfort him.
“Levi... when you fanboy about Ruri chan, did you ever think she was better than me?”
Your question made him frown and look at you in absolute worry
Did you actually think that you were below Ruri chan?
Of course hes an absolute simp for Ruri but.. cmon
Now that he thinks about it, he does talk about her a lot doesnt he? oh no...
“MC O-Of course not! I love Ruri chan yes, but you... I... I Love... you more...” Levi exe do be dying
But you smile at his response and gently kisses his cheek
“I think thats sweet Levi... But thats how I am too... Youre still better than any of these characters, youre real and they arent, youre mine and I am yours~ Youre my personal 5 star!” You wink at him and Levi just dips
his heart couldnt handle the cuteness and he died, ladies and gentlemen
but for real he did pass out
Must be from all the blood on his head from the blush
But ah, he does get it, and after being showered with love from you, He kinda slowly got over his jealousy
its not immediate but with simple reassurances, you can manage to reel him in and have fun with you
He does end up enjoying the game cause he gets to spend time with you, and he gets to show off when events happen 
He also goes out of his way to memorize locations for materials for you, and when youre sick or busy, he pilots your account
true gamer
But ironically enough hed probably start simping for a character too and of course, you both start bonding over that, which just makes Levi absolutely happy
I wonder if hed simp for Barbara, she is an idol afterall like Ruri chan
Probably lowkey for now
Afterall she looks like a minor so-----
( I dunno i searched shes 16-18 lol )
But regardless, I can imagine you both just cosplaying each others fav characters too
Its a wack looking ship cosplay but yall just simp for each other cause of it, its pretty fun but the rest of the brothers just finds it hella weird
----
I only have energy for these 3 as always, Im sorry! But i promise Ill do the rest!! I hope you guys do enjoy, and Id love some feedback on the characters personalities cause I know they can be a bit Ooc, But feel free to send me an ask! Im pretty open lol 〜( ̄△ ̄〜)
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syubub · 3 years
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2021 Reading for BTS and the collective!!
Wow wow wow! I didn't disappear or get dragged away by a demon. No no, I just got thrust into unexpected shadow work and I now have an unhealthy obsession with sea shanties and a love of pasta.
I had this idea planned to be early in January but that didn't pan out so I'm doing it now. I have another yoongi reading in the works and another fun thing coming soon as well!!
I promise I won't bore you to death any longer but I hope you've all been doing well!!
Disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as fact.
If this message doesn't apply, let it fly!
Cool cool cool.
Let's get it.
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Oki. I first want to say that this I gonna be long lol. I did a meditation and gathered some little pieces of things y'all might need to hear and then I pulled cards for every month. The fountain tarot deck is the cards for us, the collective, and the rider-waite cards are for bts. It'll make more sense when I add picks and stuff. I did a little extra card pull for yoongi for the month of May too :) I'll make sure to type out all the cards in text so you know what they are (the pics are kinda wack.) I also used my pendulum to ask if there was a bts related event for every month and that's at the bottom. It's just to take in the possible energy for the month and something that could result from that energy!
LETTUCE BEGIN (hehe)
Starting with the section for the channeled messages. I want to reiterate that this was collective so if it doesn't resonate with you, the message might not be for you! Use your intuition.
(Enough talking. Damn)
So. As I said this was through meditation and connecting to the big column tree thing (I told my cousin about the tree/pillar and they were like,, "so basically a big energy dildo in the æther?" .... I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. h e l p m e) and asking if there was any messages or advice that needed to be delivered and it was... intresting?
Things came fragmented. So there was little messages like, "Its gonna be okay" and "things are changing for everyone" and "open your eyes if you want to see" (that's sassy.) There was one particular thing that was confusing me though. Straight up it was just "flower" on repeat and like a really bad picture of a flower? Like you could tell what it was but it was bad quality. Anyway, I was like "okay. Kindly shut the fuck up. Pls." And I wrote down flower, pink flower and rose. Sooo.... idk but there you go.
More messages were things like, "the block isn't in your head", "try calling forth that which you seek" and... February. Possibly there is specific (very very very loose) connection to the 10th-19th? I'm not to sure what or why but I'd say maybe look out for opportunities on these days and also maybe external events.
Continuing with dates. In the last this 21 and January 21 came up. It came up again but with 2 messages. So first, either 21st is a day where something is put into motion (possibly private or public) or announced and the second was "add them together dumbass" that's not very kind but 3. Again this has been discussed too but but but... maybe a signal of a third mixtape 👀 (not necessarily on the 21st per say but possibly in March? I'm really not sure).
Oki. I got side tracked like I always do and started thinking about tattoos and stuff and I really want koo to have a peony tattoo. I feel it in my BONES. It would suit him so well. and as I was thinking about tattoos I heard, "don't be surprised if yoongi gets/shows a tattoo this year" ??? What the fuck? I think maybe they messing with me but now I have hopes and I don't want them to be crushed and thrown to the wind :(
Back to normal stuff, "the theme is growth" I think that fits very well with the reading. "Blue might be a lucky color" self explanatory. It might be lucky. "Start practicing grounding and centering" this was LOUD. This will help you in how you react to events in the future. Really do practice this if you haven't.
This is where it gets a little weird. So, I got a message that said "start living as if you never existed." I am not a 100% sure what this means but I think I have a pretty good guess. I hate to make it sound weird like this but by sort of focusing on something that is so hard to comprehend (because our brains can't comprehend not existing very well) you kinda break the 4th wall? Like in Deadpool when he addresses the audience and is aware that he is a character played by Ryan Reynolds? anyway, focusing on something that seemingly impossible you kind of accidentally open up the floodgates for a lot of other things. I would say if you are not in the right headspace to do this don't do it but it can be a powerful way to break up the monotony of reality. The theory that everything happens simultaneously bc time isn't a linear progression events blah blah we are energy blah blah the multiverse blah blah.. Theres so so so so so so so so so much about this and how it applies to things that I could probably write you 10+ dictionaries worth of material but for the sake of simplicity and not wanting to write a novel right now, I will continue. The main lesson is to start challenging your perception of the world around you. Ask why and why and why and why. Essentially seeing cracks in the matrix. Pulling your head out of your cosmic ass, realizing that rose you're smelling is actually daffodil ect. It's not supposed to bring you fear but just kinda encouraging you to question all the things that you perceive as given truths.
I tried to make that sound cohesive but really it's such a big concept that I can't really wrap it up all nice and neat.
Oki. May and March are also important times.
Listen to your intuition and try not to take everything so seriously. I'm not saying to check out and go squat in the Himalayas but it's important to find joy in the now. Life is already tough enough so don't forget to watch a silly show that you like or change your hair to a style you've never tried, wear makeup in a very loud way. Just have fun and don't worry so much about things that you can't control. Listen to yourself and your intuition.
Well that was all over the place. Let's get on to the actual tarot part now.
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For the record, the pictures are right to left.
January for the collective
We have the empress, the sun, 7 of swords and a fortune that says "act well your part; there the honor lies"
Hmm. Ngl I was a little confused to see the empress and the sun for January... I mean it hasn't been great. So I pulled clarity card 7 of swords. The 7 of swords is all about betrayal. It's about the deception and and actively getting away with things. This is people lying, cheating, sneaking and the works.
This makes much more sense!! The Sun card is usually about joy and success and happiness but in this case I see it as illuminating the betrayal. It's shining light on the deception and keeps the spotlight there. Its also an energetic card so I think that shows passion for uncovering the truth.
With the empress card too I think January is all about getting creative in all forms. Creative ways to protest, to mourn, to celebrate, to connect. Also taking in the abundance that we DO have. The beauty that surrounds us. I like to think of aphrodite energy for this. Its not just love and passion and creativity but is also asserting yourself and having strong passion for what you love and fighting for it. Did you know aphrodite was also called upon in ancient Greece in times of war? She was honored as a goddess of war but still a goddess of love, the sea, fertility ect. What I'm trying to say is that being a creative and "feminine" energy is in no way weak. Sometimes the most powerful things come from this energy. Love aggressively with good intentions. The point is that you should take whatever you're feeling and translate it into something creative or something you care about. The fact that covid is still a thing really sucks but take any rage, hurt, sadness, joy, love whatever and use that shit to make something amazing. Bake bread and punch the fuck out of it, paint your frustration, play hopscotch in higheels while you listen to heavy metal. You get the point.
Now January for BTS!!
We have the death card. (I only pulled one card bc I have things planned from this)
January has been... strange? To say the least.
This card can be a lot of things for them. I think this points to more maturity in their music? Like they've finally ditched the "shiny kpop boy band" label and are being taken seriously in the west. I also think that they're going through a musical/concept transformation~ I think it also signified the change in plans bc of the Grammys perhaps they had things planned an that fell through so they were forced to rapidly change plan/course.
For January: possible mixtape or announcement.
February for the collective
We have 8 of coins reverse and hanged man reverse.
The 8 of pentacles reverse talks a lot about self improvement. Doing that good good inner work and self care. Working on developing parts of you that you've maybe neglected. It's also learning how to work with how you are instead of wishing you weren't the way you are. If you have a therapist its a great time to maybe ask for any extra tips that you can practice daily to help you even more. Maybe exploring more into insecurities relating to finance or jobs or your passions. If you don't have a therapist but you have the means to get one I always highly recommend. You don't have to have "problems" to see a therapist. Everyone could use a non biased point of view that is literally trained to help you be you best self. If you can't get therapy, I get it. Shits tough rn but there's still things we can do to better ourselves like Journaling and reading therapy blogs or self help books (not the taky shit) or trying a hobby you fell out of touch with. There's also a lot of places where you can get therapy promise on the internet. Most importantly, better yourself in the way that you need. Take time in February to take notice of what you want to improve upon. The 8 of coins reversed does come with the warning not to get stuck in perfectionism. Go easy on yourself and if you find yourself getting frustrated when working on projects, try to take a step back and practice whatever it is in a fun way and then come back to it later
Hanged man reverse talks about knowing that you need to chill but you don't. You'll need too. Maybe you'll find yourself swept up in work and tasks and you're over whelmed and know you need to stop and catch your breath but you resist. Why? Well, perhaps you're trying to ignore reality by filling the empty spaces with things and stuff so you don't have to face what's bothering you. Not wise. Take time for yourself. There's also the flips side where people are just kinda stuck.. creative block. Maybe you want something to turn out one way and it just isn't, so your stuck and frustrated and can't move past it. Let go of your expectation of how it should be and let it be what it is. Go with the flow and maybe you'll see a new way to overcome your problem. You'll eventually get that break through that you need! The theme of February is about self improvement. Listen to yourself.
February for BTS
We have judgment.
Hehe yeah. This card is about rebirth and the inner calling. Letting go of the old to step into the new version of you. This is also a very spiritual card lol. This can talk about a new decision that you have to trust your gut on. This is a very significant card that screams comeback to me. It also can talk about sharing your struggles with a group of people and that to me sounds comeback ish. Maybe this will be an announcement in February, maybe they'll be working on it idk but this is ultimate comeback energy so I hope they utilize this for a big group project!!
February: possible BTS comeback (even my pendulum knows)
March for the collective
The chariot and justice
This plays directly off of February! With the chariot you're taking the self improvement that you've done and putting it to action! Now is the time to act on the dreams and passions that you have don't wait and hope for the best. March is about action and standing in your power.
Justice card is cause and effect and truth. What you do will have consequences good or bad. Not doing anything also has consequences. Cease the moment and make the best of it. You'll be taking responsibility for what you do. You start a business? Now you have the responsibility of running it and you get the credit. Stuff like that. Stand by your decisions with conviction and trust yourself.
There's also the side of justice that talks about bringing justice. If you've been wronged, you'll be brought justice if you stand up for yourself.
We also carry the continuous lesson of learning what we truly believe and challenge those beliefs!
March for BTS
Oki we have the hermit and the 6 of pentacles reverse.
Well... let's start with the 6 of pentacles reverse. This can really talk about being so generous and giving to everyone else that you forget about yourself. I think that maybe they might be over exerting themselves and giving so much that they're exhausted physically and emotionally as well. I think too, they take on so much of our pain like its their own? Idk but this would be a good time to do a large scale fan project to show them a little extra love!
With the hermit card it talks about a self introspection so they could be looking inward as a team and kinda evaluating their bond.
I also see this as maybe being alone as in they maybe can't physically go to the grammys? Or maybe they had been planning the rescheduled concerts and they had to be pushed back even further? Things like that. Regardless this signals re thinking/reevaluating the goals that they have and considering what direction to go in!
March: possible mixtape or solo project?
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April for the collective
We have 6 of coins and 3 of cups reverse.
Let's start with the 6 of coins. It's about sharing. It can be about charity so sharing money via donation but also giving time, effort, energy to people as well. Giving knowledge is good too! It's an all round exchange. Maybe someone lends you money or you lend money to someone. It's give and take. It's a two way street. It's also a card of balanced finance. So money stuff should be looking promising around this time (for you U.S people this could point to more stimulus help as well)
And for the 3 of cups reversed... I see this as reopening of places and people struggling to find the balance. So think people who've been in lockdown celebrating by throwing a big party... yikes. This card reminds that we should be mindful of the long-term consequences that come with our actions.. maybe also people that are experiencing fear of being in public places now. This is only one facet though. Bc I think this also means in general, missing being with friends and having a renewed relationship because you've really realized how important it is to have these people that mean so much to you in your life. Don't forget that you have people that love you and want the best for you. Call them when you feel alone.
April for BTS
The heirophant
Mhmm. This one kinda gives me vibes that they'll be mentoring people? Idk but I see them more as the heirophant teaching what they've learned/ know to help guide others. HOWEVER this could also be them taking a new task under their belt. Learning something new. Since this is as a group reading I assume that this talks about the group as a whole. This card is also very tradition oriented so maybe they are taking lessons that are connected to traditional Korean culture? Maybe its for RUN or maybe its to incorporate into music and preformance. Think bts mma preformance but all of them learning together? Idk, it's just a thought (maybe wishful thinking). It also talks about seeking counseling so maybe they'll do yoongis idea from the most recent RUN.
This can also be them embracing this kind of leadership/ status.
April: I got nothing. It does feel like something though
May for the collective
Five of cups and queen of cups reversed
Five of cups is disappointment, regret and self pity. Now honestly this to me looks like possibly a tightening of restrictions yet again. Regardless of the situation that this is talking about, the best thing you can do is not wallow in the bullshit. You scrape yourself off the pavement and move foward. You'll need forgiveness of yourself and others and that if shit isn't going your way, you need to pull your head out of your ass and look around bc there's options out there. It's like drowning in a kiddie pool. Just stand up, dude. The water is like 5 inches.
Queen of cups reversed talks about self love and self care. It's more of that look inwards energy. Think about really taking care of yourself. May might be emotionally draining so you need to be ready to take care of you! Part of self care is making sure that your boundaries are well enforced.
Be on the look out for codependent behaviors. Check in with yourself.
The queen of cups is very intuitive and having it in reverse can talk about you not taking enough time to listen to it. Make an effort to meditate for like 5 minutes a day at least. Do something to let yourself connect to your intuition and higher self.
May for BTS
9 of pentacles
This about enjoying the fruits of your labor and absolute abundance and luxury. This could talk about them rolling in the dough after signing a new partnership or having a concert or something if the sort. This could also be a time where we see them buying new things like houses, cars and rings (lol) but also this could be them doing a very high production value project! Also namjoon and his bonsai army are thriving in this time!
May: possible concert or scheduled concert event. Activity of some kind.
Yoongi interlude
I asked for one card to give me an idea of what the mystical May 13th really is. I got: the star, 2 of cups, 4 of wands, the world and the sun.
Guys. I can't with this. 2 of cups is a card of union, romance, soulmate. 4 of wands is celebration, joy, homecoming, bliss. The world is completion and the sun is happiness, joy, marriage, enlightenment.
I've said it a billion times but that's some soulmate shit. So soft so cute and May will be eventful for his personal life.
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June for the collective
Death and the heirophant reversed.
Wow wow wow death is transformation and a new chapter so a new way of life and something new/ different that changes how we see things. Again this could be relating to new covid things and new policies and stuff like that but also new as in new to all of us. Groundbreaking perhaps?
The heirophant reversed talks about teaching yourself. Being your own teacher and making your own path. This might be spiritual or otherwise. Challange what the world wants from you and instead listen to what you truly want bc you don't need anyone's approval. Continue to ask questions about why things are the way that they are.
June for BTS
Page of pentacles
Oki oki page of pentacles means a new creative venture and manifestation. Maybe something that they've been wanting for a while finally comes to fruition. This might be the start of a new project that they haven't done before or something cross genre? Idk but its a really good sign of being motivated for a new endeavor and manifesting any projects that they've ever wanted to do. Love this promising energy!!
June: idk
July for the collective
10 of swords and 9 of cups reversed.
10 of swords signals a painful ending. Also deceit. Its a necessary end to a long battle. The only thing you can do is control how you react in these situations. You just kinda gotta surrender into the pain and know that it's temporary. Take time to reflect on what happened and why and how it will help you grow.
The 9 of cups reversed talks about valuing stuff and material things over emotions and spiritual things. This can be talking about society in general, that we are becoming more aware to the fact that there is often more value placed on ephemeral items rather than humanity as a whole. This also can be talking about coming to the realization that we've been working so hard towards... something we don't really care about simply because we were told that it's what you do.
If you want something different to happen you have to put in effort. You can't be sitting in front of a water fountain being like, "damn. I'm thirsty. I really really want water so why isn't it in my mouth yet?" Like?? Hello? You have to take the first step, my dude.
Certainly don't try to do anything that would cost you finatial security or health.
You have the potential to find happiness within yourself. So try looking inside instead of looking outward.
July for BTS
4 of swords.
This is about rest and relaxation!
Taking time to meditate and take some time to look at what you've done objectively. Ots like the hermit in a way but much more focused on resting and relaxing so you can come back stronger and with better direction. Maybe they'll take a break for a couple days but I really see it as them reassessing options. Especially if July goes how I think it will. Maybe they'll film something like In The Soop again? Maybe we'll see bon voyage type thing? Idk. But it could be something kinda out of the spotlight? Maybe something more healing?
July: maybe something?? I'm not sure but it seems like something might be in store.
August for the collective
5 of coins and the wheel of fortune
Well let's see. 5 of pentacles talks about isolation and a negative mindset. This talks about falling on hard times but its a temporary set back. This energy can be talking about falling on hard times emotionally as well. In the card it shows a woman outside of a church shivering and cold but she's too busy thinking about all that she's lost that she doesn't notice the warm church that she could step into for shelter.
But then with he wheel of fortune that talks about fate/destiny, opportunity and luck so maybe this is a necessary loss so that a new door can open. This does kinda tie in with July as well. The end of something is painful but it's often a necessary thing. Might be a bit uncomfy but that's how things change. Again I see this maybe hinting more towards society but none the less it's definitely a theme for August to have doors closing and new ones opening so be on the lookout for that.
August for BTS
The devil.
Now don't fret. The devil talks a lot about choice. Most notably the choice between instant gratification and and something more substantial and the devil leans towards indulgence. It also has a lot to do with the shadow side. This could talk about ~scandal~ sure, but I think its more of a time where you become aware of negative patterns and you shine a light on that part you've ignored. On a much lighter note this card talks also about an incredible bond between people. It can be unhealthy if not given space or boundaries. Listen to pied piper and come back to me.
I also REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that this card points to this: sexuality. The boys have always been pretty pg when it comes to the topic of sex and embracing sexuality so I really do hope to see something more daring and grown up and exploring a tastefully sexy concept. On the same vain as sexuality this card also talks about kinks and stuff like that so don't be surprised if we get more outfits like fake love Era bondage harnesses.
August: ???
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September for the collective
We have the world and 10 of wands reversed.
The 10 of wands reversed talks about carrying burden. Doing extra work and taking on more responsibility. Doing everything by yourself and carrying this heavy load alone will get you burnt out quicker than anything. You might be taking on too much and you'll need to prioritize what you really need to focus on. I also think there will just be a lot happening in September for a lot of people. It's a lot of working hard because you know it's good work or because it's what's right. This could be social responsibility that's placed on you or work responsibility. For whatever reason this burden isn't something you want to share with others because you think its yours alone to deal with. It's not though bc you'll figure out eventually that if it hurts so much you'll find a way to lessen the burden. 10 in tarot is all about the completion of a cycle and going through the wands cycle is hard work because for anything to be made of passion, you need to put the work behind it. The burden isn't forever, the heavy work load will lighten but this is you seeing things out. It's a good thing!
Especially considering this is paired with with world. The world is all about completion and that's what you're doing here is finding completion. You are seeing things out until the end but you just need to learn to give up some responsibility, lessen your burden.
This also talks about hard work being put into wider social spheres as well. Things like the vaccines becoming more widespread through the whole globe or at least better planing and infrastructures not related to covid. Things are looking up!
September for BTS
Knight of swords reverse
This bad boi is restless energy. It's being so pent up that you're ready to burst and you really want to take action but you can't because something is keeping you from taking that action. Again I do think this is kinda covid related in regards to touring bc if they do tour in 2021 its gonna look a lot different. This energy can be a bit impulsive and directionless so I think maybe they'll channel this into album material something? I'm not really sure tbh. I'm suprised this energy didn't show up earlier because it almost seems inevitable.
September: no clue
October for the collective
Ten of coins and the star reverse.
Welp let's start with the 10 of coins. Its about wealth, financial security, and long term success so this is a pretty prosperous time. This talks about the obvious monetary wealth and material wealth but also an abundance of opportunities. So this is definitely a good time to enjoy whatever consistency you have. This energy is really really abundant in the career space as well. So October could be very prosperous in the job field and you'll have likely found what it is you really want and could be successful at. This could be the actual act or just the idea. This is could also talk about investing in something for your future, this could be time or money.
With the star reversed it can talk about a loss of faith and a disconnection. This often points to feeling like you've just been forgotten or left out. Like the universe doesn't give a shit about you and left you out to die. Things might seem unfair but always try to look for the lesson that you can take from the experience. Seeing the 10 of coins and the star makes me think that a lot of people have kinda lost faith in their manifestations and also just in the concept of not living in a state of need. Especially if you see other people doing well and you've been trying so fucking hard but you haven't gotten a break. I know we hate to hear it but this can serve as a test of faith. Or rather an opportunity to get your shit in line and take a second to breath. Do something good for yourself and then continue on. This star in reverse serves to show you what no longer sparks joy and helps you find what does and what that initial spark was in the first place. Helps you get back to the original vision/ spark.
October for BTS
5 of pentacles reverse.
This signals the end of difficult times and getting that groove back. The last month was restless energy with no where to go but this month that energy is certainly put to good use. They might be figuring out what has been missing In their lives and starting to rectify that. They are definitely reminded that material wealth doesn't bring spiritual or emotional wealth. Might be also feeling a bit alienated too.
October: something is likely but idk
November for collective
Six of swords reversed and the moon.
Transition and change is prevalent. The 6 of swords is about leaving behind the familiar. Maune this is leaving a job, a new change in the status quo, leaving a relationship ect. The thing you have to keep in mind is just how amazing this is in terms of what it will do. It will alow growth!! And bring clarity!! Thos can also be societal as well, something being left behind in favor of something new. It's letting go and reflecting so that you can move foward.
This is strengthened by the moon card. The moon card is the subconscious and all the things that come with it. The anxiety, the illusion, the uncertainty. You'll want to deal with whatever emotions come up. The moon can signify a confusing time where things aren't what they seem to be. That's the illusions so you'll have rely more on intuition at a time like this. Your dreams might hold significance in this time as well. Listen to your guides and your own guidance because it will help you understand more than you did before this journey began. Using moon cycles to your advantage in November might really help you!!
November for BTS
7 of wands
Challenge and competition. People are envious of bts. We know this. But people will be challenging them for what they've gained: music industry domination. This might co.e in the way that people will spread vicious rumors in attempt to disenfanchise or possibly it will be a fair fight. It could also be a challenge/ battle for some other aspect that involves legal matters.
My best guess though is good old competition. Bts has proven again and again that they will continue to do what they do how they do but they will not be trampled over. In the best way this could renew some of that spirit in friendly competition. They will tear eachothers throats out for a pack of ramen so maybe a bit of competition will be good for them. It keeps life intresting.
November: nothin
December for the collective
Two of cups and the emperor!
Let's start off with the emperor card talks about stability and order. It can also signify being the "breadwinner" so its a good sign that you'll kinda be on top of your shit. The emperor is also an amazing leader so you might find yourself taking on a leadership role too! This is very organized energy that works very smoothly!
two of cups is such a lovely way to end out the year! It's love and partnership and attraction so if you aren't in a relationship by this time you might meet someone who strikes your fancy!! On a none romantic relationship note though, this card is also great for business partnership bc it signifies that you're on the same page and have the same goals in mind!
It's harmonious relationships and trust between them!! Love love love this energy so much! Cups are the suit of emotions and this card is so promising.
If you are in a relationship, this can talk about "falling in love all over again" like you're just reminded of how good they are.
December for BTS
Queen of cups
Intuition, creativity and emotional stability. They're using intuition to guide their moves foward with emotional maturity. They are in a place of knowing what they want and why. This would be a good time to work on an album or a book or to release them. The queen of cups is like the friend that you can tell absolutely anything and somehow they have a helpful answer. This card is really calm and it can also talk about subconscious thoughts.
I think that bts is maybe making more of a conscious effort to make sure that what they do is just as emotionally fulfilling for them as it is for us! They might be kinda pondering the future at this time and considering if this is what fills their emotional cup!
December: possibly a thing?
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Now these cards are the vibe of the year and some advice.
For the collective (on the left)
Three of swords and judgment reverse.
The fortune says "accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory"
The 3 of swords is about disappointment and hurt and heartbreak. It's about the emotional release that we all need when shit gets tough. Don't pretend to be strong. If you need to cry, fucking cry. This year is about letting go of expectations and do what you have to do to release so you can move foward and not have these things pile up.
You have to make an effort to not let yourself take on what other people think of you. You aren't defined by what some asshole says. You define yourself.
Judgment reverse is about self doubt and ignoring your path. It's being stagnant and being harsh on yourself. This year has a focus on building yourself up and noticing when you are not. Bring light to the things that are holding you back without harsh judgment for yourself. You can't beat yourself up. If you make a bad decision you know not to make it again. Take accountability and move on.
The oracle card is inner temple.
Seriously all the focus of this year is in self improvement and dear god, please take time to work on yourself spiritually!!! Everything you want to know is there if you take the time to listen. This should be a place where you feel safe and welcome. It definitely should not feel like something you HAVE to do.
For BTS
10 of swords and page of swords
The fortune says "you create your own stage. The audience is waiting" (how tje fuck?? This is the perfect fortune)
The 10 of swords is a painful but necessary end. This is accepting the current situation. They maintain focus for 2021 for them is adapting and keeping their spirits up.
With the page of swords it talks about new ideas and that kind of creativity. It's also a lot about communication so I really think that they'll be figuring out new ways to connect and new projects that will be prosperous.
The oracle card is Pleiades
This is what we talk about all the time. Bts has helped so many people want to be better and do better. They are uplifting humanity and giving people a sense if belonging. Bts finds you when you need them most 💜💜💜
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Wow I had to write this up over 2 days bc this was so fucking long. I need a nap. Idk if I'll proof read this before I post it so don't hate me for the mistakes (honestly, there's like 10,000 spelling and grammar mistakes in my other posts too 🙃)
I hope you guys enjoyed it and maybe this will be helpful to to have a forecast of some possible energy for you to look out for!!
Also bts bc I love them. I have another bts 2021 reading I'll do soon too!
Hope you guys are happy and well 💜
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dahniwitchoflight · 3 years
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Airy Thoughts about Heirs and Gender
That kind of always has been John’s modus operandi when it comes to dealing with problems though hasn’t it?
Eveen waaaaay back in the beginning when John totally pushed it out of his mind that his dad was actually just a normal business man and not obsessed with clowns, that it was actually John who was obsessed with clowns, and jokes and pranking, thats always been how he deals with stuff he doesn’t like
Ignore it, make it not real, don’t acknowledge it, compartmentalize it, heck, joke about it, do pranks, make it silly, make it lighter, try to lessen the seriousness of it all
John has ZERO skill when it comes to actually dealing with perceived negativity in any sense, always been very reliant on basically his Aspect’s traits to solve problems for him
and now its becomes so bad, thats hes on the edge of having a full blown dissociation disorder about it
(I wonder actually if being too reliant on what’s been given to you on your plate already is a trait overall for Heirs or Those Who Inherit? It fits well with my previous idea of Heirs notable for being stuck in ruts, but it seems the true train of thought here, is that Heirs basically are caught in a pre-determined state, the lines have been drawn around them, their plates have been served, and they have to deal with what’s given to them, and as a result, have ZERO ability to handle situations that their pre-equipped toolset cannot deal with)
definitely an area where Heirs are prone to overembracing, when they become so, reliant on their pre-existing toolset, that they become unable to change things ups, see things differently, handle different problems
There’s an element of priveledged behavior here that clearer to me now, people who Inherit their wealth have no idea what it’s like to work for it or earn it themselves
and now isn’t THAT a connection to Maid and Heir?
this is where you could spin Heir as someone who starts out having no idea how to create something new and having to forcibly learn that
I could see someone creating a Maid/Heir argument for this
but then the problems arise of “how is that different from the Maid’s arc of also having to learn to take what was given them and start making anew what they want”
and the biggest hurdle to Creation Heir: Heir is not a feminine associated class
and the reason this matters, is if creation doesn’t have to be feminine associated, then masculinity gets the lion’s share of creation and destruction in Homestuck overall, and that feels like favoring masculinity too much, especially with how much Creation and Destruction as concepts are overvalued over the other aspects by far, it’s tilting it too far in one direction, when these Red and Green concept should spiral Equal (theoretically)
its out of step with how Creation and Destruction have been shown to be thus far
BUT
All of this was how things went down for me, back before June Egbert became a thing
So, in reading this, and with having the knowledge June might actually be a girl (maybe, Hussie said so, but thus far have yet to see anything from John in canon)
is that enough to make “Heir” feminine associated overall? moreso than other feminine associated classes like Maid/Sylph/Witch? Enough to be a strong enough pair to the Maid over Sylph? Two words that can literally mean “Girl”
Equius and Mituna still exist, what does that say about them? Is the background joke of Equius in a Maid outfit starting to actually become relevant?
who knows, but, It’s bringing up interesting questions I think, for me at least
John is the Main of Main Characters, versus Equius being background and Void aspected and Mituna being essentially non-existant, is that enough to balance out importance wise of who really gets to define what being an Heir means?
is it distateful to call being Spoiled an essentially feminine associated trait, if it’s balanced out by Maids being hardworking (or Servile..?) as opposed to a royally spoiled Prince and silly clown Bard?
better question, are these questions about gender things that Hussie never actually thought that deep enough about, so theres threads of things that could work, but end up falling apart in practice, revealing biases unfortunately baked into the system itself
cuz its like this: if Sylph/Maid is the females creation classes, its making sure girls vs boys in the grand scheme of things is equal, but that’s kind of going with the quid pro quo of masculine destruction/female creation thats baked into homestuck from the start, which is likely just the result in the authors inherent bias. Is that a net good? or a net bad? kind of unsure
if creation doesn’t have to be female, the idea that we should just be able to do away with the idea of gendered classes entirely is a thing, which is good in its own context, unfortunately leaves things with a different unfortunate gendered bias, where masculinity gets all the good shit and importance and feminine associations get sidelined and its unequal again, is this a better or worse way of seeing things? if male just happens to get the lions share of cool stuff, does it mean we can ignore gendered classes altogether, or is that exacerbating the problem with gendered classes to begin with
if a class that so far, hasnt had any traits associated with either masculinity or femininity (kind of a lie with Heirs being unusually good at the “mangrit” stat) gets strongly associated with femininity via one main character, is that enough to tip the scales and make things balanced again?
(is the above perhaps just a beautiful metaphor for the question of said characters eventual transition?)
(yknow, if that actually happens in canon, and gets explored by John/June at some point, and doesnt just die as an author word of god background fun fact..)
basically, Ive been wondering exactly how much the who gendered association of classes in homestuck should matter, but more importantly, how much it’s already affecting
would it be a good step to make Heir/Maid a creation pair? or is that just making a small problem bigger
tl;dr basically if Hussie makes it clear in canon that June Egbert has been a girl/dealing with a gender struggle all along in the way that they always have done by trying to downplay/ignore/compartmentalize it then yeah, Heir Maid gets a lot stronger legs to me, purely for the character symbolism of it all and the great message that would say about the gender construct of homestuck overall
but
if John Egbert remains the status quo, if Hussie never actually intended John to transition, if it never gets brought up in any way other than the authors saying out of the workd “I said so” Heir Maid as creation just doesn’t work without that Transition metaphor, so it fallbacks to the traditionally neutral Sylph/Maid as creation oriented
though, there’s also the fun question of what if through change of the characters themselves, their classes change with them? So through the power of Main Character June changes the associated traits Heir has overall OR stops being an Heir and gets a different class, both would be equally cool transition metaphors (which ironically would just reinforce Heir as a class of Change/Transmutation overall but lol)
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toomanyfandoms02 · 3 years
Text
Kissletoe - Harry James Potter
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Summary - Two oblivious idiots finally get thrown into eachother.
Word Count - 2.1k
Hey :) I'm sorry I'm never on here. I lobe you guys so much. I hope you're having a beyond wonderful day
Valentines Day.
A day I dreaded for years, ever since first year. I would watch as girls would get candy grams from their boyfriends. Eating them in class with a big smile on their face. While I sat in silence, usually getting pity ones from my friends.
Once I hit fourth year it was a little different. I had grown a little and I had caught the attention of a few. Not that any of them were actually kind and well-meaning. I had the sense to realize that and only had one relationship through that time, but it started after one valentines day and ended before the next.
My family took Valentines day pretty seriously, it was silly really. They were pretty into the whole 'true love' thing, and soulmates. They hadn't judged me directly for not being as 'relationship oriented' as a good majority of my family, but I had heard whispers the past year. As if turning 15 meant I needed to be in some kind of committed relationship.
It wasn't that I didn't want to, it was just hard for me, having any interaction with someone I had feelings for. As of now, that boy was Harry Potter. This wasn't anything new, Hermione knew that. And that would be what had gotten us sitting in the library whispering about it behind opened books.
"Y/n I'm almost positive he likes you. Any time I mention you his cheeks flush. Have you seen the way he looks at you?" She looked at me as if I was as dim as a 6 year old lightbulb.
"Mione don't be daft, he's a nervous boy. I'm sure he acts the same way with any girl." I felt shallow liking Harry, even knowing that I didn't like him for being 'The Chosen One'. I liked him for the way he tapped his wand on the table when he was focused on his parchment. Or the way he smiled when he was talking about his friends. And especially when he would be looking down at something and he would have to keep pushing up his sliding glasses.
"Godric you really are oblivious." She giggled, looking back at her book. Just then a book was slammed in front of us on the table, my head whipped up and I heard a distant shush.
"Here is the lesson plan for the next month." Harry said with a smile. He was having a lot of fun as the head of Dumbledore's Army. Hermione grabbed it and flipped through a few pages.
"That's brilliant Harry. Looks amazing as usual." He sat down with us in the comfortable silence and skimmed the pages of his work. I went back to my book when I felt eyes on me. I looked to my side to see a sinister smirk on Hermiones face. "So what are you doing this Valentines Day Harry?" She asked casually, I stared daggers at her.
"What day is that again? It's this weekend right?"
"Yeah its Saturday." I replied, continuing to stare at my book and biting the inside of my cheek.
"Probably nothing then. I don't do much on the weekends." He shrugged.
"What are you doing Y/n?" She nudged me not so subtly. I rolled my eyes, she knew the answer to this stupid question. But any chance I get to vent about this party, I take it.
"I'm taking the floo to my parents house. They are having their stupid valentines day bash like every year. I don't even know why they invite me to it anymore. Every person in my family sits around and cuddles up on eachother and we all make cookies. And theres a dinner, most sickeningly is that the food is pink and heart themed. Anything they can make pink and lovey they do so. I'm just sick of going and hearing the whispers about how 'I'm the only kid in the family who never brings someone' and that 'usually by my age I would have a long term boyfriend.' I'm contemplating not even going." I got so caught up in the moment, I could feel my face heat up from the anger of remembering the words. "Its just bullshit." I shrugged it off.
"You've never brought anyone to it?" Harry piped up.
"What, are you going make fun of me too?" I laughed half-heartedly.
"No no! I just thought that you would've always had someone to bring, considering I know at least 5 people who have eyes for you right now." My eyebrows scrunched together at this.
"Excuse me?" This was news to me. Harry's eyes widened.
"I thought you knew..."
"Well certainly not!" I said, trying to keep quiet about how flabbergasted I was. "Well tell me who they are you dimwit!" I waved my hands sporadically
"Reed Barron, Lachlan Argo, Angus Davy, and Colin Hagie." He said with a nod.
"That's only 4 Harry." I laughed. He nodded with a smile, looking everywhere but my eyes. "Harry? Who's the fifth?" Hermione looked at me with squinted eyes and a sneer.
"You daft bimbo, its *him*."
"Hermione!" Harry looked at her with an unbelievable look.
"You should go with her to her valentines day party Harry." She looked so unbothered, continuing to read.
"Mione!" I elbowed her side, to no effect, she just kept talking.
"I really cannot handle it anymore you two. You both only talk about eachother. Coming and whining to me about how one doesn't like the other. Love is so blind." She flipped a page. "But please, go one and tell me I'm wrong." She looked between the both of us silently. "That's what I thought." It was silent after that for a good 5 minutes before I spoke up again, taking all the courage I had to say what I wanted to for a long time.
"Do you want to go to the party with me Harry?" I looked up at him slowly to see a shy smile on his lips.
"I really would like to go." He nodded.
"Finally." Hermione huffed, setting her book down finally. "Now that I know you guys will actually talk about this I'll leave you both be." She then got up and left us alone at the table. I laughed and leaned my face into my hands.
"I'm sorry for never saying anything to you about it, I was worried you liked Dean." Harry said quietly. This made me laugh harder.
"Oh no, we have been friends for far too long, he's like a brother to me. He will probably be thrilled to know I'm finally going on a date with you."
"A date." Harry stated, just smiling at me, certainly making my insides melt.
--------------
We stood in the fireplace holding floo powder in our hands.
"Just say the Y/L/N residence and it should take us there safely." He nodded and we vanished with the words, quickly ending up in the fireplace of our basement.
"I'm going to apologize in advance for my crazy lovey family." I cracked a smile, grabbing his hand and leading us up the stairs. I heard giggles and smelled fresh cookie dough. "Mum I'm home!" I yelled as I hit the top step. Harry quickly intertwined our fingers and squeezed my hand. My mother came barreling around the corner with a big smile and arms out wide, soon lowering her arms when she actually approached us.
"Who's this?" She gestured to Harry with a smile.
"This is Harry." He extended his hand to her politely. She took it graciously, wrapping both hands around his.
"Its so nice to meet you." My mum was never one to judge me for never bringing home a boy, so I comfortably knew that she would not embarrass me. She was a very intelligent woman who knew when not to speak of things. Like how she knew that this was *the* Harry Potter. It was the rest of my family I had to worry about. "I'm so glad your here!" She let go of his hand and led us into the kitchen where the rest of the family stood. All eyes were on Harry as we walked in.
"Y/n sweetie! Welcome home." My dad brought me in for a hug and peered back at the boy. "Are you who I think you are?" He tilted his head slightly.
"Dad please-"
"Everyone! Y/n has brought a boy!" Oh thank god.
"Harry Potter!" Nevermind. I grabbed Harrys hand and pulled him much closer to me as my cousin shouted. Harry waved at everyone with a sweet smile.
"Its nice to meet you all." Sometimes I wanted to give my whole family one good slap, excluding my mother. I dragged him to the dining room table all while giving my family a good glare.
"I'm so sorry about them." I whispered, leaving my head on his shoulder.
"It's really okay Y/n, I'm kind of use to it by now." He laughed, looking down at me with a smile. God that smile. We then heard two little claps and looked up to see my mom.
"Alright every one! Grab a bowl of cookie dough! Let's put these on a pan." I looked over to Harry and rolled my eyes. I grabbed us a bowl and a pan, setting it in front of us.
"Theres really nothing to it. My mum just firmly believes that baking helps the soul, and if you're helping your souls together, it bonds them." I grabbed a tiny ice cream scoop and handed it to him. "Just pick up some dough with it and put it on the pan." He did so and, just like he was with everything else, he did it amazingly. I pointed at the dough. "I told you, sickeningly pink." I was referencing the pink chocolate chips.
"Hey, don't bash on the pinkness of this holiday." My aunt laughed. "So Harry-"
"Here we go." I giggled, taking the scoop from Harry's hand, brushing his fingers as I did so and blushing a bit.
"Don't interrupt me, my wonderful niece. Harry, how long have you liked my favorite neice?" He blushed a bit, adjusting his glasses on his nose.
"Well probably a little over a year now." My head whipped to the side.
"Harry, seriously?" He nodded, the tips of his ears reddening by the second. "I can't believe you kept quiet for over a year you dimwit." I nudged his side playfully.
"Don't be a hypocrite, how long have you liked me?" He raised an eyebrow at me and I couldnt help but smile.
"I realized I liked you when you had to fight the dragon fourth year. I was so worried about you." I slowly looked back at the cookie dough.
"That's far over a year!" He shook his head at me with a huge grin.
"You two are too cute." My aunt squealed. "Please tell me you know the exact moment you liked her too." She put her chin in her hand, intently listening.
"I do."
"Oh do tell." I tilted my head, waiting for an answer.
"It was last year sometime in January, we were going to Hogsmeade and it was snowing. While we were walking you looked at the sky and opened your mouth to catch snowflakes. Instead though, one fell right in your eye and you acted as if you were just shot. You fell into my arms all dramatic telling to to kiss it better. You closed your eyes so I could do so and all I could see was the snow that had fallen in your hair and eyelashes. I knew then." Sometime halfway through he couldn't look me in the eyes. The whole family was listening at this point, just quiet, more quiet than I had heard them in a while.
"Harry, that's so sweet. And I'm now realizing that was a horrible attempt of mine at flirting." I laughed, grabbing his face and kissing his cheek.
"You have such a way with words young man." My dad nodded at Harry. I suspiciously watched as he waved his wand.
*Oh No*
I looked up to see a pink heart shaped flower growing above us.
*Kissletoe*
Harry looked up at it with a puzzled face.
"Its a kissletoe. You don't have to if you don't want to."
"Kiss you?"
"Yeah..."
He shook his head and grabbed my face softly, bringing his lips to mine and smiling into it quickly. I rubbed my thumb across his cheek and smiled back. As we pulled away, cheers came from the table and I buried myself in Harry's neck.
*I hope this boy is my forever.*
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vynnyal · 4 years
Text
Throwing random thoughts, headcanons, and a variety of pasta at the wall (but only those having to do with vessels and/or their biology this time): The Thrilling Third Installment™
...aka pretending i can be dark and dramatic jskhdfd
Thk's larger form is not the standard, but the exception. Thk was cited as being "raised and trained to prime form", which people take to mean pk assisted in the vessel's natural growth. However, that conclusion leaves a lot of unanswered questions, most important of which being “then what about Ghost?” In short, I think that train of thought is backwards. Vessels can't grow- they are ageless, and immortal. We know this due to Ghost, despite living as long if not longer than thk, being completely unchanged over the years. The only thing pk trained into "prime form" was thk’s mind and fighting prowess. Their body... well, I think it was mutated. Most likely either directly by pk, or ordered by him- and with the shenanigans happening over in the sanctum, I wouldn't be surprised if Soul was involved, too. In any case, it was in no means natural. Vessels are corpses reanimated by void; neither corpses nor void tend to make drastic changes on their own all that often. Whether pk predicted the vessel’s “issues” and intended to manually “upgrade” them from the beginning, it's hard to say. But... yeah. Unless Ghost goes out of their way to make themselves grow- if its even possible, now that pk is gone- its fairly safe to say, they never will.
...with that in mind, we are promptly gonna ignore that for the rest of this post lmaooo
Grown-up vessels wouldn't look like thk; while they are described as being raised into "prime form"... prime form, to whom? Rather than looking like an idealized pk soldier, it sounds much more fitting that they’d have an entirely different, natural adult form. Consider: their cloaks being longer and fuller, perhaps filling out into something with a more practical use to their “species”. Better yet, they could even grow up to be more beast-like. Feral vessels, YEhaW
The black egg temple is cited as being "built to sustain [vessels]", yet it can't be their lifespan that is sustained. Rather, it seems the egg is specifically designed to keep the radiance from tearing thk apart, physically and/or mentally. Ngl its p obvious, but worth noting.
Sorta-au where Ghost’s shade has 8 eyes, and/or is generally all-around more cryptid-looking.
@ the sharpshadow charm and the strange, 6-eyed creature their shade turns into: kudos to this post, they bring up something super interesting- the creature not only resembles the Shade Lord, but the lord outright becomes it during the Embrace the Void cutscene.
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makes me respect the ol’ civilization a whole lot more if a single charm can turn a baby shade into a baby lord.
The concept of finding ghosts unconscious body, laying next to a corpse, while they battle in their dreams. Alt: when ghost enters the dream realm, their shade leaves their shell... And protects their body from harm.
If steel soul mode is taken as canon, just how did ghost and the shade meet? Alt: Ghost may never have “met” it at all, as it technically doesn’t exist in that mode- instead, its more of a metaphor than an actual entity.
What the vessels looked like- or were supposed to look like- before the void. Alt: a story following a child, alive and untouched, that somehow managed to be spared. They could even have a gender. Alt alt: the void intentionally spared them for some purpose, or even out of simple kindness- or at least, something that resembles kindness.
Re: the shade inexplicably having a nail: all the vessel's swords are crafted from “will-bearing rock”- of which i’ve come to lovingly call living stone- and as such, are of void themselves. That's how the shade seems to conjure up its own copy; it merely shapes it, from the ground, using void. And, while more of a stretch, Ghost’s nail being some sort of living stone/pale ore alloy could explain just how Ghost can do seemingly pretty crazy things with an otherwise ordinary nail. Better, while 100% a baseless hc, its material might actually enable Ghost to build it up and modify it to suite their size as they grow older. finally, a logical reason adult Ghost has an adult-sized nail-claymore. hdsfghjfghdsjf
On that same thought: Ghost outright invented the "art" of manipulating- or creating- living stone to make their nail. ...gimme a sec. The other escaped vessels have nails, too, right? Either meaning they also discovered this ability... or that theres some legitimate ground for the “vessel gang” hc. Or, yanno, i’m reading too much into Ari’s sprites but sHHhh
How did all the vessels know to race to the top? They seemed to be falling merely because they had just been born and had literal, actual baby strength; yet not only did they inexplicably risk everything competing to the top, they somehow knew death was waiting if they lost. Alt: pk just, bringing a fucking megaphone and telling them like a sports announcer.
What if Ghost made it, and instead of falling, they managed to joined thk at the lip? What would pk do? Push them off the edge??? Or just adopt them both?? Oh fuck au where they're raised as twin sacrifices. Or worse yet, they’re raised unequally, and one is trained only as an afterthought. As a backup.
Alternatively, pk keeps all the vessels au, only a few years later when they're grown. Pk now has a literal army of pure knights. Radiance is fucked.
Hm. If vessels were fully coherent entities from the moment of birth, why was there a crib in the white palace? Did... did they use it? I have a feeling team cherry made that asset before the abyss scene lmaooo alt: they did, uh, use the crib. Cue a very awkward scene of thk, clearly not a normal baby, staring at wl with like... idk, the poofy baby hat and pacifier. I can’t tell if the image is more funny or more sad rn shdfgfjsdgg
The og notes that inspired this post, in case my rambling makes more sense (and w/o the awful comic hjsfgjsdfhj): Oh oh OH i GET it now. The void is all about "will" and whatnot, right? And shades are "fragments of a lingering will"- will, like the one you leave after your death, but instead of inheritance its the vessels' desires...last regrets.... DAMN team cherry, that symbolism is clever as heck. That took me a while. Kinda funny how a will is, technically, a person's last regrets Like I knew they were last regrets but I didn't understand WHY. Duh, it's because they're literally Made Of Will. They are the vessel's "wills". I'm so stupid.
Ghost, walking thru the abyss, getting increasingly fed up / freaked out, ducking into a crack in the wall. They follow the crack into the Scream Chamber, pause, then exhale in relief that this was EXACTLY what they needed.
Ghost's shade rolling up its void-sleeves like “fuck it, ima defeat thk myself”
Why was thk's sword there? Was its pedestal decayed? Did it fall from their body? Was it place there as an afterthought, or hurriedly? alt: taking thk's sword before freeing them, but doing the mom thing like you're grounding them hdhfjchjch
I can’t believe it just occured to me now, but... as objectivley stupid as the vessel’s test was, Ghost... technically came in second place. What if that whole scene was a metaphor? Because really, it’s just too silly to take seriously. To do so isn’t too far fetched, either; many other elements in the game’s story are better taken as symbolic or metaphorical, anyways. Take the PoP cutscene- while it could’ve been a literal moment, where they just happened to find themselves standing around and took the moment to appreciate each other... imo it makes much more sense to read it as the concept of their faint ~forbidden love~ and parental pride itself. Or, better yet, the scene at the end of the 4th pantheon. Sorry, but I severely doubt that was an actual event. What I’m trying to get at is the significance of “second place” in the cutscene. My brain is too fried to chase down any other possible connections to this theme rn (if thats even what the theme is), but even without proof, the theory smooths out a few interesting tidbits related to just how Ghost could tough it out when all others failed. All except for #1, anyway. Either way I’m just happy to take this as an excuse to pretend that cutscene didn’t literally happen because like, l m a o
The story of a small group of vessels as they work together to escape hallownest. (aka the aforementioned vessel gang hc... im sure theres a more formal name but you get the idea). Its impossible to tell how long it took them to discover that near-invisible hole, the last exit remaining after the king ordered the abyss to be sealed up. Once they did, however, the remaining vessels were quick to make a desperate scramble to escape- only for the entrance to suddenly crumble shut, far, far too soon. The remaining 8 slowly made their way through deepnest, their numbers quickly dwindling as the jouney started to take its toll. The group was nearly wiped out by those terrible, spiney-legged creatures that used their own kinship against them. Only three finally escaped the deep, yet only two made it through the basin- the third, largest sibling, left to fight alone againt a hopeless battle, just to buy the others time. It was in greenpath, so close yet so far to their goal, that the second succumbed to the infection. It was a mercy killing, that nail through the heart. The last, after all of that, finally made their way to the very precipice of howling cliffs, hesitating for just a moment to gaze out upon the still-fresh ruins of hallownest. But only for a moment, before Ghost jumps down to begin their journey beyond this wretched place.
A vessel running from its shade as it tirelessly pursues them, the vessel refusing to put it to rest.
tw: suicide, + personal on main
Ugh ugh ugh ugh Either thk was fully conscious and in terrible pain for all those years... or they couldn’t feel anything at all. The former is horrible, but imagining thk waking up, chained, unable to do anything but wait for Ghost to heed their call? Did they turn their nail on themselves to help Ghost, end the pain, or some awful mix of both? For someone who has personally dealt with close friends and family that struggled with suicide themselves, hollowknight is one of the worst horror stories I've ever seen. And the fact that the story is so personal, so open to interpretation? The fact that each character is so genuine yet vague enough to be read completely differently to someone else’s biases? Its why hollow knight- the game, and the character- will forever be one of the most powerful stories to me.
in short, good LORD THIS GAME IS SO FUCKING SAD
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huntsman-ash · 3 years
Text
RWBY LiveThoughts: V8E7
Since I finally have time for it today, lets make sure Im all caught up for the hiatus. 
Before we get fully started, an idea; Its not a war crime if they’re Grimm. Then its just self defense. So break out the napalm, the cluster bombs, the chemical weapons, the fun stuff. Make em regret it, yeah?
And we start off...on a farm. Looks like my moms old farm in South Dakota. Even on Remnant, hay is best used in bales.
Waiiiit. Thats the place the Whale set down isnt it. I see a Sayber running. Ah, and the Atlas military! Surely, the vanguard of a massive force to hold the line! Also Im glad to see a close up of the helmet for once, I want to make my own. Also, the gloves, and the rifle itself. Not sure why it doesnt have a stock, seems kind of silly...
And airships too, so they got some fire support...whats that wall behind them though?
Also it TOOK US 8 FUCKING SEASONS to get a close up of these FUCKING Weapons. 8. FUCKING. SEASONS. Okay maybe more like 5 cause they didnt first appear till 3 or so but come on. Im so picking this shit apart later. 
Pfft, bros got some nerves going on. Come on man, its just some Grimm, you’ll be FINE.
Atlas field harvesters resemble Halo’s JOTUN Farming equipment. As wel as our own. No surprise there.
Alright, bunch of Saybers, not seeing much of a threat here.
Hey, Paladins! Damn, they...look way different than I remember them to be. 
I wont lie, I dont like the Paladin design. Way to much visual noise, I cant tell where anything IS. 
Also that is the most 2D grass I have sever seen in my fucking life. What the hell are they growing here...
Huh, the whale has two sets of teeth. Wait, its just there? And its wpewing out Grimm. So...why isnt the air force firing on it? 
Yeah its not moving, its just raising its head and slamming down and vomiting out more Grimm. Im not sure what the issue is here, just...seal the mouth. 
Oh, huh. Apathys. Let me guess, RTs gonna try and tell us depression is going to kill most of Atlas. Oh for fuck sake. IM NOT IMPRESSED RT. IM REALLY NOT. IM MORE FUCKING ANNOYED THAN ANYTHING
Okay so...I see what this is. Its farm land outside of atlas proper and there’s an additional wall behind them, plus the power lines I guess? Seems like a viable place to make a stand. 
...thats it. Please tell me this is just a single detachment of the Atlas military because there is less firepower here than a NATIONAL GUARD UNIT ASSIGNED TO ONE CITY
Im fairly certain there are more people assigned to ONE UNIT attached to JBLM then I amm seeing here. 
Not to mention this is an OPEN FIELD the Grimm have to run through. This is a literall fucking TURKEY SHOOT. Running across an open field anywhere is a ticket to DYING.
Just ask the poor fucks on D-day.
Also uh...why is everyone in line formation? What is this, fuckin’ 18009s combat Napoleon style?
And did the distance suddenly change, I feel like the whale suddenly got a hell of a lot closer.
Just...I dont get this. This makes no sense. Did Ironwood learn how to deploy forces from a fairy tale book? This is legitimately some fuckin Lord of the Rings shit here.
RIP that one specific trooper hit by that Behemoth though. Dont worry friend, the thing walked next to a Paladin. Its getting its eye blasted out
And cut back to Ironwood. Doing...fuck if I know what.
Staring angrily it seems.
“Dammit, my tactical deployment by line formation and parade ground tactics isnt holding back the Grimm, curses!”
Well MAYBE IF YOUD THOUGHT TO INVEST IN SOME FUCKING AIR SUPPORT...Seriously.
I know people have told me why this is. I understand myself why this is. But it really just...does...not...jibe with me. At all. 
Okay so more details; first, apparently Atlas has a subway. Makes sense, its a big island. Inter-system transits probably a given. Second; Was that Mantis Squad Omega? Some kind of unit maybe...interesting.
 Also I love how this guy just questions Ironwood. Like, bro, if the General says do it, do it.
Hold the fuck up, why is everyone outside? It looks like fuckin’ Cali during our lockdowns...what ever happened to martial law huh?
Also “underground subway stations”. Yes, thats...kind of what a subway IS. I guess maybe they have overhead ones like New York does. Mass transit be weird like that.
I mean HELL the signs on it are almost identical to the ones in NYC too! Even with the colored circles and train cnumbers. 
According to the sign here they’re at Pickens Square Station. 
Oh boy. Ironwood just fed these poor bastards into a meat grinder. Anyone here ever played the Metro game series, or read the books?
Remember the Dark Ones? The Nosallias? Yeah. Tight corridors and monsters only work out well for angry vodka fueled Russians.
Didnt see it very well but I THINK those Mantas had some kind of wing gun. Either thats new, a separate armament setting, or RT forgot what ind of weapons they gave their ships AGAIN.
Cant get the shields back up, yeah, no shit, they DETACHED ONE OF THE FUCKING PILOTS YOU IDIOTS.
Also hah, they arrested Yang, Ren and Jaune. Not surprised.
Beta squads apperently been hitting the whale. ‘Bombs, missiles, we cant make a dent, sir.” ...while Im not surprised by this, I also hear shades of the opening of Halo 2s level Metropolis. “Where’s the rest of your platoon?” “Wasted, sarge. Blew right through us. Rockets, fifty cals, didnt do nothing.”
Honestly they could have SHOWED THAT too. Them just saying it feels like a cop out to me. Take that as you will. But if you want us to see the things hard to kill, show it. 
Not that I figure Atlas’s rockets are much more than Dust in a propellent tank. Not exactly a Hellfire or TOW.
Nice to see proper military talk for...a moment anyway.
Or what I figure RT figures is proper.
Oh so now the whales moving. Okay...huh.
Jaunes commentary is the same as mine. Though I guess the size seems to shift depending.
Ohhh. Its MANTA. As in the gunships. Alright, sure that works. And this guys making a good call. If you cant hit the big one go after the smaller. Of which there seems to be a HELL of a lot. Actually holy fuck that Grimm spew is across like...ahlf the fucking island right now. Time to fuckin torch and burn people.
Ahhhhhh and they get to the proper idea.  If you cant punch it from the outside, hit it from the inside.
I knew a crew...three madmen, names of Keegan, Lahni and Mac. The Hivebusters. Something tells me a Venom bomb would do the trick...if it can rip apart Swarm creatures as big as a Snatcher or a Swarmak and reduce them to green slime, I think it’ll work on Grimm. 
Something tells me RT isnt gonna give em a bomb though. Too obvious.
NEVER MIND. “Science team is putting together a bomb.”
Also I LOVE how Winter’s pupils expand and retract in fear as she realizes what Ironwoods asking her to do.
Awww now shes getting the shakes too.
Salem directing this shit like shes some kind of orchestra leader. I mean it FITS but...I dunno.
Ah so the command deck is directly behind the whale’s glowing nose. Basically inside where the spermacetiy organ would be in a real sperm whale.
What the fuck is Emerald doing there?
Sneaking I guess. Huh. Why’s she sneaking around the whale. Also, huh. guess seeers can get fooled by Emeralds semblance.  Is HE STILL BEATING UP ON OSCAR? Jeez dude. Take a breather.
Honestly if this was TRUE I would be okay with it. Replace the Huntsman with, I dont know, a massively overequipped military for each Kingdom, let them run rampant...stomp the Grimm out or push them back to nonexistence...everyone lives happily ever after
Lets be real here, the idea of the academies? Really really fucking dumb. Its cute. Fairy tale like.
But if theres one thing this show has taught me its that fairy tales SUCK. Reality...tends to be worse.
Ah theres one of those torture hooks they mentioned a few episodes back. Nice of the whale to have a specific interrigation room.
And at last we get some information on how Salem works. Alright so...what happens if you seperate the parts then? Sink one in the ocean, launch one into space.
Sounds like Oz/Oscars telling the fans what we’ve been saying forever, Companion Book be damned; Salem wants to die.
These mind games bore me. Its cute, but I dont like it cause I cant follow that shit. Give me a straight up fight any day, fuck this sublty backroom fuckery
No lies from them both here honestly.
Medical supplies in Atlas seem almost the same as here on earth interestngly. Also, soup. Or...coffee, tea?
Blake with the obvious here. But I mean thats not really saying much cause...well. Not hard to outfight the Atlas military it seems like.  (Long suffering sigh)
Im gonna make a seperate post about my frustrations with that and leave it there. But dont expect me to stop fully complaining about it because everyones gotta have something to bitch about with this show, and I’ll be DAMNED if I start joining the BB whiners.
Good question, Ruby. Might be that YOUR NOT LIVING IN A FAIRY TALE
I’d like to see these people dying in Mantle. I refuse to believe that there isnt SOMEONE in the nation that once brought Remnant to its heel that wont stand and fight. Unless Im wrong about that too...
May backstory? May backstory. Yeah.  Not amazingly complicated but it works. Cant tell if shes Henry though...or was. 
Dramatic lightning flash
Cute you think that Ruby. Theres sides. Always are.
Further proof honestly.
Hazels look of though is amusing. Cant tell if he doesnt believe Oscar, or if his tiny peabrain is runing full bore to think this through.
Coordination between farm boy and professor.
Oh. OHHHH. Plants the seed of doubt in Hazels tiny mind, he uses the last question for himself, sees the truth... Clever, Oscar. Clever.
Hazel peabrain go THUNK
Ah so Mercs going off to Vacuo. Guess that means everyone else is going there next too. Eat that, random Discord person, I called it.
Course, CFVYs there so...maybe we get to see Yats beat up on him.
Oh hi Tyrian. Do you just...randomly roam the halls of the whale waiting to DRAMATICALLY REVEAL YOURSELF and give violent expositon? Im very much okay with that.
Also I love how he just...accepts this. Totally fucking bonkers, totally down with it. 
Oh shit, Tyrian and Mercury going to Vacuo? Damn thats gonna be INTERESTING. I guess Tyrian’ll fit in well enough honestly.
Flying Beringal literally out of the roof. 
I remember back when this season first started and I said those weird bone platforms looked like VTOL launch bays. Guess what? They are.
Merc and Em emotion blah blah DONT CAAARRREEE
Jaune thinking tactically for ONCE IN HIS FUCKING LIFE. An I mean military tactical of course.
Also I like how the Aces say they dont let emotions cloud their shit WHEN THEYVE BEEN DOING THAT THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME.
This ENTIRE PLANET is emotionally run. Thats why the Grimm are such an issue! Makes small note to make Remnant Adeptus Mechanicus cult
Seriously though...
I wont lie though, Hare isnt wrong. Wonder what happened to that Tortuga guy. Tyrian, is my guess. Love how Ren interrupts the moment they almost mention Clovers name.
Expendable, yes. Replacable, no. You should have a talk with squadron leader Grey from Star Wars Squadrons Ren
ANNNNDDD SEMBLANCE EVOLUTION. Or the edibles just kicked in.
This is cool and all but its really fucking dumb and hamfisted. Explain all you want. Mention emotions all you want.
The Aces are fucking huntsmen. HUNTSMEN. FUCKING. SUCK. They always have. Its a dumb idea. Yes, lets stop the hordes of monsters invading this world BY SENDING IN SINGLE OPERATIVES WITH FUCKING MELEE WEAPONS
I’ll make this clear to you, Ren, right here and now. If you faced a REAL elites, you wouldnt have stood a chance. Nor would RWBY. Their bodies would have been three-shot from 20 meters out with a breach and clear and stacked against the wall like cords of wood, one final shot to the dome to make dead sure they were down. None of this stupid flipping and acrobatic crap, none of this clashing weapons and Dust and semblances...no. 
You’d be dead before you knew they were there and they would move on. You’d just be another body to the pile, one more faceless corpse to add to their kill count. A meatgrinder in human form. 
Professionals. Dont. Lose. AND THE ACES ARE NOT PROFESSIONALS!
Because thats not what RWBYs about, never has been.  And that is what annoys me slightly. That and the fact I cant distangle what I know of other universes and our own from RWBY’s. Its hard to hold a universe on its own when everything they make points towards it being like ours, but they change it when they see fit. 
I feel like thats bad writing.
Hehehe. Winter touched Elms boob.
Glad to know that Winters got her priorities right. Course, that bomb probably aint gonna do shit cause its Dust based.
...again, hoping its a chemical weapon...
Wait, the Atlas forces from earlier are STILL FIGHTING? Damn, these Grimm must suck if they couldnt wipe them out in that little time...
Also I cant tell if its getting dark cause of the storm or if its the dawn of the next day.  Or did...they shift time around? I lost track. I SWORE the sun was setting the last time we saw everything.
Also return of the shitty 3D grass...
Marrows gonna defect.
Awww poor Winters got emotions. HEY MAYBE DONT SEND A MENSTRATING WOMAN OUT ON A FIELD OP, ATLAS!
So according to May there’s still front lines. Cool. 
AYYY ITS KLIEN! HES BACK
Oh, I guess hes a doctor too. Oh he MAD.
Ayyy Whitleys being USEFUL for fucking once in his shitty life.
Shes gonna hug him isnt she.
CALLED IT. For fuck sake...whatever. Cute. But whatever.
Oh annnnddd now Grimmquake?
No. It stopped...Bolide?
No. PENNY.
Annnnddd shes leaking coolant. And sparking. And dead.
RIP Penny.
The concept art of the beached whale looks so fucking silly. Seriously, just...detach the whole section there. Drop the fucking thing. 
Oh well.
And thats it for almost two months! Be prepared for me to BULLSHIT MY WAY THROUGH ALL OF IT and continue on with my military fanwank because THATS HOW IM SURVIVING 2020!
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homespork-review · 4 years
Text
HOMESPORK ACT 5 ACT 1: Mobius Double Plusungood, Part 2
BRIGHT: Nepeta wants to know what’s going on. Aradia finally stops dodging the question and tells Nepeta she’s dead, but doesn’t elaborate on how it happened. She asks Nepeta to keep it a secret, which Nepeta agrees to. Aradia’s also picked up some froglike traits from being merged with the sprite -- namely a tendency to ribbit.
In retrospect, it’s kind of funny that an active player can merge with a sprite. The role of a sprite seems to involve having detailed knowledge of how the Game works and what the player should do next, but only dispensing vague advice to the player. Prototyping a player would give them full access to that knowledge with no sprite vagueness to get in the way. The Game doesn’t seem too concerned about that, though.
CHEL: Now it’s time to get to know AG better. A doodle of her declaring her to be a HUGE BITCH fades into her standing in her room. Rather gothic, and also filthy-looking; it’s dark, with a red sky outside, and cobwebs and broken Magic 8 Balls lie around everywhere. There’s a FLARP poster and numerous pages of notes on the wall.
Your name is VRISKA SERKET.
You are a master of EXTREME ROLE PLAYING. You can't get enough of it, or really any game of high stakes and chance. You have persisted with the habit even in spite of your ACCIDENT. But then again, you don't have much choice.
Your lusus is VERY HUNGRY, ALL THE TIME. She can only be appeased by the FLESH OF YOUNG TROLLS. You cloud campaigns for teams of Flarpers, utilizing your abilities for ORCHESTRATING THE DEMISE OF THE IMPRESSSSSSSSIONA8LE. Your victories supply you with treasure, experience points, and SPIDER FOOD.
You are something of an APOCALYPSE BUFF, which is something you can be on Alternia. You are fascinated by end of the world scenarios, and enjoy constructing DOOMSDAY DEVICES for the hell of it. You are drawn to means of DARK PROGNOSTICATION and the advantages they offer, particularly in gaming scenarios. Your abilities in this department were hobbled with the loss of your VISION EIGHTFOLD, and you have since sought alternatives through various BLACK ORACLES. You consult with these ominous globes, but routinely destroy them in frustration over the PUZZLING GUARANTEED INACCURACY of their predictions. Breaking them has developed into a habit BORDERING ON FETISHISTIC, and with each you destroy, you add to an insurmountable stockpile of TERRIBLE LUCK. You have to stop. But addiction is a powerful thing.
FAILURE ARTIST: FINALLY we get a name for her and we don’t have to keep saying AG. I imagine the non-Homestucks are feeling like I did when I played Danganronpa 2 finally and saw the “fingers-in-his-ass” guy.
CHEL: She examines a drawing on the wall, of her FLARP character MARQUISE SPINNERET MINDFANG, who is just Vriska in a different coat and seaboots, with a hook instead of her robot hand. She is the scourge of land dwellers and sea dwellers alike, and worst nightmare to silly BOY-SKYLARKS everywhere. She has accumulated more treasure and gained more levels than any member of the PETTICOAT SEAGRIFT class ever. She gained all the levels. All of them.
En route to her computer, Vriska steps on a D4, and complains about how she’s had terrible luck since her mysterious accident. I’d just like it noted that this is a small but noticeable occurrence of Vriska’s tendency to blame others for her problems; if she cleaned her room some time, that wouldn’t happen. Still, she doesn’t worry about it too long, as she’s busy.
So many irons in the fire. Such a tangled web. It is a web full of flaming irons and mixed metaphors.
BRIGHT: Vriska equips her weapon of choice, a set of enchanted D8 dice called the FLUORITE OCTET.
...okay, I’m getting used to characters having semi-absurd weapons, but seriously, what? Let’s review everyone else’s chosen weapons: Hammer, knitting needles, sword, gun, sickles, lance, clawed gloves, walking cane. Sollux had some throwing stars but didn’t assign them to his specibus owing to his telekinesis being enough; we haven’t seen Aradia’s strifekind yet, but she also has telekinetic abilities, and hers are apparently enhanced by her being dead. So that’s a lot of genuine weapons, and some things which aren’t weapons but can readily be used that way in a pinch...and then Vriska has a set of enchanted dice.
It’s a good fit both for Homestuck’s absurdity and for Vriska’s obsession with luck. But it does stand out rather.
Anyway, rolling the dice will execute a wide range of highly unpredictable attacks. Very high rolls can be devastating to even the most powerful opponents. Apparently these work everywhere, not just in FLARP games. Also, while we see ghosts, psychic powers, and superpowered coding, I think this is the only reference to plain magic we have on Alternia.
Vriska steps away from the computer to avoid talking to GA, who she refers to as an unwelcome solicitor, but returns to it when someone else starts messaging her. Vriska calls him this guy; he has no icon -- and, oddly, no username -- and types in white, which means the reader (and Vriska) ends up highlighting the conversation a lot. 
Hello.
AG: Oh my god, why are you talking to me????????
This is the last time we'll ever talk.
AG: Still sticking with the white text I see. So smooth and stylish!
AG: I forgot how much I loved highlighting it to read all the 8oring things you have to say.
AG: It's like a fun game for super extra handicapped retarded people. Like opening a present! Find out what o8noxious thing the mystery tool typed.
AG: What is it!
A parting courtesy, I suppose.
All the ways I've exploited you were meant to bring about the events that will take place this evening.
Knowing this will provide context for the events in your near future, and will affect how you behave in response.
These events will be just as important as those preceding it.
I've gone to great lengths, you see. 
Well, this guy sounds ominous.
Also, using ‘handicapped’ and ‘retarded’ as insults is entirely in character for Vriska, who has no time for people who can’t operate on her level. Currently Vriska’s also being shown as an unlikeable character. We’ll see how that develops.
CHEL: Still, a lot of people really don’t like those words being used casually, and the fact that we need to show you how things develop should imply that they won’t develop in a way you’ll like. So…
CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 39
White Text Guy, as the characters refer to him for a while to come yet, continues gloating about how successfully he’s exploited Vriska, who tells him she’ll log off and orders him not to use that nasty trick where you log me 8ack on out of petty douchey spite! WTG says he’ll be brief, though he’s not particularly brief in fact, tells her he no longer hold[s] her accountable for any wrongdoing, and says that if she accepts this, she may get her luck back. Vriska doesn’t believe him and continues to rant, and he points out that her unpleasant, simplistic temperament is what made her so easy to mess with.
If you turn a swarm of wasps on a crowd, the outcome is certain.
He leaves with these even more ominous words:
Though the magnitude of the ensuing destruction resulting directly from your actions will be neither possible or necessary for you to fathom, there nevertheless ought to be a silver lining.
The only question is whether you will live long enough to see it.
Vriska, enraged, lifts a Magic 8 Ball with the intention to smash it, but decides she can’t be bothered, and answers GA, hoping some camaraderie will cheer her up, even if it’s from a meddler. However, GA’s first question is “Is Your Lusus Dead Yet”. Not particularly cheering, is it?
Vriska, for the first time, expresses concern and sympathy for another person when GA says her own lusus is dead, though it may be undermined slightly by her own personal disappointment in never having got to meet said lusus. GA doesn’t seem very concerned, and says “Maybe You Still Can”. According to her, though, all their lusii are dying, as a “Preemptive Consequence” (if that’s a meaningful concept) of the upcoming Game. Karkat blames himself for activating the cursed code, but GA thinks it was inevitable. However, Karkat’s idea of a curse Is Inseparable From His Perception Of Events As Intrinsically Negative And As Tailored To His Personal Dissatisfaction, and so is Vriska’s poor luck. GA points out that if Vriska cleaned her floor she wouldn’t step on so many things. THANK YOU, GA, you made my point for me! Vriska is angry at GA “meddling” so, and demands to know why she does.
GA: Because Youre Dangerous
[...]
GA: Its Ok To Be Dangerous
GA: Lots Of People Are
GA: And Dangerous People Can Be Really Important
GA: Maybe Even The Most Important Sometimes
GA: But It Just Means Theres Got To Be Someone Around To Keep An Eye On Them
As Vriska gets angrier, it’s noted that she puts 8s in her typing in places where they don’t work as Bs or as “eight” sounds, and they become more numerous.
AG: Or you know, if you're so h8gh 8nd might8 an8 th8nk you're so gr8at, m8y88 you c8uld oh I d8n't kn8w........
AG: TRY AND ST8P ME FROM DO8NG B8D THINGS????????
GA: That Wouldnt Work
GA: If I Tried To Stop You You Would Regard Me As An Enemy
GA: Instead Of Merely As A Nuisance
BRIGHT: GA’s strategy appears to be trying to talk Vriska into being a better person, either by persuading her that it’s the right thing to do or by being so annoying that Vriska does the right thing to avoid being meddled with. She’s making an effort, I’ll give her that. And given that she doesn’t live anywhere near Vriska, there isn’t all that much she can do to rein her in.
CHEL: Vriska signs off, ranting about her “Lousy st8pid godd8mn supportive friend!” and heads down the enormous staircase to check on her lusus.
You wonder if any other kid on the planet has such a high maintenance lusus? You DOUBT it.
As a matter of fact, one does and Vriska knows that, but we’ll see them later. Not a continuity error, it’s just Vriska self-pitying.
From a window, we see a doomsday device hanging over a chasm by chains attached to the surrounding cliffs. Vriska built it for an especially powerful and influential member of the nautical aristocracy, with help from an as-yet-unnamed nearby friend. Vriska reaches the bottom of the stairwell, and we meet her lusus, which is…
… a spider about the size of a cathedral. For the sake of our arachnophobic readers, we’ll refrain from posting a picture. Suffice it to say she’s as terrifying as she sounds. Pan out to show the entire valley is filled with cobwebs, and Vriska’s hive is matched by a similar one on the other side of the valley.
Before we move on, I’d just like to chat a little about the astrological symbolisms used here. Vriska’s the Scorpio troll, and it puzzles a lot of people that she’s spider-themed instead of scorpion-themed. Both arachnids, but not the same thing. However, Scorpio does have multiple symbols, depending on the source of the interpretation of the constellation, including the spider and the phoenix. Observe! (I enjoy astrology. Sue me.) Also, a scorpion would be a lot harder to get the story symbolism out of; Vriska is at least attempting to be a master manipulator pulling on strings, i.e. webs. The astrological symbolism and alleged personality traits aren’t used for all of the trolls in general, either. The troll with the sign of Aquarius the Water-Bearer is seadwelling nobility and probably wouldn’t be happy to be represented astrologically by a servant, and Gamzee is basically the opposite of the ambitious and hardworking traits of the allegedly typical Capricorn. Basically the signs are mostly aesthetic and if Huss can work in some connected symbolism that’s a bonus. I don’t consider this a negative thing in particular, though it might annoy some astrology buffs.
Actually, I don’t know how intentional this was, but one fan actually analysed how the social expectations on Alternia are in fact the exact opposite of what would actually suit their astrological sign. It didn’t get finished but there’s some interesting information - read the posts in question here, beware spoilers!
BRIGHT: One amusing consequence of this can be turned into a game: Go to Tumblr, find an astrology post, and see how long it takes to figure out if it’s a Homestuck riff. Some of them even just say ‘Vriska’ for Scorpio.
It’s probably just because I mostly follow fandom-related blogs, but I’ve yet to see a Tumblr astrology post that wasn’t a more-or-less-subtle Homestuck joke.
CHEL: And the ones which aren’t make for great fanfic prompts!
BRIGHT: Vriska’s lusus is fine, as it happens. Vriska pretends to be happy about this, but she’s rather less convincing than Dave is about his own guardianship issues. 
FAILURE ARTIST: And we turn from Vriska to look in her neighbor and it’s….that creepy guy! Hurray!
Your name is EQUIUS ZAHHAK.
You love being STRONG.
You are so strong, you would surely be the class of the elite legion of RUFFIANNIHILATORS. And while such a calling would be quite honorable, you would prefer to join the ranks of the ARCHERADICATORS, perhaps the most noble echelon the imperial forces have to offer. Unfortunately, you SUCK AT ARCHERY. You have not successfully fired a SINGLE ARROW. Every time you try, you BREAK THE BOW. You are simply too strong. You have broken so many bows, it has developed into a habit BORDERING ON FETISHISTIC. You have to stop. But addiction is a powerful thing.
You have a great appreciation for THE FINE ARTS. You use your aristocratic connections to acquire PRICELESS MASTERPIECES, painted in the oldest and most respected Alternian tradition of NUDE MUSCLEBEAST PORTRAITS. These striking depictions of the EXQUISITE FAUNA native to Alternia remind you of the PUREST PHYSICAL IDEAL that must be sought by anyone who professes a LOVE OF STRENGTH. When those of lesser bloodlines turn up their uncultured noses at such stunning material, it MAKES YOU FURIOUS.
Practically everything MAKES YOU FURIOUS. You have so much rage, it can only be expressed through STAGGERING QUANTITIES OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE. You build strong and sturdy robots, set them to kill mode, and BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEM in caged brawls. Sometimes you LOSE TEETH. But they usually grow back.
FAILURE ARTIST: Equius Zahhak’s first name is obviously a take on the Latin word for horses, but his last name is from a Persian demon who is also known as “he who has 10,000 horses”. 
So yes, that furry porn on his walls is high art to trolls. Though the prequel Hiveswap Friendsim, which has artist characters, doesn’t have MUSCLEBEAST PORTRAITS. Maybe Equius is actually weird.
CHEL: Actually, the Friendsim does have musclebeast art; if you squint at the beginning of Nikhee’s route, you can see depictions of white muscular chests flanking the arena, which don’t look like troll chests. Hiveswap proper is rated PG, so we’ll be spared it there, too.
FAILURE ARTIST: Equius is more even-tempered than his introduction suggests. He’s not completely violence-free (as we will see)  but he’s not in a constant ‘roid-rage. Heck, from what we’ve seen before of him he just gets peeved and snotty. 
Equius calls for his lusus Aurthour, who I guess could be called another self-insert. Aurthour is a centaur-type creature with cow udders and a mustache and looks like something out of Hussie’s early comics. Aurthour carries a glass of lusus milk on a platter, presumably from its own udders. Ummm. 
You cannot hope to beat Aurthour in a butler-off. He is simply the best there is.
Sweet, I guess.
CHEL: I wonder how Aurthour contorts around to reach his udder. Centaurs aren’t really known for flexibility.
FAILURE ARTIST: We find out why Aurthour has a shiner. It’s not because of domestic abuse but because when Equius “gently” pats Aurthour, Aurthour bruises. Yet this creature is the only lusus STRONG enough to raise Equius. 
Equius tries to drink the glass, but it shatters in his hand. Which begs the question of why Aurthour doesn’t use an alternative to glass. Well, I guess Equius going straight to the source would be too disturbing even for Hussie. A bigger problem is how Equius can do the fine detail work of building robots when he can’t hold a glass. 
Equius goes into a rage, which just means he stands around in Hero Mode while the lusus milk quickly evaporates. Wait, quickly evaporates? What is it made of?
CHEL: I assumed the heat of his rage boiled it.
FAILURE ARTIST: Equius tries to equiup equip a bow but fails due to his strength. Like the glass smashing, this is a normal occurrence. You’d think he’d give up but apparently breaking bows is like popping bubble wrap to him. Expensive bubble wrap. So he has the useless 1/2bowkind, a bowkind for when he’s ever that lucky, and the fistkind which he actually utilizes. Yes, in Homestuck, you can register your fists as lethal weapons. 
Equius talks with Nepeta and the narration summarizes like thus:
CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no CT: D --> Yes AC: :33 < no
Equius is still worried about his good friend Nepeta, so he decides to relieve his stress by talking with another friend. And here comes a line fans take as meaning trolls don’t have friendship. 
It should be noted that in troll language, the word for friend is exactly the same as the word for enemy.
Though that line contradicts Equius considering Nepeta his friend only a few lines back. This worldbuilding sucks. 
CHEL: Well, he doesn’t treat her the way a human should treat a friend at this point.
FAILURE ARTIST: So Equius trolls this frienemy who turns out to be Gamzee.
centaursTesticle [CT] began trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]
CT: D --> Have I ever told you what a reprehensible disgrace you are
TC: hAhA, fUcK yEaH, oNlY eVeRy MoThErFuCkIn DaY bRo!  
Yeah, Equius, pretty much everyone tells Gamzee that every day. 
Equius says he wants get some things off his chest, which giving what we later learn about troll relationships might be adulterous. Gamzee tells him not to let his feelings be bottled up lIkE a FuCkIn AlL sHaKeD uP bOtTlE oF fAyGo and this metaphor makes Gamzee thristy. Equius berates Gamzee for drinking soda, which seems harsh but we later find out soda is booze for trolls. He’s also angry at Gamzee for doing sopor slime. Now, fans think Karkat didn’t like Gamzee doing sopor slime but we never actually see it. It’s just Equius who cares. This leads to an exchange I find interesting.
CT: D --> You will stop
TC: WhOaAaA, i WiLl?
TC: hOw Do YoU kNoW tHaT?
CT: D --> No, you don't understand
CT: D --> It's not a predi%ion, it's an order
CT: D --> I command you to stop
Gamzee is so passive he finds it hard to imagine making decisions that will change his future. Sad. And when Gamzee does get what Equius means:
TC: Oh, AlRiGhT bRoThEr.
TC: yOu MoThErFuCkIn GoT iT.
CT: D --> What
CT: D --> Are you serious
TC: yEaH.
TC: I mEaN, yOu GoT tO sHoW sOmE fAiTh In YoUr FrIeNdS, cAuSe ThEy'Re AlL tHe OnEs WhO'rE bEiNg To LoOk OuT fOr YoU.
TC: sO fUcK iF yOu SaY i'M nOt DoInG tHe ShIt RiGhT, tHeN wHaT tHe MoThErFuCk Do I kNoW!
CT: D --> No
CT: D --> This is una%eptable
CT: D --> Ok, let's start over
CT: D --> I apologize
CT: D --> I was completely out of of line, and I'm sorry
CT: D --> I have no right to talk to you like that, or tell you what you can't do
TC: aWw, No WoRrIeS!
Gamzee was ready to kick sopor slime except Equius backed down. Wondering about the timeline where Equius didn’t back down. 
Still, Equius begs Gamzee to behave like a superior. Gamzee asks what that means and Equius gives a very creepy answer.
CT: D --> 100k, it isn't that difficult
CT: D --> Try to be cognizant of your desires and needs
CT: D --> And attempt to regard those around you as simple vehicles meant to bring about your gratification
At least Equius is a hypocrite...most of the time.
Equius asks what Gamzee is doing and Gamzee relates his adventures in Sgrub. He bonked an imp on the head and scared another with a horn and eventually ended up sharing pie with them. Equius likes the tales of valor but is disappointed with the peaceful end. 
Equius asks Gamzee to roleplay and Gamzee says yes; there’s an uncomfortable sequence where Equius tries to get Gamzee to virtually dom him. Gamzee is terrible at being assertive, but Equius is still whipped into a state of contrition. Basically, Equius is getting off on this. 
CHEL: It should be noted that tricking a child into sexual behaviour is a form of abuse even when it’s done by a child of the same age. Not cool, Eq, and not funny, Hussie.
CALL CPA PLEASE: 11
CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 40
SEND THEM TO THE SLAMMER: 4
Though, while that is clearly the reading we’re meant to get from that, I have to say Equius never reads to me like he’s actually enjoying being ordered around. With Gamzee he’s just frustrated that he’s not behaving in a correct manner, and in later exchanges he seems knocked off-balance by the normal social order being upended. I know I’m just projecting, but it reads more like he has some issues with anxiety or OCD and is desperate for someone else to take control and tell him what they want him to do so he doesn’t have to worry. He sweats constantly during these exchanges, which is supposed to imply he’s aroused, but people sweat when they’re worried or afraid too.
FAILURE ARTIST: On a lighter front, Equius says he doesn’t live near the ocean, which considering his neighbor regularly goes on a pirate ship is an odd thing to say.
CHEL: How near is “near”? He might just mean not within walking distance so he can’t casually wander out to the sea like Gamzee does.
FAILURE ARTIST: Equius ends by wondering about the social order that puts someone like Gamzee above him but someone as graceful and poised as a certain mysterious she is of the lowest caste. Gamzee (and the readers) ask who she is and Equius brusquely says D -->I shouldn’t be talking about this D → You’re the enemy before signing off. 
CHEL: If one’s been paying attention, one can guess.
Next, Equius and Vriska are in cahoots. Cahoooooooots. Vriska declares her intention to meddle, and they have a brief exchange about sarcasm. It’s horribly inconsistent whether trolls have sarcasm or not, as I’ve pointed out before. Already gave a point for it, though.
Anyway, Vriska asks if Aradia’s present is finished. It is.
CT: D --> But I don't understand why you're intent on gratifying that worthless peasant
AG: 8ecause I promised I would and it's none of your damn 8usiness! Man.
Their plan is to let Aradia usurp Sollux as leader with her cute little ploy (recall her sending him to sleep and letting him swallow mind honey earlier), then both snatch power from her and become joint leaders. Each asks the other if they’re planning something sneaky and each insists they’re not. Equius can sense that Vriska is trying to read his mind, and when she won’t stop, he takes control of her cybernetic arm, which he built, and makes her slap herself in the face.
FAILURE ARTIST: So given that Vriska tried to read Equius’ mind, despite the dangers (both physically and mentally), it is unbelievable she refrained from reading Karkat’s due to delicacy. 
I think Hussie has said in his commentary that Vriska had a crush on Equius. The fandom prefers lesbian Vriska at this point and so has ignored that. YMMV on if there is evidence of a crush in the text but I find the idea amusing. 
CHEL: Equius goes to fetch the present for Aradia which he was supposed to give to Vriska.
You naturally will doublecross your accomplice, just as you assume she has plans to doublecross you. You assume she is assuming the same of you. Business as usual for blue bloods.
How the hell does this society get anything done?
You will deliver it to Aradia yourself to gain her favor, and then doublecross her and take your rightful position as team leader. How ironic that someone of your blood purity must work to win the favor of the lowest sort of peasant. Humiliating. Strangely titillating, even. But in the end, class order will be restored.
He takes the tarp off the present, and it is…
Tumblr media
Why, Aradia. It appears the red glass of your eye has caught the pink and green glint of the moons in their perigees. The sweet poetry almost makes a man forget how the grime that once filled your veins made his stomach turn. It is a good omen for illicit lovers. Could you imagine the scandal if anyone found out?? No one must ever know.
But worry not. Your heart will pump no more of that despicable red sludge. You have been given a new heart. You can be taught the ways of the class you were always meant for. No one is beyond redemption.
Be grateful, dear Aradia. For the first time in your meaningless life you have met a man with true compassion.
Jesus fucking Christ. See what I meant when I said his interactions with girls were worse than his posters? No points because it’s supposed to be creepy, and with the teachings of his society it’s not entirely his fault, but wow.
FAILURE ARTIST: Well, his interaction with a girl is creepy. His relationship with Nepeta is more problematic than fans remember but that’s two-sided and not infatuation. As for Vriska, he’s cold and business-like with her. He collaborates with GA but that’s off-screen and was probably also business-like. Meanwhile, he has lustful interactions with most every male character. We’ve seen how he acts with Gamzee and we’ll see more later. Equius’ interactions with guys are another example of Hussie using male attraction to other males as a punchline.
CHEL: But yes, he’s built her a robot body. Unfortunately for everyone involved, while making out with it, he feels judged by one of his battlebots, gets angry, and punches it. It goes flying out the window and robosplodes above the valley, and its remains hit Vriska’s doomsday device, setting it off. It breaks before it can actually destroy the planet, but the chains holding it up snap, sending it swinging into the cliffside, causing another explosion. The cliff collapses, taking part of Equius’ hive with it, sending Aurthour plummeting into the chasm and crushing Vriska’s spider lusus under tons of rubble.
Cutting back to before that, we see Terezi battling imps on her treehouse’s rooftop, when Vriska messages her, declaring that playing the game together means breaking their truce. Terezi says that’s not what the truce was about; it was about STOPP1NG TH3 3NDL3SS CYCL3 OF R3V3NG3 and Vriska not using her powers maliciously anymore. Terezi’s next couple of comments are just calling Vriska a liar so I’ll just take Vriska’s, to further illustrate her behaviour.
AG: Man, you like to give me such a hard time a8out all that. I can't catch a 8reak! AG: Can't you see I'm trying to put all that 8ehind me and make amends with every8ody? AG: No, of course you can't see that. What am I saying! [...] AG: I'll prove it to you. I'm giving Aradia a present that will make her feel all 8etter finally. AG: Then I'll 8e in the clear. Phew! Totally redeemed. You'll see. I mean smell.
Vriska appears under the impression that large flashy gestures are the important part of an apology, not actual sincerity. Terezi points out Aradia doesn’t care about anything anymore and probably won’t care about this.
AG: Man, why can't you cut me some slack for once???????? AG: It's not like I even did anything that 8ad to you. AG: I lost seven eyes 8ut you only lost two! I would say you came out ahead in the 8argain. GC: 1 KNOW GC: 4ND 4CTU4LLY GC: 1 N3V3R R34LLY GOT TH3 CH4NC3 TO TH4NK YOU >:D
Vriska’s disbelief aside, Terezi really is serious here. Not surprising to the reader, her blindness is basically a superpower.
AG: Remem8er Team Scourge? How convenient all that must 8e to have forgotten! You were so nasty. AG: Oh man, if you crossed Terezi Pyrope you were fucked!!!!!!!! GC: Y34H 1F YOU W3R3 4 B4D GUY GC: W3 W3R3 SUPPOS3D TO B3 L1K3 4 V1G1L4NT3 DUO D1SP3NS1NG JUST1C3 GC: 4ND YOU COULD T4K3 TH3 B4D GUYS HOM3 4ND F33D TH3M TO YOUR STUP1D SP1D3R GC: BUT 1NST34D YOU JUST F3D H3R 3V3RYBODY! GC: 4ND L13D 4ND L13D 4ND L13D
Okay, this little exchange needs some more dissection. Terezi is supposed to be the “good cop” of Team Scourge, the by-the-book one on the side of the law. But we saw what Alternian law is like, and later on we’ll see demonstrations that things such as having a birth defect or, according to Hiveswap, owning fiction which so much as mentions the possibility of rebellion, are punishable by death. Not only is this not making Terezi look any better, if she’s as obsessed with the law as we saw, who would she deem not a “bad guy”, and why would Vriska have such a shortage of “bad guys” that she’d need to take anyone else? Hussie appears to have forgotten that the Alternian concept of justice is different from the Earth one.
FAILURE ARTIST: And what we would consider a “bad guy” wouldn’t be the same on Alternia. There’s tons of trolls murdering other trolls on Hiveswap Friendsim without any hint that’s illegal. It’s probably completely lawful for a highblood to kill a lowblood just because the lowblood annoyed them.
WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 29
BRIGHT: Maybe. I’d say what this shows us, and is intended to show us, is that Terezi’s sense of justice isn’t just based on Alternian law, but on her own moral code. The law made it perfectly acceptable for Vriska to feed lowbloods to her lusus regardless of whether they’d done anything, but Terezi didn’t think it was right, and for her that superseded the law. She’s the ‘good cop’ not because she always follows the book, but because she’s willing to ignore it.
We also know she thought Vriska was on the same page as her. Note that Terezi makes two accusations here — the first is that Vriska killed people who don’t deserve it, and the second is that Vriska lied to Terezi about doing so.
CHEL: That may be what it’s intended to show us, but what we’ve already seen is that she worships the law; she draws and gleefully licks pictures of the head of the troll court, His Honorable Tyranny, and she shows no concern in her roleplay with hypothetically executing people for relatively trivial crimes. That makes this a bit… shaky, IMO.
BRIGHT: True. Terezi may have stopped killing since her FLARP days (or, at least, we get no indication that she’s still doing so), but it doesn’t seem to have shaken her belief in the Alternian legal system. Just her belief in Vriska, who even brings up a similar point.
AG: Well if you want to know what I think, you should start changing your tune. AG: Cause even though you got all these highfalutin morals and fancy reserv8tions, you know as well as me that a killer is a killer is a killer! AG: There 8n't no ch8nging your ways for good, and one d8y you're going to flail that silly l8ttle cane of yours and not find n8thin to 8ump into, and fall f8ce first into the shit ag8in. AG: And you're going to do something t8rri8le to some8ody and wish you could t8ke it 8ack 8ut you c8n't!!!!!!!! AG: And then you'll work hard to win 8ack their trust, and you'll try and try and tr8, and you'll see how hard it is! AG: You'll seeeeeeee!
Vriska’s making this all about her own feelings about Terezi abandoning her, but she’s not wrong.
Vriska hears the doomsday device exploding and the subsequent rockslide, and goes to  find out what it is. Terezi tells her not to get crushed.
The next page jumps back in time again -- this time, quite far back. Terezi’s eyes are normal, and she’s talking to Aradia about Tavros’s recovery. Aradia says he’s probably paralysed for life. Terezi brings up the possibility of getting him robo-prosthetics, but after the Vriska debacle Aradia is firmly against having anything to do with bluebloods.
CHEL: Terezi warns Aradia that revenge attempts will end badly and she wants to handle it. Aradia says Vriska isn’t able to control her, but Terezi says Vriska will find a way to harm her anyway. They lament how they were both distracted by the same person.
AA: wh0 was he anyway GC: PR3TTY SUR3 1T WAS VR1SKAS FR13ND AA: what was he d0ing there AA: watching us GC: WHO KNOWS GC: H3S NOT R34LLY H3R FR13ND THOUGH GC: YOU SHOULD S33 HOW H3 T4LKS 4BOUT H3R B3H1ND H3R B4CK GC: SH3 H4S NO 1D34 HOW B4D H3S PL4Y1NG H3R GC: BUT TH3N 1 DONT TH1NK H3 KNOWS HOW B4D SH3S PL4Y1NG H1M 31TH3R
This sounds like they mean Equius, but we’ll see. Aradia feels she’s letting Vriska win by doing nothing, but Terezi has a plan. She confirms that her friendship with Vriska is over.
Cut to Aradia’s house, and here I need to go into a bit more detail. This is her house:
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Aradia’s a maroonblood, the lowest of the low on the hemospectrum, peasantry and cannon fodder and supposedly extremely numerous. Yet her house looks to be about the size of the entire block of flats I live in, and she lives in it alone, with no other buildings at all in sight. In the next page, we see inside her house, which looks exactly the same as all the others; she has piles of roleplaying books and posters and a computer, and nothing looks to be in disrepair.
WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 30
BRIGHT: Her house also looks a lot like Tavros’s, what with the windmill feature on top and the brown hangings rather than maroon, which threw me off at first.
CHEL: We’ll talk about this more later. For now, let’s stick with the most noticeable thing; Aradia is alive! Her skirt is untattered and her eyes have colour and pupils. Her lusus is alive too, napping beside her. It’s not quite clear what it is exactly; it has a sheep-like head, but its body is long and slim with much bigger hind legs than forelegs. Could be supposed to be dragon-like? I’ve also seen it interpreted as kangaroo-like. I don’t think we ever get a better view of it.
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Anyway, Aradia knows Terezi’s advice is sound, but she can’t bear not to do something to Make her pay. She puts her hands up to her temples, and the image fades back and forth with one of wrapped troll corpses in Spidermom’s web…
It's a shame it had to come to this. You don't like summoning the spirits of the dead to settle scores.
But if she had to face her victims again, maybe she'd finally learn to feel remorse.
OOOOOOOOOO
This begs the question, how the fuck can the highbloods oppress people who not only hugely outnumber them but can shoot lasers from their eyes, control animals, and summon the dead at will? Well, there’s actually some explanation for that. The player trolls all appear to have unusual levels of power, for whatever their given powers are; most maroonbloods can’t do this. In Hiveswap a main character is a more typical maroonblood, who can just about bend spoons with his telekinesis and not much else (though we haven’t seen him speak with dead yet, and it’s possible he’s better at that). Not all trolls even have their caste’s powers, as far as I can tell, as we do see a yellow in Hiveswap Friendsim who’s not a psionic and some ceruleans who don’t seem to have mind-control powers as well. Head or eye injuries, which aren’t exactly rare in Alternia, can cause the loss of said powers. Also, the highest blood castes have powers of their own and other things to hold over the lowbloods’ heads. It’ll be a while till we get to that, but I’ll say now it is convincing, we do not have an Oppressed Mages scenario.
Anyway, Aradia does her thing…
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As Vriska cowers on her floor, White Text Guy messages her again. Vriska replies angrily, ghosts looming over her shoulders.
Aren't you going to kill her?
AG: Who????????
Your friend.
The one who summoned the spirits.
AG: Will that make them go away?
Does it matter?
She brought them here to torment you. This obviously warrants revenge.
Vriska asks why WTG doesn’t kill Aradia instead, since he helped kill Tavros; he replies “All I did was stand somewhere for a few minutes. I just gave you an opportunity to do something you wanted to do anyway.” So, seems it wasn’t Equius they meant earlier. Vriska protests she never intended to kill her gaming companions, and blames him.
Again, I didn't talk you into anything, nor am I doing so now.
You were, and are, going to do this regardless.
I only ever place myself into positions of tangential involvement with events that will bring about my employer's entry into this universe.
I oversee the events as they take place, and ever so slightly nudge them into motion when necessary.
BRIGHT: Looks like Aradia and Terezi haven’t told her Tavros survived, which is eminently sensible. This conversation also highlights another Vriska trait: That she’s a very active person, but will try to shift responsibility as soon as she doesn’t like the consequences. That could be a result of her upbringing -- Vriska had to actively go and kill people for Spidermom, but she wasn’t responsible for the overall situation. (Although -- how much did she do to ameliorate it? By the time SGRUB starts, Spidermom’s far too big to fit into Vriska’s home. Vriska might have been able to get away with not feeding her at that point; there’s not much Spidermom can do if she can’t get to her.)
CHEL: The later addition to the canon, Pesterquest, claims that the lusii can psychically nag their charges and she could bother Vriska that way, but that directly contradicts Act 5, in which the trolls want to prototype their lusii so that they’ll be able to communicate properly with them for the first time, and also couldn’t Vriska just move further away?
BRIGHT: Inertia is very much a thing, and people do often just settle into a rut of ‘this is the way things are’ even when something could be changed, so it’s not improbable that it wouldn’t occur to Vriska to move — come to that, I don’t believe it occurs to anyone else either — but the fact that it doesn’t occur to her does say something about her character. 
CHEL: Also, why didn’t Vriska feed the spider on animals? The possibility is never so much as considered by her or anyone else, though it seems the most obvious thing to do. Sure, the spider might be picky, but as we said, it can’t leave the valley due to its size, or it’d be hunting for itself. If it’s left with the choice to eat cows or die, it’d presumably pick the former, especially since the lusii aren’t supposed to be sapient and thus wouldn’t have the capacity for spite. For assuming that Vriska did what she had to when such a screamingly obvious better option is never addressed, here we go with a new count, which will rise whenever Vriska’s horrible actions are excused.
ALL THE LUCK: 1
 Back to the scene, Scratch claims omniscience, which Vriska mocks.
AG: Sure you know a lot, 8ut I know for a FACT there's stuff you don't know.
That's true.
But the gaps in my knowledge exist by design.
They are the pillars of shadow on which my comprehensive vision is built.
Necessary pockets of void meant to effectuate outcomes I've foreseen and which will require my influence.
Each dark pocket, in time, will be filled.
[...]
I don't lie.
Deception is only necessary for those like you to achieve their objectives.
I play with my cards face up.
Isn't it funny how during our various matches, I can tell you what my moves will be in advance, and still win?
Vriska, angered by this, does in fact plan to kill Aradia; Not much point in living with all these moaning spooks just to spite some guy you don't give a shit about. She can’t control Aradia because Aradia’s own powers get in the way, but there are other people she can use.
How about this guy? Unfortunately, you can only control him about half the time.
Then again, that should be all the time you need.
Cut back to Aradia’s place, and she receives a message from Vriska, telling her her boyfriend is outside. 
BRIGHT: Vriska also lightheartedly tells Aradia she’s sorry, and that she’ll make it up to ‘him’ someday. Presumably ‘he’ is meant to be Tavros, except that Vriska seemed to think Tavros was dead in literally the last conversation she had. This is probably just a slip-up on Hussie’s part, but it’s possible to read this as Vriska referring to a different ‘he’ entirely, considering what’s about to happen.
CHEL: Aradia looks, and sees a figure hovering telekinetically over the fields....
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Note what’s in his hand. You do not under any circumstances eat the mind honey… His eyes start flashing and Aradia looks afraid, but we suddenly cut to a view of Alternia, and then to a closeup of its green moon. The prompt instructs us to Be the white text guy, and we meet him in a very familiar-looking green mansion.
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You try to be the white text guy, but fail to be the white text guy. No one can be the white text guy except for the white text guy.
The white text guy is known as Doc Scratch.
He is an officer of an indestructible demon known as Lord English. His job is to pave the way for the arrival of his master, who will be summoned upon the termination of the universe. He has worked at this task for many centuries, and will continue to do so until THE GREAT UNDOING.
Scratch is Alternia's FIRST GUARDIAN. Every planet destined for intelligent life has such an entity meant to protect it, and facilitate the planet's ultimate purpose. A first guardian is typically almost as old as the planet itself, and each has a unique, circuitous origin through the knots of paradox space. They can be born into a great diversity of forms, though they all share a common, especially potent genetic sequence. 
Remember Rose’s MEOW book, and how DD used it to create Becquerel? Yep.
The code grants them near omnipotence, and when merged with a host of great intelligence, near omniscience as well.
BRIGHT: Only near-omniscence, however. Scratch is surprised to find Terezi contacting him, but he’s able to work out that she got Sollux to help pretty fast:
Occasionally I discover there are things I have not always known.
It gives me the opportunity to make deductions, which are practically always flawless.
It's gratifying.
He also suggests she call him ‘Mr. Vanilla Milkshake’, and then hints that Aradia might not be straightforwardly dead by stating that Sollux and Terezi believe she is dead, and will soon believe she is not, both of which are true statements about their beliefs rather than reality.
Props to Hussie on this: I’m pretty sure every Homestuck fan wants to punch Scratch in the face. He’s just so obnoxious. 
Terezi, however, refuses to let Scratch keep derailing her for long. She wants Scratch to get involved in their feud again, and she has a good reason for him: She knows how Vriska’s been able to come so close to beating Scratch in their games lately. Before she can tell him, though, she needs to talk to Vriska again.
She starts by asking how Vriska feels about killing Aradia, after she promised not to. Vriska responds with dramatic insincerity about how she feels awful, and then says Terezi should be happy that Team Charge is out of the picture. 
AG: Uuuuuuuugh, what do you want from me????????
GC: 1M NOT SUR3
GC: 1 GU3SS 1M LOOK1NG FOR SOM3 R34SON TO CH4NG3 MY M1ND
GC: 1 DONT KNOW WH4T YOU C4N S4Y TH4TLL DO 1T
GC: 1 SORT4 HOP3 TH3R3S SOM3TH1NG THOUGH
In the end, there isn’t. Terezi tells Vriska she’ll be dead in a couple of minutes, and to ‘CONSULT W1TH YOUR L1TTL3 4DV4NT4G3’ if she doesn’t believe it, then leaves the conversation.
Vriska’s little advantage turns out to be a MAGIC CUE BALL, which is similar to a magic 8 ball except that it’s predictions are specific and accurate, and it lacks a portal through which the user can read said predictions. Fortunately that’s not an obstacle for Vriska: Her VISION EIGHTFOLD allows her to see through the opaque casing.
CHEL: Vision Eightfold is the vision from the one of Vriska’s eyes which has seven pupils, which she covered with an eyepatch with seven rubies on it when she was FLARPing. Also remember that Jade had a Magic Cue Ball but couldn’t read it? Yeah, it’s another one.
BRIGHT: One other thing: According to rumour, it used to belong to the man on the moon.
As Vriska asks the cueball whether she should be worried about Terezi’s threat (answer: YES), Terezi lets Scratch know where his missing property has gone. Vriska asks the cueball how it’s going to happen…
I WILL EXPLODE IN YOUR FACE.
Boom.
This section is one of my favourite Terezi moments. It really shows off Terezi’s ability to outthink and manoeuvre people. She’s never spoken to Scratch before, but she still plays him against Vriska easily.
CHEL: This is why Vriska has a plain eyepatch and a robot arm in her future appearances, but she’s otherwise fine. Bluebloods are tough, apparently.
BRIGHT: Back in the future, Spidermom has survived the rubble falling on her, but just barely. Vriska puts her out of her misery with her magic dice, which summon up a massive guillotine and decapitate the lusus, drenching Vriska in spider blood.
GORE GALORE: 11
The decapitation sets off another landslide, sending Equius’s house straight down on Vriska’s head, but before it can land, a portal opens underneath it and transports it into the Medium.
Vriska promptly jumps on Trollian to freak out about this, because her plan depended on her getting Aradia’s surprise present from Equius to pass along and then Aradia and Vriska entering the Medium together, and never mind that a house was about to fall on her -- in fact, when Aradia points out that Vriska was about to die, Vriska accuses her of planning this. Aradia placidly agrees.
CHEL: This is part of my evidence for thinking Vriska might not be neurotypical. Not the priorities most people would have. Also, meanwhile, note that the lusii have the same blood colour as their charges, while the non-lusus animals Nepeta killed were black and had red blood. I’m not sure whether that’s a species trait, or a side effect of the weird bond between them (doesn’t make a lot of biological sense, but then this is basically fantasy with a sci-fi coat of paint).
Vriska is enraged by things not going the way she planned; her grand gesture of apology, the robot body, will now be handed over by Equius and not her, ruining her chance to be friends again with Aradia. Again, she doesn’t seem to understand how apologies work.
AA: were we ever really friends
AG: Yeah!!!!!!!!
AG: I don't know. I felt like we were even if you didn't think so.
AG: I guess I'm not very good at acting like a friend. Or saying stuff like, hey friend! You're my friend! It doesn't really occur to me.
For some strange reason related to her prototyping with the frog statue, Aradia types out “ribbit” into the chatbox, and informs Vriska she’s not on the Blue team as she expected, enraging Vriska further. Vriska accuses her of taking revenge, which Aradia denies, saying Vriska was always going to be on the Red team, and that she doesn’t care about her death.
AG: You're so infuri8ing! Why c8n't you just h8 me? It would 8e a lot easier th8t way.
AG: Or at least feel 8othered or annoyed or S8METHING! God!!!!!!!!
AG: May8e I sh8uld just rip my he8rt out of my chest and pound it to a 8loody pulp here on my desk with my sup8r strong ro8ot arm.
AG: Pound pound pound pound pound pound pound pound!
AG: Look at that, more nasty 8lue 8lood all over me. Why not! Might as well op8n the floodg8s and p8nt my whole hive with this oh so envia8le cerulean SWILL.
AG: 8ecause clearly it's up to me to feel em8tions for the 8oth of us, you misera8le soulless witch!
AA: 0_0
AG: I h88888888 you!
AG: H8 h8 h8 h8 h8 h8 h8 haaaaaaaate!
AG: I only regret killing you cause it m8de you so 8ORING!!!!!!!!
AA: s0rry
Aradia assures her that the teams are meaningless, but being on the Red team will put Vriska in the position they need her in. Vriska’s confused and angry, and leaves the chat.
In Equius’ LAND OF CAVES AND SILENCE, he trolls Aradia again, telling her he will be the sole leader, which she doesn’t care about. He’s surprised she isn’t objecting, and says he needs a towel.
CT: D --> Never mind
CT: D --> I'm trying to stay professional about this
AA: ab0ut what
AA: what are y0u talking ab0ut
CT: D --> Forget it
CT: D --> It's just pleasant to consort with one of lesser breeding who clearly understands her place
He’s been established to suffer from hyperhydrosis, but he’s clearly also supposed to be getting off on this, which, since he’s thirteen, is icky to read.
CALL CPA PLEASE: 12
It only gets worse.
CT: D --> I 100k forward to seeing how well you serve me, server player
AA: uh
AA: thats n0t quite the meaning 0f the w0rd server
CT: D --> What do you mean
AA: as y0ur server i manipulate y0ur envir0nment t0 help y0u advance
CT: D --> I don't understand
CT: D --> Are you
CT: D --> Are you saying
CT: D --> That
CT: D --> You are in a position of control over me
AA: i supp0se s0
CT: D --> Oh
AA: what
CT: D --> Oh my God
He babbles about how he needs fresh air or another towel, getting so agitated he actually drops an F-bomb, which he immediately covers up with “Fiddlesticks”. He says he wants to break something, and Aradia offers to break something for him, as she’s developed an interest in breaking things recently. Next page, she flings an “abluti0n trap” through his wall. 
FAILURE ARTIST: The running gag of girls fucking up boy’s homes with bathroom appliances continues!
CHEL: He’s very happy, except about her commoner slang.
CT: D --> In fact, this is an order from your leader
CT: D --> Call things by their proper names
AA: what
AA: y0u want me t0 call it a bath tub
AA: that s0unds ridicul0us
As FA noted, this bit of worldbuilding ends up retconned out with all trolls calling things by strange rewordings later on.
Whatever it’s called, Equius asks her to throw it through the wall again. She asks if that’s an order, and he can’t decide.
CT: D --> You could cause quite a bother for me, with the power you wield
CT: D --> I can do nothing to stop you, peasant girl
CT: D --> It's so magnificently depraved
CALL CPA PLEASE: 13
Aradia ribbits again and he takes it for roleplaying, but commands her to continue to do as she pleases. He tells her he’s bringing the robot body, and muses on whether she should actually be co-leader again; in fact, he decides, she should be the actual leader, in secret, through him. She points out that’s what they’re doing anyway.
CT: D --> You take to authority well for one of your b100d
AA: i d0nt have bl00d
CT: D --> Not yet
CT: D --> But soon your heart will beat anew, and through it, fresh b100d and fresh passion
AA: 0_0
CALL CPA PLEASE: 14
Equius proceeds to STRONGJUMP right up to his first Gate, punching off an ogre’s head as he goes, and to STRONGFALL out into LOQAM, where Aradia waits. Equius hands over the robot and Aradia enters it; she seems happy, but Equius cautiously asks if she feels anything else.
EQUIUS: D --> Can you detect anything within you might describe as
EQUIUS: D --> Smoldering passion
[...]
ARADIABOT: 0h g0d
ARADIABOT: 0H MY G0D WHAT DID Y0U D0!
ARADIABOT: did y0u pr0gram this r0b0t t0 have feelings f0r y0u?
ARADIABOT: R0MANTIC FEELINGS???
EQUIUS: D --> Hrrrk
ARADIABOT: ANSWER ME BLUE BL00D SCUM
EQUIUS: D --> I
EQUIUS: D --> Yes
EQUIUS: D --> Uh
EQUIUS: D --> It's a chip in your heart
EQUIUS: D --> Is that not ok
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Understandably, it is emphatically not.
GORE GALORE: 12
Now, this is undeniably a really, really, really creepy thing to do. I’m not sure how much blame can be applied to Equius here, though; he’s been raised in a society which would presumably tell him she would have to accept his advances no matter what, considering their caste difference. In a horrifying way, the chip might have been, in his mind, the nicer option. Still, as I said, creepy.
CALL CPA PLEASE: 15
BRIGHT: I think it’s telling that he asks if it’s not okay after Aradia freaks out, as though he honestly hadn’t considered that Aradia might have a problem with it. Specifically, up until that point, Equius seems to be interacting with Aradia more like she’s a prop than a person — it doesn’t seem to occur to him that she might not want what he wants, unless their wants conflict in a way that he finds titillating. Then she freaks out and he’s surprised. And that in turn speaks volumes about how lowbloods are viewed by highbloods in wider society.
Contrast Vriska, who absolutely realises that people down spectrum can have their own agendas and emotional reactions; she just does her own thing anyway. Vriska is actively malicious; Equius is, at least in this case, accidentally malicious. Note that he doesn’t make any effort to prevent her from removing the chip once he realises she’s distressed. (Not that he really gets a chance.)
Equius in particular also seems to have a problem about slotting people into roles in general -- he does it with Gamzee, too, although since Gamzee is higher-blooded than him, he has to at least face the fact that Gamzee doesn’t fit into his role. He comes across as very sheltered.
FAILURE ARTIST: Equius considers it such a good thing to be a highblood that he thinks he’s doing her the greatest favor by turning her into one. 
CHEL: This also brings up the question of where he got all that blue blood. I hope it’s synthetic. If not, he’s already said he doesn’t kill animals, so I’m not sure whether it’s creepier if he killed another troll for it or if he slowly drained it off from his own.
Aradia’s not contemplating that, too busy crushing the artificial heart and slapping the shit out of Equius for multiple pages, before, er…
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Yes, she’s apparently making out with him as a reward for violating her mind, even after the chip was removed. 
BRIGHT: The first time I read Homestuck, I thought that was meant to imply that not all of the programming was gone.
FAILURE ARTIST: Hussie did confirm the programming was gone. He compared it to a failed roofying.
CHEL: This is a bit of a shock, but it makes somewhat more sense when we see more of troll culture, not long in the future. Still, right now it’s probably upsetting for a number of readers because that part of troll culture hasn’t been established, so…
CALL CPA PLEASE: 16
CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 41
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Note
:O!! I would love to hear a more detailed plot bunny about Hizashi sharing about the Bug Incident!! Shouta being protective of Hizashi (who has such a heavy "loud, goofy and happy" air to him that my brain says: this is a person that's probably got issues that they don't speak of easily) is such good stuff. And that deeply caring side of Shouta showing up is always fantastic~
;-) anything for a dedicated Listener! <3
Age-Swap BNHA AU (Erasermic)
It took an hour and a half for Hizashi to tell Shouta everything, between the memories and the mental breaks shouts made him take when it looked like the blonde would collapse. From the 10 foster homes he had gone through, to the Bug incident at his third home. He had to resist the urge to throw up at the memory. The drunken laughter filling his head...the feeling of rough hands locking his head in place, a man's fingers prying his jaw open and shoving bug after bug into his mouth. He flinched at the memory, remembering how he cried and threw up right there on the dirty kitchen floor... his sobs the only thing sounding in the now silent kitchen.
"Zashi!"
His eyes snapped opened, the kitchen disappearing and his best friend filling his vision instead. He felt tears build up in his throat, choking down a sob.
"Sorry sorry... I'm done ... see..." he tried to sound happy "silly fear...happened like...8 years ago...I just..."
"Shut up" and then he was engulfed in the arms of the other. "Dont say sorry... dammit Zashi..." Shouta choked, full of rage, helplessness, and...something the blonde couldnt pinpoint.
Hizashi just nodded, tears falling down his cheeks as he snuggled deeper into the others embrace. Shouta cuddles were hard to come by...and he was going to take advantage of this event.
While the other tried to sob in silence, Shouta held the other tight, eyes burning fiercely as he glared at the wall. What the fuck? What kind of adult would do that to a child? What kind of person would do that to Hizashi? His friend who was loud, friendly, smiling, always trying to help others, and always ready to do his best. He felt his teeth creak as he grit them...he mindlessly wondered if they might break under any more pressure.
He buried his nose into Zashi's hair, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of coconut shampoo the blonde always used. He had to stay calm, he could beat the shit out of a training dummy later. His friend needed him.
At the back of his mind, he reminded himself to tell his dad and pops about this later. That way they could fumigate the dorms, kill every bug in sight, and maybe avoid certain training simulations... Shoutas eyes clenched shut harder. No wonder the blonde hated forest training... such a high potential for bugs crawling around.
"Shou...I love cuddles but you're squishing me!" The other chuckled, sounding more like himself now, a wide grin now on his lips but wetness still clouded his eyes.
Shouta grunted in acknowledgement and loosened his grip, though not completely letting the other go. Hizashi chuckled.
"...I'm sorry for sobbing on you" the blonde said softly, sobering the mood once more
"Its fine..." he debated furthering his thoughts "Why didnt you tell me this sooner?" He said bluntly
Hizashi just gave a one shoulder shrug
"...I dunno... guess I'm just used to dealing with that stuff on my own. I'm mr. Happy go lucky you know!" He laughed, pushing his fingers into his face to make himself smile "I'm not supposed to have stupid little fears like bugs..."
If shouta could punch that foster father now...he would be sure to throw him into a building
"Idiot" he scoffed softly "a phobia isnt a stupid fear. It's something you cant control"
"But a pro hero afraid of bugs? That's so-"
"Normal" shouta cut him off before the blonde could get anymore self deprecating "everyone has a fear that they cant explain and that is normal"
They sat in silence for a while, until Hizashi gave a nod - though he still wasnt fully convinced. Shouta slowly let go of his friend, holding him by the shoulders so they stared into each others eyes.
"No more secrets okay?" The brunette huffed
"Shou-"
"I mean it Hizashi," he cut in "I can't help you" or protect you "if you dont tell me these kind of things!"
Hizashi bit his lip before nodding. "You didnt laugh at me..."
"Why would I? Wait - Who laughed at you??" He asked, hair starting to rise in preparation for an ass kicking
"Shouta no!" Hizashi said seriously, though it was filled with amusement "I'm fine I promise... I'm great now actually... thank you for listening..."
Hizashi swallowed
"You're my best friend you know that?" He murmured softly
Shouta swallowed down the words, what about more? He gave a chuff and turned away, though the smile on his face was very obvious. Hizashi laughed at his friends actions and bumped the others shoulder.
"We should probably get to training hm?" Hizashi sighed, running a hand through his hair, now noticing how dirty his training clothes were.
Shouta stiffened at the thought of bringing Hizashi back to the forest.
"I'm too tired..." he groaned, laying his head down on Hizashis lap, pinning the blonde.
"Shou! Your dad is gonna kill us!" He laughed, though some genuine worry shone in his bright green eyes.
Shouta rolled his eyes, closing them before they got lost in the others.
"Dont care, I'm tired...you're tired... the logical choice is to take a nap"
"Naps aren't the solution to everything"
"Says who? Mochi likes them"
"Using your cat for an argument? That's low shou"
"Its logical. Plus if we nap now we can do something after school..."
"...you want to do something after school? Willingly?"
"Shove it blondie."
"Theres my grumpy friend!!"
"what was that thing you were talking about in homeroom?"
"Glad to know you were listening to me" he cackled, looking up at the ceiling in thought as his hand absentmindedly ran through shoutas hair "I was talking about a lot of things this morning! The arcade is open today, and Oh! The record shop just got in some new CDs I wanted to listen to. And you wanted to go to that cat cafe right? We could do that before and-"
Hizashi filled the room with idle chatter, the sound comforting to the both of them. Shouta hummed at appropriate times and responded when Hizashi actually asked a question.
Tomorrow he would go to every person that ever interacted with Hizashi, and threaten them away from bug filled pranks or teasing, least Shouta throw them across campus with his capture weapon. His friend loved a good prank... but there was a line. Shouta wouldnt let that line be crossed. Hizashi already had to deal with enough... and he did so much for everyone around him.
He cracked an eye open to look at the blonde, smirking as he saw Hizashi continue to ramble, his free hand gesticulating in excitement. This was how he was supposed to be... happy and carefree.
And like hell would he let anyone or anything hurt his friend.
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strawberryspeachy · 5 years
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So when i watched death note in high school it made me curious about real japanese police work. I read about it alot and came to the conclusion that their justice system isnt too great.
Im currently upset that a coworker who i took as a friend - not only disliked me all along - but went as far as to lie about me to get me in trouble. That no one cared to hear my side. That i was fired on the spot. That people turned their back on me immediately. That no one cares.
Well. 17 year old me would have said. But of course. In Japan your guilty until proven innocent. That japanese put on a show but dont truely like most people. That they band together and will go out of their way to avoid any kind of conflict. That they care more about a pretty appearance than solving anything. 17 year old me that only heard and read about Japan knew these things. 17 year old me imagined this cool different country that works because theyre proud of this... performance way that they live. And i was amused by it. All i knew was america and european history. I was so hungry for something different. I was so interested in different people.
Then I went to Japan. I got here and it was too similar to manga. How silly, i thought, those a comics - i didnt actually expect the country to be like those comics. And ive never really been able to place what that made me feel but id grown past this bemusement of different “alien like” people. Theyre just people who live in another country i thought. I dont like america and our norms. I know nothing but america but i dont agree with any of our steriotypes. You cant describe me the way most would try to describe a typical american. So why would people from any other country be different. Im sure theres people like the sterotype - but certainly more not at all like that.
And i got here and i watched the smiles on service workers slowly fade when they thought no one was watching. I watched children put trash where it didnt belong thinking no one was watching. I was girls laugh loudly and run around and yell at their boyfriends. I watched drunk college kids hollar and reak havoc in the city. Not robot people, not obedient children, not, quiet and demure girls listening to the men, not studious students worried about their reputation. Just people. The same people i saw back home.
And so i thought. Its the same. Different history. Varrying values. Same old people - judgmental and watching everyone ready to scold them if they deem it necessary.
But that guilty until prooven innocent thing. The fact that the old way of caring about your reputation is still a solid work practice.
These things. Make me feel like... i guess.... to my dissapointment. Maybe america really is more free...
I dont want that to be true. The us is so full of itself. Just like healthcare. I want universal health care to be a good thing and at very least in japan its not really. Its better. Its more affordable. Maybe their problem is just how much they hate drugs and thats what stops real care.
But. Ive always been a cautious person - i just dont want to get in trouble. But ive never thought id be in a situation i couldnt talk my way out of - because i dont do anything super bad. Maybe sometimes ive pressed the limits - but never outside of... like i drank underage. I tried to get into bars i wasnt old enough for. Ive dodged paying for the train fare. Dumb things. Things that the worse that would happen is i gotta pay it somehow or id get scolded. Drinking under age is against us law but its almost never taken too seriously.
But its occurred to me. Yeah. In japan it is guilty until prooven innocent. I really could have gotten in legal trouble for baseless allegations.
And japan is as racist and people say. Theyre friendly and try to talk to you in english and say nice things. And it doesnt seem like racism to a person from the states. Out racist look at you with digust. They wont touch you. They wont talk to you. They dont want to know about you
But here... it takes the form of a racist parent who grew up in the 50s and knows that theyre not supposed to be racist but still is.
Theyre welcoming and friendly to your face but talk shit behind your back. They ask a bunch of questions like (in america “where are you really from”) they refuse to accept you might actually belong. They constantly want to assert how different you are so instesd of telling you that your different - they ask questions or explain what theyre doing. And if you say ‘yes we also do this’ they react with disbeleif - what? No! You couldnt possibly get this - this is our thing and you are not us! And they constantly ask if you miss your home. Assume that you’re uncomfortable because they are. Also also. Instred of not wanting to touch you here - theyre much more willing to push you out of the way
Theres many mixed race kids here now though. I assume theyll have to do the same thing that happened in America. I havent met any mixed race adults but ive met plenty of white dads.... all trying super hard to assimilate to the point that they walk around talking like robots. Swearing that everything japan is great and they dont miss their home cointries at all. Pretty similar to the immigrants of america from when my mom was a kid.
So i still think at least for japan. Theyre way more similar to the west than they think they are. But these restricting regulations that they live by... really does make the country seem not as free as id ignorantly beleived it was.
It surprised me because their rules are so much like the way my great grandmother talked about stuff. And while were supposed to care... we just dont in the states. Respect your employer? Sure we say we do to their face but talk shit with coworkers. Worry about your reputation? Eh think im a bitch i dont give a fuck whatcha gonna do about it? Nothing thats right. Dont like another person? No one cares. Like that person or dont - it doesnt change anyone elses relationship with them. Make a mistake? Well if your boss fires you - everyone already probably thinks their an asshole cause generally mistakes are just met with some form of dickwaving belittlement. Pretty sure most of us get mad everytime we hear a story about someone getting fired because they posted a picture of them in a bikiki or having fun - most of this generation agrees thats dumb and has to change.
I feel more like an american now than ever. Americans are reluctant to change im told. Yes. I suppose we are. We might not know the rest of the worlds history but we kinda know our own. And as much as ive alwags agreed with the sentiment that cultures are different and thats just the way they want to be.... we used to be these ways but decided it was restrictive and controlling and mentally abusive and fought it...
Ive been reading more about the work culture in japan to figure out how he fuck this went so wrong. Apparently when young japanese people enter the work force, they cant even have friends as distractions outside of work because their boss will move them away from home.
Ive already read that japanese think suffering is good and seniority and witness first hand their preoccupation of appearing busy over actually being productive. Its just this constant performance.
Perhaps i did stress him out to the point of physical pain. I remember having a massive meltdown where i shook and it felt like my brain was melting after i tried so hard to be a good nice person. I did whag people apparently like. I changed myself to just agree with people and be positive and assume the best in everyone. Then my “friend” told me that i was a bad friend because i asked them if they would people drive their friends home so i could to sleep at 4am. And the two things just didnt click. I didnt go to sleep that night. I sat at my desk shaking for the next 5 hours and having flashbacks.
Im talkative. I talk as much as i do here in real life. And i have alot of questions. I talked to him a lot. Made him look not busy. I know he liked talking to me. I know he did. Thats why i got confortable talking more. He was always surprised when i asked him questions about himself but once he started answering he kept talking. Yeah. Its nice to have someone ask you what your thoughts are on topics. What your experiences have been. Did you like those things or not. I know japan it a group think culture - i guess they get there by really draining out ANY idea of individualality. He told me hed never been asked what he likes about himself. In the us were asked that constantly from elementary school “what do you like about yourself. What do you like about your friend. What makes you different?”
It kinda baffles me... questions and thoughts like these are so common in anime.... and obviously anime is popular in japan. Obviously obviously. Im confused how theyre watching these programs often with such deep meanings.... and not taking anything away from them. In the states our tv programs are always being restricted and stuff because they might give us “bad ideas” but they aren’t restricted here and yet... it seems no one takes anything from them
When i visited japan in 2013 i saw a teenage girl in huge heels lose her balance and stomp on a middle aged womans foot. That woman had already been standing like her feet were in pain and she made a face of being in so much pain. The girl rudely didn’t apologize and the older woman said nothing. She smiled through her pain...
And i also complained to my coworker. Not full on complaining. The small ones you make at work when youre not sure of the extent you can go to. At first he held off like the other teachers. But. Then. He started complaining back. It got to me not needing to be the one say an annoyance first. Like i asked how his meeting was. Other people i worked with might leave it ah it was a bit slow but necessary. And he started that way. But instead he started responding to me a succession of statements the slowly crept more toward his real feelings. ‘It was good... we didnt do much... or anything, i just sat and listened and took notes. we dont learn anything, it takes up a lot of time but we have to go. I dont like those meetings. I dont know their pupose... but were told to go so we must’
Whatever. Im just gonna keep rambling and complaining about this cause it sucks and is awful. Contracted woth my company i wasnt allowed to publically critisize japan. I imagine thats why you dont often find many things on the internet complaining. You will literally be unemployable if your name is attached to critisisms of this country.
Where as everyone can come to the states and tell us to our faces how much we suck and how much cooler their countries are. And generally the younger general is just kinda like - ‘you right’ people write articles all the time shit talking the states and we just go ‘ya we deserve that’ we do. Im not saying dont do that... but like... maybe just maybe. Were doing the good thing where were like
Haha call us fat! We are fat. We love us some mcdonalds. Hm.... why though. Actually we need to fix that. Why are people eating so unhealthy? What is the underlying cause of this problem? Lets try to work on that - and then we fight amoungst ourselves.
I like that... i like thay thing we do
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In the states you might not want to become a ‘whistleblower’ and in some industrys you might get black listed for something dumb. But at least we talk about it and agree its a problem. In japan no one wants to even admit they have problems.
Know what else i told him. I talked about how were overworked in the states. That our work culture has gotten too similar to japans and we hate it. No one working 80 hour weeks thinks that they should have to do that. Of course i didnt go about it that way. I told him that my friends back home work 80 hour weeks and its unhealthy. That i cant work that much and refuse to. He i imagine counted how many hours he works and laughed and i said - oh haha yea i guess you also work that much. And he looked so much like he wanted to cry about it in the same way my friends back home. But said its natural in japan and that hes gotten used to it. But he definitely didnt mean it as he said it. I told him my friends say that as well. That i think theyre workaholics and i personally cant do it. That when work calls them they always pick up the phone even when they dont want to. But i dont do that. When my job called me as a server id ignore it and call them back later when it was too late for me to be asked to come in and ask them what they wanted.
Maybe to him my stories felt like when i read about students in europe being allowed to not go to school without reprucussions. It made HAVING to go to school evem more annoying. Why cant we choose to take breaks? I heard that place doesnt have homework - meanwhile im given at least 6 hours work a night! Not everyone has to do this? Other places learn things for fun?? They dont have to keep up with standardized exams that dont account for different teachers and school districts?? A 50% in that country isnt a failing grade???
Those were already shitty things but to read about them not bein universal did make having to endure it more upsetting.
Doesnt change that im stoll upset with him for not saying anything to me. Doesnt change that im mad that he made stuff up.
Really me rambling on about this doesnt change my presepective on any of it. Im just bitching
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inawickedlittletown · 5 years
Text
Walking The Wire (108/?)
Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.
This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.
Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)
A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3
I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony
@findmeinthestarss
Masterpost
Chapter One Hundred Seven
They never found out what had been going on with Loki and Thor because nothing came of their appearance and then disappearance because aside from a blip somewhere in Ireland that wasn’t necessarily them, there was nothing and while Tony waited for the other shoe to drop and something crazy to happen somewhere else in the world, nothing did.
“So, do you think he was just popping in for a visit and didn’t even think to stop by here?” Rhodey asked during a team meeting.
“I don’t know,” Tony said. “And there’s no way to contact him. I called up Jane and she -- well, apparently they broke up sometime before he left the last time and she didn’t have a way to contact him anyway which is sort of why they broke up.”
“But nothing’s happened right,” Sam said. “I mean, no random Asgardians have shown up so--”
“Not since then,” Tony said. “At least not that my satellites picked up anyway. But Coulson or Fury would have mentioned if they heard anything.”
Tony kept paying attention, but nothing outside of the usual happened. Ross’ announcement that Spider-Man was Tony’s son had been a small blip that most people didn’t pay attention to despite all the pictures that Ross had managed to get of Spider-Man coming and going from the tower. Mostly, he just sounded like a conspiracy theorist especially after Tony tweeted that his son was definitely not Spider-Man and that the theory had made Steve laugh. Still, he was sure some people did believe Ross’ story. It was also a concern that Ross was clearly keeping an eye on the tower.
There was a whole thing with the resurgence of AIM in the middle of August but it was such a disorganized mess that they didn’t get very far in even setting themselves up as a threat and Tony had them all rounded up and arrested in the course of an afternoon.
By the time that the summer was actually over, Tony was starting to relax on the Thor front. Peter on the other hand was a tad disappointed that he hadn’t gotten to meet the god yet. It turned out that next to Iron Man, Thor was Peter’s favorite.
“He’s an actual god,” Peter had said, “but also an alien. And just cool. He’s just so cool.”
Sam found the whole thing amusing. “Your kid has good taste at least,” he said, “if he had to crush on any of us.”
“It’s not a crush! I just -- he’s a god, Sam! And the lightning--” Peter trailed off as Sam laughed and Tony tried not to join in.
“He is seriously impressive,” Natasha said in Peter’s defense.
“Yes, exactly,” Peter said.
“Which is why you had a crush on him,” Sam said matter of factly and Peter threw up his arms in the air and Tony knew that he had figured out he couldn’t really say much else to make a difference to the conversation. Mostly, though, Tony loved the level of ease that Peter had with the rest of The Avengers.
But when Peter’s birthday came around, Tony decided that they needed to go on a mini-vacation. Not to get away from anyone, but because Tony wanted to spend some time on his own with Peter away from wedding planning and everything else that was going on at the tower. They went to California because Peter had never been to the West Coast and because Peter had also been interested in seeing the rebuilt Malibu house. It was fun to show Peter around and take him to a few of Tony’s favorite spots. All in all, their vacation was a nice break from the usual. They got back after a couple of weeks away and right in time for Peter to get back to school and Tony to move forward with the new suit. Everything was ready and Tony just needed to have the housing unit put in his chest.
On the night before school was starting up again, Peter was leaning against Tony’s side. There was a movie on, but Tony had long given up on watching it because the plot had changed so drastically that the movie was downright silly and either way, Tony had gotten busy answering emails because Pepper couldn’t understand why Tony was delegating everything to do with SI for the next week or two. Tony still hadn’t told her that he was going to be putting in the housing unit for the nanotech in his chest. He and Shuri both agreed that it was the only way to make it as effective as Tony wanted it to be.
“Is it going to be a long operation?” Peter asked.
Tony looked down at him. “A few hours.”
“I don’t like that I’ll be in school and I won’t be here.”
The whole thing with Thor had really hastened Tony to get the device ready faster. He wanted to be prepared for the next time something happened and things would have been dire if Thor’s return had signaled the beginning of something being wrong. Sure, Tony had his other suits, but the nanotech one was going to be better than any other. Steve and Peter for their part thought that he knew best despite the risk that the surgery would bring him.
“You’ll be here plenty,” Tony assured him. “Nothing is going to go wrong. I have the best doctors on this and we have a good plan for how we’re handling this.”
“Dr. Cho is pretty great,” Peter said with a grin.
Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “So why did you want to watch this movie again?”
“Ned recommended it,” Peter muttered. “I don’t think I’ll be taking his advice on movies again any time soon.”
Tony laughed. “On that we can agree, kid.”
---
Steve didn’t argue with Tony once Tony decided that he needed to get the housing unit put into his chest. It was Tony’s body and Tony’s decision and while Steve did voice his questions and got Tony to think about the pros and cons, he left it up to Tony because Tony knew best when it came to his suits. The device was different than the arc reactor, anyway, in that it wasn’t working to keep Tony alive. Looking at the ring with the shrapnel that had almost killed Tony, reminded Steve of how much Tony had gone through and survived.
He was with Tony during the operation, holding his hand while Dr. Cho and her team worked on Tony with a combination of Dr. Cho’s tech and Shuri’s as well. It brought down the risk for the procedure considerably. When it was over a few hours later and the whole thing was successful, Steve let out a sigh of relief.
“Good,” he said.
The whole thing was taking place in the compound since the facility had a medical wing and Tony had gone ahead and added an operating room to it too. It meant that Tony was going to be staying at the compound for a few days even if that was more of a precaution than anything, but it was better for him to not have to travel to the tower while fresh out of his operation. Steve had insisted on being there so his anklet was off. The FBI had only checked in on them once since putting the anklets on and the only reason they showed up in the first place was that Sam’s had malfunctioned. It was lucky that they were all in the tower at the time, not that Fury had been sending them on a lot of missions lately. Things were on the quiet side.
“He’ll be asleep for a little longer,” Helen said. “We’ll move him somewhere comfortable. You can call Peter in, if you want.”
“I’ll go get him,” Steve said and leaned over to kiss Tony’s forehead first.
Helen smiled at him.
When he returned with Peter in tow, Tony had been moved into one of the rooms in the medical wing. Tony was still asleep, but he looked peaceful all tucked into bed.
“Everything went perfectly, Peter,” Helen said. “He’ll be awake in an hour or two. Myself or someone from my team will come check in.”
“I’m glad,” Peter said as Helen grabbed a few things and walked out of the room. “I was actually a little worried,” he admitted to Steve. “I just -- I’ve lost all the father figures in my life and he was doing this and I was worried.”
Peter walked to stand by Tony’s bed and Steve moved forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You dad rarely does anything that isn’t for a reason. And if he had suspected that this was any riskier than it needed to be he wouldn’t have done it because the last thing he wants is to leave you. Shuri and Helen worked this out and you know how smart they are.”
“I know,” Peter said and looked up at Steve. “I just couldn’t help it. And thanks for helping me get out of school today. Dad just kept saying how I didn’t need to be here.”
“Yeah, well, he hates that we fuss about him.”
---
Taking it easy was boring. At least, it wasn’t bed rest. Tony could move around and he could go to the workshop but he was limited by how long he could work and how much he could lift or really do which ultimately just made him grumpy. Steve was also hovering for most of his time in there and jumping in to do things for him which Tony had found endearing at first but then kind of frustrating. So, he was happy to be back to normal a month and a half later even if Steve still seemed a bit wary of him doing much. Pepper was worse. She had started to just show up to make sure he was okay every other day right after Tony moved back to the tower and she’d fussed and fussed over him after telling him off for putting the housing unit in his chest in the first place until Tony had enough.
“You know,” Steve said one afternoon, “it’s almost been a year since I came back.”
“It has,” Tony said. A full year. It had been more than a year since the whole fiasco with The Vulture too. They were lucky that there hadn’t been any big villain like that popping up since but even if there had been, Tony was confident that Peter would have been able to handle it.
Training with Steve and the team in general had made a huge difference to Peter’s capabilities as Spider-Man. Peter didn’t use the Iron Spider suit often, opting for his other suit over that one most of the time, but he had gotten so much better with his powers and just his physicality because he wasn’t just following his instincts which were often good, he was doing more. Strategizing and thinking his plans through and really knowing his strengths and weaknesses and using that knowledge to do things in the best way possible.
“And it hasn’t been all bad,” Steve said.
“Yeah,” Tony said. “I half expected you to get too bored to stay.”
“I’ve found that life can’t be boring when you’re in it. But, not just that, it makes a difference that we’re together. You’ve made this worth it and it’s just one more year, Tony.”
“We better hope nothing crazy happens before then,” Tony said. “I thought Thor coming back meant--”
Steve nodded. “I know. I know. I did too. I just wonder what the whole point of it was. He wouldn’t have shown up and left that quickly without there being some reason and I just don’t trust that Loki was with him. Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?”
“Yeah,” Steve said. “That’s what Thor said.”
“Jane was confused about that too. She seemed concerned -- but she hasn’t called which means she hasn’t found anything alarming. At least I have this thing now,” Tony said and tapped his chest. “It makes me feel a little better about any possible threats.”
It was Tony’s fear -- and had been since going through that wormhole -- that they’d be faced with something from outside their world again. Even if nothing came to pass, he wanted them to be prepared. After all, he’d seen what some of those aliens could do and create and it was only a matter of time before Earth became a target again. Loki being alive -- he’d been the one behind the attack in New York. Of course, helped by the stone in the scepter but nevertheless one of the reasons. Thor had said he was leaving to find out more about the stones and...and maybe it was what he was still trying to figure out. It worried Tony.
Chapter One Hundred Nine
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flamewyrmz · 6 years
Text
a late night rant from twitter im putting in one place, because its a trainwreck of several threads there. mostly copy/paste and still not proofread, but a collection of thoughts on gender, sexuality, personal identity, and love and support within the lgbtq community. i do really lay myself bare here so id like to ask that if you disagree or have criticism you do so respectfully and with that in mind, thank you <3 and if this means something to you itd mean the world to me if you shared it
dunno if ive said this here before but like. if you think you might be bi/pan but youre on the fence cos maybe youve never had a crush on a nonfictional guy or get more crushes on guys than on girls and you find yourself tied up in knots like "well im gay but im also attracted to nonbinary people unless theyre mostly woman-aligned but i dont wanna say im bi/pan because then people will think i like girls and like i like them theoretically but--" let go. just say fuck it! im bi/pan! 
try it out and if it doesnt feel right it doesnt feel right and thats fine and in the end no matter what youll have learned a little about yourself. this is actually my advice on any gender/sexuality dilemmas you might be having. go wild. try it out. see how it feels. dont feel like you have to confine yourself to something just because youve stuck with it for some amount of time. 
if youre questioning dive right into the deep end! no matter how it goes youll be a better swimmer in the end. its all not quite rigid and a little fluid anyways (for some more than others obv) so if youre unsure, man... go for it. its ok to backpedal
--
this is important advice to me because ive struggled with it multiple times in the past and this has only recently clicked and i really wish it had sooner. first it was with being... not straight in general. like i was actively dating someone of the same gender and i never considered that that meant, uh, im not straight. always "do you like boys or girl?" "uhhhhhhhhh. uh. UH" 
then with being in the range of aro/ace spect. then with being nonbinary! then with being nb but primarily male. and then goddammit im just a boy. accepting that God I Love Men And Only Men (and with it that i *wasnt* aro or ace in ANY capacity) and then, very recently (like up until a couple months ago. like im p sure this year. not 2017), going back on that and admitting i was bi. it is so so freeing to just say "fuck it" and test those waters!
hell, you find something you resonate with but looks a little silly? go for it! use those bun/buns/bunself pronouns. go with stargender! ace-flux demibiromantic? hell yeah rock that shit! it can always change and you can always decide its not right and go back! h4y dudes
--
all of that especially goes for teens who dont know what the fuck theyre doing. im only 20 yea and barely 20 at that but man i wish id heard this sooner
and please dont take that as me saying "well if youre a lesbian sexuality is fluid and maybe youre actually bi"! hell no. if youre a lesbian and you KNOW youre and lesbian and couldnt ever be anything else then rock on you funky little lesbian! but if you id as a lesbian but are teetering on something like "well im attracted to some fictional and theoretical men but not any real ones and maybe its just compulsory heterosexuality but im not sure and--" dont be afraid to try a different label. its all what feels right to you and theres absolutely no harm
--
people bash on like. """mogai genders""" and nounself pronouns and the split attraction model and all that and like. yeah! those things can hurt people! personally i struggled with the split attraction bit combined with how broadly people define the ace spectrum. it can be used to hurt. and it is used to hurt. sometimes its deliberate, sometimes its not. but the hurt is there. but its not inherently good or bad. 
and yeah, some of it sounds silly. hell, it sounds silly to me sometimes! but to some people hearing that label makes everything click into place, even if just for a little bit, and i take that very seriously. it is one of the best feelings in the world and i want as many lgbtq people (of any age) to experience it. 
for some people it feels right to zoom waaaaaaay in and section it into lots of little bits and for others its "fuck it! i dont know shit! im just queer!" and those are both equally valid (that words been thru 12 garbage disposals but i cant think of a better one) maybe you go back n forth and thats fine too! as long as youre open to it changing or being wrong it cant hurt and, like i said, its one of the best possible feelings to have it click like that
--
as an aside: being bi can *totally* mean "im attracted to men and nonbinary people are long are they arent primarily woman-aligned" or it can mean "im attracted to everyone fuck it" personally? i use bi over pan because i feel like it better encapsulates that i *do* have preferences (i say this all the time but God I Love Men) but ultimately gender doesnt really matter to me cos everyones cute and hot and generally attractive and im not leaving anyone out because im just a little more inclined to kissing boys. but thats me!
--
as Another aside: i do still to some degree identify with uhh this is gonna sound contradictory but agender boy? or more like boy agender? boygender with left none? i just dont personally feel like its worth taking the time to explain over n over. but it used to be, for me, n i dont regret that a single bit! i wouldnt regret that even if i *didnt* still feel that way in any capacity. honestly? 
i dont regret any of the ways ive identified in the past even though feeling stuck and cornered into some got a little harmful to me (and if youve gone through somethin similar and DO regret it and wish youd never heard whatever term you used thats good too. im very strongly advocating for "use whatever labels you want and if it dont fit it dont fit" here but if they did hurt you and youre still hurting about it i understand 100% just dont use it to pull others down. if it concerns you say your piece and let them decide)
--
this is personally a little hard to admit so bear with me here 
honestly? ANY sort of strong identity didnt start developing in me until i was.... 14 or so? and very slowly at that. like gender evened out around 18 and sexuality just a few months ago LMAO. but up until i was a teenager i didnt really feel much of anything re: gender or attraction (and the attraction thing is pretty normal for kids and even teens tbqh!) 
and i just.... didnt really think about it! i had This Name and apparently was a girl and i didnt really get what it was like to BE a girl but thats what people said and i didnt know there were other options so i went with it! the name didnt bother me either (except for when people made jokes about a Certain Historical Figure with the same one. just thinking about that i get tired) 
and when it came time to actually grapple with the whole concept of being *into* people i just kinda... slunk away! no joke until like 10th grade if someone started a rumor that i was dating x or y had a crush on me i would start to avoid them entirely. lost a friend in 4th grade that way but then in hs hed turned into a TOTAL DICK so no loss there. i think part of that was also people making the assumption that i was straight though? big shrug! 
i didnt even realize attraction was a thing i had until i got asked out and just kind of "oh wow??? that sounds so nice??? i feel the same??? yes??" and thats WHY i went thru varying aro/ace labels. cos it unfolded slowly (which again is totally normal if youre a teenager, so dont worry about it if youre going thru that. roll with the punches. and if youre a teen and youve got it figured out? thats totally normal too!) 
and the gender thing was similar once i learned that it was an actual possibility (especially being nb, and ESPECIALLY especially being agender) i slowly just... poked at it until i figured something out (fun fact: what set me off to finally go "fuck it im not a girl at all" was being stuck in an awful hair salon chair while my mom got a haircut that took FOREVERRRRRRRRR and i was having godawful period cramps. like i knew not being a girl wouldnt DO anything about them but i made that decision then n there n didnt look back!) 
and then i kept pokin at it and watching it like the seed id planted finally started to sprout and i realized i didnt actually know what kind of seed it WAS. i guess ive always been very nebulous in those aspects and its just now forming into something solid. like i said, its a little hard to admit and i... dont think ive actually talked about this in this depth before to, like, anyone? 
because the "oh ive always known" narrative is the only one you ever see in popular media and sometimes even from the community itself! and theres nothing wrong with having always known! but theres also nothing wrong with being like me! but i still feel a little anxious talking about it like it somehow means im a sham. 
hell, id even go so far as to say i WAS a girl as a kid! i WAS varying shades of agender and nonbinary and ???? as a teen, and i AM, like, 95% a guy right now! maybe in a few years ill be something else. none of those things contradict each other. things like that can change! its not set in stone (but like i said: for some people it is! or, like, set in slime that you left out for 5 years so now its pretty much a rock but if you really try it still squishes into something else?? none of these things invalidate the others! were all unique). 
i wouldnt say that at any point ive been cis or straight, cos even when i just went with being a girl and stuff it was always a little ??? but, yknow. even if i HAD been those things at some point it wouldnt matter to me? things just are the way they are and were the way they were
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im making myself really vulnerable here and my thought process is a mess and i ramble and repeat myself and my memory and attention span is like 2 seconds and i dont proofread but. its important i think. i dont have a lot of followers and fewer still thatre active but... that really doesnt matter. 
maybe someone will retweet at least one of these messy, messy threads. maybe link it to a friend. maybe screenshot it and post it on tumblr [note: LMAO YEAH AND ITS YOU DUMBASS], or to keep for themself. if any of my words help anyone out even a little then it matters and honestly? then its the most important thing in the whole danged world. if even one person sees any of the things ive said tonight and it means *anything* to them, even if just "oh, im not alone in this" then ive succeeded here. 
i dont want any of us to ever feel trapped or alone because shit! lifes too fuckin short for that! its goddamn hard being anything but cisgender and straight! sometimes it sucks! like really sucks! there have been so many times ive broken down completely over being trans and felt like, for myself, its the most awful thing in the world. its why prides so important. its why community is so important. 
because even when the pressure of the world brings you down so low you think youll never escape theres something or someone there to take your hand and pull you back up, put you on your feet, and say "i know its hard. and itll get hard again. but i believe in you, and youre strong enough for this, and im here with you through every step". that goes for anyone but especially goes for us. and im not just talking about lgbtq youth here. all of us. which is *why* im laying myself completely bare here. 
most of this stuff? ive either never talked about or only vaguely mentioned. but im putting it out there. because there was a point where i needed it but didnt have it, and even if its just one person, i want to give someone this advice so at least they dont have to deal with the same stuff i did. and if youre reading this? i love you. im here for you. im my dms are always open and if for some reason they arent its almost definitely an accident and if you say something ill reopen them. 
and if youre someone who hates me? maybe even mutually? if it came down to it id let you come to me at your lowest moment, no questions asked, no judgement held, and at the end of it still be the same kind of enemies we were before and never speak again. there are some exceptions of course but honestly ill forgive a lot for someone who needs that kind of support. and if youre one of the people this applies to, i know youll probably never take me up on it. i dont expect you to. i dont expect you to even for a second be comfortable with that idea. thats fine. but if for some reason you ever need it, its there. 
i can count on one hand the ex friends that i wouldnt give that to and thats ONLY because theyve legitimately hurt me and left lasting damage (and for some of them? its mutual. and im sorry for that, regardless of how i feel about your treatment of me im truly sorry for my actions. that probably sounds fake and anyway i digress) 
and if youre a complete stranger? someone who follows me but has never interacted with anything ive posted? a mutual i havent spoken to yet? im here. and im bumbling, and awkward, and not the best at comfort but you can always come to me if you need someone. im only one man and im under a lot of stress but i swear ill do the best i can, even if its only reading and replying 3 days later and even then just listening and offer whatever gentle comfort or reassurance youll accept. 
because thats important to me. thats the impact i want to leave on this world. i dont ever want anyone to feel as small, as scared, as worthless, as alone as i have. im no fighter. im not going to lead any revolutions and hell im too anxious to even go to protests but im here for support. im here to help and heal. and thats important too
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and if you listened to that? thank you. if you just skimmed? thank you for that too. if you shared it with someone? thank you (so much). and if you dont? thank you anyways, just for the time
just know this: i love you. i dont care who you are, if youre reading this i love you and im behind you 100%. im here if you need it. stay strong, do something that makes you smile if only for a moment. take that leap of faith. dont restrict yourself for even a second
i meant to go to bed at least two hours ago so goodnight <3 be safe, drink some water, if you have any kind of pet give it some love. take care of yourself. youre the most important person in your own world and never forget that, even if you dont think you are. even if theres something or someone you treasure above everything else. dont diminish your own worth! you are alive, and you are here, and theres nothing more important than that, really. the things you love matter more than anything else. hold them close
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