#ofc this is just my perspective

[mayasaura]

Going into Alecto, I think it's important to expect that the series won't conclude with a clear lesson. Either about morality—what makes a good person, evil getting their just desserts, ect—or a thesis on decolonization. It's not that kind of story.

Deep down, this series is two drunk girls bearing their souls in a dark corner of the bar. An hours-long conversation that wheels wildly through pop culture, past trauma, theoretical physics, dreams and aspirations, global warming, hairstyling, friends, family, gender, personal insecurities, world history, favorite foods. It has a lot to say, and a lot of it profound, but it's not trying to teach anything. At the end of the night, the point was how fucking cool that girl was, and the potent electric potential for something lgbt to happen

#the locked tomb #alecto the ninth #ofc this is just my perspective #but I've been thinking of how the author said that the way she stays true to her story is by giving herself permission to not be a teacher #and that one of the driving forces behind her writing is the rpgs she played as a kid #and how everyone online made fun of the girl characters like they were weak and not good for anything #when she had played the game levelling them up and properly equipping them and beat the boss with them #and how she wants to be able to tell those stories where girls are just really fucking cool and get to have the adventures #so I'm kind of nervous about the idea that tlt is about the evils of colonisation or about taking on God as a symbol of the patriarchy #bc.... I think it might be exploring all that while really being about how girls are really fucking cool #and I'm worried about the potential fallout if a large portion of the fandom goes into the finale expecting those priorities to be reversed

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

the loneliness and sadness that creeps into you in a way that only growing up queer can cause. your parents can accept you and still make you feel like an outsider. your parents can love you and still reject parts of you. that old-fashioned kind of love where they think trying to mold you, make you tough, is better for you. or that quiet status quo where you just don't talk. and where everyone is accepted, though some are more than others. generations and generations it's just been easier to let it slide. to let it be. not cause a fuss. but then we sit there with a knot in our chests all our lives wondering how it got there

#this is about #all of us strangers #ofc your experience of a piece of media is molded by your own perspective #and i have been thinking a lot about growing up queer and how it still fucking sucked #for me. ten. twenty years ago. fuck it even five years ago #it still sometimes sucks #because i was raised without any queer representation around me #i was trained to be straight and to desire straightness #and anything remotely queer was mocked and bullied and judged #i saw it done by others and done to others so much that it's hardly surprising i did everything i could to Not be that #and the fact that i had to grow up that way #and that i still wouldn't feel at ease bringing a partner to a family event #makes my heart ache so much #i am often on my own and going home doesn't bring me comfort #it's like harry describes #it's just how it went #my parents didn't mean to make it like that #my mom even thinks it's sad #but she doesn't understand how it came to be #and i don't know if i can turn it around #adam's imaginings of how his parents envelop him with love and acceptance in the end #was a dream #but a painful one #a dream where your parents suddenly say all the right things #and for him they only did so bc they're dead and he could imagine whatever he wanted #/and still/ he imagined his mom rejecting his sexuality at first #literally so disgusted she can't drink her tea #oooooofofffffff....... #i need to think some more #my posts

[laundrybiscuits]

Note: this is not a Stancy story.

“Say it,” he bites out. He’s pushing too hard, being too mean, and he doesn’t fucking care. “Say you love me.”

Nancy’s eyes slide off to the side and she—she laughs, like he’s making a joke, but he can see in the way she’s got her arms wrapped around herself that they both know it’s not a joke.

“Steve, come on,” she says.

There’s a hot, buzzing feeling in him like a hurricane.

The words peel out of him: “But…we’re soulmates.”

He’s gripping his forearm, holding it out in front of him even though he’s wearing long sleeves. It doesn’t matter. They both know whose name is written there in careful, neat cursive, like a puzzle piece slotting next to the blockier name scrawled on Nancy’s wrist. 

Nancy reaches out to push his arm down and out of the way, out of her eyeline, but she laces her fingers with his like she’s trying to calm him down. Like an apology.

“Steve,” she says. “Let’s just—can we focus on the important stuff, here?”

This is important, why don’t you think that nothing could be more important than this. Steve doesn’t say it because he’s trying to be better. He can be better for her, for Nancy, his soulmate. So he swallows it down and nods, gripping her slender fingers tight in his. 

———

It takes him a while, but he figures it out. It’s fate. It’s gotta be. It’s all a big part of their story, the one they’re gonna tell at their wedding, about the time they broke up and made bad decisions and were really unhappy. When you find your soulmate early, sometimes you have some growing up to do, he’ll say. Or maybe Robin will say it. He can’t imagine a wedding where Robin’s not his best man. Best lady?

It’s so stupid, but there was a moment, back in ‘85, when he thought maybe Robin could be his true soulmate. Like maybe there was some giant cosmic error, and the smart, funny, beautiful girl he’d been overlooking all summer was really the one he was meant to end up with after all. 

When she tells him about Tammy Thompson, it’s almost a relief. The universe isn’t wrong after all. He actually feels really sorry for Robin, because without a name on her arm, how’s she supposed to know who to pick? And with the gay thing—it’s gotta be tough even just knowing who’s an option. He doesn’t think he could handle that kind of uncertainty. 

It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to. All he’s got to do is hang on until his story and Nancy’s story bend together again, and become their story. He thinks it’s kind of romantic, even: like he’s been given this time to learn to be a better boyfriend. 

So he’s in good spirits, especially when Eddie Munson gives him a heavy look that shoots through his veins like lightning and says as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen. If even Eddie can see it after spending about five minutes around them, probably not even knowing about the soulmate thing, it must be true. 

———

Afterwards, he finds himself unexpectedly alone with Nancy in the hospital, waiting their turn to see Max and Eddie. It’s not exactly the stuff of fairytales; even though they’ve had a chance to go home and shower and get some sleep, they both have Upside Down gunk caked into their fingernails and purpling shadows under their eyes. The fluorescent lights overhead are way too bright. The flimsy plastic chairs are digging uncomfortably into his thighs. 

But he’s not gonna get a better opening than this quiet moment, with Nancy slumped against his arm, tired and lovely.

“Hey, are you—” He clears his throat and tries again. “Hey, Nancy. Did you…think about, uh, what I said? About…you know. The future?”

She goes tense.

“Yes, Steve. I did.”

Maybe something in her tone should be warning him off, but he’s on this road now, careening down the fast lane with no exits in sight. 

“And? What did you think?”

Nancy takes a deep breath, then lets it out after a second in a heavy sigh. “Steve, I…I’m with Jonathan now. You know that.”

“Yeah, but that’s—I mean, you know it’s not the same.”

“No.” She slips a thumb under the cuff of her sweatshirt and rubs it over her wrist. It looks like something she doesn’t even know she’s doing. “It’s not the same, no. It’s…Steve, it’s better. This way is better.”

He ducks down, tries to meet her eye. “Nance, I know I was kind of a shitty boyfriend, but—things are different now, right?”

Finally, she turns to him. Her back straightens, shoulders square, like she’s bracing herself. 

“Yes, things are different,” she says slowly. She reaches out to take his hand in both of hers, soothing. “This hasn’t changed for me, though. It’s not about—I just can’t be with you, Steve. Not like that. I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t say but we’re soulmates again like a child, but it lives in his throat, in the thump of his heart. Maybe she just needs more time.

Maybe not, though.

(ETA: continuation here!)

#I wrote the first chunk of this a while ago and abandoned it in my scratchpad; had a chat about soulmates today and decided to write more #ofc this whole thing is also a metaphor for heteronormativity (WHEN IS IT NOT) so I may write the steddie follow-up at some point #I’ve never been the biggest fan of soulmate narratives but I find them fascinating from a meta perspective #I want to be clear that I don't think soulmate AUs are ~problematique; they obviously serve a function #the romance genre (and a lot of fic) hinges on the concept of endgame ships #there's a particular kind of comfort in that and I can see how it translates to in-universe predestination #I am personally just more interested in stories about choosing to love without guarantees #and I actually quite like the complexity of Steve and Nancy learning to navigate being friends as well as exes #not!soulmates AU

[ace-apple]

qforever lore is just another instance of “making an in-lore reason for the cc to take a break/be absent for a while” methinks. same vein as the ppl staying behind in purgatory. or them just straight up making lovejoy canon and a federarion sponsor

also the people for sure not coming back to the server at all have all been stated in canon to be permanently dead (spreen, dantdm, maxo) lol

#qsmp #sorry just wanted to add my own two cents to the ‘guys itll be okay its a hiatus’ thing lmao #ofc if it turns out it really is a permenant departure ccforever has every right to make that decison!! :] #just my perspective on this cuz i havent seen anyone also point out that this isnt #the first time the servers done this to lore-explain an absense

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

#snap chats #//twenty page google doc in the background// ignore that. it's mostly for comedic purposes #might also be my fault idk sorry about that. allegedly. idk ive had like three people tell me they started to ship them cause of me 🧍‍♂️ #@mementoasts is another person who's drawn masadai and whose stuff i love and am inspod by .. i love their disneyland fic sm ... #there was another artist on twitter who posted a neat drawing of them but i cant remember who they were and i didnt bookmark it //screams// #recently there's been ANOTHER masadai artist ive started following on twitter - @wifekiryu. his account's n/s/f/w fyi before you go looking #he has a tumblr too @foxdies. i say cause i realized as much recently vjeaKLGJALKGJ #oh but I GUESS ill get deeper into why. /i/ personally ship masadai or whatever #first off they're opposing factions yet their character alignments Do Not Match their roles. stereotypically anyway #aoki who leads the 'surface' of society and is meant to be an admirable figure and someone 'just' when really. he sucks LMAO #though that's not atypical of politicians but just from a stereotypical This Is A Respectable Individual perspective of his role #daigo on the other hand leads the 'underbelly' of society- yk comprised of dangerous criminals and outcasts and whatnot #yet as we know him daigo's compassionate and considerate of his men- he doesnt treat them like tools like aoki does #if put in a room with the two daigo would be most people's choice of person to hang out with. probably open a trapdoor on aoki tbh #and i think thats really cool and epic i always love that kinda Subverting Expectations thing #theres also the fact they both started off like. edgy/angsty in the franchise and then brush up down the line #masato does a stronger 180. publicly. obviously but its still really funny they both have to get their act together #if you wanna talk about in-text reasons. there really is none LMAO I TELLS YOU masadai is pure crack #but if i wanted to pull a muscle reaching then there's daigo being on aoki's side while everyone else is on arakawa's during the funeral #im lying of course. mitsu was behind him. rgg tryna make me forget mitsu exist .... put him back in y8 .... #and ofc ichi joins that side to even out the seating but moving on another Goofy Reason is arakawa being like #'the chairman and my son are like p much the same age Surely he knows how he thinks :)' #and then i just think daigo being all smarmy about outsmarting aoki is really goofy and im choosing to interpret that as personal #they both also have issues with their dad. s. dad/s/. anyway. #tbh the google doc tag was a joke but i really could sit here and list every dumb reason why i think theyre funny together #like i started going over the tag limit so uhhhh yeah needless to say i have a lot of. dumb reasons 💀💀💀💀 #one day ill use the main text for long rambles like this but todays not that day Point Is my imagination is rampant im afraid #so the short and sweet of it is I Think It's Funny. And They'd Be Terrible Together. Which Is Why It's Funny. #and the unfortunate part is anything i find funny i obsess over for a year so. //gestures to the mountain of bullshit thats my masadai tag/

[redrocketpanda]

Akaashi's already outside with the others by the time Bokuto finally exits the spa.

They've been waiting here a while. The warm air has almost completely dried Akaashi's damp skin and hair.

He closes his eyes, raises his face to the bright sun and inhales deeply, filling his lungs with the fresh mountain air. Its the kind of place that people come to relax, surrounded by the tall trees and trickling water and singing birds. 

Or Akaashi imagines that's what it would be like if he were in different company. 

But he can't hear the trickling water or the singing birds over the raucous debate Hinata and Kageyama are having about which sea creatures they would pick for their marine volleyball dream team and whether either of them should be allowed to have the octopus. 

And maybe it would have been relaxing if they hadn't been with Bokuto who insisted on just a bit more time - just another 5 minutes with the masseuse, just another 10 minutes in the steam room, just another 15 minutes in the bath - until they were so hopelessly behind schedule that there was no longer a schedule. 

Kenma had long ago given up waiting and had gone to sit on a nearby rock to drink the strawberry milk that Kuroo had procured for him, whilst Kuroo muttered complaints about that damn owl from beneath his mess of floppy hair. 

They’ve been waiting for Bokuto for so long that Hinata and Kageyama have almost picked their entire team - though the disagreement about the octopus remains to be settled - and Akaashi is on the cusp of marching back in to find and drag Bokuto out himself when he hears the whoosh of the sliding door.  

His eyes snap open and he turns to face the door. 

Bokuto strides out of the spa towards them, arms raised above his head as he stretches lazily whilst in motion. Eyes closed, nose crinkled, a huge smile on his face. 

And, most distractingly of all, his hair isn't spiked into its signature look but instead rests loosely atop his head. The grey and black strands falling forwards, framing his face.  

Akaashi's heart skips a beat.

Though saying it skips makes it sound more gentle of an experience than it actually is. It's much less a skip and much more of a sharp and sudden drop. Like when you slip whilst walking down the stairs and it sends your heart plummeting into your knees and your pulse racing as you try to grab onto the hand rail in a desperate attempt to save yourself from falling. 

It's not as though Akaashi hasn't seen Bokuto with his hair down before. Of course he's seen it get wet when they've showered together, and it's briefly down before and after they go to sleep during training camps. But it's not long before Bokuto plasters it back into his signature look with unnerving amounts of gel, so the sight of him with his hair down properly like this is a rare, and special, moment. 

A moment that presents Akaashi with a Bokuto different than the one that he's become so familiar with; the one who blazes with the intensity of the midday sun in a way that leaves Bokuto imprints on Akaashi's retinas so that the image remains even when he closes his eyes.  In this moment, Bokuto looks younger and more innocent, and there's a tenderness about him... like he's made out of a kind of softness that Akaashi struggles to put a name to. 

This is a softness like the mellow rays of the rising sun that trickle in through the curtain and bathes Akaashi's body in its golden light.

Like a cool afternoon breeze that lightly caresses his skin.

Like the way a particularly good pencil gliding over smooth paper fills him with a sense of deep satisfaction, or the way sipping on honey and lemon tea soothes his aching body, or the way finishing a beloved book leaves his soul glowing.

It's the way that Bokuto Kōtarō’s name sounds in his mouth.

It’s the way that Bokuto Kōtarō feels in his heart.

#an ode to bokuto with his hair down #from the perspective of akaashi ofc #every time I look at this image it just makes my heart wanna explode and so I must lovingly describe this moment #bc we've waited so long for soft hair Bokuto and we must revel in it to death #baby boyyyyyyyyyy #bokuto #bokuto kotaro #bokuto koutarou #akaashi #akaashi keiji #hinata #kageyama #kuroo #kenma #haikyuu #hq #haikyuu official art #hq official art #bokuaka #bkak

[lemongogo]

haiii as a frequent con-goer my observations are: ppl tend to get posters or pins/keychains more than stickers, since sticker boards r more rare than like ita bags or drcorating ur room.

bnha hasnt rly been present in cons recently, so dont feel like you Have To BUT. if you do genuinely want to sell that stuff, it wld probs fill a niche that the people who DO want to see it will be excited for since theres probs not alot of other booths with it

depending on how far away the con is, dunmeshi will probs be rly popular since its the biggest new thing. sometimes theres a gap of if smthn big comes out too close to a con no one has time to make merch yet, but if you think you have time and want to itll probs be rly popular.

all of this is as u said based on my personal experiences and ive only been to the cons in my state, and NOT as an artist so idk if boothers have other advice or inputs but! :) i hope it helps

YESS THIS IS SO HELPFUL TY TYY🫶 ive been out of the loop for some time now, so this is great @ filling in the gaps. i appreciate you taking the time to lmk your thoughts :”)

like you make such a good point ab the sticker boardsHAHAHA sweeet. i’ll probably be better off focusing on the big3 anyways (pins, posters and charms) and add variety later on once i feel more established

and wooo!! ok thats what i was thinking wrt to dunmesh :3 it might be fun to draw a thing or two once i finish the season then hehe THANK YOUU !! 🤭 ill keep all of this in mind

#in trying to research all of this i often hear from the boothers themselves #so hearing your perspective is so valuable TYSMM!!🫶 #asktag #anonymous #there was more i wanted to say but it slipped my mind😭 RGAAAAomg what was it #i think like . just your general experience and if theres anything ab booths that you feel could be done better from a congoers experience #but i dont even know what that would be like .. i read that most people have moved to digital transactions right #like square or some other form of card reader w ofc cash on hand if anyone prefers that #<thinking out loud at this point #do you think the print backdrops are sufficient or do you also like to flip through books @ the table w the prints etc #HAJAHAH sry

[variousqueerthings]

*sighs in post mildly broke containment again* there's nothing wrong with reading willow as a lesbian, this is a piece of fiction, and the post I made took on a jokey tone for a reason and is ultimately more about underlying bi-erasure on tv than anything else kaybye ✌

#im watching btvs #jeepers creepers but btvs is bringing out the *taking it all very seriously in a very morally high-and-mighty kind of way* crowd #and i dont mean about shit that matters such as discussing racism or misogyny in fandom #just about whether you agree or dislike someone's read of a situation - move on my friend if you dont agree #i mean i could go on a rant about HOW the show portrayed willow-the-now-lesbian #(and while im at it why i hc buffy-the-apparent-heterosexual as bi too but nobody has disputed that part oddly enough) #but that would be an effort im truly not interested in expending on this day and possibly never and has been written before #im mostly just live-blogging and moving on #if im writing anything fanfic-wise it'll be about kendra and that'll be my full fandom contribution #ok but the ONE thing i'll mention is the fight willow has with tara which is one of the rare Ls for tara #where she basically admits that she's afraid this is a phase because willow has loved men/been with oz #and that's just an interesting fight from a meta perspective because the idea that bi women have to *choose a side* #and are consistently questioned and doubted by their lesbian partners #is a core element of biphobia within a gay relationship that many people can attest to #hell it's a big part of bisexual rep that is conscious of itself that at some point there's a plotline where the person is questioned #about their true loyalties and asked to take a side #btvs ofc is NOT conscious of this underlying tension and in fact i would argue is agreeing with tara that this is what needs to happen #for several other reasons as well #but literally people have WRITTEN about this im not saying anything bold and controversial here AND it doesnt take away #from lesbian willow reads to acknowledge the flawed approach of the show to her sexuality like come on #willow rosenberg

[000yul]

one thing i don't understand about arknights worldbuilding is why everything we see uses the lungmen dollar

#like sure maybe it's just that RI mainly uses it.. though idt RI is even based/operating in yan/lungmen...? #and then theres that random sheep with the lmd eyes..disclaimer still havent read the event #off the top of my head i cannot name a single other currency. maybe theyve cropped up but not enough for me to remember #and ofc yes yes it simplifies gameplay if we just use one currency obviously but from an in universe perspective i just wonder #yes i do spend my time thinking about useless things #is lungmen just that big financially???

[ineed-to-sleep]

My therapist told me today that I'm one of her patients who's made the most progress in the last two years and honestly I have a feeling I'm getting a good grade at therapy

#which is ofc something real and achievable #but fr fr tho I'm so proud of my progress 🥲 I think most ppl don't really acknowledge how much therapy is actually hard #like exposing yourself. being vulnerable. opening up about your fears and insecurities and really shameful things #and being open to try a new perspective and actually going through the motions of putting yourself out there #putting things to the test and feeling wrong and having your body react like a prey animal the whole time #and still push through and keep trying again and again until your brain finally assimilates that this is you now #this is how you want to think and live your life now and you're not gonna have it any other way #it's hard and you don't do it perfectly and you go back to your sessions and you try again #there's hard truths we have to admit about ourselves there that we aren't always ready for #but you just keep going and things do eventually change #even though sometimes it feels like a painfully slow process #and idk just hearing her tell me that she sees me. that she sees how hard I'm trying. man. it's. im not gonna cry #sleep.txt #it's been real. fr fr

[void-and-virtue]

Writing fanfic is so dangerous bc whenever I see the name ‘Seth Gordon’ now, my brain just goes “SETH!! My man!!! My dude!!! Allison and Renee’s platonic husband!!!!” And then I have to take a moment of silence as I remember that oh. Oh, in canon, he is first an asshole and then dead

#truly it’s a struggle #my brain saw him and decided he’s free real estate #I just think this guy has so much potential to be explored in AU #my fascination with him is entirely based in the quote from tfc where he explains why he hates Kevin so much #‘his life is not more important than mine just because he’s more talented’ #and the entire conversation surrounding that #Seth is a foil to the part of Neil that is all boundless jealousy over being the discarded one while Kevin Day shines #and just like Seth is often forgotten about I feel like that part of Neil is not often talked about either even tho it’s so essential to him #it’s literally quoted to be the thing Andrew found so interesting as to let him stay #and Seth is a character who potentially could carry that same theme with a perspective that is both unique and complimentary to Neil #which is why I fully am with the EC part where Nora says she thinks they would have been friends #and I would love to see that friendship explored #just like I would love to see Seth’s character growth and redemption leading to a better relationship with the upperclassmen #which is exactly what brings me to Renee/Allison&Seth #Seth and Allison breaking up for good and happily settling into a very committed platonic relationship is something that can be so personal #I have so many thoughts about their relationship rattling around in my brain I swear #and ofc Renison bc they are incredibly canon to me #and I think it could be really interesting to explore where Renee and Seth may find common causes when they are pulled together via Allison #aftg #aftg spoilers #all for the game #the foxhole court #aftg headcanon #aftg hc #seth gordon #renee walker #allison reynolds

[unproduciblesmackdown]

also was revisiting a little bmc bway interview ft. william last night & him saying his favorite part of the show was probably doing the agtikbi reprise scene on the couch at the party & mentioning the Nonverbal aspect of jeremy & christine's interacting / communicating there & a way of exploring/depicting Love & Affection in a way you don't always see everywhere and like aaaarghhhhh so true good lord that specific scene. and Again the bway obcr version Existing and being like that, it's just like. winded exhale yeah obsessed 5ever thank you all

#sooo true so true.... #bmc #love putting it right in like the eye of the storm #both of them basically just having had these breakups & with jeremy that means mitb scene And [all of that A Time he had prior] #also now reflecting on how you know obviously he was Not ready to hear it w/michael & ofc he was affected by what all Just happened #but it's also like probably the worst time to be very pushy even with the best intentions & thinking it's Urgent & right abt all that lmao #but jeremy's Just had like whoops autonomy revoked ten ways to sunday from two different squip figures like #even [being correct! having jeremy's wellbeing in mind!] behind trying to yank him into some outcome; he's gonna be like Not Again #& ofc the sunk cost re: his squip & he has not had time to catch his breath like literally; not in a place to Confront Shit #if even his missed bestie is; from his perspective here; not at all comforting & not giving him what he feels is a real option.... #& anyways ofc we can sympathize / understand them both b/c that's what the show is giving at all moments re all characters #all this to say like jeremy & christine like having such a time being very at sea very uncomfortable but then having This moment #and the refreshment & relief finally of having this successful genuine connection & relative security being with this person rn #love & affection for sure....just say what's on your mind....lord first of all that they improvise those Noises every night. i'm gonna cry #second of all imagining not knowing how that scene goes & the pause & jeremy like [augh] & then christine just Yes Anding. aaaugh #head in hands haven't even relistened for a moment despite all this reflection. the downtempo quiet reprise waaah #it's Pretty killer to sit & chat with you....it's pretty killer for me too....sooo true Not getting this everywhere always & Waaugh ;;m;; #and wasn't even thinking of it as a joke like [and talking about devote specific focus on the Nonverbal aspect of such a scene: im putting #my hands on the shoulders of that & keep drawing a deep breath to start talking abt it but instead going Whew & making Expressions] #i.e. the significance of my nonverbal response as per conveying emotions & thoughts lmao. and just....You Know

[thekidsarentalright]

i rly do think kintsugi kid hits incredibly different and deeper from the perspective as a chronically ill person than it ever would otherwise. absolutely guts me

#chronically ill either physically or mentally ofc both apply . as someone who is chronically ill both ways #it's like. god i could write a whole analysis of it from this perspective actually tags wont do it justice #just the lyric on the bright side got the wrong insides is enough for me to be like yeah. i literally do. i was made wrong. i am wrong. #and it is what makes me me and if i dont have that who am i without my flaws . if i dont have that what do i have. id miss it. god. #edit addition: also like the chemical haze part is esp heartbreaking from the perspective of a chronically ill person who at one point was #highly dependent on substances to help ease the pain and is a time period of my life that was awful yet sometimes i miss bc at least i felt #nothing. now i feel so much and it's better for me and i know that but sometimes. i miss it. #txt

[rw-ethology]

Do you have theories on why lizards and how relatively open are they to being befriended by slugcat? Them continuing to be a threat to slugpups makes sense, as well as possibility of the lizard accidentally biting the slugcat during a careless attempt at feeding (which is why I now only give them snacks by tossing and running the moment I am sure the Lizard is locked on it). But usually it seems predators take longer to form such mutualistic (suppose?) approach, especially to prey. Cycles maybe?

Looks like kind of a mixture of both generally recognising when it benefits them to stick around, and resource-guarding behaviour directed towards a creature that has made itself look very valuable.

There's two main ways a slugcat can go about taming a lizard- by establishing itself as either a source of food, or a source of protection (saving one from a vulture causes your reputation with it to go way up). Either way, you've convinced it that eating you or letting you die would be counterproductive at this point, so as long as it remains convinced it'll follow you around and protect you from its rivals and other threats so it doesn't lose out. There's probably a number of things that factor into why they'll act in this way so readily, but if you look at it as an alternate expression of other traits and behaviours they already show off, you can kind of see where it might stem from.

Lizards are incredibly food-motivated- they'll go for pretty much anything they can fit in their mouth (that's large enough to be worth the effort), and will ignore almost everything else to run and cache it in their dens, presumably to store for later instead of wasting time that they could be spending finding more. Especially considering the state of the world and limited time pressure placed on every creature by the rain, in general it's probably kind of difficult for a large carnivore to consistently find enough to eat every single cycle. A successful catch whenever you need it isn't at all a guarantee; with that in mind, them having developed some degree of stockpiling behaviour would make sense, and suggests at least a rudimentary understanding that being careful with your food supply hugely bolsters your survival odds in the long run. Likely as a direct consequence of this, many lizards are highly territorial and/or competitive to varying degrees, and will chase rivals down and fight viciously to steal each others' prey or protect their resources under threat. It's also important to note lizards have a global reputation system- if you're nice enough across the board they'll become passive and if you harm enough they'll start to fear you, a behaviour unique amongst predators that suggests as a species they're just about intelligent enough to learn from experience and observation when it's better to just leave something alone.

It's most likely these specific characteristics that allow a lizard to become "tamed" so quickly. All you're really doing is taking advantage of their ability to recognise a valuable benefit, and redirecting their drive to defend one onto you, by teaching them to associate you with good things. No matter how tasty a slugcat looks, if it's proven time and time again that it will provide more food and support (that you desperately need) while alive than it could ever be worth dead, then why on earth would you want to let it die, or allow some other creature to take advantage instead?

However, this relationship only lasts as long as you put the effort into maintaining it. If you fail to let them into your shelter or feed them enough in subsequent cycles, or throw weapons at or around them (even by accident), they'll decide you're no longer worth the effort and quickly go from warning-bites to straight up turning on you as your reputation drops. Additionally, considering they by and large don't seem to recognise the slugcat's other companions- be it other tamed lizards or pups or friendly scavengers- as anything other than a rival or something else to eat, it's pretty clear that to their understanding they really are just guarding a resource and not joining a pack; lizards are not social creatures by nature with very little need to have developed emotional intelligence (even yellows I suspect aren't very close with each other beyond their advanced hunting formations and sharing prey), and any cooperation is strictly down to improving their odds of survival, not any form of attachment or gratitude as we would recognise it. It's still considered mutualistic, as both parties benefit from the relationship, but while a slugcat might become emotionally attached to their companion, the lizard isn't really capable of reciprocating in the same way.

With all that in mind, it's likely not the case that they're any more open to being "befriended" on an emotional level than any other predator in-game- they're just the only ones you can successfully lead to believe that you might actually be more useful alive than you would be as a few extra food pips, and for that to work out in your favour. Other major threats to the slugcat like vultures, miros birds and most large invertebrates most likely either lack the intelligence to discern one prey item from another, or they're so high on the food chain there's simply no meaningful benefit they could get out of collaboration (or both). It just so happens that lizards manage to be in the perfect position on the food chain with ideal behaviour to take advantage of that it's made possible to convince them being your friend is worth it, however temporarily.

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BONUS: the first lizard i ever tamed. was a little bit pathetic and utterly failed to protect me from anything before falling off a building in sky islands trying to wrestle a white lizard and losing, but the several painful minutes I spent being mediocre at squidcada hunting were worth it anyway. I miss him every day. godspeed you blue idiot

#rw-ethology #main post #asks #anonymous #my screencaps #rain world #rainworld #slugcats #lizards #really good question i love mutualism.. had a lot of fun coming up with this stuff #*taming* a wild animal is absolutely not the same as *befriending* it in a way that we/social animals would consider a friendship #or like.... domestication (that is a WHOLE other beast and i Highly doubt that's where lizards are heading) #like ofc it can be friendship To You! but believing an animal feels exactly the same is assuming a lot. can be dangerous at worst #though it can also be argued that to a creature where that's the closest it can Get to caring- like reptiles- it's still really meaningful #its just a matter of perspective. even if its not Affection based you can still have a strong bond with them/be important to them #so imo of course rw lizards can still be your friend :) they think you're important enough to protect after all. thats a high honor #perhaps the highest a lizard can give #just be nice to them!!! #downpour spoilers #< nearly forgot. for slugpups ment

[newfeeling77]

i wish i wasn’t capable of physically feeling the presence of someone in a building even when i can’t see them. i know i sound insane but theres like 4-5 people i have a psychic connection with whether i like it or not. im sitting in a cafeteria with like 100 ppl n im by a hallway that leads to a door on the side of the building n someone will go in or out every 5 minutes or so n you know bc its a loud squeaky door. n like the 7th time i heard it open the guy i had planted myself here specifically to say hi to i had the impression it was him before he even like emerged from the enclosed area. and it was of course. its almost annoying i dont want to be so aware

#i heard it n my body language started shifting n i was like oh it must be him bc im having an involuntary response n it wassss #happens with a guy i work with too he’s never consistent on when he shows up but i still can feel whether or not hes in the building #or ill get like. this is REALLY strange but sometimes i close my eyes n i get flashes of visuals or sound #like im seeing or hearing from another persons perspective #so one time i was in the shower n i got a flash of a certain song that i only hear in the store n i saw a bit of the freezer section #n i was feeling bold n strange so i texted the guy like are they playing this song right now #n he said . yes why n i just ignored it i wasnt about to explain i had a brief experience where i could see through his eyes. #smells too the smells are the most intense indicator that my mind is recieving input from someone elses senses #idk if ive told all my psychic smell stories though #ofc reading the story its more likely that the song just popped into my head as a random thought bc i am familiar with every single song #they play in the store and i know what time he stocks frozen stuff #but its more fun for me to believe i can briefly look through the eyes of another person. for some reason i find this enjoyable

[humbuns]

Granted the farthest I’ve gotten in OM is lesson 30, and I’m not at lesson 6 in NB, but I’ve always been curious about how the others viewed and felt about Lilith, you know? You don’t ever really hear anyone’s perspective on her except Lucifer, Beel, and Belphie. And the way Levi and Mammon have talked about their fall, it’s as if they didn’t consider her, but were entirely focused on siding with Lucifer. I just wonder what would’ve happened if Lucifer hadn’t come to Lilith’s defense. Would it have been only Beel, Belphie, and her who fought? Would there have even been a war if Luci decided to let her be punished?

First off, how dare you?

Second, you're might be right orz

I believe Simeon once mentioned before that despite how angels also consider themselves to be family, the bond the brothers + Lilith shared was on such a different level that it was impossible to intervene by an outsider like himself (even if he was close to Lucifer and the others), so the lack of information or development of their relationship by the devs just might makes it seem that the others don't really have a strong enough opinion tbh (The first lessons always felt rush to me despite how important it is to MC's and their origin story and I guess that's what NB aims to do to some degree?)

It could also just be the amount of involvement each brother had with Lilith's story.

Like Lucifer was the first one to learn about her love towards a human and even made the effort to meet the person in the human world to see if he was worthy to be with her. (His love for his siblings was so strong that even if they did something wrong, he would still risk everything trying to protect them)

While Beel and Belphie canonically held the closest relationship with her, so the guilt of not being able to save her eats Beel alive and the guilt of introducing the human world to her made Belphie despise humanity enough to kill, for the pain they cause not only to them but her.

So to that effect, those three were the ones who were affected the most, and the others were more like casualities??? Is that the right word?? Probably not lol, but I mean it in the sense of them going "I don't fully understand the situation and something is definitely not right but if Lucifer, the brother we all admire, is here, we will be okay"

They love Lilith and each other in their own way ofc, but Lucifer was sort of the catalyst

#this is lowkey hitting on my own belief why Belphie hates Lucifer #because its the faith the brothers have on Lucifer that somewhat brought their downfall #with belphie being betrayed so many times by luci (in his perspective ofc) #im not trying to villainize luci btw!! he just handle all of this so poorly but i cant blame him #cause i would have caved so easily in his shoes #obey me! #letters #anonymous