#for (the irrational kind of) consistency’s sake

[tsubasagirl]

My seventh photo featuring my 3 fav edge lords

(Also an attempt at making a funny photo ‘3’)

#gladion #trainer silver #elite four grimsley #pokemon masters #pokemon black and white #pokemon black and white 2 #pokemon sun and moon #pokemon ultra sun and moon #pokemon gold and silver #pokemon heartgold and soulsilver #my screen recording #god it took so many screenshots to get this still frame of electricity #well actually this was one my first ones but I wanted to see if I could get any better ones #most attempts just had none in them #still don’t have nc silver (yet?) since I was trying to get ss lusamine #not that I really want her but I had failed to get her two times before #I’m kinda neutral on both but they’re still cool-looking #I do kinda wanna get the new Adaman and Irida #but I don’t think I’m gonna get that lucky unfortunately #Lillie is the only special costume pair I have ;A; #oh yea and sc Hilda too #was devastated to not get Ingo or Emmet #I also just realised that I completely forgot about the no eye/view button on the bottom right #I turned that one for my first photo I shared here #the rest got that semi-ugly row of buttons #but the ocd part of me doesn’t wanna go back #for (the irrational kind of) consistency’s sake #ahehe…

[threewaysdivided]

So, I've noticed that DP fans and authors have a sliding scale for Vlad. They vary from "haha look at poor little meow meow who fails at everything" to "Vlad is an absolute psycho and the Fenton parents are criminally negligent for allowing him near their kids". I'm very curious as to how you view Vlad and his relationship with Danny because that variance is so huge, and since it kind of slides between the two in canon as well.

Ah, Vlad.  Perpetual runner-up of Dracula lookalike contests, consistent bronze medallist in the race for most-culturally-relevant-Vladimir, and called by the internet everything from Psychopath to Meow Meow to I regretfully inform you Daddy.

One of the things that makes interpretations of Danny Phantom characters more fluid/variable than others is that (as you said) canon can be rather slide-y at times - something which lends itself to multiple quasi-canonical potential readings.  I think I’ve mentioned before that for me this means I have a bit of an annoying tendency to change my headcanons depending on what best facilitates a given story concept, rather than being wedded to One True Version™.

That said, Vlad is probably the major-character who I have the most consistent read on.

Vlad’s Character

When it comes to the question of whether Vlad is an entertainingly pathetic failure or a dangerously unhinged threat, I would say the answer is that he’s kind of both.

My core reading of Vlad is that he’s a narcissist.  He sees himself as exceptional/ superior, he has very little empathy for others, and he often treats other characters less as people and more as prizes to be won or as existing to support/ serve him.  His ghost powers probably exacerbated this, but since he behaves pretty similarly during Masters of All Time it’s likely that this is a part of his native personality.

Now, on its own this wouldn’t be a consignment to villainy - there can be narcissistic or egocentric hero characters (early MCU Tony Stark is like this, and it’s basically Neil’s whole bit in Class of the Titans) - but Vlad combines it with a bunch of significantly nastier traits.  He’s entitled, he can be extremely petty, he’s immature and he holds grudges to an irrational degree.  He also twists narratives; finding ways to position himself as the victim or somehow secretly the victor/ mastermind even when he loses.  Most of all, he’s controlling and part of that comes out as sadism - he enjoys the power that comes from hurting, inconveniencing, frustrating and generally making life miserable for others.

All of this means that Vlad can be incredibly dangerous toward people/ in situations where his self-concept is threatened, where he feels slighted or where he has been denied something he feels should be rightfully his.  That sadism combined with his lack of empathy, his manipulativeness, his capacity to hold petty grudges for potentially years and his ability for patient, premeditated planning has the potential to be terrifying.  At his worst, Vlad is a malignant narcissistic abuser with wealth and superpowers.

But on the other hand, it’s those same core traits that make Vlad kind of pathetic and even tragic.  Like many narcissistic antagonists (and IRL malignant narcissists) he creates a lot of his own suffering.  Someone else on this site put it well when they said that Vlad doesn’t care about people, he cares about the people-shaped objects he’s trying to stuff into the holes in his lonely, miserable existence.  Vlad had multiple opportunities to course-correct and build the kind of genuine, sincere relationships with Maddie, Jack, Danny and Danielle that deep down he seems to want, but he burned those bridges himself with bad choices and worse behaviour.  He has needs and desires, and on some level he has the capacity to change and choose better, but until he learns to care about people for their own sake and to treat others with consideration and respect he will always end up driving those things away.

Vlad’s strategic plans fall apart for similar reasons.  He’s unwilling to admit when he’s wrong or has been bested which means he doesn’t really change his opinions of people or adjust his strategies accordingly (Jack will always be “an idiot”, Danny will always be “an underperforming fool wasting his potential” etc), he doesn’t really pay attention to people unless he’s fixated on/ wants something from them, and because he sees his perspective as universal and/or doesn’t value empathy, his plans often have big gaping weak spots that people can easily exploit. 

There’s an almost classic-tragedy element to Vlad; his compassionless hubris is his hamartia and it walks him into nearly every reversal of fortune.

But also… yeah, watching him repeatedly trip over that ego and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is funny.  This is a character who never holds himself accountable or bothers to grow; at some point you run out of sympathy for the whiney middle-aged man who uses his tremendous wealth and power mostly to skulk around a big empty mansion while creeping on a married woman and her teenage son, and seeing him become a perpetual karmic butt-monkey of his own making can be very satisfying.

Vlad is both at once; simultaneously a potentially terrifying villain and a deeply pathetic little man living in a selfish mundane suffering of his own creation.  Forget The Fright Before Christmas, a holiday morality visit from Scrooge’s ghosts would have done Mister Masters a world of good.

My preferred use of Vlad

Okay so, despite everything I’ve managed to say above, I’m now going to cop to the fact that I… don’t find Vlad super compelling as a character.

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s very useful as an antagonist and source of schemes that can be complex while still being beatable, but in isolation he just doesn’t have a lot going on under the hood for me at that deepest level. 

This might be coming from personal experience - I’ll spare you the details but there are some abusive malignant narcissists in my extended family and I’ve observed this kind of behaviour and its consequences in real life.  And the truth I’ve found is that once you strip all the layers back it’s depressingly simple.

I completely understand other people’s fascination: when you first encounter this kind of mindset, it can seem deeply compelling.  It feels like there has to be a reason, an answer, an explanation.  A lot of time can be spent searching for that; trying to puzzle out how a person could be like this, what kind of moral framework they must have, what internal justifications a sane and reasonable person could have that would possibly excuse doing something that seems so obviously wrong/ hurtful.  But deep down the answer is: they just don’t care.   There is no moral rationalisation because morality never factors into it.  They want, so they do and the only thing that will give them major pause is if it will have negative consequences for them personally.

In this regard Vlad for me sits more in the realm of Fire Lord Ozai, Batman’s Joker or YJS1’s Vandal Savage.  These characters aren’t super complex or compelling in isolation (there’s a reason people write feature-film-length analyses on Zuko and Azula but not Ozai himself).  They’re more like a force of nature and while you can definitely interrogate the specific context of their origins, their self-perception and get a lot of mileage from dissecting the ideology that they use to rationalise their actions to others (and how those arguments often don’t hold up to questioning) underneath all that grandiose posturing the evil they represent is eerily mundane and commonplace.  Just reactionary id and ego run rampant, detached from compassion and placed in a position to exert itself indiscriminately.  Power and control.  Want and do.

I think that’s part of why they’re striking - we expect some grand ideological philosophy to match the presentation and instead what we get is something small, hollow and pathetically human.  It feels unfair and unsatisfying and that’s because it so often is.

Because of this, I’m often more interested in stories that focus on other, more layered members of the cast and their struggles (it’s a bit weird how little involvement Vlad has in a lot of my favourite DP fics and fic premises).  When Vlad is present I usually prefer him to function more as an antagonistic force for other characters to struggle with than stories which try to justify his worldview or make him “relatable”.  Like I said above, Vlad at his worst is a controlling, manipulative, abusive stalker and that can make him a very effective villain in horror-thriller style character dramas.

Vlad and Danny

On a meta-level Vlad and Danny work well as character foils.  They share several surface-level flaws (both can be superficial, immature, judgemental, prone to grudge-holding and tempted to misuse their powers) and in some ways Vlad is a warning for what Danny could become were he to allow his power to go to his head and separate him from other people.  But at their cores (heh) there’s a fundamental difference to do with compassion and responsibility that sets them apart.  Vlad is an exceptional man with power and status but no empathy or accountability, and deep down, beneath all that performance he’s alone­ - still skulking around the fringes of the ghost zone, using threats, lower-power mooks and bribery when he needs someone to do his bidding.  And then there’s Danny, unexceptional by many metrics, who might feel stressed, lonely and overburdened at times but who genuinely cares and tries, and without even realising it has a lot of powerful allies who would rally to his aid as a result.

As for what they have in-story, I wouldn’t really call it a relationship.  They have a dynamic, but to me relationship implies some kind of mutual participation, and I don’t think Vlad sees or treats Danny as a person.  He doesn’t seem to care about Danny’s interests, feelings or needs: his fixation is mostly on shaping Danny into an heir/ apprentice of his own design, and getting yet more revenge on Jack by supplanting Jack as a father figure.  Danny is the son-shaped-object that Vlad is trying to shove into one of those holes, and once Danny makes it clear that he will never willingly submit to that, Vlad goes full supervillain.

From an audience perspective there is a tragic element to this, since we can see how much Danny would have benefited from having a genuinely supportive mentor, and how it might also have helped Vlad as a person… but Vlad burned that bridge himself.

In that regard I think it’s good that Danny doesn’t have any prior attachment to/ affection for Vlad or desire to please him.  Vlad isn’t a healthy person for Danny to be around, and it’s pretty obvious that Danny knows this and tries to minimise contact with him as much as possible (outside of the occasions when he gets stupid-teenager-brain and decides to poke the bear by pettily antagonising him).  I think that that’s really the best outcome; minimising a toxic person’s presence in his life so he can independently pursue things that are actually healthy and productive.  

Ultimately, Vlad is a grown man who makes his own choices, and he is not Danny’s responsibility.  Yes, it is admirable to extend understanding and respect to others but there is a limit on that and a relationship requires input from both people.  As they say, it takes two to tango; it’s not for one to be doing 100% of the work when the other is unwilling to sincerely engage or compromise with them.  And it is especially not the responsibility of a teenager to be playing that role for an adult (particularly an adult who routinely manipulates and threatens him). 

The biggest issue for Danny is that he can’t fully remove himself from Vlad.  Vlad has too much power and influence; as Masters he’s an important businessman (and at times political figure) with sway in Danny’s hometown, as Plasmius he’s a powerful ghost who can use those powers to bypass physical barriers (when he isn’t sending mooks to harass him), and as a person Vlad’s the kind of creepy stalker who will use his power, influence and resource-access to literally plant spyware in the Fenton family home.  But, most difficult to avoid, Vlad is also a close family friend of Danny’s parents from their college days and Danny frequently has to play nice with him for their sake.

And let’s talk about that last one.

Vlad and the Fenton Parents

The Fenton Parents have some the most divisive interpretations in fandom (short of Vlad himself and sometimes Sam).  Their presentation ping-pongs all over the shop and whether they read as “good but flawed” or “absolutely awful” really depends on how much you want to take things at face value, read into implications and/or recognise certain scenes as being purely hyperbolic Rule of Funny Nicktoon gags.  The only readings I would call a mischaracterisation are ones that paint them as actively disinterested, uncaring or malicious towards their kids - the fact that they do sincerely love their children despite their behaviour is part of what makes them compelling.

However, I want to talk about them because - while you can certainly make the case that they are “criminally negligent” in other ways - the fact that they don’t realise how bad Vlad is, or that he shouldn’t be allowed near Jazz or Danny isn’t one of them.  It’s actually pretty believable to me.

Something to remember is that, as an audience observing a story from the outside, we often have a much more omniscient perspective than any of the characters within it.  Even when characters think they are “alone”, we are observing them through the fourth wall - we get to see What You Are in the Dark.  Fandom loves to joke about how obvious it is that Danny is Phantom or Clark Kent is Superman but that’s kind of forgetting that we get to see things from a Doylist perspective while all the actual characters are stuck being Watson.

Just from that viewpoint, it makes sense that Maddie and Jack aren’t aware of the true nature of Vlad’s character.  Maddie might recognise that Vlad is a creep toward her specifically (Jack meanwhile is cluelessly naïve and loyal to a fault) but most of Vlad’s worst moments take place outside of their awareness and he often behaves a lot better in their presence in order to keep them close.  Danny has seen much more of Vlad’s darker side and Jazz is aware of that through him, but since most of it is connected to Danny being Phantom they’re not exactly rushing to share.  From Maddie and Jack’s point of view, “Vladdie” is a dearly beloved college buddy who might be a bit eccentric and incel-adjacent but is otherwise mostly harmless.  And sure their kids might not like him but of course teenagers are going to complain about hanging out with their parents’ friends - they’re teenagers!  Plus, Danny and Jazz have frequently objected to other aspects of their parents’ lives, so it’s not like that would raise an immediate red flag on its own (let’s be real: even at their best, Maddie and Jack are not the most attentive parents).

So to me it’s pretty reasonable that they wouldn’t notice those initial signs.  And (speaking again from IRL experience) even assuming they did notice some of them it would make sense for them to not want to believe it.  It can be really hard for people to accept that someone they’ve known and respected for a long time has done something awful.  We want to give people in our lives the benefit of the doubt and that can lead us to make excuses for/ try to defend them in ways we wouldn’t for a stranger.  There’s also a level of fear and guilt that can get in the way.  If our judgement about one person turns out to have been that badly wrong, then we could be potentially wrong about everyone; suddenly the world is a lot less safe/ certain.  And then we have to face the question of how complicit we might have been by ignoring, excusing, or enabling their actions.  It’s not really surprising that even well-intentioned people can end up reflexively dismissing whistle-blowers and victims; it’s a self-protective impulse as much as anything else.

I think that’s why Danny’s “mutually assured destruction” threat is so effective.  If Maddie and Jack accept Danny being Phantom then they wouldn’t be able to deny what Vlad has done as Plasmius.  And, once they can’t deny that, they probably wouldn’t continue to accept Vlad as a friend.

And that’s another bridge that Vlad has burned himself.

What a cheese-head.

#Danny Phantom #Vlad Masters #Vlad Plasmius #DP Meta #Character Analysis #I feel like 'long essays containing tepid takes' is becoming my signature style #I know 'Vlad is a narcissist' isn't a particularly revolutionary take #but he fits it to a surprising number of levels #kaiobeast #3WD Answers

[moxfirefly]

Hi friend! All four turtle boys for 🧶and ⚔️

Sendung love and platonic hugs because you're neat and kind and your writing style is impeccable!

This sounds like fun! And thank you for the kind words 💖

if someone were to make a friendship bracelet for this character, what colours would they use?

I mean I feel they’d like their signature colors because it’s on brand but if friendship bracelets are to be made and catered to both friend duo then a combo of the signature color with your favorite color would be the go to.

Mikey for sure would love some trinkets on his. A little pizza charm or skateboard charm plus an item that you consider represents you is a must.

Raph wouldn’t be crazy about a bracelet but I can see him enjoying a necklace for sure. He’d like some red to it of course or something dark tone. If it’s a sturdy enough chain he can both use it a necklace and wrap it around his wrist.

Leo would wear his 24/7, feel he takes sentimental trinkets such as this quite seriously. Put some tone of blue or maybe a shade of green and he’s wearing that to sleep and to train. Would for sure feel awful if he lost it.

Donnie would prefer a leather cuff of sorts, in his shade or in your favorite color. He’d happily wear something you’ve warm always and gifted to him as a keepsake. It could be bright ass pink and he’s wearing it

what's one of their irrational fears? what's something that scares them that others might poke fun at? what randomly appears in their subconscious that turns a dream into a nightmare?

Leo’s nightmare is walking into his room and sensing somethings off. Like something has been moved but it’s such a minimal move but fuck does he notice it and can’t find the source and that along would drive him crazy. Absolutely haunted over the prospect of somebody finding his ‘spicy’ manga collection.

Raph has a recurring nightmare where a giant cockroach chases him. After the whole jumping out of a plane ordeal, he’s not really a fan of watching skydivers, man’s will get up and leave if there’s skydivers on the tv. Has to set up the weights on the barbell a certain way or he’s convinced he’ll had a terrible workout if done some other way.

Donnie’s isn’t that irrational but he’s for sure has nightmare where he’s lost everything in his computers and every back up is either gone or wiped clean so everything he’s worked on, wip’s or future plans are gone. He’s also aware that it’s damn near impossible for his father to go into his computer but he really does sweat about it happening and Splinter just seeing what some of his nightly activities truly leas him towards.

Mikey’s had some gnarly nightmares. Most of them consiste if hus favorite foods coming alive and eating him. There’s one recurring one where he’s naked in front of an auditorium ( he’s doesn’t get it, he’s never gone to school for fuck sake). Mikey also has a fear that someday he will cook something and everyone will upright hate it and condemn his cooking.

#tmnt bayverse #tmnt Donatello #tmnt Michelangelo #tmnt Leonardo #tmnt raphael #headcanon prompts #ask #thatbluemerm

[arabnico]

Tell me about Nico and love

so love is a mad thing right. love is insanity and it is foolishness and it’s absurd and it’s irrational. so loving consists of being mad, essentially. there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for your beloved no pain you wouldn’t brave no risk you wouldn’t take. nothing can stop you from constantly trying to reach them and to keep them in reach. and nico is an endlessly loving being. he’s a naked heart. love is like his lifeline. we’ve seen the lengths he has gone to for love and the things he has done with nothing fueling him but love in no matter the form it was sublimed into. and this readiness to do absolutely anything can drive you to two extremes — on one hand, you’re driving it all inward, allowing for it to destroy you. love for you is the cruelty you direct towards yourself for the sake of the people you love, to prove to them you are truly loving and deserving of their love, and to prove to yourself that you are keeping your end of the bargain, you giving love as a material, tangible proof (constant and endless) in exchange for the love of others (conditional). or it’s the violence you’re forced to endure because you loving becomes the strings to the puppet that you are. you endure every kind of cruelty you are subjected to by the person that you love, just because you get to be kept, not to be left alone. and that for you becomes to be loved. nico is that. he is all self-induced suffering and naïveté and falling for a cruel trap because it’s the promise of love and not-loneliness at the other end. and on the other hand, your love becomes a weapon against the people that you love and others, in a way that it’s not violence in order to protect, it’s in order to keep, it’s possessive, it’s cruel, it makes you a monster. and that’s what nico was over and over again (fruitlessly) manipulated to become. because nico was constantly coerced in some way or another to mold this love into something evil and something harmful and vengeful and bitter and angry that serves no end just free meaningless violence with no ulterior outcome to protect and to prove but he never fell into it too long!!! that makes me insane!!!! i don’t understand!!! it’s like for nico if need be for violence to fall upon someone it will not be on my loved one it will be on me. he chooses that. he chooses to brave it all. what is this need to carry this physical proof of love everywhere… why does it have to be carved into your skin as scars and into your bones as exhaustion and into your mind as devotion for you to think you deserve it back!!!! what!!!! the unconscious perception and understanding of love he has that overflows him and stains everything he does is so peculiar… enduring all of that pain and suffering and throwing so much of yourself and endangering yourself all seems acceptable because if anything is going to kill you then at least let love be the thing that buries you. it’s all insanity. straight up madness.

#🫠🫣😶‍🌫️ #thank you for indulging me <3 muah #asks #anon #nico di angelo #og

[deusvervewrites]

While I can't provide any specific insight as to why people would dislike Uraraka, I can figure that there's a pretty consistent trend of massive double standards and hypocrisy with regards to women characters, especially if they don't neatly fit into some kind of arbitrary box that is very easily moved about for naysayers' goalposts, thus ensuring that no matter what they do (unless it fits the arbitrary standards of that people in question).

The consistent connecting threads almost always comes down to the woman's agency, their subservience to major male (or authority) figures/"role models", said women characters being broken down or shunted aside for the sake of "the real (oftentimes stereotypically masculine) her", etc.

The reality is that a lot of people, even as they claim to value "strong" women characters, fundamentally DESPISE women, and no matter how much they try to pretend otherwise actively do everything in their power to distort and twist their views into knots to justify their disdain for women, even if what they say is utterly contradictory and makes absolutely no sense if you pay even the slightest shred of attention.

This woman is too perfect. Now she's too pathetic. She's too nice. She's a filthy bitch who deserves to be exterminated. She made the exact same mistake as a man, and is scum for it even if their actions are identical, or even if she's more sympathetic due to XYZ factor. etcetera, etcetera...

Complicated, flawed human women frighten and anger these people, especially if they're the kind of complexity afforded to "actual" people, and not whatever Madonna/Whore stereotype hidden behind plausibly deniable rationalizations that's been concocted in the past few minutes to made their oftentimes irrational and downright hideous behavior seem "calm and reasonable".

It's also all of the above that makes it so hard to really pin down this kind of misogyny in media analysis and criticism, because it's ultimately the attitude and mindset that's the big issue, but it's obfuscated behind layers upon layers of rationalizations, distortion, exaggeration, or outright lies. And those people doublethink and change their tactics so often that it's often very hard to catch them, because they'll have already started pulling the victim/bully complex to ensure that they can't lose no matter what, and their defenders and followers will hear nothing except what they want to hear.

Sorry if that got a bit long-winded. I've just seen this kind of terrible assholery occur far, FAR too often with media where women take a more prominent spotlight over men, or even in media where women are allowed to be complicated messy flawed characters without being demonized for it.

It could easily be misogyny, it's just weird to me how disproportionate it is towards Uraraka. She and Jiro are the only girls who seem to get bashed as actively malicious on a regular basis, the others get smacked with being ignorantly cruel

#asks #meta

[scalamore]

Lehan and Lari

I just love how consistent the characterization of these two are.

During the Bellua vacation, Lari admitted that "memories are always more beautiful then they really were". Early in the series, Lari admitted that she never knew Lehan at all in TL1. They were as good as strangers. She stayed home all the time and minded her own business, while he left at age 11 for the military academy, and for the most part stayed there until age 17. He acted distant with her, and she didn't bother closing the gap. It wasn't until he died then she realized she should have put more effort into knowing him, because she can't even remember his face. So in TL2 she put a tremendous amount of effort into getting to know him this time, and spending more time with him. Yes, Lari does act very close and chummy with him, with grabbing his arm, hugging him etc, but this is all in the context of how she's just super happy she's getting along with her PRECIOUS YOUNGER BROTHER this time. She's getting to see him grow and mature and become successful as a military cadet. Yes, she does blush and her heart skips beats occasionally, but it's all in the context of "OMG! Im so happy! my PRECIOUS YOUNGER BROTHER is so thoughtful! and kind! he's so nice to me he's such a good guy ~~!". All the affection Lari has for him, is all familial. Lehan knows this. When Lari was betrayed by them, it was clear: Lehan never thought of her as his sister, because he thought of her as a future wife. She doesn't like him in that way. Again she realized, she never knew Lehan at all. She was clinging one-sidedly to the illusion they were a close family.... she was the only one who thought that.

So enough is enough, and she severed their bond. They aren't siblings anymore, they aren't family. THEY. ARE. STRANGERS. But it's upsetting that despite this, Lehan is taking advantage of her goodwill and trying to get closer and court her. UGHHH But I think it's SO SATISFYING that Lari is responding with disgust at Lehan in the recent chapters. She's flinching and moving away when he tries to touch her - as she should be. Novel Lari mentioned that she doesn't like it when strangers, especially men touch her. Rupert knows she doesn't like to be touched, and tries his best to be hands off. Lehan doesnt' care what Lari wants, and keeps on trying to be touchy and not getting the hint. UGH. So far so good... I have an irrational fear that Hyeyong-nim (the adaptation writer) will suddenly introduce drama for the sake of drama with Lehan as the 2nd male lead... ... I hope this stays as an irrational fear ahaha.

#rupelali #your majesty please spare me this time #manhwa #rofan #otome isekai

[purplekoop]

Oh yeah, there's a character I never did post here back when I was originally making the first few "Miri-verse" Splatoon OC designs back in... July, I think?

I had the idea for a "buff n' tuff" lionfish girl. So. I did that.

In retrospect I don't hate it as much as I did then, but there's a few things that still bother me. The pose is kinda dumb but that's not entirely a deal breaker for an initial design sketch. The real reason I didn't do much with her though is more the fact she just... doesn't look like a Splatoon character that much? Not like Mirianna and the others are super canon-compliant, especially in terms of proportions, but they're still similar enough in key features to Splatoon characters to where you can tell they're supposed to be based on that world. That's not really the case here, this is more just a normal buff lady who happens to have lionfish fins instead of hair and some funky eyes. Not like I don't think that's totally irrational for Splatoon, kind of a fun thing about its designs is that there's no hard limits for consistency, especially the more obscure things get in terms of canon reference (Just compare Gnarly Eddy to the nautilus girl from Ink Theory). Still, this just strayed a bit far for my own personal liking.

If you wanna see a lionfish Splatoon OC I do think is pretty cool and feels more like a Splatoon character, then check out Leona from @justanothersquidblog, part of their really cool idol duo Toxic Tunes! (sorry if the ping is annoying but I wanna give a cool shout out where I can)

I also just don't really have any... ideas for this character past the basic design? Is she a smug jerk? Is she nicer than she puts on at first? I don't really know, but nothing really sticks to me as much as with my other designs. I also don't think she'd jive with the main group (y'know, the polycule), so I don't know where she'd "fit" as a character. She also got conceptually replaced by Dredge in terms of beefiness and looking tough, so not much room for there either. I don't really have like, real story ideas or anything for any of these characters, but at least I feel there's room for some.

This year more than ever I've decided to be okay with just making character designs just for the sake of fun and not to be part of a grander project, especially when it lets me explore concepts I can't really use for those other projects (not much of a place for big huggable sea creature ladies in a game that's supposed to only feature robots, but I could prove myself wrong there). Still, feels a little bad, especially when there are characters from this same time period I'm going back to and giving them more attention. I wonder if I should just do like, adoptables or something... eh, when I get a bank account set up I'll consider it.

So yeah, bit of a ramble just for an old design I didn't end up doing much with or even showing here. Almost certainly being a little harsh on myself here but hey, everyone's their own worst critic. Still, figured it'd be neat to share anyways!

#my art #oc art #splatoon oc #splatoon oc art #koop's oc stuff

[pemberlyprose]

“Contained Romance:” Narrative Structure and Perspective in Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen writes a new kind of novel through the combined perspectives of Elinor Dashwood and the narrator in Sense and Sensibility. During her romantic trials with Edward Ferrars, Elinor and the narrator’s combined perspectives demonstrate reserved emotionality in the novel. Austen uses this combined perspective as the driving force of Sense and Sensibility’s theme of “contained romance.” In all reality, Elinor Dashwood is a character who feels emotions deeply. However, due to her “coolness of judgement,” she shares little personal information with the people around her (8.) The third person narrator’s function then is to objectively relay all personal thoughts of the characters to the audience. This, one might expect, would make a paradoxical relationship out of these perspectives. However, the narrator’s and Elinor’s voices often blend well into one another, enabling brief moments of passion to slip past objective lines. The flow between Elinor’s dominant perspective, and the objective exchange of information given by the narrator, enables romance in the novel’s content but keeps passion contained.

Elinor Dashwood’s reserved nature enables and embodies the novel’s tone of “contained romance," where reality is expected to triumph overall. This is how Austen includes the expected romantic subplot between Elinor and Edward but restricts its expression throughout the story. We are told by the narrator that Elinor is the eldest of three daughters “whose advice was so effectual,” that it “qualified” her at nineteen to counsel her mother and sister in their imprudence (8). Based on this description, Elinor has been composed to serve the rational purpose of maintaining order and sense in her household. However, contained in the same paragraph, the narrator informs the audience that Elinor also possesses “an excellent heart” with strong feelings and an affectionate disposition (8). This conflict of traits is proved through the romantic interactions she has with Edward Ferras. Where Mr. Ferrars is in a social position above Elinor’s and depends upon his family’s approval to receive his inheritance, Elinor knows that she cannot realistically expect a relationship with him. However, this understanding does not prevent her from developing romantic feelings that are “stronger than [she] has declared,” but not so strong that they would merit hopes of “imprudence or folly” (23). In Elinor’s struggles there is an indulgence in romantic themes, however it is because of Elinor’s reason that any feelings of romance do not get out of hand. Therefore, to create a new kind of novel Austen uses Elinor’s perspective to sway the traditional narrative values of romance novels away from irrational love being the only thing a woman is mentally capable of, to creating a character who is capable of governing both reason and romance. This censorship of emotion for the sake of reason is exactly what Austen sets out to create in Sense and Sensibility. Alongside this, Austen not only emotionally structures the novel with rational barriers (like Elinor’s feelings for Edward) but also physically structures the novel to blend Elinor’s voice with the objective perspective of the narrator.

Elinor’s discovery of Edward’s engagement to Lucy Steele is an example of how Austen uses blended narrative voice and written form to strengthen the theme of “contained romance” in Sense and Sensibility. At the start of Volume Two, the novel reflects the visual chaos of Elinor’s emotions upon discovering Lucy’s secret engagement. In the first few sentences, we see the narrator describing Elinor’s thoughts on Lucy’s confession, which “had asserted to be true” in all aspects (133). This behavior is consistent with the narrator’s general way of relaying a character’s consciousness; inner thoughts are reflected on for a moment then the sentence continues to be objectively descriptive. However, by the middle of the paragraph a change occurs. Elinor’s inner thoughts become more ingrained in the body of writing: “Had Edward been intentionally deceiving her? Had he feigned a regard for her which he did not feel?... No; whatever it might have once been she could not believe such at present. His affection was all her own” (133). More like a stream of consciousness, Elinor leads the narrator away from their “factual” view of the situation and into her emotional processing of the truth.

Though Elinor has many ways to rationalize the pain she feels, she cannot show it outwardly. So, Austen does it for her in the physical formatting and pace of the paragraph. The punctuation changes from a consistent set of periods and commas to exclamation points and semi-colons. Sentences also become longer, and dashes appear at moments of reflection or astonishment. These grammatical changes are the physical reflection of Elinor’s inner thoughts, accusations, and resolutions. Through both visual and narrative structures in this scene, we can see that Austen is holding her characters, and therefore her novel, between the boundaries of feeling and thinking. Not only this, but the effect of blending two narrative voices, along with Elinor’s strong emotional influence in the writing, creates a significant impact upon the audience’s perspective of the novel’s purpose. We begin to understand that Sense and Sensibility is not a romance novel, but a novel containing romance--- in every sense of the word.

The passage describing Edward and Elinor’s engagement solidifies the influential power of narrative perspective on containing romance in Sense and Sensibility. Unlike her sister’s torrent love affair, Elinor’s moment of romance is never seen but told through a chronological glimpse of factual statements. In the third paragraph the narrator tells us that “when they all sat down to table at four o’clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother’s consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men” (336). This sentence not only utilizes the third person perspective to create objectivity in the narrator but bends one of the fundamental rules of writing: show don’t tell. Austen utilizes this writing strategy to maintain the air of romance without losing reserved tone in the narrative voice. This downplays the romance to a more realistic degree. Although the reader is still indulged in their romantic expectations, the rational purpose of the novel is not carried away by them.

Another example of “contained romance” in this passage is in the use of the cliché sentiment “happiest of men” (336). Where we would expect Austen to satirize this phrase for its hyperbole, as she has in other novels, she takes an unexpected turn in her writing. Instead, Austen allows the narrator to reassure the audience of Edward’s sincerity by prefacing the clichéd phrase with “In the reality of reason and truth” (336). This level of simplicity and description is not only suited to the tone and consistency of the book, but to the characters in the scene as well. Elinor and Edward are perfect examples of romance in reserve, and Austen reflects that in their proposal through efficiency of description and the “proper” touches of sentiment (336).

Zooming out to view the novel as a whole, Sense and Sensibility is a story of interworking dynamics. Whether that be the dynamics of sisters, lovers, reason, or romance, Jane Austen created a novel to challenge the stereotypes associated with what romantic literature can be, especially at the hands of a female writer. In this case, the novel is driven by the character of Elinor Dashwood, who is a new kind of heroine for romance readers. This is not because she falls in love and has her happily ever after, but because she is a three-dimensional female character with realistic struggles who is capable of both reason and passion. Likewise, Sense and Sensibility is not just a romance novel, it is a novel about the politics of marriage, family, and society capable of containing romantic plot lines. Austen takes the time to embed these subtle points into her work through the structure of the novel as well as the composition of her characters. In utilizing the reserved and yet selfless nature of her main character, and the objective but flexible voice of her narrator, Austen aligns Elinor Dashwood with the embodiment of her novel’s message: when all is said and done, romance can be reasoned with, and reason can be romanced, but neither of them will ever live without disagreement.

Work Cited

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Penguin Classics. 2014

[heartslikecrystal]

💢👪🎂🕷️🌏🔪💗❤️💙 for yasu pwease 🥺

Ahhhh my beloved hacker boy! Thank you for asking! ❤

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

The sporadic sleep schedule would be the biggest one, and definitely the most difficult to adjust to. Yasu consistently goes days on end without getting even a wink of sleep — not without outside interference, anyways. If left to his own devices, he would quite literally work himself to death. He’s just generally very bad at taking care of himself.

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

I actually just posted about his family last night ahah.

But yes, he has many siblings — five of them to be exact; three older and two younger. He is the very definition of a neglected middle child; although, a lot of the “neglect“ came from his own side of things, preferring to spend all of his time locked in his room instead of hanging out with the rest of the family. His childhood was perfectly normal, all things considered, and he hadn’t suffered any kind of major trauma that caused him to behave the way he does.

Yasu isn’t really close with any member of his family, not even his own parents. The only one of his siblings that he had a decent relationship with (before being arrested) was his youngest sister, Yuki. She was the only one that he held even a slight soft spot for.

While he is impartial to the rest of his siblings, he does find his oldest brother, Daisuke, to be particularly irritating due to his loud and energetic personality.

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE - when is their birthday? do they like celebrating it?

Yasu’s birthday is May 29th. He’s a Gemini.

He doesn’t care to celebrate it, and usually just treats it like any other day. Even when he was young, and his family enjoyed celebrating everyone’s birthdays, he never really saw the point of it. Hundreds of babies are born every day, what made the day he was born special?

Now, though, the day often goes forgotten thanks to the days running together as he sits alone in his cell. Half the time, he doesn’t even know if it’s day or night, much less what specific date of the month it is. Even if you told him it was his birthday, he’d simply shrug it off.

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

If you were to ask him, he would tell you that he isn’t scared of anything. Thanks to his lack of any strong emotions or attachments to anything or anyone around him, there isn’t a lot that can get under his skin.

However, there are times when his mental state deteriorates so low that he becomes manic and goes through episodes of intense hallucinations and delusions that cause him to act wildly out of his usual character. That is when he is at his most vulnerable.

During those moments, for him, it feels as if the entire world is the darkest and scariest it’s ever been; everything and everyone is out to get him.

🌏 EARTH - will they give up the world for someone they love? is this decision easy for them?

Yasu would give up the world on a whim.

For the majority of his life, the word “love” has not been a part of his vocabulary. Everything was either “tolerable” or “irritating”, with only complete neutrality in between. So for him to give up the world solely for the sake of another person is far too extreme of an emotion for him to be capable of feeling. But if someone were to break through that emotional barrier — to become a part of him that he couldn’t bear to live without — then, at least to some degree, he would give up anything else for that person.

The only thing he would not give up for anyone, even someone he came to care about, would be the ability to work with his computer.

🔪 KNIFE - how do they react to injury / misfortune befalling their loved ones (significant other, family, friends)? do they put themselves at blame?

That depends on who gets hurt, and for what reason.

If he were to get news of a member of his immediate family getting a serious life-threatening injury, then he might care to some degree; though, it would still be a passing worry before he ultimately moved on. The only exception is if one of them were to actually die — that would cause some conflicting emotions, subdued as they may be.

If his love interest were to get hurt (or worse, die), he would pretend as if it didn’t bother him — they were just another stranger to him — but on the inside, he’d completely shut down. It would affect him so deeply and subconsciously that he wouldn’t even be able to recognize what was wrong with him. Especially if it were to be because of him or a direct cause of his own actions; he wouldn’t know how to begin to process that.

💗 GROWING HEART - if they have a crush, is it noticeable? what changes when they’re in love?

It’s not noticeable in the slightest.

Yasu doesn’t even know what having a “crush” feels like. Even as it’s actively happening, the emotions are so muted that he barely even notices a difference himself. The weirdest thing about having a crush for him is just the fact that he’s not irritated at the prospect of being around that person. The fact that he doesn’t mind having that person around; he doesn’t mind that person touching him; he doesn’t mind that person talking to him — that’s the strangest part.

But you’d never be able to tell the difference either way, just by looking.

❤️ RED HEART - their love language(s)?

As I said before, Yasu doesn’t experience love in the same way as most other people do. For him, at least in his current state, it’s just tolerance. It can develop into something stronger under the right circumstances, but as he is at the time of canon, it’s just not plausible for him.

That being said, his main love language would be quality time. Even in the state he’s in, if he allows you to be in his space for any period of time without bitching about it, that’s the biggest show that he likes you.

💙 BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn’t around?

He really doesn’t act any different when he is around his love interest vs when they aren’t around. He might have a fleeting thought of where they might be or what they are up to, but it doesn’t last long.

The only time he’d really start to actively miss them is if he hasn’t seen or heard from them in a crazy long amount of time. It wouldn’t really be concern, per se, but a passing curiosity. If the time goes on even longer than that with no word from them at all, that’s when it would start to frustrate him why he keeps expecting them to walk through his door at any moment.

#wahhh okay this ended up being kinda long #but there's your Yasu Lore ma'am :) #yasu fukuro #asks

[shadowglens]

🙉 🕷️ 🔪 🌋 for my beloved miss sage pleaseee

OC EMOJI ASK

🙉 hear-no-evil - what is the worse thing your oc could hear from someone?

she’s been told a few times that she’s a terrible mother and that she’s ruining kit (mostly by her ex, and then a few people along the road), and it always twists her all up inside to hear it. everything she’s done, everything she continues to do, is for her babygirl, so yeah. it’s hard to hear that kind of accusation, even if most of the time she knows it’s rationally completely false.

🕷️ spider - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

losing kit has plagued her since the moment the umbilical cord was cut. she also fears being owned like she was before the world fell down, or more specifically fears being owned and not being able to do anything about it. she rationalises to herself that the saviours were different, that it was a different breed of ownership and bought loyalty, but it still ends up in flames anyway so it doesn’t really matter what she thought.

🔪 knife - how do they react to injury / misfortune befalling their loved ones (significant other, family, friends)? do they put themselves at blame?

sage doesn’t blame herself necessarily, because she has a fairly practical understanding that the world is out to get you and shit happens. that being said, the restraints tend to fall away a bit when her loved ones are hurt (which, for years, consists of only kit). 

when kit was shot by drifters in the pouring rain, sage definitely tunnel visioned until they were all a bloodied, gorey mess at her feet. deal with the threat, then the consequences. kill the thing that would kill you or your family, and then worry about patching up the wounds. she doesn’t tend to start panicking until after the threat is dealt with and her adrenaline has subsided. the crash is always the worst. she’s an ugly, messy crier. 

🌋 volcano - how bad is their temper? is it a slow boil, or a instant explosion?

for the most part, sage has her temper under control. she was never an angry child, and is generally fairly composed in most situations. her anger is definitely more cold and brutal, more carefully directed. she’ll very rarely lash out just for the sake of it (unless you’re negan and have been pushing her buttons for months, because then she will slap you, snarl in your face like a rabid animal, and then have angry, rough sex with you all within the same week 🤡).

#oc tag #swordcoats #ch: sage st james #ty ty ty ty dee!!!

[leam1983]

Pre-Crimbo

The call centre goons are starting to fall off, Christmas vacation plans are falling into place in the order of three to four weeks a pop, and it looks like those of us in the core teams will maybe get a little over a week off. I mean, yay for job stability and whatnot, but I was still kind of naïvely hoping that I'll eventually be called somewhere between two caseloads and be told something along the lines of "Yeah, work's run dry for the season. You're on the clock 'till about the nineteenth and then it's off to the week after New Year's".

Walter gave me a smirk. "It's okay, though - you'll still have us."

Twenty minutes later, we were in the thick of it on the couch, knowing Sarah wouldn't be back for another two hours. "It's just harsh, sometimes," I admitted. "Some weeks sort of breeze on by, others you really trudge through. Lotta toxic clients, lots of little bullshit moments with the higher-ups..."

Walt's kissing me and responds between liplocks. "I got just the thing," he says, flashing his delightfully crooked ivories at me.

To put it simply, Walt and I sort of clash against our respective gay friends. I've already spoken about how I don't get certain trends and especially on how I don't see the appeal of openly debasing sex as something you pursue just for the sake of getting a dopamine dose. We're exclusive in our throuple, and it sort of strikes our acquaintances as being weird. Not that we care all that much. In any case, Walter rides our own wavelength expertly and knows exactly what I like.

I like an admission of my vulnerability, an acknowledgement of my anxieties, and an understanding that before picking myself up by my own bootstraps and acting like an adult, I tend to need and want moments of relative weakness. He calls me boy or son, brings me in close and, all the while doing everything you'd expect out of intercourse, says I'm stronger than I look, so much nicer than I think I am. This doesn't show up consistently, but when Walt knows I've had a few rough ones, he knows exactly how to turn our fifteen to twenty minutes together with tangled limbs feel like a prolonged hug.

He knows that in these moments, I'm not looking to be entirely approached like an adult, and understands that he's effectively speaking to the anxious fourteen year-old who never really grew up, somewhere inside.

Someone else would find it kinky, but I'm of the mind that being called a "brave young man" or even just addressed as someone who's worthy of affection, is the biggest turn-on ever.

We crest and relax, and he slightly pushes me away, so our gazes can comfortably meet. "The tragedy of adulthood," he says, "is that most of us feel like we're never allowed to be weak or afraid, past a certain age. Every time we do this, Grem, is a gift to me. You spend days and weeks acting capable, and then come to me for a while, saying hold me. I can't do this on my own. You've made me feel safe enough to do it to you, too."

I melt back into him, something that's loving and irrational leaving my mouth as I rest my chin on his shoulder. "You're my lover and the father I could've had," I say. Walt responds with a grunted Aww that's gushing with love and rests his hand on the back of my head, enticing me to give him more of my own weight.

"I've got you, kiddo," he says, sotto voce. "I've got you."

#life post

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Eh fuck it, I'm only a season in but I can't keep the Erwin-related thirst at bay lol

This is a man who's firm in his beliefs of what he needs to do in order to ensure humanity survives. He's the commander of the Survey Corps, and that means every decision, every body torn apart, every home destroyed, all of the worst aspects of this war fall at his blame. His job consists of saving as many as possible long-term, not saving everyone. It takes an uncanny ability to turn your base humanity off to make those decisions daily.

His obsession isn't selfish; if anything, it's practical. He needs a method of coping with the burden on his shoulders, he has a growing affection for Darling, and it's becoming a major distraction. Keeping them for himself means that he doesn't worry as much about where they are if they're always in his quarters.

I imagine he's more likely to fall for a civilian Darling, or at the very least a noncombatant: military cook, medic, corpse disposal unit, uniform manufacturing and repair, etc. One that's compassionate and reminds him of why he fights so hard to save humanity from the Titans. He's seen so many good people, innocent people (the closest thing to innocent in this world, anyway...) being torn apart and eaten. And a part of him he thought had been stamped out makes him irrationally obsessed with making sure Darling is kept safe and secure.

He'd ponder for a while as to whether he should have them kept somewhere secure in the city, or if he should have them accompany his unit wherever it goes. The Titans are outside the walls, but that irrational part of him also hates them being too far away. And if they're never allowed to leave his quarters (maybe they can travel around base camp if they behave), then the chances of them being hurt are minimal.

For an extreme obsession, he's very rational when he explains it to Darling. Yes, he's taking them from their home, and yes, he's forcing them to enter/stay in a relationship with him. It's clear that the walls aren't enough to keep danger away, so he knows that his place for them is marginally less likely to be dangerous. These kinds of feelings aren't even uncommon in soldiers: plenty of them get attached to prostitutes they go to for comfort on their days off, but Erwin knows this is something deeper. If humanity is going to survive, he wants them to survive with it. And once the war is won he'll gladly accept any trials, imprisonment, or execution that comes with what he did to win. Before that comes, he wants to know that the person he loves most is alive and spend what little time he has with them.

He won't forcefully impregnate them; he prefers to cum inside and if they get pregnant, he'll do what he can to ensure they're kept out of danger. They're permanently sent to base camp in the city (maybe even the royal palace using his authority to do so) and at the slightest alert, they're the first person sent underground to hide and stay out of danger.

He has a gigantic breeding kink, and one of the only moments he's completely at ease is when he'd inside of them after he fills them up. He'll also spank them as a form of punishment, and it can be pretty brutal depending on how severely Darling messed up and/or how possessive he is.

Coming to his quarters after an excursion is so comforting. Seeing their face, having them close...it never fails to invigorate him and inspire him to keep fighting for humanity's sake. For ____'s sake.

He'd prefer to be more dubcon than noncon, and coax them into accepting/reciprocating his advances. But if he needs to deal with a particularly stressful week and they try to meekly push him off, he'll put them on their knees or hold them down while fucking their thighs if need be to ensure he gets his release from his Darling. They're the only one that can give that to him, and he tries to make sure they feel good too.

The more domestic they are, the better. Cooking meals for him and his squad, personally putting his field rations together, mending his uniform, coming home and seeing them doing little chores here and there...it makes his heart tender and his dick hard.

He's sometimes a bit vulnerable around them, just because he usually could only do that when he was alone. He'll have nightmares and instinctively reach out for them, or open up about the heavy weight on his shoulders. They're the closest thing he has to a confidant (though he never reveals secrets about any cover operations to them, for their own safety).

#yandere erwin #.erwin #.aot #yandere aot #thots #tw: dubcon #tw: noncon #tw: breeding kink #.myshit

[cloudybarnes]

Affection

Paring: bucky barnes x reader

Summary: your boyfriend isn’t very fond of pda. that means while the avengers are around, no kissing, no cuddling, and barely any touching. well, the avengers aren’t always at the compound. when they’re gone, bucky turns into the sweetest, most loving guy you’ve ever met, but why is it he can’t act like that around anyone else?

based off this request even though I changed it a little for plot :)

Word Count: 1.6k+

Warnings: fluff, soft bucky, Tony in their business a bit, cursing

Masterlist

✰  ✰  ✰

“How awesome is this right now?” You grin as you jump onto the sofa cushion next to Bucky.

He chuckles, “I’d say it’s pretty damn awesome. We’ve got the compound to ourselves for the entire weekend.” His voice lowers as he leans closer to you. 

You giggle and scoot yourself just a bit closer to Bucky. You sit up on your knees next to Bucky, sitting a little taller than him now. Smiling, you lean your face down to his, your lips hovering over his. 

Bucky couldn’t wait any longer. He tilts his head back and presses his lips to yours. Your smile only grows bigger as you kiss him back. 

Your body relaxes as you kiss him. You bring your hand to the side of his face and cup his cheek, gently trying to bring him closer to you. 

Bucky wraps his metal arm around your waist, lifting you on to his lap. You giggle into his lips which makes Bucky pull back. He grins as he watches you giggle to yourself. 

“What is it, doll?” Bucky chuckles.

You shake your head, “nothing, Buck. I’m just really happy to be with you, especially like this.”

Bucky raises a brow and smirks, “like this?”

You roll your eyes, “I mean I like being with you. I like kissing you and being close to you. It makes me really happy.” You gently tangle your fingers in his hair as you confess this.

Bucky softly smiles at you, and grabs your hand from his hair to place a kiss to the back of it. “You’re sweet on me. You make me really happy, darling; happier than I think I’ve ever been.”

You heart swells, and you rub your thumb over the back of Bucky’s hand that still holds yours. “Well, you make me happier than I’ve ever been. I can’t remember the last time my heart beat for someone the way it does you, Bucky.”

Bucky blushes, and tries to look away from you.

You gasp with a laugh, “Buck, no! Don’t hide your pretty face from me.” 

You gently grasp his chin and turn his head to look at you. His cheeks are lightly rosy, and his smile is wide. “There’s my pretty boy.”

Bucky flushes again, and mumbles a shy, “stop, doll.”

You just giggle and plant a kiss to his warm cheeks.

Bucky stands up and pulls you with him. “You want to dance with me, doll?”

“Like you used to back in the day?”

Bucky grins, “exactly. FRIDAY, could you put on my playlist, please?”

FRIDAY responds, “sure. ‘songs to woo Y/n’ now playing.”

You giggle at the title of the playlist. Bucky is such a dork sometimes. 

Bucky chuckles too as he places his hands on your waist. “You weren’t supposed to know the title of the playlist.”

“Aw, but it’s so cute. If these songs don’t woo me, I’m going to be really disappointed.” You say as you wrap your arms around his neck, swaying gently to the soft melody.

The two of you quiet down, just basking in the alone time you have. It isn’t often you two get to be like this. Bucky, isn’t a fan of pda. Doing things in public makes him uncomfortable, and you get that. With everything he’s been through, the last thing you want is to force him to kiss you in front of the other avengers.

Things are nice the way they are. Sure, Nat and Wanda think it’s strange he doesn’t hold your hand around them, or that he gets awkward when you try to kiss him in front of people, but you think that’s just how Bucky is. You like the Bucky the way he is, even if you secretly would like to not be limited to showing affection in private. 

“What are you thinking about, doll?”

You pull your eyes from the ground and look at Bucky who has a small smile on his face. “Nothing, baby, don’t worry about it. I’m just happy right now is all.”

Bucky presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, “I’m happy too. I love you, Y/n.”

You grin, and gently pull on your arms so Bucky’s head lowers enough for you to give him a kiss. “I love you too, Buck.”

Just before the next song starts to play, an unexpected voice chimes through the compound.

“You know, I actually was starting to believe you were lying about being together since I never see you guys interact.” Tony says as he walks into the main room. The rest of the team, consisting of Nat, Wanda, Steve, Vision, Thor, and Bruce, follow behind him.

Bucky awkwardly clears his throat and steps away from you as well as stopping the music. 

“Oh come on,” Nat smiles, “don’t stop on our account.”

You awkwardly chuckle, “What are you guys doing back so soon? I thought it was weekend thing.”

“Well it was,” Tony dramatically says as he sits on the couch, “until it ended up being a false alarm so they sent us back here. How they screwed it up enough to get us involved over a prank is beyond me.”

Steve steps closer to Bucky, “I heard the playlist you had on. It sure does bring back some memories.”

Bucky nodded, “Yeah, things were so much simpler back then.”

“Sorry,” Tony interrupts, “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I am, so what’s up with you two.” He points between you and Bucky. “Cause I’ve noticed some things. I never see you kiss, you don’t hold hands, you don’t sit close to each other, you don’t hug, you don’t anything really.” 

“Really, Tony?” Steve scolds, “You have to be all in their business like some teenager?”

Tony sticks his hands up in defense, “hey, don’t get angry at me. We were all thinking it.” He turns to Bucky and addresses him, “so is there any particular reason you guys try to hide your relationship, or what?”

Bucky clears his throat, “Well, we don’t hide anything. We’re just not that kind of couple.”

“What do you mean by that? You two mutually agreed you don’t want to show people your relationship?”

Bucky clears his throat, “I mean, it’s not like we’ve had a conversation about deliberately hiding it, it’s just natural for us.”

“So Y/n likes only being shown affection when you feel is a good time?”

Bucky growls, “no, Stark, it’s not like that.”

“Tony, I think that’s enough.” Steve commands, trying to keep everyone at ease.

“I’m not doing anything but asking questions. I think you two need to have a conversation, and now is the perfect time!” Tony suggests as he stares at you. 

There’s no way he could know how you’ve been feeling. The only person you told was Nat and she would never tell anyone your secrets.

“For fuck’s sake, Tony, Y/n and I don’t nee-”

“Yeah, let’s talk.” You cut Bucky off. His wide eyes turn to you and his jaw hangs low. 

“Um, yeah, we can do that.” He stammers.

You grab Bucky’s hand and pull him out of the living room to get to your bedroom. As you walk by, you see Tony giving you a thumbs up, and Nat behind him winking at you.

You shake your head and laugh to yourself a little. 

Once in your room, you sit down on your bed, Bucky slowly following pursuit.

He sighs, “are we good? Cause I didn’t think we had anything to talk about. I mean, I know we haven’t exactly said we were going to keep things subtle in front of our friends, but-”

“Bucky,” you interrupt. He stops his rambling to look at you with wide, puppy eyes. “Breathe, baby. I just want to talk.”

Bucky nods, allowing you to keep talking.

“First, I want to know if there is a reason you don’t like for people to see us acting like a couple.” 

Bucky sighs, “it’s not that I don’t want to show you off, it’s just that...” He’s quiet. 

You can tell it’s taking a lot from him to express this to you, so you’re willing to be patient with him. 

“I’m scared, Y/n.” 

Your eyes soften as you grab one of Bucky’s hands. “Honey, what are you afraid of?”

He looks down, embarrassed, “you know I don’t really have a good record in, well, anything. My whole life is just one never-ending stream of unfortunate events. When I’m with you though, I feel really lucky. I know it’s sounds stupid and irrational, but I was just scared if people saw how happy I finally am, you would get taken from me, or I would mess things up and you’d be gone.”

Bucky sighs, and lifts his head to gauge your reaction. “I know it doesn’t excuse how I’ve been to you, how I must have made you feel, and I can’t apologize enough, doll. I’m so sorry that I didn’t make you feel as important to me as you are, and I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was ashamed of you. I promise I’m not. I love you so much, darling,  I’m so sorry.”

Bucky’s eyes start to water as he desperately squeezes onto your hand. 

You sigh and comfortingly rub your thumb cross the back of his hand. “i’m not mad at you, or upset by what you did, Buck. I kind of had a feeling there was something wrong and a reason you didn’t like showing our relationship to others. I should have talked to you sooner and not let Tony get involved. I’m sorry for that, by the way. I feel bad how Tony put you on the spot like that.”

Bucky chuckles, “it’s not your fault, but thanks anyway.” He presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, “I want people to see us and know we’re together.”

You giggle, “so you aren’t scared anymore?”

“I can’t let the fear of this being over in the future stop me from living happily in the present. I want to be with you all  the time, not just when no one is around.”

You smile and stand up, pulling on Bucky’s hand so he stands as well. “Come on, let’s go let our friends know we’ve figured things out.”

Bucky chuckles and follows behind you, ready and willing to follow you anywhere.

#so im planning out another bucky fic right now #ive got a lot of ideas for it and depending on how much i want to incorporate #it may turn into a series #thoughts? #it'll either be a REALLY long one shot #or a mini series #it depends on how many words I end up writing #and i probably won't post until I have everything completely written #(that way I don't discontinue a story if I don't ahve passion for it any longer) #have* #ANYWAY hope y'all enjoy this #not proofread!! #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #sebastian stan #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes self insert #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes story #steve rogers #captain america #thor x reader #peter parker x reader #loki x reader #steve rogers x reader

[socionicsdatabase]

The EII-Ne Subtype

The EII-Ne subtype tends to come across differently than EII-Fi subtypes. Some EII-Ne types may confuse themselves with IEEs. Both of them can appear animated, scattered and absent-minded. Both of them are constantly searching for the unusual, new, and unique ideas. However, the EII-Ne has a clear IJ temperament and the IEE is EP temperament.

The EII-Ne may work inconsistently and in short bursts, like an irrational type. The difference, however, is that the EII-Ne doesn't want to work that way. As a true rational type, the EII-Ne innately desires to be consistent and thorough, but struggles with this due to the strong emphasis on Ne. The EII-Ne may constantly be opening up new possibilities before finishing previous ones, just like an IEE. However, unlike the IEE, this kind of behavior bothers the EII-Ne. The strong Ne may cause the EII-Ne to follow their interests and constantly explore new topics; however, they will want to go back and tie up any loose ends. They are going to feel driven to narrow the scope of possibilities to those they have the greatest interest in (Fi lead). In this way, the EII-Ne may feel there is a constant struggle between their Ne and their rational temperament. A truly irrational type does not feel this struggle.

Though Ne is emphasized in the EII-Ne, ultimately, it is Fi that still has the final say. The EII-Ne will explore new possibilities not for the sake of novelty itself (like an IEE), but rather, to serve their Fi values and interests. And though they may be more scattered and absent-minded than the typical EII, they are still rational types that strategize, plan, and desire to see things through to completion.

[distinctlywhumpthing]

Together 16: A night out.

Previous — Masterlist — Next

CW: Explicit language and content, Whumper POV, torture, long-term captivity, conditioning, dehumanization, collar, noncon (nonsexual) touching, creepy whumper, intimate whumper, manipulation, broken fingers, electrocution, letmeknowifimissedany

“You look perfect,” I tell her because she does.

The color of the shirt warms her complexion and the skirt follows the curves of her waist and hips before flaring out gently. Her legs look impossibly long even though the skirt falls midway down her thighs. I want to chase the sliver of skin that appears between the shirt and skirt at her waist every time she moves.

Maybe it is worth a little extra effort to see her in different clothes.

She furrows her eyebrows, trying to look indignant but her eyes reveal her anxiety.

Well, that can’t be helped. In fact, that’s half the point of this outing. I never intended for her to be kept here exclusively. I want to keep her safe but as a result, she’s grown too fearful.

She keeps fidgeting with the clothes, pulling and smoothing the fabric. Her feet wriggle inside the black high tops and she’s wrapped the laces around her slender ankles once before tying them, just like she used to.

I step closer and sweep her hands away.

She clasps them behind her back and searches my face nervously while I fix the turtleneck of the sleeveless top. I would have considered it acceptable for her to fix it herself but I appreciate her careful discretion so much, I don’t correct her.

I roll it evenly so that it sits neatly over the collar. I slide my arm around her waist, tracing that bare skin and pulling her close as I lead us outside. “Come on, Emmy. I planned this just for you.”

She turns her head to look up at me, brow furrowed, and she dips her eyes from my face down and back again. She’s afraid I’m going to leave her alone, like the last time in the store. She needs to just trust me.

I buckle her into the passenger seat of the car. As soon as I’m in the driver’s seat, she leans over and twines her arms around mine, leaning her head against me. I don’t have a lot of patience for her irrational fear but I never get tired of how clingy it makes her.

She tries to glue herself to my side the moment I let her out of the car. Both hands grip mine and she holds my arm in front of her body, intending to walk half behind me, burying her face in my shirt. She looks like she’s never been outside in her life.

“Emma,” I warn, looking down at her over my shoulder.

She bites her bottom lip but peels off of me and steps a reasonable distance away. She drops one hand off of mine and clutches a fistful of the skirt with it instead.

I can feel her trembling. “Christ, Emma. We’re in public for fuck’s sake. What do you think I’m going to make you do?”

Her eyes drop down. She’s hiding her expression because she knows I hate it. Anger, hatred, sadness, resentment, waryness, fear. All fine. She’s entitled. But I will not tolerate that look of betrayal like she expected anything different from me and somehow I’ve let her down.

“You don’t even freak out half this much before torturing August anymore,” I tell her.

It works.

Her face floods with shame instead.

Once we start walking through the park, her shaking turns to rigid tension. It’s already dark out but there are strings of lights and paper lanterns connected every streetlight on the path. There are plenty of people but I chose a weeknight so there would be fewer. The air is still warm from the heat of the day and Emma fits right in, looking like any of the other twenty-somethings we pass. Her eyes are wider than ever as she takes everything in, expression blank with overwhelm. She can’t help relaxing the longer we walk down this innocuous path, especially when the food trucks start.

“What do you want?” I offer even though I already know the answer. She loves noodles of any kind and we just passed some.

Emma stops and turns her head to look at the truck with pad thai.

“Okay,” I say, taking my hand to get my wallet. I hold out a twenty to her. “Go ahead.”

She gapes at me then shakes her head quickly, stepping closer before realizing I already forbade clinging. Her feet stop short, toes drawing together. She crosses one arm over her waist, shielding herself while her other hand still hasn’t let go of the fistful of skirt. She shakes her head again.

I don’t mind her trepidation. I know she’ll do it in the end. She just needs a little more context first.

“Emma, you have to eat,” I explain calmly, stepping closer. “This is already a lot for you. I won’t have you getting sick again. We don’t want that, right?”

She shakes her head, eyes narrowing. Suspicious because she knows where this is heading.

“You’re worried about having to order from that truck and the attention it might draw.” I pause and lower my voice, leaning toward her. “I think you’re forgetting how much attention it would draw if I had to use the collar. If you drop to the ground, someone might even call an ambulance…”

She pulls back, reactions playing across her face. Her expression settles into the one I wanted. One of my favorites. Perfect dark eyebrows raised, mouth set in a wry line. Daring me. She knows I’d never let her go to the hospital—never let anyone take her.

I hold up my hands, chuckling. “Alright, not that part,” I admit. “But it will be a scene and neither one of us wants that.”

Emma purses her lips and stares me down.

I love when she’s like this. It’s so much better than the vapid, blind panic. Finally, still a little daring, she cocks one eyebrow again and looks up to the right. Half an eye-roll. A perfect white flag I’d never consider punishing. Fuck if she isn’t amazing. Sometimes I swear she plays me as often as I play her. She looks a little smug at my reaction before taking the bill.

Her hesitation returns once she starts toward the truck. I don’t know how she doesn’t realize she has nothing to worry about. Between those huge, wide eyes, her beautiful face, and petite frame, people naturally want to help her. I’ve seen the fondness in the faces of everyone we’ve passed tonight. The food truck worker’s expression is already softening as she sees Emma walking up. One smile and Emma could probably eat for free.

If only she could relax enough to take advantage of it. Well, practice makes perfect. I make her order my food, too, and get us drinks from a third stand.

By the time we sit down, she’s flushed and I can see her heart racing at the base of her throat. I have her drink a few sips of soda so she doesn’t go fainting on me. After she finishes eating, she leans back in the chair, looking up to admire the lights above. Her long legs are crossed at the ankle and wrapped around one leg of the chair and she keeps her arms folded gently over her waist. Still, a small smile plays on her lips.

I wait, watching, until she looks back at me. I pull one of her hands off her waist and bring her fingers to my lips, then place a few more bills in them.

“Go back to that first stand and get us some churros,” I tell her. “Don’t forget the chocolate sauce.”

Her eyes search my face. She’s past questioning me. Now she’s looking for reassurance. Worried I might disappear since I’m giving her so much leeway to be out of sight. I could leave her here as a test or, worse, because I don’t want her anymore. More ridiculous, irrational fear but this particular one softens me.

“I’ll be waiting right here,” I promise her gently.

Relief washes over her features.

I watch her skirt swing as she walks away. Her posture could be better but I don’t think there’s any way to correct that here. She doesn’t even look over her shoulder to check that I’m keeping my word. She trusts me not to lie maybe a little more than she should. Although, I do generally try not to if it can be avoided. It’s better to be consistent and transparent, it avoids so much unnecessary suffering.

There is a noticeable quickness to her stride when she reappears around the curve of the path a few minutes later. Now, she is looking over her shoulder. Her eyes seek mine out immediately and I’m on my feet. I don’t even care that she’s empty-handed. Her face is a mask of panic and her eyes are filling. I hurry to meet her halfway and pull her shaking frame into my arms.

I see what she was trying to avoid—there’s a few guys, paper bag-wrapped bottles in hand, rounding the corner. I turn us around so she’s shielded from their view and move us off the path, through the trees. She clings to the front of my shirt, sobbing. The group passes without noticing us, either already having forgotten about Emma or too drunk to be effective in searching. I tilt her face up and wipe the tears away with my thumb.

“Did they touch you?” I can hear the edge in my own voice.

She shakes her head, tears still running down her cheeks.

“Emma, did they recognize you?”

She nods, looking down.

“Fuck.”

This is the other reason we never go out.

I start walking, holding her fingers tightly while I pull her along. I don’t quite register her other hand, on my wrist. I can’t tell if she is pushing or pulling. It doesn’t matter. My mind is elsewhere. Damage control. I run through the people on my payroll who could be useful. It depends on the band of idiots more than anything. My calm is slipping as my frustration mounts. I want to handle it personally but I have to bring Emma back first.

We reach the car and I finally turn to look at her after I open the door. She’s barely breathing through clenched teeth. I let her go and she gingerly cradles her hand to her chest. My inattentive grip must have broken her smallest two fingers. They’re already swelling.

She steps away from me and there it is. The look of betrayal. She’s not even trying to hide it.

“Emma.”

She backs into the door of the car, expression unchanged. Eyes flicking to my hand, the direction we came in, down to the ground.

Instead of making me angrier, her defiance centers me.

I step forward, pinning her against the car door, and take her hand in mine.

She doesn’t try to pull away but she doesn’t wipe that look off her face either.

The next finger breaks so easily, it’s a wonder I only broke two unintentionally.

Emma is crying now which only intensifies her expression. Her eyes are wide as she stares up at me, blinking past tears. Face still a mask of betrayal and disbelief.

Behavior. Consequences. Control.

I hold her gaze and break another finger.

Her face contorts with the magnified pain but it only lasts a moment.

There. Now, she’s slipping into that space. The one she needs and I require. That equally completes and dismantles. Giving us what we both crave.

Her face empties and her eyes clear, not vacant but free.

Free of judgment, pain, or fear. Bare for me to redress. Wholly mine.

My fingers find the remote in my pocket and I hit the last button.

Emma’s eyes widen at the shock but her expression remains a plain of acceptance. She passes out before her body has even gone limp and she falls against me, back still arching for a moment as the current wrings her out.

I lay her on the passenger seat, careful of her broken hand, and lock her in.

I have to keep her safe.

Previous — Masterlist — Next

Taglist: @deluxewhump @no-whump-on-main @whumpy-writings @maracujatangerine

#whump #lady whump #whumper pov #finger whump #whumper #whumpee #hurt no comfort #angst #controlling whumper #creepy whumper #intimate whumper #shock collar #dehumanization cw #captivity cw #conditioning cw #collared whumpee #electrocution cw #broken finger cw #broken bone cw #manipulation cw

[flickeringart]

The Cardinal Squares

In astrology there are signs that are more or less compatible. Signs are in essence representative of archetypes of the unconscious and they live out their expressions through our lives. It’s common knowledge that certain people are more or less compatible, which depends on the personal planetary placements and how they interact with another person’s placements.

People are complex and can’t be reduced to a single sign (their Sun sign for example). However, if a person has a lot of planets in a particular sign, they might find that other people with a lot of planets in the squaring sign (90° apart on the zodiac wheel) presents conflicting and disturbing energy. The signs that naturally square each other have a tense relationship because they have the same mode of expression (cardinal/fixed/mutable) but are placed in different elements (fire/earth/water/air). The difference in element poses a significant dilemma between masculine (fire/air) and feminine (earth/water), mythical and intellectual vs. mortal and emotional.

Let’s start with the cardinal signs. They’re all trying to make something happen – they have a forward movement, a pressing need to accomplish something important. The crux is, that they don’t have the same idea of what is important, which sets them up for conflict. Aries, the cardinal fire sign, is pure energy assertion and is looking to put forward that which is true, genuine, strong, potent and consistent. Aries is concerned with the self, its greatness and potential. People with strong Arien influence are often direct, confronting and honest bordering on the absurd because they are not ashamed of afraid of letting life flow through them in full force. This makes them impulsive, competitive and passionate, sometimes bordering on aggressive. Cancer, one of the signs squaring Aries is defensive rather than assertive, preventative rather than impulsive. Cancer’s agenda is to protect the emotional climate by being highly attuned to the environment, that way it’s possible to move around obstacles and unpleasant confrontation. A lot of work can be put into avoiding discomfort and unsafety, paradoxically, because the work itself can be tedious and straining. But, as long as that preventative work allows for a safe space where there’s room for softness and nurturing it’s all worth it. Needless to say, Aries thinks that being afraid of being afraid makes no sense and that it’s better to live fully in the now and not taint the spirit with something as dense and temporary as emotional needs. There’s nothing honorable in being “weak” and avoidant in one’s actions according to cardinal fire. Cancer is not really “weak” anymore than Aries is, but the sign is more aware of the necessity to sustain life throughout time and in order to do that one has to be concerned about safety, alert to potential threats and damage. Cancers generally doesn’t seek out a fight or confront things unless their safety depends on it – which is in striking contrast to Aries who sometimes, quite childishly, test their will against the first best opponent that they would have a chance with. Even though Aries is usually “blamed” for being the obvious aggressor of the two, Cancer can be very manipulative and undermining in a way that Aries can’t. Generally, the cardinal fire sign takes pride in being open and playing fair, while the cardinal water sign could care less about nobility and character if they feel the need to defend themselves. This point is highlights where the two signs ultimately clash because Aries is anchored in the mythical realm of principal and meaning while Cancer is anchored in the emotional-physical realm of mortality and vulnerability.

The other sign squaring Aries is Capricorn. This sign is concerned with following and reinforcing structure, achieving concrete aims and laying solid foundations for the sake of prosperity in years to come. This sign is set on accomplishment at any cost and the cultivation of character over time. It’s has a philosophy that says “put in the effort now to reap the benefits later”. Temporary pleasure is put off in favor of long-term gain. There’s maturity to this sign, because it’s all too aware of the strategy and planning that is required to actually accomplish something that will serve a purpose in time. Capricorn is the sign of societal structure and order. It relates to the designed path that an individual must take in order to climb the ladder of society. It’s no wonder that this earthy sign conflicts so strongly with the sign of Aries, which is primarily concerned with the now and what arises spontaneously. Aries is easily agitated and feels it to be an insult to put long-term success in terms of achievement and career above individual will. If the will and the societal path happen to coincide that’s great, but usually it doesn’t, because the spirit works in its own mystical ways. Aries prefers to let life spring from inspiration not from concentration. Both signs value excellence - but in different ways and for different reasons. Aries values excellence because that is what it feels itself to be – the pure creative spark. If it’s denied significance by others doesn’t really matter, the rush of energy usually speaks for itself and if nothing else one can at least be recognized for one’s force and noble attempts. Capricorn values excellence because there’s insecurity relative to life and if one can achieve something that is undeniably great, then one has proven to have some kind of worth. In contrast to Aries, Capricorn needs to prove its worth because it’s not a given. The cardinal earth sign is perfectionistic because if one wants to feel perfect one has to perform perfect. There’s heaviness and a sense of burden to Capricorn that doesn’t show up in Aries. There’s fierceness, sharpness and strength of will to cardinal fire, which makes for great speed and fighting spirit, but it has nothing to do with restriction and deliberate effort. Aries has so much energy that it doesn’t need to think in terms of “deliberate effort”, it acts on impulse and gets things done as quickly as possible in bursts of energy rather than through outdrawn labor. The discipline that Capricorn favors clashes with Aries’s need for freshness and independence – time has no purpose for Aries, the divine child who never gets old. Capricorn usually judges Aries to be immature and irresponsible and Aries usually judges Capricorn to be a buzz kill and an insecure authoritarian.

The cardinal air sign is Libra, in many ways the perfect counterpart to Aries as it’s about social identity rather than the force of the self. Libra is all about balance and achieving perfection by weighing opposites. There’s a need to be noticed and appreciated, to be fair and nice. As with Aries, there’s a need to show up at one’s best but it’s done out of concern for social appearance and intellectual satisfaction rather than in honor of the immortal spirit. People with a strong Libra influence are often drawn to a certain kind of beauty that is surface-polished, carefully and thoughtfully designed, moderate but exquisite. In contrast with Aries who values uninhibited living, Libra likes to approach things through assessing and evaluating –  never reaching a conclusive stance and becoming mildly frustrated as a result. “What if this is wrong, what if this is right?” there’s often no way of reaching a reliable conclusion, which is why Libra is in a constant state of uncertainty. Pros and con lists sometimes work and sometimes not, ultimately it’s impossible to figure out if something is fundamentally right or wrong, good or bad through consulting the intellect. Nevertheless this is what Libra attempts to do, ambitiously over-analyzing in order to achieve some harmony. It’s a paradox that effort should lead to harmony, but all cardinal signs fight for something – whether it’s through the mental faculties, the emotional-physical or the spiritual. The Libra-Cancer tension is based on sophistication and refinement vs. safety and nurturing. Cancer finds Libra to be too involved with superficial things that doesn’t matter much in the long run. Libra finds Cancer to be moody and instinctual, only caring about securing that basic needs are met and neglecting the finer things in life. Libras are not necessarily very practical, but they like things to feel and look pleasant. Cancer is more prone to care and cultivate emotional bonds while Libra doesn’t really form attachments – romance however, is another question. The cardinal air sign is first and foremost looking for light-hearted love and appreciation, pleasure and finesse. Cancer on the other hand can’t stand such trivialities, because living is a serious thing and one can’t cope unless more fundamental needs are satisfied such as a reliable support system in the form of a family. Cancer is not much for Venusian love, because that kind of love involves tastes and preferences, which isn’t really any of Cancer’s concern. The cardinal water sign aligns more with the archetypal mother than the lover, which illustrates perfectly why Libra and Cancer don’t get along. Libra can’t stand the emotional realm particularly well because it’s too human and too far from the intellectual ideal. Libra would constantly try to adjust and modify the very organic and cyclical phases of Cancer, deeming them unsophisticated and unattractive. As a result, Cancer would clam up, become defensive and try to put Libra down through subtle degrading comments and looks. Libra would feel hurt, unloved and probably resort to giving a minor lecture about right and wrong in terms of social behavior, which would make Cancer even more defensive and secretly vengeful. Cancer doesn’t really consider right and wrong in terms of intellectual judgment, nor is this sign concerned with justice as a concept. It’s much more instinctual, which in Libra’s eyes would seem irrational and unpredictable, in other words, not something to bring into the sphere of social relations.

Last but not least we have the Libra-Capricorn square. It’s possible to say that this is one of the more compatible square couples of the cardinal signs because Libra associates structure with context and it’s positively linked to some kind of balance. Since Libra is intellectual it is very likely that societal institutions and paths to success will be in line with its agenda. Libra can function very well changing and adjusting to the attitudes of the people within the system – the cardinal air sign is very sociable and smooth in its workings and can achieve great things without ruffling too many feathers in the process. Everything Libra does is done with grace and forethought, never as a compulsion. This might irritate Capricorn, the sign that knows how much effort it takes to build from the ground up, whether it’d be confidence, reputation or anything for that matter. Libra dances on the surface, metaphorically speaking, assuming that the mental faculties will suffice in navigating the world, no strain or discipline needed. Libra doesn’t let worth depend on long-term achievement, like Capricorn, but it is highly dependent on other people’s praise and attention. Libra always has to look good, which might cause a slight issue with social anxiety, cleverly covered over with charm and jokes. As long as the cardinal air sign has a good partner to lean on and center life around, things usually work out for the better. It effectively eases the anxiety of feeling pressured to be pleasant and perfect with “everyone else”. Capricorn doesn’t really agree with Libra’s way of fishing for love and would rather earn it through being responsible and self-sufficient, no burden to anyone – only an asset. Libra would likely admire Capricorn for the marks of status and achievement because Libra is quite vain when it comes down to it and likes pretty and precious things. However, the attitude of sternness and seriousness would be off-putting – this idealistic air sign doesn’t want to be around cynical moods for too long or it will start to feel insecure and  abused. Remember, Libra is extremely dependent on maintaining a positive social identity. Fairness is very important to Libra and the same could be said for Capricorn, however, Capricorns are more inclined to face hard realities, accept the situation at hand and dedicate themselves to struggle. Libras on the other hand would never dedicate themselves to plain struggle; it goes against their idealistic nature. Libra wants fairness because it means that there’s equal appreciation of all people involved - love of all people involved. Capricorn is primarily focused on fairness for the sake of being judged accurately on work and achievement in comparison to others. There’s a clear difference between these two views – Libra would think that Capricorn is cold and cruel while Capricorn would think Libra is lazy and trivial in its pursuits. The signs are probably jealous of each other’s qualities – the ease of the air sign is something the intensely dedicated earth sign would love to have more of and vice versa.

#cardinal signs #squares #squaring signs #cardinal squares #libra #aries #capricorn #cancer #cardinal water #cardinal earth #cardinal fire #astrology #zodiac signs #cardinal earth. #air #fire #water #earth #the elements #cardinal #the zodiac #conflicting signs #square aspect #aries sun #libra sun #capricorn sun #cancer sun